Bambino Spino
Donation protected
I remember clearly sitting by a creek on a warm spring day when Dan and I were newly dating. Dan looked up in the sky and shared that he always dreamed of having a family full of adopted kids. He the dreamer thinking far into the future and I the ever-present practical still trying to take in that we were even dating! A million miles and then some from that day, here we are. Taking small, trembling, unsure-of-ourselves steps to cross over the threshold into the world of adoption.
There’s so much I would love to share with you. I have written and rewritten this because of all that I have in me to share. But for now, I’ll just to keep it to what is most essential for today.
The First Part
Yes, we are in the adoption process! For us right now that means an infant adoption in the United States. Someday we might go international but for now, this is our landing spot.
Where are we in the process? Well, as I write, Dan is finishing edits to our home study draft report! (yeah!) This soon-to-be legal document will be our pride and joy of three months work. And will give us legal approval before the government to be adoptive parents.
We are also in the process of creating a profile book. This photo album will be our ambassador to prospective birth moms. A mom will receive a handful of books, look through them, and choose a family to place her child. Right now we are gathering needed photos and writing about ourselves (yeah, it’s weird!), our families, our neighborhood. Essentially we are answering the question “what would life be like with those Spinos?”
After that, we need to choose the agency/lawyer we would like to partner with. We’ve already partnered with an adoption consultant near us who will help direct us to places they would recommend. This will involve needing loads of discernment.
The other massive arm we’re tackling is fundraising. Which is why you are reading about this on Go Fund Me. We’re also setting up a garage sale for the spring and Dan is building some wood products to sell. (I’ll post more about that later.) And as time goes on, we’ll tackle some other fundraising ideas. But for now, on top of normal life, nudging each of these along is all we can do. We don't know the final cost but our goal is in range of what we're told to expect.
We have been asked about our “timeline.” Don’t I wish we knew! In the world of adoption, you have absolutely no control or say over your timeline. Once we have our part done, it could be as quick as a day or as long as several years. We’ve watched both scenarios play out with friends. There is also the risk of losing the adoption after placement, which would mean starting all over again, waiting for another family to choose us.
The Second Part (beyond logistics and to-do’s)
It’s important to us to share that this is not our Plan B. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have no kiddos running around our house. Maybe God will bless us with pregnancy in the future. Maybe not. But that’s not related to this branch of our story. So connecting the two isn’t helpful to us.
Why is adoption our Plan A? Simply put because it’s God’s Plan A. Not only does He desire to see all kiddos be legally adopted into a permanent place of belonging and loved into a family, He has also gone to all exhaustive lengths to give you and I the opportunity to become His adopted child, welcomed with infinite joy into His family.
We are excited to start this chapter. But if we ever seem less than excited (have and will!), we want you to know it’s not because we aren’t enthusiastic. I think phrasing it as “cautiously excited” is the better way to put it. We’ve walked with several friends through this process. Each story has been completely different with plenty of twists and turns. There just is no typical path to follow.
We can’t do this journey alone. Even in the work we’ve been doing to prepare for the home study, we have felt the attacks of the enemy to continually discourage and mess hard with us. We feel more weak and discouraged with every attempt we take to move forward. We need help financially but I would say even more so, we need warriors who can step up to pray and fight alongside, delivering us safely to the end of this journey.
We are humbled to be here. Once again, in a place of need. Reinforcing that we are always dependent on God to provide our needs whether we can see the provision in front of us or not. But we have learned over and over again, the more impossible things become, the more room God has to give a mighty show of how great and able and good He is.
If you’re up for sharing in this journey - with the risks, joys and everything in between - we would gladly welcome the company. We long to see Christ show more of Himself to us and all who journey with us. And maybe in this long dusty road of looking and waiting for our children, we’ll get a small taste of the road He walked for you and me.
Happy Easter, everyone.
Dan & Stephanie
There’s so much I would love to share with you. I have written and rewritten this because of all that I have in me to share. But for now, I’ll just to keep it to what is most essential for today.
The First Part
Yes, we are in the adoption process! For us right now that means an infant adoption in the United States. Someday we might go international but for now, this is our landing spot.
Where are we in the process? Well, as I write, Dan is finishing edits to our home study draft report! (yeah!) This soon-to-be legal document will be our pride and joy of three months work. And will give us legal approval before the government to be adoptive parents.
We are also in the process of creating a profile book. This photo album will be our ambassador to prospective birth moms. A mom will receive a handful of books, look through them, and choose a family to place her child. Right now we are gathering needed photos and writing about ourselves (yeah, it’s weird!), our families, our neighborhood. Essentially we are answering the question “what would life be like with those Spinos?”
After that, we need to choose the agency/lawyer we would like to partner with. We’ve already partnered with an adoption consultant near us who will help direct us to places they would recommend. This will involve needing loads of discernment.
The other massive arm we’re tackling is fundraising. Which is why you are reading about this on Go Fund Me. We’re also setting up a garage sale for the spring and Dan is building some wood products to sell. (I’ll post more about that later.) And as time goes on, we’ll tackle some other fundraising ideas. But for now, on top of normal life, nudging each of these along is all we can do. We don't know the final cost but our goal is in range of what we're told to expect.
We have been asked about our “timeline.” Don’t I wish we knew! In the world of adoption, you have absolutely no control or say over your timeline. Once we have our part done, it could be as quick as a day or as long as several years. We’ve watched both scenarios play out with friends. There is also the risk of losing the adoption after placement, which would mean starting all over again, waiting for another family to choose us.
The Second Part (beyond logistics and to-do’s)
It’s important to us to share that this is not our Plan B. In case you hadn’t noticed, we have no kiddos running around our house. Maybe God will bless us with pregnancy in the future. Maybe not. But that’s not related to this branch of our story. So connecting the two isn’t helpful to us.
Why is adoption our Plan A? Simply put because it’s God’s Plan A. Not only does He desire to see all kiddos be legally adopted into a permanent place of belonging and loved into a family, He has also gone to all exhaustive lengths to give you and I the opportunity to become His adopted child, welcomed with infinite joy into His family.
We are excited to start this chapter. But if we ever seem less than excited (have and will!), we want you to know it’s not because we aren’t enthusiastic. I think phrasing it as “cautiously excited” is the better way to put it. We’ve walked with several friends through this process. Each story has been completely different with plenty of twists and turns. There just is no typical path to follow.
We can’t do this journey alone. Even in the work we’ve been doing to prepare for the home study, we have felt the attacks of the enemy to continually discourage and mess hard with us. We feel more weak and discouraged with every attempt we take to move forward. We need help financially but I would say even more so, we need warriors who can step up to pray and fight alongside, delivering us safely to the end of this journey.
We are humbled to be here. Once again, in a place of need. Reinforcing that we are always dependent on God to provide our needs whether we can see the provision in front of us or not. But we have learned over and over again, the more impossible things become, the more room God has to give a mighty show of how great and able and good He is.
If you’re up for sharing in this journey - with the risks, joys and everything in between - we would gladly welcome the company. We long to see Christ show more of Himself to us and all who journey with us. And maybe in this long dusty road of looking and waiting for our children, we’ll get a small taste of the road He walked for you and me.
Happy Easter, everyone.
Dan & Stephanie
Organizer
Stephanie Spino
Organizer
Mechanicsburg, PA
