[ahfdragonfly]

DH & I had always talked about having children. After 2 years of no birth control, we started to pursue infertility stuff, & 2 years later & a failed IVF, we decided to take a step back & re-evaluate. Our ultimate goal was to be parents, and to raise & love children, not to be pregnant. I started looking into adoption before we got the pregnancy test back from the IVF. In my heart, I knew I wasn't pregnant. It took Mike a few weeks to recover from the IVF trauma, but having another goal in mind really helped me recover. My then bosses wife is a therapist & their 2 boys are adopted from the Phillipenes, so we met with them to discuss adoption options, as well as other couples we know who have adopted domestically. (Domestic was our original direction.) After some research & talking to various agencies, I knew I couldn't put my heart out for more risk that is often associated with domestic adoptions. I had had a couple 4-H-ers come through my club that were Korean adoptees, so I was kind of familiar with what they had gone through, and I knew that I would always have them & their families to talk to. I talked to a local agency that works with Korea about the process, age of children, time line, health of the children, & all of the things that go along with a Korean adoption. The escort option was also a big factor. We just couldn't put our lives on hold for weeks / months at a time to travel as often as some other countries require. I knew it was the right fit. The children are loved, the program is stable, the process was fairly easy, the cost reasonable, and the end result is a beautiful, loveable child in your arms. Knowing that she (he) will be yours, and not always looking over your shoulder, wondering if there is going to someone comming to take your / their child back, was a major factor for us. Wanna see me in a rubber room? If you survive trying to take my baby away from me, I would be in one. We needed the guarantee that we would have a child who was legally available for adoption, at the time of referral, and especially at the time of placement.

Will we adopt again? I don't know. After everything we went through to get to "here", I'm taking all the time I can to give all of me to CJ. If God wants me to have more children, then I guess He'll have to let me know when that time comes. Ane yes, it would be from Korea again. If a sibling becomes available? (That is so cool Jen!) I will move Heaven & Earth to bring that child home.

Feel free to use anything here & contact me if you need anything else, Mo.

Millie