When Cary and I decided to embark on another adoption in the fall of 2006, we looked at a number of programs and had made our original decision to go to Taiwan. Taiwan would be an ideal program since it would take us away from Ethan and Isabella for just one week and there was also the possibility the adopted child could be escorted to the United States (no travel is definitely a plus). If we had gone ahead with Taiwan then we would have adopted an infant girl. Our homestudy agency in CT, Family and Children's Agency has a very good program for Taiwan that usually takes about 2 years to complete so we were pretty much focused on signing with them.
Well as fate would have it....things didn't go exactly as planned. Our homestudy was complete in November 2006 for Taiwan. We prepared a photo album to show to the birth mother since the birth mother in the FCA program does select the adoptive parents. Then for some strange reason it sat on my desk for a long time. I had everything to send to FCA, but in the back of my mind I began to hesitate. With Ethan and Isabella almost 5 I began to think about the age difference the new child would have when she got here. By the time the process was complete, E & I would be 7 years old and we would have another infant. Being that far apart in age could be problematic in that she may feel a lot like an only child with such a large age gap. Coupled with the fact that I would be 48 bringing in another infant would be difficult.
So weeks turned into months and the paperwork sat on my desk. Jennifer who handles the program at FCA was lovely, we had met before and she knew that I was struggling with this decision. Jane Coughlin our social worker, went through all the pros and cons of adopting older, younger, foreign and US foster care. We did talk a lot about it because whatever Cary and I decided would effect the whole family. We had to be sure it was going to be the right decision for us.
On the evening of March 3, 2007 Ed was over at the house and both he and Cary decided to go downstairs to watch a really bloody movie (I think it was Lucky number Sleven). I wanted no part of that movie night so instead I went on to e-mail and had gotten a note from Jennifer from FCA. She was asking whether I was planning to go with the Taiwan program as she hadn't heard from me in a while. I told her that I (not Cary) remained unsure, but would get back to her soon. I felt badly as we had been sitting on this paperwork for three months already and still had lingering hesitations on following through.
Our Journey to Aeryn Elisabeth
The Correia Family Home
Finding Aeryn Elisabeth
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After getting back to Jennifer I decided to check out a website that had been given to me by another adoptive mom called www.theshepherdscrook.org. The Shepherds Crook is not an adoption agency, but a ministry that lists special needs children from a number of agencies and puts them on one list. You can then e-mail the agency as well as sheperds crook to inquire about the child.
As I was reviewing the China area of the site I came across Aeryn and it was as though I was looking at Isabella's little chunky cheeks all over again. The photo was very grainy but the little 1 year old in the picture was just adorable. When I read her medical history it basically read that her left foot had "sciatic nerve damage" which basically means her foot is not centered and she would need to see a good doctor once she got back to the States. She was walking independentally (which I thought was the most important part) and overall she was in good health and had been with a foster family since she was a year old.
I e-mailed the Sheperds Crook as well as the agency IAAP and got a response from them on Sunday morning. It turned out that she was available (Aeryn has only been on a there waiting list about a week) and I called our friends the Yllanes's to get the
scoop on the agency as I had never heard of them. Once Gaye said they had a good reputation, we felt comfortable in getting more information on this child. Within a few hours we knew that we would commit to her. She had just turned 2, was living with a foster family , and seemed to be on target for her age. The worst thing going on was her foot - but again if she was walking, we felt that with the proper medical care that things would turn out well. Besides, it didn't hurt that she shares the same birthday as my brother Ed, of February 8th.
So on a Sunday morning by 11:00 a.m. we agreed to adopt this toddler. It seemed so surreal, one minute you're surfing the net the next you're adopting a child from around the globe. I drove to the grocery store wondering that the heck did we just did!!! Even though I was nervous I think we both knew that she was the one. I kept wondering how anyone could overlook such a gorgeous little girl. I really do believe in my heart that she was waiting just for us. What really boggles the brain is how quickly we agreed to go to China despite the fact that we weren't looking for a 2 week trip. The fact that we both fell in love with her and that she shared the same birthday as my brother (who happened to be at the house ) flipped me out completely.
Once we made the decision to adopt her, I then announced it on the IAAP yahoo board. It was very interesting but Aeryn's Chinese name Fu Bao Bin means that she comes from the Fuling SWI which means she is a Fulinger. Now I know that doesn't mean anything to most people but it does mean something to Fu Families and all of those on the www.fulingkids.org board. Fu babies are known for their fiery dispositions (oh boy) . It has a huge membership of parents of Fu babies who fund all types of programs for the orphanage. They have a first hugs program, they have a fund to teach and pay foster families, they run marathon's for the orphanage - it is pretty amazing. It turns out that Fuling happens to be one of the best orphanages (and one of the best funded orphanages in China). We feel kind of proud to be the parents of a FU baby and hope that everyone can see how special she is when you finally meet her.
The US fuling group has a lot of contact with the orphanage and within a month of accepting Aeryn we were able to get updated pictures of her from a group traveling from the Fulingkids group with physical therapists. Jenoy one of the Fu moms took a bunch of pictures of Aeryn and those are the ones that we have had of her since April. She had gotten so big from her referral pictures.
These pictures are 7 months old so I can only imagine how big she will be when we get her!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of the site. It'll be fun to follow along as the adoption progresses and don't worry, we won't be posting mega blogs.....just nice pics, updated reports and some funny little comments on our latest adoption journey.
Aeryn - Our First Referral Pictures.
