Our Exciting Announcement – We’re Adopting!
Adoption (Process) FAQs
BOTH HANDS Adoption Fundraising Project!
To help me better document our time & emotions while we’re waiting, I created an:
A WAITING Questionnaire…for the Adoptive Family!
The Heart of Adoption Series:
Adoption Timeline
February 2013
Submitted Adoption Registration with Pauquette Adoption Agency
Received Adoption Application!
March 2013
Completed and Submitted Initial Adoption Application
April 2013
4.23 – Fingerprinted for our background checks and numerous documents notarized at the Police Station
Week of 4.24 & 4.28 – Andy running all over Dane County to drop off our background check information with the proper municipalities (4 different locations)
May 2013
Tuesday, 5.21 –
Home Study #1 (at Pauquette Adoption Services in Portage, WI)\
Monday, 5.26 – Submitted all final paperwork and 5 reference letters
June 2013
Tuesday, 6.11 –
Home Study #2 (at our home)
July 2013
Completing our Portfolio
August 2013
Officially waiting for our baby!
December 2013
Accepted to host a BOTH HANDS Fundraising Project
March/April 2014
BOTH HANDS is underway!!
May 2014
After very little movement and hearing virtually nothing about placements or from any of our agencies, we decided to gather up all our portfolios and compile them with one faith based adoption agency, An Open Door (with a great reputation), in Georgia. Whom we highly recommend!
June 2014
We got a match, the next day the birth mother changed her mind.
July 2014
We got a match, took a week updating all our paperwork, were on our way to GA when we got the call that the birth mother changed her mind.
September 2014
We got a match with a child due just one day before our little girl (November 15th), we learned that the birth mother was not responding to calls. We “kept” the match, but the date came and went with no additional communication and it seems she changed her mind.
December 2014
After having our sweet girl, we decided to open up our placements to the possibility of girls. We were never opposed to girls, but because we had a couple boys at home, we figured let’s stick with what we know and then they’ll all have each other.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
We learned a little boy had been born on 1.1 (he was one week old) and for a variety of circumstances, they were 99% sure this match was going through.
Friday-Sunday, January 9-11th, 2015
We prepped the boys for grandma and grandpas, washed baby boy clothes, packed baby bags and installed a new infant car seat, and got ready to drive down and get our guy! I talked to his foster mother and learned what he was like, what he was doing, and told her to tell him over and over how much we love him. She sent picture that we poured over and showed the boys.
Monday, January 12, 2015
His birth mother still had until midnight tonight to change her mind about her surrender before her parental rights were terminated. Based on our social worker’s confidence that she wasn’t changing her mind, we took our chances and Andy and I got in the car (with Evelyn) and drove for the day! We drove about 15 hours and made it to Chattanooga, GA before stopping for the night and counted down until the clock struck midnight.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Today was the day! We woke up with a new son who we were about to meet. Once again, we hopped in the car and finished up the last two hours of our drive. We arrived at 10:3o am, I saw him, cried, hugged his caring home parents, and they placed him in our arms. The social worker arrived, we read paperwork explaining everyone’s rights and risks, signed page after page. And he was ours. It was thrilling and heartbreaking. It was surreal, but we loved him completely.
Becca V
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