The economy affects adoption too

We had recently sent in our application to ABBA fund that provides adoptive parents with a 0% interest loan for adoption expenses. In short they provide the money upfront for the pending tax credit and once the tax credit is received it is given back to the ABBA fund. Anyways, it seems that the economy has hit them too and currently they are not able to provide funds for any adoptions. They said that they would give us a call when everything is back up and running and they also made sure to tell us that if we get a placement to call them back and they would take our case back to the board in hopes of being able to help us out. So, we have felt a little defeated the last day or two. It seems that we are stuck on a treadmill--we are working really hard, just not getting anywhere. So we spent last night filling out grant applications in hopes to receive at least a little help with the remainder of the costs.

On the good side though (as there always has to be at least some silver lining), we completed our online courses through Adoption Learning Partners (http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/) and they were amazing. We took the Journey of Attachment, The Conspicuous Family (transracial adoptions), and Missing Pieces (dealing with the grief and loss associated with adoption). We really enjoyed them and felt like we learned alot plus they provide great lists of resources.

We are also attending a parenting conference this weekend in Concord, NC put on by Weaving Family Adoption Services and are excited to get away, even if its just for one night. We will definitely post what we've learned when we get back!

Oh and just in case you didn't see the note above, we have reduced the cost of our tshirts to $10!