One step at at a time...

I can't believe we're already done with classes!  These past couple weeks went by so quickly.  I learned a TON about the foster care system, ways to handle behaviors, and got to brush up on my CPR/First aid.  I was already certified in infant and child CPR, but had to take the adult part (even though the procedure is essentially the same).  Either way, we are FINISHED with this part of the process!  I got an email yesterday from Jamie Green at Covenant Kids asking us if we were done with classes, and if so, we could get started on our home study.

HOLY CANOLI'S - Are we really that close?!

When Ray and I first decided on foster to adopt, we were open to "six months to three years old" of "Hispanic or Caucasian" ethnicity.  We admitted to each other today that we were both SO convicted during the classes on age and ethnicity.  Quite frankly, our choices were based on selfishness; we didn't want to be put out of place or feel uncomfortable.

What were we thinking? It's crazy to think that we, three-times-a-week church goers, would think such a thing about a child! Micah is the only white kid in a predominantly black daycare for crying out loud! So ridiculous and YES - very selfish.  We didn't expect to feel so convicted by the classes, but we definitely were.

SO...with that being said, we've widened our desires to 0-5, any ethnicity or gender.  We are also open to accepting a sibling group of two.  It's completely possible that I could wake up one day with my Micah - and the next day be a mom of three! I truly feel that we'll have children in our home by Christmas.  I have no factual basis to go along with that - but since we made the decision to go ahead and take classes in September (instead of February) back on 8-24-13, I've had a sense of urgency in my heart about everything.  And everything has rightly fallen into place too!

I still can't believe that I'm going to be a mom again.  And not just a mom....but a FOSTER mom to children who desperately need nurturing and care.  Ray and I may be the first people to take those children to church.  We may be the first people to read to them.  We may be the first people to pray with them.  We may be the only Jesus that they and their parents ever see.  This is a ministry.  This is a calling.  Something so profound and so life-changing that we never would have placed ourselves here.

I told my story about infertility in an earlier post.  I've come to realize that with every revelation, some form of heartache or heartbreak has to occur.  Whether it's the death of a loved one, or the death of a dream.  God had to break my heart to change it.  God brought me to a place where I had no where to turn but to Him.  I had to bury my dreams of having a second child biologically.  I had to place my hands in my Eternal Father - the Maker of the heavens - and give Him my dreams instead.

One thing that Ray and I have been so blessed by is how we seem to see adoption everywhere now.  We watched the movie The Odd Life of Timothy Green the other day.  The first part of the movie where they bury the dreams of their child made me cry.  That's what every struggling couple or woman essentially does when conception doesn't happen.  I consider Timothy the little glimmer of hope that God gives every person when we lay our dreams down at His feet.  And at the end of that hope - the end of my hope - is a child (or children!)  A sweet little boy or girl that is waiting for a forever family.  God has that child - those children - for us.

I want to be completely open and candid with every part of this process.  I know that so many people have questions that they will never seek answers for.  One of the biggest questions I had was finances.  When we first started considering adoption, we thought it was "way too expensive" for us and that we would have to save money for months in order to make it happen.  When I started doing my research and YES, asking lots of questions, I realized it wasn't impossible.  Foster to adoption isn't crazy expensive.  The things we've had to purchase are really just things that every home with children should have anyways - a diaper pail with lid (I just used an open trash can up until now), a fire extinguisher, baby locks for cabinets, locking storage for firearms, first aid kit, etc. etc.  Nothing seems outlandish or makes me say, "that's crazy!" The paperwork is the same way.  Yes, there is a LOT of it (about 20+ forms), but I was able to complete the majority of it within a day.  And all of it seems to make sense for any family!

Our agency has also been great too!  Ray and I got physicals done yesterday and our doctor told us that he had "heard great things about Covenant Kids."  Come to find out too that him and his wife actually started the process, but were told to wait another year.  I couldn't believe that my doctor had actually been familiar with Covenant Kids! Which also means my doctor is a Christian, and that's awesome too! :)

There's just no way that I could possibly write everything down.  I am fueled with motivation and eagerness to get everything done.  With that said - DON'T HESITATE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS! Whether it's from me or another foster mom you know - don't let fear keep you from getting your questions answered.

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." Romans 5:3-5