Hi Friends & Family!
Thank you for following us in our journey of being adoptive parents! Since we've embarked on this adventure in growing our family, we have learned a great deal about the adoption community and the many facets of the adoption process. Through this learning we've grown even more passionate in the prospect of being part of our hopeful adoptee's life.
While our journey to parenthood has come with its own trials we do not see adoption as a last resort to complete our family. In fact, adoption has been a hope in our relationship for many years and we are elated to welcome our first born in this way!
Much of the adoption funding supports the birth family's own journey, including; medical fees, counseling, living expenses, transportation, legal fees, and more. That being said, the cost of private adoption can go upwards of $45,000 or more.
Within this process of crowd-funding we also invite you to forever be part of this child's community by also leaving words of love, wisdom, encouragement, or hope for our child to look back on as they grow up. Please leave this note in the "Message to the Family" so that we may include it in our child's adoption journey book. For in this way you play a part of the village that will help raise the child we hope to welcome into our family.
In an effort to support this community beyond our family we are determined to advocate for local organizations that do the same. Therefore, we pledge to personally match at least 10% of the funds we've raised toward responsible organizations such as Brave Love and local women's health centers who educate women and birth families in their options. We encourage you to learn more at https://www.bravelove.org/manifesto.
With love and gratitude, CJ & Chelsea Aquino
Hi everybody! So as we await the results of our home study that we completed last week, we continue to enlighten ourselves as we prepare to be adoptive parents. We wanted to share some of our FAVORITE resources that we've come across so far! We hope these resources help you or someone you know in learning more about the adoption community.
Adoption Process & Parenting:
Social Media-
Foster and Adoptive Parents of North Texas (Facebook group)
Podcasts-
Creating A Family (Our favorite resource)
Adopt Well
The Adoptee Next Door
Books-
In on It: What Adoptive Parents Would Like You To Know About Adoption: A Guide for Relatives & Friends
Adoption Community:
Social Media-
@Adopteeinfluencers (Instagram)
@Therapyredeemed (Instagram)
Podcasts-
Birth Mother Matters in Adoption
Adoptees On
Books-
What White Parents Should Know about Transracial Adoption: An Adoptee's Perspective on it's History, Nuances, and Practices
In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptess Tell Their Stories
Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew
Thank you for following us in our journey to adopt! Please share these great resources with your friends/family!
First off, WOW... it's only been a few weeks and we've raised just over $5,000 with your love and support for us and we are SO incredibly grateful. We thank you for your kind gifts and your kind words! If you have donated, we request that you also send us a message of love, wisdom, encouragement, etc. to our awaiting child we hope to bring into our family. These messages will be added to a special adoption journey photobook! Please feel free to DM us on social media or email ([email protected]).
**Onto the update!** Just this past Monday we completed our home study with the social worker assigned to us by our agency. Now during a home study, our social worker visits us at our home and generally does three specific tasks.
First a home walkthrough to ensure a safe environment (and to provide consultation on additional safety measures). Second, the social worker conducts a joint interview with the HAPs (hopeful adoptive parents). Topics can include 'how we handle conflict', 'how would you describe your spouse', and 'when and why we decided to adopt'. Our last task was an individual interview with each HAP with questions such as 'describing our relationship with our parents', 'what kind of discipline did you experience', 'relationship with siblings', and even 'something you would change about your spouse'.
Our experience through our home study was incredibly positive and reminded us that not only is the social worker trying to ensure a suitable family for the child, but also to ensure that the hopeful adoptive family have the right heart and minds for adoption.
So what's next? Now we wait another 2-3 weeks for our home study to be reviewed by our social worker, the agency, and us. After that, our adoption profile will officially be considered "live" to be presented to birth families. The anticipation is REAL y'all and we are here for it!
Stay tuned for more!
Hi friends & family,
After finally finish the tedious amounts of paperwork and background checks, we are finally ready to schedule our home study. We hope to have this process started in the next few weeks! In the meantime, to mark this next stage, we have finally opened up our adoption fundraising campaign.
Thank you for your continual prayers and support! There will be plenty of updates to come, so stay tuned for more fun!
(Pic only shows a FRACTION, of the fun!)
