We've Been Busy

We've been busy. So has God. So, it's officially official...we're official! Ha! No really, we have our home study, we're legit. Our agency has approved it and has approved us to adopt! We're double, legit. We have been assigned a caseworker and we've spoken with her a few times. She is awesome. This is another way God has moved. A few weeks ago when I was corresponding with the lady that was handling our application phase of the process, she had mentioned that once we were approved, we'd be assigned to a lady named Meagan that would be our caseworker. This was fine...but deep down I had really wanted this other caseworker that we met at orientation back in August. She gave the entire domestic adoption overview and we really really liked her. After all, she too has a dog named Bella. ;) But really, I wanted to request her but didn't want to cause waves especially since they were already going to assign us this other lady. Little did I know that God would hear my even unspoken desires and take care of it. A couple of weeks later we got an awesome email from the application lady congratulating us that we were approved to adopt, our approval packet was on the way and that our caseworker had been changed...TO the lady I wanted!!! She said that it was per her request because she had remembered us from orientation...how cool is that??!! There were twenty other couples there. That's pretty awesome.

A couple of days later, we got our first introductory call from our caseworker! If you don't know what a caseworker is in the adoption process...she's kind of a big deal. She is the one we will be talking with the most for the rest of the journey. She's the one that will give our book to birth mothers and match us with a birth mom. She's the one that will be giving us the call when we are finally matched! She's someone we have to really be comfortable with. And God provided. We couldn't be more thrilled or amazed at God's sovereignty amazing attention to the detail of our hearts. He's good.

We finished a HUGE step in the process this week. We finished the dreaded Profile Book...okay not dreaded but it was incredibly overwhelming for me. This is a twenty page shutterfly book that will have  a huge part in a birth mom's selection of us.  Seriously, how do you portray who you really are in a twenty page picture book?  With lots of hard work with the husband...we finished it.  Our caseworker reviewed/edited it and loved it. (whew!) It's ordered and even shipped off to Texas to our agency. Once they get it...we are officially waiting for a referral. Let me stop. Did I just say those words? We're waiting for a referral?? This is definitely a moment I have thought about for a long time.

Needless to say, the moment we were approved I began pinteresting nursery ideas. :) I've sort of waited six years to do this...so it's pretty exciting even though I could have potentially a year to plan this nursery (let's pray not!). Not to mention, I LOVE to decorate in general. We've done a lot of work over the last four months...applications, home study, profile book, etc. We're so ready for a little fun. I am pretty sure Matt thinks it's cute how I've begun to plan for the nursery. I'll post a little more on that later. It's definitely going to be a room of nothing but love to the little life that will fill it. I'm pretty excited. Our nursery is shaping up to be a beautiful depiction of a community of people loving on this little one...and that makes me oh so happy.

Though through all of this fun and excitement, there is a very real realization that Matt and I have this week that adoption does not come without loss. A child is, yes gaining a mother and father through adoption, but also losing a mother and father at the same time. A mother is losing a child...even if that is a choice she wants to and is ready to make. Real lives are involved. I, no doubt, will be thinking of my little one and his birth mother especially tomorrow as people march through the streets of D.C. peacefully asking for an end to legalized abortion. I am praying for our future birth mother and all mothers as they face difficult decisions. I pray they will choose life...and see the amazing beauty that comes with that decision either through mothering their child or choosing adoption.  I pray that christian families would be open to discerning whether God wants adoption to be a part of their family plan.  There is loss...but there is redemption and beauty through adoption.