Just Keep Swimming!

It's been awhile since we posted an update. While we still sit in the same spot we have been in the adoption process things are moving along in the right direction!

I think the biggest obstacle we have had to overcome so far is this timeline we had imagined for ourselves. We certainly thought we would be further in the process by now--and even though we are not, it's ok! I have learned to have more patience in the past few months and let go of the constant worrying. Not that I don't worry (because let's face it that's me and pretty impossible) but I guess I am learning to manage it better.

We are chugging away at paying down our debt- that is really where we are in terms of the process. We have been advised to keep doing what we are doing and to check back in with the agency in April to go over where we are financially at that point. I will say it has felt AMAZING to not have used a single credit card since July! Consolidating our debt was one of the best decisions we have made and it is going to make such a big difference in 4 years when it should be totally GONE! That will be a life changer for our family.

Justin has impressed me so much in the last two months. He made such a big leap in joining me in teaching with VIPKID. The company has blessed me with an amazing experience both personally and financially. I knew with Justin's former teaching experience at COSI and Science Day in my classroom he would be a great fit for the job. And I certainly was not wrong there because he is off to a rocking start and is a total natural! He has worked so hard at preparing and marketing himself to parents and it is working! 

For us this is HUGE! Justin is providing a fourth income now and that will hopefully allow us to pay even more debt off by April. Our hope is a judge will see how committed we are to taking care of paying off our debt to allow for those unexpected costs of raising a child. We could totally provide for a child right now- no problem. However they want to be 1000% percent certain we are truly ready. So we must jump through the hoop- but it is a great push to take care of all this debt and for that we are so thankful.

I feel like I should do a word count on "debt" for this post! But that's what it's all about for us right now. 

Thanks for keeping up with our adoption process and understanding that it is a slow journey- but one with the happiest rewards at the end! So for now we will just keep swimming!

-Jenna 

You can call me 'Teacher Justin'

I just realized it has been more than two months since I have contributed to this page. And we all thought I was the writer in the family!

As Jenna mentioned in recent blogs, we're at a point in the process where things don't progress too quickly. We were hoping to be preparing for the homestudy and go into the first of the year ready to be activated. That is clearly not going to happen. 

Part of the issue is that we haven't been given many direct answers by our adoption agency. That has been a point of frustration for both Jenna and I as we just want to know how close we are to being able to go through the homestudy process. 

Meanwhile, we have been knocking off smaller, easy home projects (like ripping out carpet) and paying off our massive load of student and credit card debt. 

A new job!

Earlier this week, I was hired as a teacher for VIP Kid. Jenna has been teaching for them (in addition to her full time job at the elementary school) for the last year. She normally works about 15 hours a week (mostly weekends) to pick up extra income.

Since I normally work late nights with my full time job, I am going to teach in the mornings, hopefully also around 15-20 hours a week. 

Who needs sleep!?!?!

Seriously, I am excited to take on this new job, and we definitely feel it will help us reach our goal of financing the adoption even sooner.

In case you don't know what VIP Kid is, we get to teach children in China how to speak English. Using a webcam and a prepared powerpoint, we teach children basic sentence structures, vocabulary and how to blend sounds to become fluent at the English language. 

Although I don't have a teaching license, my experience demonstrating science at COSI in addition to having a bachelor's degree was enough to be qualified. 

Calling off the auction, for now

As some of you saw, we were planning on doing an online auction as a fundraiser for the adoption. For now, we're postponing the auction. One big reason for the delay was we found that a lot of people/groups/companies were interested in contributing only if the auction was held in-person. Plus, this will make distributing auction items easier than trying to get them delivered all across the state. 

We're hoping to reschedule the auction at the start of the year, and do it as an in-person event (sort of a celebration). We'll definitely keep everyone posted!

Shutting down the negativity!

Hello everyone!

A facebook post would have been a bit too long so I decided to hop over here today. Like most days in my free time, I usually find myself searching the internet for successful adoption fundraising ideas. I have discovered, there are a ton! I struggle with choosing one because 1. I am the most introverted person and feeling like I need to be a salesman gives me anxiety and 2. I never want to make anyone feel obligated to participate.

Yesterday at my school's inservice, we had the pleasure of hearing Tim Kight who is an incredible motivational speaker. During his speech, I couldn't help but think of our adoption and how stuck we feel right now and the knot I get in my stomach when someone asks me how are things going- I can't shake a way this feeling of embarrassment when I have to say- oh just trying to pay off our ridiculous pile of debt.

But why? I shouldn't feel that way but I have been allowing it to bring me down in a negative way lately. NO MORE! I will not let the circumstances of my event ruin my outcome by choosing a negative response! My biggest take away from listening to Tim Kight was your response controls your outcome and you have to be better today than you were yesterday. Something so simple, but these big events sometimes overpower me and force me into feeling helpless.

So by trying to live my best life and putting into practice E+R=O (Event + Response = Outcome) I am going to stop WORRYING and do whatever I can to #bringhomebabyboggs! Therefore I am asking you all for some help!

Justin and I would love to host an online auction to help fund our adoption! I wanted to get a feel for how successful this could be- so if yourself, a business, or a connection you may have would be willing to donate an item or service please let us know! I am not really sure how to go about asking for people for help with this kind of thing so any ideas anyone has would be much appreciated! Please contact us, leave a comment, text, email your ideas! We would be SO GRATEFUL to any help and support we could get!

Once we get an idea of what we have to work with, we will announce where you can go to bid and how long the auction will run.

Each day I realize this journey may take longer than we had originally planned but it will just make it even more special when the day finally comes and we get to grow our family! Justin and I are adopting because we want to, not because we have to. This is not a last resort option or something that is a sad realization to accept. WE ARE SO EXCITED TO ADOPT! So many children are waiting for a family and our hearts could not be more ready to make that happen for a precious little boy or girl!

We are doing this all for you Baby Boggs!!!!

Timeline Update

Hello family and friends!

In tonight's post, I am sharing with you our new timeline and why some adjustments in our original plan had to be made.

We were originally aiming to begin the home study at the end of October/November. But that is now being pushed probably 4-6 months. After speaking to our social worker she advised this because well....we have such a large amount of debt (and I hate to keep bringing up the cost of 2 college degrees as the culprit but it always comes full circle, leading back to it!)

We knew that post home study, a judge would have to approve our financial situation to move forward with the adoption. In my mind I always thought this meant we needed to prove that we had money / a loan to cover the upwards of $30,000 cost. And in all actuality (even though that is still necessary) that is not really it.

I feel like sometimes I get into a tunnel and I am super focused on the end goal, but I miss some steps along the way. And it was a bit (ok A LOT) disheartening to think we have this huge debt that could prevent us from ever having a child.

So here is the thing, a judge has to approve that you are finically capable of raising a child and have money for all of the unforeseeable or "surprise" expenses. And currently (well as of July) if we were to move forward with our original timeline, it just wouldn't happen for us.  Now we have to try to pay off as much debt as possible so that we can prove we are able to support a child.

All we can really hope for is that this debt consolidation and making extra monthly payments shows that we are committed to this adoption and are doing everything we possibly can to make it happen. We now have to refocus from thinking about getting this huge loan, to paying off as much as humanly possible and pray it is enough to continue this process.

Please, please, please DO NOT feel obligated to contribute if you see us continue to fundraise in multiple ways. I have this fear that people will get annoyed with us or see us as desperate. I am so thankful for all the support that has already been given by so many people. It is a little overwhelming at times to think about and it means SO much to us.

During our training we were told "don't stop living your lives during this process". Sometimes that is what you feel like doing. Last week, I felt that way almost every day. When I wasn't teaching, I was trying to research and figure out another way to make this all come together. It is so emotionally draining. At one of the lowest points I told Justin to sell my beloved Wrigley tickets and just cancel our weekend trip, what was the point?

I must say, I am  SO glad we did not. It literally forced us to focus on something else instead of stress and worry 24/7 over this adoption. The timing was perfect and going into this week my mind just felt more clear and at ease. (That is just a general side effect of a Fall Out Boy show!) But in all seriousness it really did help to step away for a few days and regroup.

Two sets of song lyrics from both Panic! and FOB ring true for me so much recently. Thank the lord for music therapy- it literally can be life changing!

"The only thing that's ever stopping me is me." FOB

"Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing
Didn't have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn't know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes." PATD

What happens next?

Hello all!

Justin wrote our last entry and updated everyone after we attended our adoption training and education class. Since then, life for me has been pretty consumed by the start of school again, preparing my classroom, and juggling my sanity between working two jobs.

Here is a shout out to anyone who has been an ear to me lately, I have been super stressed and overwhelmed and I appreciate all of you who have listened. Since returning to school a few weeks ago, so many of my coworkers have reached out to me or asked me about the adoption- and something that small has meant so much to me! Thank you all for the emotional support and prayers!

Today I wanted to post a bit more in depth about all the information we were given at our training. This binder is packed full with 15 different sections detailing the adoption process from beginning to end. Our agency did a fantastic job of laying everything out and including a comprehensive wealth of adoption information.

A lot of questions I have received lately pertain to just the general wondering of how the adoption process works and what happens next for us. We are learning along the way too and sometimes on the spot I feel like I have given a general answer as my mind is preoccupied with so many thoughts at once! So here is a closer look at all of your curiosities. I love educating others along our journey!

When we are ready to begin our home study (evaluation of our home and interview) we will access our online portal to process paperwork. This makes it easy to see what we have submitted and we get an automated alert when each document is approved by our social worker.

The home study is an extremely detailed process that requires proof of so many things that I literally get anxiety just looking at the outline of what we need to have.

Here it is in a nutshell:

-Interviews both individually and one on one (more info about this to follow)
-Motives of Applicants (reasons for wanting to adopt, attitude concerning adoption and reaction to sharing this in the interview)
-Background of each applicant including: personality, health, parents and siblings, childhood and adolescent experiences, adult relationships, education, activities and interests, employment.
-Courtship and Marriage (yep, let's discuss our dating before being married!)
-Family's social network (friendships, social activities, religion)
-Readiness for Adoption: -Resolution of infertility, of validity of decision not to have a biological child and parenting an adopted child.
-Description of Home (more on this to follow)
-Evaluation: Emotional maturity and stability/mental health (I know what you are thinking, if only this was a requirement for every parent...) Capacity to give and receive affection and the ability to provide for a child. This includes your finances, education, parenting skills, social support for a child and physical environment. -Stability of our marriage.

And now it is time for....PAPERWORK!

-Application (haha one we can check off!)
-Income tax return
-Financial Statement (listing your budget, bills, and total debt)
-Credit Report
-Letters from employers
-References (shout out to those who so graciously said they would be ours!)
-Criminal record check (BCI/FBI)
-Local criminal check
-Abstract of traffic record from the BMV
-Medical release
-Medical statement (basically a physical that says you are not in danger of a serious health condition)
-Health insurance information
-Letter from insurance company
-Infant CPR certification
-Profile (the one we will make for prospective families when we are ready to activate)
-Program acceptance and acknowledgement
-Certification of residency
-Emergency contact numbers
-Fire inspection (if anyone has a long ladder we can borrow, let us know! We have to prove we can get out of the house in case of a fire!)
-Pet vaccination and records
-Proof of Auto Insurance

So those are the big ones. After the home study there will of course be more but for now, this is what we are focused on getting together!

The interview portion and general overview for what is being looked for in a family is available to the public on the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services website. This is helpful to know exactly what to prepare for during the home study. Also included on the website is the safety audit checklist to be filled out by the fire department.

Check them out for more info!
Assessment for Child Placement
Safety Audit

Well, that was a lot of info! Stay tuned for future posts in which we will discuss the child characteristics checklist for adoption, setting up a profile, and the APQ (adoption planning questionnaire), fees, our match agreement, hospital protocol, placement, post placement, grants, and finalization.

One last thank you to all who continue to support us through donations, buying t-shirts, and listening/asking questions! We are forever grateful!

We will be announcing an exciting fundraising opportunity in the next week, so be on the lookout!

-Jenna

We're officially trained

Sorry that updates have been few and far between in recent weeks. Between home projects, Jenna going back to school (while she has worked at her other job), helping my family get ready for National Night Out and doing our online adoption training, taking the time to write a blog has not been on my mind.   To be honest, we likely won't have many updates over the next few months. That isn't to say we're not working toward our adoption, but there will be a lot of hurry up and wait moments along the way.

But we wanted to update you on where we are with the adoption. On Saturday, Jenna and I were in Columbus to participate in all-day training along with a dozen other couples led by our adoption agency. The education walked us through more of the nuts and bolts of the adoption process compared to the online pieces of training, which were more focused on child development. I admittedly had a bit of anxiety about this day. It is something I struggled to explain to Jenna as to why, but I was relieved that we got the information and I didn't hear any reason why we wouldn't be capable of adopting.

The more I learn about the process, the more assured I am that this will work. I just need to have faith the financial side of this will fall into place as Jenna and I work to pay off our student loans and credit cards.

Setting the scene

Our agency is based in Columbus and uses the Franklin County Probate Court to finalize adoptions. We were surprised to see that many of the couples came from out of state, and only a few were actually from the Columbus area. Jenna and I thought this really speaks well to the agency we're using. The agency also has a 100 percent success rate with placement.

Outside of learning about home studies, how adoptions become legalized and what our fees will be, our agency introduced us to a birth mother who gave birth roughly four years ago. She was an adoptee herself, and also drew upon that experience. She explained why she chose to create an adoption plan rather than parent (she was in college and said she was not emotionally or financially ready to parent). She also talked about the benefits of an open adoption, and the connection she has made with the child and her adopted parents.

I know for most it seems odd to have the birth parents involved in the child's life. This isn't a case of co-parenting by any means, but open adoptions indeed allow for children to understand where they came from and understand their past better. aa

Things we learned 

The No. 1 takeaway Jenna and I took from training was once our listing is activated (this is when we tell the agency to send our profile to prospective birth moms), sometimes there are emergency situations where it takes just 72 hours between match and placement. Our agency even requested that if we plan on leaving the Midwest to let them know because many adoptions only take 72 hours from match to when the child goes home with you. This is because many birth mothers don't have an adoption plan in place until they give birth.

This means once we're listed, we need to have everything ready for a child (car seat, nursery, etc.). This does not signify that the process will likely be fast; it could still take over a year for a match to happen, but if you're a match in what is called an "ER" situation, you better be ready.

Another interesting note was how adoptions proceed once the child is born. For the first 72 hours of the child's life, the adopted parents' contact is dictated by the birth mother. The birth mother has every right to not allow us to come to the hospital, or to have limited contact with the child during that time. This is why we won't be allowed to bring anyone with us to the hospital when the child is born.

Next steps

Our clock is now ticking. We have one year to prepare our profile and go through with activation. In that time, we will need to complete the home study process. That means a social worker will visit our home, check to make sure it is safe, and ask us questions (and these questions, from what I hear, can be rather personal). Also part of that process is to have a physical and have a fire safety inspection.

We are still in the process of making minor fixes around the home (thanks to Jenna's side of the family, we were able to do quite a few projects a few weeks ago). Our goal is for sometime in the fall to do our home study.

Following that, we will just need our funding for activation. Our agency provided us with a list of grants we could apply for, which could be helpful. Also, our Go Fund Me page remains active as we will still need roughly $30,000 to complete the adoption process.

Overall, Jenna and I are feeling more and more confident that adoption was the right route for us. We really cannot wait for us to finalize this process!

I may break down, but I will get back up

Before I begin, I want to thank everyone who is following our adoption process and reading our blog posts!  I am trying to pull a direction for the entry below, but I will be honest I am an emotional mess and the past month has been such a rollercoaster.

I have a lot of thoughts and feelings as we have really gotten into this adoption process. I have always tried to be positive and optimistic in life and especially through this journey of adoption. I know in my heart why Justin and I have chosen adoption and feel an overwhelming sense of joy knowing this is what is right for us.

I know there are other people that might wonder why we chose adoption. Some may even assume we have chosen adoption as a "last resort". That statement was even painful to type because it is not the least bit true. We have chosen adoption because we want to, not because we have to. The more educated I have become on adoption the more I feel how amazing of a choice this has been to make.

This is the biggest event so far in our lives. It has required more deep thought and planning then anything we have ever taken on. Sometimes I wish people knew what it was really like going through this process because it has changed me so much as a person already. And I know some of you know this, those of you who have gone through adoption or know others who have. 

Here is the thing. Justin and I are both strong willed people. We have been through a lot in our lives. And even though we are preparing and planning as much as humanly possible we really truly need our friends and family now more than ever. (you all have already been so great!) I know for me, an ear to listen goes a long way.

Adoption is a LONG process. You often spend more time stuck in the middle of two huge steps then you do moving along quickly to each one. We know it will be awhile before we are on the list for prospective parents to see us. But during that time, there is so much to be done my mind is having trouble processing it all. 

My usual planned, organized, driven and optimistic self has completely broken down in overwhelming worry. I mean, I am not even sure how I managed to teach all my classes this morning my eyes were so sore from my the tears of my emotional break down last night. Yes, I am just being real here, after all we are always going to be transparent in our posts.

We are currently sitting between training and the home study right now and I have never been more scared for anything. Ever. My heart is so unbelievably committed to brining home a precious child to raise and to be a mother. When I think of that I am beaming with joy but soon after comes guilt. 

I feel guilt now for every fun or unnecessary expense we have ever made. I feel guilty for using credit cards to survive in college and up until just recently, after college. Although we are doing just fine now that I am working another job and able to pay off more than we ever have before....I still feel guilty. Because when it comes down to it, if we cannot obtain a loan for the adoption-- there is no hope. I have tried so hard to be positive and think, things will work out the way they were meant to be and it will happen if we just keep working hard enough. There comes a point though when you can only do so much. You can only work so many extra hours and sell so many extra things around the house. Save when you can and spend when you need to. But what if that isn't enough. This thought is always on my mind. Always. 

On top of that, as we have mentioned before,  we have some necessary home repairs that we need to make before have a safety audit and home study. We want to make sure everything is just right in our home so when it comes time for the home study to begin, we won't have to worry so much about what our home looks like but how we answer the critically important interview questions that follow. But with that comes needs, we need to buy supplies, we need to buy some (what wouldn't be a problem if we weren't trying to save) semi- expensive tools, and we need some man power. I'd like to think of myself as a pretty resourceful person, but I am only capable of doing so much! I will say, we laid sheet vinyl in one of our bedrooms on Saturday-- super proud of that!

Stress and emotions are running high. I want to say "but I know we will get through it" however I currently do not know that. What I do know is that everyones love and support means more to us now than ever so, THANK YOU!

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and continue to follow our adoption process!

An emotional trip down memory lane

Becoming a father is, in my opinion, the most significant and dutiful responsibility a man could ever take in his lifetime. Sure, I have many important responsibilities in my life - husband, homeowner, employee, etc., but fatherhood easily would top them all. To me, it does not matter whether a child is adopted or not; what matters is that I do an excellent job of raising and providing for my child. 

For inspiration, I viewed "Won't You Be My Neighbor," which is the new documentary highlighting one of my favorite children's shows "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." I certainly expected there to be some nostalgic moments (and there was plenty of nostalgia), but there were a few unexpected scenes in the documentary that have been stuck in my head all week.

One scene, in particular, had me, Jenna and everyone else in the theater in tears. 

Did you bawl too?

While driving today, I told Jenna how much this scene affected me. I thought about how every child at some point in their life has the same feelings of insecurity as Daniel. Jenna then responded that even as an adult, she sometimes has some of the same insecure feelings as Daniel.

As parents, could Jenna and I handle responding to our child's insecurities the same way Lady Aberlin responded to Daniel. Doing so requires a lot of thought and care.

When you watch the full documentary - I encourage all of you to do so - you realize that a lot of thought, care and research went into Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

One thing I never realized about Fred Rogers was that he emersed himself into the world of childhood development. There was a lot a research that went into what seemed like random moments on the show.

Thankfully Jenna has a background in early childhood development and was even familiar with some of the same researchers Fred Rogers worked with in crafting his program. I, on the other hand, do not have a background in early childhood education.

This is why I am so glad to have Jenna along for this journey. I know that she will approach motherhood with so much care and love, along with knowledge.

I also realized that I have some homework to do. I truly need to go back to my kindergarten days, and rewatch Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.

More Adoption News!

We have been anticipating receiving more information on our next step in the adoption process after applying last week. Yesterday we were given an official invitation to come to our agency's adoption training day August 11th!

There of course are many things that must be completed before we come to training. We have to send in all necessary forms of identification including birth certificates as well as pass a child abuse clearance check. The agency requires the training fee $50 (that seems so cheap now!) and the home study fee of $1500 before August 3rd. With all of our monetary support we are able to make this happen! We opened a special checking account just for the adoption and get  $300 for a new account- which is so helpful for us!

Before I continue I just have to say: These past few weeks have been so informative and eye opening to us. We both knew some about adoption but it is truly amazing the steps and requirements prospective parents have to take to prove they are legally, mentally, and emotionally ready to take on parenting a child. It is costly and time consuming but ultimately what needs to be done. There is no looking back- we are in this 110%!

Before attending our all day training, we have to complete an online course. Prior to yesterday we didn't really know what exactly this entailed. First there is the main course for adopting domestically that is comprised of 8 classes at $129 and an additional class specific to our agency at $30. The classes total 15 credit hours and have a quiz at the end of each unit.

Here is a look at the courses we have to take:

We completed the first one today and plan to do at least one each day until we are done. It is heavy material as Justin said to me after we finished our class today. It really is! Being a teacher- a lot of the information we went over today was familiar to the child development classes I took in college.

It is a bit overwhelming but we are ready to complete it so we can move on to the in person training! On the 11th we will get to hear from a birth mother that used our agency for adoption. I keep thinking of the courage it takes for a mother to choose adoption and already praise her for sharing her experience to future adoptive parents!

We will keep you updated as we continue this journey. It is a learning experience for us and we hope to educate our family and friends along the way! Each day I wake up thinking I can't wait to #bringbabyboggshome!

"Family is not identified by our genes... it is built and maintained through love." 

Let's be transparent... financing adoptions stinks!

Before we take a deep dive into me and my wife's finances, we received word from the social worker this week that our adoption application was received, and we will soon be getting an invitation to an adoption training.

To those who contributed to our Go Fund Me or purchased a t-shirt, a big thank you as those funds will cover a decent percentage of our training and home study fees, which will be due next month. If you are interested in helping in our adoption fund, please click one of the above links. The Go Fund Me will continue indefinitely, but we only have one more week of t-shirt sales (the company prints the shirts in batches).

Let's get down to brass tacks 

Being in the media, I am a firm believer in transparency. While being a web editor does not mean I am on the front lines of investigative journalism, I support those who are on the front lines, allowing them to showcase their work. 

Because so many people have offered their support, both financially and emotionally, Jenna and I wanted to be as transparent as possible to everyone on how we plan to pay for our adoption. 

As mentioned in previous posts, the total cost of an adoption is roughly $30,000. Even if we continue to receive support through our fundraising efforts, we knew from the get-go that adopting would require a loan. 

When paying to adoption, payments come in increments. It is sort of a pay-as-you-go situation. Our initial up-front fees are roughly $2,000 (which include the already paid for the adoption fee and the aforementioned training and home study costs). After that, it costs nearly $10,000 for the listing and $13,500 in for a match with birthparents. In addition there are medical costs and finalization fees that are an estimated $5,000 but varies by each individual adoption. 

Rather than waiting until later this year or early next year to obtain a loan, we decided to apply for a loan now and put the money into a newly-created bank account until we were ready. 

Que the sad trombone sound. 

The banks said no. Student loans, credit cards that we ran up as students and several years of just trying to keep our heads above water made our credit score worse than what we thought. This was the first year in our lives that we haven't needed credit cards to ensure we had groceries. More on that below.

But for a brief moment, we thought we'll never be able to adopt. We'll never be parents. Woe is us. This is when the emotional support became valuable. 

Jenna and I have recently joined several adoption groups on Facebook, and many people said the same thing: "Don't let finances stop you in the adoption process."

So not giving up, Jenna talked to a debt consolidator and explained our situation. We were then able to consolidate all of our credit cards (except for one that we're keeping for emergencies) into one, relatively low and reasonable monthly payment at a low-interest rate. By doing this, it decreases our debt-to-income ratio, reduces our overall amount of debt, which should cause our credit score to go up enough for us to be eligible for a massive adoption loan within six to nine months. 

Glad we didn't give up.

Jenna's side job will ultimately make this adoption possible

As I type up this blog, Jenna is in what was our dining room teaching English to a 5-year-old boy in China. Late in 2017, she signed up to be a teacher for VIPKID. For the first few months, things started out slow. 

In recent months, she will teach up to 30 lessons a week, which last for 25 minutes each. 

This also means our dining room now is a virtual worldwide classroom. Technology is awesome!

Working for VIPKID has also given us what acts as an extra paycheck a month that we can use to pay off our massive student debt load, credit cards and save for adoption expenses. 

As a husband, I am really appreciative of the effort Jenna puts forth. The summer is typically a time for teachers to relax. But as she starts putting together her plans for the upcoming school year for her American first graders, she continues to earn money, which is ultimately going to make this adoption possible. 

The application is in!

Training is next

Justin posting here for the first time! Monday was our first major step in the adoption process. We sent in our application and application fee to the adoption agency. The actual application is rather general and feels like filling out an application for employment. We just had to inform our references to know that the adoption agency will be contacting them soon regarding our application. 

We felt comfortable doing this after speaking to a social worker last week who laid out the timeline. Within five days of the adoption agency receiving our application, we will (hopefully) receive approval to move forward with training. 

We will then have to complete some online training before attending an in-person, all-day training in Columbus on Aug. 11. The in-person training will allow us to meet the staff of the adoption agency, and learn more about the home study process. 

The social worker also answered a number of our most pressing concerns about the application and home study process.

Support from others

A big reason I agreed with Jenna that adoption was for us was that I had family and a close friend who were adopted as children. I certainly realized the need for parents to adopt and thought Jenna and I would make for great parents. 

But after announcing our intentions last week, so many people reached out to share their advice and expertise in adoption. Knowing so many friends that have gone through this process has helped reassure me this was the right decision.

On Friday, Jenna and I made a brief visit up to Columbus to see my friend Josh, who was a co-worker of mine at COSI. Last year, he adopted a newborn from the Cincinnati area. 

While his adoption process had its ups and downs, it worked out for him and his wife in the end. 

Being able to count on moral support from so many people has been such a blessing, and you would not know how much Jenna and I appreciate everyone's help.

In the meantime...

Jenna and I are getting our house prepared for a home study and to give a child a home. On Sunday, we painted the walls and stained the floors in one of our bedrooms. 

If you didn't already know, our home will turn 100 years old next year. For being nearly a century old, it is in relatively good shape, but there are a number of minor improvements we feel we need to make over the coming weeks and months to make this place perfect for a baby. 

The good news is most of those changes are cosmetic (things like paint and carpeting), so we hope we can complete these tasks in the coming months. 

Dear Pete Wentz....THANK YOU!

As I am sure most if you all know (because I couldn't contain my excitement) yesterday was a pretty exciting day for our GoFundMe! But if you somehow did not see my ecstatic post on FB, here's a recap!

We received a donation from a Pete W. on Thursday and I immediately asked Justin- do you have any friends by that name? Then made a joke that hey maybe it's Pete Wentz! Justin didn't tell me that hours earlier he had tweeted Pete saying his wife was a big fan and been to over a dozen concerts, could he give a retweet? Honestly not expecting him to reply, because let's be real 7 million people follow and tweet at him constantly, he most certainly did in the most unexpected way! He gave us a donation and wished us good luck. 

I am still almost unable to believe this happened even as I type this! I will say, Pete is pretty active in communication with his fans and enjoys interacting about the most random things and also important issues in our world. He is such a compassionate person and is a huge advocate for mental health and has been very open about his struggles with his bipolar disorder and depression. He may be known to so many people around the world as this huge rock star (I mean he is insanely talented) but I often seem him as just a normal guy, having the most incredible career and being an amazing father!

I have grown up in the past 12 years along side Fall Out Boy and it has been amazing to see all four members grow and change over time too. Pete especially stands out because of how vocal he has been about his struggles and has made it so easy for fans to relate with him with the songs he writes and personal experiences he shares. Over the years I have seen him change into a man who is deeply concerned about others and always looking out for his fans. He doesn't tolerate fighting or disrespect of any kind at FOB shows and will stop to ensure everyone is safe and he did it for me at a show back in December! 

My point being, he is a stand up guy who doesn't know us personally. Maybe he remembers us from all the shows we have been in the pit/ or close to the stage for. But I think more likely it's his amazing giving heart and he just helped out his biggest fan in the most kind and sincere way!

So this is for you Pete! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for getting us one step closer to making our dream come true!

-Jenna 

Getting Prepared: A Journal Entry by Jenna

In preparation for the application and home study it feels like a million things must be done. I am a planner. I had our adoption binder made the next day after we decided we would be moving forward with adopting. I suppose that's the teacher in me or my OCD!

I feel like there is so much to plan for and then on the flip side wait for. It is quite possible that I am over thinking preparation for the home study just a bit... I am sure it won't matter if our stairs are re-carpeted or not.... but the thought of a social worker coming through our home to make sure it is fit to raise a child is a bit daunting. 

We definitely have some necessary projects that need done around the house before we apply and schedule the home study. I feel like we need to save all the money we can to put into the adoption but we also will need to spend money to get our house ready. When I try to think what to do, I feel like I am being pulled in so many directions.... SAVINGS ACCOUNT! HOME IMPROVEMENTS! PAY OFF DEBT!  AHH! 

That's what makes this process hard- many things could be taken care of but it all depends on when we apply and what our money situation will be like at that time. You can try to plan and budget to a T but we all know that those unexpected things come up and you have to start over. Then I think about what if we have to take out a loan? We already have a nice stack of student loans. Will we be approved? Will we qualify for grants? So much is consuming my mind when it comes to money!

One thing I know for sure we cannot WAIT to get started on the nursery. It's an odd feeling of excitement and nervousness. Most parents are putting together their baby's room knowing when their sweet little one will arrive. Adoption doesn't work that way so we have to prepare our home in hopes of someone choosing us to be parents. This includes baby proofing the house- outlet covers, cabinet locks, baby gates- everything! 

There is also a huge amount of paperwork and documents needed for the home study, more than I every realized that would be needed. I am totally overwhelmed but so motivated to check things off that list! 

I think about all of this stuff everyday so it is becoming our new normal! I also think about how happy we will be when this process is all behind us and we can begin the next chapter of our lives as parents. It makes me an emotional basket case now when I see pictures of adoptive parents for the first time with their son/daughter.... because I know that with love, support, and a lot of prayer, that will be us one day soon!

Do you have an experience with adoption that you would like to share? Feel free to comment below or message me directly. Any information is helpful as we begin to dive into all the details! 

-Jenna 

The journey has begun!

Welcome! Thank you for joining us on our adoption blog page. We will keep you updated on where we are in the our adoption process and share with you any big news as it happens.

First and foremost we are so blessed to have so many friends and family members in our lives supporting us! When we made the announcement to adopt as excited as we were, we really couldn't predict how everyone would feel. The outpouring of well wishes and kind comments is appreciated more than you will ever know!❤️

Second of all, those of you who have already made a donation or purchased a t-shirt- THANK YOU! Everything we get, no matter how big or small helps us to reach our goal. Before our initial research into adoption, we were hoping to somehow find a way to bypass crowdfunding. We realized it was in fact a very common and in most cases necessary for so many couples to be able to adopt.

The following was VERY eye opening to us! This is a general fee break down of a domestic adoption in Ohio provided by Adoption By Gentle Care. If you have donated or plan to in the future, know that you are helping us take care of one of the many fees below! Again, THANK YOU to those of you who have helped already! We can check the application fee off our list and a portion of the home study! YAY!😀