Training/Exciting News

Adoption training was a wonderful way to cram as much information as possible into your head in two days! It was intense, emotional and completely overwhelming in the best way possible. I have a strong desire to pass on information we learned in our classes, but I don’t want to overwhelm you! I will write periodically about different subjects and prayerfully we can all learn together about how wonderful it is to adopt.

Here we are about to leave for training!

Just to give an idea of what we learned last weekend here is a brief description of our experience.

Dakota and I were so nervous pulling into the parking lot of our training! Meeting new people and knowing how important the information is, was a lot of pressure. Once we were in the classroom we realized again how perfect this adoption agency is for us. These people are so lovable!. We truly enjoyed listening to them talk and talk and talk and talk about adoption! J They had so many fantastic things to say. One of the first things Dakota did was eat…he was nervous. Eating made him calm, therefore, that boy ate for two days! Donuts, chips, cookies, barbecue, even peppermints went straight to his plate. He couldn't stop! It was completely adorable in a strange way. I just love how his heart is all in! We received a HUGE notebook filled with information and places to take notes.  My coping mechanism was taking notes. I have no idea what most of my notes say, but it kept me calm and focused. J

Have you ever wondered about the history of adoption? How about what it feels like to be a birth parent? Did you know there are right and wrong terms in regards to adoption? These are just a few examples of things we reviewed. We also went over subjects like grief/loss, the legal process, trans-racial adoption and what it will be like once our child is home. I am so excited to dive further into these subjects at a later time and just share our hearts with you. The very best part of this weekend was listening to the panels of people who have gone before us. On Saturday we had a couple share there story (which was so similar to Dakota and my story that we were both in tears).  It was so touching to see a couple that is now a family of four. Another best part of the weekend was meeting birth-mothers. We met four amazing birth moms who shared with us the struggles they went through and how adoption influenced their lives forever. Meeting them and learning there story has completely changed me. These woman are courageous and make the hardest decision of their lives out of selflessness and courage. We also had a panel of adoptive parents. They gave words of wisdom and challenged us to keep moving forward. Adoption is a roller coaster filled with twists and turns that we don’t share with everybody. It can be hard, but the reward at the end is priceless. We are so looking forward to the day God fulfills our hope for children. 

Here is some BIG NEWS-

On April 1, our adoption case worker contacted us and scheduled our first home study! Whoa. This just go so real! We are over the moon ready, excited and nervous to begin that process. When we thought about our home study process back in January, we NEVER imagined on April 13, 2015 we would be meeting for our first home study visit. We prayed to get everything complete by June 30, but the Lord is moving things in His perfect time. We are so grateful. We laugh because after the home study begins the dreaded wait period will be here….so we are really just racing to begin waiting. J

Fundraising update- We are now at the 46% mark on the fundraising meter! Yay! It is so encouraging to watch it grow and know that God is working miracles!