Those Gorgeous Girls

My husband and I were married almost ten years ago, and until not long ago, had only two canine children. Bear and Buster. Our boys. Bear is a poodle mix and he's 12, and Buster's a 11-year-old dachshund mix. We were very used to our life. Traveled, especially to Vegas. Foot loose and fancy free. Yes, I said foot loose and fancy free. Deal.

Anyway, about two years ago, we decided it might be a good idea to adopt us some kids. We'd tried basic infertility treatments, to no avail, and really didn't feel it was necessary take it to the next level. I was pregnant once for about 3 months, but had a miscarriage. We gave up more than once, considered adoption, decided we were fine by ourselves, and then started thinking about adoption again.

We signed up with a foster/adopt agency, went through the training, and then sat back to wait. Or so we thought. Here's how we thought it would go: They'll call us with a placement here, a placement there, one at a time, babies and toddlers, all races, and we'll have our little rainbow family. Some will stay and some will go, and eventually we'll adopt a couple, and that will be how our little story will go.

HA. They started calling us immediately with placements for sibling groups, and one of the first ones was for "three sisters with blonde hair and blue eyes." About three weeks later, after many phone calls and sleepless nights, and one 200-mile trip to meet them, those beautiful girls were placed in our home. And in September, 2005, we adopted them.

Our girls are 3, 5 and 6 years old, and came to us by way of CPS. They were removed from their original homes (different fathers) because of neglect, drug use and domestic violence, among other things. Then they were placed in a foster home where eventually they were also neglected and physically disciplined, so they were removed again. They were in a children's shelter three or four times, and had a very traumatic year, before we found them.

Hell, their whole lives have been traumatic. But somehow they survived, and we found them. And now my life's traumatic. And now we're a family.