My paper pregnancy

It has been suggested to me that it would be a great idea to start blogging about our adoption journey. It's ironic to me that I've decided to take this advice now that we are nearing the end of this phase, so the majority of my first blogs will be playing catch-up. I think it is important to document the "happenings" for Ben to have one day. This is the same to me as taking the profile pictures of your tummy each month while you are pregnant. The only difference is that my son grew in my heart, not in my womb.

I have been blessed with an AMAZING daughter and four incredible soon-to-be step-children. But, something was missing and I knew exactly what it was. Over the past 5 years, I have though, debated, contemplated,  prayed, and mulled over the idea. I came to the conclusion that it was now or never.

I have known my whole life that I would be open to adoption. Both of my grandfathers grew up in orphanages, so it wasn't a new idea to me. It was normal. Just a circumstance that had an easy resolution.

I didn't take for granted that this would have to be a family decision, so it was just a matter of getting everyone else on board. The conversations went something like this:

Me: Hey, Jason. What do you think about adoption?
Jason: Hmmm. You mean for us?
Me: Yeah. We've talked about it, and you know I've always wanted to adopt.
Jason: I'm open to it. But, I think we should wait a couple of years.
Me: It takes a couple of years to adopt. I am talking about international adoption. If we started now, it would be at least two years before we would complete it.
Jason: True. I guess you can start researching it.
Me: I have been. I'm ready.

Then we got into the financials before he agreed that he was on board.

I approached my 14 year old daughter a few days later with the idea. She was immediately excited, thrilled, elated, and had a ton of questions. When? Where? Who? How many? The conversation finally ended with an exclamation point in her simple sentence when she said, "Finally!"