Home From My Trip

I'm back from my trip, where we went to offer humanitarian aid, and still pretty tired from it all. I had a great time and can't wait to go back. Hopefully, next time I will be returning with two little angels. If you have noticed the new pictures, you are probably glad see to a frontal view of Nadia and also wondering who Dasha is, and what happened to Zhenya. I did not get to see Zhenya. She, actually turned out to be a he. We asked where the little girl named Zhenya was and they didn't know who we were talking about. It turned out that we were pronouncing the name incorrectly and when they finally figured out what we were trying to say, she turned out to be a little boy. Apparently he was in the hospital with chicken pox.

So why did we decide to try to adopt Dasha? The main reason is that when I picked her up I felt like it was meant to be. She felt like the "missing link". I met many children and while I felt great love and compassion for them all, Dasha felt like she is supposed to be a part of our family. Another reason we decided to try to adopt Dasha is that she is 3.5 and is only approximately six months away from transfer. She's just tiny! Zhenya is only 15 months old, and will hopefully find a family before he is four. We did not know about Dasha beforehand. She just appeared in the orphanage. Her crib was diagonal from Nadia. They were the only two that were able to stand in their cribs in the room they were in. They appeared to enjoy touching each other when I would hold them and go over to the other's crib. Nadia is very active and Dasha is more laid back and cuddly. They are both the sweetest little angels! Nadia felt like a part of our family as well, but I am just afraid to allow myself to feel that way right now. There are apparently some issues going on with her birth mother. I am unclear as to what exactly this means. I did find out that her paperwork has already been sent for her transfer. The only reason that she is still at the baby home is because her birth mother has it tied up in court. So I wonder, does she want Nadia home with her or is she just trying to prolong the expense of paying for her once she is transferred? The last thing I would ever want to do is try to take someone's baby from them. I don't even need to say why I feel that way. My prayer is that if the mother is unable to love her and care for her as she deserves, that she will allow us to adopt her and give her a chance in life. It just seems to me that if she really wanted her, then she could have worked something out after 4.5 years. But, I do not know the circumstances. My prayer is that Nadia will be where she will be most loved. This is all in God's hands and I am trusting in Him to provide the outcome that is best for all involved. I just pray that she will NOT be transferred. That would break my heart. I keep reminding myself that Nadia's name means hope. I just want the absolute best for her and I pray that her mother truly does love her and will make the best decision for her, even if that means she will not come home to us.

Also, we are not 100% certain that Dasha is available for adoption. She should be due to her age, but we were unable to get a definite answer. I emailed our state-side facilitator to see if he can find out if she is clear for international adoption. Please pray that she will be. I love her so much! Her name means "gift from God" and I am praying that she will be our little gift from God! Please continue to pray that our dossier will be approved by the SDA and that we will get a travel date ASAP. Thanks!!