Where does one begin...

Where does one begin? Hum? As tempting as it is to disclose everything I've learned about the adoption world I was advised against it. I'll explain at a later date.

So I guess I should tell you a briefly where we've been looking for Tamara.

We started off looking in the Ukraine. Cute little blond hair, blue eyed children.
1st agency meeting we were told that the country
a) just shut down
b) that Bruce was too old
c) I was told to divorce Bruce and adopt as a single Mom and then if I choose remarry?

Country #2 was Moldova .. new agency.. new country laws. Cute little brunettes.
The shut down for re-organization.

Country #3 was the USA. Tried to explore the Foster care system. Found out NJ doesn't work with other states. The girl we wanted was 10 years old from NC. Brunette blue eyes.

Country #4 was Kosovo ... Belgrade was in charge then and promised healthy little 3-6 year old girls. Thought it was a good idea as I speak the language. Delays... delays... delays. Children ended up being severely handicapped .. not healthy as promised. Brunettes and Blonds .

Country #5 was Kazakhstan... we stuck with Kaz until their Parliament voted on a bill capping parents ages at 50. Still not sure how the vote went. About 20 different ethic groups and looks here. Pretty cool place. Children are adorable. The Kaz people known for their hospitality. Very pretty place and rather interesting. Our agency decided it was too controversial to process a dossier for someone over 50 but they said "we can give you a 9 year old from Brazil" Grrrr. My only concern I had with Kaz was they eat a lot of horse and have Asian Toilets. Eeek!!!

Country #6 back to the Ukraine. This time I hired a mentor and was going to do an independent adoption. Found out that agency #1 lied about the age restriction. Not "the" law but their rule. Grrrr . Also found out that all adoptions in the Ukraine are considered independent. They don't like agencies there. Interesting isn't it?

Country #7 The Republic of Georgia. That's where we're headed. A small country which we never considered as last year the US government only issued about 9 orphan visa's.
Looks like a nice little country. They like Americans and have Western Toilets. ;o) But more important then their plumbing.. much more important... they have Tamara.
Georgia is actually a beautiful proud country. Rich in culture and customs. One that I'm sure will be cherished part of our lives. Our daughter's native homeland. A unlikely vacation spot that will become magical for our family.

Now mind you with every country change there was a refocusing on agencies. Countless hours of research and sometimes a substantial fee.

So there's a little bit of background. We also researched places like Siberia (yeah no kidding), India, Pakistan, Nepal and a bunch of the other "stan" countries. And perhaps the most frustrating was my native land Croatia. Croatia doesn't do international adoption any more. Something about keeping the children they have because the birth rate is dropping?

Although our adoption journey has been long and sometimes very frustrating it is worth it. And with each obstacle that is over come we know that we are one step closer to our daughter.

Please take a few minutes to view the videos below about The Republic of Georgia. Should you not see videos about Georgia REFRESH your page and they should appear in the video gallery. Enjoy!