a tortoise pace

Yesterday, I found a tortoise.  Amazingly enough, it sat in a very long, gravel driveway on my way to a friend's house.  The old proverbial, "why does a turtle cross a road?" came to mind as I stopped and investigated.

Sure enough, it was a box turtle, or tortoise. 

Where did it come from? They certainly are not native to this part of Oregon.  I didn't want to just leave it out there, even though at this time of year it should be fine; once winter comes it might not stand a chance.

So, I picked it up and took it home, calling the Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center in Salem for information on what to do.  In the meantime, my friend is calling around to her neighbors to see if this little guy belongs to them, and somehow escaped.

I wonder how it got to be in that exact spot, at that exact time in just the right moment for me to see him.  I wonder if he would have made it through the winter. 

I like to think he needed me. 

So it is with adoption.  Some of the kiddos we can submit on come from very different lifestyles than we have had.  Many of us would be shocked at what they have seen and gone through in their young lives.  They have to keep going, even if it is at a tortoise's pace, through life. 

To be at that intersection, where our lives cross their paths, in that exact right moment seems like an incredible 'odds against it' chance.  But it happens.  Families get chosen for those special kiddos and some have to travel quite a distance from their homes to find a new home. Little transplants. 

We are here, traveling the dusty, winding road towards our adoption goal.  Hoping that somewhere along the way we will finally intersect our path with our future childs.  Odds seem insurmountably stacked against us at times. I myself get discouraged often.

Think of the old story about the hare and the tortoise.  Who wins the race after all?

Of course, the tortoise does!  In his slow methodical steps, he keeps plodding along with his eye on the finish line, not swaying from his course, not stopping anywhere along the way.

A tortoise pace.

Tax Credit Info

Happy Thursday All,
 All of this Tax credit info can be a bit much at times, I found this helpful, if you have experience you would like to share with other families on this topic or others, please do.

Christy

6 Things to know About the Expanded Adoption Tax Credit

 

If you are adopting a child in 2011, the Internal Revenue Service encourages
you to familiarize yourself with the adoption tax credit. The Affordable Care
Act increased the amount of the credit and made it refundable, which means
it can increase the amount of your refund.

Here are six things to know about this valuable tax credit:
1. The adoption tax credit, which is as much as $13,170, offsets qualified
adoption expenses making adoption possible for some families who could
not otherwise afford it. Taxpayers who adopt a child in 2010 or 2011
may qualify if you adopted or attempted to adopt a child and paid
qualified expenses relating to the adoption.

2. Taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income of more than $182,520
in 2010 may not qualify for the full amount and it phases out completely
at $222,520. The IRS may make inflation adjustments for 2011 to this
phase-out amount as well as to the maximum credit amount.

3. You may be able to claim the credit even if the adoption does not
become final. If you adopt a special needs child, you may qualify for the
full amount of the adoption credit even if you paid few or no adoptionrelated
expenses.

4. Qualified adoption expenses are reasonable and necessary expenses
directly related to the legal adoption of the child who is under 18 years
old, or physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself.
These expenses may include adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees
and travel expenses.

5. To claim the credit, you must file a paper tax return and Form 8839,
Qualified Adoption Expenses, and you must attach documents supporting
the adoption. Documents may include a final adoption decree, placement
agreement from an authorized agency, court documents and the state’s
determination for special needs children. You can still use IRS Free File
to prepare your return, but it must be printed and mailed to the IRS,
along with all required documentation. Failure to include required
documents will delay your refund.

6. The IRS is committed to processing adoption credit claims quickly, but it
also must safeguard against improper claims by ensuring the standards
for this important credit are met. If your return is selected for review,
please keep in mind that it is necessary for the IRS to ensure the legal
criteria are met before the credit can be paid. If you are owed a refund
beyond the adoption credit, you will still receive that part of your refund
while the review is being conducted.

For more information see the Adoption Benefits FAQ page available at
www.irs.gov or the instructions to IRS Form 8839, Qualified Adoption
Expenses, which can be downloaded from the website.

dazed and confused?

Dazed and confused yet?

Some of you who are new to the adoption waiting game might be feeling like you have just entered an overwelming bank of fog as thick as pea soup.  You reach out your hands into the vast abyss and can't even see your fingertips.

You call out with a quavering, hesitant voice, "Is anyone out there who can help me find my way through the adoption maze?"

The answer is a resounding "YES!"

You aren't alone in your journey, we are here for you!

What are the steps you should expect in the upcoming days?  How do you navigate the Match Assistant site?  Can you search on your own through other adoption sites?

All these questions and more may be hovering there, waiting to find a place to throw it out to. AFFEC's, or A Family For Every Child's blog is for all of you, in your various stages of the adoption journey.  We have people, real people just like you, who have gone through the entire journey and have their kiddos, some who are in the middle of their journey, and can answer any questions you might have.

Good news, right?!

Let's start at the beginning and work our way down the long, winding road.  First and foremost, you need to decide if you are going to go it alone and knock on DHS door, or if you are going to find an agency who can advocate for you, help you along the way and offer ongoing support. 

You have to take the Foundations Training classes.  It's a pre-requisite! It doesn't matter where you take them, just take them!  I personally push for the longer classes vs the 'weekend warrior' classes.  You get much more out of them, and the time covered allows more information to sink in.  I have done both, and found I learned much more by taking the longer route. 

Start thinking about your profile.  What do you want to say about your family? Have as many people as you can read it and 'critique' it...caseworkers are all unique individuals and you want your home study to hit as many different types of personalities as you can.

Once you take your class and are finally approved by an agency (DHS or private) you are set to go.  AFFEC uses the OARE site.  (Oregon Adoption Resource Exchange) There are other states who have similar sites, TARE is for Texas, WARE is for Washington and so on.  OARE has kiddos on it that have not yet been released to all states.  Oregon residents get to see them first.  Once they are on the site for a period of time, and have not found a matching family, then they go on other sites.

I was told to submit to as many as we could that matched our criteria.  The more kiddos you submit on, the better your chances of getting your profile out there, and consequently, the better your chances are of finding your child/children!

We are all here to help you walk through the processes you need to take.

TEAM AFFEC! Ready to field the questions! Bring 'em!