Clinton Lewis/Daily News

There is never a dull moment in the home of Kent and Tracy McBrayer. Their two daughters Anne Claire, 6, and Ashton, 3 keep the place lively as they play with toys, give their parents lots of hugs and kisses, wrestle with each other gently across the floor and vie for their parents attention. Mama, you got mail! Ashton shouted as she ran to Tracy McBrayer with a letter from her toy Mailbox, a character from Blues Clues. Anne Claire, not to be outdone, stayed close to her mothers side and talked about some items she wants to get for an upcoming sleepover. I love makeup, she said as she liberally rolled blueberry-scented blue glitter roll-on across her arms, accidentally getting a smidgen of the glitter on her nose. The McBrayers are much like the average family, but they also stand out in a crowd. While Anne Claires fair locks are different from those of her dark-haired parents, its Ashtons exotic looks that make strangers do a double take. Thats because the McBrayers adopted Ashton from Cambodia when she was 7 months old. International adoption is increasingly becoming an option for couples who want to avoid some of the potential hazards of domestic adoption. Although the McBrayers private, domestic adoption of Anne Claire when she was 4 days old went smoothly, they decided to try a different route this time. There are legal risks. The birth mothers can change their minds. Its a really scary thing to go through, she said. It was so scary we just didnt want to do it again. Were spiritual people, and we felt that we were led through a different adoption. The McBrayers arent the only ones looking abroad for adoption possibilities. Christy and Joey Chitwood of Bowling Green adopted Grace, who will turn 3 next month, nearly two years ago from the province of Anhui in China. You hear so much about people taking their children back, Christy said. We know some people that that happened to. The threat of natural parents coming back to reclaim their child may be less, but the months-long wait for an international adoption can be just as hard as that for a domestic adoption, the parents said. It takes patience and endurance, Christy said. Sometimes it looks like youll never get through the paperwork. Youve got to really want it. Dealing with home studies, legal paperwork and, sometimes, having to go to the country to get the child can make the process long and expensive, often costing thousands of dollars. It can be expensive, but dont let it scare you, said Sheryl Miller of Bowling Green who, with her husband, Preston, adopted 15-month old Scott from Korea about nine months ago. When its the right thing to do, the money just comes. A lot of it has been the Lord providing for us. Because the children are often in orphanages, adoptive parents usually know little or nothing about the children they are taking in as their own. We know she was abandoned at the orphanage, Tracy McBrayer said of Ashton. The McBrayers also believe Ashton knew hunger. When we first got her, she would eat rice with soy sauce. If we thought she was done and she had a little left on her plate and we took her food away, she would cry and cry, Kent McBrayer remembered. Now she knows if she doesnt eat everything on her plate that theres more. Millers son is classified as a special needs child, but there is nothing physically or mentally different about him. He is classified that way because of his background, Miller said. We have some information about his birth mother. She was in her early 20s and unwed. Thats frowned upon in Korea, she said. She had no prenatal care and he was born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Although the children had been through difficult circumstances, it didnt stop their families from feeling an instant bond with them. I went with a friend…, Tracy McBrayer said as she began to describe her journey to Cambodia to get Ashton. … and my daddy stayed with me! Anne Claire piped in with a big smile. Yes, your daddy stayed with you, Tracy said, smiling back at her daughter before she continued. I was so in love and so overwhelmed at the same time. Cambodia is the poorest country you could ever imagine. There are people riding on mopeds with chickens hanging off of them, children running around naked, people sleeping in shacks. Hopefully, well make a difference in her life. She has certainly made one in ours. Kent McBrayer agreed. It was one of the proudest moments weve had, he said. Ashton has been such a blessing. I think weve all adapted well. Miller also described falling in love with Scott. Korea is one of the few countries that will escort children into the United States, so the Millers picked him up in Memphis. He came off the airplane and snuggled into my arms like he knew who I was, she said. Christy Chitwood remembered crying when she was first handed her Grace, who she described as her chubby baby. She was well taken care of. She cried, I cried, she said. You just know its your baby. My heart just melted. The natives of the childrens countries seemed pleased that they were being adopted by Americans, the mothers said. A sniff on the hand is like a kiss in Cambodia. The women in the marketplace would come up to me and sniff my hand, McBrayer said. They would touch Ashtons hair and say lucky baby. Christy Chitwood had a similar experience in China. Everybody was very friendly and smiled at us, she said. They gave us thumbs up. They knew she was coming to a nice place. The parents agreed that their children have adjusted well to becoming Americans, but hope to keep them in touch with their previous cultures as well. Not only do the McBrayers have items from Cambodia, but they are working on connecting to Bowling Greens Cambodian culture. They often shop at local businesses owned by Cambodians, who sometimes speak to Ashton in their native language. The lessons also extend to Anne Claire, whom the McBrayers plan to take to vacation Bible school at a predominantly black church this summer so that she can understand better how Ashton may feel as a minority. Its important to us that they are in places where there is diversity, she said. The Millers plan to teach Scott about his Korean heritage a little at a time. Just so hes aware of it, Sheryl Miller said. We dont want to push it on him. Christy Chitwood said she and her husband arent sure how they want to introduce Grace to China. When she starts realizing shes different, were going to introduce it to her, she said. We have storybooks that talk about going to China to get a baby, and we add Graces name to those when we read them to her. The McBrayers said that they have adopted all the children they want, but the Millers and the Chitwoods plan to go through the international process again soon for their second child. Tracy McBrayer was so inspired by international adoption that she works as a part-time support person for World Child International Adoption Agency, a non-profit international adoption agency that places orphaned and abandoned children with families in the United States and with American families living abroad. The McBrayers are also part of Hopeful Hearts, a support group for adoptive families and those suffering from infertility. The group meets at 6:30 p.m. the third Monday of each month at Living Hope Baptist Church. International adoption is a leap of faith, she said as she glanced lovingly at her daughters. Its all about the end result, though. The end result is so worth it.