The New Year

                        Hello again blog-fans,
        After two weeks off, I am glad to be writing again. Whether you are glad I'm writing again is an entirely different matter. In any case, it's good to be back, and I am thrilled that I get to spend more quality time with you.
        You may have noticed a change to the look of our blog, but if not, I am going to tell you about it anyway. At the urging of some of our most devoted fans, we decided that it would be appropriate to add a widget to the blog that keeps track of our overall progress in fundraising. The "Chip-in" widget displays only the money that was donated to us via this blog. Some of our fans had the brilliant idea that perhaps, only showing what had been donated via the blog might mislead some of our readers. In truth, we have raised almost $9,000 thus far, most of which has not been donated via our blog's widgets. Our fans suggested that by also showing the total amount of money raised, as opposed to simply showing the "Chip-in" amount, we were more likely to engender donations, as people may be more inclined to donate if they see that we are making substantial progress. To those readers who suggested this idea, thank you, as we think it is a brilliant one! Once more, let me reassure you, I am not mentioning this because I am begging for your money, but because this blog was created to be a transparent journey into the world of adoption. If this post inspires you to donate, that is terrific, but if not, simply enjoy (as much as you can) my writing, and consider it my gift to you.
       The biggest news that I have to relate this week is in reference to an event that occurred early this week. I imagine that most readers of this blog are unfamiliar with the incentives that states and the national government issue to attract potential parents who are considering adoption. Specifically, the IRS has, in the past, issued a tax credit to adoptive families to help them defray the cost of adoption. Those incentives were set to expire on January 3, 2013. Given the fiscal cliff that was looming, Heather and I assumed that the tax credit would fall to the wayside. This was a discouraging, if not unexpected thought. However, somewhere in the bowels of the Capitol, little elves must have been working to send Heather and me (and other prospective parents) a gift. As of yesterday, Congress signed into law a permanent extension of this tax credit. The credit is worth $12,700! When Heather found out about this (she is very up-to-date on adoption issues), she immediately sent me an email with the details. I did my best to cover up my ecstasy in order that I might focus on teaching for the rest of the day. I'm not sure if I succeeded, but I think my students still managed to learn something. Anyway, back to the point. Although this tax credit only takes effect once an adoption is attempted (states have varying laws about how long a birth mother has to keep her child once it is born), in effect, this tax credit is giving us another almost $13,000 dollars towards our adoption. In essence, with this credit, we are almost 2/3 of the way to the approximately $30,000 we will need to complete our adoption. I estimate that it will not be more than another five or six months before we are able to be listed as a waiting family (meaning that birth mothers can choose us)!!! Having said that, I know we have a long way to go, and we won't be able to get there without more help from generous readers like you, but we are a giant step closer than we were, which has been cause for celebration in the Will household. At the same time, I would like to ask, on a very personal level, if there is anything you can do to contribute towards our adoption, we would be forever grateful. Even if you can only donate $1, that would be $1 closer to our goal. I hate having to say something like that, as I don't want you to think I am only here to take your hard-earned money. I'm not. But I am excited by this news, and I know we need help, and you, Generous Reader, are the only one I can turn to for help (I am including our families under the title Generous Reader, so as  not to downplay how amazingly supportive our families have been). Even if you only consider donating, I would like to thank you for at least spending time thinking about us and our journey.
             I assume by this point in the post that some of you are asking yourselves where my glib and humorous style has disappeared to. Rest assured, dear reader, it will return, and with a vengeance, but for this week, I have been so focused on the exciting news regarding the tax credit, that I have been unable to drum up a pithy (well, not really pithy, given how verbose I tend to be, even in a post like this, where I am striving for concision) and fun-themed post. Do not fear. Next week, I will return to my usual tone, and we will once again resume the dance of author/reader in the setting that you are most familiar with. Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks for the continued, and continual support.

Much love,
-H&J-