ROWENA O'Dea had always wanted to be a mum.

There was never any question, it was part of her natural progression through life.

Sometimes, however, things don't go as planned.

In 2005, pharmacist Mrs O'Dea and her farmer husband, Andrew, discovered they could not have children.

"That was pretty devastating at the time,” Mrs O'Dea said.

"It's a real shock when things don't go the way you think they're going to.

"When you find out you can't have kids, that you're not completely in control of your life, it's a tough thing to try and understand.”

With that door closed to the couple, they began to look at other avenues.

In 2006 the couple decided to adopt but hit a major hurdle.

"We found the books in Queensland were closed,” Mrs O'Dea said.

"We were told we would have to wait until the expression of interest period opened again.

"So basically we would have had to just sit and wait for who knows how long before we could start the process.”

So the pair moved to the Northern Territory.

"The opportunity to move to a station came up, we thought why not?” Mrs O'Dea said.

"We had heard Queensland was one of the hardest states in Australia to adopt in, so we thought the Territory had to be better.

"When a job as a pharmacist came up in Darwin it was almost like the stars had aligned and we went for it.

"The process there is so much smoother and faster, mainly due to the population.”

Mrs O'Dea said she never set out to adopt wanting to save a child's life.

"Adoption is so political and complex, with so many hoops to jump through,” she said.

"There are so many children around the world that could benefit from a kind and loving family but the sad fact is that, more often than not, they're simply not in the system.

"The truth is if we didn't adopt Jia and Hughie, another loving family desperate for children of their own would have.”

The process to adopt the couple's first child, Jia, took about a year and in 2008 they flew to Taiwan to collect their gorgeous seven-month-old baby.

A few years later in 2011, they returned to Taiwan to pick up Hugh, who was 13 months old.

Mrs O'Dea said the couple had to make a conscious decision to become parents.

"We had to persevere through countless interviews, interrogations and assessments to get our 'licence',” she said.

"So becoming a mother was something that I was forced to put a lot of thought into.

"The fact that my children are not from my womb is something that barely enters my mind.”

Mrs O'Dea leaves little doubt about her love for Jia and Hugh.

"From the moment I met my children, the love I felt for them was overwhelming and a void in my life was filled instantly,” she said.

"I could never imagine a stronger love or a deeper connection than the one I feel with either of my children.

"So the meaning of motherhood for me has nothing to do with blood and DNA - motherhood happens when a child is placed into the arms of a woman who has been impatiently waiting for her.

"When my kids yell for me, 'Mum', it's me they want. They want me and I want them, it's as simple as that.”

"I don't feel like I've missed out on anything at all, quite the opposite really.

"These two gorgeous children have given me everything I ever wanted. I always wanted to be a mum and I am.”