I will be sharing some posts on our adoption that I have been writing over the past 6 months. This post was written on January 23, 2012.

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When my husband and I finally realized that we were ready to start the adoption process…we had no idea where to turn. Honestly, we were clueless.

Some of our old neighbors have been going through the adoption process since 2006 and they just recently got their “referral”!!

*And yes, I had to google what “referral” meant because I had no idea.

In case you don’t know either…

Referral = Child

Luckily since they have already been through the beginning stages of the adoption process she was able to point me in the right direction. She referred me to Lutheran Social Services of  Illinois, a company who offers adoption services and can match you with an adoption agency.

She is also a part of a few different adoption forums and was able to ask them a few questions on my behalf. I will say this…if the response time in the forums was any reflection of the actual adoption process…we would have our child tomorrow. Unfortunately, I think it is opposite. Hence why my friend has been waiting since 2006.  One thing was certain after the interaction in the forums…the adoption community is OUTSTANDING! And for that, I was hopeful!

The first step

Today {January 23, 2012} I placed my first call to inquire about the adoption process. It seems like a LONG time coming. I have prayed about this for so many days that it almost seemed as if it would continue to just be a prayer. But, after clearly feeling like God was leading me in the right direction, I put my fears aside, and dialed the number to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.

The girl who answered probably wondered if I was a lunatic. When she answered I was nervous. I had no idea WHAT to even ask. I felt like I needed to hire someone to prep me on how to inquire about adopting!

After stumbling over my words for the first few sentences, I finally got it out. Here are the questions I mumbled ask (in case you need some guidance):

1. My husband and I are interested in adopting and we have no idea where to begin. I was referred to your company by a friend and was wondering if you could possibly lead me in the right direction.

2. I know that you are not an adoption agency, but offer adoption services. What exactly does that mean? How do I find an adoption agency?

The nice lady on the other end kindly (did not laugh at me) told me that she would be happy to send me a packet of information about their company. Their services include:

• Preparation, training and licensing (if required) for prospective adoptive parents
• Pre- and post-adoption support groups
• Home studies
• Adoption placement (domestic adoption)
• Assistance with U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (international adoption)
• Information on international travel and how to choose an international agency (international adoption)
• Post- adoption support services and post-placement/adoption services as required for the placing agency (international adoptio

Basically, she told me that they work with different adoption agencies and she could send me the list of who they have relationships with. Although, she did tell me that if I had a specific agency in mind and it wasn’t on the list that they can work with any adoption agency.

Ha! Specific agency in mind? I don’t even know the name of ANY agency, let alone a specific one.

So, we hung up. And I waited for the packet to arrive in the mail. I felt like this was the first “wait” of many waiting periods to come!

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I have been feeling very frustrated with some things regarding our adoption these last few days. It has been taking longer than I had hoped to complete our home study {full post on that coming soon}.

But, remember when I shared this picture of my new “peace” t-shirt that I ordered from Shannon’s {from Life After I Dew} friend? I wore it to church yesterday (and yes our church is VERY casual). 

I was giggling to my husband when I looked at the topic of the teaching….

…God sure is funny like that isn’t He. I felt like I dressed for the theme! Ha!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 4-7