Why adopt?

It's been about four years since I ended my last blog.  I thought it time that Matt and I start to document our "adventures" in adoption.  We have wanted to start a family since we got together in 2004, but it really didn't feel like the correct time until we got to Houston.  Matt has reached his career goal and we know that we're here for the long run.

We have conceived several times, but all ended in a miscarriage.  We decided that having babies wasn't in the cards for us, so we turned to adoption.  It wasn't a difficult decision at all.  The decision to keep going through the process...that was a different story.

We decided to adopt through the foster system here in Texas.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  First, there are many kids right here in our back yard that need stable and loving families.  I just wouldn't have felt right about going to another country and adopting a baby there.  That's another thing - since we get to choose, we're skipping babies altogether.  I would rather not have to go through diapers and crying.  Finally, the cost for adopting through the state is traditionally much cheaper than a private adoption.

There were many other decisions to be made such as gender, age, disabilities and more.  Ultimately, we have decided that we're looking for a sibling group - two brothers.  I really would like to experience the pre-school phase, so we've requested a 3- or 4- year old.  We're ok with the other child being up to 8 years old.  In other words, a pre-schooler and an elementary school kid.

We realize that we have no idea what we're in for.  In the coming posts, I'll go through each step of our journey.