We’re Adopting!

Hi everyone!!! Super exciting news, we am so excited to FINALLY share we are adopting! I know you all have questions and we have answers, so we are going to try to do our best in explaining as much as possible and bringing you guys along this journey with us!

So why don’t you already have kids?

Glad you asked 😉 So we are extreme planners. We think through everything, are not very impulsive at all, and really think about the magnitude of every decision we make. This is part of the reason (OK a lot of the reason) of why we have been married for 8 years and don’t have kids. I know they say there isn’t ever a good time, but I do believe there is a better time and up until this time in life it just never seemed like we could have kids and really enjoy it, without being pulled in a million different directions. We got married in school, then both did our masters, then Tomas started his business, and then I started mine, so pretty nonstop. Things are finally kinda starting to calm down, or at least have gained a rhythm, so towards end of 2016 we started to have a conversation about it. Plus I just turned 30, and honestly it really made me start thinking about the kid chapter in life because lets be real I’m not getting any younger 😉 .

So why adoption?

So when we started talking about having kids we also started praying about it a bunch. Even when were dating we talked about how we would one day like to adopt and like most we said we would have a couple of our biological children and then adopt after. Well after we started praying about it, we were like what about adoption first? We couldn’t think about a reason why not to, only all the positives as to why is was a good idea, the main one being we could provide a loving home for a child that is in real need and we have a lot of love to give! Done and done. That was all we needed.

How did you know you wanted to adopt?

I think it was several different things. I think God just makes certain things tug at your heartstrings and makes us really aware of them.  I felt like God planted the seed in our hearts and we couldn’t get it out of our minds, even if we started thinking about starting a family biologically it just didn’t feel right, We just had so much peace about adoption. When I started researching, I went onto Heartland’s website (a government adopting and foster agency) and they actually have pictures of kids up for adoption with small bios. When I saw it I legit started bawling. Not like a cute sniffle, like snot hysterics and I couldn’t control myself. I was in the living room and Tomas got home and came over to me thinking something was seriously wrong. I never ever cry like that you guys, and I had no idea what came over me.

 God had put something in my heart, and there was nothing taking it out. 

What is the process like?

After praying about it for a bit we started to do some research, adoption is pretty broad and can look a lot of different ways. What we are doing is adopting through Heartland a government adoption agency in Polk County. These are kids that were taken out of their home with their parents rights terminated for usually some type of trauma related reason (abuse, drugs, neglect, ect.). They are then placed in a foster home or a group home and are up for adoption. We decided this was the best fit for us because we didn’t really feel a nudge to go international and we really felt compelled to help these particular kids. In November, we got in touch with Heartland and Tomas and I went to orientation in December.

In January, we started our adoption classes. This is an eight-week program that you go through that helps prepare and equip you for adopting, and then the home study follows. We just finished the classes! We haven’t done the home study yet but basically a social worker comes to your house and interviews us for hours and then they check out our home, collect all the “homework” you have been working on in your class and it basically becomes like your resume for adopting. They use that “book” to match you with potential kids based on all the information compiled. Our home study will most likely be in April/May.

Do you struggle with infertility?

The short answer is no. Tomas and I have not really ever tried to get pregnant outside of for a few months’ a couple years ago, actually right before I started Balance Culture. Once the studio became a reality we stopped trying right away. Since then we would maybe remove any barriers 😉 here and there but I always freaked out with the amount we had going on so we would put an end to that. We still plan to have our own biological kids in the future but for those wondering not anytime soon. We want to adopt first, enjoy it and then cross that bridge awhile later. That’s like asking a mom would just had a baby two months ago when she is having the next one, you might get a death stare, in a weird way that’s how I feel, I’m like let me tackle this whole thing and enjoy time with this child first 🙂 .

When will you get your child?

I have no idea. Because we want a younger (under 5) little girl, it might take a little longer. I don’t want to guess and be completely wrong but maybe by the end of the year?

Is it weird that your best friend (Ruthie) is pregnant and you’re adopting?

Not at all! It is actually so much fun! We are kinda going through the same thing but in completely two different ways. Funny story, actually when I told Ruthie that Tomas and I were going to be adopting, she was already a couple weeks pregnant we just had no idea! A week later she found out, so we have been on this journey together, just in our own ways! Side note, I couldn’t be more obsessed with her baby boy!!

Will you still be running The Balance Culture once you get your child?

Absolutely! If anything now I would have an even greater “why”! Ruthie and I knew we were going to be having kids eventually and set the business up to run efficiently, full of system and programs, you know all the fun things! 🙂 We will still work and we will be moms, we are pumped!

We are so excited to take you guys on this journey with us! Tomas and I decided a long time ago that we wanted every area of our lives to have an impact in the Kingdom. We are so excited to not only have the opportunity to love this precious child but to impact her in away that effects her eternity. We are so blessed to have a tiny Czernek world changer in our very near future! Thank you all for all the love and support!

Any adoptive Mama’s out there? I would love to hear any suggestions or tips on this new adventure! 🙂