Tanner Life

Adoption Journey Continued...

Back to our adoption story. We went in late December on Friday & Saturday to a workshop at the IAC office in Tucker. We were there with 5 other couples. We chose to just make a weekend out of it and spend the night in Tucker so we didn't have to make the drive back and forth in traffic. (Oh, we also met a couple who knows a fantastic college friend of mine. Small world!)

We were, once again, ahead of the game with information. I'd learned so much from my friend who'd been through this, it wasn't as new to me as it was to some. We watched some fantastic video interviews with birth parents on their journey and how it changed their life and we watched some with adoptive families and how it's changed their lives. They were all fantastic. We went through a gigantic notebook of information from the center. We learned how to get through the crazy paperwork, tips to make it go faster, what to do while we're waiting, what to expect and so on. We had many of our questions answered. We did several roll playing things where we had to figure out how we would react, not easy things to think through.

It was a roller coaster of emotions for the weekend. I found myself getting so excited and feeling so at peace about the decision. Then we'd run into some unknowns about the situations that can arise and I'd get very nervous, we just have to play so much of it by ear. We were so excited about officially getting the ball rolling and taking those first big steps, we signed our contract. We know this is the path that God wants us to take and we couldn't wait to share it all with our families and friends. We are just so anxious for our child to be a part of our lives, getting through all the other stuff can be a little over whelming. All in God's timing though-

We returned to head straight to a family Christmas party with my Mom's side of the family. When we told them where we'd spend the weekend, they were very excited. Everyone has been waiting right along with us for 8 & 1/2 years for a little one to join us, they are just as ready as we are!

The following weekend we told Andy's entire family at our Christmas get together with them. There were tons of hugs, tears of joy and questions. Again, they are all so very excited!! There are two more babies joining the family this year, so it's going to be amazing for our little one to grow up with their cousins! We could not ask for a more supportive, loving or excited family!

We went to church where I shared the news with a few friends. By the next week we had officially told everyone we come into contact with and were met with amazing excitement and love!!

Since then...

We have completed what seemed like a mountain of paperwork. We've had our fingerprints taken, physicals, drug tests, blood tests, had our phone records checked, our septic tank inspected, gotten copies of marriage license and birth certificates, taken pictures of our house, had our animals all get checked out at the vet, made copies out the wazoo and been checked by just about every agency under the sun. One beautiful Monday morning in February I was thrilled to head to the post office with the final batch of paperwork. Then... I got home to find a brand new packet of paperwork in the mail box. Seems some new things were added in the new year. On we go though, it is all now completed as well.

Up to date: We have been finishing our birth mom letter and we think it's now complete. We had a little trouble getting our photo together. We had a freak Georgia (never happens) snow storm cancel our first photo session, a crazy rain storm for days (we'd been in a drought for a year) cancel the second photo session and eventually decided to try taking some on our own one afternoon. We were pretty happy with the results. We were able to add our new nephew onto it as well, he was born on Saturday. It's gone through , too many to name, changes over the past few months. We are happy with the results though and the glimpse into our lives that it gives. It's hard to share yourself, your lives, your family, your goals for your family and future all onto a one page piece of paper front and back! Thankfully we also have a website that allows me to ramble on and on, sharing as many photos as I want. I know that God is in control and will lead the right birth mom to us through one of these things. We also now have a toll free number, which includes the world "HOPE"!!

Meanwhile we have been waiting on our GBI & FBI fingerprint results to return. As of today, those are in and approved as well. So I will mail off our birth mom letter for approval and we'll see what suggestions for editing are made. We'll get that done and wait on our home visit and individual interviews. Hopefully those things will be scheduled as soon as possible and go quickly. Prayers for speedy approval on our birth mom letter, someone to make it for our home visit quickly and our peace of mind to remain calm are all appreciated.

Nursery Update: My Dad came last week and painted the top half of the walls in a color I'd chosen, it looks fantastic. Dad came Friday night to help Andy move the furniture (we'd bought a few weeks ago) upstairs and into the nursery as well. It's all looking fantastic. I will blog and post pictures of that soon too!!

Plus a blog on our brand new great nephew who is just that, GREAT... coming up next!!