A Change in Direction

If you look around my blog, you may notice that I've made some changes.  This represents a change in direction for us.  I have taken my cycle ticker and link down and also added a word to my header: adoption.

Before we began trying for child #2, my husband (maybe half-jokingly) mentioned adoption.  At the time, I said I thought it was a lovely idea, but that I wanted another biological child.  Two years and one miscarriage later, I am ready to pursue adoption.

We want nothing more than to expand our family by one more member.  We know that we have room in our hearts for another child--in fact, we ache for it.  We want our daughter to have a sibling, friend, and playmate.  We want to give our extended families the joy of another grandchild.  Clearly, we need a change in game plan to reach our goal.

My husband and I made the decision yesterday.  We have also decided that we will start the process very soon.  We will begin consulting with a lawyer as soon as we can and prepare for a home study.  We are also going to let anyone and everyone we know that we want to adopt.  We are hoping to adopt through a private situation, meaning we will not go through an agency.  We'll, essentially, have to find a birth mother on our own.  An agency situation would be lovely, but it is extremely expensive.  I cannot imagine paying $40,000 for the process.  We've also considered fostering-to-adopt, but that requires eight weeks of classes, four hours at a time, to become a certified foster parent.  If we didn't already have a million other things going on, we would go that route.

So, lots of hope and prayers.  We need them.  I know we are meant to have another child.  I hope they find their way to us soon!