What Do You Say To Someone....

... who is about to place their child for adoption? What would you put in a letter to them that would leave no doubt that we are the best parents for their child?

As our home study process is moving along over the next few weeks, our next big task is to write our "Dear Birthparent" letter and family profile. I am grateful that our agency has enlisted professional help to complete this phase. We could drive ourselves crazy with "do we look fun enough?" or "is this picture of me good enough?" and we would never get anything done! We know that our adoption questionnaire could be very open and inviting to several situations, but if our profile is not that interesting, we might not even be considered.

I have ordered the following reference that has come highly recommended. I hope that it will help us to put in paper what we feel in our hearts. "Reaching Out: The Guide to Writing a Terrific Dear Birthmother Letter" by Nelson Handel

I am trying to put myself in the other shoes and what would I think is a good parent if I got to choose anyone I wanted. What motivates one to choose adoption for their child? I'm glad they do! On the other hand, it is so important for us to be ourselves and the right child will be placed with us when it is meant to be. We want to connect with the right birthparents. It's hard to let go and let God work His plan. This is what I will have absolutely no control over and it's so important to remember that a birthparent will pick us for us. We are going to have to rely on faith and the ultimate plan.

Our paperwork for the home study is completed and now we are collecting the reference letters from our friends. We have every reason to believe that we will be recommended for adoption by our social worker unless we really do something crazy to mess that up. I am actually looking forward to meeting our social worker and talking about our dreams of a family. We have exchanged phone calls and emails since the beginning of December and she has graciously answered all my wacky questions. I can only imagine the craziness that will go into action this weekend as we take down all our holiday decorations and start cleaning like we are expecting the Queen of England. Home studies are NOT white glove tests, but everyone feels compelled to treat them that way. It is a special time and it will keep me busy!