Dear A Child Waits Folks,
I can't believe it's been over 2 years since Marat came
home from Kazakhstan! Every month I sit down and mail my bills, I think, "I
really need to sit down and write my story and express my appreciation to A
Child Waits for helping make my family a reality!"
But then life gets going and I put it off one more month. But as I write out
this final check to pay the balance in full, I find myself thinking I can't
put this off any longer! I want everyone who comes across your website searching
for hope to know that international adoption is possible and family dreams do
come true!
My story, well really it's our story, starts in the
fall of 2002, when it became apparent that it was time to pursue the adoption
that I had longed to complete but never felt the timing to be right. That fall,
it literally hit me like a ton of bricks...IT WAS TIME!
It all started innocently enough, a simple Internet
search on adoption agencies in Oregon that specialized in International Adoptions,
specifically Eastern Europe. The first website I came to proved to be very informational
and explained in detail how the process worked. Little did I know then that
what happened next would change my life forever! As I finished reading the information,
I noticed that on the menu bar there were actually photo listings of available
children, so I decided to look, thinking, "What could it hurt? It's not
like I'm going to adopt the first kid I see, right?" So I clicked on the
photo listing and looked through the little girls, all adorable children with
large bows in their hair. I then scrolled through the little boys and that was
when I fell in love! His picture was about halfway down the listing and he was
dressed in an adorable little green warm up suit, zipped clear to the top, the
quintessential soccer look (I coached varsity girls' soccer at the time). The
narrative and the sparkle in his eye, coupled with the innocent smile captured
my heart in such a way that I had called the adoption agency to find out information
on this adorable little boy. It was as if he immediately started tugging at
my heart and wouldn't stop until I committed to bring him home. A few phone
calls and a couple of weeks later I finally was able to find out his name, Marat,
and that was when, in my heart, I became a Mom!
Halloween 2003
I set a goal to raise all of the money needed to complete the adoption by spring, the end of April (2003). I took out a loan from my bank to pay the initial homestudy costs and was pleased to hear that A Child Waits also had a grant applied to Marat. Since he was 7 years old the likelihood of him being adopted was very small so there was a grant offered to help prospective parents out. What a blessing that was to learn that I would not have to worry about that portion of the costs! I made and sold handmade ceramic Christmas ornaments, held a spaghetti feed, and held yard sales all in hopes of raising the money for the adoption.
A Child Waits not
only helped out with the adoption grant, but the low interest adoption loan
program is the best deal by far for any prospective adoptive parent! At 5% over
a 5 year term, there was no other program like it! Knowing that I would be able
to receive that loan relieved so much of the stress during the fundraising time.
It's amazing that in two and a half years I have now written out my last payment
check to cover that loan.
To make a long story short, I reached my goal of funding my
adoption by the end of April and I traveled to Uralsk, Kazakhstan to pick up
Marat and begin our journey together as a family. It has been 2 years, 3 months
and 10 days since Marat came home and I can honestly say that he is the biggest
blessing in my life. I can't imagine my life without my son and with that thought;
I become forever grateful to A Child Waits Foundation
for helping make my family a reality.
Sincerely,
Sheri M. Treadwell
Proud Mom to Marat (adopted 8/18/03 in Uralsk, Kazakhstan)