Firstbrook Family, California

We began the adoption process in December 2004 with a call to All God's Children. We quickly began the path of international adoption from China and worked our way through the paperwork process in the spring of 2005. Our contact with All God's Children was consistent and encouraging. Our adoption counselor was able to give advice, encouragement, and support as we made our way through mountains of forms and questionnaires. As we moved from the paperwork process and into the waiting game, we kept a public journal of our progress. We appreciated being able to share our victories, thoughts, fears and hopes in a public forum - it provided a much needed outlet as well as a way to meet other adoptive families. After many months of waiting and incredible support from AGCI, we received our referral for Katie Mei in February of 2006. Our referral day was one of the most special days of our lives - and we were thrilled to receive that all-important call from someone we now considered a friend. We traveled in May of 2006 and again kept a journal our travels publicly through our blog. Having the support of all those at home, knowing they were reading, praying for us, and encouraging us was an incredible lifeline. Our journey to Katie Mei was truly the journey of a lifetime... we learned more than we ever imagined, were supported more than we ever had been before, and loved so much more deeply by the end. We are so grateful to AGCI for facilitating our journey to become The Firstbrook Five.

Read the Firstbrook blog at www.firstbrookfive.typepad.com