New and Exciting Adventures

We have some major changes over in the Pierce household and all I can say is HALLELUJAH! It's been a long time coming and I think both Wesley and I feel like we're on cloud 9.

A couple week ago I accepted a new job with a law firm. I will be starting on July 6th and I'm making my return to family law. You know, I just can't get enough of the crazies. When I was involved in family law before I loved every minute of it. Sure, we did have some crazy clients but we also helped some really great people. In a way, this type of law is not as abstract. What we do directly affects people lives unlike watching a contact dispute unfold when all that's at stake is money for huge corporations who won't know the difference. I am extremely excited because the people at my new firm seem absolutely wonderful and I've received a lot of positive feedback from my current employers on how nice people are and that they hear is a great place to work. It really is a god sent that I'm able to start a new job in a place where I have nothing but high hopes.

On to more exciting news. Wesley has been offered a job! This was an answered prayer and something that was much needed. Wesley will be starting with the St. Louis City Police Department on Monday. The only downfall (in his eyes) is that he has to do another academy - 6 months to be exact. While I know he doesn't want to go through this again, I see it as a positive thing. Training is never a bad thing and I figure he will be doubly prepared after this round of the academy (plus he gets paid this time around, thank goodness). What is even more ironic is that 2 years ago, Wesley told me he knew St. Louis City would offer him a job...he didn't know why he knew it, he just did. This is the third time they have offered him the job. He turned it down the first two times due to other circumstances but we've come full circle. I think he's really going to like working there. So keep Wesley in your prayers as he begins his career. He's so excited and I know he is going to be an outstanding officer.

With Wesley being fully employed that means we get to start looking for a house. St. Louis City mandates that we have to be living in the City within 90 days of Wesley's start so we've been diligently looking at houses over the past couple months. The thought of having more space is thrilling to me and having a yard for Brad is going to be amazing. Once we get the house checked off the list, we will discuss getting our adoption application started. It seems like everything is falling into place just at the right time. It's exciting to be looking for homes knowing this is where our family will start and that is something to truly smile about.

Thanks to all our family and friends who have been praying for Wesley over the past couple years. I truly believe this is where he's supposed to be and this is a great way to start the next part of our lives!

Our Second Adoption Meeting

A few weeks after we visited Catholic Charities, we decided to visit Lutheran Family Services. A very dear college friend of mine is currently underway in their home study with Lutheran and had nothing but positive things to say about their program. Lutheran's program is very similar to CC because they are both non-profit and offer a wide range of resources for pregnant women and women with children. Here's what we learned about LFS:

1. We would have to be married 2 years before we can submit our application - no exceptions. They only allow 20 waiting families on their active list.
2. Their program is a lot bigger than CC because they are able to serve the entire state of Missouri, as opposed to just the St. Louis area.
3. They require a lot more educational seminars/training for adoptive parents than any other program we've looked at.
5. The cost is equivalent to CC.
6. The process is the same as CC - home study, birth mom letter, scrapbook etc.
7. All adoptions are "open" adoptions (as with CC). An "open" adoption means that we are required to submit pictures and letters to the agency a minimum of once a year. We do not have to share our contact information/last name with the birth mother unless we choose to. If a birth mother chooses not to have any contact with us after placement we are still required to send in the letters and pictures and the agency will hold them for the birth mother. Because it's an open adoption, we will be able to meet the birth mom and learn about her history and her story before she gives birth. Wesley and I both believe this information will be invaluable to us as our child grows. How wonderful will it be to be able to answer our child's questions about his/her birth parents.

This second meeting was a lot less overwhelming than our first meeting with CC simply because we had allowed ourselves some time to digest all the information that was given to us the first time around. I definitely know that as time goes on, Wesley and I have a greater peace and understanding of the path we are meant to take. I really feel a sense of calm about our decision to adopt and I cannot wait to welcome a new life into our family in the near future. Please keep Wesley and me in your prayers that everything will fall into place, allowing us to start our adoption process. We will hopefully have some exciting news to share in the next couple weeks that will allow us to be one step closer to starting a family!