The Laban's Adoption Fund

Hello! We are the Laban's!  My name is Niki and I would like to introduce a little bit about my husband Tom and myself. Our story started 6 years ago in September 2008, when we married.  Tom joined the United States Navy in November 2008. HOME is where the NAVY takes us, which currently is Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After we were married we decided we immediately wanted to start a family.  We tried for a few years without success and decided to attempt fertility treatments.  We went through several years of different types of treatment without success.  We decided to stop fertility treatments and look into adoption.  In 2010, shortly after making the decision to stop treatment we met a young girl who was looking to make an adoption plan for her baby. We met with her and immediately bonded, she made the decision to choose us to raise her baby. Little did any of us know at the time, she was pregnant with twins.  Unfortunately at 20 weeks she went into preterm labor and delivered our twin boys, Eli Thomas and Hunter Luke.  Due to their extreme prematurity they passed away shortly after birth.  We were completely devastated, our hearts were shattered.  We took a few years to grieve and then decided we wanted to consider fertility treatments again.  We tried a new treatment and again we were faced with no success. In 2013 a friend of ours told us a story about a young mother who was pregnant and considering adoption for her baby.  We began talking to this courageous girl, giving her support and encouragement.  A few weeks before she was due, she let us know that she was going to parent instead of place her baby with us.  We were saddened to learn of this but supported her decision. We were thankful she even considered choosing us to raise her baby.  After careful evaluation of our situation and mourning the loss of Eli and Hunter as well as a failed adoption, we have decided to try adoption again. 

 We recently started working with an adoption consultant and are extremely excited with their dedication and determination to make our dreams come true.  We are excited but extremely nervous of the costs involved.  We never realized how expensive working with an agency would cost.  Unfortunately, insurance does not cover adoption fees. Due to our extenuating circumstances of living on a secluded military base overseas, and the difficult task of adopting while living here our consultant has suggested we begin our efforts by asking our family and friends to consider helping us make our dream a reality.  We prayerfully ask that you consider helping us in our effort to raise money. Over the next year and a half we plan to hold several fundraiser events, save as much as we can, and live as frugally as possible. We have set a goal to raise at least half of the cost by the time we return the the United States in hopes that we can start growing our family immediately.  So, as much as we really dislike asking for help this is what we are doing. Anything will help, there is no amount too small or too large.  Even if you cannot afford to donate please consider sharing this link with family and friends.  Networking is our biggest advantage to sucess!!

Thank you all so very, very much for taking the time to review our cause and helping us achieve our dreams of growing our family.

Follow along on our blog for updates: http://2008labanslately.blogspot.com/