American Adoptions -- America's Adoption Agency
 Thank you for looking at our profile! We can't imagine the difficult decisions that you have ahead of you as you plan for the future, but we want you to know that if we fit into that plan we would be honored and thrilled. Any child who joins our family will be so very loved not only by us, but by the many others who have been on this journey with us!  |
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Our experience with adoption is different than most. In 2008 we applied to be a part a foster to adopt program. In 2009 we had a little boy named Kaleb, who was 2 years old, placed in our home. After Kaleb had been with us for 8 months, the county decided his mother was turning her life around and he should be returned to her care. We were truly happy that Kaleb and his mother got another chance to make a life together, but we do miss him everyday!
That was not the easiest experience, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. It taught us so much about parenting, and what a blessing a child is. We always knew we wanted children but having Kaleb cemented that for us. We feel like because of that experience we are going into adoption with our eyes wide open. We have experienced the exhaustion at the end of a day of chasing after a two year old, and the difficulties of setting boundaries and being consistent. But we have also experienced the joys of curling up on the couch to watch Thomas, of trips to the zoo, of playing ball in the driveway, and of reading books and singing songs before bedtime. A child is an incredible blessing, and having Kaleb, even for a short time, really brought that home for us!
We would have to say that there are two things that made us who we are today -- our families and our faith. We come from very similar family backgrounds. Both of our families had financial struggles, and our parents taught us from a young age the value of hard work and the importance of faith. When Tony was young, his family lived on a small farm where he helped with farm chores and other projects, such as putting an addition on the family house. Later his parents bought a restaurant and moved the family to an apartment over the restaurant. Tony, then about 15, worked in the restaurant after school and often watched and cooked for his younger siblings while his parents ran the restaurant downstairs. Joy's dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease when she was only 12. Soon after, he was forced to quit working because of his disability. Money was very tight for the family, but Joy's parents were still always looking for ways to help others. They taught Joy and her siblings that there is always something you can do for someone else. They also taught them to trust God to provide for them and he always did. These experiences were formative to our lives and have made us into the people we are. The values we learned from our parents and through our experiences are still with us today.
It is so important for children to understand their cultural heritage. It helps them feel more connected to their roots and instills a sense of pride in who they are. We are fortunate in that we live in a very culturallly diverse area so even if a child is not the same race as us, they will be constantly exposed to so many people of so many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Growing up in this area, children can not help but value cultural diversity. As parents, we will also go out of our way to make sure that when they are younger they are exposed to elements of their culture and are learning about it. As they grow older we will encourage them to explore their cultural background further as they feel they want to do so.
