My husband and I married in 1986 when he was 39 and I was 29. This was a first marriage for both of us. He was very definite about not wanting children. I had wanted children when I was younger, but no longer had a burning desire to have children, so we agreed to not have children.

A good friend adopted from China in 1998. This friend introduced us in 1983. It is ironic that this friend initiated our two most important relationships. She kept us informed of her adoption process and told us of all the children in orphanages in China. We met her baby girl in November of 1998. Her daughter was and is so sweet and beautiful.

I started looking on the Internet at all the stories of families who had adopted from China and became more and more interested in adopting. We had been working and acquiring things, but seemed to have a void in our lives. We had more patience and time to enjoy a child than we would have earlier. We had traveled a lot and done most everything we wanted. I still didn’t feel the need to physically have a child, but I felt we had a lot of love to give a child that was already in this world. My husband and I are very compatible and I knew any child would be very lucky to have my husband for their father, as he is the most loving and kind human being in this world.

I approached my husband with the idea and he didn’t say, "No", immediately. We kept talking and he seemed to be very hesitant. He figured he would be 70 and I would be 60 when our child graduated from high school. I gave up and discarded all of my literature as I felt we should only have a child if we both were 100% sure. Then he brought it up again and we decided to start the process. He never had any doubts once he made the decision. Zoe would be the first to agree that she has the best daddy in the world. They adore each other.

We sent our application to Great Wall China Adoption on 12/7/98, our dossier reached China on 2/20/99. GWCA was professional and helpful throughout the entire process. Mara Hudock, our GWCA social worker, is a remarkable person and had an infinite amount of patience and answers to our questions every step of the way. We feel fortunate to have her in our lives.

Website created by Kara Paige Lopez