Many of you have asked for more details about our adoption. We will have a lot of information to communicate regarding our growing family over the next couple of years, so we started this blog to keep everyone up to date.
First off, why adoption? Wes and I first talked about adoption when we were dating. Not knowing if I would be able to conceive, we planned to grow our family through adoption. We agreed that even if I could conceive, we would have one and then adopt. As most of you know, I had a high risk pregnancy with James. To us, this was the Lord's confirmation that we would grow our family through adoption after James.
The big question was when to start the process, as it can be a lengthy one. We prayed and prayed and waited for peace to move forward. We did a lot of research on agencies before we moved forward with Lutheran Family Services. This agency has three requirements: the couple must be married for two years or greater; the couple must have faith in God (no denomination requirements); and the couple must be okay with open adoption.
We are now #14 on a waiting list with LFS. They do an average of 10-12 placements a year. Generally about half of the waiting list moves forward with LFS when their number comes up. Others have moved forward with another agency or have conceived. Once our number comes up, we will began our home study. Once we complete our home study, we will make a photo book that depicts our family and answers some standard questions. These books are made available to the birth mothers help then pick a family for their baby.
Please pray for us as we attempt to wait patiently through this process. We are so excited but have a long and tumultuous road ahead of us. We will also spend 2015 raising $23,300. You can view the cost break down here. The cost breakdown is for $19,800. We will also need to raise $2,000 in legal fees and $1,500 for the birth mother's care. We will be raising money in multiple ways. To start, we are set up to take direct donations on our YouCaring.com website. Please click here or see the widget on main page of our blog.
Thanks so much for supporting us during this pivotal time.
