Mark and Jeanne
After researching adoption agencies regarding International Adoption, and getting numerous referrals to work with Adoption Associates Inc., we called to set up an appointment and find out more about their program. The staff answered many general questions over the telephone, and that same day we were sent a packet of information explaining the entire process. We called back many times to make sure we were filling out the application correctly and never felt that we were interrupting anybody’s time at AAI. We were immediately assigned to Mary Zoet, International Consultant, and we were off and running! Mary helped tremendously with us making sure our dossier paper work was completed to perfection.
It was truly the most exciting thing that we have ever done. We continuously were in the loop of things, including getting monthly newsletters telling us what groups were getting matched with children from China—it was so much fun watching our group number get closer and closer.
Once our referral came in from China, our dream of being parents finally came true. Our daughter, Danielle, was finally going to be picked up by her new parents! We received her referral in July of 2002, and we traveled around the world to pick her up the following month. We enjoyed every minute in China—the people are extremely friendly, and we became very close to the other couples in our group, whom we still continually get together with. Our travel home date was September 11, 2002 (the 1st anniversary of 9/11). We were nervous, but we couldn’t have asked for a better day to make Danielle a United States citizen! We got all her papers stamped when we landed in Chicago, so by the time we landed in Grand Rapids, she was our American dream!
