Kateri Garcia

is adopting a child from United States of America

Surprise, we are adopting a baby boy!

When we embarked on this journey, we figured adoption would be something we accomplished by ourselves. We chose to adopt our second child because we knew there were women looking for loving families to raise their children, and that we didn’t need a child to be ours biologically in order to love it unconditionally. When we made this decision, we didn’t realize how much support and assistance we would need from family, friends, and co-workers - especially when we were paired with a birthmother whose baby was due in less than three days. We are deeply appreciative of everything from adoption reference letters, to the go-bag of newborn clothes and car seat delivered to us right before we headed to Florida to meet the new baby. And we are thankful for the many others who offered support, and are grateful that so many want to be part of our journey.

Private adoption typically costs between $25,000-50,000 USD. A portion of these costs are incurred in the first part of the adoption, in order to get approved as an adoptive family and list your family profile with a licensed adoption agency. However, the bulk of expenses are due after you have been paired with a birthmother and/or up until you finalize the adoption. This includes placement and legal fees, as well as any birthmother living or medical expenses. And as we’ve learned, there are also the expenses of traveling to meet your adoptive baby, often on the other side of the country.

We planned for the financial impact of adoption for many years, but did not expect to be paired with a baby so rapidly or the additional legal requirements for our adoption situation. In lieu of a gifts, we hope you would consider contributing to our adoption fundraiser. We have no expectation of contributions and will be thankful for any amount, no matter how small.

All contributions through AdoptTogether are tax deductible and will be used to pay for the remainder of our legal and birthmother expenses. We also commit that everything raised in excess of our goal will go to the adoption agencies who are helping us through this process. They are doing truly remarkable and selfless work in support of birthmothers, children, and adoptive families. Your contribution would not only support our adoption process, but also their efforts to build extraordinary families.

Thank you so much for being a part of our journey!

Kateri, Drew, Ori, and Baby Rafa

Adoption Status

Home At Last

Adoption Agency

Choice Network


Updates

  • Update 5

    Adoption day!

    December 15, 2022
    The day finally arrived! Almost two years after he was born, Rafa is now a legal member of our family! Despite attempts to not let the long delays worry us, there was plenty of anxiety throughout the process. As many would attest, most days we just didn’t want to talk about the adoption proceedings at all. Instead, we focused on the fact that Rafa was a happy healthy baby who delighted us daily. Rafa went from dream baby to dream toddler. He loves balls, cars, and bats and wearing his sister’s necklaces and shiny pink snow boots. He loves to... Read more
  • Update 4

    Rafa's first year

    December 15, 2022
    As 2021 comes to an end, it’s hard to believe we are still in a pandemic and that COVID cases are spiking again. This year has not been easy for so many of our family and friends. With aching hearts we continue to remind ourselves to be thankful for every moment of joy that the year has brought us. And at top of our list is little Rafa, whose smiles and laughter are pure delight. But little Rafa is not so little anymore. At almost 11 months old, he is almost 25 lbs and wearing 18 month clothing. He is incredibly... Read more
  • Update 3

    6 month mark

    December 15, 2022
    Well it's hard to believe that it has been 6 months since we brought Rafa home! A lot has happened in our home since then: Both Drew and I were able to take advantage of paid parental leave to get Rafa acclimated to his new home (and catch up on sleep). It was not ideal for work to pick-up and leave in the middle of the night, but thankfully our colleagues were incredibly supportive of Rafa's arrival. We were able to take what is called non-consecutive parental leave - meaning we spent the first month off from work completely, and then... Read more
  • Update 2

    Settling in at home

    December 15, 2022
    After almost two weeks in Florida and our first post-placement check-up, we were granted ICPC and able to start our journey back to Virginia. We were sad to say goodbye to the beautiful weather and beaches, but eager to return home and get settled in. Gma Susan, returned back to the St. Louis area by plane, and as we drove off we realized we were on our own with a 5 year old and newborn... and about to embark on a multi-day road trip. Spoiler alert, we survived. Countless rest stops, Starbucks, and gas stations later, we arrived home to Virginia.... Read more
  • Update 1

    Meeting Rafa

    December 15, 2022
    Drew and I have always dreamed of a family composed of biological and adopted children. Five years ago we welcomed Ori, our biological daughter, into our lives and two years ago we initiated the process of adopting a second child. The first year of our adoption journey involved research about adoption, adoptive families, adoption agencies, and everything else adoption. It also included the arduous task of filling out paperwork to complete our home study, a requirement in most states to adopt or foster children. In addition, we decided that it made more sense at the time for our family to pursue... Read more
$9,263 raised of $15,000 goal
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Match Donations to this Family
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Donations 62

  • Original Donations gave $20
    Donations from original AT website
  • Cindy Abreu and Family gave $100
    Congratulations again on your beautiful son, a precious gift.
  • CURRAN MEDIA CO LLC gave $25
    Donation by check
  • Margaret Pacheco gave $50
  • Laura Evans gave $250
    I’ve enjoyed seeing online how happy Rafa and his new family are. Paying and waiting so much on paperwork to adopt this boy who is clearly loved must be so stressful. Here’s hoping for a happy ending for you all..
  • Lily, Jasmine, and Derrick gave $60
  • Marjie gave $50
  • Richard and Kazuko gave $100
  • Olson Family gave $100
  • Elsa V Menendez gave $50