What a year 2020 was and 2021 still seems to have its unique challenges.  This year, after reaching the one-year wait mark, our eyes were opened to a new option for our family.  We saw the photo of a little girl in India, who met our criteria, and she got our wheels turning.  We reached out to many different people, joined groups, and learned more about what India Adoptions are like.  

As soon as we started learning about India as an option, we were sold. THIS is where we are meant to be going. India has been open to adoption travel most of 2020 and 2021 which is a huge difference between them and China. There are many girls with Down syndrome waiting to be adopted and from what we've learned, it is not common for them to be adopted, which is so heartbreaking. We feel so strongly that this is the right move for our family. 

What's next?

Currently, we are completing the last few things needed to get registered with the system in India that lists all the waiting children.  Once we complete our pile of paperwork and pay our fees, they will register us, and once approved we can view files! It's our hope that our daughter is listed within these files. From there we can be matched, and then prepare our Dossier for submission!

The process could be year-long, or it could move faster.  The thing I've learned about India is that the adoption process is not as much of a 'well-oiled machine' as China is.  So timing differs greatly from family to family and depending on where the child is from. We are hopeful that if our daughter needs us sooner that that will play out.  But we know it is entirely out of our control. 

Coming up next for us will be a large series of payments - and they will all come close together just based on our current status.  The number we are looking at currently is $8,975 due at some point this summer.  Once we are matched, we can start applying for grants (FINALLY) which will help us tremendously, but those are not guaranteed. 

If you feel called to support our adoption, you can make a tax-deductible donation on this website. We also have Venmo and Paypal. All donations in $10 increments will still get a place on our adoption puzzle! At the end of the day, the great support you can provide is keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this next step in our adoption. 

Thank you so much for caring about our family and following along on our journey. We hope that sometime SOON we will have an update for you regarding WHO we will adopt! But until then.... Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. <3 

Megan Zars