“I believe there are angels among us, sent down to us from somewhere up above.  They come to you and me in our darkest hour, show us how to live, teach us how to give, and light us with the light of love”   (Alabama, “Angels among us”)

We feel so blessed! The above song played at our children’s’ baptisms and we understood the true meaning of the lyrics.  

Austin was adopted from Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo, Siberia and we completed all the proceedings in one trip. He was 15 months old at referral and 19 months old at adoption.  We left on Jan.27^th and came home on Feb. 23^rd, 2002.  We spent 3 ½ weeks in Kemerovo and Austin was allowed stay with us in the apartment instead of the orphanage.  We visited the orphanage frequently during that time and went to court on February 15^th, 2002.  It was a long trip.  We felt very safe and loved having Austin with us the whole time.  Austin will be four year old this year.   He is amazingly smart and quick.  He has a fun, loud personality with a million- dollar smile.     

Mckenzie was adopted from Orekhovo- Zuevo, Moscow and this time it was two trips. We received the call and travel orders 4 days after our dossier was submitted. She was 9 months old at referral and 10.5 months old at adoption. Our first trip was April 2 – 10^th, 2004 which was only a week and half later. We visited her everyday in the morning and the 2 hour drive made for a long day.  It was 5 weeks between trips and we traveled May 14^th-22^rd,    2004 to bring her home.  Even though this was 2^nd adoption, we were nervous at court on May 20^th.    We have great time in Moscow.  Mckenzie is doing great and has a happy personality.  She giggles all the time and loves to watch her hands.  She started army crawling on Fathers day and  is very vocal.

We can’t say enough about the staff at CHI. We have not only been given the gift of family, but also friendship.  We were also blessed with an adoption grant so they are worth trying for.  Our adoption experience was wonderful and we couldn’t be happier. We hope to complete a third adoption someday.   Pictures and Russian souvenirs are proudly displayed in our home.  We’re happy to be a reference if anyone has any questions.

Kim and Lyle Moe

Kimberly.moe@uop.com