We arrived home with our new daughter, Alyona, on Sept. 4, 2004. Alyona is 6-1/2 years old and is from Russia. We are a very happy family!
Tony and I instinctively knew that we wanted to adopt an older child. Not only did doing so meet our needs as a family, we also knew there were many children who were passed over just because of their age. These kids are just as deserving of a loving home as the babies are. Being adopted myself, we wanted to "pass along the favor" when we decided to become a family. But making this choice presented special challenges in selecting an agency, because most agencies we contacted had little or no experience with older kids. However, from the moment I spoke on the phone with Lena at Adoption Ark, I knew I had found the right organization. They really care about the kids, and they understand the issues involved in adopting an older child. We also liked the fact that the Adoption Ark employees speak fluent Russian and consider the on-site coordinators in Russia to be their friends. We felt that this gave them an edge in communicating every nuance and detail instantaneously, as well as having a deeper understanding of Russian culture. We also felt that Adoption Ark was competitively priced. Overall, we had done a great deal of research in selecting an adoption agency, and we are very happy that we chose Adoption Ark. All the ladies at Adoption Ark were very kind, patient, knowledgeable and helpful from start to finish, and they are still available as a resource to us. We really want to thank Lena, Natasha, Alla and Elina for all of their patience and assistance.
Both trips went fairly smoothly. It is always a challenge to travel to someplace new, and although my husband and I have traveled to Europe, we still experienced a bit of culture shock upon arriving in Moscow. But the coordinators and translators handled all the difficult stuff; our job was to go with the flow. And we found that with a little effort on our part, the Russian people were very accommodating and helpful - just the same as in any foreign country!
Alyona has really made our lives complete! She is a great kid who has overcome great hardship and is learning at a fast pace. Within the first 2 weeks, she was singing the alphabet and counting to 10. She quickly understood basic phrases like "wash your hands" and "let's go outside". We have been home for about 7 weeks now, and she understands quite a few words in English. She can understand more than she can speak, but she can say many words by herself - slow, fast, up, down, over, under, in, out, on, off, go, stop, loud, quiet, car, dog, cat, etc., as well as simple phrases like "Alyona is taking a bath", "Papa is working", "come on, let's go outside", "look, Mama", etc. She also knows her colors and is now counting almost to 30. She started kindergarten yesterday and LOVES it! She attends a half-day program at our public school, and has a wonderful teacher who is also an adoptive mom. Alyona also loves to look at books, sing songs, play with our dogs and go to the library, the store and Grandpa's house. She does need more one-on-one instruction than many kids her age, but once she catches on to something, there is no stopping her. She is still a bit shy at first around new people, but she has already made a lot of progress and is becoming more comfortable and self-confident every day. She is truly a sweet, loving, smart and beautiful little girl. We had heard all the "horror stories" before adopting, but they really didn't come true. She doesn't have tantrums; she does sometimes start crying quietly, which is heartbreaking, but she doesn't stay sad for long. It's usually an issue of not fully understanding what is going on, but it gets easier every day. She is learning that we are always there for her, and wherever we go, she comes home with us at the end of the day. Of course, we will be on the lookout for any emergent issues as she progresses through childhood, but we couldn't be any happier with our decision to adopt her!
Please consider adopting an older child through Adoption Ark - we saw many other great kids at the orphanages, and each one of them would make a wonderful part of a family. They all deserve a chance, and we believe they are appreciative of what we can do for them. The caretakers and administrators truly cared about the welfare of the kids, and they were really excited for our daughter when we picked her up. If you approach everything with common sense and a feeling of joy (and a sense of humor!), you will do just fine. Please feel free to contact us as a reference - we'd be happy to talk to any potential adoptive parents!