Adoption Beginnings
So, Nathan and I are going to adopt. Yes, I said it, adopt. There has been a recent change from "Nathan and I would like to adopt someday" to "we are going to adopt". I have so many thoughts running through my head these days that this post may end up in a jumbled mess, but we'll just see. We are in the very beginning baby stages of our journey toward adoption, but you have to start there before you can go any further.
It is so exciting and scary at the same time. I've heard others compare their process of adoption as similar to the feelings you have when you are pregnant with a biological child, and I feel that same way now. I feel like I did when I was pregnant with my first child, Ariana. While I was pregnant, I read everything about babies and pregnancy that I could get my hands on, I thought about it all the time and talked about it all the time. I feel as though I'm reacting the same way now, reading everything I can about adoption, researching as much as possible, thinking about it almost non-stop, and I haven't talked to a lot of people about it yet, but I talk to my husband about it all the time! The major difference is that this "pregnancy" is going to take a whole lot longer than 9 months.
As I said, we are only in the baby stages of this process. We have not yet decided where we will adopt from (whether domestic or international), what agency we will use, and so many other details. We have decided that we will most likely start the active process of adopting (home study, adoption application, etc.) about a year from now (unless God leads us to take this step sooner). We have also decided that it would be best for our family to adopt a child that is younger than our youngest, Eden (who just turned 1!). Other than that, the possibilities are endless (and sometimes overwhelming). I would like to invite you to join me on this journey of adoption and other life happenings in the Mayes family.
*If you have adopted a child, or are currently working on adoption, please leave a comment and let me know what agency you are using and what country you are adopting from.
It is so exciting and scary at the same time. I've heard others compare their process of adoption as similar to the feelings you have when you are pregnant with a biological child, and I feel that same way now. I feel like I did when I was pregnant with my first child, Ariana. While I was pregnant, I read everything about babies and pregnancy that I could get my hands on, I thought about it all the time and talked about it all the time. I feel as though I'm reacting the same way now, reading everything I can about adoption, researching as much as possible, thinking about it almost non-stop, and I haven't talked to a lot of people about it yet, but I talk to my husband about it all the time! The major difference is that this "pregnancy" is going to take a whole lot longer than 9 months.
As I said, we are only in the baby stages of this process. We have not yet decided where we will adopt from (whether domestic or international), what agency we will use, and so many other details. We have decided that we will most likely start the active process of adopting (home study, adoption application, etc.) about a year from now (unless God leads us to take this step sooner). We have also decided that it would be best for our family to adopt a child that is younger than our youngest, Eden (who just turned 1!). Other than that, the possibilities are endless (and sometimes overwhelming). I would like to invite you to join me on this journey of adoption and other life happenings in the Mayes family.
*If you have adopted a child, or are currently working on adoption, please leave a comment and let me know what agency you are using and what country you are adopting from.
Comments
Dale - Thank you so much for the encouraging words. It's so wonderful to hear these adoption stories and the way God moves in families time after time. We are praying the same for our family; that God would lead us to "our" child.