New Fundraiser! NYR Organic

I hadn't even closed the Tupperware party fundraiser, when Leigh Ann, a consultant for NYR Organic, contacted me about doing another fundraiser for us.  I am continually amazed at how supportive and how much people want to help Marlon and I adopt.  At first, I was a little hesistant about doing another fundraiser so soon after the Tupperware party. I really didn't want us to seem like we always have our hand out.  Marlon and I have a pretty solid budget and savings plan that we stick too, but these fundraisers really do help a lot.  All the money we raise through the blog and fundraisers goes into a separate account not to be touched until we get "the call". We are so appreciative of everyone buying this or that to support our adoption.

So after talking with Leigh Ann and a few close friends, we decided that NYR Organic is really awesome stuff and totally different than Tupperware. Let's have another fundraiser!  Maybe you weren't so into the Tupperware and will really love this.  Plus, the holidays are here and maybe you need a special gift for someone.  

NYR Organic is an eco-friendly, organic line of skin care products from England.  They even have stuff for the guys and babies. The products smell amazing; I have samples if you want to test something before you buy.

You can order online, pay by credit card and have items shipped directly to you. Click on the "Shop" link at the top of the website. Or if you want to save on the shipping, I can place one group order. Just tell me what you want and give me a check or cash for your order. All orders placed by December 13th will be delivered in time for the holidays.  30% - 45% of the product sale is donated to our adoption fund.

If you are interested in ordering, please go to https://us.nyrorganic.com/shop/la/ and click on the "Shop" link.  Feel free to email me with any questions.  By all means, share the link!

We cannot thank you enough for being our constant cheerleader through the wait.  This little one has no idea how much they are already loved.

Now You Know - Interesting Adoption Statistics

To continue with the National Adoption Awareness month, here are some interesting statistics about adoption.  Now you know.

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• Approximately 7 millions Americans are adopted persons

• It is estimated that 140,000 children are adopted by American families each year
• Half of these children are adopted by individual not related to the child and the other half are adopted by relatives such as grandparents or a stepparent.

• The cost of a domestic adoption is between $20,000 to $40,000. An international adoption could cost anywhere between $20,000 to $60,000. However, adoptions through foster care or for a special needs child can cost very little or at no cost.

• $12, 650 is the maximum tax credit the federal government now gives per adoption. This tax credit is due to expire at the end of 2012. If the credit is not renewed, the credit will be reduced to $6,000 and only open to families adopting children with special needs.

• The average adoption is completed within two years. 

• Although a favorite in the media, birthparents almost never return to try to reclaim the baby after they relinquish parental rights.

• More than 90% of Americans support adoption, and 64% report a personal connection to adoption. 

• President Obama's Presidential Proclamation of National Adoption Month

The Adoption Guide has a free booklet available for download.  I found it to be an invaluable wealth of information when we began researching adoption.  http://www.theadoptionguide.com/

Sources:

adoptionfacts.org

theadoptionguide.com

adoptiontaxcredit.org

Adoption Factbook V

Road to Adoption

November is Adoption Awareness month. I thought I would start the "awareness" by telling you why we decided to adopt. The short story is bad eggs combined with endometriosis.  Marlon hates when I say, "bad eggs". The long story story is...

We were married young and some people assumed we already had a bun in the oven, but no, we were just in love.  We spent most of the first 10 years of our marriage not really thinking about having kids. We just assumed we would one day. We travelled, had fun with friends and enjoyed being together.  We'd start to try to have a family when we were 30.  

Well, that didn't work out.  After two surgeries and years at the fertility clinic, it was time to make a decision.  Anyone that has endured infertility treatments knows how daunting it is.  The appointments, the shots, the anticipation and the depression for years can kill the most positive person's outlook.  We didn't really talk about it with our friends and family.  In some ways, it felt shameful and way to bring down the room.  So we'd mention things casually, while crying at night. As the years passed, friends and family had kids and it became more difficult to to keep that happy face charade.

I started thinking a lot about adoption, long before Marlon did. I talked to our doctor about other options we had to have a baby. Frankly, I was emotionally and physically drained from the infertility process. There are options - surrogacy, donated eggs, embryo adoption and adoption. I am not much of a gambler and I knew I wanted a sure thing - adoption.  Pregnancy is a delicate progress (though some people can can just pop those babies out) and for me I didn't want to take the risk of going through all that emotion and expense and a baby might not be the end result.  I was tired of the roller coaster and with adoption, I knew the end result.  Marlon and I started talking about adoption.  It took a long time from talking about it to actually signing with an agency.  It may sound weird, but it is important to take some time to grieve the biological children that you'll never have and open your heart to adopting.

After a lot of reflection and research, adoption seemed like a natural fit for us. We've never been very conventional, so why start now? Most adoption agencies have free educational seminars, we attended every one in NYC.  We went with our gut when choosing an agency.  

Marlon and I have now been waiting for a little over a year for a newborn.  Some people find the wait incredibly difficult, but I feel like the wait is giving me chance to better understand adoption. Sometimes the wait gets to me, but I truly believe when it's meant to be, it will be.  It's easy to face the tough days together.

Why did we choose adoption?  We want to have a family. We want to be mom and dad.  Adopting a child, our child, will fulfill this longing.  This kid is already loved so much. We are just waiting for our baby to get here.  For us, it is a no brainer. Through the looking glass, we go.