by Kim Stairs

Created on: September 20, 2008

Adoption has been on my heart since I was in high school. My mother and I used to think I may have infertility problems, because my desire was so strong at such a young age. However, I got married when I was 20 and we eventually had three children. We had one girl and two boys. They are now 9, 7, and 6.

John and I had earlier decided that we'd wait until Jesse was between five and ten before we'd adopt another child. We found out that we both shared this desire after our youngest was born. I found out I was pregnant when our second child was only eight months old! We were so nervous, but eventually he turned out to fit right in. It was during one of our talks about this child that I found out my husband did want to have three kids, just not so close together. And we both wanted to have more. But the timing was not right.

Well, Jesse turned five and my adoption desire exploded into full swing. I was on the internet daily looking into international adoption. Our heart was set on Guatemala. I wanted a little girl named Abagail around the age of 10 months to 2 years old. We talked about it as a couple first and then began introducing the idea to our children. They jumped right into the idea.

We all share the desire to have another girl in the family so our numbers are even. Then we'll have three boys and three girls. Waiting until Jesse was five was for a few reasons. One, we wanted to have our family's foundation set strong in one another before we added another child to it. Two, we wanted our kids to be old enough to be a good influence on our new addition. Third, this will mean that the older children will become involved to help shape and mold her into how our family values, attitudes, and beliefs.

It has taken some time and our plans have shifted slightly. We decided to go with foster adoption when the Guatamala situation with international adoption changed. So we have to go through the home study, and we have told the kids that we are waiting on the right timing. Our children are excitedly waiting for there little sister. Devin was getting the plates out last night, and said, "Do I need five for our family?" I told him, "Yes." He replied, "Not for long, we'll have six."

I'm so proud of them, they are getting ready in their own way. They cry when it's not happening fast enough, and they tell me how much they will love their little sister.

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