Adoption: Open Thread

This is so very exciting. I really only have one question and it's mostly rhetorical: you're kidding about the Comic Sans, right?

Oh, if only I were. At a mandatory workshop this weekend we received an
entire full-page flowchart in Comic Sans. Headings, content and all.

Good grief! Did your eyes start bleeding?

I've already gleaned from previous blog posts what your possible reasons for adopting are, so I'm more curious about where you want to adopt from (international or within Canada), and whether you are adopting a baby or a kid! I'm just very excited! It really doesn't matter how a baby comes into our lives–it's all a blessing and a pleasure!

My eyes didn't bleed, but I might have made some under-the-breath remarks
that resulted in an elbow-jab from Greg.

Good question! And one we can't definitively answer at the moment.

Once we've completed the application process (we haven't even begun our home
study yet), we'll definitely be putting ourselves on the list for domestic
infant adoption — that's when a pregnant mom picks the home she'll place
her child in. Whether domestic or inter-country, this is really the only way
to adopt a newborn.

We haven't made decisions yet about whether we'll also consider adopting one
of BC's waiting children — these are children in the foster-care system and
are older than babies.

For inter-country adoption, you pick a country and stick with it. That's a
big decision to make in itself, and one we've made little progress on at the
moment. Race isn't at all an issue for us, but transparency in the process
and being able to know for certain that there's no good option for a baby in
their home country is very important to us — and that certainty, from what
I understand at this point, is hard to come by. For that reason, we'll be
looking into options in the U.S., because that works like a domestic
Canadian adoption — a mom picks the family.

I'm sooo thrilled for you. Miss you so much and you know I'm hanging on every word about your adoption process! OK, so my question: Does Canada have a residency requirement before you start your process? Where in the Perm Residency process do you have to be in order to start the process in other words? And: Best Canadian adoption info site? Inquring minds blah blah.

Sorry about your eyes bleeding from Comic Sans. Too true.

Thanks, you!

I'm not sure, but I *think*, depending on the type of adoption you pursue
(and this might even differ by province), you have to have been a resident
for a certain amount of time. Some countries might require at least one
partner to be a Canadian citizen, but I don't think that's ubiquitous, and
my impression is that that's not the case for domestic adoptions. Again, I
could be wrong. I do know that even though I'm not a citizen yet (Greg is) -
it's not a problem for us at all.

I've been fairly overwhelmed (and, actually, in some cases, underwhelmed) by
information online. In BC, the Adoptive Families Association is a treasure
trove of very *good* information: http://bcadoption.com.

I found it most helpful to attend an info session at one of the agencies we
were considering. It was very informative and helpful, and now that we've
begun the actual process, information is abundant. I suppose then, that I
recommend simply approaching people for information.

I can't really go into facebook or tweet back because I'm at work (my subscription to your blog in Google Reader gave me the news) but I just want to say that this so exiting!!! I'm thrilled for you guys! I hope everything works out perfectly!
All of our good energy goes to you guys in this process!!!

God bless you. My father was adopted and everyday I am thankful that my Grandmother chose him for hers. There is a special place in Heaven for families who choose to share the love in their hearts.

Wishing you the very best in your quest. The child will be very fortunate to have such caring parents. Here's hoping that your journey will be nice and easy on the comic sans!

Just wanted to say congratulations and blessing upon you and your future family. This may sound wacky, but I'm all over the internet and you can tell al ot about people by what they post and do out here, and I just want to say that there are very few people that actually walk their talk. You are tops on my list of folks that I admire and respect.

Congratulations!!! Way cool! Looking forward to going through the process with you. :)

Happy to share my adoption story of a newborn in the US 14 years ago. He's a healthy, handsome adolescent now and is loved dearly. He has known he was adopted since he could grasp it as we've told him his “birth story” more times than I can count. There is lots I wished I knew when we went through the process so feel free to reach out. We were there (in PA) about 5 minutes after his birth and held him before his birth mom who was 16. Gppd luck to you and your spouse. It's a long process but well worth it!

Thanks so much for sharing your story, Annie!

Awesome. You go girl. VP is in constant need of baby cousins, so your hard work is greatly appreciated. We wish you and Greg all the best.