Article in the Press

http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4829928a24035.html
In a bland conference room in a Chinese hotel, Ruth Kelsall's heart melted.
It was there that the Dunedin woman first saw her adopted child, Emily, now 5.
Kelsall, 44, and husband Keith, 45, had travelled to Jiangxi province in southeast China to collect Emily, a 10-month-old girl who had been abandoned by her parents at a busy bus terminal.
"I walked into the room and there was Emily looking very bewildered," Kelsall said.
"We were so frantic to meet her after seeing photos of her and getting updates on her progress for months before travelling to China. We raced to this conference room and there she was a beautiful little girl."
The Kelsalls' journey to become adoptive parents started in the early 1990s when they found they were unable to conceive.
They decided to adopt and went on the Child, Youth and Family waiting list for a child born in New Zealand.
In 1995, after waiting about two years, they adopted Aiden, now 13.
Several years later the couple went back on the waiting list to adopt another child from New Zealand but were disappointed when the biological parents of a baby they were promised changed their minds at the last minute.
The experience made the couple consider adopting a child from China a process they believe has more certainty.
"You lodge the paperwork and when you get to the top of the pile you get a child," Kelsall said.
The application was lodged in December 2004 and six months later the Kelsalls received a call to say a child was waiting in China for them.
"We were in shock. We never expected it to happen so soon. Within eight weeks of getting that call we were off to China to pick up Emily," Kelsall said.
The family stayed in China for about two weeks completing the official adoption process.
Adopting Emily cost about $20,000, said Kelsall, who is a teacher.
"People can be quite rude and ask how much our baby cost, but it's not really their business," she said. "I don't get upset because to us it wasn't about money; it was the only way we could form a family. Doing a few courses of IVF could set you back as much."
Before flying from China with Emily, Kelsall said, they had decided to adopt another Chinese child. They lodged their application in December 2005 and in April last year were told they had a second daughter waiting in China.
The adoption of Alice, now 18 months, cost about $30,000 because accommodation costs and some other fees had increased.
"Growing up, you always think you will have your own children, but we found the adoption process worked really well for us and it was the only way we could form our family," Kelsall said. "We are a really happy family now and the kids all love each other so much."