
Now that we have been home over six months, we are getting asked more often if and when we will be adopting again.
As you may recall, when we started the process to adopt from Ghana, we planned to adopt a brother and sister. This was actually TR's idea as when he told me that he also wanted to adopt, he added that he wanted to adopt two children which I was thrilled about. So now that Selina is home... are we still planning on adopting again??
YES! YES! YES! Even on our worst, craziest and most chaotic days, in the middle of it all- if you ask me if I want one more- the answer is YES! TR on the other hand says to ask him when they are sleeping tonight- JK. We are now both ready to start the process again.
So, we are planning to add to our family by adopting a boy. We are thinking that he would be between Kman and Cater (5-8) although we know that sometimes our plan is not what is meant to be and so we are keeping our options open.
We know our son is in Ghana. What we do not know for sure is where he is. I really feel this time that I will have an idea of who our son is before starting the process. I think we may end up adopting a child that is waiting. For this reason, I don't know exactly how this adoption will happen. It may be from the agency we adopted Selina from (AAI), another agency or an independent adoption. I think that we will hear about our son or find him ourself and that is who we will adopt.
For this reason, I am putting out there what our plan is- maybe you know who our son is??LOL We are starting our homestudy and to work out the finances of this adoption. Like many people our financial situation is affected by the economy and so we have to adjust. We have faith that it will all work out.
It has been interesting so far as I did check into some other adoption options as there are more out there now than when we started the process with Selina. I wanted to keep an open mind. I had one contact that may have worked but then some things happened (or did not happen) to let me know that it is not meant to be. At the same time I learned that there may end up being a child through AAI who will not have a referral once he is referral ready. When we adopted Selina, their program was smaller and still in the pilot phase so there were never really any children waiting to be referred. So it looks like it just may work out to adopt through them again- time will tell...
Are we nervous about the thought of adding an older boy to our family? Definitely... We feel this will probably be harder than our adoption with Selina as she has been so incredibly easy so far. We now know that this adoption will probably be hard on Cater initially like the adoption of Selina was. We are sure that Selina will have difficulties with this too.
We do believe though that it will all work out and we will know when we find our son. I think that if anything, going through this process and bringing Selina home has only shown us how wonderful adoption can be. We did not know what to expect and truly prepared for the worst. Instead, adding Selina to our family has been far easier and more natural than we ever expected.
It is so amazing that you can give birth to two children and love them more than anything else in the world. Then you can travel to a foreign country and meet a child that is already yours on paper and just fall so in love with her- a love that is no different than the love you have for the children you gave birth to. We are so blessed.
So there you have it, we are about to embark on another year of so of hurrying, waiting, laughing, crying and praying. We are so excited (and of course a little nervous) to see what this year has in store for us because we now know that in the end, it is so worth it!!!
8 comments:
Congratulations Jennine- your post today seems like a big door has opened and I can't wait to hear about how your son comes to you! What an exciting journey to be starting. :)
One thing I wish I had thought about a little more seriously is how off ages can be for a referral. For our family, it really is like we have 3 9-year olds instead of a 9 year old and 2 7-year olds like we thought, which I think has been a little tricky for them. I don't know what that is worth for you and your situation, but I think having them really not be the same age would be an easier adjustment. :)
I am very excited for you Jennine!
Fabu
Woo hoo! I am excited to see that the process is now official-now that you admitted it to the world! Maybe you should come with me next week to see if there are any waiting boys that you fall in love with! :) Why didn't I think of that earlier???
congratulations! Such a big decision. I can't wait to follow along through this process too. Good luck and I'll be praying for a smooth (and quick!) process.
blessings,
Emily
What cool news Jen! I can't wait to see how the process goes for you this time and who your kiddo will be. You spent so much time in Ghana for Selina's adoption, I think an independent adoption is quite reasonable. Always good to keep your options open!
How cool! Congrats! I love how God lays different things on all of our hearts like to cover the bases. Your heart is for Ghana, mine is for Ukraine.
You are AWESOME! THANK YOU :)
I can't wait to follow your journey, to see where your #4 will take you!
How EXCITING and AWESOME!!
A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS as you begin another "paperchase!"
BLESSINGS
MAria
Hi Jennine,
I ran across your blog today. Can you email me? sister_haiti@yahoo.com
THANKS!
Salem R.
www.sisterhaiti.wordpress.com
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