Children bring something to your life that is hard to replicate. Sure, they sometimes bring frustration, sadness and irritation, but there is also an overwhelming sense of completion in the love they give to your life. Some couples elect not to have biological children, born of their own loins, but instead look to child adoption as the solution to the problem, for the overwhelming number of kids without a home or family. Some are not able to have children, yet still want to feel that happiness and completion. Both want to nurture and love a child completely.

The adoptive family unit has garnered a huge amount of media attention in the past year. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's adoption of two children, each from different countries, has fueled a surge in popularity and awareness for the plight of orphaned and abandoned children. Madonna was another superstar looking to adopt a child in need of a family. Though this seems to be a trend in Hollywood, adoptions have been occurring for thousands of years.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as free adoptions. They take time and money, and often adoptions cost more than the average couple is able to spend. No one is making money on the exchange happening during a child adoption, but there are expenses such as traveling, especially if it is to a foreign country. There are fees for the paperwork to be paid to the adoption agency, as well as the cost for a lawyer.

State adoptions are fairly common for the average infertile couple because it usually allows them to be foster parents first. Some families regularly foster children whom they later fully embrace though foster care adoptions. This is a true blessing for those children who may have been abused or who have physical handicaps. It takes a special person to be a foster parent, and those children lucky enough to be placed with them are truly grateful. The foster parents looking to adopt their foster child believe they are the ones most grateful for the child or children who have come into their lives.

Hopefully, the world will continue to see child adoption numbers rise. There are far more children in the system than there are homes for them, at this point. With growing awareness about the plight of these children, many people are stepping forward to open their hearts, lives and homes to abandoned, orphaned or abused children. Each child placed in a loving home is one more star on the humanity walk of fame.