Oh how I love ebay…and craigslist…and the trillions of other sites devoted to reselling gently used items at a profit to the seller. While raising money for Ella’s adoption I became pretty savvy about the ins and outs of reselling. It is labor intensive, but the rewards can be great.

To get started reselling, be sure to train yourself on how to be a seller. There are many tutorials on ebay’s website for new sellers as well as message boards in the community section with plenty of people who can answer... more

We live in a world that is sinking in debt, however I strongly believe that not all debt is bad debt. If you own your own home and are financially secure, taking out a home equity loan with a low interest rate to finance your adoption seems like a wise move to me. Not only will you realize your dreams of becoming parents sooner than you would if you had the cash up front (and who of us just has tens of thousands of dollars laying around?!?!,) but it can also have tax benefits.

There are also a handful of private adoption loans out there. Since these loans are unsecured,... more

Asking for money is never easy. It has the potential to hurt pride, bring up uncomfortable feelings and leave some people with a resentful taste in their mouth. However, families fundraising for adoption can certainly choose to let their financial needs be known. Letting friends, family and your community know about your situation is not necessarily “asking” for money, instead a better way to think of it may be “putting yourself out there to receive assistance.”

I know of many adoptive families who have sent letters to those close to them expressing their adoption plans.... more

Money is something that weighs heavily on the minds of most adoptive parents. Not only do we need to be sure that we can financially support a child, we also must be able to come up with the means to finance the entire adoption process. Though it’s not always easy, it is certainly possible. Most of us are not wealthy but with some pounding of the pavement and careful scrutiny of our budgets, it is possible to make it work. I will be writing several posts this week; each covering a different area of fundraising for adoption. If you have any questions or comments along the way, please... more

One of the best things that you can do during your wait to travel is to collect items to donate to your child’s baby center. If you are bringing many items to Viet Nam that will be staying in country, it’s a great idea to pack a suitcase full of the donations—then you will have an empty suitcase to fill with gifts and souvenirs that you purchase in country. Mary over at the Ethiopia Adoption Blog just returned from Ethiopia with her two daughters. She packed large Rubbermaid totes with donations and wrote about how to do this successfully here.... more

Have a child from Viet Nam’s Vinh Phuc province? Waiting to travel to adopt a child from this province? If so, then today’s post is for you. Below you will find information about Vinh Phuc, including sights to see and things to do in the province while you’re in Viet Nam. This post is just one in a series of “Provinces 101” posts that you can find under the travel section in the table of contents to the right of your screen. I strongly encourage parents to spend some time exploring and getting to know their child’s province if possible. If... more

In an effort to help families stay healthy in Viet Nam I recently posted about which vaccinations are recommended for Americans traveling to Viet Nam. Today I am going to touch on which medications you may wish to bring with you when you travel. I will admit that my husband and I got prescriptions for and brought along with us every medication that my agency suggested. We used one once or twice (a tube of antibiotic ointment,) and donated the rest to our agency. But I definitely think it’s better to be safe than sorry.

I remember being worried that our doctor would have a problem writing prescriptions for our baby who was still in Viet Nam and they would not be able to examine before... more

Before we traveled to Viet Nam to adopt Ella I assumed that my husband and I were going to be required to get certain vaccinations. This wasn’t the case as Viet Nam does not require any vaccinations, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does recommend some for traveling to Viet Nam.

It is very important to see a doctor at least a month and a half prior to departing so the vaccines that you choose to get (if any) will... more

The subject of adoptive parents choosing to adopt more girls than boys is one that is discussed regularly in adoption circles. While it’s a common topic of conversation, I’ve been seeing those conversations gain momentum over the last few weeks. I have been following a discussion about the preference to adopt girls over on a Viet Nam adoption listserv that I read and the responses have proved very interesting. I’ve been mulling it around in my head for a few days, and was happy to read Erin’s... more

Traveling to adopt your child will be the experience of a lifetime. With a few precautions, you can help to ensure that your time spent in country will be a pleasant and healthy one. It’s easy to forget to take care of ourselves as parents while we focus our energy and attention on our children, but we won’t be much use to our kids if we’re down for the count. Here are some ways that you can stay healthy while in Viet Nam:

Protect yourself from mosquito bites. This is especially important during the summer months, but can be just as... more