Find Angency. Check!

Holy moly!!! I am so beyond excited to announce that I think we may have found an agency. For the past several months (and on and off for years) I have perused agency websites. Not really having any idea what I was looking for. Last week, I stumbled upon one (whose name I won't mention until we are firmly in the system) and I just love it! Why? This is why:

• Fees are based on income
• Fees are reasonable
• They help people regardless of sexual orientation, race, religion, age, marital status.
• They treat birthmothers with respect
• They offer lifetime counseling services to the birthmother
• They offer counseling services 2x each month (I think) for the adoptive parents until the child is 18
• Their average wait is 12 months (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and is generally between 6 and 18 months

I knew the right agency would just speak to me once I found it and this one certainly has. Their website is informative and turns a complicated process into something I can understand. Now that's saying something!!

Since they are not licensed in VA, we need a third party to do the home study and I contacted an agency in my town about that on Friday. I also asked my mom if she would be interested in flying with us to wherever the baby is when she/he is born...and she got all choked up. Which was cute to hear.

It looks like we will cancel the social services orientation and course because as it turns out, they do not release the full report to private agencies, so we'd need to do another home study anyway.

As soon as Shawn has some time to look over the material and assuming he likes this agency too. I think we'll register for a weekend orientation and then get rolling with the home study, which takes 6-8 weeks. Hopefully during that time, we can complete whatever else needs to be done and then we'll just wait. If we can get the paperwork submitted by mid-March, then maybe we'll be celebrating two birthdays next March.

I can hardly stand my excitement. It's almost too much.