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APRIL 2002 NEWSLETTER
Caring for and serving families in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia,
Alabama, Mississippi,
Florida,Texas, and Louisiana
 by
Mark and Neuzi Smith
Five years ago we had a dream to adopt a child to be part of our home
and family. After four years of waiting for a domestic adoption, we
decided that there might be a better way to grow our family. We knew
about international adoption, but had made a conscious decision to not
pursue that option due to what we thought were excessive costs…..and
then we discovered Children’s Hope International. We applied,
qualified, and complied with all the required paperwork!
On the same day that we were distracted with a possible domestic
adoption, we received an international option that became our dream
adoption. Elena Sergeevna Troshkova came to us via a photo accompanied
with a medical opinion, which was postive in all respects. Two months
later, we received a ten day notice to travel to Russia to bring our
child home.
Isabelle came to our home twelve days after we left for Moscow and
arrived home on December 12, 2001. She is the best Christmas gift we
have ever received. We are forever grateful to our God, and Children’s
Hope to see this miracle happening in our lives.
Many
financial resources are available to families who are adopting. Here are
a few, plus websites to help you learn more!
*The
federal income tax credit of $10,000 per child adopted, if your income
is below $150,000 annually.
www.irs.ustreas.gov.
*Hebrew Free Loan Association interest-free loans are available to
Jewish adults.
http://www.hflasf.org/adopt-loans.html.
*The
Dave Thomas Foundation provides the following guidebooks free of charge.
These materials will help employers and employees understand why
adoption benefits are good business. If you would like a copy, please
fax a request to 614/766-3871.
·
The Employer’s Guide to Adoption Benefits
This packet of information provides comprehensive information to help
employers develop or enhance their adoption benefits programs.
·
Advocating for Adoption Benefits, An Employee’s Guide This guidebook provides
step-by-step information to help employees advocate effectively for
adoption benefits in their workplace.
*Military
Adoption Reimbursement Program.
http://www.nefe.org/adopt.pgs/helpf.html
*Other Resources:
THE
COST OF AN ADOPTON – DOES IT PAY?
Very
often when people ask me how much it costs to adopt, I give them two
answers. One is that it costs about as much as a medium sized car. The
second is that before they are grown, it costs about a quarter million
dollars. The cost of an adoption is almost totally reimbursed through
income tax credits. The COST is after they come home. Very few
people ask me how much an adoption pays!
The
(US) government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from
birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk
about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition. But
$160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66
a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day!
Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial
advice advises don’t have children if you want to be "rich." It is just
the opposite. What do your get for your $160,140?
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Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
Glimpses of God every day.
Giggles under the covers every night.
More love than your heart can hold.
Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.
A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sandcastles,
and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.
Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said
or how your stocks performed that day.
For $160,140, you never have to grow up.
You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch
lightning bugs,
and never stop believing in Santa Claus.
You have an excuse to keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and
Pooh, watching
Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on
stars.
You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator
magnets, collect spray
painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for
Mother's Day,
and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.
For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck.
You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage
roof, taking the
training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling a wading
pool, coaxing
a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never
wins
but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.
You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first
word, first bra,
first date, and first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal.
You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're
lucky,
a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.
You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice,
communications,
and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God.
You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters
under the bed,
patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever,
and love them
without limits, so one day they will like you,
love without counting the cost.
Author Unknown
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On
Saturday, March 29 we had a wonderful celebration!!
April
6 EEASG School 10:30-11:30
AM Catholic Charities
April 9
Information Meeting 6:30-8:30
PM Children’s Hope
April 13
Dossier Class 8:00-10:00
AM Children’s Hope
Travel
Class 10:00-11:59
AM Children’s Hope
April 15
Home Study Group 6:30-8:30
PM Children’s Hope
May 11
Dossier Class 8:00-10:00
AM Children’s Hope
Travel
Class 10:00-11:59
AM Children’s Hope
Pre-Adoption Class #1
12:30-6:00 PM Woodmont Hills Church of Christ
May 17
Operation Hope Orientation 6:30
PM Woodmont Hills Church of Christ
May 20
Home Study Group 6:30-8:30
PM Children’s Hope
UPCOMING
INFORMATION MEETINGS
Please join us for
free information meetings:
April 9
Brentwood Offices 6:30-8:30 PM
April 11
Olive Branch, Mississippi, First Baptist Church of Olive Branch, 9235
Pigeon Roost 7:00-9:00 PM
April 29 Knoxville, Tennessee
at the Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church, Fireside Room, 9132 Kingston
Pike 6:30-8:30 PM
May 14
Brentwood Offices 6:30-8:30 PM
MESSAGE FROM BRENDA BARKER
You
get a lot of emails and, no doubt, some of it is not welcome. We hope
we can drop in and visit you every once in a while and talk about
adoption. If not, please let us know and
we will regretfully remove your name.
There
are a lot of children in the world needing homes - and not a few homes
needing children. We stand in the middle and help make it happen for
about 500-600 children and families each year - all over the United
States. The children come from China, Russia, Vietnam, Guatemala,
India, and Colombia.
This has
been such a busy month with so many families receiving referrals of the
children of their dreams! Please share your stories and pictures with
us all!
We
don't want to burden you with a lot of information you don't want, but
we do want to help you if you are looking for a way to adopt. E-mail me
at my address below with any question you have. I would love to hear
from you.
Brenda
 Southeastern
U.S.
Brenda Barker,
Director
7003 Chadwick Dr. Suite 350
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-309-8109 Fax: 615-309-8483
Brenda@ChildrensHope.com
Also serving the following
states: TN, KY, GA, AL, MS, FL, TX and LA
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