In the book!

In our past couple updates we have told you that things were "on hold" as we wait for the courts to certify us to adopt. We were needing to wait because we needed to apply for grants and the grants that we found would not allow us to apply until our certification was complete. Well, since then, we have found some grants that accept applications before certification! We finished up our first couple grant applications and got the last one sent in yesterday.

This has also allowed us to move forward with presenting our profile to birthmom's who are looking to place their baby with a family. A while back we created a 4 page scrapbook about ourselves and our family and friends. The pages that we made were officially put in the "Matchbook" last Monday! The matchbook is a book of adoptive family profiles that is shown to birthparents at all the Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Arizona, and is also used at some hospitals. Our profile is out there, waiting to be chosen by the birthmom that God wants to unite us with!

Our agency places babies through two main routes; a preplanned match, and hospital calls. A birthparents working with our agency or with a Crisis Pregnancy Center will make a plan for their child and at about 7 months along in the pregnancy. They will be given the opportunity to choose and meet some potential adoptive parents for their child. If chosen, we would meet with the birthmom or birthparents together and both us and the birthparents would leave that meeting and decide if it was a "match". We would have a couple of months to get to know that birth family before the little one arrives.

There is also potential for a hospital call from our agency. This would mean that a baby had already been born and the birthmom chose to make an adoption plan and picked our profile from the matchbook. Depending on how many days old the baby is, we would head to the hospital and pick up the baby to bring him/her home. It is a little crazy to be "on call" for such a huge life changing event! We could be parents tonight or it could be 2 years from now!

We know that God's timing is perfect! When we asked in one of our first meetings about the normal "time frame", our caseworker reminded us that God has the child picked out for us, so their is no normal time frame. We have been holding tight to this truth, knowing that God knows the "when" and "who"!

We took a class with about 7 other couples who were all at about the same place in the adoption process. These classes were a prerequisite to adopting through our agency. The classes ended last spring (March or April) and 5 of the couples have babies in their home and one couple has a baby due in March if everything works out! We can't believe how quick it has been for all of them!

We really aren't sure how to prepare for something that has no exact time frame. I have prepared a weeks worth of copies at work and am working on wrapping some things up, just in case. Kurtis and I spent some time at Babies R Us the other night and started our registry. ;o) That was a pretty overwhelming, but fun time together! I cannot believe how much stuff there is for tiny babies!

We are really excited to share the experience with all of you when God brings a little one into our home! We continually request your prayers for wisdom, direction, and peace as we wait! We are so thankful for all he has provided so far! We also ask that you pray that God will provide for the birthmom and the little baby who may already be conceived!

Love,

Kurtis and Emily