Hometown Madison - January & February 2016

was the beginning days of the internet.) Not only did they have color
pictures but they also had pictures of children playing outside. That
was practically unheard of. This was an American agency that offered
foreign adoptions in a place called Kazakhstan. I had never heard of
that before but it sounded like it was somewhere in Russia. I soon
discovered it was one of the countries which developed after the
USSR broke apart.
While I was continuing my research, Kevin headed up the stairs
to say his usual, “Whatcha doin?” I explained about the company
and the adoption process with excitement. As he began to walk back
downstairs he had one question: “How much?” After I shared the
details he replied with, “In life, everyone has various seasons and this is
not our season.” Just like a good submissive preacher’s wife I promptly
turned around and quickly e-mailed every reference on the page.
About ten minutes later I received a joyful response. The woman
who replied shared about a Christian agency out of Georgia that had
helped make her dreams come true. She gave me the name and
number and also shared that the husband and wife team had also
adopted two children from Kazakhstan themselves. I contacted
them the next day.
The company sent a package of information in January to start
working on and I worked diligently to get every “i” dotted and “t”
crossed. We sent our paperwork in hoping to meet all the requirements
for recommendation. February of 2001 was a long waiting
period, but towards the end of the month, our home-study agency
called and said that a couple had considered us for a domestic
adoption. I was filled with tons of questions and uncertainty.
We met the couple and emotions were flying like crazy. We were
so excited and I then I began to start examining the situation. I was
so confused and didn’t know which way to turn. I had already planned
a getaway with my best friend Tanya to the beach and Kevin said,
“Take off!”
14 • Jan/Feb 2016