We received an e-mail from our adoption counselor yesterday letting us know it was time to schedule our first home visit!!! We are super excited. So glad we've made it to this part of the process. Our adoption counselor is extremely nice and super helpful. I feel so blessed to have someone we are so comfortable with. And he seems like he has a really good heart.
The visit is scheduled for May 13th so please keep us in your prayers. I'm sure we will be fine, but still a little anxious. We're going to have to have a little talk with Brinkley (our dog) and tell him he needs to be on his best behavior! But I have a feeling I already know how he'll act. Hope our counselor likes dogs!
Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Enjoy the sunshine...we haven't seen it for a while!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
It's in the mail!
Just a small update: We mailed in all of our home study paperwork today! It was quite a large stack of paperwork too! So glad to have that finished and out of the way. One small step but such a huge relief. We should be scheduling our home visit soon!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Monday, April 11, 2011
We're done (with training)
We're done with our training!! We finished last week and it feels so good to be done! Though we did have some trouble on correspondence (with one person only) we really learned so much the past two months. We will be turning in our paperwork this week and once they receive the paperwork they will be calling to schedule our appointments for the one-on-one interviews and the home study.
We did find out that Bethany is using a new method for their home studies called SAFE. It may cause the home study process to take a bit longer but only weeks, not months like I was imagining! This method is supposed to be more effective/efficient and helps to ensure that they are placing the child in a stable home and to help us prepare for a child. I hate that it may take longer, but if it helps them to do a better job and helps prepare us, then I am all for it.
It's so nice to have everyone's love a support. I can't tell you how much it means to hear words of encouragement and to hear the sincerity in people's voices when they ask about how the process is coming along. Our child will be surrounded by people who love him/her dearly. Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday. Hope this week goes by fast for everyone.
Love,
Andrea
We did find out that Bethany is using a new method for their home studies called SAFE. It may cause the home study process to take a bit longer but only weeks, not months like I was imagining! This method is supposed to be more effective/efficient and helps to ensure that they are placing the child in a stable home and to help us prepare for a child. I hate that it may take longer, but if it helps them to do a better job and helps prepare us, then I am all for it.
It's so nice to have everyone's love a support. I can't tell you how much it means to hear words of encouragement and to hear the sincerity in people's voices when they ask about how the process is coming along. Our child will be surrounded by people who love him/her dearly. Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday. Hope this week goes by fast for everyone.
Love,
Andrea
Sunday, March 20, 2011
March 20, 2011
Well, we only have two more weeks of sessions online and we'll be all done with the training classes. I'm working on my "self study" now which is about ten pages of questions about yourself. I'm sure that sounds pretty easy, but it's kind of been hard. Doug hand-wrote his answers out...he's going to make them work to read his ;) I'm typing mine just because I make a lot of mistakes and change my mind so much that it'll be easier to type.
We also ordered two more books to read. One is called, "Talking with Young Children about Adoption" and the other is "Dear Birthmother." We're hoping that each of these will help us more in prepping for the years to come. We already love our child and know how to take care of their physical needs like feeding, changing diapers, etc. We just want to be sure we understand things from their point of view because neither one of us was adopted so we have no idea as to what kind of feelings he/she may have. We know that we will provide them with as much love, understanding, and guidance as we can. But we want to make sure we can be prepared emotionally as to what topics and questions that may come up throughout their lives. We have faith in God that he will help us in all this if we ask for it, but reading these books can only help us even more.
Most of you reading this will be a part of our child's lives so we encourage you to learn more about adoption if you don't already know. There are some great books out there to read. And please ask us questions along the way. And you can ask anything...cost, the process, emotions, thoughts, etc. We love sharing :) We are by no means social workers or adoption counselors, but who better to ask questions than those who are going through the process. We may not have all the answers but will try! And if you have any information to give to us...PLEASE do!! The more info. the better!
Oh and I forgot to mention that we joined Post Oak Baptist Church here in Russellville last Sunday and are very excited about being a part of such a great church. We have met some wonderful people and look forward to getting to know them.
That's pretty much all the updates we have for now. Two more weeks of training, turning in our paperwork, and waiting to schedule the home study...that's where we are :) Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the warm temperatures!
We also ordered two more books to read. One is called, "Talking with Young Children about Adoption" and the other is "Dear Birthmother." We're hoping that each of these will help us more in prepping for the years to come. We already love our child and know how to take care of their physical needs like feeding, changing diapers, etc. We just want to be sure we understand things from their point of view because neither one of us was adopted so we have no idea as to what kind of feelings he/she may have. We know that we will provide them with as much love, understanding, and guidance as we can. But we want to make sure we can be prepared emotionally as to what topics and questions that may come up throughout their lives. We have faith in God that he will help us in all this if we ask for it, but reading these books can only help us even more.
Most of you reading this will be a part of our child's lives so we encourage you to learn more about adoption if you don't already know. There are some great books out there to read. And please ask us questions along the way. And you can ask anything...cost, the process, emotions, thoughts, etc. We love sharing :) We are by no means social workers or adoption counselors, but who better to ask questions than those who are going through the process. We may not have all the answers but will try! And if you have any information to give to us...PLEASE do!! The more info. the better!
Oh and I forgot to mention that we joined Post Oak Baptist Church here in Russellville last Sunday and are very excited about being a part of such a great church. We have met some wonderful people and look forward to getting to know them.
That's pretty much all the updates we have for now. Two more weeks of training, turning in our paperwork, and waiting to schedule the home study...that's where we are :) Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys the warm temperatures!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Beginning
March 13, 2011
I started this blog a little late, but to keep you up to date, we have already submitted our preliminary and formal applications to Bethany Christian Services. We chose Bethany for a few reasons:
-The first being simply that they were the first adoption agency that came up when I googled/yahooed agencies. Their website was very easy to follow and almost anything you wanted to know about them was easily accessible on the site.
-The second reason being that I liked that it was a Christian agency. I know you can't go by first impressions alone, but they really seemed to be Christ centered and seemed to have a strong ministry going.
-The third reason was that after inquiring about adoption, we immediately received information via mail and e-mail. All the steps we would be taking through the next months were clearly explained and laid out for us.
Although we are early in the process, I have to say that so far, I do not regret our decision in choosing Bethany. They have been extremely helpful and friendly. Though it has at times, seemed like a chore, the training classes they require are wonderful. They have helped us immensely in preparing our hearts and minds for becoming adoptive parents. They may not be the cheapest agency but seem to have the best of intentions for the child and the birthmother as well. If anything, adoptive parents are the last priority at Bethany which may sound weird, but I think is great. After all, the child and what is best for that child is the most important, whether that be staying with his/her birthparents, or joining our family. "Bethany doesn't find babies for families; they find families for babies."
The first Tuesday in February, we began our training sessions to help us prepare to become adoptive parents. It has been a wonderful experience hearing adoptive parents stories, being with other couples who are adopting, learning ways to deal with any circumstances we may face with our child, and learning ways we can minister about adoption and how great it is. We've also been required to read at least three books on Adoption. One book, "The Connected Child" is required and has been part of our training. It came to me while I was reading this book that I wish every parent, whether biological or adoptive, could read this book. It has so many parenting tips/ideas/philosophies that I think are great for any parent and child. Anyway, training will go through the end of March so we're over halfway done.
Along with our training during that past couple of months, we have also been tackling the task of paperwork. I thought there was a lot of paperwork when we bought our house, but that was nothing! Again, I sometimes feel like all parents should be required to fill out some of this stuff before they have kids :) We've had physicals, drug testing, psychiatric evaluations, marriage evaluations, along with discussions about our infertility, criminal background checks, credit checks, family history, self-studies, and not to mention I (we) had to take two vacation days to be able to get some of this stuff done. BUT, whenever we feel overwhelmed and like this is all pointless, we remind each other why we're doing all this. And of course that's for our child. Anything that can help us be better parents and better spouses is well worth it.
And it's been amazing how much God (and the devil for that matter) has been working with Doug and I. I can't lie and say that everything has been peachy since we found out we were infertile because it certainly hasn't. We have had some very intense fights, some very emotionally draining discussions, and many temptations to give up. But of course, our time of trials has only brought us closer to Him, closer to each other, and closer to our friends and family. It has made me see what a gracious heavenly Father I have, what a wonderful earthly father and mother I have, and what a loving and committed father Doug will be, AND how blessed I am to have all of them.
So now, we are waiting to hear back from all of our doctors, finishing our paperwork, finishing the last few trainings, and then once all that is complete we will do that last part of our home study which will be a home visit. I'm thinking by June (hopefully earlier) we will have all of that done and officially beginning the waiting process. Lots of waiting but no doubt that what we receive in the end will be WELL worth the wait :)
**Also, we are trying to think of ways to raise money. If anyone has any suggestions, we would love to hear them! Every little bit helps, so we're open to anything! **
I started this blog a little late, but to keep you up to date, we have already submitted our preliminary and formal applications to Bethany Christian Services. We chose Bethany for a few reasons:
-The first being simply that they were the first adoption agency that came up when I googled/yahooed agencies. Their website was very easy to follow and almost anything you wanted to know about them was easily accessible on the site.
-The second reason being that I liked that it was a Christian agency. I know you can't go by first impressions alone, but they really seemed to be Christ centered and seemed to have a strong ministry going.
-The third reason was that after inquiring about adoption, we immediately received information via mail and e-mail. All the steps we would be taking through the next months were clearly explained and laid out for us.
Although we are early in the process, I have to say that so far, I do not regret our decision in choosing Bethany. They have been extremely helpful and friendly. Though it has at times, seemed like a chore, the training classes they require are wonderful. They have helped us immensely in preparing our hearts and minds for becoming adoptive parents. They may not be the cheapest agency but seem to have the best of intentions for the child and the birthmother as well. If anything, adoptive parents are the last priority at Bethany which may sound weird, but I think is great. After all, the child and what is best for that child is the most important, whether that be staying with his/her birthparents, or joining our family. "Bethany doesn't find babies for families; they find families for babies."
The first Tuesday in February, we began our training sessions to help us prepare to become adoptive parents. It has been a wonderful experience hearing adoptive parents stories, being with other couples who are adopting, learning ways to deal with any circumstances we may face with our child, and learning ways we can minister about adoption and how great it is. We've also been required to read at least three books on Adoption. One book, "The Connected Child" is required and has been part of our training. It came to me while I was reading this book that I wish every parent, whether biological or adoptive, could read this book. It has so many parenting tips/ideas/philosophies that I think are great for any parent and child. Anyway, training will go through the end of March so we're over halfway done.
Along with our training during that past couple of months, we have also been tackling the task of paperwork. I thought there was a lot of paperwork when we bought our house, but that was nothing! Again, I sometimes feel like all parents should be required to fill out some of this stuff before they have kids :) We've had physicals, drug testing, psychiatric evaluations, marriage evaluations, along with discussions about our infertility, criminal background checks, credit checks, family history, self-studies, and not to mention I (we) had to take two vacation days to be able to get some of this stuff done. BUT, whenever we feel overwhelmed and like this is all pointless, we remind each other why we're doing all this. And of course that's for our child. Anything that can help us be better parents and better spouses is well worth it.
And it's been amazing how much God (and the devil for that matter) has been working with Doug and I. I can't lie and say that everything has been peachy since we found out we were infertile because it certainly hasn't. We have had some very intense fights, some very emotionally draining discussions, and many temptations to give up. But of course, our time of trials has only brought us closer to Him, closer to each other, and closer to our friends and family. It has made me see what a gracious heavenly Father I have, what a wonderful earthly father and mother I have, and what a loving and committed father Doug will be, AND how blessed I am to have all of them.
So now, we are waiting to hear back from all of our doctors, finishing our paperwork, finishing the last few trainings, and then once all that is complete we will do that last part of our home study which will be a home visit. I'm thinking by June (hopefully earlier) we will have all of that done and officially beginning the waiting process. Lots of waiting but no doubt that what we receive in the end will be WELL worth the wait :)
**Also, we are trying to think of ways to raise money. If anyone has any suggestions, we would love to hear them! Every little bit helps, so we're open to anything! **
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)