ADOPTION STORIES : Twice Blessed

Submitted by : The Matchett Family

Our family had been blessed by international adoption not once but twice. Each story and process uniquely different. For our first we chose a program that hundreds of others had gone through before with a large group of Maritime families. For our second we had to blaze a trail that very limited if any had gone before.

In 2009 we started the process with Ethiopia, 6 months after signing up we learned through the media that our agency in Ontario had filed for bankruptcy. We were devastated. We thought our dream of having a child was over. The next few months saw hundreds of families and companies rally together and the agency was restructured and then later another agency would take over the case load of files. We would wait 4 more years which meant numerous home study visits, more and more paperwork to complete, along with all the other checks that would need to be done. And then one day when we were least expecting it(because that is when it happens) we received a phone call and met with our social worker a few hours later. We were presented with our sons file and a few of the most precious pictures. We would then have to travel to Ethiopia twice, once for court and the second to bring him home. Our Christmas miracle arrived home Dec 21, 2012, 4 1/2 years after we started our journey.

For those that have ever been through the adoption process knows how grueling it is, there is a saying that is passed around families that it isn’t for the faint of heart and that is so true. The process tests you in ways you never thought possible. This is part of the reason we waited 5 years before jumping back on the adoption roller coaster for the second time.

In 2017 we started the process to adopt from India. A program totally different then what we were used to. We went through the home study visits again, collected paperwork and had various checks done. We waited 1 year and on a Thursday we learned of a little girl that was waiting for a family. We were presented with he file a week later and we knew as soon as we saw her that she was the one. Over a year later after watching her grow through pictures and video we were on a plane to go to India. We would have to spend 3 1/2 weeks there waiting for immigration and on Father’s Day 2019 we arrived home with our daughter.

Adoption is messy, there is trauma no matter how old the child but it is beautiful at the same time. When you hear I love you for the first time nothing beats it!