We're Adopting!

We're adopting- that's our way of proclaiming, "We're expecting!!!!... except that we don't know the exact date or age our child will be!"  I can only imagine the joy our friends and family have experienced when finding out they were pregnant, and then sharing that news with loved ones, or the anticipation they feel waiting for when the child is born.  Although I'm not pregnant, Ron and I are eager to share that same news with our family and friends.  And we will have very similar anticipation, anxiety, fears, hopes and dreams over the next few months (or even years) while we experience the adoption process.  We did not find out we were "expecting" from a pregnancy test or missed period.  Instead, our process began over 2 years ago when we had in-depth conversations about what our future family will be and the children we will have.  We knew when we decided that we would adopt.  Since then, we have conducted hundreds of hours of research regarding adopting, discussing the process with numerous adoption agencies, and talking to families who have recently adopted.  Almost 10 days ago, Ron and I made the first and most important step: we finalized our adoption agency and filled out our first official application form!  We have been accepted into the system and are well on our way to receive our future children!  

We decided to begin this blog as a way to document our adventure with adopting.  To many family and friends, adoption is foreign or something they are not very familiar with.  We hope that this blog is educational for them and will further encourage their joy and excitement for our pending arrivals.  We also want to share our story with those considering adoptions.  There are many factors to consider and the process seems so daunting on the surface.  We hope that this blog serves as an inspiration and reassuring guide to those following our footsteps.  Finally, we hope that this is a way to document our adventure for our future children.  We want them to know that although they may not even be born yet (or they may be waiting in an orphanage across the globe), Ron and I already love them unconditionally and we CANNOT wait to bring them home to open arms and loving hearts!

And so this adventure begins...