As many of you know, Cory and I have been on a journey to become Parents for a little over 9 years, and it has been an exhausting journey. It's been a journey filled with up and downs, excitement, joy, pain, and heartache. Drained finances, debt, failed fertility treatments and a miscarriage left us feeling empty and pretty hopeless. We took a few years off from trying, to just live our lives and see if anything would happen on its own, but that was to no avail. 

Over the years we've talked about adoption and knew that one day we would want to adopt, but never knew how or when that day would come. A few years ago, we tried to Foster to Adopt but were told the age range we were interested in wasn't available and there was not a waiting list we could get on. We're interested in infant adoption, which so many families are as well, and it's not easy to adopt an infant. And, something I want you all to understand while you're reading this is, when a family who is struggling with infertility makes the decision to adopt, and wants an infant, please don't question them or tell them they should adopt an older child. We are learning to give up on the dream of being pregnant and having a biological baby, we deserve, just as any other family or couple does, to have an infant to raise. If someone you know has made this decision and that is the age that they are interested in adopting, support them in that decision. This was part of our decision to take a break from treatments and adoption.

However, I'll be 35 in July, and Cory and I have decided that it's time to start looking into the process again. We've researched several agencies and options where we live, and have been met with roadblocks, waitlists, and stress, but we've put our name on the waitlists, prayed, and know this is the right thing to do. The biggest thing for us is going to be the cost of adopting. The average cost of adoption in Oklahoma is $40,000 which covers a number of various things like, agency fees, match fees, home study fees, legal fees, and so on. It's an overwhelming number, and for some adoptions, it can cost upwards of $100,000. 

Most families that are looking to adopt have been going through fertility treatments and have spent most of their money if not all of it on those treatments. Making the decision to adopt doesn't come lightly and for us, I'm not sure how we'll afford to pay for it, but my gut is telling me it's time. I've prayed for an answer for so long, and I feel like God has shown me that adoption is what we need to look into. I'm nervous and scared, I'm worried and anxious, but for the first time in years, I feel like I have hope and purpose again. I'd love for you all to come along with us on this journey and if you have any tips or suggestions, we'd love to hear from you in the comments. And as always, thank you for being so kind and supportive to us and our journey to become parents.