Validation

Hey all!
Since I last posted, two cool things have happened, and even though they're not actually related, they feel enormously validating for Paul and I.

First of all, we are COMPLETELY done with our home study (thank goodness)! Because we're working on grants now, we needed a letter that essentially says that we have a completed home study- it's easier than sending these million-page home study packets to every single grant we apply for. At the bottom of this page, the final sentence was:

"Therefore, I recommend and approve this family to adopt a child as described in this study."

I stared at that for a few minutes. I maybe cried. I realized that there had been a part of me that wasn't sure we'd be approved- not because I don't think we'll be good adoptive parents, but because it feels like there's so much we don't control. We let these adoption workers in to the intimate details of our lives and then see what they say- it's nerve-wracking! It was so important to let go of that last burden (for the moment), and in a weird sense, it gave us more confidence- like, heck yeah, we're approved!



The second thing that happened had very little to do with us, but has made all of the difference.

We have some lovely friends named Justin and Katy, and they just brought home their baby girl!

Meet Nya Jane, the cutest kid that's ever existed. She was brought home just over a week ago from Ghana. Besides the fact that we're ecstatic for our friends (and we are- they're going to be super parents), this was important for us to see at this exact moment in our adoption process. I'm thankful for who she is now as an individual, and I'm so excited to see who she grows up to be- but for us right now, she is hope.

We have known Justin and Katy for years, and we were so excited when they shared with us that they were planning to adopt. They are two of the kindest, funniest, most generous people we know, and we were confident that they would love the heck out of this kiddo. We watched them (and helped them, a little) fundraise, we asked uncomfortable questions, and we waited with them. Watching them work towards bringing Nya home was like the prologue to our own adoption story- so much of who they showed in the way they've handled their adoption- with as much grace and patience as possible, even when it was difficult. Their willingness to be open about their process, their hopes, their fears, their awkward conversations inspired this blog- it's literally the reason why we knew we could be that open and honest about the process for us.

And then, this week- we began our dossier. It's pretty much the last thing we have to do before the waiting begins. The dossier, essentially, is a collection of documents that gets state sealed and sent out to governments. Some of it is what we've done already for the home study (FBI clearance, etc), and some of it is more detailed. It feels a little bit ridiculous to have to do the same things again (like, c'mon. Cant everyone just share information? I have now been fingerprinted 16 times since I turned 18. How much have my fingerprints changed?) But when we met Nya yesterday… none of that mattered much. She's a reminder why we're doing this- we've got a light at the end of the tunnel.


General Updates:
We're slogging through the dossier and grants galore, so if we don't answer texts in a few days, maybe stop by the house to make sure we're alive and have eaten recently.

Love you all- thank you for being a part of this! A special thanks to Justin and Katy for letting us share this!