Thursday, December 18, 2014

Long Awaited Blog Update

Clearly I am not good at blogging frequently!
I would have, but I didn't feel like I had anything deep and meaningful to share publicly.
Quick time line update = 1st round dossier submitted and accepted -> Amazing Trip #1 (Metcha Trip) in November ->  2nd round dossier almost complete - > LOTS of waiting..... Hopefully Trip #2 (Gotcha Trip) by April 2015.

The following is an exerpt from an essay that I wrote the other day for a grant application.  Since I put some time into typing it up, I figured that I would share it here too! :)


My name is Kerri, and my husband, Dan, and I adopting the most amazing little girl I have ever met. Let me tell you about the journey I have been on this past year. Actually, the story begins long before this year, long before I met Dan, and long before I was ready to have a child of my own. The story begins at least 10 years ago, when I used to watch "The Adoption Story" show on TLC, and would find myself sobbing happy tears for the families landing back in the USA with their babies. I knew all those years ago that I would be one of those families one day. I knew that someday, no matter who else was in my life, I would find my baby somewhere on the other side of the world. Fast forward to 2009 when I met and fell in love with not only Dan, but his 2 children, "R" and "E". I will admit that one of the aspects of Dan that made me agree to that first date, was that he had the most beautiful daughter who happened to have Down Syndrome. While these beautiful step-children are an amazing bonus to my life, they are also a source of much sadness, as their mother has done everything in her power to isolate me from them. It has been made abundantly clear that "I am not their mother." This feels like a knife to my soul, as I would give anything to have my own babies to hold and I'm not even permitted to freely love my own step-children.
Dan and I were married in 2011 and then it was my time to have a baby of my own. After many months of not getting pregnant, I started looking at adoption web sites. I have been hesitant to pursue fertility testing, because I would so much rather put my time and energy into looking for babies that are already born and need mammas, then trying to make one that wasn't naturally meant to be. I honestly have no idea if I have medical fertility issues, or not? Maybe it's Dan? Either way, I knew that not getting pregnant easily meant that maybe my baby from the other side of the world was already waiting for me. Imagine my surprise when one day back in January, I was scanning through pictures of waiting children with Down Syndrome, and I saw my baby! I knew she was my baby, and I knew that it didn't matter where she was, I had to go get her!
The past 12 month have been much like everyone else's journey with international adoption. Lots of paperwork and lots of waiting. The highlight has obviously been the trip we took in November to meet our little girl, at her orphanage. This is the part of the story that even I find the most amazing. I walked to an orphanage in a small city, in a country far away, expecting to find a sad scared child, who had spent her entire almost 3 years living without a family. To my surprise, I was handed this tiny little bundle if happy sassy charisma. My baby girl has moxie! She has a smile that lights up not only her whole face, but the whole room. She is smart and resilient.
She has very low muscle tone, but despite not being able to even crawl yet, she has no problem, rolling and scooting herself towards whatever it is that she wants... usually my husband's cell phone! She doesn't speak actual words yet, but even with a language barrier, she had no problem getting her opinions heard, loud and clear. My baby girl is phenomenal, because this is who she is with no help at all. Can you imagine who she will become with some help? Once she has a mom and dad to help her build muscle tone and learn how to express herself with actual words, the sky will be the limit. My baby girl will go places!   


2 comments:

  1. Wonderful update, Kerri! I'm so happy that the first visit was a positive experience. Merry Christmas!

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  2. Kerri, I had no idea about this going on in your life and I was deeply moved. Your beautiful soul shines through every word in this story. We wish you only the best in your journey to motherhood. Continued blessings, Ed and Vicki Landry

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