To Bring or Not to Bring...

We labored over the decision whether or not to bring our biological daughters (Bethany and Kailey) to Ethiopia to pick up Neti and Meke. I leaned heavily toward bringing them. Rhonda was slightly in favor of not. I won. (It wasn’t a highly contentious argument.)

If you were to ask her now she’d tell you we made the right decision. It cost us approximately $5000 more to bring them along but it was well worth it! They not only made the trip easier for us but had firsthand experience of the adoption process – something they’ll never forget.

I know that our daughters are older (10 and 12) than many others who are faced with the same decision. Here are some questions I’d consider:

1. Can your kids take care of themselves? Are they responsible?
2. Can they emotionally deal with parental attention temporarily shifted to a new family member?
3. Are they natural nurturers?
4. Do they obey well?
5. Are they OK with sticking close to Mom and Dad?

The answers for us have been unequivocally “Yes!” Now our girls – all of them – have a lifelong memory they’ll cherish much longer than we’ll mourn the loss of $5000.