I had one child already (a son, Paul Xander), and I loved him with all my heart; but somehow, deep inside, I felt my family wasn't complete. I decided to try adoption after I  did some research on the Internet, and it was there  when I first began to hear about a family in Tennessee who adopted over forty children.

I began to get curious, so I decided to look for more information about this family. What I read intrigued me. The  couple lived in Nashville, Tennessee. They had thre children of their own at first; unfortunately, all of them died.

After the couple  recovered from their grief, they turned to adoption. They knew that there were children out there who were in need of a home and/or a family; at the advice of friends and family, they decided to try it.

The couple adopted a baby boy from Germany; a baby girl from Louisiana arrived shortly thereafter. Seven kids from Japan, Canada, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, and Korea joined the family next, instantly swelling this family of four to a family of 11 seemingly overnight. All of the children in question were either older or were disabled in one  way or another, some quite severely; however, Bill and Louisiana Sandusky had a lot of love to give  to children of all kinds.

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Fast forward 15 years or so. The family has gotten bigger--a lot bigger. The Sanduskys have now adopted a staggering fifty-five children, children of all ages, races and backgrounds, children of all sizes and shapes, children who were once shunned by society; but now, thanks to the love and guidance from their devoted, caring parents, these children now finally have the chance to succeed in life, and they now have the home (and family) that they always wanted.

It was after hearing about the Sanduskys when I made the crucial, life-changing decision to adopt. I wanted a brother or sister for my son, who was now a big, strapping teenager  of fourteen.

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It wasn't all waht it was cracked up to be. It was much harder than I  thought it would ever be. For starters, I had to undergo an extensive background check before I was even considered suitable for adoption, and I   had to fill out mounds and mounds of paperwork until my eyes crossed.

Then came the agonizing period of waiting. Oh, God, the waiting! I thought I would go mad!!

Just when I thought I would never hear anything more from the adoption agency, they called me. They had a child for me, a little boy of fifteen months, from Kyrgyzstan "who had special needs" (their exact wording). At the news, my heart leapt with joy, and I began to cry.

I immediately called Paul's school, and when he came to the phone, so I oculd tell him the good news, I could barely talk, I was crying so hard. I was choked with emotion. Paul screamed in my ear, nearly deafening me. I told him I'd pick him up; we'd go for a celebratory lunch, to celebrate the impending additon of a new little boy to our little family. I was happier than I had been in months.

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For the next several months, I read up on raising adopted children, as well as books about children with special needs, gleaning as much information I possibly could. I purchased the necessary supplies and furniture for our new son to be (but I still had no clue as to where Kyrgzstan was; I had never even heard of Kyrgzstan!!).

Shortly after this, I got a package from the adoption agency. Enclosed was more information about my new son-to-be as well as a picture. He was the cutest little guy, roughly around a year-and-a-half, maybe a little older than that, with straight, black hair, huge, dark eyes, and a scared look on his round little face. The information  sheet stated that the child had "significant delays in development": at the age of fifteen months, hs still could not sit up on his own, and he could not walk or talk. He had only recently learned to smile. His name was Stanislav Mikhail.

My immediate family reveled in the news at the perspective adoption and helped me prepare for little Stan's arrival into America. They held a "baby shower", presented me with more gifts for the little one: toys, clothes, socks, shoes, diapers, baby formula and food. His room now stood ready and waiting, and Paul and I counted the days until his arrival.

***************To be continued.***************