Well I am first really excited to, one, have a blog (I think I am about 10 years behind), and two, be able to look at this as a very public journal where we can track our journey together!
I have been following a few blogs lately reading about families that have either just started their adoption journey or further down the path where they have tracked the story of living day to day with a family that was put together through adoption.
So what does this mean? The answer is Yes. We are starting our own story of adoption and we want to take you along with us for many reasons. Excited??? WE ARE TOO!!! but we are desperate for your prayers. This is going to be an exciting, bumpy, difficult, rewarding journey yet we are ready for every minute of it.
Last Saturday I (yes, I did not have my husband by my side- more on that later) went to my first adoption seminar in Oklahoma City. It was wonderful, emotional, and more importantly it provided the flood gates of confirmation that I was waiting for. What more could I have asked for? well not much except I would have LOVED for my HUSBAND, my partner, to have been by my side, instead, I went as a sister wife (that's a joke) to a sweet couple who let me crash their intimate car time where they too were going with eager hearts to hear more about adoption. I just looked like the crazy tag along that kept adding that "yes this is both my husband and my decision to adopt".
I said "we" a lot.
Jeremiah and I had been looking forward to this seminar for about a month when this particular day ended up being the busiest day of the YEAR with one of our businesses, Jump4Joy. We own an inflatable company (bouncy houses) without kids. Think that is weird? so do we, except it's the biggest blessing to us. Anyway, since it was going to look like there was no possible way for him to go we decided that I should probably still go. Best decision.
In a nut shell we have decided to pursue DHS (Department of Human Services) which is Oklahoma's resource to protect children that are in critical situations and cannot stay with their biological families. There are approximately 2900 children in the system and about 350 that are currently adoptable and waiting for forever families. Can't even really tell you why we chose this route we just kind of have and it feels right.
Choosing the path towards adoption is pretty overwhelming, there are SO MANY ways you can go. International, or domestic, private or state, baby or child, 1 kid or 5 kids, black, white, yellow or purple.... ohh the choices... But for some reason DHS seems like it will be our story for now, if that changes, it changes, but for now this is where we are going to move forward.
I probably should also tell you that we recently met a sibling group through a friend that is currently fostering a 6 month old, a 1 year old, and a 2 year old. Crazy? yeah I suppose so, but God has the most amazing way of making crazy not so crazy when it could quite possibly be the road he has for us. We have no idea if these are our kids, all we know is that God has a plan and that is the ONLY plan we desire.
Thank you for following this journey with us. We are ready :)
Let the paperwork begin!
-S
