So we have a lot of questions about the cost and how much we need to adopt and as of this moment the truth is... I don't really know. There is a very big possibility that the cost has gone up on us in the past few months. We are waiting to hear from our caseworker on rather or not it has been raised and whether they are going by the price we were originally given back in October. We have already paid 650 in application fees. Our next is some more admisistrative and the homestudy fees about $1350 unless of course it has gone up and then we need an additional $500. This we have already raised thanks to a generous donation from some friends. But after that is the big chunk... right now about $6500, possibily $8500 if it's gone up. After that another $1,1000 for final costs. What really could possibly get us is the extra pass through expenses. So yes we are definitely gonna have to fundraising. There have been some questioning as to why are we are fundraising and getting donors... Well my not so generous response was can you just pull that much cash out of your pocket and not blink twice? Probably not. But what a lot of people don't realize is things are different with adoption. I have great insurance and even disability insurance to cover my maternity leave. I upped it a few years ago when we began trying to concieve so that it was close to my pay each month and we would be ok while I was off. Well... it's worth squat to me now. It won't cover my maternity leave because I'm not the pregnant one. I still have to take maternity leave... but oh well... they don't see it that way. Medical insurance is for naught as well. Take into account you really don't know how long you have. Once you are approved it's like being in your ninth month, "any day now" point of your pregnancy. You never know when the call will come. So that really has to be taken into consideration, we don't know how long we have to raise the money. Add to that, it's not like with a deductible at the dr. where you can pay as you can and as long as you make a payment they don't hassle you too horribly. Every thing has to be paid by finalization of the adoption (which could include some major medical if the birth mother doesn't have insurance or medicaid) which is only 6 months after placement. I really don't see it different than a baby shower. People have showers and get baby gifts, we are getting gifts to be able to have our baby..... six of one a half dozen of the other. I don't think people realize how costly adoption really is. Yes there is a tax credit... but that comes AFTER everything has been paid. Our plan is after everything has been paid off (any loans we need) to give a big chunk of anything left back to the church for someone else in need and then put back anything else for the next adoption to give us a step forward.
So we are definitely on the fundraising trip. Not too sure what we are going to do. I know there are some church matching grants, but you have to have an approved homestudy, so I can't apply for those yet and as I already said you never know when the placement call will come. I've been selling some intials and signs I made to help raise money. I'm toying with making some more and some of the crafts that I'm seeing on Pinterest that I know I can easily make and going to some of the local festivals this spring to see if I can raise money. I hate asking for money... but I don't mind so much selling something to raise money. So now I've just got to see if they will really sell and what it will cost me for a booth at the festival. One of the festivals is where I am from and it's a pretty big one and I've seen some things I think I can make easily and sell for a profit.
I'm a little overwhelmed at where I will have time for this though. In between my job as a teacher and all the out of class prep it takes, the amazing amount of paperwork that has to be done, starting our adoption profile book, teaching at church, and just trying to relax and have fun, along with other just general household responsibilities it's really adding up. I'm seriously starting to stress. I think my mom is gonna help me over spring break work hard to do what we need to have things to sell... and we are definitely cutting back on things like eating out and anywhere else we can so that we have extra money to put back and pay off debt and such as that.
I kinda stumbled on being able to do the crafty stuff. I've never been crafty or creative but it has just kinda happened. I guess an answer to prayer. I was praying about how could we raise money and it just kinda popped up. On a different note, it's a good stress reliever
and I've really enjoyed it. Now to see if I can recreate and sell a few of these pieces.
It'll definitely be worth every penny and more, but hopefully that'll explain why we are having to fundraise. When I think about going international (which we plan to at some point), it really makes me cringe cause I know how much more it takes. We will definitely start preparing for that as soon as possible. If you are even considering adoption for the future may I please suggest... start now putting money back. It will really help then if you have already started your adoption account. I wish we had begun putting back as soon as we started considering it instead of waiting until we were closer to pursuing it. Even though we took a few months to really pay off some debt. If I can figure out how from my phone I'll post some of the pics that we took of my arts tuff that we are wanting to sell.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Our adoption story
I decided to move blogs over to one solely for our adoption. So I'm gonna backtrack a little if you haven't been following my blog and update on our story. My husband and I have been married for 3 and a half years. Our plans when we first got married were simple. Wait two years, then have a family. Have a couple of biological children then we wanted to adopt. We weren't sure where or when just knew that at some point we wanted to adopt. Well fast forward a year and we decided forget the original plan let's go on and start trying, figuring we'd be the typical 2-3 months 6 months max and there'd be a baby on the way. But by the time six months came, we knew something wasn't right. So after the year long wait that the doctor makes you have before they consider infertility, we began the infertility testing. In a way we were lucky, a lot of people go thousands of dollars in to find out what the problem is if they ever do find out and several years. We took a month and a few hundred. Though they don't know all of it we do know enough that having a child biologically at this point will be nothing short of a miracle... or IVF. And IVF wasn't something we were willing to do so a miracle it will take. We took a year, began really researching adoption and then took a one last ditch effort to a reproductive endocronologist thinking there were some other options. When he told us our tests had changed dramatically and IVF was our only chance... well we didn't see it that way. To us it wasn't an option. Personal beliefs and ethical opinions of our own, not to mention a whole lot of cash for a small percentage of it working, we prayed about it and decided there are children out there who need a home. So back to research to pick an agency. We chose Bethany Christian mainly because it is Christian and we really liked what we saw. They also gave us the most information of any agency that we requested information from. So we filed our pre-application and the wait began. In October, we went to our first meeting with the agency, got our questions cleared up, and began the massive paperwork to adopt. To us, when the doctor told us that IVF was it, God didn't shut the door... He slammed it. We knew at that point with the very drastic, unreasonable changes that had occured with the test results that God was clearlyh pointing out that this was His way for us. And though it may not have been in our original plans, we know that His way is always the best. I'm taken back to the verse that I have clung to since high school. "For I know the plans I have for you sayeth the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. To give you a hope and a future." Jer. 29:11
So where are we now:
Adoption process completed:
So where are we now:
Adoption process completed:
- pre-application
- initial meeting
- formal application
- first interview with our social worker
- Just sent off our finger prints
- arranging physicals
- filling out mounds and mounds of paperwork
- second interview (individuals)
- home visit
- fundraising
- making profile books
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