Where to begin...
I am a single female, quickly pushing 30, from the Midwest, and looking to adopt a child internationally. I have always known I wanted children, and for the past 2 or 3 years, my biological clock has started to tick tick tick. Unfortunately, I have not met "Mr. Right" as of yet but I am totally ready to be a mommy. The former I cannot control, but the latter I can, so here I am. I have been thinking about adoption for the past three years. To me, it seems to be the most natural thing in the world.
Through all of my research, I have stumbled upon some wonderful and inspiring blogs written by families who are either in the process, or have completed their adoptions. I thought it was such a neat idea, I decided to start one of my own. This blog is first and foremost for myself as a place to document my journey and keep everything in one place (so I can get rid of the tons of sticky notes with adoption info all around my house). Second, it is for family and friends to be able to stay updated on my journey. Last, but not least, it is for anyone else out there in the adoption process that may be able to learn from the experiences I go through in what I can only imagine will be a long and arduous journey. For the next few months, I expect my posts be few and far between while I research, but hopefully soon I will have much more to report!
I am currently in the 'researching and saving' mode. I am to decide on which country to adopt from as well as which agency to use. Of course, the more I research, the more I learn that the very first step is to pick a country and then agency. Picking a country is HARDER than I ever thought it would be. To me, it doesn't matter. I am not really concerned with race, color, or gender. So, I am sorting through country requirements and required stays to determine what would be the best fit. I am currently looking at Vietnam, Guatemala, and Kazakhstan. There are benefits and drawbacks to all three, and I am starting to drive myself crazy going back and forth between them, so I need to just pick one already!
I am also working on obtaining a permanent job WITH benefits. I currently working as an IT consultant / contractor but lucky me, I have an interview this week for a permanent job!! I am keeping my fingers crossed. Getting a permanent job is the last of the 'steps' I have been working towards to officially start the adoption process.
A little note about the name of this blog...
...since I am in such the early stages of the adoption process and I do not yet know the country, don't have a name picked out, etc., I have decided to name this blog is after one of my two kitties. Noelle is my 8 year old short hair tuxedo cat that I adopted from the Humane Society on Dec. 24, 1998 (hence the name). She is the one that will *always* be sitting on my lap when I am working, researching, and blogging! I cannot however forget to mention my other feisty cat, Marcel. He is my 7 1/2 year old big boy. He is also a short hair tuxedo and most people comment that they look like brother and sister, though they are not. They are both my sweeties :)
Noelle
 Marcel 
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