Why do we want to adopt?
People ask us that all the time, especially since we already have 3 children of our own. Truthfully, we want to adopt because we don't feel that our family is complete. We've been trying to have another baby for five years with no success, so adoption is the next best choice.
Why aren't we going through adoption programs in our state?
The State of California is centered on the courts system. As such, most of the children placed through those services have been removed from troubled homes, and many of the children, particularly infants, have special needs or have been exposed to drugs. In addition, the courts have, of late, been placing a greater emphasis on reunifying broken families rather than permanently placing children into other homes. We have decided that these great uncertainties are just too great for us. We want to adopt a child that we can love with our whole hearts, not foster a child that would be at great risk of being removed from our home.
So why aren't we using a private adoption agency?
Two words: too expensive.
So what about LDS Family Services?
We actually began working through LDS Family Services, but they have a policy that refuses services to families such as ours that have 3 or more biological children of their own. They will help with the adoption process, but we have to find our own birth mother.
