Adoption Journal #1

Well, tonight Mandy and I will be attending the Adoption Application Workshop required by Orange County Social Services. While we have attended adoption orientations through both our local social service agency and a private domestic agency, tonight begins a more focused season in our adoption process. I've decided to keep a record of our adoption process as we go, but I wanted to provide a little background.Sometime in mid-2006 we both came to the conclusion that adoption was right for us. We had talked about this prior to getting married and during the first several years of our marriage, but always as a possibility. By Thanksgiving 2006 we came to adoption as a reality. Both of us have worked extensively with foster children in our professional careers. Knowing that over 125,000 children await adoption in the US every year (only about 1/2 ever find a forever home), we knew that we needed to keep our adoption domestic. This shouldn't be construed as an indictment on those who do go the international route. We just knew domestic was the way we wanted to go. We told our families around Christmas 2006 and proceeded from there.We also made a decision to adopt a child labeled with Special Needs. We did this knowing that while only 47% of women are firmly Pro-Choice as many as 85% will abort a child if they know he/she has a disability. It is hard for me to consider myself pro-life and say "no, he/she is just not good enough." This decision to specifically look for a child labeled with a disability has gotten mixed reviews. We've received everything from "why?" to "you're so special." It is important that people know that my son or daughter is not an object of pity and that Mandy and I are not heroes for adopting. This is just what we know to do. God says that I am adopted even though the benefit is all mine. When Mandy and I finalize our adoption the benefit will be all ours as our Forever Family is created.I know my son or daughter is out there waiting for me. They may or may not yet be born, or even conceived, but they are out there. There is not a day that goes by that I don't wander about them. I'm nervous and excited. There is an excitement of knowing that every hoop we jump through and every form we fill out will bring us one step closer to the making of our family. We still don't know for sure if we will stick with the County Social Services or decide to go through a private domestic agency, but God does and we are confident that He will lead us to exactly the place our son or daughter is waiting.