May Court Date

I e-mailed our contact who once had custody of the two-year-old I've been writing about (for those of you keeping up with the story, this is woman #4). She dropped off our profile book, home study, and letter at the office of the judge who will be hearing the child's case in May. She hasn't heard anything from the judge, and neither have we. Please keep praying for God's orchestration of placement for this precious little thing.

Update

We've spoken to a couple who cared for the little girl, and they are advocating for her in court. One of them is writing letters to the family court judge in order to prevent the child's adoption by a woman who has a criminal record. At the same time, she is asking the judge to consider us. We'll be mailing our own letter to the judge on Monday.

A Little Blond Girl

About six weeks ago, we learned of a child whose birthmother could not care for her. We pursued in a limited way (sent a link to our Bethany profile) but put the whole thing out of mind when it seemed to be going nowhere. Today, I got an e-mail asking if we were still interested and that, if we were, we needed to write a letter to a local judge telling him about ourselves. We're going to pursue and see where things go.

An Update

We are still in a holding pattern. We've heard nothing from Bethany yet about birthparents showing interest in our little family. In the meantime, we are praying and saving and looking at cribs online (so fun).

I have a sweet story to relay: For Christmas, my mom gave us a baby quilt she hand sewed. On Christmas night, she and I spread it out on the dining room table, and she taught me how to stitch the quilting designs on the squares. She worked on one end while I worked on the other, and it was a sweet, quiet mother-daughter moment.

We have one fundraiser going on right now. Stan's Rudy Roasts coffee business is getting to its feet, and all profits go to the adoption. The web site is almost ready for prime time, so I'll put that link up soon.

2010

I'm thankful today for the generosity of the people who love us. My parents gave us jewelry to sell for the adoption. Numerous friends have bought the coffee Stan has been roasting. My precious cousin who adopted a baby this year slipped cash to Stan while we were opening gifts on Saturday.

I tallied up today what we have paid out for adoption in 2010, and the total came to $4555.00. Our next payment to Bethany will be about $11,000, which we will not pay until we take custody of Baby K.

Here are my favorite 2010 adoption moments:
1. I caught Stan going through yard sale donations to pull out books for our child.
2. A woman at our October yard sale dropped a five dollar bill in the donation jar, having not purchased a thing.
3. My third block class raised $60 in change.
4. Three Hispanic girls in my third block class cheered when I told them we had the possibility of adopting an Hispanic baby girl.
5. While holding my cousin's daughter, Stan mouthed to me across the room, "You distract them, and I'll make a run for the car."
6. I had the "aha" moment three weeks ago when I knew God had changed my heart toward transracial adoption and drug exposure.
7. I saw our online portfolio on the Bethany website.
8. When I was working on our profile book, I fell even more in love with my husband.
Today is our wedding anniversary, and I'm thankful most of all for him.

Not This One

I (Angie) called DSS today to check on the status of the infant girl we learned about last week. I couldn't get in touch with the original social worker I spoke with, so I called his supervisor. According to her, at the Tuesday meeting with the birthmother, DSS officials made the decision to place the child with a family for adoption. The social worker was surprised to learn of our interest; apparently, the original social worker never passed on our information or connection to the family. I have to trust that this is simply not the child God has for us. If I choose to believe otherwise, that someone dropped the ball, I'll obsess about what could have been. The intense disappointment we feel today is a good sign: We really want this and are ready for both transracial placement and a child who has been exposed to drugs.

No News

I saw a picture today of the little girl who is in the custody of DSS. She is so very, very beautiful. There has been no word about the meeting the birthmother had today with DSS social workers, but I understand that the agency will do anything possible to keep a child with a family member. Since there is a cousin who is interested, that will be the probable route. Stan and I are hopeful that the baby will be placed soon with someone so that bonding can begin. I'll post again today if we hear anything.