Thursday, April 15, 2010








The adoption community has been rocked by the actions of one adoptive mother. JCIS has asked families to share the truth about adoption; domestic or international, as a part of their "We are the Truth" campaign.

Here is our story:

Throughout my life, one of the steadfast truths I've known as been that I would one day be a mother. My career path changed many times, but I always knew the ultimate job would be as someone's mom. Larry and I decided before we were married that children would be a part of our lives; we just didn't know how they would get here. Diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome at 18, I had been told when I was ready to get pregnant all I would need would be a few fertility pills and 9 months later, parenthood would be a reality. I was told wrong!

Three rounds of Clomid wreaked havoc on my emotions and had the potential to do the same to our marriage. As I pulled the covers over my head, sinking into a deep depression during the third try of Clomid, I realized that I didn't need to physically give birth to become a parent. Somewhere, there was a child meant to be ours. Thus began our journey on the roller coaster of adoption.

In March of 2007, Larry and I officially began our adoption journey, hoping that at the end of the line, we would become parents to a beautiful child from Vietnam. But the universe had other plans. A series of problems, catastrophes and the closing of Vietnam adoptions in the United States set us on a course towards domestic adoption, an idea that I had initially shunned without question.
The road of domestic adoption was not smooth either. But in May 2008, we found the agency that was a perfect fit for us. And six weeks later, we walked into a neonatal ICU and laid eyes on the most beautiful creature ever. I had worried that I wouldn't feel a connection to her, but the minute I laid eyes on that small bundle with a red bow glued on her head, I was hopelessly in love. Without a doubt, I was her mother and she was my child. In that instant, Teegen became the center of our world.

Just when I thought our hearts couldn't hold any more love, I found myself in a paper gown outside of an operating room in Las Vegas, listening to my son take his first breath, screaming loud enough to let the tourists on the strip know of his arrival. Once again, Larry and I had been entrusted to care for an amazingly beautiful soul.

We have had our share of difficulties throughout the journey. But in the end, we're blessed with two miracles who bring an amazing amount of love, light and smiles into our world.

Here is our truth:
Teegen at 4 days, minutes after we met
Xander, only minutes old

Teegen at 21 months


Xander at 6 months


The Dynamic Duo