After over two years of infertility, doctors visits, tests, and surgical procedures, Nathan and I were told that we will likely never be able to have biological children. Although this news was heartbreaking, we had also been feeling the Lord's call to pursue something different. We started looking into adoption, and once we found out that we were moving to Alaska, we quickly found Alaska Adoption Services. After an initial workshop with the agency, we immediately knew that this was the direction that God was calling us to pursue.

Many of our friends and family have asked how they can support us throughout this process, and we have two specific needs at this time:

1. We ask that you pray not only for us in this journey but also for the birth mothers and birth families looking into adoption as an option. We don't want to gloss over the fact that adoption is a complicated process full of grief, loss, and love for so many parties involved.

2. Adoption is an expensive process, and we need help financially, thus this GoFundMe. If you are able to give, thank you so much. We truly truly appreciate any help that we can get. If you are not in a financial position to give, we are so thankful for your prayers.

This GoFundMe will directly help us with the expenses that come with the adoption process. Below, you will see a breakdown of the costs that our agency has given us.

Phase I (Application) $3000

• Application

• Home study

• Preparation for Waiting Pool

Phase II (Waiting Pool) $2000

• Portfolio Presentation

• On-going counseling & support

Phase III (Selection) $10,000

• Matching/vision merging

• Placement of child

• Relinquishment of parental rights

Phase IV (Finalization) $10,000

• Termination of parental rights*

• Post Placement Visits/Reports

• Finalization of Adoption**

Total $25,000

What the fees cover:

• Application Processing

• Home Study – Interviews and time writing it and annual updates

• Profile creation – Professional Photos and Video

• Agency expenses – insurance, salaries, office space, utilities, website, agency attorney fees, etc.

• Time spent working with birth families (Their services are 100% free)

• Time preparing our adoptive families and supporting them

• Attorney fees for birth parent relinquishment process

• Travel for native birth families to get to court for relinquishment purposes.

What the fees do not cover:

• Attorney fees for finalization ($3500-$5000)

• Adoptive parent travel fees (If baby is born in a different part of the state)

• Agency staff travel fees (If baby is born in a different part of the state)

• Fingerprinting ($30 per person)

• Background Check fees ($48.25 per person)

• Profile book ($20ish)

• Creating a Family Courses ($120)

For more information about Alaska Adoption Services, you can go to alaskaadoptionservices.org.