Looking Into Independent Adoption

So our latest news on the adoption front is that we have decided to put our account on hold at the adoption agency we were going through and look into independent adoption. We are looking into a "new" option that is slightly more risky, yet more cost effective and we could potentially be matched up with a child much quicker. Going through an adoption agency could actually take 18-24 months and being the age that we are, Steve and I would like to move the process along a little more quickly. Going this "new" route that we discovered will make us the first pilot family so we're not really sure where this is going to take us. I told Steve that I was a little nervous being the "guinea pigs" but he said, "Maybe that's part of our calling. Maybe we're supposed to be the guinea pigs. If this works out for us, it can potentially work out for other families wanting to adopt out of Uganda, as well." So, here we go! Following God's lead and praying that He continues to open new doors for us along the way and shut doors when we are going the wrong direction.

We were doing our home study through Dillon International (whom we highly recommend), but understandably, since we've decided to go the independent route and due to liability reasons, they can no longer do our home study for us. A case worker from OKC was recommended to us so we made contact with her last week. I was excited to learn she has worked with several other families that have adopted from Uganda. We're excited to continue the process with her and to get that started this week. The last few cases she has worked on have moved along so quickly that we thought we better go ahead and apply for passports for the girls. So I took them to get their passport pictures this weekend - they were so excited! I tried to not get their hopes up because we honestly don't know how long this process could take but we need to be ready to leave the country just in case it moves along as quickly as it did for the other families we heard about.

I've also been able to make contact with several other families that have adopted independently from Uganda. At first, it sounded like such an overwhelmingly scary and unknown process, but after asking lots of questions and learning new things daily, I have hope and confidence that we can do this. We're so excited and still have so much to do - but we feel like we're getting closer! Thank you for your continued prayers!