Growing Families Through Adoption

So many exciting things happening in the adoption world around us…

Congratulations to our friends, the Vaught Family on the new editions to their family over the past year. Tammy and Chris finalized the adoption of their son Cristian on Monday, August 19, 2013, and earlier this summer in June, their daughter Scarlett was born and they will be finalizing her adoption in the near future. We are so happy for your family.

We are praying for the Priddy and Duvall Families. They are both waiting for news on a court date. Once the Priddys receive news of a court date they will travel to Honduras and see their little girl. Once the Duvalls receive news of a court date then they will travel to Korea to see their son. We hope that both families are one step closer to bringing their children home this year.

As for the Smith Family…Our second adoption is going to be so different from the first but that makes it so much more exciting. First, Madilyn is going to be involved the entire time from interviews to our home study, choosing pictures for our “Dear Birth Parents” letter and meeting the potential birth parents. Second, we are adopting through Buckner International out of Dallas, TX this time. We are so lucky b/c we had the most wonderful caseworkers the first time around…Raquel McFadden and Betty Noyola. Our caseworker and the maternity caseworker are just as fabulous at Buckner for our second adoption. We are definitely blessed to be working with both of them. Third, there’s a hope that we will actually be matched earlier in the process this time with the birth parent(s). That is very exciting for us. Finally, we have decided to fund raise which is actually exciting. It will give us the opportunity to keep all of our family and friends involved in our adoption process, and Madilyn will be very involved as well. She has told us repeatedly that she’s ready for us to adopt a brother or sister for her. She’s ready to be a big sister, and she’s actually asked for a little brother AND little sister.

We attended our two-day seminar last week at Buckner! It was a plethora of information in only 2 days. Some information we already knew, some of it was nice to refresh our memories, and other information was new. We also had the opportunity to meet 4 other couples going through the process with as well. Two couples have biological children but feel they are being called to adopt now, one couple has no children and have chosen adoption to grow their family, and the final family is adopting for the second time like us. It’s so wonderful to hear everyone’s stories and what led them to adoption. Everyone’s story is so amazing and so different.
So now what happens??? Well at the end of our two-day seminar, our caseworker informed us that because we’ve adopted before that our process in getting approved will be moving a little more quickly.

WHAT???!!!! In that moment I freaked out…just a little bit!

If you know me then you know I’m a little OCD, and now my plans have been altered. EEEEEEEKKKK! So Scot and I are concentrating on finalizing our Wills, scheduling our appts for our fingerprints to be sent to the FBI, scheduling our physicals and completing our required reading. Next we will be scheduling our home study and interviews for all three of us…oh yes Madilyn will be interviewed as well. She’s so excited. Of course her first question when I tell her that she’ll be interviewed, “Mama, can I tell her what I’ll teach my baby brother or sister…OH and show her my room?!” And my answer, “Of course”! How can you not love Miss Mads?!

Scot and I have constantly been praying about this entire process because it’s not easy by any means, and there’s so much to consider since we have Madilyn now. But after this weekend, we know we are moving in the right direction in growing our family through domestic infant adoption again with Buckner. No one can know what it’s like for us unless you’ve experienced the journey of Cancer, infertility and miscarriage. The road we’ve traveled together has not been easy but it’s been well worth the joy and tragedy we’ve experienced. Upon our journey we’ve had positive and negative comments from people. When you’re in the moment of your tragedy or joy those comments can get to you. Sometimes it has made us doubt the decision we were making but not this time. Scot and I are together in our decision and KNOW we are choosing what is right for our family. It won’t be easy but it’s what it’s RIGHT. I don’t mind the comments and opinions any longer. I am stronger and stand strong with God and my family.

Last but not least we’ve launched Madilyn’s Adoption Spot on Facebook. On our Facebook page we will post updates to the blog, anyone can ask us questions about our adoption or adoption in general, we will have “Monday Madieisms” and information/updates about our three fundraising partners. First, we have Breathe Deep Designs by Deepa Lal and she is currently working with the three us to design three bracelets that everyone can purchase. Second is SPoT oN – be your own spot by Alicia Taylor and she will work with us in creating a t-shirt for purchase. Third, is Ground to Cup Coffee out of San Antonio, TX and it’s already up and running. The link is on our FB page, here it is now: http://www.groundtocupcoffee.com/online-store/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=COFFEE&Screen=PLST&Affiliate=smith5100, OR you can click on the Ground to Cup Coffee image at the top, right-hand side of our blog. All three will take you directly to our online store. At our online store anyone may purchase single origin coffee, decaf coffee, flavored coffee, teas, specialty drinks and/or gift boxes. Ground to Cup Coffee is truly freshly roasted, blended, flavored and packaged by hand when you order it. They achieve this by roasting all of their coffees daily and in small batches. Their coffee selection is constantly being expanded and they have a full selection of origins and flavors. The company is devoted to combining their passion for freshly roasted coffee and their desires for making a real difference in the lives of others. They give back a minimum of 10% of all their proceeds to organizations and individuals that embody and represent these causes.

We would love everyone to “like” Madilyn's Adoption Spot, share our page, and join Madilyn’s quest in becoming a big sister. Madilyn's Adoption Spot is not only for us to fund raise but it's also an opportunity for us to keep in touch with our family and friends, share our story, and educate about adoption if anyone asks. Thank you everyone for being a part of our lives! We are a truly blessed family to have such amazing friends and family!!

Love Always,
The Smith Family

Quick Update

The Smith family has almost turned in ALL of their paperwork to Buckner International Adoption Agency. Whew!! We completely forgot how daunting it is to fill out all of the paperwork, answer the questionnaires with super private questions, send out reference forms, all three of us go for physicals, request physicians to prepare reports, complete our finances, finalize wills...well you get the idea. BUT IT'S ALL WELL WORTH IT, and everyone can see that when you meet Madilyn!!

We will attend our two-day adoption seminar at Buckner on August 15th and 16th. Also I'm hoping that my blog updates will be more consistent since our second adoption journey is beginning. We will also be creating a Facebook Page for anyone and everyone to join. Madilyn has requested we adopt a brother or sister so she can be a big sister.

We have found three wonderful companies to be our fundraising partners in Madilyn's quest to become a big sister. Madilyn, Scot, and I are currently working with 2 of the 3 companies to create specific jewelry and t-shirts that will help us fund raise. There will be much more information to come once everything has been finalized.

Scot is finishing up his summer internship with Gladney, and he will begin his final semester of college on August 22nd. We are all so excited that he will graduate in December 2013. I always give him a hard time but I'm so very proud of my Scooters because he never quit and he found his dream career. He will also begin his Fall internship with Gladney mid-August as well.

As for me...I'm still loving my position with my firm. August is my 1 year anniversary. I can't believe it. Time definitely flies. Oh and Scot convinced me to be co-VP with him for the next 2 years on the Fort Worth Gladney Family Association board. I obviously like staying busy.

A few fun facts about Madilyn...she can count to 100, she's learning to tie her shoes, she's speaking Spanish, she loves to make up her own songs and dance at the same time, AND she will start soccer in September. She is loving every minute of her 4 year old life, and Scot and I plan to keep it that way!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Love from the Smiths!!