Comments on: Adoption FAQ #3: Why Don’t You Just Foster Adopt?

By: Sara

Sara — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:52:43 +0000

I wish I had known that you adopted when we were at Relevant! Thank you for sharing a piece of your story with me! I keep telling Mr. Happy Brown House that we should just go for 2!

By: Lisa @ Simplified Saving

Lisa @ Simplified Saving — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:09:56 +0000

We get asked this question all the time. I’ve always planned on adopting and I always thought I’d do it through the foster care system. We had no idea that we would fall in love with a little girl from Ukraine and end up falling in love with a second child while we were over there adopting our first! Chances are we’ll still adopt from the foster care system somewhere down the road, but God in His sovereignty knew exactly what children needed to be in our home. Our daughters are the perfect fit in our family!

So excited for you on your adoption adventure!

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 17:07:04 +0000

I agree Patty, it is a silly question. Sadly, there are people that think we should “adopt from our own backyard” first. Unfortunately, the orphan crisis is worldwide. And I can’t wait to take the baby pictures!!!

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 17:00:59 +0000

It’s so hard to be patient when we get silly adoption questions, isn’t it Lara? I try to remember that with every grace-filled answer I give, someone’s eyes might be opened to the orphan crisis. (But sometimes, I really just want to be sarcastic…oh, the war within!)

By: Patty Patterson

Patty Patterson — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 16:08:54 +0000

I thought this was a pretty silly question, if you don’t mind my saying so….

“Does choosing to go internationally instead of fostering in our own country make us bad people? ”

How could any family loving enough to take a stranger into their homes and accept them as family be bad people?

Does it matter where a child comes from? A child is a child…. no matter where they were born or what color their skin.

I can’t see how anyone could have a problem with you wanting to adopt a baby from Ethipoia or anywhere else. But – if they do have a problem – it’s THEIR problem. You are simply following God in the path that He’s chosen for you and if they don’t get it maybe they need to get a little closer to Him, so He can help them to understand.

Personally, I can’t wait to see the baby pictures. And the cute little post about Jonah taking care of his younger sibling. And the cute little things he has to say about him/her. We will soon see great demonstrations of brotherly love that was not bound by genetics or geography. And we will learn.

I can’t even begin to express how happy and anxious I am to see how wonderful this plays out for your family.

And yes – I know there will be a challenge here and there – but, we have those with the children we give birth to, also – so really….. what’s the difference. You LOVE and you ACCEPT and you LOVE EVEN MORE!

By: Lara

Lara — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 07:21:43 +0000

I get this question a lot. Sadly, the people who ask it are usually those doing very little about the orphan crisis domestically or internationally. I pray for an extra dose of patience to answer this one lovingly when I sometimes am tempted to be sarcastic.

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:30:08 +0000

We have friends that got a girl from China this past year. They waited a long time and then decided to go special needs and got a referral very quickly! She has a heart problem and a hip problem. She is such a joy to be around! Blessing to you on your journey! Thank you so much for sharing! I love sittin’ around the table discussing things with my Happy Brown House friends!

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:25:26 +0000

I agree! At times it has been a hard one to answer for me, too. We didn’t even check into fostering, because we knew it wouldn’t be right for us. I think Jonah would have a hard time if we lost a foster child….not to mention me! I think so highly of those that do foster adopt! It takes guts that I don’t have! Thank you so much for sharing! I love having a discussion around my table with Happy Brown House friends!

By: Kalee

Kalee — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:12:10 +0000

I don’t think it’s always an attacking question, but it has been a hard one to answer. My easiest response is that I’ve always known I would adopt (since I was about 4), and since I was a teenager I felt called to do so internationally. My husband’s co-workers’ sister had a child that they raised from the time he was born until he was 18 months old, and he was given back to his mother a couple weeks before Christmas this year. To say they were devastated is putting it mildly. I think the foster to adopt program is great, and in many places works much more smoothly, but when we spoke with the people who run it here it was made very apparent to both of us that it simply wasn’t a hopeful situation.

I do think we need to change the way we handle orphan care world wide. These children need to be taken care of as blessings not burdens.

By: Donna Hawkins

Donna Hawkins — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:10:55 +0000

We are actually going to through the special needs/waiting children in China…the wait time is MUCH less and we are a bit “older” so for us a toddler is a good choice as well. Special needs in China can be as simple as cleft lip/palate, birthmarks or other minor/correctable conditions. Of course, we must be realistic as we both work full-time and it simply wouldn’t be fair to a child who needed constant care or has severe needs.