Reality comes!

The truth about adoption is that it comes in stages. Often times slow stages and then all at once it will hit you. We found ourselves filling out paperwork and doing all of the required tasks earlier this year. At that point it was partially real. There was no child yet, except in God's predetermined choice which He hadn't shared yet. Then came the next phase where we met with a social worker in our house and it gets a little more real. There is after all someone in my house talking to us about the particulars of the process. The next step is even more real when we were chosen to be looked at by a birth mom. The reality becomes serious at this point since you are being considered by someone who loves their child enough to look at their current situation and say that adoption is the right choice. Eventually we were chosen by someone and Wow...it is super real but still a bit far off, since there is no child yet. But then we got "the call" that says the baby is coming and at that point you feel more emotions in 1 day than you have in the last year or so it seems. This was magnified by the fact that Eliana was 2 months earlier than anticipated. For the most part the ultimate reality sinks in when you put the child in the car seat and take the journey home for the first time. With Patrick it was a 2 hr ride down the mountain from Lake Arrowhead at 9pm in the evening. With Eliana it will be a 2 day drive from Walnut Creek sometime in August. As adoptive parents the previous events are our pregnancy, our way of getting ready for the adventure. It gives us a bond with other adoptive parents that is special. It is in no way better or worse than the biological process, it is not to be thought of as a last resort, it is simply the most wonderful roller coaster you could ever ride with all the ups and downs you can imagine. I don't ever want to get off. Although just for the record 2 kids is enough for this family.

But what is a story about adoption without some pictures. So here are Eliana and Vivian as Eliana continues to grow and develop into a child that is ready to come home.

Thanks for reading