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From another adoptive family:
We prayed for a baby in whatever way God wanted to bless us with. I remember being on my hands and knees praying multiple times with tears running down my face pleading that we be... able to have a child. Brady and I both felt like we were being led to begin our adoption. We began researching adoption agencies and countries to adopt from. We both felt called to adopt our child from Russia. So in May 2012, we signed an adoption contract to officially begin our adoption journey. We started in on the piles of paperwork and dreamed of the day when we would finally get to meet the little boy that God picked specifically for us and would be perfect for us.
Finally, after months and mounds of paperwork, on October 8th, we got word that we were traveling to meet the little boy that we had been matched with. We packed our bags, picked out toys to bring with us, and got our visas. About two weeks later, we were on a plane to Russia. I cannot explain the emotions of knowing that you are traveling half way across the world to meet your child. I have never been more excited, happy, and nervous all at the same time. So many thoughts were filling our minds, “Would he like us? Would he come to us right away? Would he be serious or love to laugh?”
After traveling for over 34 hours, we finally touched down in the same region as our little boy. We met our facilitator and went to our hotel. We had to wait until the next day before we could meet him. We tried to sleep, but between the excitement and the time change we woke up the next morning at 3 am. No matter how slowly you get ready, 6 hours is a long time to waste to get ready. We went through all the things we brought with us and carefully picked out all the things we wanted to bring with us that first day. Finally, it was time to meet our facilitator in the lobby. After making a trip to the Ministry of Education to receive permission to meet the little boy they matched us with, we were on our way.
After driving for about an hour we finally made it to his orphanage. They took us to their guest room and we waited. Every time the door opened our hearts would stop. Finally they came in from behind us holding the precious boy we have been dreaming about so long. My heart stopped as they handed him to me. I didn’t cry happy tears because I was in shock and didn’t want to scare him but I have never been happier before in my life. He laid his head against my check as I rubbed the back of his head.
He wasn’t as sure about going to Brady (they hardly see men in the orphanage), but he went to him when I handed him over to Brady. The time flew by. He was quiet at first and seemed like he didn’t want to leave his caregiver (which is a good thing). By the end of our first visit, we had him laughing and giggling. The first time he smiled at us, he wrapped us around his finger.
Our six days together flew by. We played, laughed, and watched our little boy come alive. He went from being a quiet, reserved little boy to a little boy who loved to laugh and play. He went from barely standing to walking with a push toy for 12 steps in that short time. Saying goodbye has never been harder.
I wish I could tell you that I was strong and didn't cry, but that is not the case. There were lots of silent tears streaming down my face as we gathered his things and carried him back to his room after spending the day with him. We each held him, kissed and hugged him, and told him that we loved him and promised to be back as soon as we can. Though he was willing to go back to his caregiver, he kept looking back at Brady and I which is what broke our hearts. You could tell he knew something was different about this day.
We were both virtually silent on the ride back from the orphanage. Part of our hearts was left in that orphanage when we said "see ya later."
We made the long trip home and immediately starting quickly pulling our paperwork together for court. We wanted to get everything we could to get our son home quickly. In less than three weeks, we had all of our court paperwork mailed back to our agency to go back to Russia. We were praying for a quick return for court. In December, our world turned upside down when the Dima Yakovlev law was passed. Since then, we have been working alongside other prospective adoptive parents with our government to encourage them to work with the Russian government to come up with a resolution to allow these children we love so much to be reunited with us.
To end, I would like to end with the words that we want our little boy to know.
My precious boy,
I cannot begin to tell you how much your daddy and I love you and miss you. We miss your contagious smile and giggle, your sweet soft voice saying "Dada", and your snuggles when you are sleepy. I promise you not an hour goes by that we don't think of you. I often dream about seeing you again, our court date where we will hear "da" (yes in Russian), and when we come to pick you up from the orphanage. My heart aches when I wake up and realize that it was all a dream. Just like I tell your daddy, "I love you to infinity and beyond." We are doing everything in our power to get you home soon. We know that God has the perfect "Gotcha Day" in mind for you and every day you are without us is in His plan. So many people are looking forward to meeting you and getting to know you. You are the best gift we could have ever imagined.
With lots of love, hugs, and kisses,
Mommy and Daddy
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