Our Next Step to Parenthood

I am so excited that we have seriously started the adoption process. We met with Utah Foster Care last night. Though we will still consider this option we are not sure that this is the route for us. Finding out that there are no children under the age of 5 that are available for immediate adoption was a downer. Apparently these children are placed in foster care homes with parents that will adopt them if the biological parents give up their rights to that child. We will consider this option, but there are a few things that make us uncomfortable.

Most of the children suffer from abuse or neglect. Though young children are placed in homes with parents that hope to adopt those children, Utah Foster Cares' goal is for the biological parents to be able to make the changes necessary to have their child returned to them. They have one year to do this.  This is a great organization that is helping kids, but we don't think we could handle caring for a child for a year to then give them up to go back into an abusive situation. The biggest issue we had was in regards to our lifestyle. During that year that you foster most biological parents request that their children do not participate in religious activities. That's just not something we can accommodate for. Our life revolves around God, our church and our church family. 

We are now looking into other options. Today our pastor is meeting with a friend that is an attorney that has adopted a couple of children. We are hoping for answers and guidance as we take our next steps. 

Thank you all for your love and support.
Anne Marie