A Few More of the Photo Session.



Our little family...Hopefully to Expand Soon!



So Happy Together :-)






I love Mitch's face in this one...it's like yeah, she LOVES me!







Frugality...NEVER My Strong Point.

The Profile Picture.

Got the pictures back from Shianne for our profile.  They turned out great and we decided on the photo above to be the ultimate first impression.  Hope it conveys the idea that we are amazing and totally should be parents!  (Thinking I might zoom in just a smidge, hope that's cool Shianne!)  As we are moving into the more exciting and less challenging point of the process (expect for the waiting of course), I find myself wanting to do all of the things that other "expectant" mothers would like to do.  Things like checking into daycare options, choosing a pediatrician, and setting up a nursery.  Knowing that if I were actually pregnant this would already be done makes it difficult to take a few steps back and breathe.  Mitch keeps telling me to be money aware and not to do much baby stuff until school is out.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!  THAT MEANS HE IS MAKING ME WAIT A WHOLE MONTH AND A HALF!!  If you know much about me and my desire to get all things done that I am excited about in a timely manner, this is going to be a tough situation to endure ;-).  I guess I am going to have to just buckle down, quit looking at pinterest for baby ideas (oh good Lord there are so many!), and try to focus on other things in my life...maybe I will start working on that whole sewing thing.  No better time than the present I suppose.  Wish me luck and good thoughts sent my way for patience and spend-thrifty-ness.   I feel like I make a lot of words up in this whole process.  Also if any of you have ideas or suggestions on the previous topics please shout them out.  I am new at this whole thing and could use a few pointers when Mitch does set me loose!

Excited to have a potential bundle on the way, Ali 

Today Is The First of Many Big Days!!

So we have reached day one of official stress and worry (for me at least)...it is the Home Study Day!! As I tend to wig out at lots of things Mitch seems overall unscathed. I know things will be just fine, it's just traveling into the unknown that is a bit nerve-racking :-). She is going to be here at 2:00 and the process will get rolling. Hopefully I remembered everything. From the sound of it we will be active next month. Hip hip hooray, a baby may be quickly on its way!! Anywho off I go to continue to make sure our house looks just like somewhere The Brady Bunch might reside...Here's a story, of Mitch and Ali, who are waiting for a baby to call their own ;-)...

Our Personal Profile

Last week as I was vigorously typing away trying to finish our profile for the adoption agency I realized something fantastic. After all of the rough patches we've hit with starting a family, we have arrived. As I was typing and pouring our hearts out via Microsoft Word :-), it just started flowing out. I thought it would be difficult to put us to paper, but it was surprisingly easy. I guess when you reach a certain clarity with your situation the words to say come very naturally. So now that that chunk is finished, home study this weekend, pictures will be sent in next week and we will be on the books. Looks like April will be a great month for us , March was pretty fabulous. Things are looking up! Thanks God we needed a boost :-)

Ali

What Brings Us Here

We always knew that we wanted to be parents. There was never a doubt in our minds that we would make it happen. However the road to build our family has not been an easy one. It all started about five years ago when we had been married for about a year, we were moving home from college and ready to start the next phase in our lives, true blue adulthood. Having had issues in the past, we knew that it might be a bit of a challenge to get pregnant and so not long after the boxes were unpacked we went to see a fertility specialist to run some tests and get the ball rolling. Months went by and then years. Procedures were done and still no progress towards pregnancy. Since we like to have a plan for most things in our lives and like to be in the driver's seat it was very difficult to absorb the fact that there wasn't an explanation for not getting pregnant, it just wasn't happening. Nature just wasn't giving us a break.

After five years of disappointment and watching our friends and family expand around us with successful pregnancies, we decided to explore other options. In the back of our minds we had always thought about the adoption process but never had really looked into what it was all about. Then, after a final attempt at In Vitro Fertilization, and a devastating blow with yet again a negative result, we knew it must be God's way of telling us that we would create a family in a unique and special kind of way.

So that is what brings us here, to this point of our journey. We could not be more excited and eager to finally have the amazing opportunity to fulfill the dream we have had for many years to become parents. With the endless supply of love that we can provide a child, our years leading to this adoption process have really been the most blessed gift in disguise and for that we are thankful.

The Wheels are Set In Motion

So this week we successfully sent in our Adoption Planning Questionnaire, so huge and so important. This is the document where you outline completely what you are comfortable with in the adoption process. After lots of reading and lots of personal thought processing we came to mutual decisions and submitted. We have been assigned a lovely lady by the name of Lori to help us through the whole process which is reassuring and we will be working with her until baby time! After we successfully got that in the works our family profile became available. I am finding it difficult to put myself out there so vulnerable to the technological world. Why are we so great and so perfect? This will be a real thinker. I mean how often in your life, other than job interviews does one have to put their personal qualities up to bat for them. At least with a job interview it's a bit more specific than "tell us about how you would make an enduring and everlasting impression in the life of a child..." Ok so maybe it's not that hardcore but that is how I am tending to approach this beast. Wish us luck and at least I know this much:

Favorites:
Color-Green...

Oh and by the way, home study set up for March 24th, two weeks away!!

Thanks for yet again tuning in,

Ali

Cultural Genocide...

Yesterday when I was reading several articles about transracial adoption I kept seeing the term "cultural genocide". Basically what some social work professionals and psychologists are saying is that when a child of one cultural background is brought into another cultural background the parents of that child are killing that sense of identity. Personally I think that this is the most backward and old fashioned way to look at such a unique situation. Yes, do I think that there are going to be some blended differences as to what may have taken place in the birth parent home, as well as the idea that the child may have a more difficult time adjusting to their self identity. But looking at that would they not also be exposed to a huge variety of other cultures and points-of-view if the adoptive family feels the need for exposure? Will a child of adoption not have a much more difficult time to begin with trying to adjust to their feelings of self-identity? The answer yes, but I'd like to think that Mitch and I will be armed with the right tools to help put some of the differences in check. If a question were to arise, "Why am I different?", which at some point no doubt it will, we will be able to highlight the difference but then also talk about the many similarities that are present. Those of you that know me well enough know that I have always been unique in my own way, much as we all are, and I think that it will be a welcome challenge to bring to light all of the wonderful pieces we can put in the puzzle of self discovery. So I guess with my vent/rant I would like to tell all of those professionals who believe that transracial adoption is an irresponsible decision to look at the bigger picture, and realize that even though our skin may be the same color or our neighborhoods the same location, that does not mean it is in the best interest of a child. Love and understanding knows no specific culture. Whew! Ali

The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship

So from all of the websites and publications that have been flooding into our house we have continuely seen a good way to celebrate all of the "moments" that come with an adoption is to blog...here I am blogging :-). With little experience in this field we will be taking this journey together but we think it will be a valuable way to vent and document this Adoption Advuenture. Two weeks ago we attended an adoption seminar in Overland Park with American Adoptions. It went amazingly well and by the time we arrived home we knew it was the right choice for us. So needless to say, I got on the ball right away and by Monday our application was faxed. So far American Adoptions has been great with quick correspondence and positive feedback at every chance. We set up our home study for the first of April and now are going through a series of paperwork to get all of our ducks in a row. Having finished the 108 page adoption information packet I feel that we are pretty informed and very emotionally prepared for what's to come. The Adoption Planning Questionaire has been a challenge but through much discussion and again research we are only three questions away from the finish. Mitch has already seen the complete dedication in me with this whole adoption process and I think that he is going to know just as much as I do if not more by the time we are matched. We hope for a quick, yet compatible match and look forward to the time that we get to hold our baby for the first time. God is good and we trust that he will help us to get through whatever twists and turns may come. We are beyond blessed to have such an amazing support system between our families, friends and co-workers and could not get to this point without that in our lives. On the home front I am still up in the air about my employment for next year and hope to get that wrapped up within the week so my priorities will be so much more clear. This is our year, this is our time, and we cannot wait for what lies ahead. With SO much love, Ali 3-3-12 3:59 PM