Hi, my name is Tim. My wife and I have been going through a lot of financial struggles and I finally hit a breaking point and decided to try this.

Backstory: In March of 2019 I was called by children services to see if we could take in my sister's children. At the time we agreed along with my father to split them 3 kids each. So my wife and I took the youngest 2 and older middle. Long story short we now just have to youngest 2 who are turning 6 and 7 later this year and our daughter who is 14 now.

My sister has gotten better and has the others. However she is in agreement for us to go through with adoption on our 2 boys (pictured) and continue raising them as our own. We started that process immediately in 2019 but have had to fight consistently and paid many thousands of dollars in lawyer fees, court fees, inspections, and other miscellaneous costs.

Finally the day was supposed to come where we would finalize July 24th. Until a home visit done in April came in on July 23rd and the courts did not approve our adoption.

Today (July 31) we met with our lawyer, for a fee of course, and found out what the "findings" were that kept us from getting approved. Come to find out the person who did the report lied about what my 14 year old said, copied a lot of information from a previous home visit that was no longer accurate, and made us look awful.

Firstly we have had these kids for 5 and a half years. Secondly, we go without in order for them to have things and opportunities many children don't have. And third, this report was just outright false.

I digress though. We need help at this point. Our vehicles are in disrepair, cost of living has skyrocketed, and we need to pay to redo everything with the adoption now.

What this money will go to:

Lawyers fees, courts cost, and filing fees

Childcare and activities such as sports and extra learning opportunities.

Inspections, background checks, and home visits.

A little about us. My wife is an RN in a state prison trying to work on her doctorate. She is an avid reptile rescuer and advocate. We have many snakes, lizards, and other pets. (They have their own room, where their enclosures are all shelved properly.) I am a maintenance technician in a mental health hospital. Spare time is kids time and I do play softball. We both work very hard to provide a loving protective home.

A little on the boys:

Sy (7 in August) was born addicted, with severe breathing issues, and taken multiple times by the county in infancy. He has severe ADHD and ODD for which he is medicated. He now has overcome his breathing problems and is such a wild joyous child. He plays hockey and teeball and wants to play football. He loves playing video games and going to museums and parks.

Dinny (Kevin, 6 in November) was taken at birth and placed in foster care. When we got him he was 4 months old. He is the sweetest child. He loves having conversations (in circles) with anyone. He is just a wonderful joyful kid. He enjoys going to games and practices and he loves just being creative. He plays teeball and may play football. He enjoys watching videos on YouTube, creating with loose Legos, and playing with friends.

Through all of this process we have not received any assistance we were promised by the state. We have had to rely on overdraft, family help, and overtime. They have continuously dragged us out with extensions, and "oh, you need this too," and "this is filled out incorrectly."

If we didn't have to pay the nearly $25,000 we have so far we could be in a much better situation for these kids.