Starting the Adoption Journey

Well the journey down memory lane begins with our first blog. Stay tuned for several blogs in the next few days as we begin the journey to share with you all the ups and downs as we made the decision to adopt a baby. Pictured is Jackson at 3 days old and it was a journey to make it to that point.

It was late December in 2012 when Doug and I decided not to travel for Christmas as we normally do and over the last 5 years we often discussed adoption but it never seemed like the right time. As Christmas approached we decided it was now or never! So we began our search for an adoption agency to learn about all the necessary steps to bring a new life into our lives.

Throughout the blog I will share lots of information but some information will remain confidential to protect the privacy of those on this journey with us. We did select Lifelong Adoption agency because they specialized in gay/lesbian adoptions and had a great success rate in matches for their families. We stressed because Lifelong begins their process by interviewing the prospective parents and if the vibe is not right, they don’t select you—well we were selected and started the necessary work.

And boy was it a lot of work! I don't think we would change anything becuase if you put in this level of work you really want to adopt. We had to get physicals, fingerprints, background checks, even a log of 911 calls from our house to show what we may have called for. (There was only one, when we saw a homeless man sleeping in the middle of the road and thought he was dead—he was not, just taking a break-lol). We also had to complete an autobiography on ourselves and our family history.

Our friends and family had to write letters on our behalf talking about what type of parents we would be. We had to complete documents to say what type of child we would accept (With illnesses or not—and this is a tough thing to think through). And we then had to do 10 hours of early childhood education course work. And we cannot forget meeting with another local agency Families First in Atlanta to begin sessions with a social worker who would ultimately approve and/or deny our application. Again, it was a lot of work but I can certainly see the benefit of this.

Well, this is a good place to stop for now and I will pick up here on my next post. I hope that you enjoy learning about our adoption process along with as time progresses some of the companies, services and things that made a difference in our process along with seeing some photos and videos of Jackson as he grows with us as a family. Until the next post....