Journey to Katherine

Our journey for Katherine Mei Lia began in February 2005. I was at work and received a phone call from my husband, Joe. When I answered the phone, Joe asked me if I would be interested in adopting a child. I did not know what to say at first, because I did not think I had heard him correctly. He then explained that he wanted us to consider adopting child and becoming a forever family to another child.

We have one biological son, Matthew, who is the most wonderful son a parent could ever want. He is nineteen years old and has given us so many wonderful memories and filled our lives with incredible joy. I have always loved children, wanted more children, and have loved every moment of motherhood, but because of infertility problems, we were not able to have any other children. When Joe suggested that we pursue adopting another child, I was overwhelmed with excitement in the prospects of being able to experience being a mother to another child. I could not wait to get off of the phone and start the process. I immediately began researching Domestic adoption versus International adoption and seaching for an adoption agency.

Domestic adoption has become a very long, difficult process. More unwed mothers have chosen to keep their babies or will only allow the child to be adopted in an open adoption process, the waiting period can take several years, and the cost can be very expensive, not to mention the fact that because of the laws here, the natural parent/parents can change their mind and regain custody of the child which would be devastating to the adoptive parents. Before conceiving our biological son, we tried domestic adoption twice with both attempts ending in failure. In both cases the undwed mothers decided to keep their babies. This was a very painful process and not one I would want to pursue again.

For several years I have read about the little girls in China being abandoned and the number of children in orphanages in China in need of homes. I began researching Chinese adoption and learned that the Chinese people do love their children and the children are generally very healthy and are well taken care of in the orphanages or by foster families. The wait is not as long, the expense is resonable, most of the mothers of the children take care of their bodies and because of the poor economic conditions in the rural areas, the mothers do not tend to use drugs and/or alcohol.

We decided that because we already have a biological son and considering the large number of little girls that are abandoned in China, that our chances of adopting a little girl would be greater if we pursued adopting from China. (National Geographic did a wonderful documentary on "The Lost Girls of China" which gives an excellent description about the adoption journey and the conditions allowing for the numerous little girls available for adoption.)

The next decision to be made was to pick an adoption agency, so I began my research. I wanted to deal with an agency with an excellent reputation, one that was directly involved with Chinese adoptions,could communicate directly with the Chinese government and had offices located in China. My research led me to the Great Wall China Adoptions located in Austin, Texas. I made the phone call, answered some questions and waited for approval. After a few days, we were approved and the journey of lots of paperwork, preparation and waiting began. In March 2005, we attended an information meeting hosted by Great Wall Adoption and met several families who had adopted little girls through Great Wall Adoption. We were very impressed with the fact that they have offices located in China near the CCAA offices delt only with China adoptions and were very organized and open to all of our questions.

China is a very beautiful country with a very rich, ancient and impressive history.
My research for the history behind the huge population explosion which has resulted in the over-crowded orphanages, indicates that in the 1950's, Mao Tse-Tung urged his people to have lots of children to strengthen the country. The excessive population growth led to the government in the 1970's to be worried that China would be unable to feed all of her citizens. This resulted in the Chinese government implementing the One Child Policy in 1979. The goal of this policy was to keep China's population below 1.3 billion by the year 2000. Today, China is home to over 1.2 billion people. Couples who violate the One Child Policy are subject to fines equal to three year's salary, community ostracism, and possible prison time.

Baby boys are more valued in Chinese society because boys carry on the ancestral name, inheritance laws pass property on to sons, and sons are responsible for taking care of their aged parents. Because of this, many couples will abondon baby girls, usually at the urging of the husband's parents. Hundreds of thousands of baby girls are abandoned every year in public places such as busy streets, railway stations and in front of public buildings so they will be found quickly. It is believed that that the mothers will hide and wait to make sure that their babies are found safely because they love their children and the decision to abandon them is heartbreaking. The children are usually abandoned as infants when they are only a few days old. In addition to little girls, handicaped babies and sick babies, both boys and girls are also abandoned every year because most parents in China don't have the money to provide for their special needs. Once found, the babies are given a medical exam and then taken to an orphanage.

Now that China is allowing International adoption from families from around the world, many of these children will find their forever families, will be loved and given an education and will live healthy productive lives.

As stated in an ancient Chinese belief: "An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle, but will never break."

We are very grateful to be blessed in being able to pursue this journey to our little Katherine and pray that many other chilren will soon find their forever families. We also pray for the birth parents of our baby Katherine that they find peace in their sacrifice of having to let her go.