Down Syndrome Adoption

Many, many people have asked me about Down Syndrome adoption. Why would you choose a child who may never be independent? How are you going to handle raising a child with special needs? Isn't adoption so expensive? How in the world did you find this angel?

I want to answer some of the most common questions I get-

1. Why would you choose to adopt a child who may never be independent? Because God asked us to. Period. I really could go on and on about this question talking about how these individuals are so strong and truly can do anything we allow and help them do, but bottom line is....because God asked us to. We pray that each of our children- typical and special needs- grow up to be exactly what God has created them to be. And if I can help them achieve that, then I will have succeeded as a mother.

2. How are you going to handle raising a child with special needs? Through lots of prayer. Children with Downs aren't different. Sure, they could possibly have physical differences and defects that we'll have to work through. And yes, most of the time they are a bit slower. But that's it. I think the problem comes when people put limitations on individuals- any individuals- especially those with special needs.

Also, we homeschool our children. I already have to tailor what we learn to the individual learning styles of our biological girls, so tailoring learning to children with special needs will be no different.

I have heard more times than I can even remember that these children slow you down. In a way that all of us should slow down, and I yearn for that. I am so excited about the things I will see and learn through our children with Down syndrome that I probably would have missed otherwise.

3. Isn't adoption so expensive? Yes. But God has provided every penny and exactly at the moment we needed it. Here's an example- we had to change homestudy agencies after beginning our study. Our new agency charges $600 more for international studies than our first one. The exact week we had to sign with our new agency, we received just around $700 in donations. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Not only that, but I can't think of something more worth investing in than someone else's life?

BUT, God did NOT provide with us sitting on the couch twiddling our thumbs. We had to pray. And work. And talk. And sacrifice. And spread the word.

4. How did you find this angel? First, Ruslana was found through the amazing ministry Reece's Rainbow. You can learn more about RR here. Look through their site, read more about Andrea (the director) and view some of the angels still waiting for families.

An update about Ruslana's adoption- we are in limbo at this point. Her region within her country has completely closed adoptions. We pray they will reopen soon and we can move forward. Originally, we hoped to travel in September. There is no way that is going to happen. Our hearts ache for her.

We were called about our sweet angel boy by Robin Steele. Robin manages a waiting list of families in the United States who are willing, ready and eager to adopt a child with Downs. We really didn't wait at all with Robin. Robin and I had spoken about the logistics of adopting domestically and she had answered a few questions I had. She called us on a Sunday and we were chosen that same Tuesday. Exactly 3 weeks later, we were in our car heading to Florida.

For the record, it doesn't always happen so quickly. God's plan for us was not to let us have too much time to think about it!:)

You can read a very brief paragraph about Robin here (her contact info is at the bottom of the paragraph- go to the bottom of the page). I will say that Robin is an absolutely amazing lady who has found her God-given gift. She has 4 children with Downs herself. I'm not sure exactly how many children have found forever homes because of her, but we have already received a second call about another baby....yesterday actually. And no, we didn't send our homestudy.;) We told her to put our file on hold for now.

Feel free to email me any questions you may have about Down Syndrome adoption- nogreatergiftmom@yahoo.com. I am in no way an expert, but I will help you find the answers you are looking for.

In Him,

E