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.

Pages

10/25/10

"It is with sincere regret...

...that we are unable to offer financial assistance for this adoption."

Our first grant rejection. It is hard not to take it personally. Or to be bitter. Especially since so many grants are have limiting qualifications such as specifying "Christian" families. Although we are a Christian family, we are also a Catholic family. But to many of these organizations you can't be their type of Christian if you are Catholic.

Does any of this really matter when you are talking about an orphaned child? We are willing to open our hearts and our home to an orphan. We are willing to become financially and emotionally responsible for this child for the rest of our lives. I would like to ask these orphaned children if these labels matter to them.

So, as I said, our first rejection. And it is hard not to take it personally or to be bitter. It is only the first, and I am sure there will be other rejections. Our faith in God will provide us with our adopted daughter. And it may not be next year or the year after. It won't be on our terms at all. It will be on His terms. And how can one take that personally?