Adoption is a dream that planted itself in my young mind like a seed. I watered it with wishes and thoughts and fed it with hope.
When my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Brown asked us to draw a picture of what we wanted to be when we grew up I drew a picture of myself. Mrs. Brown was puzzled and began asking me about my picture. As the conversation unfolded, I told her that I wanted to be a mom, so I drew a picture of myself and I told her I wanted to adopt. In second grade, my favorite thing to do was dress up my dolls and play mom. I would take my sister's doll so I had twins. My dad zip tied the two single strollers together to make a double for my twins. I would push them and take them with me everywhere. When our car was stolen, I was devastated, my twins were inside. Our family car was found totaled and in an impound lot. I insisted we go see the car, the car was smashed completely, wreaked of alcohol and all the windows were broken. I was determined, I climbed into the car and pulled my babies and their stroller out to safety. Nearing my 10th birthday, my new favorite doll was baby Zucci, who happened to be a very over sized zucchini that my dad grew. I designed clothes for him and enjoyed that he was the same weight as a real baby. Baby Zucci and I were inseparable for a few weeks, until he molded. As I grew up, I shifted my focus from dolls to the responsibilities of babysitting. I wanted to learn everything I could.
Through high school and college I occupied my time playing sports and working. I knew my time to become a mother would come and I wanted to set myself up to offer the best possibilities for my children. I graduated college and got my teaching credential.
Quickly I realized that teaching math to middle school students wasn't as lucrative as I had hoped. I had student loans that were equivalent to most people's mortgages. I moved in with my parents and began to save. During my time living at my parents, I took foster care certification classes. I tried to convince my parents that filling the house with foster care children would be an amazing opportunity. They said no, when you have your own house. Over the next five years, with the help of family, I saved enough money to buy my first house. I began researching IVF, foster care and adoption before my house closed escrow. Immediately after I bought my house I began to seriously consider my options. My heart had always called me to adopt so why deny myself that dream? I went through all the what-if's and all the doubts. How could I make something happen that seemed so financially out of reach.
The decision was made, I was doing it. After researching many different agencies, I talked to THE agency. Everything seemed to fit perfectly so far but I left the most daunting question for last. The make it or break it question. Financing. How could I afford this after just spending every dime on my house and still paying off my student loans? The adoption coordinator reassured me that most people can afford the daily cost of a child but struggle with having the funds to complete the adoption process. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs can easily total up to $35,000 dollars. He told me that many people turn to financing through loans and supplement those with fundraising. I researched adoption loans and decided it was my time to follow my dream. I took a leap of faith, took out a loan and decided that if this is meant to be I will find a way to raise the remaining funds to bring my child home.
I hope that by inviting you to join me in this process, you will see yourself as part of my community that is helping to bring my child home and be a part of watching them grow. My goal is to raise $25,000 through fundraising, donations and grants. Keep your eyes peeled for t-shirts, tamales, bake sales and an adoption puzzle to help with costs! Every penny raised will be used to help bring baby B-C to his or her forever home! Whether you feel led to help me through encouragement or donations, it means the world to me.
