Adoptiveparents.ca was launched on November 20th, 2009 in honour of National Adoption Day (and month!) in North America. This site was created to serve as a resource guide for Canadians who are hoping to grow their families through adoption and for anyone whose lives have been touched by adoption.

This web site has been a work in progress for the last 5 years and I'm thrilled to finally be able to share my research and knowledge of adoption with you ...

Hello! My name is Shannon Vieira. I'm not a social worker nor am I an adoption professional. I'm a self-employed web designer and I've also been recently trained to be a co-trainer for the PRIDE foster and adoption training in Ontario. But, my most important job is being a mom to my three wonderful kids ...

Adoption has, and always will be, a huge part of my life. As an infant, I was placed for adoption through the Children's Aid Society in Ontario. I grew up in a wonderful family (the best!) and always knew that I was adopted. At the age of 18, I met my birth mother with the help of my parents and have maintained a 'friendship' with her over the years. I've also met my birth father as well as several members of his family. Meeting my birth family was a positive experience as I now have all the pieces of the puzzle (including the fact that I'm part Native).

Adoption had always been part of the plan when it came to building our family; when it was discovered that we couldn't get pregnant, my husband and I didn't hesitate in starting the process to adopt.

On February 21st, 2006, after waiting just nine months, we received 'the call' that all prospective adoptive parents anticipate ... we were going to be parents to a beautiful, 8 month old baby BOY!! The 'call' came from Native Child and Family Services in Toronto - one of the many public agencies in Ontario that accepted our home study for consideration.

We met our eldest son on February 22nd, 2006, and fell in love with him the moment he was placed in our arms. "C" came home forever on March 3rd 2006 and our lives haven't been the same since. Changing diapers, teething and sleepless nights, first words and wobbly steps, playing at the park and singing silly songs were just a few of the many things we experienced as new members of 'the parent club.'

Our first adoption was so incredible that we decided to do it again ..... A few days after C's third birthday, we received the happy news that again, we had been chosen to adopt another baby boy! We adopted our second son, "B" through Chatham-Kent Children's Aid Society and like our first, this adoption was nothing short of wonderful! "B" was only five months old when he came home and was (and still is!) such a dolly! He came home forever on July 9th, 2008 and it's been amazing watching our two boys play together and bond as brothers.

On October 4th, 2010, we welcomed home our third child ... a beautiful baby girl! "A" was just 12 months old when she joined our family. "A" is quite the girly girl (she loves dolls and wearing pretty dresses) and is talking so much now! The boys love their little sister and we're having so much fun being parents to these wonderful little people.

As you can see, adoption has been very good to my family. I couldn't help but want to 'pay it forward' by creating this adoption resource site and help other families in their journeys to adopt. Adopting is not easy ... we experienced many bumps and obstacles along the way, but we knew that eventually, with a lot of persistence and luck, we too, would become parents one day!

Good luck and all the best,

Shannon Vieira
[email protected]