Dave and Bev's Story
Three years ago, the house of Somerset couple, Dave and Bev was pretty peaceful, but since adopting three siblings all under the age of four, life has become pretty hectic – and they absolutely love it!
Dave and Bev met and married when they were in their mid 30’s. They were both very keen to have a big family and have brothers and sisters for Dave’s daughter from a previous relationship, but it was not to be. After an attempt at fertility treatment left Bev seriously ill, the couple came to terms with the fact they would not be able to have birth children.
They had thought about adoption and had discussed it with a friend who had recently adopted a little boy. But it was not until a chance meeting at a dinner party that they made up their minds to start the adoption process.
Dave said: “We sat next to a friend at a dinner purely by chance. He told us about his experience of adoption and that it had taken four years. We had been discussing it on and off for a while and we also knew, from research, that there was a maximum age difference of 45 yrs between the youngest adopted child and the oldest adoptive parent. As we knew we wanted to adopt children as young as possible, this made us get on with it.”
Encouraged by their friend, the couple called Somerset County Council and set the wheels in motion. Three years later, Dave and Bev are the proud parents of three children: a boy aged four, and two girls, one aged three and another aged two.
Bev said: “We found the process much easier than we expected, although at times we got very emotional – shares in tissue companies would have made us a fortune!”
The couple built up a good relationship with their social worker and although at times they felt that the process went very slowly, they stuck with it as they felt it was their way of getting the family they always wanted.
Bev added: “We wanted a family and as the usual way didn’t work for us we adopted children. It was definitely not about doing a good deed and being altruistic like a lot of people think it is.
“Waiting for the right match after being approved is definitely the worst part, because for so long, your life feels like public property then everything just stops.
“However, once we found out about the children it was only a few weeks until they were living with us. During that time we had to buy furniture, a seven-seater car, sort out work and so on - it was manic!!”
Dave added: “We have been a family now for two years. It has been the most hard work, stressful, emotional, scary and expensive time we have ever experienced and we love it!”
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