One Year In

We’ve hit the one year anniversary from when our home-study was finalized. When we first did our home-study our social worker warned us we’d likely sit across from her again for a renewal. She said most families need a one year renewal, a few need a second renewal and rarely do people need a third. Instead of it feeling like some kind of failure to be desirable on our part, it just felt like we were having a happy coffee with her that gets us one step closer to bringing home a baby.

We’ve only truly been trying for eight months or so as we needed a bit of time to get our funding. We’re fortunate to have had the opportunity to present to two to three dozen situations at this point!   When our profile is presented to a mom it’s anywhere from hours to weeks before we hear back that she’s chosen a family. On the subsequent days after we know we’ve been presented Elizabeth wakes each day thinking “is this the day we get the call that changes our life forever?” Every call from an unknown number makes her breathe catch and heart pound. Mike’s mostly able to treat his days like any other.  Thank goodness for the blessing of differences in personality in marriage! One thing is for sure true of both of us-all of it is getting easier with time. We’re better at coming to agreement on whether or not we want to present.  The “no”s don’t hurt as bad. Opportunities to present are increasing in frequency.

It’s been a really good year for us. We love our life in Iowa. We’re in healthy jobs, enjoy our hobbies, and love our church community. We’ve certainly grown closer as a couple this year. It’s been amazing to experience the support of our close up and long-distance community. We’re still shocked when we think of the generosity we’ve benefited from!  You’ve raised just over $30,000 for us! While we’d love to be parents right now we’ll do our best to continue to enjoy the many blessings in our life as we wait.