China
Guatemala
Russia
Vietnam
Brazil
IndiaWell, I can't believe it's finally our turn to tell our story.
It is now January 2, 2003, a brand new
year, and I can't believe we are officially a family! Nolan is finally home
after only 2 years of trying to adopt him! Brad and I decided to adopt in March
of 2000, and after lots of research and lots of discussion, we happened upon an
agency in Evansville, Indiana, called Families Thru International Adoption.
We were very leery at first. Since we were relatively young, we did not want to get taken advantage of. Knowing it wasn't going to be cheap, we went to Evansville to meet the Russian coordinator, and to see what kind of establishment it was and, boy-oh-boy, were we surprised!
Tina was wonderful and answered all of my questions before I could even ask them. She was so nice and helpful, and had just adopted a beautiful baby boy from Russia. What we really wanted was for someone to hold our hands during the whole process, and that is just what they did! We talked about our meeting with Tina the whole way home. We were both so excited about finally getting started.
And then, at the end of August, we turned in our application to FTIA. It was finally happening--we were going to be parents! Then the paperwork started. We were a little overwhelmed by all of it, but we knew what to expect. That is the great thing about FTIA! We did not have any surprises, even though we ended up traveling to a new region (in Russia), we still knew what to expect.
We finally turned our dossier in to FTIA in June of 2002. Now you may ask, "WHAT???? Nine months later????" Well let me tell you, I happened to marry the biggest procrastinator in the world. In fact, you may have heard of us, the only living people to take a whole 9 months to turn in their dossier! You may think it's just folklore but it is true--that is us! So we turned in the dossier and about a month or so later, we got a call to see if we wanted to try out a new region with a much shorter wait time. Of course we jumped at the chance! So we were officially the first ones to go to Kaliningrad with FTIA. We were very excited and nervous at the same time, but it turned out even better than we could have ever expected. We got what is possibly the most beautiful baby boy in all of Russia (of course I am a bit biased!)
On October 2, 2002, we got the call that
we would be getting a referral of a little boy who was born on March 29, 2002.
This was also a surprise we were not expecting. After all those years of hearing
from all our friends and family, "So when are you going to have kids??"
(Just how do you answer that?? "Oh, I think the second Tuesday of next
month, is that good for you?"), we can finally say, "Here is our little
boy! Isn't he wonderful and oh so smart!"
So, anyway, we got the call, and traveled to Russia to see him for the first time on October 19, 2002. We made it to Russia and only had one problem with a long lay-over in a Russian airport, but that was the only thing to go wrong and we were grateful. That night we made it to Kaliningrad where Yuri met us and took us to the apartment where we would stay. It was so nice to get there, relax, and eat something other than airplane food. We had a cook, his name was Victor, and he was also a doctor and Yuri's brother-in-law. They were wonderful and treated us so well!
We saw our son for the first time on October 21, 2002. It was the most wonderful day of our lives--and also a sad one, since we knew that we would have to leave him there until we got the call to come back for our second trip. If you only knew how hard it was for me not to stick him in my purse, on that last day, before we left to return home. It broke my heart! But we knew our court date was going to be on November 14, 2002, so we would be back soon, and much sooner than we had thought. That was a plus!
We made it back home, got his room all ready, and packed to go back for our second trip. And then November 14th came and went, and we were still home! Things took longer than they had expected, and we were waiting on a paper from the INS, I believe, and we missed our court date. It was a hard day, but we got through it. Then Tina called with great news: we would be leaving on Thanksgiving Day to go and get Nolan! Oh boy, did we have a lot to be thankful for!
So we left our families to go get him on Thanksgiving Day, and saw him again on the 30th. That was the only time we were able to see him before we took him out of the orphanage for good! We had our court date on December 2, 2002, and that was very intimidating, but it went well. The judge granted our adoption, and 2 days later, we could go and get Nolan, and he was ours!
On December 4th, Nolan Edward was a member of our family and a new resident of the United States and New Goshen, Indiana, with a whopping population of about 200; well, now it is 201! On December 5th, we left Kaliningrad with Nolan for Moscow, where we would stay in a hotel for 5 days. This was going to be hard--to take care of a 7-month old, who did not know us, in a hotel without a kitchen. But we made it and even got to go home a day early!
The flight home was horrible! Nolan
hated the flights that were all full of people, which made it hard for any of us
to be comfortable. And then we missed 2 flights, but finally made it home to a
very warm and tearful welcome. Most of the tears were from me, of course! We
were so excited to be home, and then we had to find our luggage that had made it
onto the plane we hadn't! So with only an hour ride home, it was over--Nolan
was home!
And still, now that we have been home for almost a month, I find myself watching him sleep and I tear up, feeling sorry for his birthmother, and I wonder how in the world she could have made the choice to give him up for adoption. How that must have killed her inside! It is a very strong woman who gives up her child, so he can have a better life. I have no idea how I will give him up when he leaves for his first day of kindergarten, or when he decides to go away to another state for college, even if it is only a 20-minute car ride, or when he finds that one woman who makes him happy and they start their new lives together! How will I ever let him go?????
I do know this: I am so grateful to FTIA and the entire staff for making all of our dreams come true. Words cannot express how wonderful they are. THANKS FOR MAKING US A FAMILY!
Nolan is doing wonderfully now. He was
doing much better than we thought he would. He was crawling when we got him back
from the orphanage, and that was a great surprise. It just goes to show you, how
much the women in those orphanages care about the children. They could just
leave them in their cribs, but they don't. They work with them, and love them a
great deal!
So, finally, to all those people out there who are tired of hearing, "So when are you going to have kids?" just look at these pictures of our special little boy. Think about how many children there are out there that need families and call FTIA today!!!!! Also rely on your internet buddies, if you have them. They are your greatest asset. I know I couldn't have gotten through some of the tough times without them!
Sincerely,
Brad, Jenny and Nolan
