In Finland it's required at least six months adoption counseling before adoption permit can even be applied. We started the process many many years ago, we spent all those years waiting a domestic baby , in our hometown there're over fifty couples waiting and only about one or two adoptions a year. Luckily we changed our mind to international adoption instead of domestic.

Our home study was completed in May 1995, we got the permit on August the same year.

Having the permit in hand it was time to start to collect all required documents about wages, debts, criminal records, health etc....

Our dossier was sent to China October 95, together with papers of four other families. Our agent's Chinese counterpart wants as many families as possible to travel together.

On January 3rd 1996, when we came home after a dinner in a Chinese restaurant, I checked all incoming TAD messages, there it was:" Hey, in Xiamen, Amoy, is a girl waiting for you, her name is Li Tian Shu, she's born April 10th 1994, more information will follow soon..."

Few weeks later we received her photo and health records, then we were asked to make our mind: 'do you want to adopt Tian Shu?'. We answered positively.

We flew to Beijing February 29th 1996, after spending few days as tourist in Beijing we went to Xiamen. Monday March 4th was "the big day", in Xiamen orphanage Mimosa was given to us. Adoption became legal and binding the next day when Xiamen's Notary Public questioned us and finally stamped official adoption document.

Mimosa came home March 15th 1996.

Today Mimosa is a very happy little girl, the very small terribly itching little baby is now running and playing and speaking and jumping and singing and painting and bathing and swimming and cycling and telling stories and drawing and painting and and and and........... parents are extremely happy too....

Credits: Pekka Torittu