Our Story

Our Adoption Story Every adoption story is special in its own way. When we first started our adoption journey, the only thing special about it was how long it took to get going. Until we realized there was nothing special about it at all. Most adoption situations were exactly like ours: biding your time while other people made decisions about one of the most important decisions of your life. It seem — for lack of a better word — unfair. Hadn’t we done everything we were supposed to? We had gone to the adoption information sessions. Filled out the questionnaires. Undergone our home study. Gotten our medical clearances. Been fingerprinted and received our police clearances. Put together a profile of our lives. Been picked at, poked at, prodded and probed. There was nothing else or us to do Except, of course, wait. And wait. And, not to put too fine a point on it, wait. But we were done with waiting. We wanted lights, camera, action! (OK, we would have settled for action). What we really wanted was control. Or at least something that felt like control. So one day we took things into our own hands: We created a webpage and linked it to an adoption networking site. The site was pretty primitive but it let us get the word out, and that was enough. The fact it had religious overtones and was based in southern U.S. didn’t faze us even though we not religious and lived in Central Canada. After all, wasn’t that what the Internet was all about – breaking down barriers and putting people like us in the driver’s seat? We didn’t hold out a ton of hope. And then one night we got the call that changed our life. A woman said she had come across our profile and wanted to place her baby with us. Shortly after that, we met her. And shortly after that, we became parents. Fast forward a few years: figuring if it worked for us, it could work for others, we created a website to help others avoid the mistakes we made. And worked it has. The site, Canada Adopts!, is still going strong today, with dozens of matches under its belt. Building on the lessons we’ve learned from that site, and from our own experiences through our second very open adoption in the U.S., we’ve now launched America Adopts! We’re hoping it adds a fresh new approach to a process that’s in need all the updating it can get. We hope you’ll agree with us. And that you’ll share your story with us. It doesn’t have to be special. The fact that it’s yours is special enough for us.    ]]>