Peter and Kelly's Adoption
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We're so excited to finally share more about our journey toward adoption! The road toward becoming parents hasn't been easy or smooth. After Imogen died, we weren't sure how God might fulfill our desires (we weren't even sure how we wanted him to.) While we still hope and pray that the Lord will give us biological children to raise here on earth, we're SO excited that he's leading us to pursue adoption in this season.
Sharing this news feels a little like we're publicly announcing that we're going off birth control. We have no idea how long the process might take. There's no official timeline, "match," situation, or news to share. But we want you to know now for a few reasons.
1. We've been surrounded by such an incredible community of people as we've shared our grief after losing Imogen. You know our desire to be parents, and we want to include you in this part of our journey.
2. Domestic adoptions typically cost somewhere between $45,000 and $55,000. If that number is shocking to you, well, it was to us too. To break it down, though, that covers:
- agency fees
- medical and living expenses for the birth mom (if needed)
- travel expenses (we could adopt from anywhere in the US)
- Home Study fees
- legal fees to make everything official
And many other miscellaneous expenses that come up along the way. While we are prepared to invest a significant amount of our own money into our adoption, we can't do it alone, and we've heard from a number of you that you'd like to contribute.
3. We need your prayers. While we're unbelievably excited to be at this stage of our journey, we certainly carry some fear and anxiety too. Adoption is always birthed out of a loss, and we're aware of the gravity of loss that our child and their birth mom are about to experience. We're also aware of the trauma we still carry from our own loss. We're praying that our unique understanding of what it feels like to leave the hospital without your baby will give us a deep sensitivity and empathy for the birth mom. We also know there's no guaranteed outcome or timeline - this process could take several months or several years. But we're trusting God in this stage of our journey just like we have in all the others. We'd love for you to be praying for our hearts as we navigate this season.
Thank you so much for partnering with us on this journey. We're deeply aware that we can't do this alone, and we're so grateful for your support.
If you'd like to hear more about our journey toward adoption, check out the Even If podcast here.
Sharing this news feels a little like we're publicly announcing that we're going off birth control. We have no idea how long the process might take. There's no official timeline, "match," situation, or news to share. But we want you to know now for a few reasons.
1. We've been surrounded by such an incredible community of people as we've shared our grief after losing Imogen. You know our desire to be parents, and we want to include you in this part of our journey.
2. Domestic adoptions typically cost somewhere between $45,000 and $55,000. If that number is shocking to you, well, it was to us too. To break it down, though, that covers:
- agency fees
- medical and living expenses for the birth mom (if needed)
- travel expenses (we could adopt from anywhere in the US)
- Home Study fees
- legal fees to make everything official
And many other miscellaneous expenses that come up along the way. While we are prepared to invest a significant amount of our own money into our adoption, we can't do it alone, and we've heard from a number of you that you'd like to contribute.
3. We need your prayers. While we're unbelievably excited to be at this stage of our journey, we certainly carry some fear and anxiety too. Adoption is always birthed out of a loss, and we're aware of the gravity of loss that our child and their birth mom are about to experience. We're also aware of the trauma we still carry from our own loss. We're praying that our unique understanding of what it feels like to leave the hospital without your baby will give us a deep sensitivity and empathy for the birth mom. We also know there's no guaranteed outcome or timeline - this process could take several months or several years. But we're trusting God in this stage of our journey just like we have in all the others. We'd love for you to be praying for our hearts as we navigate this season.
Thank you so much for partnering with us on this journey. We're deeply aware that we can't do this alone, and we're so grateful for your support.
If you'd like to hear more about our journey toward adoption, check out the Even If podcast here.
Organizer
Kelly Streiff
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
