Just Putting It Out There

When we went in to foster care it was our intention that we would open our home to a child who needed a loving, stable home until we could adopt them permanently.  The thing with the foster care system is it is usually the plan for the child to return to their birthparents/family. This re-unification process can take a long time.  You could also find yourself in a situation like ours where we knew from the get-go that we would not be able to adopt Sweet Pea.  In my mind, we would get the call for that one abandoned child that would be eligible for adoption, free and clear.  Now, having done this for a bit, I know that is very unlikely to happen...not improbable, but we could be waiting a while. 

I say all of that to say this...pursuing a private adoption can be done while we are providing foster care for a child.  All of the classes and homestudies we had done to become licensed foster parents can be used for adoption.  Just because we have Sweet Pea doesn't mean that we can't also be searching for a birthmom.  Should the chance to adopt Sweet Pea come our way we'd love to have a sibling for her!

Now I say THAT to say THIS...I'm just gonna put this out there.  If you know of someone who is looking for a good, loving, Christian home for a child that they know they won't be able to parent, please let us know.  There's always the chance that a friend of a friend of a friend may be considering putting their child up for adoption.  We would love to provide the forever home that child needs.  While we feel that God has brought us to this place of providing foster care as a ministry, we don't want our desire to adopt a child to fall by the wayside.  I don't want our friends and family to think "Oh they have a kid they're taking care of, they wouldn't want this one".  Please keep us in mind if you hear of anything.  We will not be offended by any suggestions or offers.  We've always been very open and honest about our circumstances and I don't want anyone thinking they can't bring up the subject.  By all means,  BRING IT UP!!  I'm open to just about anything and would love to tell our child that you were an intricate part to them becoming a part of our family forever. :)