Hello! Anyone else out there?

Oh it's going to be awhile, I have just picked the agency, working on picking the homestudy agency, so I will offically start next month. I have been doing the little things to get the house together, cleaning out the extra bedroom, so it looks like it's not a storage shed as much as it is a bedroom.

:rockband: Hello from Phoenix. I am a soon to be first time adoptive parent. We started out only wanting to do fostercare and on our very 1st placement we fell in love. She is a perfect fit for our family and we are adopting. We have completed our Home Study and are waiting on a Judge to sign the papers. It seems to take forever! We are Therapeutic Foster Parents for Title - 19 kidos and are getting fustrated with the whole, we can't place any of these needy children with families ordeal that has been going on for the past year or so. So we are planing to change to foster/adopt after this one is completed. Any local stories out there or suggestions? I also work for CPS as a Case Manager. I hope to be able to continue to work because I love it and my husband is willing to be available as a stay at home dad! He is all for the adoption/foster care scene and says "Bring them on" We just can't get any placed with us....

Hello from Scottsdale. We are currently looking for our 3rd child.

Yay more people!!! :banana:

Hi All! I am in Phoenix and we are currently looking to adopt! We are state certified and now I am trying to stay sane while searching for a good match haha!!

Hi, we're in Goodyear. We have an 18 month old boy, adopted from Korea, and are waitng for our second son (4 months, also Korea) to come home very soon!

Hello, I am in Buckeye. Just started our adoption journey. The first agency we came in contact was discouraging, disheartening, and didn't want to make an effort to help in anyway. I am looking into other agencies but finding it all expensive. Any suggestions to managing the cost? Or an agency you find to be helpful.

This adoption business is tough! We are officially waiting, its been a few months, but we are going through our church's agency and they are very affordable and have been great to work with. But as far as other agencies I do not really know!

I live in Chandler and looking to adopt a girl. Just doing some researh. Anyone in AZ w/ successful stories? Which adoption agencies did you use? I am looking to adopt domestically. Deanna

I'm in the thinking about it stage - any advice or input on what made you move to actually pursue adopting? I'm a single woman and I wonder about what I would be taking on. At the same time everytime I see my niece or my friends with kids I see all the joy they bring. How do you figure it all out - domestic vs. international? foster to adopt? boy, girl? whether or not to consider a "special needs" child? what age? PS - I live in Ahwatukee...

I am in the process of adopting from Guatemala, we are currently in FC and still awaiting DNA Authorization/SWI.

My hubby and I are just starting out and don't know where to turn??? Agencies, laywers, time frame, cost, etc. anyone that has some good info. to help would be great. Rhonda Mesa

I am Charlene, dh TJ. We have 2 bio boys 8 and 10, and would love to adopt a little girl to complete our family. We have researched International adoption for about 3 years and everytime we think we've decided on an agency or country something changes! So now we are looking into Domestic. Any advice on agencies? Good and bad experiences can be sent to my email charthomp123@msn.com, as I don't want to get anyone in trouble for posting something considered taboo on the forum. Thanks. We are looking forward to learning as we go along.

Hi! I am currently pursuing adoption as a single parent. I am 38 years old and while I had hoped to meet my husband by now, I haven't and really want to have a family of my own. I am a special education teacher and love children very much. Children with special needs hold a treasured place in my heart as do children in the foster care system. However, I long for a baby. I am therefore pursuing domestic adoption through foster care although I am considering domestic newborn - I worry about this as a single parent because no one may pick me. And while I would like to use my skills and passion for children with disabilities, I also know that I would need a lot of support to do that. This is a difficult and confusing process and I am just getting started. I attended two orientations, one with an agency placing domestic newborns, and one with an agency working with kids in foster care or with special needs (AASK). I have an intake interview with AASK on Monday, but I'm still worrying about choosing the right agency and avenue. I have limited finances but am committed to this wholeheartedly! But there are still a lot of decisions to make and other agencies to consider. I like what I have read about facilitators, but have not found any in my area yet. I recently moved to a new place (Arizona) so my networking is limited. I am very hopeful that these message boards will be helpful with all the questions and concerns I am facing. Thanks, Jeni!

I am also looking for some adoptive families in the greater Phoenix area. I am hoping to find some that have kids around the same age as our son (1 1/2yo). We also have older bio/step kids. (11-22yo!).