Getting Excited!

We had a lovely time this weekend at the annual Adoption STAR NYC social event in Brooklyn. It was so very encouraging to meet families that have adopted through our agency. As well as families who are in the same stage as us.... waiting. We are inspired by the support and sense of "extended" family that Adoption STAR has developed here in our neck of the woods. Looking forward to keeping in touch with all the beautiful families that we met. 




In other news, we went on an Adoption inspired shopping spree on Etsy and found the cutest little baby outfits!

I Love My Birthmother

Openly Adopted (Yes, it IS all about me)

Worth the Wait

Home Study Complete!

Home Study Complete!

We are excited to announce that our Home Study is complete and our profile book has been ordered. We sent in our first round of paperwork on August 16th. As of Thursday, November 12th, we are all set! This means that we are ready to be shown to potential birth families looking to make an adoption plan for their child. 

This is a big step in our journey and we are looking forward to the adventure ahead. Thank you to all who have supported us this far. We will keep you posted as we continue. 

Second Home Study Interview Complete!

So...... we had our second Home Study interview this morning. Basically, it was an overview of the questions we have already been asked and verifying the forms we have already filled out. Once this is filed, we will officially be qualified to adopt and waiting for our little one to find us. 

We are so excited to have reached this point but are aware that we may still have a LONG way to go. We ask all following our story to keep us in mind. This is an overwhelming and beautiful time in our lives. We are eager to see where the journey takes us. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Belated Halloween!

Sean was a less than qualified Referee & Annie was Ace Ventura

We carved a Minion themed pumpkin the night before. And on Halloween we spent the early part of the day passing out candy to our neighborhood 'Trick or Treaters' then hosted a lively Halloween Party! 

Oh, earlier in the week Annie's Dad (Papaw) came into NYC for work. So, we had dinner with him and Meredith - Annie's sister. 

November is National Adoption Month

Presidential Proclamation

We are excited to announce that our first Home Study interview went well. It was a long process with tons of questions, verifications and ended with a tour of our home. We will have a follow-up interview this week. This is a big step as once our interviews are complete and the final paperwork is submitted, we will be ready for our little one to find us!

We trust that somewhere in this big wide world there is a little boy or girl who is meant to be a part of our family. We are eager to meet him/her and our new "extended" family. 

First Home Study Interview is Scheduled!

From day one of deciding to pursue adoption we have been told by many that this process will be a very long journey. Just getting qualified can take 4 - 6 months. Not to mention the LONG wait that can take place once you are qualified. We thought it would be another month before getting an appointment for our first Home Study Interview. However, the call came yesterday and we are scheduled for our first Home Study interview (and inspection of our home) next week.  

Of course there has been excitement from the beginning. But this phone call has put it all into perspective. This IS going to happen. It is an overwhelmingly beautiful feeling to know that our child may already be out there. 

With that being said, we also want to pause and respectfully acknowledge that making an adoption plan for your child is not something that is done lightly. This is why it is so important to us to find a birth family that truly wants to take this journey with us. Our child will forever link us to another family - our new "extended" family. Knowing the grief and pain that comes from losing a child, we want to convey that our goal is to keep our little one's birth family connected to him/her. Not only for the benefit of the little one but we want to help in anyway we can to ease the pain that may come from creating an adoption plan and placing your child. 

In our lives when we face the unknown, be it something simple such as visiting a new country for the first time or complex like this adoption journey, we call it an Adventure. To us, the word 'Adventure' can sum up the emotions, apprehensions and excitement that bubbles up when facing something new. 

Our new Adventure is finding you!

Visiting the Noguchi Museum

Sean enjoying the beautiful sculptures at the Noguchi Museum

This song sums up how we see adoption and explains how much love we are already feeling:

This Love by Mandi Mapes

On another note:

Grammy came to visit us. So we got to be tourists in our own city!

Grammy is Sean's Mom

The Empire State Building

We had a great time seeing Dames at Sea (including a backstage tour) & Something Rotten on Broadway with a pre-theatre cocktail at The Plaza Hotel. Sean and Grammy had a night out on the town at Birdland Jazz Club and enjoyed some pretty cool music. Of course we had brunch with our best friends and visited the Noguchi Museum with Grammy & Annie's sister. And you can't visit New York without shopping!

The Apple Picking Tradition Continues...

Today we enjoyed another fall trip to Connecticut for apple picking! This is our fifth year of picking apples, pumpkins and having yummy cider donuts.