It has been a couple months now since we adopted our little girl and we can't imagine our lives without her. The other day our 10 year old son said to me, "Isn't is funny how one day you get a picture of a little girl on your computer and then she is our sister?" I agree. But, I believe it is a miracle…
Last year, 2002, we were with another adoption agency and waiting for a 2 year old little girl who had been referred to us by them. We were told she would be home by Christmas. Well, Christmas came and went and no child. We were given one lame excuse after another. As it turned out this country, Romania, had a moratorium on adoptions and were not planning to end it anytime soon. And, still today Sept. 2003 it remains in effect. In March of 2003 we decided this was going nowhere and we ended the adoption process and our relationship with that agency. We were heartbroken. How could this happen? We had her room ready, her clothes and everything. We thought maybe we weren't meant to have another child. But, God had other plans. You may have heard that He never closes a door without opening a window and we are living proof of that.
After many tears and thoughts we regrouped and decided to find another agency and another country. We contacted a facilitator after seeing a picture of a little girl on a photolisting. She said this girl was in Khazakstan and the trip would be 3 or 4 weeks long. This was too long for us to be away from our sons ages 12 and 9. The facilitator then asked us about Russia and said she had a few pictures of little girls who had just become available for adoption. She emailed them to us and one of them was a 3 year old, beautiful Russian girl. Once I saw her I couldn't stop thinking about her. I spoke to my husband who was hesitant after the last experience. But, when he saw her picture he immediately said, Let's do it.
We were so thrilled, but nervous too because of our previous attempt at adoption. While we were getting all our paperwork together I would call our full-time coordinator with endless questions and worries. She would always help me and never got impatient. I always felt better after I talked to her. When we finally got the phone call to meet our child I couldn't believe it. It was really happening! And, it went quickly and without problems. What a relief!
Our coordinator overseas was also awesome. She was professional and kind and we will NEVER forget her. She found our angel FOR us and she is an angel TO us.
The day we met our daughter was magical. We were sitting in the director's office and I could hear little footsteps come running down the hall and a little voice to match. Then running into the room was Her. She was even cuter than her picture! How many times I had looked at her picture and dreamt of meeting her and holding her and here she was. She went to the other women in the room and said "Mama?" They pointed at me and told her I was her mama and my husband was her papa. She smiled at us and gobbled up the cookies we had for her. She was a bundle of energy and curiosity. You can see she wasn't shy and it was love at first sight. We hated to leave but knew we would be back soon to bring her home.
Six weeks later we were back. When we met her to take her with us after the court date it was a day as wonderful as when my 2 biological sons were born. She came walking into that same office with her caregivers. She looked at me and said in English, "I love you Mama." Well, of course I lost it then. We hugged her and told her we loved her too. All her caregivers were there hugging her and crying too. I hugged them and told them thank you and we will treasure her. It was very obvious she was deeply loved and cared for. We can never express how much we care for the people at her orphanage. It was a very bittersweet moment for everyone. Yana was very quiet. She was probably overwhelmed. We spent 2 weeks in Russia with her and our sons. There were no problems and our coordinators there handled all the paperwork and appointments and details for us so we could spend time with our new family of five. Russia is a beautiful country. We saw as many sights as possible, like Red Square, The Kremlin, St. Basil's, Alexander Gardens and the Moscow Circus. The McDonalds next to the Alexander Fountains came in handy with 3 hungry kids:. America is our home and we love it, but we feel so connected to Russia and the Russian people. They have a special place in our hearts and will always remain there. People ask me, "What was Russia like?" I often tell them…Do you see how confidently our daughter walks, her beautiful face and that little twinkle in her eye when she laughs? This is Russia.
Now several months have passed since we adopted our beautiful baby girl. She is truly a blessing. She is the sunshine in our day. Our boys adore her and so do we. She is a perfect fit for our family in everyway. Our sons' tell us, "I'm sure glad we have her for our sister." Who would have thought our " all boy house" could be so quickly turned to pink. And the funny thing is… the boys love it. We would have never thought we would see them holding a baby doll or hugging a little "girl" YUK!! But, they do and it came so naturally. This child has brought so much joy into our lives that we sometimes feel our hearts may burst. She is as beautiful inside as she is outside. She is funny, smart, sweet, independent and loving. Everyone who meets her loves her. She is adjusting very well and constantly amazes us by how adaptable she is. I hope this doesn't sound too perfect. Yes, we have had a few adjustments but nothing major. It would be strange if there weren't a few bumps. We would like to thank all the people who worked with us on our adoption for making our dream finally come true, especially our facilitator in the United States. We love her and think of her as a friend. I still call her and she talks to our daughter in Russian and interprets things when I need it. She even came to her 4th birthday party 2 weeks ago with her daughter. Our little girl says, she lu blu (loves) her and gives her a big hug and loves her daughter too.
God never closes a door without opening a window. That window was open for us this year and our little angel daughter flew right through it and into our hearts.