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Monday, September 27, 2010

While we wait.

Well, it is about five months after it looked like Anya would be here. We are currently waiting for the orphanage to give Anya a medical. The judge has set a required date for the documents to be in, September 30. Then, the court will issue a court date for our adoption about a week after that, which means travel in mid-October? So, we wait some more.

In the mean time, I attended a conference in Nashville on September 10-11. I met up with a new friend I knew from an online Parents of Little People group who adopted an Achondroplasia Dwarf too and we had a spectacular time. The information about how to allow these children a chance to heal, grow and attach is fascinating, yet simple.

It so impacted how we will parent Anya that I started a blog about resources for those who have adopted, are adopting or will adopt. Please let everyone you know who is involved in adoption in any way know about my blog.


Also, here is a site (the organization that puts out the information from the conference) with a multitude of information on it.


So, again I say, we wait.

The DVD About Our Family Gets to Anya 8-21-10

Here is the email I just received from the pastor we stayed with in Russia. He took the DVD we made of our life here to Anya for us and tried to convince her it is good to go to America!!

Dear Dave and Monica,

God's  love  to you! We are grateful for your prayers. We already have rains  for  two days. We are thankful for your taking part in needs of Vera and Alexei.

3  days  ago  I  got  DVD  for Anya. Yesterday I and some young people (Nina, Anya, Sasha, Kolya) went to Elatma (her town) where we were met very well.
Before  we  collected  some  toys,  toothpaste, electric toothbrush, a scarf,  gloves, socks, some decoration for hair for Anya. We also took an  umbrella  from your box left with Vera and we gave all these gifts from  your name. We also brought a big bar of chocolate for every girl living  with  Anya.  With  pleasure Anya as a mistress distributed the bars  of  chocolate  to  her friends and it was very pleasant to watch this. I opened the notebook (his laptop) for Anya and her friends. Anya watched with great  interest.  I asked her: What impression do you have? Her answer
was:  A  swimming pool and I would like to swim. You said: Bye-bye and she  said:  Bye-bye too. She also enjoyed Mattew's playing the fiddle.
After watching your DVD I asked Anya's friends: Do you want Anya to go to  America?  They  answered:  Yes.  From my side I told Anya and some educators about your family which wants to have a younger daughter and a  younger  sister.  I also told about Oksana and Olesya from Solotcha (the young ladies who were in the DVD as our translators) which  live  in  America now and they are very happy. I tried to do my best.  But we will hope the Lord for His awaking her feelings, desire, emotion  and  heart. At the end Anya gave her greetings to you all and especially to Mattew.

Elatma was full of the smoke too. There were fires in several kms from Elatma  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Oka  river. Then we visited the preschool orphanage where we distributed some mashed fruit. Before our departure  from  Elatma we were praying for rain to stop the fires. It was a miracle! We went and it was raining. It was a downpour. All road was full of water and the glass cleaner (his windshield wipers) hardly worked and we could not move.  We  had to stop in the filling station to wait and to thank the Lord for His answer our and your prayers.

God bless you,

Pastor Anatoli.

C уважением,
 Anatoly   





Fires Burn Road to Anya's Orpahange 8-10

Fires have burned the surrounding area of and the road to Anya's village. Here is part of an email from a pastor we know in the area. We did hear the military is repaving the roads so officials can go there. Also, we are waiting for just one piece of paper from the State of CA so we can ask for a court date from Russia.
Our weather situation is pretty bad - fortunately, all orphan camps were closed - so children were no affected. The most difficult situation is with Elatma, because the orphanage itself is located in he midst of fires. I talked with the director yesterday - she said, that they are ok for now, but many children were poisoned with carbon monoxide and smoke. So she asked to help with emergency medicine, medical masks and caps for kids. We have already bought it and looking for the way to deliver it to the orphanage, because all roads to Elatma are closed for now.
Please - continue to keep us - and specially children and homeless victims of the fire - in your prayers. 
 



 

Day 4-New Plan of Attack

After going to the notary's office, to the Department of Education, back to where we were staying, again to the notary's office and the Department of Education, we headed out to the orphanage again. A new caregiver was on duty and Anya was terrified again. She asked me all kinds of questions about my ability to care for her, about our family and finally softened a little at the end. Basically, the three caregivers are "talking smack" about adoption (that's "bad" for you older people). One of them was basically chewed out by Vika and the social worker and are in for it from Ekaterina (the lady in the white coat on the right in the picture of the three women). They won't show her the album we left or talk positively about adoption.

New plan...(Dave was coming up with great ideas left and right, he thrives in challenging situations. Ask him to find a napkin in the kitchen on an average day and that is a different story...) We'll bring Matt over for 5 days prior to going to court and hopefully that connection she has with him will overpower her fears. I did ask the caregiver to let Anya know that I have no intention of replacing her mother. I know I am not her mother and never will be, but I'd like to take the role of care giver and love her. Hopefully with that info and Matt telling her that we are safe, that she can come back someday to visit and her seeing how much Matt trusts me, all will be great. But what an adventure it has been!!!!!!!!!!!!

We left for where we were staying at 5:30pm, ate dinner there at 9pm, left to change money at 10:30 (where I had to move the BMW in a highly populated parking since Andrei parked in front of a gate and they all left me in the car!) and headed to Moscow (2.5 hour drive).

The next morning at 8am (fully packed none the less) we were off for our "8 Doctor Exam", blood tests and chest X-rays. THAT is a whole other story-Dave likens it a Seinfeld episode and me to a Jerry Lewis movie. We were rushed through all that and basically thrown on a train to the airport since the freeways were so clogged and Andrei feared we'd miss our flight. Glad to be home!

 Our Russian hosts.

 Andrei, Dave and Vika


Day 3-Terrified Anya Speaks...

On the way out to the orpahnage (the five hour round trip at 100mph on bumpy roads was getting real old), we picked up the social worker, Natalia. She is the woman in the center in the  posted photo of three ladies). The town crier was outside waiting to greet us.

Again we met in the gazebo. Dave ran to the car to get the games and Anya looked at me and said something important. I asked for translation, but they never told me until the way home what it was. "Please don't take me to the States." I knew something was up when the social worker came over, dropped to her knees and spoke softly and rubbed Anya's legs. It turns out that they watch soap operas on TV and the news constantly (for weeks) played stories about the Russian boy that was adopted and then "returned". She believes he was treated terribly and that is her fate if she goes with us.

Vika asked if we could give a gift "from Matt" and that was a smashing success. I actually had a stuffed bear that I slept with for weeks so it would smell like me. Then I put my perfume on it and made sure to wear it on this trip. She was thinking about Matt in delight, pulled the bear out and instantly pulled it to her nose to smell it. Bingo! Delight=Monica's scent.

We looked at the photo album again and she was having a great time. She ran in to give the group some graham cracker cookies we brought and then, she came back out to see us-a first! We decided to leave for lunch and return after their nap time. When we did we went inside to pass out the food gifts and she was in heaven. After that I was taking pictures of one of the rooms and she yelled my name twice to come see her bedroom and take a picture of her on her bed. Later in the day, when asked about us, she emphatically told Vika, "I like them a lot, but I still won't go." She had mentioned the day before that her mom was still here. They won't traumatize her by telling her that her mother relinquished her when she was a baby.




I am not as thrilling as the bear alone
(compare this picture and the one above it!)

Day 2-What if Anya says no?

Vika told us that the day before, Anya was terrified and she thought Anya knew a lot more than anyone suspected, since adoption was not supposed to have been brought up. Upon arriving at the orphanage, Ekataterina came out, was walking and talking with Vika, but made sure to reach her arm out to me and give me a pat and squeeze.

We met with Anya again in the gazebo, had a little chocolate and played with the ball, magnets and other toys. She voted me the worst ball played. I might be offended if it weren't true! Anya asked if she could bring the magnet toys into her group to share and there she stayed. Since we were told that she is very generous and concerned about others, offering to massage her caregivers' arms, Dave came up with a brilliant idea. We decided to bring back gifts for the 20 orphans in her building (and chocolates and cookies for the 23 boys in their building) and have Anya pass them out so she could be the one sharing. After the trip, we picked up boxed juices, bananas (a real treat for orphans), chocolate and cookies. She was delighted the next day to be able to pass them out. Vika also asked me to make a slide show on my laptop of pictures I have of her and Matt as well as the ones we had just taken. Anya was enthralled at Dave's job, so pictures of him at work were included. She may just end up trusting us, in part because of Dave's
"helping" people at work. As we walked back to the car, an orphan boy was outside (I dubbed the town crier) and asked Andrei if we like Anya and if we were going to take her away.

We talked with Andre and Vika for a long time about our options if Anya says no and how to prevent that from happening. At age 10, the orphans must meet with a judges and they determine if the child wants to go. Luckily, it isn't just a yes or no question, it is a series of deeper questions like, "would you like to play at their house, would you like to see their dog?"






Day 1- The Spanish Inquisition and Our Olympic Gold Moments (the longest of the trip's posts)

Monday was a hot, humid day, the kind that melted my hair down flat against my head and gave me that little boy hairstyle I strive for so often. Dave and I were fed and then taken to the local Department of Education by our adoption agency workers Andrei and Viktoria (or Vika), who was also our translator. Dave, Vika and I headed to the director’s office where we sat for our meeting. What followed was 60 minutes that felt like the Spanish Inquisition to me.

Irina, the director, was not the least bit happy that a couple of flaky Americans were coming to disrupt the life of one of her own, the children she works to protect. Her eyes conveyed a high level of frustration mixed with an attitude of “I’ve had enough of this”. As we were continually asked what our motivation to adopt was, over and over, she blurted out that another American family, just like us sat here and told her the same things, but then chose to, for lack of a better phrase, give away the children they adopted to American agencies.

For maybe thirty minutes, we went back and forth about other family's issues and our awareness of what will be involved in raising Anya. As Dave described our embarrassment about misguided American adopted parents, her heart began to soften. Irena eventually did release the papers we needed (they were already filled out-I think she just wanted to push and push us to see what would happen), but with a stern you had better do this right look.

One of the funny moments (at least in my eyes) was when Irena looked me squarely in the eyes and emphatically told me in Russian, “You know, she is very, very short!” with a so what are you going to do about that? look. We were warned by her that many American are willing to adopt a Russian child with physical disabilities, but aren’t ready for the mentally disabled ones like Anya. What?!? I realized later that the attachment issues adopted children go through may be what she was talking about. But now I had a little red flag in my spirit. Is Anya really mentally disabled?

Next, we headed off to the distant orphanage that Anya calls home for a 2.5 hour car ride, one way. We traveled at up to 105 mph in a nice BMW SUV, passing cars at up to a literal 36-48” apart, over roads that are seldom, if ever maintained.  Vika, our translator and even Irena from the Department of Education, warned us that the orphanage director, Ekaterina, is a hard strict woman. Great. Following us into the office were two other woman (Natalia and ?). One was from social services and the other an inspector (no pressure though). Although concerned, they had softer spirits about them and it was evident they really care about Anya’s welfare.

Again, why, why, why, why and why do you want to adopt?  They announced that Anya is very capricious (a rough translation of part of her personality) and stubborn, to which I replied, “Yes, that is what attracted me to her as my other four children are the same. Actually, Dave and I are too.” Dave added, “She will fit right in.” We spoke of the love that has grown in our hearts for her and our compassion for her.

Next were genuine questions asking if we were aware she speaks Russian only, what we would do about that and how could I say that Matt connected with her. That one really stumped them.

As a last line of attack, they went on a rant about her mentally ill disability. Dave and I really started to get discouraged. Did Matt and I really misread her so severely? I finally thought, “Well, we’ve come this far, do we adopt a demon child with retardation who will be living with us forever?” I pursued their line of attack with questions and since their answers weren’t valid, I felt a bit better. The most opposition came when they told us she is so ill that she cannot care for herself.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked. The answers included that she is unable to perform basic life skills. I asked again for specific tasks. After a few moments they started listing things she could do: feed herself, brush her teeth, clothe herself, etc. I asked again, even more specifically for one thing she cannot do for herself. There was a long discourse between the four others and I never got an answer. Once again, I asked and orphanage director finally said, “Well, she can’t be left alone.” I bit my fat tongue instead of sarcastically answering, “You know I was going to give her a knife, some matches and leave her alone in the house for twelve hours. Thanks for the tip though.”

Next we were asked to come meet Anya, whose home is across the field from the boys’ home where the director’s office is. As we crossed, someone basically said something about we’ll just have to see how she reacts to us as part of the decision. All my years of knowing Dave and myself kicked in and I instantly thought of how almost all babies, little kids and dogs flock to Dave and how many babies can’t handle my personality and cry when I try to interact with them. I whispered to Dave. “You go first and I’ll lay back low since babies hate me and love you.”

We were ushered through a gate and up onto a gazebo type structure. I faced away from the direction she would approach from and Dave stood facing her. She came up the stairs and was told to sit on a bench. I sat at the other end and motioned for Dave to sit next to her. We left the toys in the car and Dave went back to get them. Anya was nervous and the other ladies told me so. When Dave got back, I pulled out a sticker book where you pull off an insect sticker and find its silhouette to place it on in the book. Dave showed her how to do it and she was hooked-on the book and on Dave.

We gave her a magnetic puzzle book and she really liked that too. Dave spoke out of the side of his mouth, “Monica, she’s been doing the bugs stickers correctly and she just did this Tangram puzzle perfectly.” She whizzed through matching, critical thinking skills puzzles and a giraffe puzzle as well. She soaked up the challenges, but it made her tired and the workers even asked her if she was. She said yes and shortly thereafter, she went back to the house.

The most amazing things happened. The workers saw that Anya really is intelligent and were flabbergasted at how I didn’t force her to do what I wanted, but gave her choices and she responded favorably with them. Apparently as they watched us, their hearts melted toward us. Their physical countenances actually changed. The social worker said, “Monica, it is obvious you have thought very carefully about Anya, gifts for her, her intelligence and that you do understand her.” I did tear up a bit. Ekaterina decided that we are just best friends now. Another comment, made in amazement, was about how patient Dave is with Anya. I hadn’t pondered the typical role of male Russian with their children, but Dave is far from the stereotypical Russian father, if present at all.

Before we did the books with Anya, we showed her a photo album of our family and home. She hadn’t said anything at all up to this point. We showed her the pictures and there was one of Matt alone and she said, “I remember him.” There was an inaudible gasp from the ladies in the peanut gallery. Their jaws almost dropped. Dave and I went back to Anya and started with the books and puzzles. The ladies were looking at the album and called me over as they were frantically turning pages. “Moe-nee-ka, where is the picture about which Anya said she remembered your son?” I showed them and at that point, they believed all that I had said earlier in the meeting! For the rest of the time, they kept complimenting me on my parenting and Dave’s way with Anya. Next, the social worker asked about the “dwarf society” I spoke of being involved with earlier (Parents of Little People and Little People of America). I ended up schooling them all on the occurrence of dwarfism, what causes it, what dwarfs can do, sports and social groups for dwarfs, what the medical issues are and how to adapt the home environment for dwarfs. What an awesome, thrilling time it was. We walked back to the car and I asked the inspector, as I stretched my arms out, “May I?” and she hugged me. The social worker was next and I wondered if she would lessen her grip and let go. And last, I hugged Ekaterina and she barked, “Tomorrow,” in my ear.

They also wanted to know if I had more toys for tomorrow and my response was, “Uh……yes?” So, we all went to the store later and picked up a magnet building set, a ball, play-doh, bubbles,a ball, etc.

In the car, I told the other three that I felt like I just competed in the Parent Olympics and won a gold medal!!

Quips from Anya's Lips... 7-10

~To distract Anya from listening to the other adults talk about her, in Russian I asked her about her cat. But not knowing the words for male and female and forgetting the word for girl (as well as the trouble with direct translation of words and their meanings at times), I asked her, "Is it a man or is it a woman?" She stared at me directly in the eyes and responded, "It is a CAT," with a bit of "you're a crazy lady" look in her eyes.

~We were talking (through translation) about dogs and cats and here is her take on it all, "I like dogs, but I don't like cats. You can trust a dog."

~Some of the pictures of Scott (our 20 year old son) show him with a hairstyle he likes with most of the top of his hair gelled up to a somewhat of a point. Anya looked at it the first day and said, "He has crazy hair." The next day, she repeated that and added, "It looks like a bear's." New nickname for Scott-bear hair.

~I was reminding her about her relationship with Matt and mentioned one of the times Matt was there, but was sick, had to stay back and Anya was very, very sad. As the translator told her, Anya repeated some of it and I recognized the word for sick (it sounds like boiling, like with a fever). So, I made a vomit sound and stuck out my tongue. She stopped what she was doing, looked at me again and demanded, "Do NOT make faces about Matt."

~I was showing Anya how my earrings and the translator's bracelet were the same stone. The translator told her that when she is older she can wear earrings too. She looked over at me, squinted her eyes, put up her hand and waved it down as she said, "Earrings are frivolous." They all were amazed because it isn't a word a child uses. When asked if she would wear bracelets, she answered, "Oh yes."

Posts of our first trip to follow soon.

Poor Anya is terrified about being adopted. She has seen the news footage over and over of the boy that was sent back to Russia after he was adopted and brought to the States. They played up the terrible things he that were done to him (if any at all) and showed it over and over on TV. She has also asked, at an earlier time, for the care givers to find her mother. Please read the journal entries (on 1st Trip News tab) for all the details and for our plan of action.

You can pray for:
1. Her fears to subside
2. The three care givers to cooperate with us and the agencies in speaking well of adoption and for them to show her the photos we left over and over
3. For her to know I do not plan to replace her mother, but want to be like another care giver that loves her very much
4. For her to want to be adopted by us. She does like us very much, but is frozen in fear. We ask that when Matt comes the bond between them will be reawakened and that she will be willing to go
5. That when she talks to the judge and he asks her if she want to be adopted (through a series of questions like, "Do you want to go and play at Matt's house?") she will be calm, positive and determined to go

Great Outcome-We Can Adopt!! 6-7-10

We received word that the meeting between the two Russian agencies was successful and we are requested to be in Russia on June 27 for a week of visitation! Thanks for all the prayers.

Probable Timeline-At the end of that visit (showing our full understand of Anya's condition), a request for two items will be submitted. The first is for a federal record of Anya's availability (this is usually only regional) and the second is for a court date, based on the judge's schedule. It may end up being August, or if vacations interfere, September before we go back to Russia for our court date. Of course I want it to be sooner!

Dave and I will fly in for the court date, for two days and then, with
Anya officially being ours, Dave will fly home to go back to work. I will stay abroad for the eleven day waiting period, instead of flying home and going back for a third trip. Then, Anya and I will leave her region to go to Moscow for several days. We will have to get her a passport, a medical exam and several other things. After that, she and her new mama fly home on the 13 hour flight (IF we get one without layovers!). Should be interesting since she probably has never left the grounds of her orphanages. Certainly an adventure at the very least!!

Trouble with Adoption 6-4-10

Here are the details from our Adoption Agency-
I spoke with Andre on Wednesday and he explained what needed to occur for the adoption to move forward.  As I understand it the orphanage that your child is in falls under the auspices of the Dept. of Health.  The Dept. of Health does not have the ability to approve an adoption and have no experience with this.  All of the orphanages that do adoptions fall under the auspices of the Dept. of Education.  Andre had a joint meeting scheduled with both departments in the attempt to work out the logistics of the adoption.  I do not have my notes so I can not remember if this was happening today or the beginning of the week.  He felt that adoption was still possible but that they needed to work out the legal issues.  I will follow up again on Monday to check on the status.
Here are our top prayer requests:
1. For that meeting in Russia and that the travel details will work out, Dave's schedule would be cleared and we can would get new dates immediately in order to change the airline tickets we purchased

2. For Anya's safety and protection and ability to adjust well to coming to a new family

3. That we would get Anya soon, well before her 12th birthday on August 4, and that the final funding would come in for the adoption

Our Trip Cancelled 5-25-10

Unfortunately, the orphanage directors in Russia got together, being nervous about the woman who returned her son to Russia on a plane alone, and have suspended all adoption travel to their country. So, we are waiting for them to have a meeting and then to be issued new travel dates.

Here are our top prayer requests:
1. That the travel details will work out, Dave's schedule would be cleared and we can would get new dates immediately in order to change the airline tickets we purchased

2. For Anya's safety and protection and ability to adjust well to coming to a new family

3. That we would get Anya soon, well before her 12th birthday on August 4, and that the final funding would come in for the adoption

Got our travel dates for the first trip! 5-16-10

We are expected to be in the city of Ryazan (3 hours south of Moscow) by June 1st. On June 2nd we have to go to the Department of Ministry of Education to meet with officials and to "accept" Anya. That afternoon we travel 2.5 hours to her orphanage (not on highways even) and spend three hours with her. Then the 2.5 hour trip back. We will make this trip for three days to visit her. Then it's back to the airport to fly home on June 5th. Our anniversary is June 4th!!! Dave was thrilled that he doesn't need to come up with anything more special than a trip to Russia for our day! We wait for a court date, 2-5 weeks after this trip (typically), and then head back to Russia to officially adopt her.

Just waiting to hear from a Russian judge...

All of our paperwork is taken care of and we are just waiting for the okay from a Russian judge to come over. He (she) is looking over it after the translation and then we jump when they say to!!

Below is a picture of Anya singing in her orphanage at Easter time. I got the picture from a pastor friend in Russia who visits the orphans on the holidays and such.


Plans continue despite Russian outrage...

We have been told by the adoption agency that adoptions continued last Friday and today (4/12/10) in the Ryazan region, so our adoption will continue unless we are told otherwise by the coordinators in Russia. So, keep praying and hopefully we'll have her here soon!

We leave to visit Anya @ the end of April 2010

Yes, it's true. We should be getting on a plane at the end of April to go visit Anya and then will be going back to get her about a month (more or less) after that! Russia requires two visits from parents--part of the reason for the grand expense to adopt form there!!

We've applied for a matching grant and if approved, gifts towards her adoption will be tax-deductible!

Latest Update 2-2-10

Well, we found out that Anya is officially available for adoption! Right now we are putting together our "dossier" for Russia and should travel over there around March for our first of two required visits. I discovered through pictures (from Russian friends) on Facebook that Anya was moved to the older orphanage. This means she is at least getting used to an average sized world before getting here and she has a friend who is a dwarf as well. It is politically correct to call a dwarf either a little person or a dwarf, for those of you that are concerned! See a few more photos from January added to the first album shown on this site.

Anna's Auction!! Sunday, November 15, 2009 @ 1pm


Join us for lunch and a silent auction as we raise money to get our girl over here and to make others aware of the plight of orphans. We will have an Italian lunch at D'Amore's Pizza in Camarillo, a silent auction, a video of our families journey to get to this point, as well as a special auction section for youth. This is a great way to purchase some of your holiday gifts!

Our passion.

In Russia, as in many countries, "Special Needs" children do not officially exist. If these Special children are born, a high percentage become orphaned. Parents give them up at an early age due to ignorance or inability to care for them.
We are adopting Anya, one such girl, from Russia and the adoption process is exceedingly expensive, often three or more times the cost of a domestic adoption. We are hoping for a few thousand dollars from friends and family, (many generous donation have already been made!) and from anyone who is willing to help Anya have a chance for a full life.
It looks like we will be bringing her home in Spring of 2010 and appreciate all the help we can get. Not everyone is called to adopt, but everyone can be part of adoption. Thank you!

Meet Anna.

Anna  is a Little Person, specifically, an Achondroplasia Dwarf, which is the condition where the trunk and head are average sized and the arms and legs are shorter. She should grow to 4 feet tall and is now about 3 feet tall.
Unfortunately, she has been cast aside to a special needs orphanage. She is in an orphanage for 4-7 year olds, even though she is eleven. A few others, one mute girl and one boy with a fatal heart condition, are about her age as well, and we figure are kept at the younger orphanage for their own physical protection from the older children. The rest of the kids there have some kind of mental disability, with most of them having Down's Syndrome.
Anna (pronounced "Onna" and her nickname is Anya) is the shining star of the orphanage academically, because she has been taught to count to ten. That's it. No reading, no writing, no 'rithmetic. She is very sharp and has all the songs sung there (by anyone) memorized and the dance moves as well. I'm sure she has figured out quite a bit about the earth, being outside so often, but I don't think she has ever left the grounds!! It will be awesome to see her flourish, once here!!

Our adoption story.

Dave and I have decided to adopt an 11 year old Russian orphan girl, who is a Little Person!! See the Meet Anna section. Scott, Matt and their friend, Ari, met her in the summer of 2006, while on a mission's trip. Matt and Ari went back and saw her in 2007 and 2008 and I met her in October 2008, on my trip over there.
For a year before my trip, I had a picture of Matt with this little orphan girl at my desk and I couldn't get her out of my head or heart. Before my trip over there, I asked God to confirm whether we should try to adopt her by having her acknowledge one of us as a family member. In my thoughts, I imagined that she would call Dave, “Papa.” Dave was supposed to go on the trip, but couldn't because of work, so I figured the whole deal was off. But...when I showed Anna a picture of me and Matt, she took it, stared at it, looked me in the eye and said, "Moy brat" which means "My brother" in Russian. YIKES!! In July, after months of mentally processing whether or not I could really do this mothering thing again, especially with her dwarfism, Dave and I decided that we should try to adopt her.
We are moving forward, and are aware that with this being an international adoption, there could be some kind of snafu, but things are moving along so far. It could still be 6-12 months before we get her. We have decided to have a lunch/auction to raise money for this very expensive undertaking. We are asking for donation items for the auction, which we hope to hold in November. If for some reason the adoption falls through, we will return the not “bid for” items as well as the donations made for those items. As a family, we are not a non-profit organization, so, the donations are not tax-deductible. We really need all the help we can get! We understand times are tough and do appreciate your sacrifice on Anna’s behalf.
Welcome to a small view into the life of Anna in her home. The photos and videos are from Matt and Scott's trip there, my recent trip last fall and from others that went before me.