Why Adoption?

   We get asked all the time why we decided to adopt instead of have children of our own and why we chose to adopt internationally and now I am about to explain. Adoption was always in my mind since I was younger, my parents had talked about adopting a child when my sister and I were in middle school but ended up not doing so. I also had a friend who's mom would foster children all the time and ended up adopting some of those children. So I grew up around the idea since a young age. Although when starting to think about a family adoption was not the first thing that came to mind, trying to conceive was. We planned to use a donor that looked like Kris and I would carry the baby, but life had different plans for us. I went to the OB to see about all this because I was having such erratic cycles so, predicting ovulation was nearly impossible. Turns out that wasn't my only problem, I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, and have a small tumor on my pituitary gland that is messing up all my hormones. We were devastated and didn't know what to do or think. I was put on some very harsh drugs that made me sick at first to see if they would help get me ovulating and regular. Unfortunately, none of them worked as the months went by. I was so upset and felt like less of a woman and it was tough to deal with at first. I knew I was meant to be a mother so why was this happening to me.

    Until I figured out life had a different plan for me, I wasn't meant to have babies I was meant to save a child and give it something it otherwise would never have. I knew right then and there that I was meant to adopt. Both of us spoke about it and Kris was right there with me and felt the same way I did about things. We jumped right into doing the research to adopt and I was immediately drawn to international adoption instead of domestic adoption. Why you may ask, because the kids in some of the poorer countries don't have much of a chance and some of the statistics are saddening. In some countries in Africa the children don't even live past 2 years old due to little to no medical help. It hurt me to read some of the statistics knowing some of the children would never leave the country, to get to live a better life were they will go to college one day, be able to go to a doctor when they need too, and know were their next meal would come from. So, here we are today on a mission to adopt internationally and not only change our lives but the lives of the children we plan to adopt (we are adopting two hopefully). That is what I tell the people that ask and couldn't be more proud to say it.