Moving forward

Tonight we attended our 1^st of 6 Adoption Classes!  It was wonderful- not at all as overwhelming as the orientation.  But we did talk quite a bit about parenting tonight. J Erik and I got a good laugh at ourselves when we got in the car.  Erik was like, “wait a minute….. I thought we were signing up to hold, feed, love and protect a baby!  Not discipline a teenager!”  LOL!  It’s still making me laugh.  I mean, we obviously KNOW that the sweet baby will grow up……. We just hadn’t thought that far down the road yet! 

Our favorite thing about tonight was that we got to meet a birthmother that made an adoption plan for her baby.  She was not at all what we expected her to be.  She was a single businesswoman in her 30’s, extremely well spoken and had an overtly Christian perspective about her past and present situations.  To say the least, I bawled through most of her story.  I have a great deal of respect and admiration for this birthmother and for all of the birthmothers out there that choose adoption for their birthchildren. 

We are already praying for the birthmother of our sweet baby.  I really hope we get to meet her.  I want to give her a HUGE hug and say a prayer with her. ♥

Of course we are very excited about our adoption journey and the fact that we’re moving forward.  We’ve scheduled our physical exams, psychological exams and our Expectations Consultation at the agency. 

We plan on diving into the large stack of paperwork tomorrow night.  We’re anxious to get it completed but $2,000 is due when we turn it all in.  Soooooo our goal is to at least have it ready to turn in by October.  That gives us some time to save and fundraise. 

Some sweet friends suggested that we have a Benefit/Concert/Silent Auction and we’re taking their advice.  We’ve jotted down some notes trying to plan it and I’ll make some calls tomorrow to find a venue.  We are clearly not going to try to raise ALL of the money needed ($2,000 is due soon, then $3,000, then probably close to $10,000 for the final “placement” fee)...….. but obviously the sooner we start raising funds, the sooner we can get on that WAITING LIST!   

(Deep breath)…. I’m very tired and need to get some sleep.  I’m mentally and emotionally exhausted.  Thank you for reading and for your encouragement through everything so far. 

Sweet dreams.  J

“Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”  (Jesus) ~Matthew 11:28 NCV