A Detour- Same Destination

When you're going down the path of adoption, looking at the long road ahead, knowing there will be bumps in the way.... but wait, then you see a path, with the same destination, that looks a little brighter. Well, that seems to be what's happening in our journey. We're switching adoption agencies. Of course, there could still be "bumps" along the path, but we feel this is a good decision for many reasons, not all of which we are making public.
Why am I making this a big announcement? Well, first of all because you all are being incredibly generous with helping get us there and I feel the need to be transparent. Also, because this will likely mean a shorter process. While we had been thinking our wait would be a year or more, we've found a new, smaller agency that has told us to wait 4-6 months for a special needs referral.
There are a few things you- our faithful supporters- need to know about this.

• None of the money fundraised is being lost in this change! NONE. We are losing our application fee, which Steve and I paid with our own money. West Sands is being incredibly gracious in sending the remaining funds to the new agency.
• We will have a shorter wait- which means we have LESS time to fundraise. We are going to be applying for grants and doing garage sales, and continuing to sell sheets. So, PLEASE keep up your wonderful support!
• We will now likely be getting a baby instead of a toddler. The new agency has stricter policies on maintaining the birth order of the children. The new baby girl will have to be younger than Lydia. 
• The baby will have some kind of medical "special need". We are totally okay with this. This is what we wanted. We do not know what the special need will be, there are many possibilities. It could be something simple and easy to "fix" or something more complicated. We don't know. We feel this is the right path because there are hundreds of families waiting for healthy babies, and only a fraction who are willing/able to parent a child with medical needs. These babies need homes even more. However when referral time comes, don't be surprised if we don't share medical information publicly. I hope you all can respect that, just like I would for your children.

We know God has a daughter perfectly matched for our family. We are excited to see how He works!