National Adoption Awareness Month - part 1

In light of National Adoption Awareness Month I wanted to post how I have been touched by adoption and how/why we chose China. I'm making the post a two-parter.

The hubster and I went through several years of infertility (surgeries, meds, a miscarriage and frustration). Shortly after I miscarried and Scott's parents passed away (another post) we moved. We were ready for a fresh start and had started discussing adoption. I had always been open to the thought of adoption, and we were ready to get off the infertility ride and pursue another path to build our family. Adoption was not our second choice, just a different path.

Just before Christmas in 1998 we sold our first home and moved to the neighboring town. Our new next-door neighbors were John and Mary (seriously, that's their names),who had their dossier in China and were waiting for their first child together. I'm not kidding when I say that from the moment I heard the words 'adopting from China' I knew. I'm not claiming to be psychic or have some epiphany - I just knew.

About a month after we moved, we discussed adoption again, this time including China in the conversation(s). We decided to give up the infertility meds and scheduled meetings (you know what I'm talking about - scheduled meetings). Guess what happened next? Yep, we were pregnant.

While pregnant, we were following John & Mary's journey to their daughter. They received their referral in July of 1999. I remember crying with Mary in her front yard looking at the face of their daughter, Hanna. A month later we waved them goodbye as they left to pick up their little girl. We checked in with their family regularly (obsessively) during their travels and decorated their front yard upon their return.

In October of 99, Brent arrived and we were overjoyed. I was also a little overwhelmed with what I now realize was post partum depression. It took me a good year or so to come out from that dark cloud. We then started discussing child number two and I was still convinced she/he was coming from across the pond. Scott, however, was a little hesitant. After much discussion (ahem, pestering and wearing Scott down) I started contacting adoption agencies. We (I) poured over the information, and to appease Scott, looked into every possible country. Eventually, he accepted my determination (stubborness) and we started the adoption process.

Fast forward a year, we moved again, switched agencies (yet another post) and put the paperwork on hold for a while. When we settled in our new house we picked up where we left off with the paperchasing. I was excited about the process, but to be honest, it took until our dossier was sent to China before Scott was felt the same way - that was in October 2004.

We received our referral in May of 2005. Since I've posted about her referral day before, I won't write in length about that again, except to say that seeing her face for the first time was a moment I will never forget. Yep, she was who we were waiting for - our beautiful daughter, Allison.