What can I possibly say?

You know, I am usually full of words, but right now, I could not even begin to recap the things that happened this weekend - even if I understood it all myself. The sheer volume of information given to us at the Adoption Training was helpful, necessary, exhaustive, and overwhelming. We came home very emotionally and mentally tired. Overall, though, it was a good weekend. It was not what I expected, nor did I leave with the same feelings I brought in. I must say that the best part for me was the two times we got to share a meal with some of the girls from the Godparent Home. We ate with different girls each time and we had very enjoyable conversations, some surrounding our reasons for being there and some just getting to know one another (both sides avoiding identifying information, as instructed, which is MUCH harder than it sounds).

Well, other than that, I'm not sure what to tell you. The next steps of the official process are to complete even more paperwork, fingerprints, background checks, credit checks, health forms, and on, and on, and on... THEN, we can do the home study. THEN, we have to prepare an album / profile which will be presented to the girls who match the criteria we indicate we are willing to accept. Boy, that sounds cold and didn't come out right, but I don't know how else to say it. We get to indicate things like race, health, special needs, whether or not the mother smoked or used alcohol, drugs, etc... This is good because it allows us as adoptive parents to evaluate what future circumstances we are prepared and equipped to handle, but it can certainly limit how many girls get to view our profile. And then there is the money... a little is needed now and a lot is needed at the end, but we don't know when that will be. It's kind of like having a big project in school ~ you don't know when to start your paper because you don't know when it is due. What to do? When to start? Who knows... There is too much to balance, think about, and consider. Anyway, we are kind of just teetering on the fence, not sure how soon we will jump off and start to roll down the hill... I guess that's it for now. Keep praying. I am so grateful for those who intercede on our behalf, especially now, because I don't even know what to pray myself.

Embracing His Joy, Hope, & Peace...