We found our adoption agency on the internet... we asked around, but nobody we knew had used this agency before. We tried to get in contact with some friends of a friend who might know something, but it was all a dead end. People encouraged us to really look into finding a family who had used the agency, but we were just struggling to find someone.
We decided to go ahead and attend the agency's orientation. There was a minimal fee to attend (to cover the cost of the delicious blueberry cake donuts and coffee) and we thought it would be good experience and worth our time. As I've mentioned before, we loved the agency and both knew that this was "our agency" before leaving orientation, but we still didn't know anyone that had actually used this agency.
As we were scheduling our first home study appointment, the director mentioned that she was going to College Station in a week or so for a post-placement visit. We asked who the family was, thinking we might know them. We had never heard of them, and didn't think much of it, but for a few days following, my mind kept going back to the family in College Station that adopted with "our agency" ... so I started using some of my investigation skills and within 1 week, I was sitting at Starbucks, making a new friend.
We both work in the medical field, our husbands both work in the public schools. We have a handful of mutual friends and I felt a connection with her immediately. She has 2 adopted children and one of them was through the agency we are using. We sat for an hour and a half and talked all things adoption. She told me all about how they got both of their beautiful children and answered a laundry list of questions that I had.
I left that day feeling encouraged and loved. No matter what we are going through in life, it always feels better to know we aren't alone. My new friend could identify with all of the things I was feeling and had walked the road that Jeremy and I are currently on. We have a handful of friends that have adopted children, but there was something special knowing that she had sat in the same room we did for orientation, and that we would be meeting with the same people she had met with for our home study interviews.
Even though we knew, that we knew, that we knew this was our agency... talking with a family that had used (and loved!) the same agency was truly a gift. I am so grateful to have another friend to share this road with. It's nice knowing that we never have to walk alone.
We decided to go ahead and attend the agency's orientation. There was a minimal fee to attend (to cover the cost of the delicious blueberry cake donuts and coffee) and we thought it would be good experience and worth our time. As I've mentioned before, we loved the agency and both knew that this was "our agency" before leaving orientation, but we still didn't know anyone that had actually used this agency.
As we were scheduling our first home study appointment, the director mentioned that she was going to College Station in a week or so for a post-placement visit. We asked who the family was, thinking we might know them. We had never heard of them, and didn't think much of it, but for a few days following, my mind kept going back to the family in College Station that adopted with "our agency" ... so I started using some of my investigation skills and within 1 week, I was sitting at Starbucks, making a new friend.
We both work in the medical field, our husbands both work in the public schools. We have a handful of mutual friends and I felt a connection with her immediately. She has 2 adopted children and one of them was through the agency we are using. We sat for an hour and a half and talked all things adoption. She told me all about how they got both of their beautiful children and answered a laundry list of questions that I had.
I left that day feeling encouraged and loved. No matter what we are going through in life, it always feels better to know we aren't alone. My new friend could identify with all of the things I was feeling and had walked the road that Jeremy and I are currently on. We have a handful of friends that have adopted children, but there was something special knowing that she had sat in the same room we did for orientation, and that we would be meeting with the same people she had met with for our home study interviews.
Even though we knew, that we knew, that we knew this was our agency... talking with a family that had used (and loved!) the same agency was truly a gift. I am so grateful to have another friend to share this road with. It's nice knowing that we never have to walk alone.