Adoption Mini Sessions, Part 2 // Sandy Bottom Park, Hampton Photographer

I woke up the morning of my second mini sessions, a little worried about what the day would bring. It had already started sprinkling, and there was the chance of rain the whole day. While I don't mind braving a little wet and cold to take pictures, I truly wanted the experience to be wonderful for each of my families and couples that were coming that day.

Despite the freezing wind and threatening clouds, the rain held off until after the very last mini session! The overcast skies made the fall colors pop, and the temperature didn't stop us all from having so much fun. There are a few sessions that are surprises, so I can't share them yet, but I wanted to share the ones that I could - they were so much fun, and made standing outside for a few hours more than worth it!

To all the families and couples who came out for mini sessions, especially on such a cold, almost-rainy day, thank you isn't enough. I'm truly grateful for your support and your spirit. You make my job an easy one, and I'm so thankful for each one of you. I hope these pictures carry across the miles in your Christmas cards, and bring joy to all your friends and family!

James and Kayla, and their feisty huskies Cosmo and Paisley

Daniel and Elizabeth, with their precious kids Hunter and Aiden, found me through a mutual friend - and I'm so glad they did!

Ross and Emily came all the way from Pennsylvania to visit family, and wanted their portraits taken while they were here with their 3 kids!

Toby and Christi, singers who tour all up and down the East Coast and beyond, came with their amazingly talented kids, Jerrod and Jewel.

...and a few more to come as I'm allowed to share them!

Letters to Our (Future) Child // Personal

Dear Little One,
It honestly feels strange to call you that, since I don't know how little you are. In fact, you might not even have taken your first breath yet. I'm writing to you because I have these thoughts swirling around in my head that I've had for weeks now, and I want to get them out for you to read when you are much, much older.

It was a few weeks ago that I started thinking of you by name. No, I don't know if you are a boy or girl yet, but we are prepared for either one, and I don't care what you are! Everytime I think of our life together, I envision a girl, but your daddy envisions a boy. Either way, we just want YOU, whoever you are, boy or girl. When I started thinking of you by name, though, things changed.

I've thought of you for years now. Ever since I spent a summer working at Door of Hope in South Africa, I've known that I would be on a journey to bring you home one day. I've known for years that there's someone out there waiting for me to get them, even though you probably aren't even born yet. There's a certain calling that comes with being a mom, I believe, and I've known since I was 18 years old that I was called to be your mom.

I feel like I know you, even though I don't yet know anything about you. And I can't wait to find out who you are - what you like to eat, your favorite color, your first word. While I'm waiting for everything to happen, I just imagine that you are being made perfectly for your dad and me. That's what keeps me going as we faced our first round of delays this week.

Yes, we are 'behind schedule' (which you'll find out is a place I hate to be). Yes, it's not exactly what we planned, and it will probably change a million times between now and the time we get you. But either way, I have peace knowing that it's you we're getting. Whether we wait now or later, it doesn't matter. You are made for us, and we are made for you.

So, just get ready. Get ready for us. We feel so ready for you. And we can't wait to meet you someday soon.

Love,
Your (Future) Mom

Adoption Update - All the Paperwork! // Personal

It's been awhile since I've given you one, but we are due for an update on our adoption! For awhile there wasn't really too much to tell, since we were just going through some preliminary paperwork, but now I have an answer when people ask me what's going on.

For those of you who don't yet know, we decided to partner with Bethany Christian Services in Virginia Beach for our adoption. There were several reasons we made that choice. We looked at adopting through the state, but for the time being we would prefer a younger child. Both Nathan and I are still pretty young and have no parenting experience, so we didn't think it was a wise decision to adopt a child older than 2 or 3 at the most, at least for now. With state adoption, it becomes a lot harder to adopt a younger child, as their primary goal is re-uniting infants & toddlers with their family. This can cause a several year court battle to officially adopt your child and in the meantime, they can get taken away at anytime. If we look at adopting an older child in the future, we would probably go through Virginia, but for now we decided an agency was the way to go.

We looked at several adoption agencies, and honestly they all looked great. Originally we chose Lifeline Adoption, but discovered that they do not conduct Virginia adoptions. So, since we have several friends who are going to use or have successfully used Bethany, we decided to go that route. 

Our first step with Bethany was to attend an information meeting, where we learned about adoption in general and the whole process. From there, we got the preliminary application, which asked basic questions about us and our desire to adopt. After turning that in, we received the formal application, which went more in depth as to our family and our faith.

After that, we thought we were done with most of the paperwork - and we were so wrong! The last thing we received is the home study packet. This allows us to begin the process of the 3 interviews that make up the home study. This has been by far the most paperwork. We've had to answer detailed questions on how we were raised, what our relationships are/were with our parents, and how we plan to discipline our child. We had to make a will, obtain driving records, get fingerprinted, get physicals and screenings for tuberculosis, and sign/notarize a TON of papers to allow Bethany to get the information they need. We had to fill out a detailed financial summary, and answer a lot more questions about how we plan on raising our child.

We have finished as much of this as possible, but we aren't quite done yet since we have to wait on the doctor's office, police station, etc. to get some of our paperwork filled out. I'll be honest - it's a LOT. And it feels a little overwhelming. But this is the stage I think Nathan and I are thriving on. We actually get to DO something, and see progress, and move a little closer to having our child.

After we finish the home study and pay more fees, then begins the interview process. Once we begin down that road, I'll give another update! In the meantime, I can't tell you how much we appreciate the prayers and encouragement from all of our friends and family. It means the world to know that we aren't alone, and that there are so many others cheering us on. THANK YOU for your support!

Interested in having family pictures taken before the holidays? Click here for information on upcoming mini sessions. All proceeds go to support our adoption.