Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Cost of Adoption

I have heard many people comment on how they want to adopt, but it is so expensive.... Well, we've tallied everything and ...(drum roll)... adopting Elizabeth cost us $1000. With the grants we received, the loan (that has now been repaid in full!) and the US adoption tax credit, our grand total seems fairly minimal to give a child a home that had only known an institution where at age two she was still receiving only bottles. Now the money we have spent on medical testing since she has been home has been substantial, but God again has provided for it.
This is not our first adoption and so though we are not proficient at it we have experienced foster care adoption and now international adoption.
The "real" things that adoption has cost is time (filling out paperwork), energy (a lot of emotions can get involved), effort (you have to make the effort to do the paperwork or to even wait), love (you have to make room in your heart to love even if you are not loved in return) and a willingness to sacrifice more of my time (and sleep) or whatever else is needed so that we can meet the child's needs.
Adoptions can cost from $1000 (domestic foster care) to $40,000 (some international programs). But if God is leading you, He will provide.
I am going to make the comments of this post private so that if you want an excel spreadsheet of all the grants and loans available for adoption that Mr. Incredible compiled you can send me your email and I will send it as an attachment. I have been unable to figure out how I can post it as of yet.

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