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The Adoption Process...
The adoption process was a long one. The
Gary and Heath had to fill out stacks upon stacks of paper work. The entire process was kept a secret, as a precaution
in case anything fell through, therefore they did not have very much avaliable support from their friends. Around December,
they received a letter from the adoption agency, which informed them that their age would make a domestic adoption very difficult,
but encouraging them to pursue international adoption. They were discouraged, but decided to act as the agency advised.
In February, an elderly couple came to interview the family, to make sure that they would be good candidates. They passed
the home study, and all they could do was wait for the next few months. During those few months, the family moved into
a house large enough for their new addition. Finally, in August of 1999, while the family was on a vacation in Fripp
Island, SC, Gary received a phone call informing them that they had a beautiful twenty-month old boy named Alexi in Vologda,
Russia that they would like them to consider adopting. Days later, pictures and a home video of the child arrived
in the mail, and the family fell in love with him. After a quick check of his health records, Gary and Heath told the
agency that they would love to be Alexi's new parents. Once again, the Brown's had to wait, only this time was a little
more stressful. The next time the agency called, it would be to assign a court date, which would determine what day
Gary and Heath would need to leave for Russia. This phone call finally came in the middle of October, and they were
scheduled to leave only two weeks later! Needless to say, those two weeks were hectic, but on October 29, 1999,
the couple said goodbye to their two teenagers, and headed to Russia.
 On Gary and Heathie's second day in Russia, they met their little boy for the first time. They
spent time playing with him in the baby house and the next day they took him with them to Moscow. The adoption was finalized
on November 1, 1999. Gary and Heath changed the Alexi's name to "Scott" by calling him Alexi Scott while they were
in Russia, and eventually dropping the Alexi. The new family spent time bonding in Russia, before bringing the child
to his new home to meet his new siblings.
Today, Scott is an active eight year old. He is in the second grade and loves Nascar, baseball, and spending time
with his brother and sister when they are home from college.
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