Today is the official first day of our adoption journey that actually began almost 20 years ago when we were dating. We discussed adoption in the event we couldn't have biological children and were both open to it. We were able to have biological children (Zac in 2000 and Jordan in 2002) but after having two boys, the idea of adoption was still in our hearts.
When Jordan was about 18 months old in (2004) we began researching adoption as a way to add another child to our family and to guarantee getting a girl. Well at that time God had different plans because some other issues came up day before our information meeting with an agency. So at that time, we decided to focus on the two wonderful boys we had. In the mean time we moved and our boys started school (Zac in 2005 and Jordan in 2007).
Over the next few years we thought about adoption periodically and were surprised the different people God placed in our lives that had international adoption experiences that kept us thinking about it. But there always seemed to be obstacles in the way. In early 2011 we knew we still wanted to adopt and decided it was "now or never" given our ages. We knew that an infant would be hard to fit into our family's busy schedule, so we were hoping to get an older girl. Everything in our life seemed to align this time for us to be ready health, emotionally and financially.
So again we researched agencies to find one that works in Latin America. Originally we thought about adopting from El Salvador, since we have both been there. While visiting there we both fell in love with so many beautiful young girls and wished we could bring one home. El Salvador has actually stopped their international adoption program and since we are not celebrities, didn't think we could just jet into a country and find a child to adopt. So, we researched other Latin America countries and the Colombian program was our first choice right away.
Today we submitted our application to our chosen adoption agency, which we are so excited to work with. We were very impressed by the staff there and the experiences other families had with them. It is so exciting to start this journey and think and pray for our daughter who is probably a 6 or 7 year old girl right now. With a lot of luck and prayers we might meet her and bring her home within a year.
