Wednesday, March 11, 2009

It begins!... The amazing journey we are embarking on.

Hello all and welcome to our blog. Jessie and I had this idea a few months ago to start a blog about out lives together. Very quickly however, we realized that as much as we love each other... our life is VERY boring. Well, all of this is about to change. You see, Jessie and I have decided that we are ready to expand our family beyond the current status of two kooky women and three overly pampered felines. Now I'm sure you're wondering exactly how we are going to achieve this goal since unlike hetero couples, there are no "pleasant surprises". Jess and I have discussed this at length, and length... and length. We have considered using a donor, both known and unknown, and have discussed adoption of every kind. Recently, through conversations and independent soul searching we have come to a mutual agreement that adoption is where our hearts truly are. Biological children are a blessing, and neither of us are nixing that option all together (we have YEARS before we're no longer able to biologically parent), but with this world already having so many wonderful children who are in need of homes and loving families, this is our perfect fit.

Adoption in itself can be a very daunting process, filled with an entire spectrum of emotion, along with mountains of paperwork and interviews. Luckily, together Jessie and I can conquer anything and we are both committed to do whatever it takes to fulfill our dream of parenthood. We have been in the extensive research phase for about a week now, and today we took our first leap. We have officially registered with the Department of Children and Family Services, with the intent to enter the Fost-Adopt program. On March 26th we will attend a three hour orientation with other hopeful applicants where we will learn the step-by-step process of fostering and adoption and submit our application.


Now, the internet is an endless wealth of information, both factual and confusing. Jessie and I have found that all the research in the world still lead us down a muddled road with dead-ends abound. Fost-Adopt, though a wonderful program, is not that easy to find on the web. Luck however is in our favor. In June of '07 Jess and I were married by a man named George who has traveled the Fost-Adopt road successfully twice and is now, along with his partner, the proud father of two beautiful children. We sent him an e-mail a few days ago and he was more than happy to share in his knowledge of the beginning steps. Furthermore, this man is so warm-hearted that he has volunteered to meet with us at any time to discuss our next steps if we ever feel lost in our journey. Since Jessie and I are new to this, and are finding quickly that this helping hand is welcome, we are extending the same to anyone out there who has also decided to take this route. The following links are those that George gave us, both of which have been very helpful in answering some starting questions and guiding us toward the right numbers to call and people to talk to. We'll blog again as soon as we have reached the next step. Thanks for reading.

LA County Adoption FAQ's
Adoption Handbook: Very Useful Source of Information

The phone number for LA County to register for an orientation is 888-811-1121.

No comments:

Post a Comment