Ahoy! {04.14.2014}

This weekend we were busy!!! First we attended a Mom Expo where both E and I won door prizes, we recieved lots of information, and a ton of free samples! It was a really great experience and we are looking forward to attending more. On Saturday afternoon we finally sat down together and worked on our adoption packet. I really hoped we would have had it finished before today but it didn't work out. So far we only have one more page to do together and then the last thing will be E’s questionnaire. I completed my questionnaire earlier last week. We’ve been thinking a lot about what we wanted to do for the bedroom and I think we both settled on a theme. I have a huge thing with quotes, and so does E. Right now I am just loving the bible verse from Hebrews that says “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul” for us that has been the bible verse that has gotten us through every storm we have faced and it certainly has been in our hearts and minds throughout this process thus far. {Oh sorry, the theme…duh!} The theme will be chevron navy blue and white with anchors and, of course, the bible verse will be somewhere in the bedroom. I’m really looking forward to moving into our new place because my first focus will be getting our son’s room setup. The good thing is that, by the grace of God, if we do end up getting pregnant, we still want the theme to stay the same. The colors would change a little for a girl, but everything else would remain. Below are a few of the photos and ideas I have for the room. Not everything will be just as you see it, but there will definitely be some similarities.

For this picture, my focus is on the wall! I am really loving the stripes! 

Here, I adore the beds and the white! I don't want stripes on the bed though. 

I am loving these monogrammed pillows! I'm thinking they are definitely going in the room.

I am looking forward to making this! I just think it is precious! 

Of course the room is not complete without an anchor somewhere! 

And of course, a lamp!!! This is just the shade but isn't it adorable?! I will also be buying the chevron navy and white scentsy warmer as well but it will only go up high out of reach. 

 

God Bless,

 

Megan

Waiting for You {04.10.2014}

Last night I worked on our application a little more, managing to complete my questionnaire and the first few introductory pages which include information about E and I, such as our marriage, expenses, and just life in general. I skipped over the questions about how our family deals with things, like happiness, stress, arguments, etc. because I felt that those pages were for E and I to sit down and discuss together. I also started working through the checklist, trying to find things that we already have and checking them off one by one. I also started making reservations for our training classes. So far it looks like we will only be able to take them on the weekends, but I am hoping that maybe we can move it to during the week like on a Thursday or a Friday, mostly because I have photo shoots on the weekends and I hate making clients wait. I will probably end up having to call the agency because we realized that in order to turn the application in, we have to have an address for the home study to take place {which we can’t do until all the training classes are completed}, and we are planning on moving to a new place with more room in September so we have few questions regarding that. As far as everything else goes, it’s one day at a time. There is so much that needs to get done and I am trying to make sure that all the classes and paperwork are done before September. My ideal situation would be we would get everything done by mid to late August, move into our new house, and then have the home study around late September – early October. That would be the most ideal situation, especially since we are really trying to have the child in our home before Christmas. They say the whole process takes about nine months to a year and nine months from now would be January. I guess it’s a just one of those “we will have to wait and see” processes but either way we both feel confident that we will be able to welcome a child into our home once everything is done. Oh, one of the things I really can’t wait to accomplish is our photo book. It will detail everything!!! Things about E and I, our friends, our families, our life, and will be filled with lots and lots of pictures. E and I are talking about attending the Adoption family meetings at our church but aren’t sure if we are able to make them since they are usually during the 11am service and that’s typically the service we attend but I think we can make arrangements for a class that will support us and we can listen to and support others through their journey. That’s all I have for now, until next time!

This quote has been one of the greatest quotes that explains why we are choosing to adopt.

 

God Bless,

 

Megan

 

Adoption Checklist {04.09.2014}

So there were quite a few people interested in finding out what the adoption process checklist details, so I thought I would go ahead and share with you the three checklists we recieved. ***Please note: not all adoption agencies are alike, you may not have the same checklists as we do, this is just what we have as requirements for our particular agency***

Checklist 1 is just a brief overview of what we need to do:

1) Attend information session - check

2) Submit a complete application - in progress

3) Complete required training - will being at the end of April

4) Participate in Home Study

5) Recieve approval to be an adoptive home

6) Welcome child into home

So that was just a brief overall summary, this next checklist is more detailed and really goes over what they are looking for in adoptive families.

Checklist 2 is a yes/no checklist:

-attend required training

-participate in home study

-provide references

-meet finanical needs

-at least 21 years of age

-be married for two years

 

Those were just a few of the 30-something yes/no requirements, I thought those were extremely important because not many people know that you have to be married for two years or provide references.

The last checklist details all the paperwork and documents needed to apply.  I will post just a few of the ones that stood out to me.

Checklist 3 is just a regular checklist:

-copies of birth certificates, driver's license, social security card, marriage license, high school diploma, paycheck stubs, auto insurance, photos of everyone in the house, background check, finger prints, and driving records

So as you can see, there is quite a lot that goes into the adoption process and there are a lot of things that are needed, but I feel like in the end all the hard work will pay off when you get to welcome a child into your home to be apart of your family forever. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. If you or someone you know is adopting, please share your story!

God Bless,

Megan

Adoption Meeting-Check! {04.08.2014}

Well, the meeting was fantastic!! It started out a little off track, we waited about 30 minutes before realizing that the whole group was in the wrong location, thankfully one of the workers came and escorted us to the correct location. After we entered the meeting room, we were handed a piece of paper to fill out brief information regarding ourselves and what we are wanting to do. Afterwards each couple was handed a packet which detailed all the information regarding the adoption process and what the adoption company would look for when choosing adoptive parents. Another piece of paper was handed out and that was a checklist {and yes! the planner in me was thrilled lol}. Our meeting leader took us through the packet while pausing to answer questions along the way, I was very thrilled to have her because she was very detailed and honest through the whole meeting. After reading the packet, we were asked to raise our hands for those of us still interested in moving forward with the process, and, of course, Erik and I raised our hands. We were then handed a large packet {aka: the application} which had question after question and some more questions. So many in fact that I was only able to complete the first three pages. The meeting was brief but very detailed and I must say, we walked out feeling positive and excited. We have a lot of work to do over the next few months including attending lots of training classes, gathering together the millions of documents needed, and even preparing a room for our childs forever home. But in the meantime, we are thankful that we feel confident enough to move forward with the process. 

God Bless,

Megan

First Adoption Meeting Day {04.08.2014}

Today is the day! We are overjoyed, thrilled, and just so very happy to attend our first of many meetings for our adoption process. The meeting starts at 6pm and will end at 8pm and is located in The Woodlands, TX. From what we've read, this meeting will cover all the basics and important details of the entire process, what we can expect, and what we will need to do to be able to adopt. Like I said yesterday, we have so many questions and I’m looking forward to the answers, hoping that they are all positive and that we will feel confident when we leave. We are hoping to leave with all the knowledge and maybe a checklist or two, because as most of you know, I love to plan and with a checklist planning is so easy! We will be sure to take lots of notes and will post about what took place, maybe some of you who are thinking about adopting will get some answers and positive encouragement.

God Bless,

 

Megan

Spring is Here {04.05.2014}

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Spring! Although I'm sure E could disagree considering his Allergies. But I still love it! The colors of the windflowers, the warm but not scorching hot sunshine, and the fact that every now and then rain comes to soothe you to sleep...Ahhhhh! There's nothing better. Being a photographer, I love taking pictures! Really that's an understatement for how much I enjoy taking them but you get the point. So being that I love photos, I decided we needed some updated photos of us around the apartment. Especially considering the ones we have up are from two and three years ago some even four!!! So I thought I'd share a few of our photos from our spring photoshoot! Also, if you live in the Katy, Sugar Land, Cypress, Houston, Galveston, or surrounding areas, check out my website: http://meganrichards1674.wix.com/affordmephotography, each session is just $50!!! So without further ado, here are our pictures! 

That's all folks!

God Bless, 

Megan

***SHOUT OUT: Danielle K. for being a faithful reader and follower of our Blog. May God Bless you with a rainbow baby and may you always be blessed!***

Waiting for Tomorrow {04.07.2014}

Tomorrow is the first meeting, we can't believe it's already here but we are very excited. We both have so many questions and we are really looking forward to getting those questions answered and learning more about the adoption process. We've been reading about the adoption process through personal stories from others, but everyone's adoption is different and that's a very important thing to remember  when going through the process. We have learned that looking at others and how their story went will not be the same or even similar to our story, but ours will still be unique in it's own way. We were talking over the weekend about things we are looking forward to throughout this process, and aside from all the little things like the meetings and home study, we are most looking forward to meeting our new son or daughter and, of course, adoption day! I must admit that I think our biggest fear is the "financially stable" part. Yes, we have money and good jobs but what one persons idea of "stability" is may differ radically from what someone else thinks. Either way, I'm very excited and I know Erik is too. We feel like this is an amazing opportunity and feel so blessed that God has led us down this path wholeheartedly. After tomorrow, the nine months to a year process begins and we will be running around like crazy trying to get things done. We can't wait to share all the excitement and hard work we will be going through with friends and family! We thank you for following our journey and if you have an adoption story, please share with us!!! If you are currently going through the adoption process, we pray that God may bless you with your sweet angel quickly and without delay. 

God Bless,

Megan

We Are...{04.04.2014}

Lots of things have taken place since our last post but the most important is a decision that we made over the course of our hiatus. We have decided to adopt and have our first meeting April 8. Adoption has always been something that we wanted to do but we just recently started pushing for it to happen since we are at the peak of our lives. We both have steady jobs, make great money, have insurance through my husbands company, and we are settled in our town. We are looking to rent a house in September when our lease is up because we want a bigger place and more room for a child. So we are back because I thought we could use our blog as a way to share our adoption story. I know many people who want to adopt or who are adopting and I loved reading their stories so this is ours and it began the second we made the decision to adopt. One thing I can say is that we have realized that this decision started out being about us but quickly it changed to being about the child, his or her needs and every child needs a loving forever home and we know we can give that to them. So here's to hoping the journey is smooth and we can be blessed with a child to love. 

Here are some pictures we took during our spring photo shoot that we will add to our adoption book for our child to look through.

God Bless,

Megan