Intro

DLpanda08

Hi! My husband and I have recently taken the first step in our adoption journey so I thought now was as good a time as any to introduce myself here. We don't know many people IRL who have successfully adopted, much less adopted from foster care, so I thought it would be nice to have somewhere I could come for perspective.

Just a little about my husband and I: I'm a first grade teacher in a school where about 96% of the students' first language is not English. DH is a corporate trainer for a large telecommunications company. We have two fairly large dogs we rescued from local shelters because we are suckers for animal adoption events. Our Belgian Malinois will be five in April and our all black German shepherd is turning two in January. They are seriously spoiled and greatly loved. I have a love of books (especially Harry Potter) and cooking/baking. I'm also incapable of cooking for less than ten people, so if you ever want treats or home made pasta please drop by. Chances are there are plenty of leftovers in my fridge. DH is a pretty hardcore Trekkie and enjoys playing video games and eating whatever I cook up. We are both in the process of cultivating a love of exercise to combat our love of pasta.

We just sent in our preliminary application to adopt through our local office of Bethany Christian Services. We hope to adopt through the foster care system and are really hoping to adopt a sibling group of 2-3 children age 4-11. However, we are open to the idea of adopting only one child as well as children slightly older or slightly younger if they are the right fit for our family.

As I said, we don't personally know many people who have successfully adopted. We have a few friends who were adopted as young children/babies, but that's about it. Our decision to adopt was not met with much support from our families for a variety of reasons I won't go into here since this is already practically a novel, but our friends are crazy excited for us. Regardless, we are excited and hopeful. I hope to get to know those of you here on this board and make use of the FAQs you have posted. As I mentioned, I love reading so any recommendations of books/blogs with personal stories of foster care adoption would be greatly welcomed.

oliv0026

Welcome to the board! My DH and I are also in the process of adopting from Foster care possibly sibling group of 2 ages 0-8. we actually started with Bethany and then we learned that lutheran social service does the very same adoption but state funded. I would suggest you to look into that before you get yoo far in the process as it could save you thousands that you could be spending with your kids!

DLpanda08

Thanks for the tip! We looked into our local Catholic Charities office and they actually refer people to Bethany. I'll look into Lutheran social services though.

Wish Upon A Star

Hello and Welcome !
I have learned so much from this board, and also received great advice and support!
I am also a teacher (2nd grade) and I teach in an inner city district.  My husband is also a Trekkie.
We are doing DIA, but I wish you well and keep us informed!

Dr.Loretta

Welcome! Thanks for sharing your story

**roxy**

Welcome! My H and I are also going the foster to adopt route (ages 6-12) . Good luck to you!

DLpanda08

@packerfan4life‌ , We have talked with our families and, for the most part, the issue comes down to them struggling to come to terms with our choice not to pursue Fertility treatments like IUI or IVF. Despite our explanation, they just don't fully understand because they don't share our beliefs. They also don't understand why we aren't looking to adopt an infant. Additionally, my parents tried to adopt an older child/teenager from foster care for over two years with two failed placements, the last of which happened earlier this year. I think their experience jaded them toward adoption and, combined with their beliefs and perception of fertility treatments, view us as simply "giving up" on ever having kids.

oliv0026

That must be somehow common because we also had our families AND friends questioning our decision for the very same reasons. I just got tired of them saying negative things and explained them that when they made their life decisions, I always supported them without questioning. I never questioned when they decided to have more kids or when they chose to live in places far from the cities, I was always like "Ok, I am happy for you, let me know how I can help" and I expect the same from them. It took over a year but now I feel like those who really care about us are starting to warm up to our decision and those who just had negative things to say are no longer around us simply because we dont want such negative "energy" around our kids  

perumom

This is definitely a great place to learn from other people's journey.  I have found it to be a great support with an invaluable wealth of knowledge.  Welcome:)!

CarolinaGirl2014

Welcome! I have also heard amazing things about Bethany.

I'm sorry your family has met you with negativity. I think it's sometimes hard for them to let go of their own selfish dreams involving your life and realize that you have to do what is best for your family. I hope they come around quickly!