The story of how our family was formed is very much a part of who I am both personally and professionally. I had known at a very young age that I was not going to be able to have children biologically. (At least not without major help in the form of egg donor/ IVF treatments) After my husband and I were married for about 4 years, we decided to look into the whole process of fertility, and I went to a specialist. At that point we discovered that there were many more complications than I first thought. It was not impossible, just more risk to me involving surgery, still with no guarantees.
Adoption has always been a part of my life. When I was 5 years old my parents adopted the son of a close friend of the family after his mother and grandmother passed away within two weeks of each other. My brother was 14 years old at the time, and had strong memories of his biological family, but he was always my parent's son, and my brother. He loves us, and we love him just as much as if he was biologically a part of us. As it turns out, when my brother got married he and my Sister-in-Law also chose to form their family through adoption. They have two wonderful children, a daughter (adopted domestically) and a son (adopted from China). They are also in the process of adopting another little boy from China.
Because of my family history, adoption just seemed like the natural way for my family to be formed. I had a wonderful brother and a beautiful 4 year old niece through adoption. It didn't seem strange or unusual for me at all. What I didn't think about initially was how my husband would feel about it. At first he was unsure and definitely had reservations. He was worried about the cost, and of course the whole uncertainty of the process. We then, thanks to our home study provider, joined an adoption support group. Through this group we were able to dispel many of the myths surrounding adoption, and were able to finally get on the same page.
Two months after that first support group meeting, we got a phone call from a girl who lived in Rockland County, NY. She was 7 months pregnant, and looking to place her child. Little did we know at the time that this "one" child was actually two. Two of the sweetest, funniest, most amazing blessings in our life. They, along with their birth mother, have changed my life forever.
