Monday, December 8, 2008
We Are Doing It
I think we have made a decision ... we are going to start the adoption process in January. It will be my full-time job for awhile, I know. I will need all the support I can get, so please help me walk through this. We are ready to stop feeling sad and sorry for ourselves and do something that will bring HOPE to our family. Thank you for the help and advice from my last post. I will keep you updated as things progress!!! We are hopeful that this is the road that will finally bring our next child home.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The Journey To Hope
I am calling this blog "The Journey to Hope" because two years ago, just after our daughter, Abigail, died at birth, we believe we were given the name "Hope" for our next child.
Tonight we took the first step in the next phase of our journey. After almost 2 years of trying to conceive another child, one of them spent pursuing expensive fertility treatments, two surgeries and a miscarriage, we have felt an urge to consider other options for expanding our family. Perhaps God is not allowing us to get (and stay) pregnant because he has another child for us? An adopted child? So now we are looking at adoption.
We had heard of Families Through International Adoption (FTIA) from a friend who also lost a child at birth. Conveniently, they have an office right here in Milford and offer monthly informational meetings for families considering adoption. We finally decided we were ready to attend one.
When we arrived, the meeting was just about to get started, so we quickly found a seat in the back where Benjamin's playing wouldn't interrupt the speaker or distract others from hearing the presentation. He sprawled himself on the floor with a small bag of toys and the speaker perused the room asking questions such as what country we were interested in, whether or not we would consider a special needs child, if we wanted a boy or a girl, etc. We had no idea at this point, so we simply answered that we were "wide open".
The presentation was very detailed and overwhelming. I had no idea how much time, paperwork and money was involved in the process. But when she began to talk about the different countries, their fees and the waiting period from start to finish, I realized that this was within our grasp and by this time next year, we could have our child at home with us! I began to get excited at the thought and felt drawn to the Russia program. Later Chad revealed that he felt drawn to that program as well. After she was done sharing all of the logistics, two adoptive families entered the room with their children and began sharing about their experiences.
One of the families had three biological sons and an adopted daughter from China. As I watched the boys with their baby sister, I could see how much they loved and adored her and began to think we could love and adore an adopted child just as much and how much love and joy a little girl would bring into our family. They shared about some of their struggles including their fear that they wouldn't be able to love an adopted child as much as their own biological children and how they realized their fear was completely irrational from the moment they laid eyes on their new daughter.
Benjamin interacted with all of the children and enjoyed the time we spent sharing and listening to their amazing stories. Excitement began to build within me as this family shared about their trip to China and the incredible journey they experienced as a family to bring this precious child home. Now we are faced with a decision. Is adoption for us? Is adoption what God wants for us? When and how should we get started? How will we get the money? Is FTIA the right agency for us? Much to pray about.
So we are praying and waiting until the first of the year, hoping to hear from God and looking forward to the day when we will finally bring home our "Hope."
Please click on "newer post" below to view the next entry in our blog or click "home" to return to the main page.
For more of our story, please visit our daughter, Abigail's memorial website: www.abigail-werner.memory-of.com
Tonight we took the first step in the next phase of our journey. After almost 2 years of trying to conceive another child, one of them spent pursuing expensive fertility treatments, two surgeries and a miscarriage, we have felt an urge to consider other options for expanding our family. Perhaps God is not allowing us to get (and stay) pregnant because he has another child for us? An adopted child? So now we are looking at adoption.
We had heard of Families Through International Adoption (FTIA) from a friend who also lost a child at birth. Conveniently, they have an office right here in Milford and offer monthly informational meetings for families considering adoption. We finally decided we were ready to attend one.
When we arrived, the meeting was just about to get started, so we quickly found a seat in the back where Benjamin's playing wouldn't interrupt the speaker or distract others from hearing the presentation. He sprawled himself on the floor with a small bag of toys and the speaker perused the room asking questions such as what country we were interested in, whether or not we would consider a special needs child, if we wanted a boy or a girl, etc. We had no idea at this point, so we simply answered that we were "wide open".
The presentation was very detailed and overwhelming. I had no idea how much time, paperwork and money was involved in the process. But when she began to talk about the different countries, their fees and the waiting period from start to finish, I realized that this was within our grasp and by this time next year, we could have our child at home with us! I began to get excited at the thought and felt drawn to the Russia program. Later Chad revealed that he felt drawn to that program as well. After she was done sharing all of the logistics, two adoptive families entered the room with their children and began sharing about their experiences.
One of the families had three biological sons and an adopted daughter from China. As I watched the boys with their baby sister, I could see how much they loved and adored her and began to think we could love and adore an adopted child just as much and how much love and joy a little girl would bring into our family. They shared about some of their struggles including their fear that they wouldn't be able to love an adopted child as much as their own biological children and how they realized their fear was completely irrational from the moment they laid eyes on their new daughter.
Benjamin interacted with all of the children and enjoyed the time we spent sharing and listening to their amazing stories. Excitement began to build within me as this family shared about their trip to China and the incredible journey they experienced as a family to bring this precious child home. Now we are faced with a decision. Is adoption for us? Is adoption what God wants for us? When and how should we get started? How will we get the money? Is FTIA the right agency for us? Much to pray about.
So we are praying and waiting until the first of the year, hoping to hear from God and looking forward to the day when we will finally bring home our "Hope."
Please click on "newer post" below to view the next entry in our blog or click "home" to return to the main page.
For more of our story, please visit our daughter, Abigail's memorial website: www.abigail-werner.memory-of.com
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