And We Have a Decision!!!

Well, we finally made a decision on the country we will be adopting from ..... drum roll please ...... We are planning to adopt a little girl from China!!! Since this might be our last child, I (Sherry) really want a girl. So China is our best bet.

We have sent in our application, and we'll be starting the homestudy process very soon. That should be completed in approximately 4-5 months. Then we're probably looking at a wait of at least 2 1/2 years once our homestudy is complete. It's a long wait, but we're looking at the positive side of things. Luke will be old enough to understand the process more and will be able to really be a part of it. We're even planning on him traveling with us to China to bring home his little sister. He'll probably be 4 or 5 by then, so he'll be able to understand a lot and hopefully remember most of it.

Also, the wait is a good thing for us because of the money. We'll have plenty of time to save up the money we need. I (Sherry) am planning to go back to work full-time this summer or fall. I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing. I'm interviewing next week with the school district here. My teaching license is still good for a while, so going back to teaching high school is an option. I'm also looking into some corporate jobs as well. Each has pros and cons, so we'll see how all that plays out. I'm so glad we have such a great home daycare that Luke goes to part-time right now. They are willing to take him full-time whenever we need them to. They really love him and they take such great care of him. He loves going there and playing with his friends. They do all kinds of fun activities and he learns a lot there.

One more thing about the wait and money issue ...... we are also looking into the possibility of a special needs child. We are willing to accept special needs that are correctable and that would be covered under our health insurance. We don't know a lot about this yet, but a pretty common special need that falls into this category is cleft lip/palate. Typically, the wait is much shorter. But of course it depends on if we are able to save up the money by then.

We are so excited about all of this and we're happy to answer any questions, so please feel free to ask! Adoption is not an easy road, and we'll need everyone's support and prayers! Thank you in advance!!!!!

Sherry, Aaron, and Luke

Decisions, Decisions .......

So we've completed all the Information Sessions we signed up for.  Now we need to choose an agency and a country.  We didn't anticipate this part being so difficult.  Choosing an agency is not too hard.  We've compared the pros and cons and we're pretty close to making that decision.

Choosing a country on the other hand, is a completely different story.  There are so many factors to consider ..... how long it takes, how much it costs, age of the available children, gender of the available children, predictability/stability of the country's adoption program, how the children are cared for, special needs .... just to name a few.  So we are praying, thinking, and talking about all our options.  I think we're getting close to making a decision, it's just harder than we thought it would be!

We're still very excited about the process and I think we'd both like for it to move quicker than it does!  The entire process will take a couple of years.  We can see 2 major benefits to this. 

1.  Luke will be older and he'll be able to participate in the process more and understand it more.  He is definitely our first priority and we think it would be great if he was able to understand what was happening.

2.  Money.  I've mentioned this before, but it's a big deal to us.  Mainly because we don't have much!  I (Sherry) will be looking for a full time job soon.  The longer the process takes, the more likely it is that we'll have no problem raising however much we need to raise.  This is actually a relief.  It's stressful to wonder how you're going to come up with $20,000 (or more, depending on the country) when you have nowhere near that in savings.  But knowing that I could work for a year or two and then we could pay for the adoption and replenish our savings account is a good thing.  We can probably also start college savings accounts for both kids with that money.  Then, when we bring our next little one home, I could go back to working part time so I could be home with both kids part time!

So anyway, that's our update for now!  Hopefully we'll be posting soon that we've chosen a country!!!!

Sherry, Aaron, & Luke

Webinar

We participated in a Webinar last night with an agency in NC.  Luke was alternating between crawling around, wanting to type on the computer, and being tired, so it was an interesting evening!  We got some good information, though.

Our next information meeting is next week and this one is one where we actually go to the office and meet there.  That one is with a larger agency, so that should be interesting.

Sherry

Our First Adoption Agency Meeting

We met with a social worker from a local agency last week.  She was great and she answered all of our questions.

 This agency deals with China, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.  They also deal with India, but we'd have to have some Indian heritage, so that one is out for us.  We have to choose a country before we send in our initial application.

 We really feel that international adoption is the right thing for us to do.  Our plan now is to go to a couple of other information meetings before the end of the year.  We also have to work out a plan to save up some money.  Thankfully, the money is due in increments throughout the process  But we still have a lot of money to save.  We're trying to think of some creative ways we can add to our adoption account. 

I (Sherry) will probably end up going back to work full time at some point.  I've already committed to teaching at the community college part time for the Spring semester.  So I'm thinking I would hopefully start something full time in the summer or fall.

November 8

We couldn't make one of the Info Meetings at an agency here in town, so we scheduled an appointment with a social worker for November 8th.  And then we'll participate in a webinar on November 13th about International Adoption.

The Journey Begins ......

We are in the information gathering stage of adoption.  We're thinking we'll go with an international adoption.  We are researching a couple of different agencies and getting all of their information.   There's so much to learn!

The biggest obstacle will be money.  Adoption is really expensive.  But so are infertility treatments.  At least with adoption, you are guaranteed to be parents at some point.  With infertility treatments, there is no guarantee.  We are so fortunate to have Luke as a result of infertility treatments.  We feel that adoption is a great choice for us and we're really excited about it.

I may have to go to work full time to save up the money we need.  Currently, I'm working part time teaching at a community college.  I've already committed to teaching in the Spring, so if I need to find something full time, it will probably be next summer or fall.

 So we'll see where this takes us.  It's going to be a long journey, but we're excited about it!  We can't wait for Luke to have a little brother or sister!

Hmmmmm....

Let's see how long this lasts.  I am notorious for not keeping up with these types of things.