One More Thing...

Well, I thought I had posted all my thoughts about adoption for this month, but lo, I have not...

I started thinking I needed to cover one other topic before National Adoption Month came to a close for another year.

I was thinking today as I was driving down the highway how different each of my friends adoption stories are...I have one friend that had cancer and could not carry a child. Adoption was her only choice. She adopted internationally and domestically twice...closed, open and foster-adopt, respectively. I have another friend that birthed 2 children and wanted to provide a loving home for a child in need, so her family adopted a 3rd...domestically, open. She knew international was not for her family. We have some friends that were in our wedding that always thought they would have a lot of kids. They had a son and when she got pregnant with her daughter and delivered, both she and the baby almost lost their lives so she was told she should never get pregnant again. They wanted more children so they adopted internationally. They adopted a biological brother and sister from Haiti. We have an amazing biological son and thought we were finished...until God tugged at our hearts. We adopted internationally because we knew that domestic was not an option for our famiy. It's amazing how the stories are so different!

I guess what I am trying to say is that while you are trying to decide if adoption is right for your family, put some thought into what type of adoption. Do you want to know your child's birth parents? Open might be for you. Are you afraid of the birth mother coming back when your child is 10? You might need a closed or international adoption. Maybe you want foster adopt, maybe you want to be in the delivery room, maybe you want to help a child from a poorer country. The list goes on and on!

There are so many options with adoption and so many great agencies to help make your dreams come true! Do your research, ask your questions, be educated, adopt a child!