Hello family and friends! Thank you for being so supportive of us. We've been asked so many questions, and I decided that the best way to answer those questions and keep people up-to-date on the progress of our adoption journey would be to start yet another blog. No worries, I will get back to the photography blog when I am finally inspired again, but for now my concentration is on getting the ball rolling with the adoption-related stuff.
Last Monday we attended our first info meeting with the agency we were planning on using for the adoption. The agency came highly recommended from a friend who used them for international adoption. However, due to the fact that we have chosen domestic infant adoption, we will be using a private attorney for the placement part of the adoption. Why? Well for one reason, the agency tends to have a 25-50% chance that the expectant parents will change their mind and decide to parent, whereas the attorney averages about 10%. As you can imagine, with all we've been through, 10% is a lot more appealing! Also, the agency generally has an 18 month - 3 year wait to match you up with an expectant parent, whereas the attorney averages about 1 year. We've waited 5 years already trying to conceive, the shorter we have to wait for a match-up, the better! Unfortunately, it could potentially cost us more.
That brings me to my final topic, the expense! Yes, adopting is very expensive. But how can you put a price on a child? For so long I would not even consider adoption because of the cost. It seemed to me only the rich could adopt. But where there's a will, there's a way! We've completely changed our lifestyle as a result (selling off stuff, not eating out, etc). I've looked into many different means of raising money, and have no doubt that eventually we will be able to. The trick is, will we be able to raise it fast enough? Though our attorney averages 1 year, there are a number of stories of him matching people up in a month or less! The big chunk of what we have to pay will be when we are matched up. We will then know exactly how much we owe. It could be as high as $50k, and that's just the placement. We will also owe quite a bit to the agency who does the home study and post placement interviews. How can you help? Please pray for us. That's all we ask. God provides, and I have no doubt that he will make it possible for us to have a child. So many of you are struggling with your own finances, and as my Mom always says, charity starts at home!
If you feel you can do more financially, every little bit helps. We have a paypal donate button at the top right of the blog if you just want to donate funds. They take credit card payments, even if you don't have an account set up. Want something for your money? If you have a particular magazine you like, you can buy a subscription and we get up to 40% of the purchase. There is a link to the right (support our group, buy a magazine), as well. They also have cookie dough! I'm also in the process of setting up a t-shirt fundraiser with a website that specializes in fundraising for adoptions. Lastly, I'm working on some sewn projects which I will eventually put up for sale to raise money. I will update the blog when I have the info on those. I'm also considering having a yard-sale, though I'm not very good at bartering with people.
