Reflections on our Adoption Journey

This is part of a series of posts about our how we got started on the road to adoption and some things that we've done along the way that I didn't have time to write about at the time because I was swimming in a sea of paperwork. 

Where it all began . . .

I don't really recall a time when I thought about having children and not thinking that adoption would be part of the story.  It was something that James and I talked about early in our relationship.  My freshman year at college, I had a part time job in the International Student's office.  The Dean for International Students worked in that office, and he and his wife had adopted a little girl from China.  She was cute as a button!  When we got married, she was our little flower girl.  That family was the first family that I knew that had an adopted child.  I think getting to know them is what made adoption feel like a more concrete possibility.  After we got married, we moved to Little Rock and we met three interracial families there who had adopted children. We even had one of the girls in our Sunday class that we taught.  It was fun to watch the families meld together, and it was so helpful getting to hear their stories.  I'm so thankful for the time that those moms took to answer my questions.  It certainly helped us make our decision to adopt.