They are family

WOODVILLE — The two high school sweethearts at Belleville Henderson Central knew they would one day marry and have children.

But sitting in the living room of his home off Route 3 and surrounded by his family, Robert R. Corron was asked if he thought it would ever come to this.

"Not by me," he said. "I expected a couple of kids and that was about it."

But he's not complaining. A modest plan for a family by Mr. Corron and his wife, Michell L., has grown to six children, ranging in age from 5 to 17 — a large family but certainly nothing unusual.

But what begins to set the family apart is the couple's youngest children, which Mrs. Corron calls her "Chinese-Indian triplets."

Mei-Lin was adopted from China at 14 months old in 2005.

Isaiah was adopted from India at age 2 in 2006. He is deaf.

Anvita was adopted from India at age 3 in 2008. She is deaf, visually impaired and has gross motor delays.

They are all 5, and Mrs. Corron believes destiny has brought them under her roof. The "triplets" joined Justin, 17, who is also deaf and was adopted domestically at age 5.

The family is rounded out by the Corrons' biological children, Ashley, 15, and Mathieu, 13.

"We're just an ordinary family who was lucky enough to have found each other," Mrs. Corron said.

Mr. and Mrs. Corron connected with Justin through Chautauqua County Social Services. The fact that Justin is deaf didn't play a major role in their decision to adopt him, Mrs. Corron said.

"It was just him we fell in love with," she said. "There's so many children out there, I couldn't see having any more children when there's so many who need homes."

Adoption is nothing new for Mrs. Corron, who has put a planned career in graphic design on hold to raise her family. She has seven adopted brothers and sisters. She and her husband, a worker for the town of Ellisburg highway department, married in 1993, three years after graduating from Belleville Henderson Central.

The spark for international adoption was lit in Mrs. Corron when she saw an adopted Asian infant with her mother at a Watertown supermarket. She brought her idea home to her husband.

"I didn't disagree, but I thought she was joking at first," Mr. Corron said.

But Mrs. Corron did some research online and found Holt International Children's Services in Eugene, Ore. About a year later, Mei-Lin joined the family.

The Corrons' first foray into foreign adoption was an eye-opener, and not only because of the cost, which Mrs. Corron said ranges between $25,000 to $30,000 per child.

"Along with that the process is grueling with adoption classes, endless paperwork and repeated fingerprinting at various levels," she said.

When they adopted their two children from India, even the small things caused setbacks.

"You have court processes in India where very often things will be delayed for weeks, if not months, for minor things like the copier running out of paper or they closed for two months for vacation," Mrs. Corron said. "It was very stressful."

But the rewards are many, she said.

"When the day comes that your child gets placed in your arms is the most surreal moment in time," she said. "All the stress and worries of adoption are soon forgotten."

Mrs. Corron said there are lots of deaf children available to adopt through Holt, which has an online photo listing of special-needs children. The company has a special needs adoption fund, which helped the Corrons adopt Isaiah and Anvita.

"Because we already had a deaf child, it wasn't a burden for us," she said. "They would have no life or chance in India. There's just so much opportunity here."

The Corrons are kept busier than the average parents.

"Life is full of IEP (individualized educational plan) meetings, hearing aids breaking, cochlear implants that need mapping, broken glasses and dealing with health insurance and doctor appointments," Mrs. Corron said.

"Children are just children despite their challenges," Mrs. Corron said. "We find joy in smaller accomplishments and gain a deeper appreciation for the true priorities in life."

Mrs. Corron said she often gets comments saying how lucky her adopted children are for finding her family.

"I don't really like that," she said. "I feel we are the ones who are lucky because they bring so much joy into our lives."

The family gets its share of stares on outings.

"We may not look like an ordinary family, with everyone signing, some light skinned, some dark, one Chinese, others Indian, one blond, others black haired," Mrs. Corron said. "The bond we all share surpasses the challenges others may see."

The Corrons make it a point to focus on the cultural identity of their "triplets." They celebrate the Chinese new year and Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

"The children love to wear their saris and punjabis as well as their traditional Chinese clothes," Mrs. Corron said.

They read books on their home countries and have friends who were also adopted internationally.

"I hope they grow up to be good people, culturally enlightened and into their cultural identity," Mrs. Corron said.

Her husband said international adoption, and especially adopting foreign special-needs children, is not for everybody.

"You've got to have parents who are right for the children," Mr. Corron said. "There's a lot to it. You just don't bring them home."

Between all the hard work, there are the little things at home that make it all worthwhile, Mrs. Corron said.

"Sitting back and watching them sign to each other and tickling each other is priceless," she said. "Watching the teenage children carry the little ones around the house at 100 miles an hour in a race puts tears in my eyes."

On the first day of school last month, she had tears for another reason: her house became silent.

All of her children were in school, her "triplets" in preschool and prekindergarten.

"It was the first time ever I've been away from them," she said. "I promised myself I wouldn't cry. But I cried. But two hours later, it was so peaceful."