Miller Plus One

I didn't think about all of the possibilities that we've been learning about in our training.  For instance, we have been challenged to think long and hard about the implications of adopting a child whose skin color is different from ours.  When he or she is a baby, there will be difficult days, strangers asking questions, rude stares, etc.  But when he or she starts school, there will be an entirely new set of problems that we as a family will have to face.  This realization has not deterred me, but has made me want to be the best mom I can be for this new life.  Maybe I will have to change some of my presumptions and assumptions about raising a child who doesn't look like me.  From the beginning, Justin and I have said "we don't care what color the baby is...we just want a baby to love."  Perhaps God is teaching me that I should care, I need to care.  It will impact our lives and this child's life and to name it and face it will be the way to en...

Tonight, we attended our last "in-person" training session with the Bethany staff.  We still have three more weeks of training that we will complete by e-mail.  We were happy to have "Nana Jane," "Pawpaw," and Aunt Yvette join us for training.  It's been wonderful to have our families involved and interested in our journey.  We heard a birth mother speak about her experience and the training was on lifelong adoption issues. The way my brain works, one idea leads to twelve more.  I began jotting down the significant days of our adoption highway thus far:  The day when I was a kid and I told my mom and dad that someday, I would adopt a child; the day that I first mentioned adoption to Justin when we were dating; the day we realized that we needed to change out assumptions about how God would bring us a child and consider adoption as a first choice; the day we sent our first e-mail to Bethany, January 2, 2010; the days we submitted our preliminary app...

So, we went to First Baptist Nashville on Sunday, Feb. 28 for our first 'adoption 101' meeting.  It is a support/information regarding adoption group.  Our friend Lori went along too because she and her husband are also in the adoption process.  My parents went to show support for Justin and me and love the notion of being grandparents in the near future!  We met several couples, some in the adoption process, some just thinking about it, and some whose entire lives had been touched by adoption.  There were adult adoptees and those who have adopted children of all ages.  It was very cool to just have a place to talk about our excitement, our fears, and the process.  One of the leaders of the group who is becoming a mentor to us in this journey adopted two of our turtles and took them home to her two adopted daughters.  Because she tells the story better than I could, let me quote her (permission was granted and first initials of names are used ...