From Gall Stones to Babies...

Tomorrow is my (dreaded) doctors appointment for my gall stones. It's deep in Chicago, so that's one reason I'm not looking forward to it. I do not like Chicago. The other reasons I do not look forward to it are (1) that I'm afraid of paying bills and (2) I just don't like doctors. So... we'll see. Fortunately, my mom feels sorry for me enough and she is taking me. That is SO helpful because I do not have to drive in Chicago (woo hoo!) and because I do not have to go to a strange doctor all alone.

We never received our paper work in the mail from Catholic Charities (the organization we're going through to do our foster care/adoption processes). I was pretty bummed. I'd run to the mailbox every day to see if it had come... and nope. I finally talked to my friend, Lisa. She works for Catholic Charities, and she sort of directed me to them originally. She told me to call again. Much to my delight today, I talked to the right person (finally) and she is sending out our paper work! Whew! I am so happy and so excited. I tried to take a nap after talking to her, but I was so hyper and excited, it was hard to fall asleep! It's weird to think that this year we might very possibly have a child in our home!

We have to decide on an age range that we limit ourselves to. I talked to Jeff about it last night. He was not too sure yet. But I think we're leaning toward 0-7 yrs. I have a heart to open my home to fostering teens, but not in this house. We would need to have a house large enough for a teenager to have their own space. Maybe someday down the road... it's just a ministry idea.

We most likely will be put on a waiting list for adopting a baby. They call it the "Healthy Infant" adoption. That's basically what it is. They adopt out infants that have come from healthy situations. They have another adoption process called "at risk." We will also ask to be placed on this list. This is for any child (baby or older) that has to be taken away from their parents for serious reasons (neglect, abuse, etc...). This is more likely to be the way we end up adopting, because it is free. "Healthy Infant" adoption costs about 9% of your income. It has always been a dream of mine to adopt my own little baby. But if that's not what God has in store, then I will do as He wills.