My wife Natasha, and I adopted our two boys five or six years ago called Mark and Kevin. We had decided, early on in the adoption process, that we wanted to adopt two children.  We did not want to go through the whole process again in a few years if we adopted only one child at the beginning. We knew that we did not want to raise an only child. 

Our social worker was very good in supporting us through the matching process. We’d said that we wanted to adopt primary school age children, so the ages that the boys were when we first met them were ideal. We all got along well together right from the start, although there have been issues along the way – Mark has difficulties with his anger on occasion and Kevin has learning difficulties. However, they are both growing into lovely young men and we are so pleased that they are part of our family.

Mark and Kevin are part of a bigger sibling group – five in all, with a brother and sister with one adoptive family and the youngest sister with another adoptive family. Mark and Kevin are the oldest and in fact, Mark was acting as the main carer for quite a few years before the children were taken into care. We all meet up three or four times a year, so that the children can catch up with each other. They also keep in touch over the phone and by email.

We both feel that it was great that we were able to adopt Mark and Kevin. We feel sure that if we had not done so, because they were older children, then the next step would have been for them to be separated for two single adoptions or long-term fostering – and that would not have been right for either of them.