Adoption Update

I've had several people ask me how the adoption situation is going, so I decided I should give an update.

Right after I posted my last blog regarding how awesome all of you are in helping us out with the funding for the adoption, I emailed the agency worker to get a couple of specifics cleared up. I received a reply not long after. The little girl we were hoping to adopt has a family already filling papers to get her. That information has been heartbreaking to me. I am so thrilled that she will have a family, but so sad that it will not be us.

So where does that put us? I've been sitting on this information for a week because the truth is, I don't really know. We are still looking into adoption. There are several other little girls & sibling groups that we are considering. There is a chance that one of the girls we were considering in the first place would come available again (it's rare, but I've seen it happen. Sometimes something happens & the family has to back out of the adoption). We've also considered some kids through a domestic adoption or possibly going back to doing foster care. We just feel very unsure now. We are praying through it & hoping God will very specifically point us where to go.

I am very much leaning towards continuing with an international adoption. As much as I know there are children in the USA with no parents who need go homes, the situations in other countries are so much worse. Babies & children with disabilities are left in cribs for hours or days to cry with no stimulation & no love. They are fed as quickly as possible & are changed very rarely. Some children, especially those with mental delays, are abused & mistreated because they are delayed. And even if the children are in an orphanage that treats them well, they are still in an orphanage. No Mama or Daddy to tuck them in at night. No one to hold them when they are scared. No one to love them. I look at my 2 little boys and I cannot imagine them growing up with no real love.

I understand that kids in the USA foster system do not have it easy. They are often shuffled from home to home, split up from siblings, changing rules, schools, friends. We were foster parents. We saw it. And I know that not all foster parents are great. But as a foster parent, we loved on our foster kids. We snuggled them when they were sick or scared. We helped them learn & do homework. We encouraged them, bandaged their cuts, took them to the doctor, gave them plenty of food to eat. We LOVED those kids, even though they were not ours, and all the other foster families I know were the same. Loving, stand-in families for kids who did not have parents or whose parents could not care for them for a period of time.

I lean towards international adoptions because most of those kids won't ever have a chance to be a part of a family. Many of them will grow up in orphanages...if they are lucky. In many countries disabled children are sent to mental institutions between 5 & 7 years old. Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, spina bifida. All things that are managed here, land kids there in institutions for the rest of their lives.

Look at this sweet little girl. I've seen other pictures & she is just a doll! Grows up in an orphanage & still has a smile like that! And she might be headed to an institution? Really? Angelica

This little boy is in an area that has just currently closed to US adoptions. How sweet is he? I am hoping the area reopens soon & someone can get him out. Ernie

And this adorable little thing. I'd love to go scoop her up right now! Francine

And these 4. Oh my. I don't think you could get much cuter. Their special needs are minimal, but there are 4 of them. Getting them adopted together is going to be an issue. I told Derrick that if we had the space & met the income requirements, I would be all about bringing these little ones home.

So that is where we are at. Praying & looking & deciding where to head next. And here's where the awkward part comes in. If you have donated to us & would like to have the money returned (seeing that we are kind of on hold at the moment), I totally understand. Just let me know - it is currently being saved separate from our regular money, so we can get it back to you if you want it. If you allow us to hold it until we are able to find another child or children to adopt, we would be so grateful! I am personally still pushing forward as if there is an adoption of the horizon because who knows? There could be!

Again, we appreciate your love, support, & prayers as we work through all of this.