Status

Thought I should probably share where we are at in the adoption process because that IS an important aspect. :)

As we looked at all of our options for adoption, we met with a number of agencies. They all had positive points. Much of the decision hinged on whether we chose domestic or international adoption. Different agencies work with different countries, although all that we met with facilitated domestic adoption. Many of the social workers were not particularly encouraging about "older" parents adopting domestically. The "ideal" couple is between 25-35. This was something that consumed a lot of our time and energy throughout the decision making process. I'll share the whole story of our decision soon, but what it came down to in the end was if we (meaning I - Melanie) was trying to control the situation to ensure we found our child or if we trusted God at His word that He would bring our child to us. I have to say thanks to my friend Chris who gave me a reality check along the way. I needed that!

We have chosen Catholic Charities as the agency that we will work with. Becky, our social worker does not see our age as the barrier that others do and she has been an encouragement in that. I submitted our application last Wednesday. Now, Becky requests verification of infertility from my doctor. She has also requested a statement from our pastor regarding our faith and plans for raising our child in a Christian home (Thanks Pastor Mark!). After she gets those 2 items back, she'll be contacting us for next steps. And so the journey continues...