the beginning ...

In the Fall of 2006 we made the decision to start our family through adoption. We researched our options and initially set our sights on Korea. We liked many things about their program: it had been around for a long time and there is a large network of Korean adoptees and their families in MN for support and lifelong connections. But toward the end of 2006 we began to hear of changes in Korea’s program which threatened to lengthen the time it took to receive a referral and bring your child home. We got nervous … so we jumped ship and went to another “tried and true” program which we also liked: China.

Like Korea, China’s program had also been around a long time and MN also has a large population of Chinese adoptees and their families to act as a network of support. 'This is it' we thought – this "stable" China program will lead us to our 1st child.

Stable, schmable. About 18 months into our official wait, it became very clear that the China program was changing before our eyes. It went from an expected 2 year wait for the referral of a child to what could very well be a 7 year wait for us (yes, I said 7 YEARS), along with everyone else who signed on in 2007 or later. I knew I had no desire to be 60 yrs old when I had my 1st child (ok, slight exaggeration).

As fate would have it, on a sunny Fall day in 2008, I went for a walk w/my dear friend Kate. We were having a pity party for ourselves since both our adoptions weren’t going as planned (she got caught in the 2008 Vietnam closing). During that walk we both decided to explore other options. She mentioned she had recently heard good things about the Korea program, that their slow down was over. That intrigued me … I went home, made some calls and next thing you know we were signed up with the Korea program!

We officially went on the wait list with Korea on Nov 10, 2008. We are open to either a boy or girl. We were originally told to expect a 6 month wait and shortly after, learned the wait could be up to 9 months. Hey, 9 months is nothing compared to the 7 years we faced with China!
Game on!

- S