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Hello. Mackay and I are working to adopt a baby from China. This is a lengthy and expensive project. And it is one we cannot do alone! When all said and done, this process can cost anywhere from $33,000 to $48,000--That's a pretty nice CAR!
Here are a few examples of where that cost comes from:
$15,000 goes to the adoption agency.
$3,000 for a home study
$3,500 U.S. Processing Fee
$8,000-$15,000 for travel expenses.
Plus a long list of nickel and dime fees, such as document processing, visas, psychological report, etc.
Please help us bring our baby Elliot home by contributing. Thank you.
Continue reading for our full story:
Our Story.
I have been encouraged to tell our story in more
detail and I’ve procrastinated on the task because I’m not sure what
to say. I can give you the facts and the details, but there is so much
more to our story than just bullet points. (Warning: I’m gonna talk
about the girl plumbing!)
A few years into our marriage while we
lived in Idaho, I started coming to Mackay saying “We should have a
baby!” and he would look up from his video game and laugh. As I look
back many years later, his response was appropriate. Sadly, when we
finally did decide to start trying my cycles stopped entirely. I went
to my OBGYN and it was found that I had a cyst on my right ovary.
Within weeks, they had me into surgery. While cutting into me, they
discovered I had endometriosis, which is the
growing of abnormal cells (similar to those found inside the uterus)
growing outside the uterus and on other organs.
I was told we
had a short period of time to get pregnant. I was put on Clomid (a drug that helps women
ovulate) and I believe it was our second month of trying that we got
pregnant. Sadly, three days after taking that all important test, we
lost our precious baby.
Of course, after that, we needed time to
heal both physically and spiritually. We were just about to begin
trying again when my husband got a very surprising call which
basically said, “Want to move to Chicago?”
Now, I don’t know
about you, but I’m not interested in getting pregnant right before
moving across the country. So we pressed paused on the whole endeavor.
About six weeks later, Mackay was on a plane to Chicago and I was left
to sell the house and finish with my job.
What had been intended
to be a month long separation turned into six long months. While
apart, I began having the same pain in my side and we learned that I
had another cyst. By that time, we had already signed up for health
insurance in Illinois, not realizing that it would negate my ability
to get the surgery in Idaho. Therefore, I spent six months fighting to
get the surgery before I moved. That failed miserably.
Therefore, about March 2014, my father drove me across the
country to rejoin my husband, and about a thousand weeks later I
finally got the surgery I needed.
Once again, after the surgery,
we began to delve into fertility treatments. As we did, neither of us
felt a peace about it. While I cannot say this for everyone, for us we
felt as though it was wrong to create a baby when there are so many in
need of loving homes here within the United States and across the
globe!
Therefore, we began researching adoption. We tried one
option and felt overwhelmed. Then we tried to get involved with foster
care. We signed on with an agency and then they vanished, having some
sort of issue within their ranks. So we were left wondering what to do
next. Finally, as we considered finding another foster care agency or
just adopting outright, we decided to just adopt. We both have a heart
for foster care, but it is not right for right now.
Fast forward
three crazy years where we would try one option only to have the door
slammed in our faces, we are now partnered with Holt International
Adopt Agency, working toward bringing our very own child home from
China. Needless to say, it has been a very bumpy road, but each speed
bump, each door slammed, each painful surgery brought us to this
point, and we couldn’t be more grateful!
Now, we just have to navigate our way through this lengthy process. Please consider giving. Our givers have ranged from $5-$500. There is no amount too small.
If you cannot give, we completely understand. Please consider sharing our campaign with your friends on social media. Thank you.
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