Why?

We get this question a lot. Why a third child (gasp)? Why adopt? Why an infant? Why adopt a third child (gasp) that is an infant from Ethiopia?

A little background:

Before Chip and I married, we talked about what we wanted our family to look like. We hoped to have biological children, but we were also interested in learning more about adoption. About two years after we married, my parents adopted a baby girl. Three more girls joined their family over the next few years. We saw how beautiful adoption can be. We also witnessed how frustrating the adoption process can be - great training for the future! As we started our family the traditional way, we continued to discuss adoption. After having two babies in two years, I decided to take a little break. The years flew by, and before I knew it, our youngest was three years old and his brother was five. That's when talk of adopting a baby really began in earnest. Chip and I both knew we wanted a bigger family, but neither of us wanted to go through another pregnancy. Around this time, a couple of families in our community had baby girls. The boys began to ask when they would get their baby sister!

We talked with the boys about adopting a baby. Because their four ZaZas are adopted, they understand what adoption is all about. But there were still questions. Will Sister have yellow hair like us? Why won't Sister grow in your tummy? Why did Sister's mommy and daddy give her up? Big questions from little guys. Chip and I have worked hard to make sure the boys understand what we are doing. We've also made sure the boys are excited about bringing a baby sister home. And are they excited!

We began the adoption process in September of last year. We looked into other agencies, but we opted to use the Gladney Center because my parents had a good experience with them and they are local. Gladney has programs in many different countries, and we meet the requirements for most, but something about Ethiopia struck a chord with both of us. Because we have two children at home, we decided we would request a baby instead of an older child. We didn't want to upset the birth order. We requested a girl for the obvious reason - this family needs a little more estrogen!

The "Whys" of any adoption are complex. But, I can simply sum up why we opted to take this journey to grow our family.

Why?

Because we want one more child to love.