Our social worker came out to the house on Saturday and met with us for about three hours - we talked about the adoption process, our personalities, how Jarred and I met, our childcare plans, our jobs, our families, and had lunch together. Then she took a very short walk-through tour of the house, and that was it! She said that nothing she'd seen in our paperwork so far gave her any reason to think we wouldn't be approved, and we should have the report back in about two weeks. At that point we will have everything needed to become "active".
Becoming "active" just means that agencies will start presenting our profile to birth moms, and we can begin the matching process! We are excited and nervous at the same time, and it is definitely getting more real. Our next steps are to start getting the nursery ready and gathering items needed for the trip out of state to get the baby. The other key part of all of this is the finances... When a birth mom chooses us, we will respond by paying 1/2 of the agency fees. This amount varies greatly based on the state, birth mother's medical and financial situation, and agency. 1/2 of the fee could be anywhere from $7500-$16000. If we don't have that money available, we will have to answer "no" to that birth mom. We are trying not to dwell on that, and we are reminding ourselves daily that God has this! He knows the financial need and will provide it in His time. Please continue to pray for us as we trust Him with this. It's so easy to start freaking out and worrying about the money, but ultimately God is working things out for our good and His glory - even if we have to say "no" a few times before we can say "yes".
We are asking you to pray with us that God would be preparing the heart of the birth mother, birth father, and any other family members involved. Pray that He would give them peace about their decision, and physically protect our brave birth mom and precious baby. Pray that ALL of us would have clear direction as we take steps towards each other on this journey.
