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Our Adoption Journey
Our journey
to Sophie is a long and circuitous one. It begins in 1997
when our boys, Kyle and Alex, were 7 and 4 years old and we
were hoping to add a third (and final) child to our family.
However, we discovered that another biological child was not
meant to be for the Petersens. This was devastating news as
we simply did not feel our family was complete. As a coping
mechanism, Vicki used this “opportunity” as a sign that she
should follow up on her long-time dream of going back to
school to obtain her Master’s degree in school counseling.
She graduated in 2000 and found a great job in a high
school.
But all along there was that feeling that there was room in
our lives for another child. So in 2001, we started looking
into domestic “open adoption”. We proceeded to spend the
next four years networking and meeting potential
birthmothers, but after many close calls and heartbreaking
scams, we never found the “right” situation. An emotionally
challenging process, we finally gave up on the idea of
domestic adoption altogether. It was at that time that we
moved our family from Virginia back to our hometown of
Kansas City. Once we settled in, the conversation once again
turned to adoption. We started looking into foster care
adoption and enrolled in the classes required by the state
to be eligible. However, after attending two classes, we
decided that the uncertainty of working with the social
services system was not for us.
Two years went by, Brian retired from the Navy and found a
great position in the civilian world. After 22 years in the
Navy, life started feeling pretty normal. By now both the
boys were in high school, but there was still a feeling that
something was missing. If we were ever going to add to our
family, it was going to have to be now (not getting any
younger!), and it was going to have to be international
adoption. Over the years, Vicki had been researching and
comparing the features of adoption from various countries,
and invariably, China emerged as the most reliable country
from which to adopt. She sent away for a packet from an
agency with a great reputation, CCAI. Adoption had not been
a topic of conversation in quite some time in our household,
so it was with some trepidation that one day Vicki tossed
the packet on the table where Brian was sitting. The front
of the packet had the picture of a little Chinese girl. No
words were needed. The picture did all the talking. But now,
the 60 million dollar question – are we too OLD for this?
No, not according to China – as long as we completed our
dossier by Brian’s 50th birthday. We had six months. This
really was our last chance and it would soon be gone.
So the race – and the paperchase - was on. Exactly one day
before Brian’s birthday, our dossier was logged into China.
Whew. Now…… the wait for a referral. Life went on as usual.
Ten months later, in October of 2009, we received The Call.
We had a daughter. After all we had been through, it seemed
surreal. And as we write this, we are waiting once again for
more paperwork to process and hope to travel to China in the
spring of 201o to meet our Liu Shan Li (AKA Sophie Li) and
bring her home. Although her parents may be a little older
than most of her contemporaries, it would be hard to find a
set of parents who appreciate their child more. Our twelve
year wait is reaching it’s end – and a new chapter is about
to begin.
We are happy we can share our story with you and hope you
will follow us as we continue on our journey to bring our
little girl home.
“Be assured that if God waits longer than your wish,
it is to make the blessing all the more precious.” ~Author
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