We are thrilled to share that we have just recently been matched! We couldn't ask for a better Christmas present. We were selected as adoptive parents-to-be by a birthmom (G) in California. We had learned on November 20th initially that she was interested in talking to us but it had been quiet for a few weeks. Just this past Thursday we had our first phone conversation with her and we mutually agreed with our agency that it was a match! G is due to give birth on 2/15/10 out in California and we will be traveling as soon as we get the call that she is going into labor. She has previously (with the children she is now parenting) had natural births so we anticipate this to be the case as well. G has an ultrasound tomorrow and we have a scheduled phone call with her to find out if she's having a boy or a girl -- she asked us if we wanted to know, and of course, we do.
So, now, with 7 weeks left to her due date-- we are scrambling to get everything in place with our attorney and with G, the birthmom. The baby will be delivered at a private hospital and then will be discharged to us at 1-2 days old if all goes well. We will do everything we can to make it for the birth but we may arrive shortly after. Nathaniel, Rich and I will hop on a plane as soon as we get word. We plan to stay in California for 7-14 days before we return home with our little bundle.
So exciting! On top of all this news- I have been offered a transfer with my company back home and we are in the process of moving!! Crazy as it all is we know this is meant to be and it's the path we're thrilled to be taking right now. Nathaniel is super excited to be a big brother- though I'm not sure he's ready to share his mommy and daddy with another little one. But, I do know that he will be a fabulous big brother to his little brother or sister. :)
More to come as we get news! MERRY CHRISTMAS
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
First POTENTIAL match
Last Friday evening at 5:30pm we got a call from our agency saying that we had been chosen by a birthmom in California. Very exciting! Of course, it all comes when you least expect it so the rollercoaster of emotions- both positive and uncertain- overcame us for the weekend. We were scheduled to speak with this birthmother on Sunday night but our agency could not get in touch with her. Right now we are just waiting to have a conversation with her. This will allow us both to decide if this is a good match. We know the baby is Hispanic and is due 2/15/10. We have seen the medical paperwork and other background information and it does seem like a good situation. Of course, anything can happen and while we hope for the best, we don't know if this will be the right one. More to come as we get news!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Goobye Summer...Hello Fall
Wow- really hard to believe that last time I posted here summer was just beginning. We had a wonderful summer filled with all the typical activities. Now that it's winded down Nate is in school full-time and Rich and I are working lots. Getting ready for the fall activities is always so much fun. We are just starting to pick out Nate's Halloween costume. For his 1st Halloween he was a pumpkin, and last year he was a kangaroo....stay tuned for this year!
We have nothing to share on the adoption front. It has actually been a blessing not only because of our busy summer, but because of a lot of other unplanned work and family things going on. However, we have officially been waiting 5 months so we are hoping for some news within the next 5 months. The typical wait time is about 12 months to *match*....so we may have a bit more to go.
We just decided to update our profile. We used Forever Family Designs and Sharon was wonderful to work with. It came out great. We will see if this new profile will help us to get some interest in the weeks to come. We did have one situation presented to us but it wasn't a good match. We're in no rush and we are confident the right one will come along. We're hoping to have a new addition to the family by the end of next summer!
I will update in the weeks/months to come as news develops for us. Fingers crossed... :)
We have nothing to share on the adoption front. It has actually been a blessing not only because of our busy summer, but because of a lot of other unplanned work and family things going on. However, we have officially been waiting 5 months so we are hoping for some news within the next 5 months. The typical wait time is about 12 months to *match*....so we may have a bit more to go.
We just decided to update our profile. We used Forever Family Designs and Sharon was wonderful to work with. It came out great. We will see if this new profile will help us to get some interest in the weeks to come. We did have one situation presented to us but it wasn't a good match. We're in no rush and we are confident the right one will come along. We're hoping to have a new addition to the family by the end of next summer!
I will update in the weeks/months to come as news develops for us. Fingers crossed... :)
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Preparing for a busy summer
Just wanted to post quickly. Nothing is new on the adoption front; of course if it was, I would have already posted! We've had our profile in for almost 2 months now. If we do not have any interest by September, we will re-do to see if we can make it even better. It would be really nice to hear something by the end of 09'.
We have so much planned this summer and we are looking forward to camping, amusement parks, beach trips, and so much more! I am in the process of training for a half marathon as well....not sure how it will go but I'm giving it a fair shot.
Happy summer!
We have so much planned this summer and we are looking forward to camping, amusement parks, beach trips, and so much more! I am in the process of training for a half marathon as well....not sure how it will go but I'm giving it a fair shot.
Happy summer!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The wait has officially begun!
As of this past week (April 15th to be exact!) we are officially parents in waiting! We finished our profile and are now officially ready to be shown to birthmothers. We will be notified when their is a birthmother interested in learning more about us. We hope it will be sooner than later, but are realistic it could take quite a long time. In all honesty, the wait is not an issue for me this time around. I am a busy mommy now and I know our 2nd child will come when the time is right.
Until then, we will be keeping ourselves busy planning Nate's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe my baby is turning 2 next month!
Until then, we will be keeping ourselves busy planning Nate's 2nd birthday party. I can't believe my baby is turning 2 next month!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Profile ready...almost!
I feel like I have neglected to post and update about our process. Time flies and unlike our first adoption process where I could blog until the wee hours of the morning, I now have a more pressing role as a mommy.
So, we have been busy with pushing the adoption along. We updated our homestudy and officially have it completed. We also had a number of other little tasks to take care of which we have also completed. The big one though is definitely the Profile. It took me much longer than I anticipated, but I finally got it done this past week and sent it to our facilitator for review and final approval. In case you aren't aware, the profile is essentially the bible in any domestic adoption process. It is nothing more than a 6-8 page book about your family which includes a letter to a birthmother about why you would be best to raise her baby. Arts and crafts and scrapbooking is not my greatest asset, but I bought some software and it was pretty straightforward. I was happy with the final outcome and now we are just waiting to hear from our agency this week. Once it is approved, I will overnight them several copies....and then the waiting begins!
We are very excited at the possibility of becoming parents again soon in the near future. Nate will be an amazing big brother and we are looking forward to watching their relationship flourish over the years.
I hope to update every couple of weeks with good news. We have a monthly call with our facilitating agency and during this call we will get an update on our progress. Of course, once we're matched- we will share with everyone!
Happy April...
So, we have been busy with pushing the adoption along. We updated our homestudy and officially have it completed. We also had a number of other little tasks to take care of which we have also completed. The big one though is definitely the Profile. It took me much longer than I anticipated, but I finally got it done this past week and sent it to our facilitator for review and final approval. In case you aren't aware, the profile is essentially the bible in any domestic adoption process. It is nothing more than a 6-8 page book about your family which includes a letter to a birthmother about why you would be best to raise her baby. Arts and crafts and scrapbooking is not my greatest asset, but I bought some software and it was pretty straightforward. I was happy with the final outcome and now we are just waiting to hear from our agency this week. Once it is approved, I will overnight them several copies....and then the waiting begins!
We are very excited at the possibility of becoming parents again soon in the near future. Nate will be an amazing big brother and we are looking forward to watching their relationship flourish over the years.
I hope to update every couple of weeks with good news. We have a monthly call with our facilitating agency and during this call we will get an update on our progress. Of course, once we're matched- we will share with everyone!
Happy April...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Starting the journey!
It truly seems like just yesterday we were starting the journey to adopt Nate...and here we are, almost 2 years later- starting the journey to our second child! We are so excited. We are anxious to complete our family but also because we know what a wonderful brother Nate will make.
So, we are in for another journey. In the world of adoption- anything goes... so our belts are buckled and we are settling in for a potentially bumpy ride (though a smooth one wouldn't hurt either!). Here is how our domestic adoption will work. This is a picture of our journey to come (thumbnail sketch only)
1. We did all the research on adoption and decided on an open or closed (birthmother choice) domestic adoption.
2. We chose a facilitator agency (25 years in the business) that came highly recommended and is reputable. Therefore, our agency will match us with the birth mother and then we will hire an attorney separately to terminate parental rights and finalize our adoption.
3. We have signed with our agency and completed our updated home study. We are completing our profile and letter to birthmother.
4. We anticipate being completed with our profile and will be ready to be shown to birthmothers by the end of this month.
5. Here's how matching with a birth mother works: a birth mother has specific qualities they are looking for in an adoptive family. Our agency working with the birth mothers will only send profiles to birth mothers where there is a 100% match. Meaning, what we as adoptive parents are all about is what the birth mother is comfortable with and vice versa. Once the bith mother selects you from your profile, you either meet in person or have a confidential phone conference. From there are decision is made if the match is right for everyone involved. Typically, you are matched with a birth mother in her 5th-8th month of pregnancy. However, there are some instances where a baby can be born at a hospital and you have to go immediately. A birth mother can live in any of the 50 states.
6. Once there is a match the level of contact with the birth mother will be up to us and her. We hope she will be open to weekly calls and allow us the opportunity to be present for the delivery. This varies by state but we should be able to take custody of the baby 72 hours after his or her birth. Then typically we would have to remain in that state for about a week before bringing our little bundle home.
7. The wait for a match could be anywhere from 3-18 months with most families matching within 12 months. If all goes smoothly, we expect to have our baby home sometime early to mid next year.
Stay tuned for updates! Once our profile is finished and we are ready to be shown to birth mothers, we PRAY and HOPE for a perfect match! Our sweet son or daughter may even be waiting for us now! It warms my heart just thinking about the whole process. Adoption is our blessing and we are so grateful to be able to take this journey once more. . .
So, we are in for another journey. In the world of adoption- anything goes... so our belts are buckled and we are settling in for a potentially bumpy ride (though a smooth one wouldn't hurt either!). Here is how our domestic adoption will work. This is a picture of our journey to come (thumbnail sketch only)
1. We did all the research on adoption and decided on an open or closed (birthmother choice) domestic adoption.
2. We chose a facilitator agency (25 years in the business) that came highly recommended and is reputable. Therefore, our agency will match us with the birth mother and then we will hire an attorney separately to terminate parental rights and finalize our adoption.
3. We have signed with our agency and completed our updated home study. We are completing our profile and letter to birthmother.
4. We anticipate being completed with our profile and will be ready to be shown to birthmothers by the end of this month.
5. Here's how matching with a birth mother works: a birth mother has specific qualities they are looking for in an adoptive family. Our agency working with the birth mothers will only send profiles to birth mothers where there is a 100% match. Meaning, what we as adoptive parents are all about is what the birth mother is comfortable with and vice versa. Once the bith mother selects you from your profile, you either meet in person or have a confidential phone conference. From there are decision is made if the match is right for everyone involved. Typically, you are matched with a birth mother in her 5th-8th month of pregnancy. However, there are some instances where a baby can be born at a hospital and you have to go immediately. A birth mother can live in any of the 50 states.
6. Once there is a match the level of contact with the birth mother will be up to us and her. We hope she will be open to weekly calls and allow us the opportunity to be present for the delivery. This varies by state but we should be able to take custody of the baby 72 hours after his or her birth. Then typically we would have to remain in that state for about a week before bringing our little bundle home.
7. The wait for a match could be anywhere from 3-18 months with most families matching within 12 months. If all goes smoothly, we expect to have our baby home sometime early to mid next year.
Stay tuned for updates! Once our profile is finished and we are ready to be shown to birth mothers, we PRAY and HOPE for a perfect match! Our sweet son or daughter may even be waiting for us now! It warms my heart just thinking about the whole process. Adoption is our blessing and we are so grateful to be able to take this journey once more. . .
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