International Adoption
Boy, oh boy: Family adopts three sons!
One of our neighbors recently came over selling flowers to raise money for her softball team. I love flowers, but I really know nothing about them. I stood there absolutely clueless studying a myriad of choices until I saw a variety of marigold called, “boy, oh boy.” That’s it! A perfect choice for a family with four sons.
Our First Boy
We began our journey to a, “Boy, Oh Boy” family in 1992 with the birth of our first child, Jeff. Neither Jerry nor I had any preference between a son and a daughter when we were expecting. When Jeff was born we were thankful that he was healthy, and we happily settled into family life raising our son. Jeff is now fourteen years old and even as a teenager he is a joy to be around (at least most of the time!).
Adoption
As far back as I can remember I always wanted to adopt, so in 1993 when we decided we wanted another child adoption seemed like a natural choice for us. The adoption of our second son, Mitch, took place very quickly. We were matched with a birth mother just before Christmas, and on New Year’s Day got the call that our future son had been born! We knew that being matched with a birth mother before the baby was born would mean no control over whether our new little one would be a son or a daughter, but having our adoption go quickly and smoothly mattered more than anything else. The first day we had Mitch he had to have blood drawn for a medical test. When I heard him cry about the needle stick I almost became physically ill. I was struck by the strength of my emotion after knowing him such a short time, but I knew right then and there that I was truly a mom for the second time. Mitch is a quirky and fun twelve year old who brings so much energy and spirit to our family.
Another Boy!
In 1997 we decided to adopt again. This time it was an international adoption. We got a call one morning saying our paperwork was approved and asking if we were ready for a referral. The agency said they had four children available for referral—three boys and one girl. We talked about it and decided we were interested in the girl if she was still available, but that we definitely wanted a referral and if we were going to have another son that was just fine, too. We went out to lunch and came home to a message from the agency—the three boys were still available. I shut off the answering machine and called to Jerry, “Congratulations…it’s a boy!” Six months later we traveled to Guatemala to bring Josef home. Josef is now nine years old and such a funny kid. He is a true original who makes us smile every day.
A Girl?
Sam, our fourth son, joined our family from Guatemala in 1999. This time the agency called and had five babies in need of families—three boys and two girls. Did we want a boy or a girl? It took about thirty seconds to decide our fourth and final child should be another boy. We knew there was usually a waiting list for baby girls and that baby boys often waited simply because they were boys. Our boys brought such joy to our lives we couldn’t imagine not sharing that joy with another little boy. Sam is such a sweet, loving little boy we can’t imagine our family without him.
What About Barbie?
Over the years of raising our sons we have certainly heard more than our fair share of, “Aren’t you going to try for a daughter?” I’ll admit that occasionally I’ve wandered down “the pink aisle” at a store and felt like a visitor to an alien planet. I’ve never dressed a daughter in a fancy Easter dress and Barbie is a complete unknown in our house. None of that matters though when Jeff, now taller than I am by several inches, hugs me each night before he heads off to bed, and Sam scours the ground for heart-shaped rocks to present to me as tokens of his affection. I think our life is best summed up by the words of another mom as I herded my crew across the preschool parking lot years ago: “Four sons? How lucky you are!” Boy, Oh Boy, we’re lucky indeed!
More Information
Adoption Associates, Inc. is currently in need of families for infant boys from Guatemala. For more information, call Jan or Kim at 616.667.0921.
