To Write a Profile

Writing is hard.

Writing about yourself is really hard.

Writing about yourself in a way that doesn't sound braggy or superficial is even harder.

Writing about yourself in a non-braggy, non-superficial way while trying to convey what you're really like to a complete stranger (in 300 words or less) is near agony.

Oh, and you also need pictures of yourself that look good, that aren't too old (you know, from when you were skinny and/or had had a haircut), and that also convey what you're like in a non-braggy, non-superficial way.

That's a process we started on more than two months ago and now have a looming deadline to complete, as we've been putting together the profile book that will become our selling point to agencies and prospective birth families.

We'll send a handful of to each agency we apply with for our adoption (at least three in the first round); they'll review the profile book along with whatever application information they require and use that to match us up with an expecting mother or family.

Thanks to SB Childs for the photo (that we're using on the cover)!

 The expecting family will then review our profile and, possibly with little other information about us at all, make a decision about us as adoptive parents.

So, you know... no pressure.

We're winding down on the home study now, and are expecting the first draft of the final report this week, so the next step is to make sure we've got everything together to start applying with agencies. In the cliched metaphors of motorsports, I'm not sure if this is is where the pedal meets the metal, where the rubber meets the road, or we're already somewhere into turn 2, but it does mean that HOLY COW everything may be getting very real very soon.

In running down the list of everything we still have to do, we keep seeing the list of expenses sitting in the pile of paperwork and getting a little twitch in our eye. We've been overwhelmed by the support we've received so far and want to send a HUGE thank you to the folks who have donated just since we've started writing here, and our friends and family who have shared our story, but know we've got a long way to go, too.

We wanted to share what we've got ahead of us on this journey, and show you what contributions are going toward. For our adoption, we've mapped out the following little list of expenses:

With your support and your amazingly generous contributions, we've been able to take care of the home study and education fees to get us off and running -- thank you!! We've also been able to address a couple other things and are now starting to chip away at the agency fees, too!

We've still got a ways to go, and hope you'll join us as our story unfolds. You can make a contribution right over there → or click the "How You Can Help" link at the top of the page.

If you cannot make a financial contribution, you can help by sharing our blog with your friends, and we're always in need of prayers, positive thoughts, and general encouragement. If you've got some stuff hanging around you'd like to clear out, we're putting together some garage sale fundraisers in May where we can help us help you! Stay tuned for more to come.

And thank you again to everyone who's donated or shared their support and enthusiasm for us during this journey!

-Jenny & Jeremy