What's Next

Ayla decided that she wanted to play with play-do [naked]

I convinced her to put some clothes on [it's chilly]

and didn't know where the play-do would windup

not what this post is about but we have been doing some serious play-do playing this morning

and she cracks me up

We have made a decision and we are going to do a domestic adoption.  We are still in the process of foster adoption and waiting for a match but that could be years.  I have more to say about the kids that are slipping through the cracks of the foster care system and the sadness it brings me that I can't do anything about it but I will save that for another post.  I have learned that there is a great need to adopt African American and biracial babies. We had not planned on doing the whole newborn baby thing again since we had been planning on adopting an older child.  When Ayla was one I sold and gave away nearly every baby item we had. Now for some reason we are over the moon excited to bring a baby home and maybe that is why God had us go through the tragedy we did with an older child so that we would open our eyes to the babies that need homes.  Most of the parents that adopt babies in America are Caucasian couples that want Caucasian babies that look like them. To Eli and I the color of skin has absolutely nothing to do with love.   We are called to care for orphans (not just orphans that look like us).  Sometimes there are AA babies born that don't have adoptive parents lined up yet and they need a home fast.  I just read a blog where a family adopted two AA babies and they were the only option that the birth mother had to pick for her son. You can read more about her view on domestic adoption here.  Anyhow this babies are put up for adoption so that they are not aborted or put into the foster care system.   Because [thankfully] they are not yet part of the foster care system they are usually placed through an adoption agency which means it is very expensive.  We unfortunately do not have 20k laying around.  A couple weeks ago I filled out an application with an adoption agency to get the process started.  We got a call only a couple days later with a possible match that we could pursue.  The birth mom was due in only two weeks!  I have been on this adoption journey for 9 months submitting my home study to any child that was in our age group getting nowhere and she is sitting here on the phone telling me that I could be a mother to this baby in two weeks! 

Unfortunately this baby came with a 20k ransom.  I hadn't even started fundraising yet.  20k needed in two weeks.  We were not prepared and we had to pass on this situation.  I immediately cried when I got off the phone.  I prayed for that baby to be adopted into a loving Christian home. To say no to a baby that needs a loving home because of money did not feel right.  So I am going to do every and anything to save the funds so that we can pay the ransom needed to bring our baby home.  I realized about 90% of people that adopt do fundraisers to raise the money for part of the adoption cost and God blesses there fundraising efforts so that they can bring their child home.  So keep your eye out on my blog I have lots of jewelry from Uganda on the way.  This jewelry helps support families in Uganda and will help bring our baby home to their forever family.  I am also in the process of creating a t-shirt. So please spread the word and be a part of giving a child a family.  As soon as we raise the funds our baby could be home in just a couple months