Legacy of an Adopted Child

"Once there were two women, who barely knew each other. One is in your heart forever, the other you'll call mother. Two different lives, shaped to make yours one. One became your guiding star, the other became your sun. The first gave you life, and the second taught you how to live it. The first gave you a need for love, and the second was there to give it. One gave you nationality, the other gave you a name. One gave you the seed of talent, the other gave you an aim. One gave you emotions, the other calmed your fears. One saw your first sweet smile, the other dried your tears. One gave you a family, it was what God intended for her to do. The other prayed for a child, and God led her straight to you. And now you ask me, through your tears, the age old question through the years. Heredity or environment....which are you a product of? Neither my darling...neither, just two different kinds of love". - Unknown

Friday, June 19, 2009

Last day with Lil Man....

Prescious little hand
Coming in to the baby home through the gate
The entrance we come in at the baby home

Today was our last day seeing our "lil man". We went to the baby home around 9am and spent about 1 hour with him before his morning nap. Since he is teething, he must have been in some pain because he wasn't as smily as he was yesterday - but he LOVED to cuddle, so we weren't complaining :) We made a small photo album to leave with him that has pictures of us and Maggie (our dog). It looked like he was actually studying it and making the connection between us and the pictures. Then we left the baby home and went to the Ministry of Education to meet the inspector (she is the one who matches the families with the referrals). She was very apologetic of the previous situation with our first referral and told us we were a special family to them because this doesn't normally happen and a lot of families don't continue after losing a first referral. It was a nice visit and we enjoyed meeting her very much - we will see her again when we come back for court. After that, we checked out of our hotel, then off to lunch and back to the baby home. We spent about 1 1/2 hours again with lil man - tried on some clothes - he is size 9 mos now, but I'm sure he will be close to 12 mos soon (he's a bit of a chunk), cuddled and played some more and then watched him as he fell asleep in my (Nicole's) arms. It was so surreal....a wonderful feeling. We kissed him goodbye and watched as the caregivers took him back to his room to sleep. Our visit was quick but full of memories of meeting this sweet, precious angel. Then back in the car for our LONG, traffic filled, race car driving experience to Moscow. Also, we heard back from Dr Johnson (international pediatrician) and he had nothing but positive feedback - he says lil man is on the charts for growth, on track for developmental milestones and is comfortable with us going through in adopting him. So, that is what we are going to do. Most of our paperwork is ready to be submitted when we return - we just have to get a few papers apostilled and then off to Gladney to submit to Russia. We have no idea of a time frame for when we will return, but hope it will be soon and quicker than last time since everything is ready to go. We are looking forward to returning home. Thanks again for all of your love, support and prayers....see you all soon :)

5 comments:

Kendra said...

that picture is precious.... we all can't wait to hear from you when ya'll get back :] what a GREAT start to Fathers Day weekend!

LOVE YA'LL<3

Mary Anderson said...

Your grandparents, Pat & Mary Alyce Hall, stopped by to visit with me on Thurs. They were in Dallas to attend some kind of meeting at the K/C Hall. In case you don't know who I am, I am Pat's cousin, Mary Alyce usually calls me Mary Claire.

Wendi and Terry said...

Sounds like a wonderful day for you all - good news all around. Thanks for sharing the pics of the baby home. I love the first photo, too. Can't wait to hear more when you all return home.

lemonade said...

I am so happy that things are on track so far! You are definitely in my prayers!

Much love!

Amy

Nicole Shepherd said...

I am so excited for you guys! I absolutely love that you left a photo album with the "lil man" that included pictures of you guys and your dog! I'm enjoying reading these updates, and I am praying for you guys!