If you ask any adoptive parent if their adoption journey was easy I am sure that their answer would be some variation of "no". Adoption is not easy. Adoption is not even close to easy.
We knew this going in this time around, of course. We knew that adopting internationally would prove to be an even bigger challenge than domestic adoption.
If you have followed my blog for a while you would know that coming to the decision to adopt from China was a very difficult choice. We started out wanting to adopt through the Foster/Adopt system. Then we considered China. Then we considered domestic African/Bi-racial adoption. There is a need for parents for all of those types of situations. We ended up deciding on China for a number of reasons, one of them being that a friend of ours started working for CCAI and I share her passion for orphans. I felt good about working with her to find our son.
We applied, were approved and started the process. We filled out some paper work. Fundraised. Waited. School began and what started out as an exciting adventure became a heart struggle. There were circumstances that made us re-think our plan to adopt from China.
I will not get into the intimate details of our choice to switch back to domestic. There were new challenges that we faced shortly after our journey to China began. Challenges that cleared our path, helped us to see what the right choice was with more clarity than before.
Many families are called to adopt in many different ways and I truly believe that no child is more deserving than the next. A journey to China would have been amazing, I'm sure. Perhaps someday we will make the journey. Right now though, we know that our son is a bit closer to home.
We are now trying to determine what agency/attorney to work with. We have our home-study update packet and plan on beginning the process right away. We will continue to fundraise and will continue to covet the prayers and support of our friends, old and new.
Our hope is to provide a loving home to a child who needs one, and gain a son, a child that we (our whole family) want so badly. If you know of any agencies/attorneys or resources for domestic adoption we would love for you to pass the information along.
Thanks-Sarah
