China
Guatemala
Russia
Vietnam
Brazil
India
Ethiopia
Our journey was a long and trying one, but worth it all! There were times during the waiting that we felt so despondent that we wanted to give up. We are so glad that we didn't! Montana has filled us so completely that it is almost
inconceivable to us! For years family and friends would say: "Why don't
you just adopt?" But we could not imagine being able to love a child that
was not "ours". Now we wish we would not have waited so long!
When we look into her beautiful blue eyes and kiss her little auburn head we are overwhelmed with emotion and devotion. Now we know why our wait was so long Montana was being perfectly and wonderfully made just for us. She is a perfect fit into our family.
She is truly our long awaited gift from God!!
After turning 35 (and accepting the fact that we were not getting any younger) we made our decision to adopt from Russia and applied to FTIA October 24, 2000. Our dossier was completed by the beginning of January 2001 with the exception of the INS. We were waiting for a response so that we could be fingerprinted and receive our INS approval letter. This process took over 4 months! ! ! ! ! We cannot begin to describe the frustration we felt. (Needless to say, we do not have anything good to say about the INS of New Orleans). We later talked to others that said they had theirs in a week! We could not understand why this was happening to us! Finally, on May 8,
2001, we turned our dossier in. More waiting….We knew that the wait
for infant girls was longer, so we were prepared to wait the 4-5 months. Well, it
was 7 months before we received "The Call". It finally came on
Thursday, December 13, 2001. Could we leave on Sunday, the 16th? Sure! We were
on our way to meet our daughter for the first time. Needless to say, our stress
level was off the charts….We had no information other than the fact
that she was indeed a girl! We saw her for the first time on Wednesday, December
19th. She had just turned six months on the 16th. She weighed 9 lbs 4 oz. She
was so tiny and just perfect! She was very alert and responsive. We were able to
see her 3 times before we had to leave. Leaving her was the most heart-wrenching
thing we had ever had to do. We returned home Christmas Eve night. More
waiting... We prepared the nursery and had our baby shower.
On January 31,
2002, we received our court date and invitation to return to Russia. What a
coincidence, our Court Date was set for Feb. 19th and we would once again travel
on the 16th! It seemed that 16 and 19 were our lucky numbers! We were beyond
excited, and it was very scary for us to comprehend the fact that in a few short
weeks we would finally become parents and our circle would be complete! Our
second trip was 18 days in length. We brought our baby girl home on March 6,
2002. (16 months-l week and 3 days from the date of our application) She was ½ months old and weighed 12 lbs. She had 2 bottom teeth and 2 top ones coming through, she could wave bye-bye and would shake her head no-no constantly! She could roll over, but she could not sit up and would not use her legs to pull-up. After 4 days with us she was sitting up! She now scoots all over the floor,
knows patty-cake, pretty-eyes, peek-a-boo, nose, jumps like crazy in her
bouncer, goes backwards in the walker, eats well and sleeps all night with
her "Blue-Bear"! Her growth, advancement, and ability to mimic in one
month has been remarkable!
-Thanks Tina & FTIA for Being There!
If you are considering adoption or maybe beginning your adoption journey our advice to you would be to:
Rodney & Michele
