Merry January 24

Thanks everyone for the messages, texts, emails, posts, calls, and any other form of communication that I'm missing that you've given us in regards to what we're now calling our "adoption press release." It's been a few weeks, and I thought I'd give a heads up on what's been happening in our lives since then.

For starters, I took this picture just now.

#notapriority

That would be our tree, which is still up. Hopefully, it will come down tonight. We've had a few other priorities/goings on, and suddenly about ten days ago we realized the tree was still up...and then promptly forgot about it again.

I think pictures work better with minimal words, so without further ado...

D's favorite gift

My favorite gift

It's tradtion!



Derek's done! What will he do with all this spare time?!

Cleaning out TV room for guest room

New TV/Family room...Before

And after! We did not get a snow day.

And of course, dogmosis.

I know a lot of you have asked a lot of questions about our adoption, and at some point in the near future we'll do a Q&A just for you! In the meantime, just keep checking back here where I will attempt to update wherever we may be in the process.

New Years and Red Threads

Happy New Year from the Tanii! 

Above, you will see the Chinese symbol for family. I love the simplicity of it! This is how we chose to tell our families this past Christmas that Lord willing, we have decided to adopt our firstborn child from China. 

Adoption has always, always been important to us. There are many reasons, but most importantly we are adopting because we want to. We want to show a child that he or she is loved and wanted. We want to give a child opportunities that he or she may not (and probably wouldn't) have; things we take for granted, like an education or good health or a safe environment. Ultimately, we want to pass on God's love and mercy to another as He has done for us.

Our family is growing. It may not be the traditional way, and although we've barely made a dent in the process we can already say it is also not the easy way, but we're excited to see what this year and the next will bring us. We welcome your questions and covet your prayers as we begin this journey, and hope that you share our excitement as we move forward!

As always, stay tuned.

An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch of tangle, but will never break. --Chinese proverb

Go Time

It's official.

After months of talking and thinking and praying, multiplied by a very high number, we've finally reached a decision. We've decided to adopt! 

Before I go any further, please understand me. This is not by any means at all a last resort for us. While that may be true for some people starting or continuing their families, Derek and I truly feel that this is more of a calling than anything else. Adoption has always been in our plans, always, whether we had biological children or not. (Notice, I said biological and not our own--they will all be our own!)

Now that we're both on the same page and (gasp!)even at the same time, it's full speed ahead!

Well, full speed ahead as soon as we know what we're doing. 

Here is what we know so far about the adoption process:

1. It's pricey.
2. *crickets* 

Ok, we may know a little more than that, but right now we're still trying to separate fact from fiction from myth from opinion.

After some extensive Googling, of which I still do not feel I am an expert, it appears that our next steps include: 

1. Deciding domestic v. international
2. If international, what countries do we qualify for?
3. Picking an agency

That sounds pretty simple, but you try Googling it and see what you come up with! Different costs, wait times, requirements for certain states, etc. 

The shortest lists are often the hardest. I personally like lists that have 29 things on them, and every item on it is a one step process. Unfortunately...we don't know any of the one step processes for this, so we'll have to wing it!

I don't do well with winging it.

Regardless, this is what we feel led to do and what we feel is right, so it's still full speed ahead!

Just...blindfolded.