Adoption: A beautiful little gem created by the facet path you choose.
Once you decide adoption is the right path for you and your family you have to decide where you want to adopt from. Adoption is a precious little gem with many facets, or paths to choose to get you to having a family. Choosing the right facet is half the battle. Through the state, through an adoption agency, through an Attorney, privately through a family member or friend, internationally?? Oh geez I know you just want a family, so much to think about and decide on!
Talking to people you know and friends of friends to hear their experiences is the best way to figure out what is best for you. It is so inspiring to hear everyone's adoption journeys. It helps get you motivated and excited to plan yours and to disipher what is best for you. I wish it was as easy as having a passionate night and boom the next thing you know your pregnant and having a baby. But yeah adoption doesn't work like that. It takes a little more planning on your part than the miracle of conception. At the time all this planning makes it feel unnatural and then when you get the call and the adoption process begins it feels like the biggest miracle of all. The divine intervention of your family meeting and coming together, Gods plan dominoed off of your plan.
International Adoption
We first looked into international adoption. Our thought process was lets really help a child in need. The United States has many welfare programs and Foster programs to help children, compared to other countries who don't. In other countries children end up in dingy cold Orphan houses, where food and cleanliness is scarce and abuse is abundent by their care takers.
We looked at a really cool program called The Lighthouse Project. That planned visits to Russian orphan houses visiting the older children or sibling groups that were less desirable. You got to spend a week with the children seeing who you naturally bonded with. After finding out it would cost around $60 k to adopt from their when all said in done; attorney fees, their country fees, travel for two visits, ect. We realized that was out of our means. The Director of the Program told me just mortgage your house and I was like no go into debt before I even have the child, doesn't seem like the wisest decision to me. And then Putin stopped American adoptions suddenly over political decisions hauling any Russian adoptions currently in process. It was an eye opener showing how emotionally draining an international adoption could possibly be, bring at that Goverments mercy. This could be intense. We then decided let's look at domestic adoptions.
----Before you begin your Home Study ( the state Certification you need to be able to Adopt) you must first decide if you will be adoption internationally or domestically. The study's are done differently depending on the path you choose.----
We used this Company for our Home Study and were very satisfied, cost about $1400. Art recommend that we be put on the state list, which we didn't know much about at the time. This list is what got us our beautiful little girl!
Adoption Specialists of Arizona, Inc.
1118 E. Missouri Avenue, Suite A-1, Phoenix, Arizona 85014
Art Rojas, Agency Director
602 248-8248
adoptionarizona@aol.com
Our Adoption Attorney
Jay McCarthy
508 N Humphreys St.
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
(928) 779-4252
222222222 home study certification :
be prepared to get interegrated, investigated, finger printed and to be asked premature questions like how do you plan to discipline your child? (Something I had never even put much thought into before)