In the Beginning...

It's official, Everyone... We are planning to adopt again!

After years of believing we are meant to adopt one more child, and waiting for Darrell to be ready, we have finally decided to take the plunge. Darrell told me several weeks ago he now feels this is what we're supposed to do and we began the long and confusing process of researching agencies.

We already agree we will try to adopt a boy this time, and we decided fairly quickly in our research process to settle on Vietnam as the country to pursue. There are several reasons for this... We no longer qualify for China, and are disqualified from several other countries as well, because of our large family and Darrell's age (Geezer!). Vietnam has no age or family size limits. There are also more boys available there, and the wait times for boys are shorter. Young babies are available (doesn't mean we'll get one, but...) and of course, we already have one Asian child, and it would be nice for her to have someone who looks like her. So, a boy from Vietnam it is- Decisions One and Two DONE! Decision Three: Which agency? ... That one has not been as easy. I've been researching myself silly on the internet. Having so much information right at your fingertips is not always a good thing. I've looked at every agency website under the sun. I joined various Yahoo groups to get opinions from other PAPs (prospective adoptive parents) and APs (adoptive parents). This is helpful, but also confusing. For every good lead you get from someone who loves their agency, you get several horror stories and admonitions never to use the very same agency. There does seem to be a lot of shady agencies out there, but after much careful thought and seeking God's direction, we've chosen to go with an agency called WACAP. The thing is, their Vietnam program is a "pioneer" program, which means they are just getting started in Vietnam and don't have a track record established there yet. They are well-established in other countries however, and seem to have a reputation for being a solid and ethical agency. We will kind of be like guinea pigs for their new VN program, in a way. Scary, but exciting, as we feel confident this is the agency for us.

The next step is the Paper Chase: We'll start with an agency application (with a fee, of course), then begin gathering documents, scheduling our homestudy appointment with the social worker, etc. This process could keep us occupied for the next couple of months. Add this into the fact that we are still working on our home's remodel, and we will be very busy! We'll do our best to keep those interested up to date with our progress. Check back here periodically for updates!