Adoption?

Are we really considering this? Are we totally insane?

Yep!

We have talked about adopting since we were first dating. We definitely don't feel like our family is complete at two kids and would love to open our home and our hearts to a little one who deserves the love of a family. I've actually been having this really weird "phantom child" feeling the past couple of months. All 4 of us will be in the room together, and I have this very strong feeling that someone is missing. I think it's our 3rd kid!

So, we have started to tentatively, yet pretty seriously, talk about adoption. It may seem soon to be talking about adding another kiddo to our family, given that Lily is almost only 6 months old, but depending on which route we take, this whole process could take quite a while.

Our initial thought was to adopt domestically, through DSHS. This is the most cost effective, and potentially the quickest route. Our major concern here is wanting a closed adoption, with no contact with birth family. This is because we already have kids at home to look out for, and we feel like they don't need that extra potential drama in their lives, and it could be very confusing for our adopted child too. Additionally, we worry about the possibility of caring for our adopted child for a while, and he/she somehow being taken away from us and given back to their birth family. That would be hugely devastating for us, and especially confusing for Colby and Lily.

Personally (and Clint is definitely not against this option), I would love, love, LOVE to adopt a child from Korea. In the research I have done so far, it seems as though kids from there are very well taken care of and have had excellent health care. Another plus, is that they can be escorted to the U.S. without us having to make a costly trip to Seoul. If we did adopt a child from there, we would love for him/her to be able to visit there someday, but for now, with 2 little ones at home already (not to mention the cost), it would be easier in the long run to be able to pick them up at the airport. In addition, this would mean that neither Clint nor I would be suffering from jet lag, which would help us help our adopted child to adjust.

The one major issue with international adoption is cost. It is extremely expensive. There are quite a few grant opportunities out there, and Clint's looking to see if his work offers any kind of reimbursement, but unless we can find lots of assistance, we cannot go that route. By one calculation I saw, it was something along the lines of $25,000 with all application fees, homestudy, escort, and other adoption fees. There is an option to take out a loan, but we aren't really comfortable doing that. We will already have to get a bigger car, so that's a big enough loan in itself.

No matter which route we take, we are open to any race, either gender, but want a child who is younger than Lily (we don't want to mess with the birth order, LOL). I think a child around 4-6 months would be SO perfect. But, we're not super picky. :)

Anyway, we are definitely just in the thinking stage, but are doing research and figuring out if this is something we want to do. If we do ultimately decide to go for it, it won't be until after Clint passes his CPA exam. We need to get that out of the way first!

So, wish us luck, and patience (and money). I'll be sure to keep you updated when we really do get things going.