Let the research commence!

First off I would like to thank everyone for their warm and positive responses to Jeff and I's path. We feel truly blessed to have the support of our friends and families and forever grateful to have you in our lives.

A little over a week ago we met with a consultant who shared some input and advice to the process of adoption. She shared with us advice on our budget, birth mom situations and how she feels certain factors about us are positive attributes to a "quick" match and placement with a baby. After our meeting we decided that before choosing whether or not we would use her services, we would do research ourselves to see if we could be our "own" consultants.

Many may wonder what an Adoption Consultant does and how it benefits the adoptive parent. Consultants are not placing agencies and are not legally allowed to place a child. They simply serve as a guide to the ins and outs, and serve as support for the adoptive parent through the process. In our case, the consultant we found does several things. She a.) walks you through and educates you about the adoption process including which states are safest to adopt from, rights of the adoptive parents and rights of the birth mom or family b.) assists you on your adoptive parent profile to make it the most appealing to the birth mom c.) puts together for you a custom adoption plan and puts you in contact with agencies and lawyers who prefer only to work in those states d.) once with an agency, will work with you on determining whether or not a "match" is safe. All of these services come with a fee, a fee we are not sure about spending. I guess this decision will be made once we receive all the information from the local agencies. In my opinion, another set of eyes, ears and shoulder to lean on are never a bad thing, just how much you want to pay for this is another question. 

So for the last week, I've been obsessively researching and reading about local attorneys, agencies and the State of Florida adoption laws. I've been processing the information and sending it to Jeff who in turn calls these agencies requesting more information. Each agency that we have received information from is completely different from the next. Their differences range from their time frame to most importantly their cost. Each come highly recommended which makes the decision that more difficult. We are still waiting on a few more to get back with us before we can make a sound judgement call. We're nervous to make that leap, as you don't want to make the wrong decision. A wrong turn here, leaves your pocket book a little lighter and you a little further behind in the process. I believe our hearts will lead us in the correct direction!

Cheers!
Jeff & Jennifer