Adoption: It’s such a common word, and in today’s society it’s such a common practice. Hundred’s of children are adopted every day; thousands each year- no big deal. Had I never embarked upon the journey of adopting a child, that word would even now be nothing more than one of a hundred thousand terms within my dust covered dictionary. Yet, depending upon where you find yourself on life’s road less traveled, it’s a word that can open a whole new world of wonder, while at the same time a word that can make you cringe with fear. Before we’d ever reached a point in life where we were seriously thinking about a family, the word didn’t mean much. But, when the traditional and medical processes of biological conception failed, it was a word that eventually beckoned us closer. Like many other couples, we "looked into it" once before, but with reservation and trepidation we decided this was not the path for us. Through the twists and turns of living however, we again reached a crossroads years later whereupon our path to adoption lay. Once we made the commitment to "do it," adoption became a dynamic, living, and breathing entity that took on a life all its own; an adventurous quest into the voyage of parenthood.

So, why document this journey specifically from a father’s point of view? It’s not that I feel compelled to create the "Manly Man’s" version of our adoption; rather, this is merely one man’s perspective as a father who went trough the process of adopting a daughter from China. From the outset of our decision to adopt, we have been in contact with numerous others who are either considering or actively engaged in the same process. My wife and I have eagerly shared our experience with them, and the desire for information is something we can relate to! So . . . this is our story, or more to the point, my story about us- formatted into print and photos so that we can share it with others. Now, for those expecting the macho, tough dude, Clint Eastwood approach, feel free to operate a power tool as you read along. I can tell you that in the climax of the process, and in culmination of the emotion, waiting, and anticipation of finally looking down into the eyes of innocence staring back at me, "manliness" was the least of my concerns as the tears fell when I held my daughter for the first time.

I decided to create my own little documentary for a few different reasons. For her part, my wife Debbie took the primary role of fearlessly devoting herself to the countless hours of capturing the exhaustive paper trail required of the adoptive process. More diligent than Santa, she checked everything once then checked it twice. Not a document escaped her grasp. The end result is a sizable and impressive collection of more than 1,000 pages of forms, lists, emails, official certificates, photos, and archives. She is my heroine, my love, and number one on my top 100 most admired women in the world. The organization, dedication, and zeal with which she collected and maintained the documentation of our adoption will surely land her someday in the adoptive parents hall of fame. While she checked, rechecked, copied, authenticated, and labored over the proverbial "red tape," I decided for my part to record some of the more subjective matter- the who, what, when, where, how, and why.

For starters, within our own "inner circle," there are many family members and friends who embarked upon this journey with us, along with others who due to distance and other issues may only be aware of parts of the process, or just the end result. It seemed only fitting to sit down and create the "big picture" for family, friends, and eventually our daughter. We knew from the start of this process that someday, somewhere, she will look in the mirror and realize, "I don’t look like my parents." She’ll look for answers, thus my primary objective for writing this. Something within told me it would be a worth while project to record thoughts, feelings, and experiences for her benefit, in hopes that someday, when she is capable of understanding the more abstract feelings and issues involved, she will also be able to understand "why." Additionally, the process of traveling half-way around the world to bring a small child into your life is an event in and of itself that is filled with many things; emotion, courage, challenge, commitment, and concern. I needed to sit down for my own sense of mission to record what we were thinking, feeling, and experiencing.

So enjoy this story and the photographs contained within as you share our experience. Thank you for coming along on our journey to bring home Zhang Yu.