Preliminary Application approved!!!

That title sounds so exciting, so what does that mean.....ummmmm now the work begins!!!!  Basically they have told us that we are eligible to apply and see if we are eligible.....lol.  So, we found out that there is a class that is offered 4 times a year that has to be completed by both parents in order to even begin our home study.  Luckily the next one is scheduled for Feb 2, so that gives us just enough time to get an approved formal application and take the class so that we don't have to wait another 3 months to even start home study.  The lady at the agency today said that if we really hustle we can be a "waiting family" in 4-5 months, so that is our new goal!!! 

Speaking of the "lady from the agency", she also told us that the fact that we have 2 bio children will probably work against us on being chosen.  Obviously every single birth mom chooses her childs parents for a variety of different reasons.  I was closed minded and thought why wouldn't you want experienced parents for your baby.  Kelly quickly made a good point that a lot of birth moms feel like they are doing something even more special if they give this gift to a couple who hasn't had it yet.  Although we trust that God knows exactly the right fit for us and we trust that it is in His perfect timing, I really was hoping it wouldn't take 2-5 years.  There is no guarantee that it will take that long but I am now preparing myself for it because it seems to be a real possibility!!! 

We were told that this specific agency placed 22 babies last year just out of the st Louis office so that was promising since the last agency had only placed 9 last year.  Seems like the obvious choice is the one that has more birth parents going thru the doors.  So.....now we really get to all the work that is filling out applications, getting together paperwork, home study, finger prints, background checks and all of that.....please pray for patience for us as we have to just wait and wade thru all the steps that it takes.  Also continuing praying for our future child and our future birth mom......the more we get into this process the more time I have to reflect on what that couple/girl must be going thru to make that decision.  I pray that God helps them make a decision that they have peace with!! 

It's official.....tell everyone you know!!!

Well....we are meeting with Bethany Christian Services on Thursday to see if that is the agency we want to sign with.  Next week we are meeting with an adoption attorney to see what else we can do to help this process.....sending packets to OBGYNs, health departments, crisis pregnancy clinics and schools....having "pass along cards" printed for people to keep passing out.....anything that we can do to get the word out.  We also went Facebook official tonight because let's face it, how better to get the information out!!!!  Very excited to begin this journey and just feel like 2013 could be the year we complete our family after all.  Time will tell and God's timing is perfect so we will just wait!!! 

If you have any other ideas of ways to get our information out there, please let me know....I am not afraid of doing the work to get the information out there.  Maybe the birth mom that will give us her baby will consider abortion....this makes me so sad but it is reality.  Therefore, we need to be praying for her because I can't imagine just how difficult it is to even have to consider not being able to keep your baby.  I now, as an adult and mother, understand just what a sacrifice that mother is making just because she loves her baby that much.  It  really is amazing to me. 

I believe that everything is affected by the power of prayer....so even if you are sitting there thinking that there is nothing you can do, that is not true, you can pray!!!  Pray for our family, pray for all the birth moms out there that are making these difficult decisions, and pray for our birth mom that will choose us to give such a precious gift!!!!!

Well as I sit here to begin my very first blog I look down at the date and realize that tomorrow 1/5/13 will be exactly 1 month since my sweet Chesney was still born at 20 weeks.  Chesney would have been the final member of our family.  She would have been the perfect end to our family that already has 2 boys, but God had a different plan.  At 20 weeks, we found out that Chesney didn't have a heartbeat anymore.  We had already bought hair bows and cute pink outfits.  We had already named her and our boys already were talking about their baby sister, Chesney.  This was big for us because after having 2 preemies and 6 miscarriages, we didn't JUMP into any kind of planning....but after an U/S at 18 weeks that told us that our little girl was all healthy, we didn't think we needed to worry!!  So that leads me here.....adoption.  I am excited to say that on 1/10/13 we are meeting with Bethany Christian Services and will get to begin the process of US infant adoption.  I have been warned that the process is long and that it can be very emotional, but I would say that after the journey we have been on we can handle anything God sends to us!!! 

We are going to get the process moving just as fast as we possibly can because we are really wanting to get the newest member of our family just as fast as we possibly can.  I know that it's a process and that there is no guarantee that we will be chosen quickly.  I know that  after we are chosen we may have 9 months of the pregnancy to wait thru.  I know that even after all of that there is no guarantee that the birth mom will decide to sign the papers.  However, I am so excited because I just know this is the journey that God is sending us on and that eventually we will get that perfect addition to our family!!!! 

So, this blog is just an outlet for me to get my feelings out and to keep people who might be interested up to date on our journey.  I am sure that at some point down the line I will start an adoption profile on facebook so that our family can be updated without having to find my blog, but I just need a place to put my feelings and to put what we are doing. 

Chesney will always be part of our family and missed greatly!!!  We are thankful that we had the opportunity to be her parents even for a small amount of time because we loved her so much!!!  We also know that Chesney had many purposes that have been laid out for us and one is sending us out to find the child that God wants to complete our family.  We are praying for our future baby and also for the birth mom that will give us such a gift!!!