Our story began in Spring of 2004...
We were discussing the option of adopting a child as my wife's cousin adopted from Vladivostok. They brought baby George home in April or May and he was right around 6 months old. We thought that would be a great way to instantly start our family. We had not decided for sure so I began to investigate on the internet. I didn't know where to begin or even what to look for. I reviewed a few websites printing off information to discuss with Peggy on each one. The more I searched the more I was absolutely convinced this was what I wanted to do. Peggy and I continued to read and discuss our options. We were in the middle of trying to sell a house while another was being built, so it was a stressful enough time.
I couldn't believe we were doing this. We wanted to complete the paperwork as quickly as possible. If we could drive somewhere to get fingerprints done or deliver something as opposed to waiting for the mail, we did. There were no shortcuts and the waiting seemed like an eternity.
Elina at Adoption Ark was just a pleasure to work with. She was so patient with all our questions. She was also very thorough and made sure we knew exactly what documents we needed. When the time finally came to adopt a daughter we were so excited. Elina provided detailed instructions on the logistics for our first trip to Russia.
Our emotions were just overwhelming. We were actually going to meet our daughter today!! Our translator met us and we were off to the orphanage a bit over an hour's drive. When we pulled up to the gate and got out of the van there were a few kids outside. My knees were shaking and I had a gigantic knot in my stomach. I wondered how must our daughter feel?
We walked to the front door and lots of very inquisitive children were out front. We entered and were shown to a room immediately inside the front door. The orphanage was extremely neat and well cared for. The floor was immaculate, you could eat off it. I looked over at Peggy and she had this nervous smile on her face. We were sitting there and the door opened and the director walked in with a little girl who was wearing a very smart dress. It was gray and she had on blue stockings and her chin was buried in her chest. She was very shy and nervous, but wow!! I couldn't believe it. Here was our daughter, Tanya!! The director was so caring and just wanted everything to be perfect; they brought out chocolates, tea, water. She left us alone with Tanya and our translator. Tanya occasionally took a few peeks at us but was very shy. She wouldn't talk and sat on the floor. We got down and tried playing with a puzzle we had brought for her. We ask our translator to tell her that we had been waiting for her a long time. Our translator tells her this in Russian and Tanya immediately responded. The translator told us, "she's been waiting for you for a long time too". Well, I don't remember much after that. Tanya warmed up to us and we had a great time taking pictures and playing games. She had such a wonderful personality!!
We went back the following day and had a chance to talk with other children. I had brought a football and played with a number of the teenage boys. They are such good kids. They wanted to know all about America. I don't know who had more fun playing, them or me! This day Tanya was very excited to see us and was proud to show me off in front of her friends. She rode on my shoulders as she took me on a tour of where she lived. We played outside and just couldn't get enough of being around her. Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye for a few weeks. We didn’t know when we would be coming back and Tanya was so sad. Peggy was a mess the rest of the trip and I can honestly say leaving was one of the most miserable days of my life. The trip home was uneventful and the Adoption Ark people once again were outstanding making sure all our transfers were on time.
We arrived home on a Saturday and on Monday Elina told us that we had a court date!! We would be going back in 4 weeks!! In between that time we had to close on the house we were selling and move into the one that was just built. Oh yea, there was the little problem of painting the house since we wanted to save some money that took us a couple of weeks to do. We didn’t want to be working on the house when Tanya arrived. And oh, by the way, I drove to Chicago to run in the marathon on Sunday and we got on a plane to go back to Siberia on Thursday. Whew!!! What a fast 4 weeks!!!
Our court date was on the 18th and we were very nervous not knowing what to expect. We had a new translator in the region and she was a wonderfully sweet person who helped us get through the court proceeding. We were deemed fit parents for Tanya!! We had thought we would be going the next day to the orphanage, but on the way to the hotel, our translator told us we were going today!! That was great news!! Well the drive was about 3 hours and the weather was very poor. …Tanya was extremely energized. Almost like she was hopped up on cake and soda all day! We had brought gifts for the orphanage and were very happy to present those to the director. She is such a wonderful woman! We got to see a few of the kids and one girl in particular who is 15 and a sweetheart who we brought a CD player for along with Hillary Duff and Avril Lavinge cds! The next few days were spent finishing up paperwork in the region and then the flight to Moscow. Tanya’s first time on a plane. She was actually very good on the plane, but in no mood for a nap. Didn’t want to miss anything!! In Moscow we were reunited with another Adoption Ark contact who we are very fond of and looked forward to showing off our daughter! She was wonderful with Tanya and so patient with us on both trips. We were lucky to be able to have her assistance. Lots of paperwork to do in Moscow, but we had plenty of free time. All her new surroundings, had over stimulated Tanya but you could tell she was just a very happy little girl. One of the highlights of this time was taking her to the Moscow Zoo where she got to see her favorite animal a Tiger and eat cotton candy for the first time(which was about the size of her whole body!) We were exhausted and happy. We enjoyed being in Moscow but were looking forward to going home. After 3 flights, we arrived in St. Louis around 11 pm on a Saturday. Tanya had finally fallen asleep after about 10 hours of flying.
She has been home now 6 months and 1 week (May, 2005), but who’s counting!! Our lives have changed dramatically going from no kids to instant first grader. Her English appeared almost one day overnight after about 3-4 months. She loves school and has made numerous friends. She even had her first sleepover at her cousin’s with 3 other girls!! Tanya is very independent and loves to ride her bike, play in the mud around the new construction and watch Star Wars or any other Disney movie. She is playing hockey and attending a Russian school on Saturdays to keep her culture and language. She is beginning to understand the word and concept of family, and if we aren’t able to give her anything else, at least she will have the love of a very large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who just adore her. And of course a Mama and Papa who will always treasure the memories of this incredible physical and emotional journey that gave us a wonderful daughter!
We can’t thank Adoption Ark and all their people along the way who were tremendous with making sure we had the right documents, the paperwork filled out and translated correctly. And may I add very timely!! The logistics in Russia were flawless!! We are looking forward to adding a sister for Tanya in the future and are excited to be able to work with Adoption Ark again.
2007 Update
Hello Elina!
I hope you are doing well. How are your girls and dogs??
It's been too long since I emailed you, sorry. :(
As always I am including pictures. These are from October when we took Tanya to Disney World in Orlando for her 9th birthday. I can't believe she's been here 2 years. In some ways it seems like we just went to Russia to meet her for the first time, other times it feels like she's been with us forever. She's doing great! She's such a sweet kid. We're learning multiplication tables at school. It's going ok. School is probably the biggest challenge. She's smart and doing pretty well, learning a ton, but......it's a LOT of work. Most 3rd graders probably spend 20-30 minutes a night on homework, Tanya does probably 60-80. The school is doing a great job with her and they really want to put her in a position to succeed.
She's like 50 inches tall and 61 pounds. She was 43 and 40 when we brought her home.
She plays ice hockey. The only girl on her team. She's in 3rd grade playing with 3-5th grade boys. She absolutely LOVES it. She's doing real well for her first year playing. They really make it fun for the kids. We're in a tournament in Chicago March 9-11 if you happen to be traveling there.
Hope to hear from you soon and that everything is well. I look at Adoption Ark website every now and then. Looks like you're growing!
Take care Elina!