WHERE ARE THEY FROM?

One of the most commonly asked questions we get asked once people know our children are adopted, where are they from?

When I think of the friends and acquaintances we have who have journeyed the road of adoption, the answers and reasons for where they decided to adopt from are all different and wonderful.

As mentioned in the about me section I spent many years as a “foster child”. I experienced the good, bad and many times traumatic of being in the “system”, and for that reason we decided to pursue adoption through Child and Family Services. I knew from an early age that I would one day have a large family, and that adoption would be a big part of that.
During our first date, I said to my now husband that I wanted 9 children ( all girls), and that adoption was something that was very much on my heart. (I should note, we were friends for awhile before our first date, even still the look on his face was hilarious) He didn’t run at the idea, instead we continued to have conversations about it during our dating experience and first year of marriage. As our conversations progressed, one of the common themes surrounded the idea that these children will one day be adults in our immediate community.

I am a HUGE believer that every child, no matter the country, race, ethnicity or religion deserves a family, and they need people who will open their hearts, and homes. When I first thought of adopting at age 8 or 9 , it was partly to do with a world vision commercial. I remember the hideous old couch I was sitting on when the commercial came on, and though I didn’t know what it meant at the time, I distinctly remember saying ” I want that”. I spent many years thinking I would go live and die in Africa, adopting child after child.

Years passed after that particular event, and I was in and out of foster homes for a number of reasons I will touch on in a later post. I watched children become youth, and youth, like myself, age out of the system never being adopted. I witnessed a devastating amount of rejection, anger, sadness and loss in others at a young age. I also experienced an incredible amount of love, compassion and sense of belonging to community. I honestly believe those experiences have propelled me and inspired me to embrace this journey. For our family, we look at it as, we have thousands of children in our own country who need homes, who need and deserve families. These children, these youth if not adopted by someone from our own country are not likely to be adopted at all and age out of the system. When they age out of the system, where are they to go??? Our thinking is when these children grow up, they will be a member of our society, working alongside us in the world.

Perhaps one day we will find ourselves diving into an international adoption ( I have heard some amazing experiences and love the beautiful families I know who have) For right now, our plan is to adopt again from Child and Family Services in our own province.

Have you ever checked in with your local Child and Family Services office to see what needs they have?

Embrace Your Hope

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