Childhood Journey! (:

1. Life as a Pinball
A home for Sapphire

2. In my home and Native land,
M___ and D_____ wanted to
start a family.
They’d been married for
over a year and felt ready to
become parents.
M___ loved to snowmobile
and cook.
D_____ loved to play with
make up and paint.
M___ &
D_____

3. It seemed that the Universe had other plans for them.
After trying for a child, M___ and D_____ were unable to conceive a child
of their own making.
Challenges would arise, and the pressure weighed heavily upon their
shoulders.
How could they create their family now?

4. There were options. Routes that they could take to
achieve their goal.
In vitro fertilization, surrogacy, foster care… and adoption.
But how many of us who have chosen a pet to love and
care for would be able to send them away?
Neither could they.
D_____ discovered that she had endometriosis.
Blood lines weren’t a necessity.
They were prepared to research adoption.
National Adoption
Symbol

5. They met with a Children’s Aid social worker.
Questions were coming at them from every
direction in any context.
What options have you considered?
Private? Public? Or International?
They chose public.
Photos of children within the age, gender, and
ethnicity range they’d hope for were shown to
them.
•The waiting period
before being
approved for
adoption as a
suitable family, may
take between two
months to two years
or more.
• There is no
cost to
adopting
publicly.
•More children
available for public
adoption are older than
infancy.

6. Meanwhile… I’d been living in a Foster
home for two and a half
years with a family.
Me
(:
In the photo below I’m sitting in front of
my foster sister, to the left of a family
friend who’s in front of my foster mom
and to the left of her is her mother. Christmas with Foster
Family:
Foster Brother and Foster
Sister

7. M___ and D_____ drove up in Northern Ontario to visit me
on my sixth birthday. June 25th, 1996.
I was living in a town called Timmins. (fun fact: Shania
Twain was born there)
I played with D_____’s lipstick that she carried with her.
Purple was my favourite shade.
And M___ and I played with his hacky sack on the front
lawn.
It was a match made in heaven.
The
Adoption
was
approved!

8. As a brand new family,
our first trip together was
to Niagara Falls. (:

9. Welcome to me! And thank you for watching/reading part of my life’s
journey! (:
Note: lipstick smeared on my face.
Affectionate death grip around my
bestfriend.