On March 14th, 2008 we sent off our application to begin to work with Children’s Hope International (CHI). If approved, they send you a detailed packet of information about all of the programs they work with, an explanation of the adoption process, and the fees associated with each country’s program. On April 2, we got an email that we were approved by their program director, and on April 7th that packet of information arrived in the mail. Justin and I read it all over and over and over again. The next step was in our hands. We needed to commit ourselves to the Russian program and send in the first payment to really get the ball rolling. Again, we were asking each other.. Are we sure? Do we really understand the risks? Were we really ready to give up on the idea of me getting pregnant again? Would we be taking anything away from Brady and Madison? etc… For three days straight we rehashed all of the conversations we had had over the past two months, and on April 10th we mailed off our first payment and commitment to move forward.
On a side note, we have involved Brady and Madison in our decision from the very beginning. They both have been asking for a brother or sister for quite some time. When we posed the idea to them that perhaps instead of a brother or sister coming from mommy’s belly that maybe he or she would be coming from an orphanage. Brady caught on to what this meant right away. Madison on the other hand could not wrap her mind around the idea that a child may not have a mommy and a daddy to live with. We used portions of an informational video on The Cradle’s website to help them understand what adopting from an orphanage was like. Both Brady and Madison are excited to welcome their new brother or sister into our home. The problem they have is they wanted this to happen like YESTERDAY!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Coincidence? I don’t think so!
Justin and I have always had many blessings in our lives, and I have always felt like good things happen to me. I used to chalk those good things up to being coincidence, hard work, or good luck. Well I know now that there is no way humanly possible for me to control all of life’s situations. I now believe that God has plans for me and my family. We always have choices, but He puts opportunities in front of us to embrace to fulfill His will. That is part of what makes this adoption journey so important. This will be the first time for Justin and I that we have made a life decision based on prayer. We have recently asked how people knew God was leading them down a certain path. How was it that they KNEW this? Was it just their own wishful thinking? Well we have had a few things happen to us that have finally helped us to understand…
As we continued to really think this decision through, I of course began to read and do internet research to see what the process involved and what to expect. For reasons that I won’t go into on the blog, we knew without a doubt that international adoption is what we were being lead to pursue. So then came the monumental task of making the big decision as to what country would we want to adopt from. You really have to make that decision very early on. This impacts which agency you work with, what paper work is required, how much money is involved, etc… This was an agonizing process for us. How do you make a decision like this? After much contemplation, we decided that we would like to adopt from Russia. I began researching different agencies that have accreditation in Russia and we sent out an email to Children’s Hope International to get some information. While waiting on this information Justin and I struggled big time! Were we sure that Russia was the program for us? The theme for Russian adoptions is the only thing you can be sure of is that things are always changing. It is a very costly program, and Russia requires two trips to the county to finalize the adoption. Doubt began to sink in. One night, we really were struggling. We prayed and asked God that if Russia was the right decision for us then please give us a sign of some sort to let us know that we are heading down the path He has chosen for us. The very next day in the mail we received our first correspondence with Children’s Hope International and it was their Winter 2007 newsletter. As the mail flopped open on the counter this little Russian face was staring right back at me. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
As we continued to really think this decision through, I of course began to read and do internet research to see what the process involved and what to expect. For reasons that I won’t go into on the blog, we knew without a doubt that international adoption is what we were being lead to pursue. So then came the monumental task of making the big decision as to what country would we want to adopt from. You really have to make that decision very early on. This impacts which agency you work with, what paper work is required, how much money is involved, etc… This was an agonizing process for us. How do you make a decision like this? After much contemplation, we decided that we would like to adopt from Russia. I began researching different agencies that have accreditation in Russia and we sent out an email to Children’s Hope International to get some information. While waiting on this information Justin and I struggled big time! Were we sure that Russia was the program for us? The theme for Russian adoptions is the only thing you can be sure of is that things are always changing. It is a very costly program, and Russia requires two trips to the county to finalize the adoption. Doubt began to sink in. One night, we really were struggling. We prayed and asked God that if Russia was the right decision for us then please give us a sign of some sort to let us know that we are heading down the path He has chosen for us. The very next day in the mail we received our first correspondence with Children’s Hope International and it was their Winter 2007 newsletter. As the mail flopped open on the counter this little Russian face was staring right back at me. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
In the Beginning...
There is so much we want to share with everyone to help you fully understand how we got to the point we are at today. There are many little details that paint the big picture of our journey so far. So here we go….
Justin has always wanted to have more children in our family. I too didn’t really feel that our family was complete, but I didn’t believe that getting pregnant again was what we were supposed to do. We have been blessed with two amazing and healthy children and my pregnancies we very smooth and a great experience, but something just didn’t seem right with going through that process again. Over time various things were brought to my attention about adoption. I had never considered adoption before. In fact, the thought had never crossed my mind. All of the sudden, I was reading people’s testimonies about adoption; crossing paths with people who have recently adopted; hearing radio broadcasts about adoption. It was becoming too much to ignore. I still hadn’t mentioned anything to Justin as I still wondered what these thoughts were all about. On February 21st Justin and I attended a Newsboys concert at The Crossing in Quincy. During the show the artists shared their mission to sponsor children in need. This was it. I knew I had to share the thoughts I had been having with Justin about adoption.
On the way home, I too was in for a surprise. When I told Justin about what I had been thinking (fully expecting to blow his mind), he sort of laughed in a disbelieving kind of way and said, “I have thought about adoption on a number of occasions.” For hours that night we talked about the impossibility of the entire situation; how crazy we were; what it meant for us as a couple; what it would mean to Brady and Madison; what would our family say???
And the so the roller coaster ride began.
Justin has always wanted to have more children in our family. I too didn’t really feel that our family was complete, but I didn’t believe that getting pregnant again was what we were supposed to do. We have been blessed with two amazing and healthy children and my pregnancies we very smooth and a great experience, but something just didn’t seem right with going through that process again. Over time various things were brought to my attention about adoption. I had never considered adoption before. In fact, the thought had never crossed my mind. All of the sudden, I was reading people’s testimonies about adoption; crossing paths with people who have recently adopted; hearing radio broadcasts about adoption. It was becoming too much to ignore. I still hadn’t mentioned anything to Justin as I still wondered what these thoughts were all about. On February 21st Justin and I attended a Newsboys concert at The Crossing in Quincy. During the show the artists shared their mission to sponsor children in need. This was it. I knew I had to share the thoughts I had been having with Justin about adoption.
On the way home, I too was in for a surprise. When I told Justin about what I had been thinking (fully expecting to blow his mind), he sort of laughed in a disbelieving kind of way and said, “I have thought about adoption on a number of occasions.” For hours that night we talked about the impossibility of the entire situation; how crazy we were; what it meant for us as a couple; what it would mean to Brady and Madison; what would our family say???
And the so the roller coaster ride began.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Getting started and caught up
Well, it seems like the best way to share our journey and get information out to everyone is to jump onto the blogging bandwagon. This is going to be hard for me for a number of reasons. 1) I really don't like to write. 2) This sort of goes against my whole internet safety instinct about not giving out too much information about yourself. (I have come to the realization that if people care enough to dig up information on you - they can do it so what's the big deal? Right?) 3) How do I possibly add one more thing to the plate to stay on top of?
So here is my best shot.
I will work to bring this blog up to speed on how we got to where we are today.
So here is my best shot.
I will work to bring this blog up to speed on how we got to where we are today.
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