Home Study Update

I alluded to our home study update in a few past posts. Home studies expire one year from when they are written. Ours was written at the end of September last year. You must have a current home study to take custody of a child. Therefore, we have to update our home study. Cost to … Continue reading →

Maybe the Third Time’s the Charm

I check adoption situation pages on the web daily. Last week, one of the facilitators had a situation for an African American girl due in October. I asked for more information. Everything seemed to be in order. The situation was a little over our budget, but not too bad. Besides, we didn’t have any other … Continue reading →

Money

July 4th weekend, I received a call about a baby born in Utah. The conversation went something like this: Me: Hello? Adoption Person: Hi Robyn, this is Jane from That Place. I was wondering if your adoption budget had changed at all. Me: Not really. AP: Well, we have an African American baby girl born … Continue reading →

Not in Kansas Anymore

I heard from JoAnn at the Kansas agency. Margaret left her a message stating that she doesn’t think she can go through with the adoption. She’s changed her mind and decided to parent. Most adoptive couples go through at least one failed match on their way to a successful adoption. We didn’t have that experience … Continue reading →

Unknowns

So many posts are floating around my head, but this is the one that decided to come out tonight. When you’re pregnant, and you pass a certain number of weeks, you’re relatively sure you’re going to actually have a baby. I know that tragedies happen – late term pregnancy loss, stillbirth, micro premies who don’t … Continue reading →

1 Year and 6 Months

I was going through our receipts and expenses to bring to our tax accountant. We paid for our home study update on March 30, 2010. So, we officially began our home study – and thus, the adoption process – 1 year ago. Our home study was complete at the end of September. I think I … Continue reading →

An Adoption Update

It’s been awhile since I posted anything about our adoption process. On January 26, I wrote about trying to find an agency to work with. I did talk with One World Adoptions in Florida, and they’re working with us. All of their placements are from Florida, and, given that we want a baby girl and … Continue reading →

Another One Bites the Dust… But Two More Look Promising

Adoption Associates Inc (MI): Doesn’t work with gay and lesbian parents. I know we’re neither gay nor lesbian, but we don’t want to patronize an agency that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation. Of course, we may not have much of a choice. So I requested an information packet. *@*(^* principles! I got their … Continue reading →

So Many Agencies… And Yet

I may have mentioned (several times) that we tried to sign with Pact, then they decided not to allow parents to specify gender. Since then, I’ve been researching agencies and other adoption professionals, trying to find someone who meets our requirements, and we theirs. As a way of remembering what I’ve done, I thought I’d … Continue reading →

What To Include in a “Dear Birthmother Letter”

This post was originally published on AdoptionBlogs.com on November 30, 2010. Republished here with permission. Last week, I shared what NOT to include in a “Dear Birthmother Letter.” Today, I’m going to share what you should include. Some of these ideas come from the book Reaching Out: The Guide to Writing a Terrific Dear Birthmother … Continue reading →