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Juliana's Story

(From Juliana's Mom - June 2007)

Thank You So Much FTIA!

Three months ago, I walked down the steps and out the door of an orphanage in Rostov, Russia for the very last time, with our daughter Juliana in my arms. Finally, all the waiting had come to an end and my husband and I felt relieved, happy, and at peace. It was a day we will never forget and one that marked the beginning of our new lives together as a family. That miraculous day would not have happened without the help, support, faith, and prayers we received from our family, friends, and all of the FTIA team members who worked along with us toward our goal of adoption. Every single detail, from the first dossier to the last airport drop off, was taken care of by the FTIA team with the detailed skill and professionalism that only comes from those who are polished experts at what they do best – making dreams come true.

Sometimes I look at Juliana, and have to pinch myself to make sure she’s real and I wonder what in the world we must have done right to be blessed with such a special happy little girl!

When we met our daughter she was just one year old. Her big brown eyes and beautiful smile captured our hearts the moment we saw her, and we’ve been awed by her spirit ever since. She is smart, funny, and loves to laugh! It feels like she’s always been with us and I can’t imagine what we ever did without her! Watching Juliana grow and explore her new surroundings these past few months has been extraordinary. She’s small for her age but strong as an ox! At just about 15 pounds, she loves to push, roll, and carry her toys around.

She is gaining weight slowly, but we have yet to run across a food she doesn’t like. Bath time was scary for her the first couple times, but now the bubbles don’t stand a chance as she splashes around in the tub! Her favorite book right now is, “I Love You My Bunnies.” It’s a huge book that she pushes and pulls up onto our laps every night to read again and again. In the orphanage she was so bundled up in the clothes she could hardly move. But here at home she’s become very skilled at pulling her shoes and socks off and smiles happily as each one is left behind in her wake.

All the worry and waiting for her adoption to be finalized seem far away now. Looking back at our journey that began in June 2006, I can see clearly where having faith, trust, belief, and patience got us through the adoption process. So I’ve tried to put into a few words what we’ve learned in the hopes that it will somehow help anyone who is contemplating adoption, waiting, or worried.

• Faith. There is nothing out there that you can read, and nobody you can talk to, to assure you that adoption is the right path for you or that your child will be happy and healthy. Adoption is a leap of faith. You must have faith that the child you were meant to love and parent is out there just waiting for you to find them. Have faith. Then leap!
• Trust. Trust in God, in yourself, and in your own instincts. Then trust in those helping you reach your dream. We trusted our FTIA team and our in-country connections every day of our journey and they never let us down.
• Belief. You are going to hit a few bumps along the way. Adoption is a tedious process that is mostly out of your control. Keep going, the bumps will get smoothed out eventually and you will one day be looking back and thinking how fast it all happened.
• Patience. The waiting is going to be hard. It was the hardest part for us, especially the time at the end after the court granted our adoption but before we could bring Juliana home. It was frustrating! All you can do is accept it, wait it out, and use what time you’re given to get to know your child and learn about their birth country.

Someone asked us recently, if we had to do it all over again, would we still use FTIA? Absolutely, and without hesitation, a hundred times -- Yes!

Thank you FTIA from the bottom of all our happy hearts!

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