Final Decision!

Well after much soul searching we have decided to pursue a domestic adoption! We will revisit Guatemala in a year or two when things have settled down. It feels great to have committed to " a plan". I feel very comfortable with the attorney we will be using. I had a very good conversation with the attorneys wife. I know that my principal really trusts him. She got her 2 children from him and I have learned that she has also referred several other teachers to him who have gotten children.

We actually got a phone call from his office yesterday ( mind you we haven't even submitted our paperwork yet. )Like I said, I had a very good conversation with his wife and she got some basic info from me. They couldn't reach me yesterday so they tracked down Clinton's number from our Home study agency. It seems they were getting ready to go into a meeting with a birth mom ( who is due next week) and thought we might make good candidates as the adoptive parents! Clinton quickly faxed a bio sheet and picture of us. Talk about fast! I was in shock when Clinton gave me the news over the phone after school ( the meeting was in process as we were talking). The thought of bringing home a newborn as early as next week! It turns out it was a false alarm. The 16 year old girl was there at the insistence of her parents. She actually is not interested in adoption but her parents want her to keep her options open. Still, it was a very intense and exciting hour or so! It just shows me the difference in international and domestic adoption ( which I am not sure is a pro or a con). When adopting from Guatemala it is kind of like being pregnant because you have an estimated "due date" and you have time to mentally and physically prepare. With domestic adoption you can have a due date or it can happen at any time! This very same case happened to 2 other teachers my principal referred. One decided to take the baby and the other decided that she was not ready to bring home twins with 2 days notice ( she also had just completed her home study). They are both very happy parents today!

With all of this said, Clinton and I came up with a plan during dinner last night. We discussed how we would handle the situation if we got "the call" and he was out of town and what we could do to start preparing.This weekend we will go and purchase some basics - bottles, diapers, sleepers, bassinet, etc.. just in case we do get a call. We will not set up an official nursery because now we don't know what the sex of the baby will be. I will feel more comfortable setting up the nursery once the baby is actually home ( birthmoms can still change their minds until they relinquish the baby over to the agency). Anyway, we have lots of planning to do as the "big day" could very well be sooner than later! I will keep you posted.