The Cash Adoption Story
              (Ariel was meant for us)
 

        Three years ago, I had to make a very difficult decision, to keep suffering from Endometriosis or have a hysterectomy and never have any biological children.  After years of suffering, I decided on the hysterectomy.  I was 28, single and didn’t have any prospects of marriage, let alone starting a family any time in the near future.  I had always wanted to adopt, so the decision was a little easier to make. 

        I went on my first date with my husband six days before my surgery.  I wasn’t looking for anything serious at that time in my life (actually I just thought I would get some flowers out of the deal).  Paul (my husband) was there for me through my surgery, the infection afterwards, and all of the difficult emotional times that came with my decision.  He never gave up on me or us.  We became engaged 4 months after our first date and married 1 year later.  We entered marriage knowing adoption or having a sergeant would be our only chance to have children (which we both desperately wanted). 

         Six months into our marriage, I decided I was ready to start the adoption process.  Even though Paul wanted children, he was apprehensive about the financial aspect of adopting.  I had also told him I would wait to start the process until we were married for a year.  I just couldn’t wait.  My desire to become a mom was an overwhelming force!  In the end, Paul agreed to start the process.  He was still very worried about the money, but I just kept saying, “It will all work out, because we are meant to be a family.”  I had faith that something would come along to help us pay for this adoption.  Luckily, Paul and I have wonderful parents that were willing to support our adoption journey emotionally as well as finically.  With their help, we were able to make our dream of becoming a family come true.

        Once the process started it was long and stressful.  It seemed like we were always redoing one document or another.  I’m not going to lie, the waiting sucks….but in the end it is worth all the tears and anticipation!  I can’t even count the hours we spent waiting by the phone for “the call”.  Little did we know that we would have to wait for two calls.  The first came about 2 months after we handed in our dossier.  We were headed to Russia, but not for another month and a half. 

        When we got to Russia and finally Novokuznetsk, we received information about our daughter.  We were surprised to find out she was older than we had requested.  Paul encouraged me to wait and see her before deciding anything, because we had made a pact that we would take the first referral that came along with or without health problems.  We knew in our hearts that the right child would be given to us and God did not let us down.  After seeing Ariel for the first time, we knew she was meant to be our daughter.  We were so amazed at how much she looked like us!  We couldn’t have “made” a more beautiful little girl.  After what seemed like a very short visit (only 4 hours) with our daughter we were headed for home.  Leaving her was the hardest thing we had to do, but little did we know just how long we would have to leave her for.  The orphanage is beautiful and the caretakers are very kind, so this helped ease some of the pain.  We knew she was well taken care of, but that wasn’t the same as having our daughter with us.

         The judge ended up going on an extended vacation, so we didn’t get the second call until 2 ½ months after our return to the states.  At times, it seems as if we would never return to get our daughter, but finally “the call” came and we were headed to Russia one week later. 

            Even though we had to wait almost exactly 3 months from meeting our daughter to bringing her home, I know there was a reason (I don’t know what that reason was, but someday I will).  Now that we are home and getting settled in, we can’t imagine life without Ariel.  Sure things are very hectic, unorganized, and sometimes extremely stressful, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.  We have a very spirited, independent little girl who is the apple of our lives.  The best thing about adopting is the pride you feel when you bring your little one home.  It still amazes me that after all that work, we finally have a daughter!  We enjoyed our agency and the adoption experience so much we will return in a few years for a son.  We can’t wait to do it all over again, even with all the ups and downs we experienced throughout the process.  That is all part of the wonderful experience of becoming a forever family and we have wonderful & funny stories to share with our daughter. 
 

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