The past few weeks have just flown by! I cannot believe it has been almost 2 months!
And at the same time, it has been full of prayer and lots of discussions about what's next.
EMBRYO ADOPTION
is what is next my friends.
I know embryo adoption is not widely understood, but basically it is this. Someone went through IVF at a different time and was able to freeze their embryos that made it to the Day 5 Blastocyst stage. For what ever reason, they feel as though their family is complete and now we get the blessing of adopting those little embryos. When Thomas and I are ready, we will implant those little guys in my uterus and then similarly to IVF, if they stick, we will be pregnant and have some littles!
We have no idea what that will look like or what the time frame will be, but we are shooting for an end of October/beginning of November time frame. But clearly since this is a new process, it could look differently then what we think it will be.
Not to mention God clearly has our life on a time frame we could never come up with on our own.
So pray! For wisdom, continued peace, for our future embryos, for all people involved including the current parents of the embryos God has for us, and that God would continue to walk hand in hand with us as we start on this new type of IVF adventure.
I will be walking you through what this new routine looks like.
All that being said, it may be a little while until you hear from us again
Like end of October time frame.
Just FYI. You know since I have been so present these last 2 months.
Meanwhile, I would absolutely love to hear your stories about if you have gone through adoption of any type. I want to know the details and the questions you have had. I know embryo adoption is a little different and not very understood, but it is still adoption. And I still want to soak up all your wisdom. So please share with me!
Until then. Enjoy the end of summer and beginning of fall!
EMBRYO ADOPTION
is what is next my friends.
We have no idea what that will look like or what the time frame will be, but we are shooting for an end of October/beginning of November time frame. But clearly since this is a new process, it could look differently then what we think it will be.
Not to mention God clearly has our life on a time frame we could never come up with on our own.
So pray! For wisdom, continued peace, for our future embryos, for all people involved including the current parents of the embryos God has for us, and that God would continue to walk hand in hand with us as we start on this new type of IVF adventure.
I will be walking you through what this new routine looks like.
All that being said, it may be a little while until you hear from us again
Like end of October time frame.
Just FYI. You know since I have been so present these last 2 months.
Meanwhile, I would absolutely love to hear your stories about if you have gone through adoption of any type. I want to know the details and the questions you have had. I know embryo adoption is a little different and not very understood, but it is still adoption. And I still want to soak up all your wisdom. So please share with me!
Until then. Enjoy the end of summer and beginning of fall!
I think we shared most of Everett's story with you guys last year when we visited, but here it is again in written form. We started our adoption process that culminating in him by attending San Bernardino County's "Taking Care of Business Day" in which we learned all about the county's Foster to Adopt program, what the whole process would look like, and then got Livescanned and background checked. Then we took all 30 some odd hours of classes that the county required and provided (which took us several months to get through). After all of that, they had finally looked through our paperwork and realized that because Laura has a relative that works for Children's Services, it was a conflict of interest. So they transfer our case to Riverside County, where in many ways we started over. Every social worker or office worker that we got in touch with had to be explained the whole scenario and then put in touch with SB County to verify it. We went to Riverside's version of an Orientation and realized that they were much slower in their processes. Through it all, we kept taking it one step at time, accomplishing what we could, and waiting on the Lord's timing (and the county's sluggish pace). That brought us to October. Laura and I took a CPR/First Aid class as one more tangible thing we could to try and keep the process moving forward. At that point, we didn't know if we were halfway through the process with Riverside (and by through it, I mean to the point where we would finally be on a list to get placed with a child) or not even close to half.
ReplyDeleteThe next day, I get a Facebook message from some old camp friends, asking us if we were still interested in adopting a little one with special needs. A little boy had been born the night before in Orange County, had Down syndrome, and needed a family to be placed with immediately. We told our friends yes and they connected us with the lawyer handling the case. In a few hours, we had paperwork done (doing in for both San Bernardino and Riverside, we'd gotten very good at filling out paperwork) and were being asked by the lawyer what the child's name would be (since he was helping the birth mom fill out the birth certificate right then and there). We took five minutes, chose the name Everett (it had been on our list of favorite names for a while), called the lawyer back and asked if the birth mom would choose the middle name (she chose Ryder), and then arranged to go meet the birth mom and Everett the next day.
So within 24 hours, we went from feeling like we were in some form of limbo with adoption, to all of sudden going to meet our son.
It was not a story I could have orchestrated on my own if I tried. I am not that clever by far. And yet, the timing, though we didn't understand it half the time when we were in the midst of it all, was perfect.
Mica (and Thomas), your journey so far has been filled with so many ups and downs. You have both been such an incredible encouragement to me and to Laura in how steadfastly you continue to hold onto the Lord and seek Him and His glory in this whole adventure. One day, I think it will all make sense, but until it does, I am glad that you continue to cling to the only One worthy of our trust when everything is uncertain and hard. We love you both.
My aunt and uncle adopted a little girl about 11 years ago. They had struggled getting pregnant for about 10 years, and decided to adopt. They got a lawyer to help them through the process. I know they had to create an in depth profile and do a lot of paperwork, home visits, etc. I can't remember how long they had to wait, but they got a call one day that there was going to be a baby born in about a month and the birth mom had chosen them if they were interested. They had to go into hyper gear to get everything ready. They live in Oklahoma, and I was actually there visiting when my cousin was born since she came a little early. My grandma and I had to go get a bassinet because they didn't have one yet. My aunt and uncle got to bring her home from the hospital when she was one day old. It was a closed adoption, so they know the birth mom's name, and I think she only knows their first names. Adoption truly is an amazing thing!! Let me know if you want me to ask my aunt any questions or if you would like her contact info :-)
ReplyDeleteHi! I have followed your blog through mutual friends -- excited to see what God does with this next chapter. Praying for your hearts and for everyone involved. Have you ever checked out www.nogreaterjoymom.com ? She recently went through embryo adoption and detailed it, don't may be helpful. But she has a beautiful heart for Jesus and His kingdom and her blog is a testament to that, so I think you'll enjoy it regardless.
ReplyDelete