Howdy!
We are Brett, Kristen, and Jasper. We want to share our adoption journey for all
those who want to know more and we want to take this opportunity to publicly thank
A Child Waits Foundation for their assistance
in helping us bring home our son.
On
November 11th, 2002, I was watching a show called "Life Moments" and
one of the stories was about a couple who were hosting 2 girls from Russia, in
hopes of adopting them. I thought this was a neat story and opportunity, and I
wanted to learn more! Little did Brett know what I was scheming. I called the
agency mentioned on the show and requested a packet of information. As it turned
out, they did not have the "camp" program locally for us to participate
in, but this was not necessary for an adoption. Now, little did I know at the
time, but today was a more special day for our future son.
A
few weeks later while searching on the internet for information on various adoption
agencies and information on adoption in general, I found a little 6 year old boy
in Krasnador, Russia. I contacted this agency (different from the one I first
inquired information from) and got more information. We decided to not pursue
this particular adoption opportunity. We found out that part of the adoption process
included approval from a social worker or a home study agency. I contacted one
and requested an application and information. About a month after watching the
show, we turned in our application for the home study. This was really an unsure
feeling, as we were concerned how we may be perceived as we aren't "conventional",
but we are still mostly normal. The biggest issue really is the financial aspect
of the entire adoption.
Another week
later, I found our child!!!!! A friend had referred me to a website about adoption
issues and while I was there, I noticed a link for a photo listing. I checked
out this photo listing and noticed it was for children from Asia. (I knew nothing
about Kazakhstan at that time, and figured that Asia just meant China.) Well I
began looking at boys on the listing and there was our child! Oh my gosh, my heart
went pitter patter and I knew he was our son!
I did not know anything about the agency, but my friend assured me they were ethical and reputable and so I called them for more information. They put me in touch with the closest coordinator, Susan. She told me the boy's name is Ermek and he is located in Kazakhstan (we later found out that he was in the Petropavlovsk region). She also told us that he is 7 years old and his birthday was November 11th, the day we began our journey. We were also informed that he had a repaired cleft palate.
Our agency put us in touch with another adoptive parent who had a child with a cleft lip and palate. We were able to get a lot of information and decided that the cleft palate was not an issue at all in regards to adopting our son. We knew we would just do what was necessary for any further correction of the palate that he might need.
Time went on as we collected the necessary approvals, paperwork and documentation needed for the US and Kazakhstan governments. At the end of May 2003, we got the call that it was our turn to travel. It seemed like it had been a very long wait, but when I look back at my earlier pregnancy, it certainly wasn't nearly as long or as painful.
Finally we traveled in July
and brought our son home on July 19, 2003. We have made so many great friends
who we now consider to be part of our family. The support and professionalism
from our agency was incredible. They made this a great adventure and our son has
put the cherry on top of it all!
We hope you have enjoyed this shortened version of our story, as adding a child to the family is a life long journey. Congratulations to all those before us who have added a child through adoption and good luck to all those who are trying to decide if adoption is right for them.