We are thrilled to share that we are adopting!
We have talked a lot about what building our family would look like as we have grown together since we were 21 years old. After struggling with infertility, we knew our family was meant to grow through adoption. Bob’s mother was adopted and she and her family have always instilled in us the fact that a family goes far beyond genetics. We know that Bob’s grandparents, and many other beautiful family members, are looking down at us from Heaven and are very proud to see these values being passed down!
We have an amazing community of friends and family that have been with us so far, and we cannot wait to show our new baby the amazing people that helped get them here. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but in our case it also takes a village to bring the child to the village! If you are able and willing, we humbly ask for your financial generosity to bring this baby home. Our biggest wish is that you will be a part of the community that our child grows up loving (and being loved by), learning from, and making lifelong memories with.
A significant barrier we encountered regarding finances is that adoption related costs on average total up to $50,000 or more. This is why we have set a goal of $35,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents. In the US, 33% of couples consider adoption; however, 79% of the families are deterred by the high costs, and in the end only 2% adopt.
We chose the AdoptTogether platform as it is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization and all of the funds raised go solely towards adoption. To receive the funds we must provide proof that they are going towards adoption expenses before funding is dispersed. Any excess funding can be moved to a future adoption, to another family's adoption, or to support birth mothers.
You mean so much to us and we are so thankful for your support. We are so excited to add baby Mason to our family, and we know our fur-babies are ecstatic as well! We cannot wait to watch our children grow up around our ‘zoo’ and love them as much as we do, and we look forward to seeing one another in the roles of mom and dad. We also humbly ask you to pray for us, the expectant mother, and our future child in this process.
We plan to add the names of our village to our future child’s toy box so they are reminded daily of the love and support that surrounds them.
This AdoptTogether page will be our central hub for our fundraising efforts and the best place to keep up with the adoption process, information as to how your donations are utilized, family updates, and more. We want to bring you along the entire process as much as possible and share each moment with you!
All our love, Bob, Kelsey & ‘The Zoo’ - Milton, Charlie, Bailey, & Winston
