I have a million and one things on my list to do today, but that doesn't matter. The timer is set, I have 30 minutes to write this post. And I need to. Because it is important.
November is National Adoption Month. And adoption is a subject I feel passionately about. Very passionately. So be prepared.
As you probably know, I was adopted by my sister when I was twelve. As a result of cancer she contracted with a pregnancy at 18 years of age, my sister couldn't have biological children. So, she adopted not only me, but five other children. Dan (as a baby), Amy (from Korea- adopted at age 15), Sabrina and Jon (bi-racial African-American/white, adopted at ages five and three from the foster care system) and Katie (adopted as a baby, profoundly deaf). Once a newspaper in the Portland area did a feature on our "Rainbow" family. Things weren't always easy with all of these kids (still aren't). We've all had our unique bag of issues. But we love each other, and we have each other. We're family.
After we had our third child, our son Garrett, Spence and I weren't able to biologically have more children. We were okay with that for a while, but once Erin (our oldest) reached about ninth grade we had a bit of a panic. We weren't ready to be done being parents! We are the oldest in both of our families, and our siblings and friends were still having young kids. We didn't feel old, or eager to be "done". We decided to look into adoption.
We thought about foreign adoption but decided it wasn't for us. The cost is high, usually at least $30K, and there are (believe it or not) weight requirements. We knew that the chances of a birth mother here in the U.S. choosing us, an "older", non-perfect looking couple who already had three children were slim (and that way costs a lot, too). We looked into adoption through the state.
Long story short, our family has grown from three to six wonderful children, who have blessed our lives more than I can say.
What about you? Have you ever considered adoption? Did you know that...
- There are 107,000 children currently waiting for permanent homes in the United States. Hundreds waiting in the state of Utah. Many are BABIES. Did you know that there are many babies available right now, in Utah?
- Adoption through the state costs NOTHING. Zero. Zip. Most also come with Medicaid cards, so all medical costs are covered for them until they are eighteen, even after adoption.
- Yes, these children come from high risk backgrounds. Most are victims of abuse or neglect so they will probably have issues that you will have to work through. Honestly, though, most people who have unplanned pregnancies are risk takers, so you may be getting the same high-risk type background in a child you adopt privately.
- You don't have to be perfect to adopt through the state. You don't have to be rich. You have to have a bed, and a dresser. And love. And realistic expectations. And a desire to be a change-agent. To break a cycle. To change lives. To have fun. To be a parent.
Here are some great sources for more information on adoption from the foster care system. Sometime I'll write more about our adoption story with our boys, but that "timer" went off a while ago.
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| Cute. Available. Hold me back. |
The Utah Adoption Exchange How the process works in Utah
FAQ's on Adoption UTDCFS Adoption Site
National Photolistings of waiting kids AdoptUSkids
Janet, I loved reading this. I'd always wondered why you'd adopted three more after having three of your own (a lot of times you only see adoption with people who don't have any of their own children). We have some close friends who adopted a baby girl through foster care here in Utah -- you are right, it has been a hard road. But that little girl is so blessed to be in their wonderful family and they are so blessed to have her spunky personality with them.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you've had a great experience and bless the lives of those little boys.
And they are so lucky to have a mommy like you! Love this post and love those little boys!
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