Adopting through Foster Care in Northern Florida

I'm happy to have found this thread. I've been getting pretty cold feet lately myself. And yes, some of these discussions can be very negative and disheartening. I try to remember that I know other parents who had great experiences adopting through foster care and it is likely that we will have a generally positive experience. We completed our Pride classes in June and I thought we'd be in a great place by the time we got a placement. Then I got laid off. We are now licensed and I am in the middle of job interviews. It's a lot of uncertainty to deal with all at once. The process is teaching me flexibility and patience. We have only gotten one placement call (last friday night) and I had to say no because I just knew it was not right for us. I think you have to be flexible but you also have to stick to your guns on what you know you want to deal with. Being firm on that gives you a little bit of control. My husband was not very happy that I said no, but saying yes would have shut us down to other placements for the foreseeable future and we want a younger child with a strong possibility of adoption. So, even though it is VERY difficult to say no, saying it when you know in your heart it's the right thing helps keep us on track. We are in this to adopt. Yes, if we can help a child now and then for a short time, we will, but we have to stick to our ultimate goal. We always looked forward to the classes and I actually miss some aspects of them sometimes. We met some amazing people and the process was very enlightening. Would I go this route if I could have my own bio kids at this stage in my life? Probably not, but I believe there is a reason for everything and that our child is out there somewhere waiting for us.