Room for More, Part 2

People have been asking all sorts of questions about our upcoming adoption.  I am so excited about that.  One of our prayers, is that others will want to adopt because of our experience.  So I thought the  easiest way to answer them all would be in a questions and answer format.  So here we go:

1. Domestic or International?
 
Domestic

2. Boy or Girl?

Our house has loads of estrogen so we are looking at adding some testosterone into the family.  We         are so excited to add a little boy or boys to our family.  Yes, we are boldly praying for twin boys.

3. What agency are you going through?

We signed a contract with Faithful Adoption Consultants in Georgia.  We have friends who have used them and had wonderful experiences, so we were very excited when they accepted us.  We have loved everyone that we have talked with at FAC so far.  The neat thing about their agency is that everyone who works there has adopted at least once, many multiple times.  They know what it's like to be in our shoes.  They also fervently pray for their waiting families.  I love knowing we are being covered in prayer.   If you aren't familiar with a consultant agency let me explain.  FAC works with about 75 or more adoption agencies all over the country.  Going through a consultant agency helps speed up the process because they work with so many agencies.  Most of the agencies they work with have a relinquishment period of 24-72 hours.  More than likely we will travel out of state to pick up our son(s).   FAC's average waiting period is 4 months.  They've never had a couple wait longer than 10 months.  Some couples go live and within the week get the call the baby is on the way.  This is exciting and terrifying all at the same time.  So, as you can imagine I am trying to finish paperwork, decorate a nursery and now start homeschooling on top of it all.  It's a crazy time, but my heart could burst from all the excitement and anticipation.

4. Who did you home study?

Joanne Zambo at Adoption Promises in Smyrna did our home study.  She rocked!  I can't recommend her enough.  Not only was she the least expensive, she was able to get it done in 3 weeks. That's crazy fast.  She also only required 2 visits instead of 3.

5. So where are you in the process?

So we have signed on with FAC and are compiling all the paperwork they need.  Y'all I am not joking when I say that I have over 100 pages of agency applications to fill out.  Plus we are working on our birth mom book.  This is the most important piece of the whole process.  So thankful I have an awesome husband to help out with everything.  He has taken over the book as his project and I couldn't be more thrilled.  We are blessed to have a friend who is going to make it look pretty.  He's a graphic designer so this is a no brainer for him and y'all he's good.  I can't wait to see the final result.  By doing it ourselves we are saving around $750.  If you have adopted, you know that the average cost is about $40,000 so anyway we can save money, we will do it.

I think that answers most of the questions.  Thank you for being excited for us.  We covet your prayers for us and the birth family.  Adoption is a beautiful journey, but not one without pain and heartache.  I love this quote by Judy Landers.  Even though we don't know our birthmother yet, we pray for her daily.  She is already a hero in our eyes.