To Start...

             As many of you know my husband, Riley, and I have decided to adopt.  As we have told family and friends, there have been a myriad of questions. I hope to answer some of them here. I have decided to start a blog of our journey through adoption.

             The most often asked question would be why are you adopting? It may be easier to give a list of reasons that aren’t motivating us to adopt. We are not adopting because of any medical reasons or because we feel empowered to save someone or because we want to make ourselves feel good.

            Adoption is, and always will be, something we were naturally led to. As we have watched friends and family walk through different aspects of adoption, we felt a tug to grow our own family in the same manner.

            Another thing people ask about is money. The short answer is that adoption is extremely expensive for many reasons. I will write a separate post about why adoption costs so much at a later date. The best explanation I have heard regarding the cost came from another blog. The author said to imagine your child in another country, alone, waiting for you to come get him. Would you not do everything in your power to get your child, regardless of cost? When you think of the child as your own already it changes your perspective completely. The cost stops being too much and starts being just an obstacle to tackle to bring your child safely home. In other words, the cost is really not the biggest part of adoption.

            These are short and simple answers to complex questions. With many of these questions, know that we have not begun this process without serious consideration and prayer. We have thought through it, and prayed about it countless hours. I have been doing research for over two years now. I have read countless blogs and books, talked to many families that have adopted themselves and come to the conclusion that this is right for our family.

            I hope you guys enjoy this blog. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us. I will be trying to keep you guys updated as we get further along in this process. We haven’t been the best at keeping everyone up to date. In a small town it’s sometimes easy to live under the assumption that if someone knows, everyone knows. Riley and I know this isn’t always true and will do our best to document our journey for ourselves, our child, and those we love and share life with.
            Being visually inclined, I tend to steer away from blogs without pictures. Because of this, I will do my best to post with pictures even if they may be slightly off topic. Just to give you a glimpse of our year.

Hiking up to the Highland Mary's this past summer.

We also acquired a puppy in the early spring. Her name is Tulip and she is a purebred mutt.

We have been spending lots of time down by the river this summer. Our pup loves the water and if there is water around she is bound to find it.

Riley and I jumped this beautiful waterfall.