Adoption Entry 1

As it turns out, my husband and I are not just talk. We are nearly finished with our pre-application paperwork with the Volunteers of America adoption program! In fact, the only hold up is a current family picture, which we plan on taking tonight. My goal is to mail out the info on Monday. We had to fill in all sorts of information about us, our children, our house, our parents, and our siblings. We also had to go through a checklist they call the "Comfort Level Assessment" on which they listed everything from drug use to letting the birthmother know our whole names. It really makes you think when you are presented with a checklist for your ideal child. Part of me thinks that you take what you get because that's what happened when we had our three children naturally. On the other hand, I would have given a lot when I was pregnant for a guarantee that my unborn baby was healthy. It has taken us almost a month to fill that form out, but I think we're finally ready to commit to our choices.

The next step involves the VOA deciding that we meet their criteria for adoptive parents. If we do, then I believe we will schedule an interview with the adoption coordinator to discuss our Comfort Levels in more detail. After that, we go through a homestudy with a social worker. Once we are approved by the SW, then we wait. We will probably have to submit a "Dear Birthmother" letter for pregnant women to pursue while searching for the best family to entrust their babies to. How in the world do you write that letter?

We aren't limiting our search to babies of any specific race, and from previous inquiries into this area, I have deduced that the wait might not be that long once we are approved. They warn you that it could take two years, though. As I am still nursing Grace and hope to nurse the new baby too, I hope things move fairly quickly once we start the ball rolling.