Well, we've been busy since the last post! We have found an agency that we love!!!

We went to orientation at the beginning of March and fell in love with the staff at Christian Homes & Family Services. They have such a heart for all who are involved in the adoption process. They have an apartment complex just for birth moms to utilize if they need a place to stay. They provide counseling to all involved before and after the adoption. And you can just hear how much they love birth moms, adoptees, and adoptive families.

I was amazed with everyone we met and our social worker, Sharla, already feels like she has been a family friend for years. Sean's favorite part of orientation was the panel discussions. The agency brought in 3 adult women who had been adopted, 4 birth moms, & 2 couples who have recently finalized their adoptions. Each group was given a chance to speak to us and we were able to ask any questions we needed. All in all it was an amazing weekend & we were well prepared for completing our home study.

Typically after orientation it take 6-8 months to complete your home study, which includes stacks of paperwork, fingerprinting, disaster planning (yes, we have an escape route posted in our kitchen), fire marshal inspection, letters from our doctor, letters from our pastor, references, CPR & first aide classes, financial records, an interview with a social worker, writing a letter to the birth mom, putting together a family profile & scrapbook, and lastly the social worker visits to our home. I'm happy to say that we have completed all of these things in just under 2 months!!! Ok, so I'm still nit picking my scrapbook, but it's almost done.

So now we wait... wait to be selected by the birth mother of our future child! We wait and we pray. We pray that her journey to us be filled with people who love her and guide her towards Christ's unconditional love. We pray that she may find Christian Homes quickly so that that can help bear her burdens as she makes a difficult decision. We pray that she is wrapped in the love of Christ & can feel our prayers. We hope that you will pray with us too!

 

As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:13 

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." Jeremiah 31:3

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalms 139:16

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. John 14:1

 

If you happen to run into a pregnant women in need of support, please don't hesitate to give her our blog or the following contact information for Christian Homes & Family Services.

Christian Homes & Family Services

Toll free 1.800.592.4725

www.ChristianHomes.com

 

Happy New Year!

May 2014 be full of love & laughter!

Dear Friends & Family,

Thank you for taking the time to check out our blog! We are very excited about our new adventure and anxious to share our plans with you. We hope that 2014 will fill your home with love and laughter as well as fill ours with another member of the family. Last year Sean and I decided we would like to pursue adoption, as a way to expand our little family. As many of you may know, my father and two of his siblings are adopted. Adoption has always been something I wanted to pursue. I am so very thankful that God blessed me with a husband whose desires mirror my own.

We are both blessed to have families who are more than supportive of our decision and friends who are anxiously awaiting the day when we announce we have found a little one with whom we will be a forever family. We can't do this alone.

We have spoken with several adoption agencies in DFW & a few across Texas. They all tell us the same thing: not nearly as many babies are being placed for adoption as in years past. As a result, each agency has a pre-waiting list before orientation and starting the home study process. In March it will be a year since we submitted our first application for a pre-waiting list. At that time, the agencies were hoping to provide an orientation in July, but it was postponed to September, then December, now February. We have been told that once we complete orientation it will most likely take eight months to complete the necessary paperwork and home study, before our family profile will be presented to birth moms for selection. While we are waiting patiently to see what God has planned for us, we are preparing for our home study and completing our State Minimum Standards, in hopes of speeding along our home study process when the opportunity comes.

In the meantime, we would love to have your support, by keeping alert for birth families that may be considering adoption. This is the true purpose of this blog, to communicate with birth families who might consider us an option as a forever family for their child. By now, you all should have received New Years cards and a few business cards with our adoption contact information (I've also listed it at the end of this page). Please feel free to pass these along to your friends, family, pastors, physicians, or anyone else. If you run out & need more, please let us know & we will send them!

In the next few weeks we will be posting more information about us, our families, & our hopes. Feel free to check this blog from time to time, or don’t hesitate to call us, for an update!

Wishing you all the very happiest New Year! 

May 2014 be full and overflowing with love and laughter!

 

Love,

Sean & Celeste

Toll-Free: 1(855)378-7947

Email: Sean.Celeste.Adopt@gmail.com

Blog: www.GraftedLove.blogspot.com