International Adoption
Building a family through international adoption
Unlike most couples who choose to adopt, having children wasn’t always something that had piqued the interest of Tim and Renee. In fact, it wasn’t until almost 10 years of marriage that Renee decided she wanted to differently sculpt her future by having a family. After seven more years of convincing Tim, the couple adopted a little girl from China—and couldn’t have been happier with their decision. But since they weren’t young parents anymore, Tim and Renee knew that time was of the essence when deciding to adopt a sister for their little girl, Laina.
A Sister for Laina
The couple had wanted to begin their family with a girl, and for this reason among others, Tim and Renee had turned to China as the birthplace of their first adopted daughter.
“We had wanted a little girl, and China also likes older parents,” says Renee. “They wait to have their one child or two children until they’re established in life, because they can then provide for the child(ren).”
Although their experience with another adoption agency had turned out lengthy and complicated, the couple still wanted to adopt another girl from China.
“We liked having Laina so much that we had to adopt another,” says Renee. “They’re like potato chips!” she adds, with a laugh.
Tim and Renee turned to AAI, and since the process time for the regular China program is long, they looked into the agency’s Waiting Children program.
A Special Addition
It wasn’t long before Tim and Renee found a little girl from China who could round out their family. Although a surgery was required for her leg, the couple says their choice was easy.
“The wait is so long with China, that the special needs program was the way to go, as far as I’m concerned,” says Renee.
Only nine months passed between the time Tim and Renee saw Charlotte on the web site and the day they brought her home.
A Second Trip to China
From the first time she glanced her new family, 3-year-old Charlotte blended right in.
“American Mama!” “American Papa!” Charlotte shouted, in Chinese, upon seeing Renee and Tim. With arms wide open, Charlotte ran toward her new family and “giggled and giggled,” says Renee. “Her foster mom must have prepared her so well, because the transition was easier than I ever expected,” says Renee. “She grieved for her foster family the first night, and the second night, but it got better every night.”
With more than just new parents, Charlotte also had a new best friend—her older sister by 15 months, Laina. Charlotte mimicked nearly everything Laina did, and Renee says Laina was “tickled pink.” “They were best friends immediately and still are,” says Renee.
Peer Acceptance
Before Charlotte could enjoy too much time with her new family, though, she needed surgery on one of her legs.
When her leg surgery included an amputation, Renee says Charlotte, always brave and courageous, wasn’t traumatized a bit.
“‘I want two big legs,’ she told me, and that was it,” says Renee. “These kids are so resilient.”
Charlotte’s resiliency shone through in her recovery, and even more when her surgery was brought up by peers.
“Charlotte started preschool this year, and some of the kids were talking about her leg. But if you talk about it, there won’t be questions anymore, so I gave a presentation to Charlotte’s preschool,” says Renee. “They could touch it [her leg] and ask questions, and Charlotte was grinning the whole time.”
With a family that laughs a lot and takes things lightly, acceptance of herself and from her peers came easily to Charlotte.
Two is better than one
Having been home for over a year, Charlotte is “extremely outgoing, bubbly and lives to laugh,” says Renee. With just a little extra laundry created, Renee says Charlotte coming into their family has been nothing short of wonderful.
“The two girls play together, and now they each have a buddy,” she says. “I can’t imagine life without Charlotte now. And now there is one girl for each of our (mine and Tim’s) laps! We used to argue over that.”
A Simple Life
Tim and Renee live on 10.5 acres, and today, the family spends most of its time on their hobby farm. With horses to ride, chickens to gather eggs from, goats to visit, a rabbit, cats and more, the girls are rarely short on things to do.
“During the summertime, a pool is set up alongside playground equipment, and during the winter, the girls go sledding behind the four-wheeler,” says Renee.
When traveling elsewhere, the family enjoys trying the local fare at summer festivals and camping.
Advocation
Now a strong believer in adoption, Renee says she will always be in favor of giving a home to children in the world already before having them.
“Take care of the children who are already here before creating more,” she says. “These kids are incredible. They are so neat and great and wonderful. I’m always happy to talk with anyone about adoption.”
For More Information
Children of all ages with special medical needs and healthy older children are available through AAI’s Waiting Children programs. For more information, call 616.667.0921 or visit the China Waiting Children, Russia Waiting Children, or Ukraine Waiting Children program pages.
