Since November is National Adoption Month I’m writing a daily series on “30 Things I Know About Adoption.”

Today, I’m thrilled to have my friend Jennifer Linck guest post. She’s recently published a great book and is the perfect person to write about how adoption plans can change. Maybe your adoption won’t change as dramatically as hers, but there are bound to be twists and turns. At the end of the post, find out how you can win a copy of “Bringing Home the Missing Linck: A Journey of Faith to Family.”

I always thought my feet would touch African soil. That I would board a plane, fly over oceans, and lock eyes with my chocolate-eyed child.

I remember the exact moment God called us to adopt. The moment we fell in love with Ethiopia – a country we had only read about. I didn’t hear Him wrong.

Yet here I am, almost four years after I heard that still, small, voice, and I’ve never boarded a plane or held an Ethiopian child in my arms.

But I am a mother through adoption.

God didn’t take me to Ethiopia, but He taught me things and changed me through the journey, and it all led to my son.

I’ve learned adoption rarely goes how you plan.

It’s too uncertain. Rules change. The journey is a roller coaster.

God can lead you one way and in a split second redirect your path.

Your heart has to remain open; you can’t put God in a box. You never know how He will choose to knit your family together.

He allowed me to fall in love with Ethiopia because He knew my heart needed to change.

As we pursued an adoption from a Third World country, He gave me eyes to see a need – a need that is everywhere. Not just in Africa, but in America, too.

Children need families.

My son wasn’t living in an orphanage, but he deserved a family just as much as any orphan in the world.

So we said yes.

The Lord says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Our adoption didn’t end up looking how we initially thought it would, but there’s no doubt it was God’s plan.

Ethiopia will always hold a special place in my heart, and maybe, just maybe, my feet will touch the soil someday.

Read more about Jennifer’s adoption story in her book “Bringing Home the Missing Linck: A Journey of Faith to Family.” Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter widget at the end of the post!

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Jennifer Jackson Linck loves to share how God answered her heart’s cry to be a mother and is passionate about adoption, orphan care, and encouraging others struggling with infertility.

Her book, “Bringing Home the Missing Linck: A Journey of Faith to Family” (affiliate link) was released in October. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jennifer received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and spent several years working as a reporter for The Oklahoman. As a ghostwriter, Jennifer completed the book Common Threads in 2011 with author Patty Bultman.

Jennifer is a Texan at heart but resides in Oklahoma with her husband, John, and their son, Jackson. She is unashamed of her addiction to Dr. Pepper and loves anything related to a cupcake.

She blogs about her faith, family, and adoption at www.jenniferjacksonlinck.com to encourage women struggling with infertility and/or traveling the crazy, overwhelming, and expensive road to adoption. Jennifer hopes to offer a glimmer of hope to first-time mothers who aren’t quite sure what they’ve gotten themselves into.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Number 7 of “30 Things I Know About Adoption.”

When people ask what the hardest part of adoption is, most families will answer, “THE WAITING!”

And they will probably nearly yell it at you.

For some the waiting starts before the adoption as they wait for a spouse to get on board with the idea.

You scurry around, fill out MOUNDS of paperwork and then? Well then you wait.

You wait for a birth mother to select you. You wait for an agency to match you with a child (the referral).

It’s a process that can take months, or even years. The narrower your adoption criteria (age, sex, health) the longer the wait.

Then the magical day comes when you get THE CALL! Tears of joy, exciting announcements, near hysteria.

Then you wait some more. Waiting for delivery, waiting for court, waiting for travel.

We bypassed the first waiting period by adopting our kids from a waiting children list. So nearly all our adoption process we had two specific faces in our minds while we were waiting.

It was excruciating. And, as we’ll talk about tomorrow, nothing EVER goes as planned. We thought we’d have them home in 6-9 months. It was 12. That’s relatively short, and I still lost my mind.

I don’t know one adoptive mom that hasn’t had an emotional melt down at some point in the process. I don’t think it’s possible.

But, it’s kind of like childbirth. No matter how painful and scary (and mine were both), the hard parts get glazed over once you have that child in your arms.

When your child is finally home in your family, the wait will become a distant memory.

In the mean time, look at it as a growth process.

Don’t you hate it when people say stuff like that? 🙂

Remember that you are not waiting alone…

Isaiah 40:28-31 (The Message)

Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening?
God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.
He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind.

Since November is National Adoption Month I’m writing a daily series on “30 Things I Know About Adoption.”

Paper Pregnant…

It’s a term adoptive parents use to define their status. You’re getting ready to welcome a child into your family. The difference is that the 30 pounds isn’t being carried on mom’s body, it’s how much your stack of paperwork weighs.

It can be overwhelming – birth certificates, physical exams, biographies, home studies, fingerprints, pet shot records.

My best advice?

1. Take a deep breath.

2. Get organized.

There’s lots of different methods to organize your paperwork. I tried a couple different things, but here’s what seemed to work best for me. (I say “me” rather than “us” because let’s face it. 9 times out of 10 mom’s doing all the gathering, right? Or is that just me?)

1. Purchase a 3″ 3-ring binder, a package of dividers and a box of page protectors.
2. Label dividers for Home Study, Dossier, Financials, Agency Paperwork (other than what goes in the Dossier), Government Paperwork (international adoption decree, USCIS stuff), and Post Placement (for post placement reports). If you are doing an open domestic adoption, add a tab for birth family communication.
3. Put several page protectors behind each divider. You won’t want to 3-hole punch documents going into your home study or dossier so just slip them in page protectors.
4. Create a checklist of documents you need. I divided mine into two sections for Home Study and Dossier. Note that you will need some of the same documents for both. For example, when getting birth certificates and marriage licenses, go ahead and get at least 3 copies. Print the checklist and put it at the very front of the binder.
5. Put a copy of your agency fees and deadlines in the Financial section.
6. Start with the items you need for your Home Study and just work through the checklist, taking it one thing at a time. When you get a document you need, slip it into a page protector.

If you have a scanner, you may want to also scan copies of all the documents you get. I use Evernote to store all my digital scans.

Before you submit anything to your home study or adoption agency, make copies and put them in your binder.

Save ALL your receipts. You’ll need them when it’s time to file for the adoption tax credit.

Here’s a couple great blog posts with more ideas for organizing everything you need.
Staying Organized During an Adoption
Organizing the Mountain of Adoption Paperwork
Organizing Adoption Paperwork