Adoption Story
Adoption stories can be so interesting and touching. I know I like to read about them, and ever since we adopted Cruz, I've noticed that a lot of movies like to use kids in foster care or ones that have been adopted as their main characters. We get a lot of requests from friends of friends who are interested in hearing how the process went for us, adoptiong kids through DHS. There are a lot of positive stories told about international adoption, but our local children are also precious treasures often waiting for the right family.
The following is something I emailed to a friend of a friend (who I've never met) who asked us how the process has gone for us.
We love telling our story! After we were married for 3 years we decided we wanted to be foster parents. We were liscenced in January 2009 and in February we got a 3 year old boy, whom we were told would just be a fostering situation. Within a month or so we realized his birth mom was not going to get him back and he would soon be free for adoption. We found Cruz completely adorable. He was very quiet and his speech was very delayed when we first got him. (He'd been in foster care since he was 2 1/2 and was moved a lot). But with time he grew by leaps and bounds and is so smart and socially well adapted. We got some calls about newborns from time to time, but we didn't want to get a newborn so we had to turn them down (and some would have been free-for-adoption). We fostered a 7 year old for 3 months and that was a crazy, but wonderful experience. He was very ADHD and had some social skills to learn, but by the time he left our home, we would have kept him forever had the need been there. He changed to fit our family for the time he needed to be with us. He got to leave us and be adopted by his birth dad whom he'd never lived with, but had visited from time to time. (Strange that he had to be adopted by his birth dad, unusual situation). We didn't feel like we were ready to be done fostering, and had told a DHS worker that we were interested in Hispanic children (my husband speaks Spanish). About 6 months after the 7 year old left us, we were contacted about 2 Hispanic girls. We were told up front that they needed a placement that would progress towards adoption. Having a 4 year old at the time, we had to reallly pray about whether it was best to take in a 2 1/2 year old and a 14 month old. But, the day Cruz's adoption was finalized, we got the call that the girls were coming to us that day. (May 11, 2010) So, we are very near an adoption date a year later for our beautiful girls! DHS has been fairly easy to work with. We've learned that it's normal to change social workers every few months and that some (not all) social workers don't always make sure they get their facts right before they give you information. But, adopting with DHS is incredibly affordable. Financially, this has been a fairly easy transition. The first few weeks of adding a child into the mix is always interesting...wondering if we can do it! But, it has been a great journey. I can't imagine my life without our 3 beautiful kids. I have no fear that their birth families will try to get them or come back into their lives. The kids know that they are adopted and didn't come from my belly. I just tell them their first mom couldn't take good care of them, and that's enough for them now. Cruz has an adopted brother, who is 6 yrs. old that we keep in touch with. The girls have 2 brothers, 4 and 5 yrs. old that are being adopted who we also will keep in touch with.
So, there it is in a nutshell...the way we got a full house! The Bible says that God can do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. That is so true for me and Seth! In the next few years we hope to add one more Powell to the mix, but that one can come naturally, Lord willing.
The following is something I emailed to a friend of a friend (who I've never met) who asked us how the process has gone for us.
We love telling our story! After we were married for 3 years we decided we wanted to be foster parents. We were liscenced in January 2009 and in February we got a 3 year old boy, whom we were told would just be a fostering situation. Within a month or so we realized his birth mom was not going to get him back and he would soon be free for adoption. We found Cruz completely adorable. He was very quiet and his speech was very delayed when we first got him. (He'd been in foster care since he was 2 1/2 and was moved a lot). But with time he grew by leaps and bounds and is so smart and socially well adapted. We got some calls about newborns from time to time, but we didn't want to get a newborn so we had to turn them down (and some would have been free-for-adoption). We fostered a 7 year old for 3 months and that was a crazy, but wonderful experience. He was very ADHD and had some social skills to learn, but by the time he left our home, we would have kept him forever had the need been there. He changed to fit our family for the time he needed to be with us. He got to leave us and be adopted by his birth dad whom he'd never lived with, but had visited from time to time. (Strange that he had to be adopted by his birth dad, unusual situation). We didn't feel like we were ready to be done fostering, and had told a DHS worker that we were interested in Hispanic children (my husband speaks Spanish). About 6 months after the 7 year old left us, we were contacted about 2 Hispanic girls. We were told up front that they needed a placement that would progress towards adoption. Having a 4 year old at the time, we had to reallly pray about whether it was best to take in a 2 1/2 year old and a 14 month old. But, the day Cruz's adoption was finalized, we got the call that the girls were coming to us that day. (May 11, 2010) So, we are very near an adoption date a year later for our beautiful girls! DHS has been fairly easy to work with. We've learned that it's normal to change social workers every few months and that some (not all) social workers don't always make sure they get their facts right before they give you information. But, adopting with DHS is incredibly affordable. Financially, this has been a fairly easy transition. The first few weeks of adding a child into the mix is always interesting...wondering if we can do it! But, it has been a great journey. I can't imagine my life without our 3 beautiful kids. I have no fear that their birth families will try to get them or come back into their lives. The kids know that they are adopted and didn't come from my belly. I just tell them their first mom couldn't take good care of them, and that's enough for them now. Cruz has an adopted brother, who is 6 yrs. old that we keep in touch with. The girls have 2 brothers, 4 and 5 yrs. old that are being adopted who we also will keep in touch with.
So, there it is in a nutshell...the way we got a full house! The Bible says that God can do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine. That is so true for me and Seth! In the next few years we hope to add one more Powell to the mix, but that one can come naturally, Lord willing.
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