Baby Sherman Adoption Fund

"The Gospel is not a picture of adoption, adoption is a picture of the Gospel." - John Piper

 

Dear friends and family,

 

We are so excited to announce that we have decided to adopt!

 

We deeply desire to experience the blessing of growing our family and raising our children to love God and help them become all that He created them to be. I (Kristen) have always dreamed of becoming a mom, and I always just assumed that I would be the one carrying my baby. However, getting married later in life and experiencing some health issues along the way, I always had an underlying fear that it may never happen.

 

Unfortunately, after trying various fertility treatments, the door to my dream of having a biological child was closed when my infertility fears came true. Anyone who has experienced infertility can attest to the devastation and heartbreak that it causes. As a woman, I felt like a failure that my body couldn't do what it was created to do. Through the many months of grief, I really tried to listen to what God was trying to teach me in all of this. For a while, I had so many questions but no answers.

 

As it became more likely that I would not be able to give birth, Tad and I began discussing the idea of adoption. We even started talking to adoption agencies, filling out paperwork for a Home Study, and talking to other adoptive families. But I was still not ready to let go of my dream of having a baby. The reality is, adoption doesn’t fix infertility or take away the longing for carrying and birthing your own child. I don’t know if that pain will ever go away. And although I knew I could completely love an adopted child as my own, I still struggled. You see, when God created man in His image, He placed that desire in me as well. I wanted to have a child in my (and my husband's) image.

 

Through the tears and grief, I prayed that the Lord would give me a promise I could hang on to. A covenant of peace and clarity about our future. As I continued to pray, things became clearer; God was calling us to adopt. Suddenly, my grief was turning into hope and excitement!

 

As we've continued to reflect on our journey so far, we truly believe that God has led us to this path... and it took infertility for us to realize it. Maybe adoption was His "plan A" for us all along. While we don’t yet know how this story will end, we trust the One writing it. It reminds me of a quote I recently read on Facebook: "What seems like the end of the road is often a rerouting to a new destination." - Tera Elness

 

We are so excited to begin this journey and become a part of future baby Sherman's story, welcome them into our family, and love them unconditionally. We believe that every human life, planned or unplanned, has a purpose. And every human life matters to God. No matter how a child is brought into a family, they are worthy of value to the Lord and the world. We can't think of a better way to serve God than to give ourselves as parents to a child who needs a loving, affirming, safe, and forever home.

 

Cost of Adoption

 

We are pursuing a private, domestic infant adoption. Currently (January 2022), we are completing our Home Study and will soon be able to begin presenting to potential adoptive birth-mother situations.

 

The adoption process is quite a roller coaster. It's beautiful and heartbreaking, exciting and emotional, fulfilling and draining, all at once. It's also very expensive. Adoptive parents pay home study fees, legal fees, medical expenses, agency fees, travel expenses, birth-mother expenses, consultant fees, along with other miscellaneous costs and expenses. And that's just to bring a child home. The average domestic adoption costs around $40,000+. While the price is high, it is necessary for an ethical and legal adoption. (For more information on adoption costs, click HERE .)

 

We have partnered with Christian Adoption Consultants, who have assembled a team of experienced adoption professionals to help walk families through the entire adoption process. Founded on Christian principles and standards, they believe in ethical adoption practices and strictly vet the adoption agencies/attorneys and situations to assess risk and protection for families like us. They’ve completed over 3,300 adoptions since 2006, and the average wait time is significantly less due to their multi-agency approach. When we met with Susan from Christian Adoption Consultants, we felt at peace that she would not only be able to help guide us through this process, but help us achieve our dream of growing our family.

 

Due to the nature of the adoption process, we are in need of financial assistance. While we've put ourselves in a position financially to cover some of the expenses and are able to support our child once he or she is born, this journey has been a huge step of faith for our family emotionally and financially.

 

We want to thank you in advance for your prayers, encouragement, and financial gifts as we take this journey, and we can’t wait to see how God’s plan for our family will turn out. We hope that by inviting you into this process, you will see yourself as part of Baby Sherman’s story. We can’t wait to someday tell him or her about all the people that came together to bring them home.

 

Love,

Tad and Kristen

 

Note: We plan to provide updates along the way as we navigate this process so be sure to stop back to follow our adoption journey.
 
For larger donations, if you prefer, please reach out to Tad or Kristen (or send a message through this page) and we can put you in touch with our bank who is handling our adoption fund.