It sure is a roller coaster!
This past week and a half has been one hell of a roller coaster ride. We went from switching agencies; to being told a set of twins was available for us to adopt; to us wanting so very much to adopt the twins and to finally realize it just wouldn't work.
On top of that, it made us re-think adoption completely and whether or not we really could afford it period. I have been number crunching for days and swaying back and forth - yes, we can do it. No, we can't do it. Maybe we can do it.
I still am not quite sure if we can truly afford it. I should re-phrase that. We can afford it, but it definitely doesn't leave us much wiggle room if a serious emergency comes up. I know there are a lot of people out there with a lot less than we have. I know there are a lot of people out there who earn less than we do. They seem to make it work. I know T's parents made it work on one income and four kids less than 10 years apart in age. I know we can make it work....somehow.
So T and I are taking a leap of faith. We decided to go with the agency that didn't call me back right away instead of the agency that had the twins. The fees are pretty much the same but the one that didn't call me back right away assists you more than the one that had the twins. Call it a gut feeling. This was my first choice agency when we decided to switch and I got swayed by the thought of twins. I should say both agencies are very well respected and are completing ethical adoptions in Vietnam.
While stressing over the money issue, I have been busy gathering papers for our dossier. They have all been notarized and state certified. I got my last piece of paper in the mail today from the state of NJ. We are lucky in the sense that all our documents originated in our home state except my birth certificate. I was able to personally take all the documents to our Secretary of State's Office located 3 blocks from where I work.
Tomorrow I will overnight our dossier and contracts to our agency. They take care of getting our dossier authenticated and translated. Hopefully, all will be ok and our dossier will be on its way to Vietnam!
posted by RollerCoaster @ 3:49 PM
4 Comments:
Whew, that's a lot to be dealing with in one week! It's amazing how expensive it is to adopt a child. One of the reasons we hadn't pushed ahead with it (aside from wanting to continue some fertility treatments) is that we just didn't have the money to do anything but the initial application fees and the homestudy. We've been saving and will hopefully have the whole thing by the time we're ready to accept a referral, but it's certainly stressful!
that sounds exhausting! Glad to hear it all worked out in the end. Twins would be neat, but then again, that sounds like a lot a lot of work.
oh nina, I have had the same thoughts about the money part! Good for you for making a wise decision about the agency and the twins. I know it must have been so hard to not take on the twins, but you did the right thing for you and your family. Hang in there, I believe in you.
They say money isn'y everything, but in the end you still need it! I hope everything works out for you, I'm sure it will all come together somehow.
Post a Comment
<< Home