when titles fail me {now.}

so thankful for your questions! i love learning other people's stories and am happy that you're part of ours.

erin asked if i had any of the girls' birth stories written.

no, but i've wanted to so much. so, thank you for calling me out on it and i'm going to make it a priority! i love birth stories, too.

laura wondered my opinion on whether or not it was a good idea to adopt if both parents worked outside the home. she wondered if 3 months off would be enough time to develop trust?

obviously this depends on each case: the child's age, their temperment, their history and the environment in which they've lived. generally though, i'd say that those 3 months are going to be a wonderful thing. it would be important that the child develop a primary attachment to the parents, but be very familiar with the person who will be the caregiver, too. i think "practicing" being left in that person's care as the parent gets closer to returning to work would be a prudent thing to do. overall, i say that a loving family (working or staying home) always trumps an orphanage.

Lynette & Alicia had questions about the financial aspect of adoption.

this is, by far, the biggest reason we hear from people that have wanted to adopt, but didn't know how they'd do it. it depends on where and how you're adopting, but yes, sometimes the money can seem daunting. there are a lot of options though. between grants, fund-raising and interest free loans the price suddenly becomes very do-able. usually your home-study provider or adoption agency has a list of resources for these kinds of things. and, for us, it did take a re-evaluation of what we could do differently. we cleared our home of things that we could do without and asked friends if they had anything to donate. we made $5600 just from a garage sale. (almost a 1/3 of what we're estimating we'll need!) i have heard over and over from families' journeys, when you commit to this awesome calling, it does just work itself out.

litchfield family asks if it is possible to not have to travel to the child's home country to pick them up.

not a crazy question at all. obviously there are wonderful benefits of experiencing your child's home country, but it isn't for everyone. there are definitely adoption agencies that you do not have to travel. they usually say that your child would be "escorted." so, they have an escort from their country and you meet your child at the airport! it is different with each agency and each country, but totally possible! {i love that your husband is interested, too. sometimes that's one of the hardest steps.}

okay, the rest of the questions coming soon! i'm so thankful that you spoke up....and so many of you with adoption on your hearts. love, love, love it. =)