It seems like our adoption was SO long ago! It was 7 years ago this July that we decided to pursue adoption. From turning in the initial paperwork till landing back home with Gabby & Duncan took 13 months and one day.
Some day I would love to take the kids back to Russia to visit. Russia is a beautiful country. The people are, basically, quite friendly and helpful. The language is a hard one...between the different alphabet and the myrid of sentence structures, I'm wondering how English is harder?! (Spelling is harder in English but words are harder in Russian!)
I think of how different life would be for both kids, if they were still in Russia. I'm sure Gabby would be in an orphanage where she would learn basic skills--probably never really go to school. She would be MUCH smaller than she is now because she would still have bread with every meal, thus stunting her growth due to her celiac disease. Maybe she would have demonstrated her strength/gymnastic ability and gone to study gymnastics...but I don't know if they would have put up with her inattention.
Duncan would probably be in a school/orphanage situation. He's quite bright, but has a hard time focusing. I'm sure the Russians would have taken the 'play' out of him early on. His hardest thing is paying attention. He takes to reading, math and science quickly...but leaves them just as quickly when he sees others playing.
I think of what our life would be like without these kids--much more boring. I would not have met some very wonderful & nice people--Charisse, Melissa, Dr Marchand, Mrs. Melnechuk, Claudia, Donna, Deb, the kids in my (Gabby's) small group, etc. I wouldn't be volunteering in the school library once/week and having a good time with the 2 classes I help there.
Yes, life would be very different without our 2 little Russians. I thank God daily (usually many times/day) for sending these 2 kids to us. They are blessings from heaven. Adoption is good for both the kids AND the adults. It's not always fun or perfect but it's always a gift from God and a learning experience.
4 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more. These children are a gift from god.
Having been able to take these children into our homes is a blessing beyond words.
We have had our 2 girls for nine years now. They were adopted from the foster system and we couldn't love them more than if they were our biological child.
God Bless and All the Best in the Future to you, your husband and children.
Hello! I found your blog because I did a search regarding adoptions from Kaliningrad Russia. I feel that God is calling us to specifically explore an adoption from this area, because we now have a lifelong exchange daughter who lives there (you can meet her on my blog!).
I have not made it known that we are praying about adoption, but of course, I have a million questions. Would you be willing to email me? I would be so grateful.
Since I feel such a specific calling to Kaliningrad, I am wondering how in the world I would go from here. How do I find out which agencies --- and especially, Christian agencies --- refer adoptions from Kaliningrad? Which agency did you use, and would you recommend them as well?
I am also aware of the possible freezing of adoptions between US and Russia. We will see what God has in store...
Thank you so much for your time. You have a lovely family! I would love to have you stop by my blog sometime too. Thanks!
-Darlene
www.worthwalkingtoward.blogspot.com
(I will try to see if I can find an email contact for you so that I don't have to leave my email on the web. If not, I will return and leave a comment with my email. Thanks!!)
ok! here is my email:
dnweir@hotmail.com
Congratulations on your 7 year anniversary being an adoptive parent. How wonderful to read and thank you for leaving a trail to let me find you in this big world of hours. I am delighted to hear how much you love my blog and humble and shy at the same time. Thank you, you make me blush. If anything that is my goal, to make people and myself happy by capturing moments in life to enlighten them. Blogging is like affirmations. It makes me realize how lucky I am living here, having my family and doing the things I do. I am so happy for you too to finally have a family of your own. Good luck and I wish you many years of happiness watching and helping your children grow. They are real sweet hearts.
Annette
My Rose Valley
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