We have great news: we are adopting a child!
We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a baby into our home.
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption-related costs can easily total up to $35,000 or more. That is why we have set a goal of $20,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of the community we intend to build around our child as he or she grows up.
We apologize for the delay and short notice of this update. You’ve probably figured out that the second transfer in December wasn’t successful as we haven’t announced a pregnancy yet. We are currently back in Knoxville for our third transfer. Prayer requests remain the same.
Initial testing indicated that the embryo implanted in the uterine lining, but follow up testing confirmed an early miscarriage/chemical pregnancy. Knowing this was a part of God's plan, that it’s for our best, and remembering all the ways he has provided and continues to provide has kept us from feeling hopeless.
Our home study expired in October, so we needed to get that renewed. Thankfully it was completed just in time to get into NEDC’s December transfer cycle! We’ll be back down in Knoxville at the beginning of December for our second transfer.
Please pray that the second transfer will be successful, and that we continue to trust God’s plan for us regarding children.
We’ve had a busy and encouraging spring and summer! As you know, mid-March we switched from domestic infant adoption to frozen embryo adoption. The time-frame we were given then was eight to thirteen months from the beginning of the process to the first embryo transfer. Because we already had a completed home study the process has been a little shorter for us and our first embryo transfer is tomorrow!
More on how we got here…
Two embryo adoption organizations were recommended to us: the Snowflake Embryo Adoption Program and the National Embryo Donation Center (NEDC). We decided to go with NEDC, which is located in Knoxville, TN.
April and May were spent making sure we had everything we needed to participate in their embryo adoption program. In June, we had an appointment at NEDC to medically clear us to participate. Basically they wanted to make sure there were no obvious fertility concerns with me (Missie) that would prevent me from carrying to full-term. The appointment went well, and before the end of June we had picked out embryos and scheduled our first transfer.
July and August have been spent prepping for the transfer. A lot of which is taking a regimen of various medications by mouth or injection. There were also a couple of labs and ultrasounds that needed to be done in the morning on specific days to check hormone levels, activity in the ovaries, and the development of the uterine lining. Since NEDC only has one location, they allow clients who live farther away to have those done at a fertility clinic closer to their home, but warn that they’ve seen a trend of fertility clinics refusing to provide those services to NEDC clients. This had me a little anxious, but in God’s providence, the first fertility center I called agreed to provide the labs and ultrasounds.
We’ve also been working on getting our home study renewed since ours expires early in October, and NEDC requires that there is a current home study in place at the time of each transfer. If tomorrow’s transfer is not successful, a second transfer would likely not take place until after our current home study expires.
We would appreciate your prayers that the transfer goes well and is successful, that we have a safe trip home on Tuesday, and that whatever the outcome, we continue to trust that God’s plan is for our best.
We haven't posted an update in a while and we apologize for that. Truthfully, it hasn't seemed like there was much of an update to give. Mostly just waiting and still waiting. We have received situations to review, but not as many as we hoped and few for which we felt comfortable having our profile presented to the expectant mother.
This has lead to a slight change in plans. We are still adopting, but we are switching from domestic infant adoption to frozen embryo adoption. Several friends and family members have asked if we had considered it, and when our adoption consulting agency announced that they had recently launched a new program for embryo adoption, it seemed like this was the path God has had instore for us.
What does this mean?
- There is a somewhat more definite timeline: eight to thirteen months from beginning to embryo transfer (placing of an embryo in Missie's uterus) plus the length of a pregnancy. The embryos are also legally considered ours before the transfer, so there's no risk of an interrupted adoption to lengthen the timeline.
- It will be significantly less expensive. Embryo adoption expenses are closer to $16,000 instead of upwards of $40,000 as we have been seeing in the situations sent to us.
- Thanks to your generosity, we have all the necessary funds to cover our adoption expenses! We truly appreciate your gifts and prayers!
Please continue to pray that we would be patient and trust in God's plan and timing, for wisdom as we pursue this new path, that God would be preparing us to be good parents while we wait, and, when the time comes, for a successful transfer and health pregnancy.
The copies of our adoption profile have arrived! This is a book (really more of a glossy magazine) with pictures of us and our home that shares what we are like and what we value. It is meant to give a birth mother an idea of what life for her child would be like as a part of our family. Neither of us knew where to even start creating an adoption profile, so we decided to work with a profile designer from Christian Adoption Consultants. We submitted our materials, photos and a completed questionnaire, at the beginning of November. After about two weeks, we received a link to a digital copy of our completed profile that can be used to print copies or be emailed to a birth mother if there isn't time to send a physical copy. We ordered thirty copies, which sometimes feels like too many and other times feels like not nearly enough. While we waited for the profile books to arrive, we (mostly Mike) have been prepping applications to adoption agencies. Now that they are here, we can officially start applying!
