Hello and welcome to our blog! We hope to use this site as our journal while waiting and a place for everyone to get an update once we get our referrals. Below is a "brief" update of how we got here.
Dave & I began the adoption process almost a year ago and have had so many changes since. We finally chose an agency and signed on with them in September of 2005 after a few months of research. That week happened to be my last at Cox Communications after 16 years! After starting our homestudy and meeting some "veterans" of adoption we were more knowledgeable and in being so found out our agency was not accredited in Russia which is a very important question to ask before signing on with an international adoption agency. In October we dropped the agency and had to start all over. Our homestudy was moving along so we weren't completely back to square one but we could not find an agency we wanted to work with. I was knowledgeable now and it made all the difference in choosing an agency. Too many constraints or too much money were the obstacles until we found the Frank Adoption Agency in N. Carolina. Finally!! Christmas week our paperwork was sent and we were moving forward again. During this time I was attending seminars and workshops, reading everything I could about IA (international adoption) children and talking to people who had already adopted. Much of it was scary; there are many unknowns in adoption, but everyone was madly in love with their children and knew they were meant to be a part of their family.
I knew we were making the right decision, but where to adopt from wasn't an easy decision. People ask (or are afraid to ask), "why Russia? Isn't China easier, especially since you're more familiar with the process? Why not here?" None of our decisions have been easy; from what country, which agency do we trust, can we do this? and how will this affect our family?
EE (Eastern Europe) was always my first choice so I checked just about every country in Europe to see about their adoption options. China was out of the question because from the beginning I wanted to adopt 2 at the same time which China does not currently allow. We hope our children will find comfort in each other during what will be a very scary time for them and we want them to always have each other. We have so much to share there is enough for two!
Why not here?
Yes, domestic adoption was another option I looked into at great length. It just wasn't for us at this time. It's a great way to create your family, but for us right now...our children are in an orphanage waiting.
So we narrowed it down to Russia and Kazakhstan. There are over 600,000 children in Russian orphanages. 600,000 children. Not all of them are available for adoption. Often times children are left at an orphanage because it is the best place for them to be until their parents can care for them. These 2 countries are rich in culture and history. Kazakhastan is south of Russia and borders China. It would be about a 20-24 hour trip to that country and the adoption laws require you to stay for about 6 weeks or leave after a week or 2 and come back depending on the region or your situation. Can you imagine my husband on that flight? And then a 6 week stay because coming home and going back is out of the question? Anyway, adoptions in Kaz are limited right now so with that Kaz is not an option. During our homestudy process Russia closed IA adoptions for a few months (long story) so this caused some anxiety also.