Anyone who’s gone through an adoption knows that it can be the hardest and longest "pregnancy" imaginable. Our experience lasted two years, during which time we had more ups and downs than moguls on a ski slope.

Our future babies, Sumana and Sumalee, were born on August 9, 1985, at the Chulalonghorn Hospital in Bangkok. Imagine my excitement when the social worker who did our home study called us to ask if we would be interested in twins. I couldn't believe it. In my younger days, I fantasized about my future family and twins were always a part of it! I was "on top of the world" after that phone call.

At that time, Thailand required the adoptive parents to appear before a panel of government officials for an interview. We waited and waited. In spite of the great efforts and support from WACAP, the date did not arrive. WACAP finally gave us the option to adopt from another country to speed up our process. We couldn't do it. From the day we received our first set of photos, the girls were already part of our family.

In the summer of 1987 and the girls were turning two, we received a set of photos that portrayed them as so much older. We were missing so much. It didn't seem fair that our girls had to remain in the Children’s Home when they had loving parents waiting. We decided to go see them.

WACAP arranged to have the program coordinator in Thailand accompany us and introduce us to officials who might be able to move our request for an interview date forward. We arrived in Thailand in mid-October.

When I first set eyes on the girls, I broke out in tears of joy. They were still babies! I had imagined that first moment many times, but I nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of my feelings. We were invited to spend time with the twins twice a day. It took them a while before they would approach us without crying, but when they did, the joy replaced our disappointment in missing other milestones in their first two years.

When we weren't visiting the babies or touring, we were meeting adoption officials. Finally, we were offered an interview if we could just stay an extra week. Unbelievably, we returned to the United States with our twin baby girls, Hanna Sumana and Lille Sumalee, on November 1, 1987.

The girls are 15 now and finishing 9th grade. They are intelligent, beautiful and extremely creative. They play the piano, sing, do volunteer work and participate in 4-H projects. If Hanna and Lille sound like the perfect daughters, they are! Evan and I are one set of very proud parents.