Training Season

It's been a while since I've updated this but here is the latest:

Bill and I are in the middle of our home study. For those of you who don't know what that means, basically Billy and I complete certain requirements (and there are many) in order to be approved as adoptive parents. This past week we also have started taking the required Foster Parent Training as part of the adoption agency. It was a group of about 9 other couples from all different walks of life. It was a very eclectic group!

Even though we have only had one meeting, we are very excited to continue attending the classes and getting to know these people but more importantly, allowing God to reveal to us exactly what steps we need to take. With adoption come a lot of difficult decisions. Open or closed adoption? Interim care of the infant or direct placement? What race? What sex? Is it okay if the mother drank through the entire pregnancy? Are you willing to adopt a kid with special needs? All of these questions, while they may seem quite "surfacy", will affect the rest of our lives and most importantly, the life of the child God has chosen for us to adopt. Bill and I had a great talk driving home from our training about how God's plan for us is bigger than we ever dreamed. I know this process will bring us not only an addition to our family, but a greater understanding of our adoption as children of God. Uh oh, I'm starting to preach! That's a cue to stop...more news to come in the next month or so.

Oh and if you are reading this, please keep my cousins Christy and Mike in your prayers. They are planning on traveling to China in the beginning of May to meet their new daughter, Gracelynn. It sure is an exciting time!