The Begining

Since our first date we talked about and knew we wanted to extend our family, with children. We talked about adopting one day after we had children of our own because there are so many children out there that need loving parents.  We began our journey to become parents shortly after we were married June 25, 2010. We have been trying to have children for over 3 years. We first learned after trying for 6 months that Heather would need help from a fertility specialist.  After over 2 years of fertility treatments that included daily doctor visits, 3-7 shots a day, and tens of thousands of dollars, we opened our hearts to god for direction.  We know that god has plans for us to be able to provide a loving home to a child; we just didn't know how that would happen.  We continued to follow the directions of the doctor and found out we were 5 weeks pregnant, but suffered a miscarriage at 8 weeks. We thought at that moment that we could still conceive and carry a child. We tried 5 more times to conceive.  However, God has completely different plans for our family and how wonderful His plans are, compared to ours!! In August 2013, after prayerful consideration and listening to our hearts for Gods direction, we have decided to take that leap of faith and apply to adopt a child from the United States. This is a great opportunity for us to build our family through God’s plan of adoption as well as provide a loving home to a child in need. As we begin the adoption process we have come to realize that it is a very expensive process and while we have some of the funds, we still need  at least $15,000 to complete the process of providing a forever home for a child. This is one of the many obstacles we will face along the way, but it just allows us to rely solely on God and become closer to Him.

Cost of adoption can be overwhelming and these are the fees that we will incur during the process.

Agency Fee: $15,000 for some agencies this includes counseling for birth mother and adoptive parents, this includes finding and matching us with birthmothers. Adoptive parent preparation and training.

Home-study fee: $2000-$3500 is the process where a social worker evaluates us and our home to insure that we are able to provide a safe loving home to a child.  These costs include travel for the social work for 2-3 pre-placement visits and filing of approval paper work with state. Some states will require an additional visit 6 months after the child comes home.

Home adjustments: $500-$1000. There are certain child safety measures that they will require us to take. Some specifically required by the state and some that are based off the agency we are using.

Legal fees: $4000-$9000 depending on the state of the birthmother

Medical expenses: $2000-$6000 for baby and mother during delivery and prenatal care.  We have to receive full medical clearance and the details very by state. Counseling before and after termination of rights of the baby.

Travel expenses: $3000-$6000 we will need to travel to the birthmother once the child is born and some states require that we remain there for up to 2 weeks. 

End cost $27,000-$40,000

We are relying on God for $1 at a time. We would be amiss if we didn’t also ask for help from our families and friends who may be willing to donate to get us one step closer to giving a child a forever home – no amount is too small! Our plan is to apply for as many grants as possible, embark on fundraisers and pray that doors will open for the money to come through.

Please consider helping us bring our daughter/son home. If you are unable to send a monetary gift of any amount, perhaps you can help by praying for us through this journey. We appreciate anything you can contribute and want to thank you ahead of time for your donation and your thoughts and prayers.