On my mind

As I was thinking about what I should write, I realized that what I've been obsessing about these days is adopting again.  Yes, I know I have nine children.  But I still feel as though someone may be missing. It is a kind of yearning that feels much the same as what I felt before we began TM and K.'s adoptions.   And there is always room for one more, isn't there?  Heck, I still have four empty seats in my van.

But, seriously, this has to be a God-thing from the beginning.  There are so many hurdles, I can't even begin to imagine how it would all work out.  Shall I list them for you?
  • Our family size.  We do not qualify for many types of adoption.  In Illinois we have exceeded even the expanded capacity limit for a foster care license.  And without that license, we cannot adopt out of foster care; cannot have a birth mother choose our family to place her child, even if that child has special needs and could be difficult to place; cannot adopt out of disruption, even if the placing family were to choose us; and cannot adopt from a country where the adoption is either not final or the child comes home on the wrong visa.   I have contacted many agencies and every one of them has confirmed it:  The state of Illinois would rather have children in temporary foster care placements than consider a large family for permanent placement.
  • Finances.  This leaves us with very few options.  We would need to adopt from a country which allows large families to adopt and makes the adoption final in country, thus allowing the child to come home on the correct visa.  From what my research tells me this leaves us with two choices:  China and Ethiopia.  China has been granting waivers for family size if the child being adopted is either older or difficult to place due to  health issues.  But, we still run into not qualifying under their income requirements.  I haven't heard of both income and family size requirements being waived in the same adoption.  This leaves us with Ethiopia.  ('Leaves' is probably an unfortunate choice of verbs.  It implies that I see it as a second-best choice, which is not my intent.  At all.)  With Ethiopia, we would be required to make two trips.  That's a lot of plane tickets.  Plus, I just don't know what we would do for childcare arrangements while we were gone.  Though that worry is putting the cart before the horse a bit.
So there you have it.  Only God can overcome a list like this. 
__________________________





Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers


On a vastly unrelated note.  I have one of my posts listed in this week's Homeschool Showcase at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love you guys and your hearts for adoption.
(hannah from j's work)
jan said…
cannot think of a better place to adopt a child from.

is your husband on board? if God won't leave you alone, well... 10 is a nice number :)
Ann said…
If you believe this is God's will then you need to go forward in faith. I believe just one parent can travel on one of the trips to Ethiopia. Sending Prayers here! Maybe Vietnam really will re-open and God is preparing your heart now???
thecurryseven said…
Ah, no, it would be too easy if one parent could travel. Because of our visa issues with our state, the child would have to come home on an IR-3, so we would both need to travel at least the first time.

e
Amy said…
Don't let money stop you! If God is calling you to adopt again he will provide. He did for us when our expected adoption costs matched our yearly income. Now if only he could do something about the state of Illinois... ;-).
sandwichinwi said…
Ah, ignore my question from your later post (the Vietnam "rant" ;) ) I'm catching up on your blog and obviously reading backwards. You totally just answered my question. :D

Yep, it's a God thing now. Same here. The ways of man make no sense in the eyes of God (and often, vice versa). But what God wills, he can make happen.

Remember God is bigger than the state of Illinois (although not as flat).

Blessings,
Sandwich
thecurryseven said…
OK, the "God is bigger than the state of Illinois (although not as flat)." comment completely cracked me up.

e
sandwichinwi said…
Good! :D

Blessings,
Sandwich

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