Hey friends! Josh and I get a lot of questions about adoption and specifically our adoption journey. Here is our attempt to answer some of your questions. Please remember, every adoption journey is unique. These questions are in relation to our journey. Adoption is necessary sometimes, because brokenness invades lives in unexpected ways! Adoption is like emotional whiplash for parents and kids. So, get your filter out and be wise when asking parents and kids about their adoption journey.
We are interested in adoption. What do you think we should do? Each journey is unique and what God is asking you to do is unique. So, we say PRAY! Consider special needs adoptions or foster care. We suggest checking out Loving Shepherd's Ministries. They have a great adoption assessment that will help you navigate through all the decisions you make right off the bat.
How old is your son? Tariku just turned two! He's a doll.
When will baby #2 be home? We have no estimated time frame. We are adopting from Ethiopia again through the same wonderful agency. We hope baby #2 will be home in a few years. The adoption journey is long. So, we wanted to get started as soon as possible. Currently, we are working on a lot of paperwork! We have lots of paperwork and lots of waiting ahead.
What happened to your son's birth family? Why is he in an orphanage? We each have a story to tell, a testimony of blessings, struggles we've overcome, and God's working in our lives. Just think: Your story is your story and you have the freedom to share or not share your story with me. So, we will give our son the same freedom to own his story. We will someday share our son's story (before us) with him. Then, it will be his decision how and who he wants to share with.
Why does it take so long to adopt? This is a loaded question. I am happy to chat over a cup of coffee about this. Remember, the wait is hard! It is probably only good to ask this question if you are pursuing adoption or are really close to an adoptive family.
"Now that you are adopting, you'll get pregnant! I know someone that happened to." You are sweet and I know you are trying to encourage me. However, we suggest NEVER saying this statement out loud to anyone. "But WHY?" Reproduction is very personal and getting pregnant during adoption is not the story for most families struggling with infertility. For Josh and I, we pursued adoption having never tried to get pregnant. Our little son sitting in Ethiopia is our miracle! We have many friends struggling with infertility and this comment hurts. Friends, I know sorrow, but I don't know your sorrow of infertility. I pray for you everyday that God makes a way for my friends!
Remember, this is our family's story. We are appropriately open about our journey, but there are some things we may not share out of respect for our family and, especially, our son. If you haven't seen #$%@ People Say to Transracial Families, please watch. It's soooo funny!