Adoption Update Pt. 1

Well, we are in the thick of our home study! We met with our social worker last week for coffee and for our first meeting. She is a very nice lady who has been practicing for longer than Josh and I have been alive! We were asked a lot of questions and Kathie took notes as we talked to be able to compile a file on us and all of our information. It was definitely intimidating at times!

We were sent home with a stack of paperwork to complete before we meet with her again. On the list of things to be done are complete physicals to make sure we were both in good health, FBI background checks including finger-printing, collecting copies of about any kind of paperwork you can think of, references from family and friends, writing autobiographies on our lives, and more. As much as I love making lists, I jotted down on a sheet of paper all of the things we have to get done and placed it on our fridge so we see it everyday. It's been fun and very freeing to be able to cross off things as they are completed. Every time I scribble another check mark beside a task I feel a sense of joy in my heart knowing that is one step closer to our baby.

We have signed on with a small adoption agency that networks with other agencies across the U.S. The director is the daughter of friends of my parents so it's been fun to have that connection. I love that they are a Christian adoption agency and are very personable and down-to-earth.

Our home study should (hopefully) take no longer than two months. After our home study is completed and our profile book is created (the book that is shown to birth mothers) we are officially "active" which means that we could be matched with a birth mother anywhere in the time frame of 2-6 months! That time frame could include bringing our baby home! Generally, with our agency, adopted parents have a baby within nine months. Hence, we have been trying to raise money as quickly as we can and get things completed in a timely manner.

A few things that have been fun to do along the way is to finally allow myself to prepare for a baby! For years, I have dreamed of what they would look like, what clothes I would dress them in, how I would decorate their nursery, what books I would read to them, and how play dates would be with their cousins. It has been so much fun to allow myself to be excited! I have been browsing nursery ideas on Pinterest and later this month Josh and I plan to visit Ikea in Atlanta to pick up some things for baby's nursery.

I made a cover story (picture above) for "Baby Briggs" on my Instagram. If you'd like to follow along  than you can do so by clicking on this link. I am going to periodically post "stories" on my Instagram as we collect things for baby.

I went to lunch with one of my dearest friends yesterday and she gave our baby their first gift! Heather crocheted the most adorable little pointed bonnet and I can't wait to see them in it!

Our t-shirts that my brother, Nate, designed for us have been a big hit! We had a design in mind and he executed it perfectly! We love to travel and one of our favorite cities that we visited a couple years ago is Amsterdam. When we were thinking of design ideas for t-shirts, the quaint little canal houses in Amsterdam came to mind. We absolutely love the saying "It Takes a Village" because it is so true! We could not travel this road without our community coming alongside us, encouraging us, praying for us, and even giving financially to us. We need our people, our tribe.

The verse that we chose to include is one of our favorites: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27

If you'd like to pick up a t-shirt than you can do so by clicking on this link. Our campaign is good for one more day so be sure to grab yours! 

If you a not a t-shirt person, but would love to help finance our adoption, than you can give to our GoFundMe page by clicking this link. Your gift will go towards our birth mother's hospital needs & visit, our agency fees, attorney fees, finalization, and more. If you aren't able to give financially, than please pray for us and share our updates and GoFundMe page. Getting the word out there is so helpful!

Thank you all for following along on our journey to finding and bringing our baby home! Stay tuned for more updates!