E Country's Baaaack.....

Well, now I've discussed with another agency their E Country program which sounds very good. Kim (no Sara - beginning to think that's a good thing) indicated that our age should not be an issue, which is where I thought I had run into a snag. She said they officially start adjusting the minimum age of the child when a parent is 52 or older. Under that, we should be fine.

The WAIT times and costs are both probably half of Eastern Europe. With the IRS adoption credit of $11,650 - our net cost before travel could be just a couple thousand dollars (we've already spent a significant amount on the homestudy, the CIS approval, etc.) Travel is much less significant as only 1 trip is required and it should be less than 10 days, which will also save some money that can fund education or something important like that. Also, younger children are available, many of whom are truly orphaned. She said they can work with parents if they have a gender preference, but that the government in E Country requires that you be open to either gender.

I'll check out a webinar on Thursday evening, review their contract, investigate the agency, etc. before Gigs and I do anything. We did, of course, inquire about some of the waiting children on the photo listing, and I'll see what comes of that in the meantime, but some of the countries from which those children are available have very unproven adoption programs and most are in Eastern Europe where things are much more unstable right now.