Our Inspiration to Adopt

Nancy and I had known for years that we might adopt children some day. We have three birth children and would have had more had we not encountered serious health risks for Nancy in two of the three pregnancies. After the third birth, Nancy had her tubes tied. Nineteen years passed between the birth of our youngest child and the day that we received a foster child into our home. Along the way, we were inspired by couples who had adopted children. Chris and Maureen lived near us and attended the same church that we did for many years. They … Continue reading →

Wrong Reasons to Adopt

There isn’t anything wrong with wanting to adopt because you would like to parent a child and provide a loving home. These are typically the same reasons many couple’s conceive biologically. The problem is so many people want to adopt for the wrong reasons—even if their heart means well. Some of the wrong primary motivations for adoption are not wrong as a “bonus”, however to those who find justification in some of the examples provided below, I suggest visiting a local animal shelter instead. Children being placed for adoption often have needs beyond what biological or birth children have. Adoption … Continue reading →

What Kind of Adoption?

How do you decide what type of adoption is right for you? The options and decisions can appear endless and they are definitely overwhelming. The purpose of this article is to give you a very basic overview of the three main types of adoption. If one of these options spark your interest then you can begin to do more research (don’t forget to check out our blogs on each kind of adoption!) and hopefully feel a little more confident as you head in a specific direction. While there are other categories of adoption, the main areas of adoption that most … Continue reading →

Straight Adoption

This is a continuation from my Foster to Adopt blog. Probably one of the more secure ways to adopt is by going the straight adoption route. This is also referred to as legally free or legal risk adoption. Legally free adoptions happen when the child’s birth parent’s rights have been terminated by the courts, a process called TPR. These cases tend to move much more quickly as a result. Parents who adopt this route usually end up with children over age one. The reason for this is that the state usually takes about a year to work with the parents … Continue reading →

Adoption: Melissa’s Story

Unlike many couples who seek adoption, my husband and I didn’t pursue for fertility reasons—at least not initially. We were in our early 20’s and had heard there were many kids in our own state waiting for a forever family. We had love to share and an extra bedroom available. We started the adoption process by attending an orientation at our county’s Department of Human Resources (DHS). Upon hearing about the various special needs of the children waiting in the system, we thought it would be better to wait to adopt. We decided to focus on trying to conceive. After … Continue reading →

How To Decide To Adopt

A lot of people seem to have adoption in the back of their mind somewhere. They think it is something that they would like to do someday, but don’t know when that day will come. When that tiny little voice inside begins to whisper “it’s time”, how do you make the decision and how do you know if adoption is right for you? Step 1: Research The first step when you begin to think about adoption should be to research adoption. I have mentioned before that our decision to adopt started with my typing “adoption” into a search engine. Take … Continue reading →

Everyone Wants to Adopt A Girl

There is an interesting phenomenon in international adoption – the gender divide. For some reason, everyone wants girls. Statistically, 95% of people starting out in international adoption say that they want a girl and roughly 80% will end up adopting a girl, even if it means that they have to wait longer for a girl to be available. Personally, I don’t understand this trend. From the time that my husband and I began to talk about children, we always wanted our first to be a boy. When we were trying to get pregnant, we both hoped that our child would … Continue reading →

Adopting Alone

If you are single and considering adoption, then your choice is doubly difficult. Not only do you need to decide if adoption is right for you, there is the added concern of whether or not you are prepared to be a single parent. There are several things you should consider as you make the choice about whether or not you should adopt as a single parent: Do you want to adopt? This question is the same for every person. Do you want to be an adoptive parent? Do you feel comfortable with raising a child who is not biologically related … Continue reading →

Should I Adopt? Part 2

The last article on considering adoption focused on you (and your spouse) feel about adoption. The next set of questions you need to ask yourself is about your home, your family situation and your ability to take on the challenge of adding an adopted child to your family. How stable is our home life? Adoption is not easy. Just like adding a new baby to the household, it will definitely disrupt your schedule and everyone in the family has to adjust. With adoption, it is often not a infant who is joining your family, but an older baby, toddler or … Continue reading →

When Your Spouse Doesn’t Want To Adopt

In the Summer of 2005, I felt the pull to adopt a child. I am a Christian, and it was something I had prayed about and I believed that God had placed it on my heart. I approached my husband and my dreams were quickly halted. My husband didn’t want to adopt. He had a lot of good reasons why he didn’t want to adopt. He had dreamed of having a biological child – one that looked like the two of us. He wanted to enjoy a pregnancy with me – to hear the child’s heartbeat, to see on the … Continue reading →