So...in what is now rather obvious...we are in the process of adopting. We started this journey more than a year ago and are still pushing forward to the goal of bringing home two new kids to be a part of the Fraley family. We thought that we would blog about it so we could share the experience with everyone, post updates, and maybe even get a little help. Since we have been at this for a bit, I thought a little recap might be in order. So here goes...
Let’s get it started... Julie and I already have two amazing kids! As they have grown, we realized just how much we love being parents and thought we might level up and have some more. Turns out Julie had some health problems and having children naturally was off the table. It wasn’t a huge leap for us to turn to adoption. Julie’s dad was adopted and she had spent several years working in orphanages in Latin America, so this was right on target for her. I was excited about the idea of growing our family and helping out children that didn’t have one. So we turned to adoption rather quickly. After Julie’s father went to be with Jesus, she received enough inheritance to start the process, and here we are.
Why India?... We originally thought we would adopt locally. After exploring that option, we came to believe it could be a detrimental situation based on some of the laws that currently exist in our country. That sent us looking internationally. Most nations have specifications that parents must meet in order to adopt. For instance, we looked at adopting from Haiti but their government will not allow it if you have any natural children. The nations that Julie and I were most qualified for were Thailand and India. Since my closest friend, Suresh, is Indian and had helped us appreciate the history and culture of India, it seemed like a no-brainer to choose that country. After prayer and some confirmation, we have moved forward with a commitment to expand of family from there.
Doubling Down... One of the things that you discover quickly when researching adopting , is that people don’t want older kids...they want babies. If you add issue of siblings, kids who want to stay together after losing their parents, it is next to impossible to find homes for them. Well, Julie and I love doing the impossible. We already had babies, so we didn’t feel like we would miss out on that experience. We had hoped to eventually add more than one kid to the family, so getting two at once seemed like a good thing. So we agreed to adopt a sibling group, kids that wouldn’t get a shot are now going to be a part our family.
So that’s where we’re at. We are still juggling some paper work and some finances, but we believe God will help us bring our kids home. We are certainly ready!
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