Why we are adopting

When Nick and I were dating, even before there was a ring involved, I told him one day I wanted to adopt a child. He seemed cool with the idea. Great, I thought.

Fast forward three years or so...

Once we got married and started the whole "in 2.7 years, we will have our first child, which will be a boy, then in another 1.4 years, we will have our second child, which will be a girl" family planning session, we always factored in that we would adopt a child to make our family complete.

We decided it was time to start "trying" in the fall of 2007. By the summer of 2008, I convinced Nick to go to an adoption informational meeting. I hadn't given up the idea of having our own biological child, but something was beginning to stir in me. We went to the meeting and left TOTALLY overwhelmed. Nick's a bottom like kinda guy, and the bottom line of over $25,000 didn't excite him. I filed the adoption information away in my nightstand.

Fast forward another 6 mths, after a series of testing that "looked good" we got a referral to see a fertility specialist. I have some fantastic girl friends who have been through this fertility process and were fantastic sounding boards, listening ears, and advice givers. I armed myself with all the information I could find (thanks webMD) and my list of questions. We went through another series of testing at the fertility doctor and were given the whole "everything looks normal, you fall in the 10% of couples who have no known fertility issues category" speech. We left with a prescription for Clomid and a game plan. Well, I wasn't comfortable starting that program just yet, the stirring was more of an electric mixer now. After a few months of praying and talking with Nick I decided we'd give the Clomid a try.

Fast forward another three months, back at the fertility doctor we were given the "you fall in the 5% of couples that have no known fertility issues and Clomid doesn't work for" speech and given another game plan.

We left the doctor and I cried almost the whole way home. Not that I was sad, I was frustrated and had resolved myself that this wasn't God's will for us. Nick and I were at an impass, he wanted to continue the fertility route and I wasn't comfortable doing the next step (which was an IUI).

Let me interject here and say I do not think there is anything wrong with IUI, but God and I had wrestled and worked it out that this wasn't His plan for us.

The impass continued for several months, which resulted in several discussions, some of them heated, and some tears. All the while, I felt God calling us to adopt. I would pray that God move mightly in Nick's heart because that is what it was going to take. I couldn't and wouldn't force him into this. And I'd pray that if this wasn't God plan for us, for him to change my heart. I felt so sure of this decision, but needed Nick to get on board.

Fast forward several more months, God did some might work through some of our friends at church and while at dinner together to celebrate Nick's birthday, he gave me the best present ever and told me he wanted to adopt our child from South Korea. I was over the moon, but needed to be sure his heart was in it. We had several more discussions, this time not heated, about the process and what it would take. He was sold- he really was!!

We called our chosen adoption agency.... and so our story begins.