Adoption paperwork has a bad rap. I've seen adoption announcements featuring couples barely visible under a mound of paper or pictures of storks carrying bundles of documents. Many adoption shirts make jokes about the paper cuts or being "paper pregs." But when both hopeful parents work as teachers and have the majority of the summer off, adoption paperwork is no big deal. Dustin and I tore through those stacks of paper and knocked out our many appointments in a matter of weeks. By the time school started again in the fall, we were officially an active waiting family with Faithful Adoption Consultants.
During our active waiting phase, our consultant sent us cases from agencies, and we read and prayed about each expectant mother before we answered with a "yes" or "no." A "yes" meant that we wanted the agency to present our profile book to the mother. A "no" meant that we did not wish to be considered for that case.
Dustin and I saw many cases during those first few days. I was still praying fervently for twins (you can read more about that in Part 1), but we put our "yes" on the table often, even though these mothers were due with only one baby each.
Just eleven days after we became active, Dustin walked into my classroom before lunch. He usually met me at the pavilion. Pleasantly surprised to see him, I wrapped up my lesson, but he didn't say anything. He just stood there. The bell rang, the kids exited the room, and then Dustin said, "~A~ chose us."
The agency had called him that morning. They had called me too, but I had thought the call was spam (whoops) and had ignored their voicemail. I quickly called them back to speak with the expectant mother's social worker. She repeated the happy news. ~A~ had chosen us to parent her baby boy, due on Christmas Eve. Our family would grow in just a few short months. I decided to make the news feel a little more real by relieving Target of their baby boy section, and Dustin and I immediately began adjustments to the nursery. This was really happening!
Read about our surprising turn of events in Part 4.
During our active waiting phase, our consultant sent us cases from agencies, and we read and prayed about each expectant mother before we answered with a "yes" or "no." A "yes" meant that we wanted the agency to present our profile book to the mother. A "no" meant that we did not wish to be considered for that case.
Dustin and I saw many cases during those first few days. I was still praying fervently for twins (you can read more about that in Part 1), but we put our "yes" on the table often, even though these mothers were due with only one baby each.
Just eleven days after we became active, Dustin walked into my classroom before lunch. He usually met me at the pavilion. Pleasantly surprised to see him, I wrapped up my lesson, but he didn't say anything. He just stood there. The bell rang, the kids exited the room, and then Dustin said, "~A~ chose us."
The agency had called him that morning. They had called me too, but I had thought the call was spam (whoops) and had ignored their voicemail. I quickly called them back to speak with the expectant mother's social worker. She repeated the happy news. ~A~ had chosen us to parent her baby boy, due on Christmas Eve. Our family would grow in just a few short months. I decided to make the news feel a little more real by relieving Target of their baby boy section, and Dustin and I immediately began adjustments to the nursery. This was really happening!
Read about our surprising turn of events in Part 4.
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