Moving a small step forward

We are finally offically published on itsaboutlove.org!!! Here is the link:
https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/28109751/ourMessage.jsf
I got the email from our case worker last Thursday. I was pretty excited so I texted family and friends only to get a reply back from my sister Josie that said "What is that?" (Sorry to point you out sis, but if it makes you feel better you weren't the only one who wondered what the heck I was talking about.) So I figured I would take the time to explain how it works and why we were so excited. For the past few months we have been filling out paperwork, answering questionairies, attending classes and picking out pictures that hopefully show people a little more about us. We had to get interviwed, fingerprinted, have a background check completed and our home was inspected for safety. At the end of all this work our profile was reviewed and approved then published! Once your profile is published anyone can see your information on itsaboutlove.org. This website is a resource for young women and men to look at potential couples/families to place their child with. The agency encourages you to tell everyone you know that you are adopting. The best way to get connected is to network. It took awhile to get use to the idea of broadcasting to everyone that we are adopting. It was a hard thing to put ourselves out there in public because we are pretty private people. We kindof struggled through the whole infertility thing without a lot of people knowing what we were going through. But as we talk about our decision the more people we get to know and meet. We've developed so many new friendships along the way, some that wouldn't have happened had we not made the decision to adopt.
I've been asked by many people, "What's the timeline? How long does it take?" There isn't an easy answer to that question. It takes as long as it takes for someone to feel like you guys are the couple that they have been looking for. I've also had people say, "Have you gone online to check out your competition?" (Most are joking when they say it, but kind of curious to know your answer too.) It's hard to read through other couple's profiles and think of them as "competition". I sat and read through every person in Idaho's profile one night while Tyler was out of town. It humbled me to read other people's stories and relate to some of the heartache that they have gone through, and it made me feel connected to them, even though I've never met most of them. There are amazing people out there waiting and hoping to adopt a child, any child would be blessed to enter their homes. Of course we want to be contacted soon and adopt a child we can call our own, but anytime we here of another couple who has successfully adopted a child it warms our heart because we understand how much they want a family of their own. We believe the right child will come to us and fulfill our dreams of starting family. Sorry this was a longer explanation than I planned, but hopefully it will answer some of the questions people are wondering, and of course we will keep you posted on any news we get! Have a great day and enjoy the new fall weather! Love, Jessica


P.S. Here is a link for our friends who are also trying to adopt!
https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/27263540/ourMessage.jsf

The adoption conference

Yesterday Tyler and I had the chance to go to our first Families Supporting Adoption conference. It was an incredible day where we both got to learn some amazing things from people who are adoptive parents as well as birth parents. Going in to this adoption experience neither one of us had ever really stopped to consider all of the emotions that come into play. Yes we both realized things would get emotional and that there would be ups and downs through the whole process of adoption. It wasn’t until we got to hear the "whole story" during a panel discussion did we consider the emotions of everyone else involved. They had birthparents, a birth grandma, the adoptive couple and the adopted grandparents. The birthfathers family was there too, and although they weren’t on the panel they shared a few stories too. It humbled me to know that one child could be the center of so many people’s love. Every person on that panel wanted what was best for the child and that common goal they shared allowed them to develop relationships with one another. It obviously wasn’t easy for any of them to go through the adoption and share their personal story but I am grateful for the courage they showed by sharing their thoughts and feelings. The second panel was made up of birth mothers, and a birth father. Hearing what they had to say warmed our hearts and made us both believers that open adoption is a wonderful thing, for the child, for the birthparents and for the adoptive couple. We are both so glad we attended this conference, it helped ease some of the fears and apprehensions we have had about adoption. It makes us more excited for our profile to be published and for the moment when we can meet potential birth parents. It should be published within a week or so! J We hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

This is a few of our most recent pictures taken by an awesome photographer and friend!

Coming soon!!!

Alright this is the moment you've all been waiting for! We are starting a blog! Yeah! Tyler and I have decided to adopt and we needed a place to spread the awesome news. So coming in a short time will be a blog about us. Once I figure out how all of this blogging stuff works that is. I have many talents, but I've recently found blogging is not one of them! Haha. Oh well, we will give it a go and try to keep everyone posted.