Friday, November 19, 2010

Why are we adopting?

I was asked on Facebook yesterday why John & I have chosen to adopt for our first child. I realized I have never really put anything up on my FB or blog about WHY we have chosen to adopt our first. So here is a short & sweet explanation why...

When I was 17 I (Brittany) was diagnosed with PCOS. The diagnosis didn't affect me much but one of the symptoms the doctor brought to my attention was that women with PCOS can have issues with getting pregnant but for most it's not a problem. So I left her office with a prescription to birth control & was on my way. I was still young & having kids wasn't on my radar quite yet so I didn't think much about what she had said. A couple years later I found myself in a couple relationships. I felt like it was important to tell them about my PCOS & that there was a possibility I might have a harder time getting pregnant or not be able to at all. I guess I felt like telling them because I thought they deserved to know just in case things progressed. In having those conversations with others I began to think about the possibility of not being able to have "biological" children. Knowing I desired to be a mother someday I began thinking about adoption...a lot. As my faith grew & matured so did my heart for adoption. For me it was never a concern not being able to have a child that looked like me, talked like me or God forbid inherit my crooked teeth and acne! I just knew I wanted to be a mom & I desired to adopt. Of course, I also thought about the idea of having biological children (and still do) but KNEW adoption was a must. This was one of the first serious conversations John & I ever had while dating. I learned he had the same heart for adoption & that made me even more interested in him. Well you know the rest of that story;)

After about a year of marriage we decided to start thinking about growing our family. We thought about both having a baby & adopting for our first. We prayed for guidance & boy did we get it! God had a tight grip on our hearts & gave us some sure signs of what he wanted for us right now...adoption. After about 4 months of researching agencies both domestically & internationally we decided to have a domestic adoption for our first. The main reason for this were finances. It costs significantly more to adopt internationally & with us being newlyweds & owners of brand new businesses cost was key. I can't help but chuckle to myself anytime people say they'd adopt if it wasn't so expensive. I know they mean well but the reality is if God calls you to something He will make it happen. We have been saving our pennies to pay for it & still have a ways to go but we trust it will all work out as long as we're doing what we can. We're not rich, far from it but we feel called to care for the orphans & give a child that's already here a loving family. There have been some hurdles in our process so far & I would be naive to say there won't be anymore but we trust that God has a plan for our family. A perfect plan.

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you. John 14:18

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