David and Natalie
Adoption is something Dave and I knew we would one day be a part of, even before we were married in 2003.
In the spring of 2007, we learned that there was a 0% chance of us conceiving a biological child. In September 2007, after a summer of mourning, we made a plan to research our fertility and adoption options. In October 2007, while looking into fertility costs, we went to our first adoption information meeting with AAI. Our goal was to learn more about the domestic adoption program. After discussing the domestic program, the international adoption program was mentioned, which happened to include Ukraine. My family heritage is Ukrainian, so we thought this program would be the best fit for us. In January 2008, we felt God calling us to forego infertility treatments and officially started the process of adoption. We used AAI for our home study, which only took three to four months. Then we started the long process of gathering paperwork for the dossier. In March 2009, our dossier was submitted AND we were traveling to Ukraine for our appointment with the SDA. We only had 10 days to pack and get ready for the journey!
We were presented with many children, some diagnosed with health concerns. One picture stood out to me, so, despite our reservations, we decided to visit him. We took a 10 hour train ride to an industrial city in Southeast Ukraine called Zaparozhe, which happens to be the auto capital of Ukraine. We visited a tiny three year old boy, named Maxim, who had been diagnosed with a heart condition, walking issue, and slight cross eye. Within a few visits we saw his personality emerge. He loves puzzles and legos and is very curious about how things work. Despite his health issues, we knew he was the gift God had prepared for us. We proceeded with the adoption and on April 13, 2009, he legally became our son. I stayed in Ukraine for the 10 day waiting period with my mom while Dave left to come back to work. Eli Maxim came home on May 2, 2009 and has been adjusting very quickly.
No adoption is completed without bumps in the road, and we certainly saw our fair share of difficulties, challenges, and frustrations. I used the experiences to have more compassion for Eli as he transitions to things in the U.S. The culture, food, language, vehicles, buildings, homes, colors, trees, and flowers are all different. All in all our adoption was a wonderful and exciting process. And, despite the occasional tantrums and sleepless nights, we couldn’t imagine a more perfect child for our home.
For More Information
To learn more about our Ukraine adoption program, please visit our Ukraine adoption page, call 616.667.0921, or request a free adoption information packet.
