I don't usually put personal stuff into this blog, but I think today can be an exception.  We finalized the adoption of our daughter Sara today!  She's officially a Denoncourt!  If you haven't heard her story and can put up with a little preaching, you can hear it here.

I wish that more people would consider adoption.  It's really a great chance to change the world.  One of the things that I hear is that that people have the impression that there is a shortage of children available to be adopted.  While it is true that there are not a lot of infants to be adopted, there are a lot of older children waiting for homes.  Another consideration is that people think that it costs a lot to adopt a child.  The costs of adopting an infant can be towards $50k for domestic, and between 10-30k for international infant.  If you're willing to adopt a child through the state, you are eligible for a $10,000 tax credit (that's basically adding $10,000 to your tax return) and you might receive a monthly stipend as well.  An excellent resource on the Internet is adoption.com.  If you call your state's family protection department, you can find when they hold informational meetings.

Adoption is an amazing experience.  Ours was an open adoption, which means that the birth parents can still visit Sara and know her as she grows up.. But we are her parents.  I think this takes a lot of the tension out of the process and is more healthy for everyone - baby, us, and the birth parents.

I'll get back to the study guide tomorrow.