Megan Hampel & Marcus Kain

Updates

• Update 6

  Profile Building Blocks

  June 9, 2026

  Our time the last few weeks was spent researching and interviewing additional adoption providers and attorneys. We opted to go with an agency that is located in Mississippi (yes, I had to sing the little jingle to spell that) and Louisiana. The adoption attorney that we selected is in Wichita and she will also be an additional adoption provider. Now that that item has been checked off the to-do list we had a bit of a reprieve, but not much of one as the work on our profile began!
  We submitted our text for review about two weeks ago. The review process takes 5-10 business days, so we are anxiously awaiting for that notice to land in our inbox. In the meantime, we've been looking through photos on our phones, pulling pictures out of frames to scan, and asking family and friends to send pictures. These were all uploaded for review and approved the same day--it felt like such a victory! We also have to do a 5-minute video to include on our profile. Am I looking forward to that? Not really. Will I actually do my hair and make-up...possibly. Did we buy a tripod? Yes, but only because the profile company highly suggested it. This is again one of those things throughout this entire process that we will complete because all the effort, no matter how big or small or time consuming, will be completely worth it in the end. Interestingly, statistics show that if a birth mother is presented a profile with a video, she will 100% of the time choose that profile over one without a video. So, we're going to get ready for our close-ups and figure out our best angles because we. are. so. ready.

• Update 5

  Just Keep Swimming....

  April 28, 2026

  Our home visit was completed 2 weeks ago. To sum it up---we passed! The social worker asked us questions about each other, about ourselves, about our view on open adoptions, about our support systems (that's all of you!), and so much more. She took a look around the house making sure we had the proper safety measures and a dedicated space for the baby. She saw Winston cuddled up on the couch snoozing away and we bonded over elderly dogs. Our report has been written and we are in the final rounds of reviewing it before we and the agency give it the seal of approval. We've been fingerprinted and are waiting for our background checks to come back and then we can finally start on our adoption profile. This will be presented to birth mothers to consider us to be a family to their child.
  We have to select 2-3 additional agencies to submit our home report and profile to. This increases our exposure to more birth families. We also have to choose an adoption competent lawyer to legally finalize the adoption when that time comes. We're not gonna lie--research fatigue is real. Just when we think we have a bit of a break, this very important task awaits us. In some ways, this is just as crucial as selecting our initial adoption agency. We know it needs to be done and we are going to take a deep breath, exhale, and focus our energy on this next step.

• Update 4

  Home Visit Is Upon Us!!

  April 8, 2026

  We were busy in the background during February and March completing our autobiographies, the child preferences worksheets, adoption required education and reading, CPR, getting physicals and answering what seemed like the same questions over and over and then again once more. We read and signed agency agreements and contracts, personal information release forms, and some more documents. It took us a total of 3 months to do everything, and it had us frustrated at points, but also there were moments of awareness, enlightenment and hope of seeing each other as parents. We were informed today that our home visit will be Wednesday April 15---happy tax day!! We are nervous, but we are prepared. We are hopeful and we are ready for this next step to bring us closer to our baby, whomever that is. Our house needs a good cleaning anyway!
  We expected the donation frequency to taper off after the first month or so but have continued to receive them on this page and to us directly. Friends have even donated a crib and a dresser! The nursery may be mismatched in furniture wood color, but it will be part of our story and journey to a family. Frankly, I think it's charming.

• Update 3

  Home Study Paperwork

  January 5, 2026

  Our home study application was approved! We now are in the midst of uploading all the necessary documents--marriage and drivers licenses, birth certificates, Winston's vaccination records; gathering references, etc. We chip away at the checklists a little bit every day; working towards our next big step which is the home study/interview ($3750). We continue to pray for guidance, patience and resolve during this process. We remain in awe of the donations that continue to come our way. I find words difficult to express the amount of gratitude we have, but know that it is a lot!

• Update 2

  Submitted!

  December 14, 2025

  Thank you to everybody who had donated any amount thus far. We have been blown away from the support and outreach! We have officially submitted our application to Adoption Beyond....and now we start the first of many waiting periods.

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