Confession

Okay, I have a confession. It has to do with the big news I mentioned the other day. While I am sharing this with you, we are keeping it very quiet in our personal lives, so if you know me on Facebook, please DO NOT mention it on my Facebook page. We have not yet told The Hubs' family about this and are picking our time to do so carefully. It will be soon, but not just yet.

Anyway, I guess you're waiting for me to spill, right? Okay, here goes.....

The Hubs and I have been tentatively matched for adoption with a birthmom and baby due in February 2012! Remember the significance of February? Having said that, nothing is yet set in stone, so we are not getting overly excited. We still have much to do to get there.

First, I'll give you a minor amount of details about the whole situation. We were connected to the birthmom by my friend/former work-colleague Lady V. Lady V's niece J's partner C is the sister of our birthmom (complicated, I know). One of the reasons this is all so tenuous is that, at present, all of our communication with the birthmom (who I shall from here on call Juno) has been through Lady V. There has been plenty of communication, but all through a middle-man. Lady V did pass our phone number onto Juno and her family (she is very young - not a bad girl, but one who made a decision that backfired on her), however, right now they prefer to maintain contact through Lady V. We are okay with this for right now, since it's still very early on. As we get closer to the goal, we'll move forward with personal contact.

When Juno first discovered she was pregnant, she contemplated abortion and met with a counselor. After the meeting, she made the admirable decision to carry the baby and place it for adoption after birth. Juno's next step was to see an adoption counselor. Because of Juno's age and the family's situation, the counselor suggested she enroll in a program offered by the county/state that helps mothers who intend to place their baby for adoption with the cost of living expenses, maternity clothing and other expenses to do with the baby (before your hackles get raised over this being done for mothers who are placing a child for adoption, there is also a similar program for those who are keeping their child, it's just a different program). Because the program is offered through the county and state, the adoption placement will be with families who are on the state's approved list of adoptive parents (foster-care adoption). She can place with whatever family she chooses, as long as they are on that list. This means The Hubs and I have to get moving very soon so we can be approved in time!

Our first order of business is to find a home to rent or purchase that is not right next door to my mom and dad. I love my parents dearly and know their help and support will be greatly appreciated, but The Hubs and I need our own space, particularly with a child possibly entering the picture. We've been living next door to my parents for over 4 years now and we've lost a lot of the independence we had before. It has not been good for us or for our self-esteem. It is now time to move on. Secondly, my mom is not a person to sit back and let you do it your way. She will constantly be telling me I'm not doing something right because I'm not doing it her way. This will, however, be our child and not her's and, therefore, we need to do what is right for us with our child, not what she thinks is right.

We are already looking for a home and have a few possibilities. As soon as we get moved (which will hopefully be within the next 2 to 3 weeks), we will be getting in touch with our local Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) to get enrolled in IMPACT training courses and start our home study. It is going to be a busy, busy time for us over the next few months! I hope you'll stick by me and give me support! I'm really going to need it!

Something else that has recently transpired is that, in order to help earn some extra money to help with the cost of the adoption, I have become a Thirty-One Consultant! What, you may ask, is Thirty-One? For those who don't know, Thirty-One is a great way to purchase very, very cute personalized handbags, totes, luggage, wallets, backpacks, lunch totes, diaper bags, organizational bags and lots of other things! Maybe you're looking for a new purse or a diaper bag for that baby you've fought so long and hard for? Or maybe you want to give a gift to a friend who recently had a birthday or just found out they were going to be parents? Maybe you want to purchase something special and personalized for your little one as school time rapidly approaches us? Or maybe you just need help in getting things organized? If so, please, please check out my Personal Thirty-One Consultant Webpage. If you need any help AT ALL, with the site or making a decision about a purchase, please contact me or you can email me at wistful [dot] girl [at] gmail [dot] com. If you need to speak to me, simply email me and I'll send you my number!

I'm really eager to make Thirty-One work for me and become successful at it. I'm also eager to make our adoption go as smoothly as possible! I'd love for anyone who would like to contribute to our adoption fund but also receive something lovely for themselves to place an order with me!

Thank you all so much for standing by me and being my sounding board through all this. You will never know how much this community means to me!