our decision to adopt.

I originally titled this post "why adopt?", but while sitting here pondering that question I realized that the answer to that is probably an entire different post. I think it probably goes deeper than how we came to the decision to adopt. It is interesting how our understanding of the whole concept of adoption has grown since we started this process...

And now, the condensed, a bit scattered, adoption story.
Since I was a little girl I knew that I always wanted to adopt a child. I figured that if I were to ever do that it would be if I was unable to have biological children - simply because you grow up, get married, have kids, and then die. :) I have never had that deep desire to be pregnant or have biological children. Before Aaron and I even got engaged we had conversations about adopting and my desire for that. Aaron had always been very open to that idea, thinking that if we couldn't have biological kids we would definitely go down that avenue.

Fast forward several years to last fall. We had come to the decision that we were ready to start trying to get pregnant in early 2007. It was about this time that I also found out that I have high blood pressure and we were beginning the process of figuring out medications for me. A few months passed and I did not have my medications figured out yet, and my primary physician had set us up to talk to a high-risk OB doctor to talk about the risks of getting pregnant with high blood pressure. It was very important to both of the physicians that we not get pregnant until my blood pressure was at a certain level for 3 straight months.

This was a really frustrating time for us on multiple levels. And although it might seem petty, three months is an ETERNITY to "wait and see" if my BP numbers stay low so we could start trying to get pregnant. It was December/January when we started talking seriously about adopting. We spent time praying together and separately if God was wanting us to adopt our first child and we also talked with some friends and family about our thoughts. We starting doing some research on adopting, knowing that if we decided to make the decision to adopt we wanted to jump right in with both feet and not decide to adopt, and then have to decide domestic or international, where, which agency, etc.

Sometimes it is hard to know if God is closing doors and leading in a new direction or if there is adversity that you just need to get through.

Last March I went back to see my physician so she could check my blood pressure and see if my numbers were good enough to start my "three month" waiting period. I had been taking my blood pressure at home and I knew it was on the verge of where she wanted it to be. Aaron and talked and decided that if I needed to change my medication again we would more than likely start the adoption process. I went to my appointment and my doctor said "well, Katie, your 3 months hasn't started yet."

I wasn't exactly sure how to react to that! Aaron and I spent some time talking after I got home. We went over our options once again...wait a minimum of 4 months to begin trying to get pregnant (assuming the new meds worked and STAYED working) and hope we got pregnant fast, or start the adoption process. We both felt extremely at peace about adopting, and we didn't want to wait and hope that something worked out quickly with getting pregnant. So, here we are, adopting our first child from Ethiopia! If someone had told me a couple years ago this is where we'd be today I would have laughed, but we are so confident that this is where God has led us that we wouldn't want it any other way.

It is hard for us to explain, really, how we decided to adopt, so I hope this gives a glimpse into a long process that we hard. Those of you that walked through it with us helped us in so many ways - even just listening to us (me!) talk endlessly about "what does God want us to do?" and "I am so frustrated!" We continually thank God and give him praise for you, our family and friends, and for directing our paths to adoption. We're excited!