Why Adopt?

People often wonder why Michael and I would choose to adopt when we have so many biological children. There are so many children in this world who are going without the love of a mother and father and the security of a stable home environment. We feel it is our calling to provide for at least one of those children through adoption.

Adoption is a natural choice for us since I was a birth mother as a teenager. I placed my infant son with a family through a semi-open adoption. I am excited to be on the other end of the situation and be able to now help a mother in need.

Our Progress in the Adoption Process

As of June 19, 2010, we have the written homestudy report in our hands and are researching adoption grants to help finance the adoption. We are preparing our documents for the Ethiopian government, but can't proceed much further without the first half of the Ethiopian program fee (roughly $6,000).


Timeframe from now until we bring our daughter home: Our personal goal is to bring our daughter home by the Fall of 2013.

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4/20/10

A Special Thank yoU!

I wanted to give a special thank you to my friend Sue who donated some unused homeschool curriculum to us. She allowed us to sell the curriculum and keep the money for the adoption. Those ebay sales earned us over $300! Thank you for your generosity Sue!
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4/18/10

Graph #2 of Contributions Received.

Here is an updated graph of where we stand with the financial aspect of the adoption. The green amount represents the over $3000 we have received in donations. The blue section is a rough estimate of how much left we need to come up with to finish the adoption. This amount is just an estimate. The new Ethiopian laws as well as unexpected expenses can increase that amount. The line that says "Other" and has a zero value is the amount we have gotten from grants. We are not yet eligible to apply for grants because we are waiting for the homestudy report to be completed. We have done everything on our end, and now must wait for the social worker to finish her part.

Despite the changes in Ethiopian law, Michael and I have decided to continue on this path for adoption. We are not sure how it is going to work out, but after reviewing our other options we have decided that at this time this is the most viable option for our family.
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4/2/10

Uncertain Future

Mike and I were sad to learn yesterday that they did indeed pass new laws concerning adoptions from Ethiopia. They now require both parents to travel to Ethiopia two times to complete the adoption. In some circumstances (which they have not yet outlined), an escort with power of attorney may be able to take the place of one of the parents.

Even with the escort, one of us would have to go to Africa and we would be paying for two tickets, two times. A quick look at Delta on random dates shows the price to be $1,956 per ticket. Times that by four and you can easily see the new financial burden placed on my family.

We are undecided about what steps to take next. Other programs offer lighter travel requirements, but with four children already in the home it is hard for our family to qualify for those programs.

I just received an message that international adoption is not for sissies. Isn't that the truth! I wouldn't wish this emotional turmoil on my worst enemy.
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