Preliminary Application Approved

Even though this post is a week late, we wanted to make sure we included every detail of our adoption process on this blog. Last week on Wednesday, August 31st we got the official word that our Preliminary Application had been approved. Words cannot describe the emotions of that moment. Even though we knew that we still had a LONG road ahead of us and that this process could take months or even years, we felt that we finally saw light at the end of a 17 month tunnel.

For 17 months, we have lived on an emotional rollercoaster. For 17 months, we have answered the hardest question that you can possibly be asked when you are so deeply longing for a child and are unable to get pregnant..."when are you going to start having children?" That one question can cause so much pain and heartache that people are not even aware of, because they don't know what is going on personally in someone's life. One thing I have already learned from our journey so far is that words and questions, no matter how innocent they may seem, can hurt someone so deep. Going forward, we have vowed to be more careful with asking that question to other couples, since you never know what they may be struggling with privately. For 17 months, God has challenged us and taught us that He will be strong enough for both of us when we felt that we have been pushed as far as we could go. For 17 months, we have cried, prayed, hoped, dreamed, and wished that this struggle would come to an end and that we could finally add children to our little family.

In that moment when we got the email saying our preliminary application had been approved, we felt relief. We felt that our longing to have children was finally becoming a reality. We felt that finally, we were on a road that will, hopefully, one day end in us adding a sweet, precious baby to our family. We felt God saying "trust me...I have your best interest at heart." We have learned so much over the past 17 months and know that we will learn even more in the journey ahead. We know that we can only get through this with God's help and that ultimately He has our best interest at heart. So now our journey begins...