iPhone picture credit: JD Mason
Today is a little bit of a different post, because it's world adoption day and of course I have to celebrate! Nathan and I started the adoption process about 14 months ago - man, does time fly when you're waiting for a baby ;) Some of you know that we had our first little bit of excitement since officially joining the waiting list when our profile book was shown a couple weeks ago. Though the mom did not choose us (she may have chosen someone else or decided to parent), it gave a glimmer of hope on a very long journey.
World Adoption Day was actually first celebrated last year - on my sister's wedding day! With all the craziness of being both her photographer and maid of honor, I didn't get to add my voice to the mix of celebrating adoption, so I'm thrilled to be able to do that this year. I'm also thinking of ways I can incorporate the support of adoption in my business, and I have some fun ideas for my brides coming soon :)
In light of this celebration, here are some fun facts about our adoption journey...
- We attended our first 'adoption event' on September 16, 2014. It was a meeting at Bethany Christian Services that went over all the details of the adventure we were about to embark on. I was excited - Nathan may have been a little overwhelmed!
- Backing up, August was when Nathan first told me he was ready to begin the adoption process. He was traveling for work out of town and we were having a regular conversation while I went on a walk. I'll never forget where I was when he said "By the way, I'm ready." I had NO idea what he was talking about, and was shocked when he told me he was actually ready to begin the process. I hopped on Bethany's website IMMEDIATELY and began looking for our first steps!
- We finished ALL our paper work for the home study, including fingerprinting, doctor's visits, and mounds of questionnaires in two weeks flat. Our worker told us the average time of completion is two months. We get stuff done ;)
- Our first home study appointment was February 19, 5 days after I turned 24. At the meeting in September I learned the minimum age for domestic adoption was 23. Didn't know there was a limit before, but...I (barely) made it!
- Last Tuesday, November 3, we celebrated 6 months on the waiting list. And it really was a celebration. We have experienced so many great moments and so much love from friends and family it's been unbelievable. We are nothing but thankful!
So there you go. Happy World Adoption Day! If you want to celebrate with me, post a selfie on social media with a smiley face on your hand. It's the cool thing to do ;) And as always, thanks for joining me in this adoption adventure!
