Our Biggest Challenge

I will get back to our adoption story in the next post.  Right now, I want to explain one of the biggest challenges we are going to have.  Adoption is a wonderful thing that begins with a very tough road.  Pasture and I are not in a big hurry to get our baby home, but we would like to do so in the next year or two.  Our agency has told us, that if paperwork and money is turned in on time, it is very possible we will have a new addition by next October.  How amazing is that?

So here is where I ask for your help. Our biggest challenge is money.  Not money to care for the child, because we have that covered. We need money to bring our baby home.  We are doing what we can by trying to get that money through loans, grants, birthday and Christmas gifts, savings, and credit.  But it is going to take awhile to get the $30,000 or more that we need.

So I'm asking for help.  I hate doing it.  I feel like an annoying sales person knocking on your door or calling you during dinner.  But this is more than buying a vacuum or giving to help a puppy get surgery. This is a baby.  And not just any baby, a baby that needs a home.  This is a baby that needs a mother and a father.  Please pray and consider if you can help. If you look on the right side of this blog you can find several ways to help.  Two of those ways, you get something.  And the benefit is you are helping a baby get a loving home.  I will soon be adding a way you can support us when you buy from Amazon.

Thank you for reading this far.  Thank you for any support you can give us.  And thank you to all the family and friends that give us an abundance of emotional and spiritual support (along with lots of stuff for the baby!).

Below you will see an explanation of the costs involved in a domestic infant adoption.

Application Fee $250
We have already paid this fee, submitted our application, and been approved.

Registration Fee $200
We must get this paid to continue the process, but we are having to wait until next month when we will have the money in our budget.

Agency Consulting Fee $2,500
This is the second fee that is due right now.  We are waiting for either the approval of a loan or raising money through donations, Mary Kay sales, and gift card sales.

Homestudy Fee $1,500
$1000 of this will be due very soon when we are ready to get our Homestudy started.  The last $500 is due before our third interview.

Program Fee $15,500
This is the biggest fee we will have.  This is the lowest the fee will be.  Depending out which agency the birthmother is using, the fee could be up $35,000 or more.  Half of this due when we are matched with a birth mother, which will probably be in 6 months to a year after our Homestudy is complete.   The other half is due 2 weeks before we bring the baby home.

Legal Fees $4,500
We will pay around $2,000 for termination of the birthparents' parental rights and around $2,500 for adoption finalization.

Other Expenses $3,000-$3,500
We are also responsible for the birthmother's expenses.  This may cover stipends for food, housing, transportation, and medical treatments.