Second Lifeline Interview

In keeping with this journey, I thought I would post that I am having my individual interview with our social worker today at 10am!  Sometimes this adoption journey is like sitting in traffic....stop...go,go,go...stop...go...stop..wait, red light...go...stop.  It seems like we may never reach our sweet little one but we just keep praying and chugging right along.

Exams and More Paperwork today

I haven't been able to write in a little while.  I was down and out with some kind of nasty cold.  Both We and the I had it at the same time!  Yuck! I always brag about not ever getting sick and having a strong immune system because I am exposed to coughing, sneezing, and the like all day, every day at the pharmacy.  I guess I spoke too soon!  It is funny to think about my personal beliefs about taking medication for such colds.  I didn't take anything at all and I came through it just fine.  I just tried to get plenty of rest, drink lots of water and drink hot honey-lemon tea at night.  This, to me, is the way to shake a cold.  There is something to be said about remedies that have worked for thousands of years!  Most people, when they ask me for advice on treating certain ailments, are shocked when I give them the "no-drug needed"answer.  It is as if being a pharmacist somehow entitles me to always be of the "pro-drug" type.  I am not.  Anyway, I went way off topic here.  Wes and I went for our physicals today and had lots of bloodwork completed.  We were delighted when we found a doctor in town that not only had a notary public on staff but also has a strong heart for adoption.  We talked for thirty minutes about how he and his wife struggled with infertility and strongly considered adoption.  They eventually were pregnant with twins after IVF! He knows how it feels to come full circle!  That was such a awesome thing for me this morning!  I just keep running into people just like our doctor along this adoption path!  I feel His presence all around me!  So, I am off to tackle some more paperwork while sip a hot cup of Ethiopian coffee (if you haven't tried it and you are a coffee drinker...I strongly suggest it!  Wes and I find it to be our favorite type of coffee!  No more French roast for us!) Thank you Lord for your mighty good works and for bringing something so wonderful out of something so seemingly painful!

First Home Study Meeting!

Well, today marks the first day of our homestudy interviews!  I hope it goes well.  I felt myself getting a little nervous and then just sent up a prayer.  God knows His plan for us and He will work everything out according to that plan! 

Adoption Paperwork Part 1

Well, we mailed our official letter of agreement to AWAA on Saturday!  What a huge step!  We are waiting to hear back from AWAA and Lifeline to start our homestudy.  Let the fun (and the not so fun) begin! 

Lots left to learn...

My prayer is simply to learn as much as possible.  I want to appraoch adoption with as much preparation as possible.  Perhaps, I am too overly anxious to get this "show on the road," so to speak.  It is difficult to play the waiting game and to wonder about what step in the process you will be next.  I am trying o find ways to keep myself busy.  It is not working! 

Doors Close and Doors Open...

Again, I started this blog as an attempt to plug into this strong community of other adoptive families.  We deeply desire to be as connected as possible to others who have walked this incredible and often overwhelming road before us.  I am constantly thinking about the process of adoption.  I am overwhelmed with emotion this morning as I think about all the doors that are now opened and all the doors that were closed to bring us to this place.  I have this intense reflective sense as I think back to the journey that brought us here.  Wow, it has truly been a journey!  God has softened my heart in ways I never knew possible.  HE has truly worked on every aspect of my life.  I am very aware of the fact that my life is not in my own hands.  Adoption will be another journey.  Adoption will open and close many more doors.  We richly believe God will lead, guide, and direct our paths and we are surrendered to the work of His mighty hand.

Adoption

We filled out our application today for America World Adoption!  We have a few finishing touches to make and will be sending it off this week (we hope!).  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17)