November Update

'Tis the season to be jolly, I guess! We received our monthly update from Angel this weekend, and our profile went out 35 times to potential birthmothers. Yowza! I can't help but hold on to the thought that we could be parents before Christmas or New Years. I am praying so consistently to make this dream come true; while accepting whatever God has planned is what's best for us. I have joy in my heart this Holiday Season. I know our baby will find us soon. Happy Holidays to you and yours. Don't take for granted the lovely families that you have today.


xoxo,
Anne & Jim

October Update

This morning we received our monthly update from Angel. In the month of October, our profile was viewed 132 online, and went out a WHOPPING 21 times to potential birthmothers. Wow. That's a lot! I have to keep reminding Jim and myself that we just have to trust the process. Yes, the journey hasn't been easy. But we are blessed in so many ways. We plan to continue to enjoy the life we have today - not focus on the life we hope to have in the future. All we ask is that you continue to keep us in your prayers, and don't hesitate to spread the word, our blog, our email, etc., with anyone you think may have a connection.
Have a great weekend and God bless!

May Check-In

Good morning!


April showers bring May flowers and we got a bouquet yesterday - we received our monthly update from Angel, our profile went out 12 times last month!!! That's amazing! The typically number is 3-6. And our website profile was viewed over 400 times. Good things are on the horizon, we can feel it. We are putting all of our positive energy out in the universe and we invite you to do the same.

Time to share again!

Can I ask that if you came to our blog today, that you share this with someone? Below is the link to our adoption profile. What about an email to friends and family to let them know you have a connection to someone hoping to adopt? Maybe someone in your Book Club has a connection you are unaware of? Share our profile with a brief description of how you know us on Facebook. Church groups are an excellent way to spread the word and create connections and support!


http://www.angeladoptioninc.com/adoption-family/profile/jim-anne/


Thank you in advance.


xoxo,
Anne & Jim

Thanks for sharing

Our Angel Adoption profile has been shared 23 times on Facebook. We appreciate all of the "likes" and "loves". We are so very grateful for your continued love and support. All of your texts, emails, and prayers keep us strong and hopeful. Keep doing what you're doing! Share this blog , Share our adoption profile , Share our story. We've got a feeling that with your help, 2016 is the year!

We are live!

As of this afternoon, our profile is live! This means that if there are expectant mothers that meet our criteria, and are due in November or later, they will receive our profile. Oh, my goodness, I can't explain how exciting and nerve-wracking this is... It's hard not to get our hopes up that this could happen quickly for us. When Jim and I started dating, we referred to ourselves as "The Lucky Ones". Unfortunately, we haven't referenced that in a long time. Oh, I want so badly for us to feel "lucky" again.
Please keep us in your prayers.

The word is out!

So we started this blog about two weeks ago (for therapeutic reasons and for informational purposes), but today is the day someone other than us will read it - Welcome! 

We spent the weekend in Austin, spending our time with Anne's friend Ashely and Jim's sister Julia. We waited to share our exciting news via email until we could have some face time with these peeps. It's exciting to share the news, get joyful reactions, and educate people on the process. And now we're excited to share the news with all of you!

We received an email from Angel while we were vacationing that they received our profile. They will review our packet and within 1-2 weeks our profile will be sent out! So exciting. Because our home study is not yet complete, our profile will only be shared with expectant mothers with a due date later than our expected home study completion (after October, most likely). 

Homework Packet(s)

Yesterday, we were assigned a social worker in Springfield & we scheduled our first in-office visit for September 14th. She sent us our "Homework Packets". Both are 15 pages each, but good news for us, 6 of those pages get sent to our friends for reference letters. Whew! Some of the pages include things like a Fire Evacuation Plan - Now, this is my kind of paperwork! I'm glad we have to do things like this, Ha-ha. (Jim is rolling his eyes.) Question #2) If you reside in a two story home and your children's bedrooms are on the upper level what are the means of escape in case the children cannot exit down the stairs? Escape ladder here we come! Or better yet, maybe we can install a slide so we can get Lilly and Leonard out easier, too. All joking aside, I really am glad we have to do things like this. It may seem a little overboard right now, but I am all about safety and planning. A safe home is a happy home. :)

Details

So…what are the details??? A lot of you are probably wondering the same things - so here's a few more details:

 Jim and I have signed a contract with a company out of Illinois that deals with infant adoption only. Technically, they are a marketing agency – not a licensed adoption agency. They work through Lutheran Child Family Services as their licensed agent. Why did we choose them? A) Cost. It’s about 1/3 the price of a large agency, B) It’s a small program, they only accept 6-8 families a month and they have a 98% placement rate under 24 months! Which is AWESOME. We also found this company through friends of friends that have adopted or that are in the program along with us.

 How does this work? Jim and I have filled out a profile that includes information about us, our family, our home, our pets, etc. We sent several pictures (probably some that include you), filled out questions such as adoption arrangement, and other factors. All of this information was compiled into our adoption profile. This profile is sent out to expectant mothers nationwide that are considering adoption. If they are interested in us, they let the company know, and they put us in touch. We talk on the phone, skype, meet, whatever it takes. This part of the process is called “Connected”. If the birthmother chooses us (which she will, because we are awesome), then we are “Matched”. And that’s the exciting part!!. Typically, a lawyer is hired in the state of the birthmother about 1-2 months before the expected due date. Some mothers stay in touch throughout pregnancy, some get a little distant. It’s a game of hope and patience. We wait for the call that she is in labor and we drive or fly to wherever she may be. Then 3-14 days later, once the paperwork is complete, we come home with our baby.

 Jim and I are open to any race and any gender.

 We are also open to the expectant mothers adoption arrangement preference: Open – annual visits, Semi-Open – letters and pictures, or Closed – no contact. We have mixed emotions about all of the scenarios. But most of all, we want what is best for our child; an arrangement that offers them the most answers and peace.

 What is the timeframe? The average wait is 12-16 months. Could be shorter, could be longer.

Xoxo,

Anne & Jim