When Fred and I started this second adoption, we opened it wide to all the options, including doing Foster-to-Adopt care here in the U.S.  The ONLY reasons we decided not to were 1) it might be too much loss for the twins to absorb, having children pass in and out of our home after they’ve already lost their birth and foster moms, and 2) because we don’t want to adopt out of birth order, there’s not as much of a need for us here.  We didn’t feel right potentially bumping a childless couple out of line so that we could parent #’s 3 and 4 for our family.

However, did you know that you can SEE who needs a home here in the U.S.?

Check out AdoptUSKids.  Also try searching by state – each state’s child social services agency has its own list.  The information is a bit limited (as appropriate, to protect the kids’ privacy), but you can get a basic idea of who they are (with pictures).

If you’re thinking of adopting and don’t have the restrictions we’ve chosen to put on our situation, there are many, many kids who need families who are ready to love them through their adjustment process and provide them with permanent homes to return to every holiday season for the rest of their lives.

It’s something Fred and I will re-consider when our current young kids are a good bit older and can fully understand the process.

adoptuskids

photo credit: AdoptUSKids.org