Introducing: Paper Baby #2

We'd like to introduce everyone to Paper Baby #2 who will be delivered tomorrow to our domestic adoption agency, Generations Adoptions, in Waco!  Paper Baby #2 is considerably lighter and lower maintenance than our international adoption Paper Baby!  The documents are so much easier this time around since nothing has to be notarized or authenticated by the Secretary of State!

We began to think and pray about our next adoption in January.  I began to research agencies and made a 'short list' of agencies to consider.  We wanted a Texas-based Christian agency that placed a strong focus on ministering to birth mothers and also had a set fee schedule.  Bryan and I had lots of discussion and prayer before choosing to work with Generations, the local agency that did our home study for Caleb's adoption.

We met with Generations in late May for a 3-hour orientation.  The morning before we left to go to the training our friends Nathan & Kristen came to our house to pray over us and pray for the decisions we had ahead of us.  Most of all, we all prayed that God would give us peace and confirmation that this was the right agency to work with.  He truly answered our prayers with that initial meeting!  We love the director and can see that she loves the Lord and seeks to glorify Him in how she runs the agency.  We loved the way she emphasized that God was in control of the growth of our family and they were there to facilitate.

One thing that was truly unexpected about our initial meeting was how our hearts were changed in regards to open adoption.  The term 'open adoption' has scared us in the past and we were not sure we wanted to pursue that type of arrangement.  We came to realize through our agency meeting and also through plenty of discussion that we want to trust God to put us in the right birthparent situation.  We truly believe that He already knows who our next child will be, and that if we make our adoption decisions prayerfully He will be present every step of the way.  While we will still be able to place some parameters around what we are comfortable with, it is likely that we will meet and have contact with our next child's birthparents.  In most cases, this means sending annual letters and pictures (something we already do for Caleb) and a visit once a year.  Are we nervous about this?  Absolutely.  Do we trust our agency and more importantly, God, to help us through it?  Definitely.  We realize that this next adoption may not be without heartache, just as our journey to Caleb was not always smooth.  We trust that God ultimately has good plans for our lives and that He will use this experience to teach us more about who He is.

We are both currently reading a book about open adoption called "Dear Birthmother".  It has been an excellent read so far and has really opened our eyes to the other side of the adoption story.  We have begun to think not just of our fears and concerns but of the birthmother's concerns as well.  We are praying for the emotional, physical and spiritual well-being of our next child's birthmother.  Thinking of her has made me grieve for Caleb's birthmother, especially knowing that she likely had no counseling or support in her decision and that she also probably does not know how he is doing.  I wish there was a way for us to let her know what an incredible little boy he is and how much joy he brings to us.

I have been working for the past couple of weeks on Paper Baby #2.  We were thrilled to hear that our agency would re-use several of our documents from the international home study they did for us in 2008, including all of our references.  It saved me a great deal of extra work!  I have about 90% of the remaining documents completed and will deliver them to Waco tomorrow morning.  We will attend a 6-hour training on July 24 that will educate us on domestic open adoption which is very different from the international closed adoption we did with Caleb.  Our home study will be the following Monday, July 26 and then we'll begin the waiting game after our home study is finalized mid-August!

We've been told the average wait for our agency is 9 months, but could be as short as a few weeks or as long as 2 years.  We are open to a child of any race so that may shorten our wait time since many families only desire to adopt Caucasian children.  Our agency primarily facilitates the adoption of newborn babies, so we are glad we will get to experience all the joys (and challenges!) of a brand new baby.  We are so excited to see what God has in store for us as we grow our family!  We covet your prayers as we begin this big step in our lives, and pray that in the coming months we will have joyful news to share of a new little Pickett!