Jae-Bird and Ashy- Bug

These next two weeks I am in a whole new state, completely enjoying an entirely different climate. But mostly, I am enjoying family. Which happens to include a two week old, 5 pound baby girl named Ashlynn Grace.

Oh she is precious! I haven't been able to kiss her soft cheeks and my hands are cracking from washing and sanitizing to keep her from catching the cold I caught the day before take off (go figure, I'm always sick on "vacation").... but, I'm still getting to enjoy her A LOT! I get to dress her in the tiny Preemie clothes that are to small for some dolls but fit her just right, let her dream in my lap as I do homework, and take 1,000's of pictures!

I'm also enjoying making 5 year old big sister Jaelynn Noel feel special by playing multiple rounds of Hi-Ho-Cherrio (the new and improved, more complicated version because apparently the version my sister and I played wasn't good enough), and Candy Land. We played several rounds last night. She was bright eyed and bushy tailed at about 7am (early for her), jumping on my bed, asking Auntie Violet to play again with her. She also loves the dresses my Mom has spoiled her with, and the Mariposa barbie I got her (if your little girl wants one, DON'T get it, her wings fall off incessantly and you will hear 100's of times a day "willl you fix Mariposa's wings....please!).

I'm enjoying chit chatting with my cousin too, lounging around, and helping with practical things new mommie appreciate like doing dishes, bathing the 5 year old, and walking the overly hyper chocolate lab.

I'm excited to go see more family next week!

100th + Post!!!

Ok, so a few days ago I realized I was SUPER closet to 100 posts! However, I've had to many exciting things going on to make a big deal of it. I don't have anything exciting or special to give away or anything like some blogs HOWEVER, I can do what I have seen many others do, I can make a list of 100 things about me. Since this is actually my 103rd post, how about 103????

Here goes:

1. I am left handed, I'm the ONLY one of 4 kids that is Left Handed. (So is my uncle. My Paternal Grandmother is also left handed)

2. I have a passion for purity and am a virgin. I plan to stay that way until I get married.

3. I want to court vs. date ( I believe this is the biblical way of doing things, and I think dating sets us of for divorce), and I plan on saving my next (no, unfortunately not first) kiss for my wedding day.

4. At 5ft 2 and 3/4 inches, I am the 3rd tallest girl in my family for 5 generations, beaten only by two of my girl cousins. The average in my family is between 4ft 9 and 4 ft 11 inches

5.My first boyfriend, who was also my best friend, died of cystic fibrosis at age 15. It was the first death I had experienced except for great grandparents when I was still very young.

6. I have a tattoo on my foot and I love it. It says "Come as a Child or not at all... Matt. 18: 3". It's in cute girly black writing put all dots are red hearts. It was the last scripture uttered by my 1st boyfriend and at the time my best friend before he died.

7. I really want to adopt multilple children as well as have biological children. I am open to adopting with special needs. I really have no idea how many children I will have but, I'm sure it's a lot because I love them and am not easily stressed out by them.

8. I do all of my schooling (working towards a B.A. in psycholgoy) on at Argoys Univeristy

9. I call my cousins daughters my nieces. Neither of my cousins have sisters, so I willing adopted the Aunty title. This means I have three nieces and 1 nephew (my nephew being the only one belonging to an actually sibling)

10. I want to be a social worker when I grow up :} ( Or rather, when I graduate in August!)

11. I am a major animal lover. Mostly of dogs.

12. I REALLY want to swim with dolphins

13. I love warm weather and loath cold, rainy weather, apparently I live in the WRONG state. However, I LOVE snow!!!!

14. I almost moved to Ohio (Boy would that have been a HUGE mistake, I'd have been miserable.

15. I LOVE Anything water related, drinking it, swimming, water skiing/wake boarding, inter tubing, rafting..... I'm just a beach babe at heart

16. I like MOST green veggies: broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts, green beans. But I HATE canned PEAS and LIMA BEANS UGH!

17. God healed me of a pretty serious dairy allergy at summer camp one year

18. I was going to be named after an adopted great grandmother. My name would have been Vivienne. She saved me from that fate because she always hated her name and told my mom she didn't want me named after her. My parents let her pick out my name and she chose Violet because it was her favorite color and favorite flower. It was perfect because my Mom really wanted my nick name to be "Vi" after another major influence in her life.

19. I have two middle names, both of which my Dad picked out.

20. My biggest, most outrages dream is to live on a HUGE farm/ranch, that runs a rehabilitation program for abused/neglected animals and children.

21. When I was very little, I answered the door and and African American man was standing their. He asked if my Dad was home. I yelled up the stairs "DADDY, THERE'S A CHOCOLATE MAN AT THE DOOR" Turns out it was one of his old Navy Buddies. I will never live that one down.

22. Ever since I was healed from my dairy allergy, I am an ice cream a-holic. My a favorites are tillamook chocolate chip mint, and Dreyers Chocolate. I am also a big fan of sour cream and cheese!

23. I still can't stand the taste or smell of milk

24. I have been dreaming of a little girl since I was 10 years old. I began praying for her when I was 14. When I was 15, God gave me her name. I still dream about her

25. I started telling my Mom I would adopt a little girl from China when I was 5 years old. I told her God told me I would in a dream.

26. When I went to China on a mission trip in 2004, I was prophecied over me that I would be back and leave with a new member of my family

27. As a kid I played two sports and two instruments: Soccer & Swimming, Piano and Clarinet

28. I have lived in the same house since I was 3 weeks old. I've lived other places breifly for school, or as a live in nanny but mostly, here.

29. I sponsor a little girl from Rwanda named Seraphine. I really want to go meet her someday through a program the ministry offers

30. I love shopping for baby clothes

31. I hate excercise but always feel better about myself when I do.

32. I'm not afraid of spiders, snakes, or many other little critters. Except tarantulas. Those things are scary.

33. I am slightly afraid of the dark. No, Seriously. I am.

34. I'm really bad about putting some of the kids I babysitt to bed on time. Only because the babies go to bed really early and I want to spend quality time with the older kids. I enjoy their company.

35. I have been in 2 car accidnets. It very easily could have been 5 but God seriously protected me from 3 of them. My Mom was on her way to pick me up or had just dropped me off at a babysitters each time. Every time my parents were told if a child had been in my carseat, the would not have made it.

36. I use to pray for a "normal" sister because both of mine are developmentally delayed. Now I feel blessed to have them as sister for who they are. But, I still grieve not having a typical sisterly bond.

37. My Mom also has learning disabilities and is bipolar. I have had amazing role models come in and fill the gaps my Mom wasn't able to but, I still really wish I could have had a typical mom and I still cry about this. No matter how amazing these women are, when it comes down to it I am NOT their daughter, I cannot call any time of day or night, and they will not drop everythign for me. Their families always come first (as it should be). I'm still learning to seek God FIRST.

38. I have had the same phone number for EVER! And my cell phone # is the same as when I first got a cell phone.

39. I'm really attracted to guys with brown hair and blue eyes

40. I am a messy person unless the person I live with is really messy, then I become a neat freak. Ask my first college roommate : )

41. I'm a night owl. I love staying up until 2-3 am and sleeping until 11 am.

42. I love scrapbooking

43. I love naps.

44. My first Major was Elementary education

45. I am a licensed massage practicioner

46. I like to read in the shower. Seriously.

47. I like long, HOT showers and I HATE to be disturbed. Nothing worse then your DAD nocking on the door when your in the shower.

48. God told me in early November my sister was going to be pregnant. She got pregnant about mid to late November. He also told my nephew would be delayed to some capacity. He also told me another bit of personal information reguarding my nephew that I will keep confidential.

49. I have consistently dream about a specific sibling of mine dying. It's really freaky and I pray every night God would protect me from those dreams.

50. I also tend to have a "6th sense" about when people die. When I was 7 I woke up and told my Dad his grandma said goodbye. 5 minutes later her got the call.... I read a book about a boy with C.F. that died when he was 15. I was convinced Andrew would die when he was 15. He did. All day on July 2nd. I was constantly thinking about my Grandma and Grandpa. I was edgy and annoyed that I had to work. I really wanted to get off early "Just because" On my way home I got the call grandpa had passed 45 minutes earlier. The night Andrew died, his brother and I went swimming. My Mom was late picking us up. We began to walk home. Both of us looked up at the stars at the same time, and looked at each other, we said "thinking about ANdrew" and we expressed sadness to each other. He died at about that same moment. we found out when we dropped him off at his grandpa's house.

51. I work well under pressure. It's why I am the ultimate procrastinator.

52. I am a paparrazzie. I love to take pictures.

53. I get a kick out of dressing up my Dog for special occasions.

54. I like to bike ride. My new favorite thing is too take my nephew in a bike seat or carrier.

55. i really like veggie tales and know many of their songs. One of my favorites is "God is bigger than the boogie man" sung by Junior asparagus

56. Pudding still makes me sick.

57. The highest ranking spiritual gift for me is hospitality. Followed by wisdom, then knowledge.

58. I often doubt God answers prayers for my personal life. I know he DOES but, it's a stuggle. Perhaps I just don't take NO very well or NOT right NOW?

59. When my sister gave birth to a healthy blue eyed, brown haired baby, I felt somewhat betrayed by God. I felt like he gave my dream to her (their is a history here.... It often seems like she gets what I want as a result of my parents or grandparents). I took me awhile to realize I did NOT want what she has...I want to bring a baby into this world intentionally, with a devoted and loving mother AND Father, and with means to be home with it and care for it.

60. My favorite book is Esther. God has really spoken to me throught the phrase "for such a time as this" I belive I was created for "such a time as this".

61. I want to go snorkling in Australia for my honey moon (whenever that is!) and I REFUSE to go to Hawaii.

62. I bown with my right hand

63. I've always been and avid tooth brusher. I use to walk around the house with my tooth brush all the time. It drove my Mom crazy. I hate having dirty teeth.

64. I have a high risk of having twins because I apparently sometimes ovulate on both sides (this being proven because I have had ovarian cysts while on my period, technically not possible since ovulation is suppose to be over at this point in a woman's cylce).

65. I also have high probablity of having difficulty conceiving since I have endometriosis. Luckily, the caught it early and effects may be reversed by the time I want kids (or rather can have kids, I'd love kids now but frankly, am waiting for a precious jewel to be place on my left 3rd finger)

66. I have a very lower pain tolerance for some things and very high pain tolerance for others.

67. I get chronic migraines, so does my Mom.

68. I have always wanted a pot bellied pig. I still do.

69. I love to read. Especially cheesy christian romance novels, and old "settlement" books.

70. I have a love hate relationship with school. When I'm out for more than a month I go crazy. Once I start again I can't wait to finish.

71. I went to a private Christian univeristy for 2 years. I really miss it.

72. My best friend and I are 15 days apart. Our Moms were best friends before we were ever thought of. She knows me the best.

73. My grandma started taking me to church. If we stayed the night at her house Sat. night, we went to church on Sunday. Then, she took us out to our choice restaruant. I loved this one on one time. When I was 11 I began going because I really like church, not for the happy meal after.

74. My favorite Christmas present was my first Guinea pig. I begged for one when I discovered them by my 3rd grade class pet. If I couldn't have a real pig, this is what I wanted. I was so dissappointed and thought I was a bad girl when Santa didn't bring one. Once all the excitment died down, I suddenly heard a squeeling. I was confused and my Mom said to look in the kitchen behind the couch. Under a sheet was my pig., Cage and all.

75. My favorite boy name is Jedidiah Moses.

76. My favorite clothes always come from Old Navy or Gap (discounted at the outlet malls)

77. I have been known to rescue many animals including : a litter of feral kittens, two golden retreiver puppies, various birds, a shrew, a baby rabbit, and so on.

78. I hate wearing High Heals. They always hurt my feet. But, I get the appeal. they sure make you feel glamorous

79. I am still bitter that wal mart moved here and destroyed my small town home.

80. I did not know that I'm not really native american until I was 12 because I always thought my grandpa was my biological grandpa. I found out he wasn't by accident and I was furious. Even though my Mom has no desire to know her real father, I'd really like to meet him.

81. When I was a kid, I had naturally curly hair.

82. I'm really good at picking out animal names. Some of them have been: Kalika, Soot, Smudge, Gizmo and Kylana. I just like unusual a names. Not to say I haven't had some non originals like : Kelsey, Oreo, or Tiger.

83. My first cat I named Shelby. Everyone thought it was a girl. It turned out it's testicles were retained. I quickly bought a blue color and changed the name to Sheldon. This cat later decided it wanted to live with our lesbian neighbor. She adopted him and took him with her when she moved

84. We have two retention ponds in our neighborhood and I have been known to swim in them (when I was very young)

85. People make best against how long it will take for me to sprain/strain/break/fracture my ankle...again.

86. I graduated High school with some of the same kids I went to kindergarten with.

87. I am forming many opinions about child rearing: Including NOt circumcising, not immunizing, homeschooling, cloth diapering, organic feeding, and more.

88. I have been a live in nanny.

89. I have never been able to grow my hair past my shoulder blades. I'm working on that now.

90. I love to fly and travel.

91. I had been to China and Korea before I had ever been to Canada, even though we live only about 2.5 hrs. from it's border.

92. I've eaten pigs heart (an proceeded to vomit)

93. I loved going to the Korean bath houses.

94. My senior yeare the teachers decided to strike. It did not end until October. We normally graduate about June 6th but this year it was July 9th. I was in Korea during my graduation ceremony.

95. If all of my Moms pregnancies ahd been healthy, I would have been the 4th child of 7. I would have had 1 more baby brother, and 2 more older siblings.

96. I love smallville and E.R. I'm going to cry when it's all over.

97. The ONLY celebrity "crush" I have had (including boy bands) was on Dean Cain. I came home EVERYDAY from 7th grade and watched Louis and Clark, The new adventures of superman" before doing my homework.

98. I should be doing homework and not this.

99. My favorite colors change all the time. For a long time it was yellow. Now, I really like earthy green tones. My MOMS favorite color is Violet, NOT mine. But I love my name.

100. I pray for my future husband every day. I also pray for my children.

101. I am REALLY hoping to get a promotion available in April

102. I'm kind of bad about complaining and whining. I really need to work on that.

103. I am addicted to surfing various blogs!

Sleeping Beauty!

This is my "niece" Jaelynn. Isn't she adorable? Her Mommy (my cousin) gave me permission to enter this adorable photo in a photo contest at:

http://www.5minutesformom.com/4380/win-a-new-bedroom-set

The winner gets a bed set which I KNOW Jaelynn would LOVE. She is the biggest sweet heart and calls me :Aunty VIIIIIIIIILet! She so deserves it. She has had a rough last few years. Her Mommy and Daddy seperated. Then Mommy moved out of state and she bounced back and forth betweeen states every 4 months. Finally, she remained with Mommy, and then a step Dad was introduced. And just last week she became a big sister. Jae-Jae takes it all gracefully but, I know something like a pretty bedset would make her room at mommies feel extra special, and make her feel special too!

Anyway, in the pictures she fell asleep watching a movie in 3D, and had her 3D glasses still on! She is also snuggling with a Bunny that is eating a carrot. She would love the Lilly Rose Bedroom set, and I know it would make her feel even more like a Princess (and this girl loves her Princesses! I must admit I saw the contest on another bloggers site and decided to enter myself. I feel "sorta" guilty. But, her picture was adorable as well, and her daughter deserves it just as much so..... not TOO guilty. I just think Jaelynn deserves a shot at this bedset! Don't worry, I won't be offended if you enter (although the deadline is TOMORROW!).

ASHLYNN IS HERE!!!

I texted my cousin complaining that she didn't call me back yesterday like she said she would. Well, she called me today to say that she was in LABOR. The tried stopping it a day or so before and it worked for about 24 hrs. They decided i they gave her another shot, contractions would probably just start again after it wore off and the risks of continuous shots out weighed the risks of giving birth. 12 hours later my cousin has a beautiful, healthy, 5pd 13 oz, 19 inch beautiful baby girls with a HEAD FULL OF HAIR!!!

This babies birthday is so fun! She was born exactly 5 years and 5 days after her big sister.

She was born exactly 21 years after my little sister

She was born 16 days after my 1st cousin Joshua

She was born 2 years and a couple days after my 2nd cousin Erin.

She is EXACTLY 14 months older than my Nephew!!!!

We now have 4 girls in our family born in Oct. all, their names ending in "N".... Shannon, Jaelynn, Erin, Ashlynn.

How to afford adoption: By Russ

Several months ago I stumbled across this: http://thevoiceofadventure.blogspot.com blog. It is a family who has one biological child, one child adopted at age 7 from Guatemala, and one toddler recently home from China. Her husband, Russ, posted the below information on affording an adoption. While some of it was way over my head, I was able to get the gist of it and was excited about it!

$$$ FREE ADOPTION MONEY $$$

How You Can Afford To Adopt

(written by Angel's husband Russ)

I know. I know. I know. Husbands are to be seen and not heard, but I enter the blogosphere bearing good news to many who fear the cost of adoption. So many times when people inquire about our adoption, they express their desire to adopt as well as their doubts that they could ever cover the cost. As such, Angel has asked me to lay out how almost everyone has access to at least $13,000 – $18,500 to cover adoption costs – FREE MONEY! Also, I’ll talk about how to get as much of that money up front to minimize any need to take on debt.

First of all…what do I know about this stuff? In addition to having gone through the adoption process, I have a background of tax planning and high net worth investment planning with Deloitte & Touché. That said, I must add the disclaimer that I have been out of the business for a while (4+ years) and before employing any ideas I write here, I would encourage you to speak to a current tax professional.

I’ve done my best to simplify this as much as possible, but it can get pretty complex in some cases. Please feel free to email us with any questions you have.

Boring stuff aside, let’s get to the good stuff.

Tax Credit vs. Tax Deduction:
First, let’s discuss the difference between a tax credit and a tax deduction because this causes confusion for a number of people and its important to understand this before we go any further. The most important note is that a tax credit is more beneficial as it reduces your tax liability dollar for dollar.

A tax deduction (e.g. mortgage interest) reduces your taxable income. In other words, someone who had taxable income $50,000 and had tax rate of 15%, they would pay $7,500 in taxes. If they had a $10,000 deduction, their taxable income would go to only $40,000 and their taxes would go to $6,000 (15% of $40,000). They would save $1,500 in taxes.

If they had received a tax credit instead of a deduction, they would have still had $50,000 of taxable income creating a tax liability of $7,500; however, the tax credit would reduce their tax liability dollar for dollar to where they would receive a $2,500 refund rather than paying taxes.

Question #1: Where does this money come from?
Answer: Your taxes and your company. Let’s break it down.

Source #1: Adoption Tax Credit ($11,000)

In 2007, the current tax laws will allow you to be fully reimbursed for up to 10,960 of qualified adoption related costs (most of you adoption costs are qualified) through the Adoption Tax Credit. A tax credit is more beneficial than a tax deduction. This credit is allowed in the year that the adoption is finalized, but can be limited for high income families ($165,000+).

Any expenses reimbursed by your employer do not qualify for the credit; however, most international adoptions will cost more than the Adoption Tax Credit and any employer reimbursement together so you will be able to receive both in full. See example #6 below for scenario where adoption costs are lower than the total of the employer reimbursement and Adoption Tax credit.

Source #2: Child Tax Credit ($1,000)

For each child, the current tax laws allow you to take another tax credit of up to $1,000 per child. This tax credit is not related to the adoption, but instead to the fact that you have a new child in your home. You can take this credit every year the child is a dependent in your home. This tax credit starts being reduced if your AGI (basically your income less retirement plan contributions, health insurance and student loan interest and a few other deductible items) exceeds $110,000 for families.

Source #3: Personal Exemption (appx. $825)

You receive a tax deduction (different from the tax credits we have shown above) of $3,300 for each person in your family. If you are in the 25% tax bracket, then your taxes would go down by $825 (25% of $3,300). To see which tax bracket you are in, find your taxable income off of last year’s tax return and compare to the table below.

Tax Bracket Taxable Income
10% 0 - 15,650
15% 15,650 - 63,700
25% 63,700 - 128,500
28% 128,500 - 195,850
33% 195,850 - 349,700
35% 349,700 and Up

Source #4: Charitable Deduction (appx. $500)

In most adoptions, part of the adoption cost involves a charitable donation to the orphanage, which is usually around $2,000. This can be treated as a charitable deduction for tax purposes. Again, if you are in the 25% tax bracket, you may receive a benefit of $500 (25% times $2,000).
Source #5: Employer Contribution ($0 - $5,000)

Many employers today will reimburse a portion of your adoption costs. Most employers reimburse between $1,000 and $3,000; however, some are even more generous. Check with your human resources to see whether your company provides this benefit. This benefit is not taxable for income tax; however, you will pay social security and medicare taxes out of it (7.45%).

Source #6: State Tax Benefits ($0 - ???)
Some states offer tax incentives for adoption as well. These benefits differ by state and may be limited to in-state adoptions, so you will need to check locally for more information. I can confirm that Texas does not offer incentive most likely due to Texas not having a state income tax.

Question #2: How do I get the money when I need it?
Answer: Adjust how much tax is withheld from your paycheck. Most people think they have to pay these taxes up front and then wait for a return. This causes a cash flow problem because you don’t have the cash to pay for the adoption. Waiting to get a return is not always necessary. You can get the money up front to use toward the adoption.

You now know that you get to pay fewer taxes so start having less taken out of your paycheck in the year you expect to complete the adoption. First you need to figure out how much tax you expect to owe in the year you will complete the adoption. Then work with HR or a tax professional to determine how much tax to take out of your paycheck to meet your new lower tax liability. Take the money that you’re saving in taxes each month and apply it toward your adoption expenses.

Your personal situation (adoption timing and income level) can greatly impact the usefulness of this strategy, so as with any tax strategy, you want to know what you’re doing. I’m happy to talk with anyone wanting more information.

Example # 1: (No Employer Contribution)
Sammy and Dora expect to complete an adoption in 2007 and they will have taxable income of $100,000. As such, they had planned to pay taxes of about $18,000 and were having $1,500/mo taken out of their paychecks. Now they know that they will get the tax benefits highlighted above and their tax liability will go down by almost $13,500 to only $4,500. As such, they should have no more than $375/mo taken out of their paychecks. This will save them $1,125/mo that they can use toward the adoption. If they needed to be even more aggressive, they could reduce their tax withholding to zero until completion of the adoption and then pay enough to ensure that they pay in $4,500 by year-end; however, this can be a bit more risky.

Example #2: (Employer Contribution)
The scenario is the same as in example #1 except that Sammy’s employer offers adoption reimbursement of $3,000. They can actually use this reimbursement to reduce the amount of tax withholding they take out also. Sammy and Dora will still owe $4,500; however, they can use the employer reimbursement to pay for $3,000 of that tax liability. Now they can pay $3,000 of their taxes when they receive the employer reimbursement and pay the remaining $1,500 of taxes through payroll deduction. This means that they will need to only take $125/mo toward taxes out of their paychecks – saving an additional $250/mo for a total of $1,375/mo that they can apply toward the adoption costs.

Example #3: (Adoption Completes in 2008)
The scenario is the same as in example #1 except that the adoption isn’t expected to complete until next year. Sammy and Dora should not adjust their taxes for 2007 as they will not receive any of the tax benefits or employer reimbursement in this year. Instead, they should plan to employ their strategy next year when the adoption is expected to complete.

On a side note, if you expect your adoption to complete at the very end of this year and there is possibility of it extending into the next year, you will need a contingency plan. Since, you only receive the benefits in the year that you complete the adoption, you may want to consider paying in taxes monthly or arrange to borrow money, if needed, at year-end to pay taxes if the adoption does not complete in time. You will be able to use your tax benefits in the next year to pay back your debt.

Example #4: (Lower Income Scenario)
This scenario is the same as Example 2; however, Dora decided to leave her job this year and made no income leaving only Sammy’s taxable income of $50,000. Their expected tax liability has now dropped to $6,750. They still expect to receive tax benefits this year in the amount of $13,500 and employer benefits of $3,000; however, that is significantly more than the taxes they expected to pay. Unfortunately for them, the government will not allow you to take more of the tax credit than you owed in taxes this year. Any amount that they don’t get to take this year can be taken in future years though.

As such, this year they will only receive the total employer benefit ($3,000) and tax benefits equal to $6,750 plus the child tax credits ($1,000). They were planning to withhold taxes from their paycheck of appx. $550/mo; however, they now know that they will receive the tax benefits above. In this case, they should reduce their payroll tax deduction to zero saving $550/mo. that they can apply toward adoption expenses. Because they only received $7,750 of tax benefit in this year, they will have lower taxes next year (2008) also by $5,750 (total benefits of $13,500 less amount received in 2007 of $7,750).

Example #5: (High Income Scenario)
If Sammy and Dora make significant income (as deemed by the IRS), they may receive reduced tax benefits from the tax credits and the personal exemption, which “phase out” at higher income levels. However, they would still benefit from the charitable deduction and employer reimbursement. They should meet with a tax professional to best understand the amount of benefit they should expect to receive.

Example #6: (Lower Adoption Costs)

Let's assume the same situation as scenario #2; however, Sammy and Dora's adoption costs total only $8,000. In this case, Sammy and Dora would receive the child tax credit ($1,000), additional personal exemption ($825), charitable deduction ($500), the employer reimbursement ($3,000); however, they would only receive the Adoption Tax Credit in the amount of the total adoption cost ($8,000) less any employer contribution ($3,000). In this case, Sammy and Dora would receive $5,000 of the available $10,960 adoption tax credit. Yes, Sammy and Dora would actually come out ahead by $2,325 (total benefits of $10,325 less the adoption cost $8,000). Of course, we know that this will quickly be consumed by food, diapers, toys, clothes, etc., but it still helps.

Example #7: (Adoption of Domestic Special Needs Child)

If in example #6, the child that Sammy and Dora is adopting domestic and deemed to have special needs, then they are entitled to the entire adoption tax credit of $10,960 even though their adoption costs are lower. This would provide Sammy and Dora an additional $5,960 compared to Example #6.

The definition of special needs is determined by the child's state; however, the definition considers the child's ethnicity, age, whether part of sibling group and medical needs as special needs factors.

CONCLUSION
I know this sounds fairly complex. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have or leave a comment with your e-mail address. We are happy to help in any way we can.

Russ

At least I'm sorta popular

Apparently 694 people in the U.S. have the name Violet Williams

Apparently 99,238 people have the name Violet

Apparently 2, 134, 383 people have the last name Williams and apparently, it is the 3rd most common last name! Sheesh! Well, at least I get to change mine someday :)

I guess I will have to work at getting even more original names for my kids.

Pre-Term Labor

My cousin and her unborn baby Ashlynn need prayer! Quin went into pre-term labor today (about 4 weeks early). She started having contractions about 15-20 minutes apart. By the time she got to the hospital (her Dr. was in a meeting) they were 5 minutes apart! She was 1 cm. dialated. My cousin was worried because Ashlynn wasn't moving much. They gave her a shot to stop contractions. It didn't make her feel to good but, it did do it's job!

She had the same experience with her now 5 year old daughter Jaelynn. Pre-term labor started about the same time, they stopped it, and a week later Jaelynn make her debut at about 5pds.

Ashlynn needs AT LEAST another week to get bigger and stronger but, preferably another 2 or 3 weeks! And purely selfish reasons for her not coming yet, Jaelynn's birthday party is on Saturday. She just would not understand if Mommy went into labor and they had to cancel her party, OR if everyone gave all their attnetiont to the new baby. Jae so deserves her special day! Also, I'm flying down on the 21st. I wanted to be their when Ashynn came! I guess now I don't have to worry about her coming after I leave but, still!

Mostly, please pray for a HEALTHY baby and SAFE delivery when the day does come!