THE PARKER FAMILY [Names have been changed to respect confidentiality.]

We have been married for twelve years and have been dealing with infertility for about seven years. It isn't easy to discuss the intimate emotional and physical details that go along with infertility. Also, many couples don't even realize they might be having a problem conceiving until months or years of unsuccessful attempts at pregnancy. We had two choices: either continue the medical treatment with In-Vitro or look into adoption. We began to research both possibilities. It was during this time that we experienced the grief of not conceiving the child we always assumed we would have.

We think the hardest thing for us wasn't the fact that we might never be pregnant but that we might not be able to bear a child that would be a part of both my husband and myself. We realized that God could perform a miracle and allow us to conceive naturally. However, we felt like we needed to also be open to the option that we would have to be open to adoption.

In July of 1995 we attended our first adoption seminar. We learned so much about adoption. No one had ever been adopted in our families and so this was very new to us. The seminar took us to a different level. Adoption became a real option for us.

On April 20th we received a letter from the agency stating that we were officially approved. As we were driving home we realized that this adoption was definitely the right choice for us. By adopting, we felt like we had taken the grief, loss, pain and sorrow of infertility and traded in for the joy of loving our new daughter.