The journey of adoption definitely isn't a straight line. It looks a bit more like:
Our requests for a child aren't too specific, but we definitely have some requests that are important to us: We would like a boy between the ages of 5 and 11. We're open to contact with biological family. We'd like to avoid extreme attachment disorders or disabilities. Bring on the ADHD- that doesn't phase us at all. There are a few behaviors that we would prefer not to bring into our home, but other than that, we're open to talking about most kids.
The process for Oregon is:
1. We browse lists of available kids and express interest in those that tug on our heart strings.
2. Our home study is then passed on to that child's caseworker who decides if we are a good match.
3. If it seems like a good match, we become one of three families that goes to "committee" for the child. Committee consists of our caseworker, the child's caseworker, and select others who help make the best decision.
4. If our family is selected as the best choice, we then receive even more information about the child and have opportunity to make additional decisions.
5. If all goes well, the child comes into our home in a 'pre-adoptive' placement- which is approximately 6 months.
6. If we all survive the 6 months and the fit still seems like the right one, adoption takes place.
It sounds as though we may be going to committee on one of two potential children- at both ends of our age range. K is 6 and A is almost 12. My prayer is that God makes this decision abundantly clear for us... or takes it out of our hands completely. I'm not sure I could ever pick one child over another.
... And the waiting continues. Hopefully we'll know more next week (but I'm not going to get my hopes up on that one).
