My husband, Willie, and I have been married for 18 years.  Our dream when we got married was to have many children, preferably all boys.  We tried many years to have a baby and due to infertility, we were unable to have a baby biologically.   

For the past 8 years we thought about adoption.  There were many times when we said that we were going to do it and out of fear we decided not to.  Believe me, when you have been very happily married for many years, you become comfortable with your life and there is a resistance to change.  Although we were extremely happy, the cup was never all the way full.  We bought all kinds of “toys” to try to fill that cup, but the cup never got full.   

In May of last year, at 41 and 42 years old, we decided that we were no longer going to make our decisions based on fear.  We started making our decisions based completely out of love.  We decided that we were going to adopt internationally.  When we told our family, they did not believe us.  Of course they wouldn’t.  We had told them that many times before.

 In June of 2004 we attended the introductory meeting at the Chicago Children’s Hope office and decided that Colombia was the program that best fit what we wanted.  We had decided that since we were older, the desire to have a baby had gone away.  We also wanted to adopt a sibling group.  We always wanted to have more than one child.  Colombia had many older sibling groups available.

I have always felt that when you are doing what God wants you to do, without resistance; everything works out the way it is supposed to.  Once we signed up with the Colombia program, we started receiving the Colombia Update from Julie.  The first one that we got was the July, 2004 update.  It showed 2 little boys, ages 6 and 8.  They looked so sweet.  I showed Willie and he said, “It’s too soon.  We haven’t even started the homestudy.”   The brothers  were in the August Update, too.  Jhon and Juan were their names.  They were on my mind all the time.  I could not understand why someone had not requested them.  I even printed their pictures and took them with me on vacation to visit my mom and dad.  Willie even expressed his concern that he felt like I was getting too attached.  It was too soon.  We had just started the home study and there was so much more paperwork to do.   After we got home from our vacation, I got an email from CHI  asking us if we were interested in Jhon and Juan. 

 We wrote a letter to the Family Welfare in Colombia and that started a whirlwind of paperwork.  I was forced to get organized real quick.  The remote hope was to get the boys home before Christmas.  We had the Dossier ready by the first week in November.  Chances were pretty slim that this would happen before Christmas.  God works pretty fast when He has something to accomplish.  We got referral the day after Thanksgiving and if we traveled to Colombia on or before December 2^nd, we would be able to complete the adoption and get the boys home before Christmas.  We were able to get the Visas and leave on December 2^nd.   

The day we met the boys was the happiest day of our lives.  They came to us with open arms.  We were immediately Mami and Papi to them.  In our eyes, they were (and still are) perfect.  It was amazing how quickly we have adjusted to being a family. 

 Jhon and Juan love being in America.  They are in a bilingual program at school and are doing fantastic.  When we enrolled them in school we put Jhon in 2^nd grade because that is where he was in Colombia.   By noon the first day he had already graduated to 3^rd grade.  Juan is in first grade and his teacher adores him.  They are confident and have absolutely no fear.  Everyone that meets them immediately loves them.  They are very charming and affectionate.  They get along with each other so well.  They play great together (most of the time).  They are both very athletic, which is Willie’s dream come true.  We have so much fun with them.  They have adapted well to the Chicago winter and love the snow.  We have spent many hours sledding in the park next to our house. 

Jhon and Juan now realize that they are loved and that this is forever.  Last week in school, Juan was learning about Martin Luther King and his “I have a Dream” speech.  They were asked to write down their dreams.  Juan wrote that his dream already came true, because he now has a forever family in America.   

Adopting Jhon and Juan has been a dream come true for Willie and me.  The glass is now completely full, so full that it runs over most of the time.   

Willie and Sonja Payne
Elgin, Illinois

 

WOW - What a blessing!!!!

Since the day we brought him home, I have been “composing” in my head how to best tell the story of our incredible adoption of our son Justin Yury.   Although it seems like we’ve had him for more than just a year, on June 28, 2004, this little Russian orphan became “our son.”

 Wow, what a year of changes for not only, Justin who once was called “Yura”, but for two people whom so longed to hear the voice of a little one saying “mommy” and “ daddy.” 

 Our story is like others, we went through intense fertility treatments all to no avail.  John and I being under the ages of 30 when starting our treatments, were always told by doctors and others to continue fertility treatments, because something will eventually work, or not to think about adoption just yet, since we are so young, and that you have plenty of time!”  Well, during the last 2 years of fertility treatments, and still no success, I was drawn to international adoption, and the dream of adopting a Russian baby.  Children’s Hope kept on pulling on my heartstrings with their mailings of their newsletters. And they always seemed to arrive in my mailbox a day or two after a negative pregnancy test!  My husband and I attended CHI’s informational meetings and had many positive heartfelt conversations with Mary House in the Chicago office. She and Marina (our Novosibirsk Representative) were truly instrumental in bringing Justin home to us. 

During the process of deciding on adopting through Children’s Hope Int’l, I would read the inspiring adoption stories from the newsletter, and think to myself, how amazing the stories were, and wonder if ever we would be so blessed with a child that seemed so right for our family…and if the miracle of adoption could happen to us. And yes, although the journey to Russia was stressful, exhausting, but so incredibly amazing we too were blessed, with a son that we truly feel in our hearts we could have never “made” so perfect!  He is smart, witty, talented, lovable, humorous, and the list goes on!   We think that some day he will be a gymnast, dancer, baseball player, computer programmer, engineer, artist, or singer!  Thus illustrating his many talents he has already shown us in one year!!! 

 Justin loves to hear his story. I’ve recently started telling him the story of his adoption.  He is 2 and ½ years old now.  Every time we lay him down to sleep at night, he likes to hear “twinkle, twinkle little star”, “itsy, bitsy spider”, and then after those two nursery rhymes, he says “Russian boy, mama.”   His favorite parts are when we took him home on the plane, and when everyone was waiting for him at home, including his two little doggies that now he pets and kisses throughout the day!  (These are two little doggies that when Justin, upon meeting cried no, no! in Russian!)

 At a recent visit to a family member’s home, the person I was talking to commented on how she couldn’t believe how many times he would run over to me, kiss me on my leg, and say “love you mommy” and then go back to playing with the other children.  I commented, “Oh yes, he says love you mommy at least 10x a day!  And that is no exaggeration!”  She looked at me and said, “It’s as if he has been sent to you from God” and then I thought to myself, (although I always new God somehow played a role in this) she’s right, he is our gift from God. He was brought to us to fulfill our dreams of parenthood; something those 4 years of fertility treatments never gave us, because this was the happy ending that was waiting for us.  This little Russian “orphan” was our destiny, and WOW what a blessing!!!!

 John & Helen Ellis
Adopted Justin Yury from Novosibirsk, Russia on June 28, 2004.

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From the Hynes Family. . .

Hello everyone,

    Just a note to let you all know that we've returned from China and are doing just great. Kara is adjusting better than we'd hoped.

    We had a wonderful time in China. We spent the first few days in Beijing. We toured the Great Wall of China, Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City. We also visited the Children's Hope International office and ate Peking duck.

    Then we flew to Guangzhou were we stayed at a five star hotel called the White Swan. It was very pretty and were glad we had a nice hotel for the next 11 days. Some families had to travel to other Provinces for 5 days were their children were waiting. We were fortunate enough that Kara was from an Orphanage in the Guangdong Province.

    We met Kara on May 23rd and were overwhelmed with how wonderful she is. She cried at first but she had just woke up and there were lots of loud cheers in the room. We gave her a bottle in the quiet lobby and she's been happy ever since.

    We toured the Guangzhou Zoo, the Xue ?? park and took a dinner cruise. It was very interesting to learn about the culture in the south and how it differs from the north--just like here. Our tour guide in Beijing did not like the food in Guangzhou because in Guangzhou they eat everything in the air except the plane, everthing in the sea except the boat, and everything on land except the train. We ate at the hotel or Danny's Bagel. Danny's bagel is supposed to be American and is for the most part.

    Kara turned one on June 1st and we flew home on June 2nd. She did very well on the plane considering she had a residual ear infection. She was afraid of the animals at first but is over it and doing just great now. Anyway, I have few pictures that I would like to share.

     We hope all of you are doing well and will talk to you soon.

 Love,

Jennifer, Terry and Kara

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". . . these are the children I have for you."

by Wanda Geist -  Aurora, Illinois

 

Dan and I had been thinking about adoption for 3-4 years and actually began pursuing adoption about a year ago. We settled on Colombia, S.A. for several reasons. We have been sponsoring a child there through Compassion International for about 3 years and we have learned much about the country - it’s beauty, culture and it’s problems; in addition, there are many older sibling groups there which are available for adoption; and, although we were not bilingual ourselves, our community in Aurora is very Hispanic and the school my biological children attend has bilingual classes available. So, we began our journey in January 2004 by sending an application to Children’s Hope International Adoption Agency.

 

The following months brought much frustration as we put documents together which included everything from our FBI clearances to our dog’s shot records. In the meantime, we were given information on many sibling groups which were awaiting adoption. “How do we decide?” was the big question. All of them were adorable and all of them needed a mom and dad! We had already decided to go with older children - I was done with changing diapers and baby bottles! And, since we both work for the FAA, we wanted children who were already school age so they wouldn’t have to be in daycare. We also have three biological children, Teresa, 18 , Kathryn, 13, and Chris, 9 and we wanted them to fit somewhere close to the age range. Also, Chris wanted to be a big brother and he wanted boys and Kathryn wanted a little sister. Teresa, who is planning to be a missionary and had just returned from the Dominican Republic on a mission trip, wanted all of them! We decided on a number first – three! Why? Because we thought four would be too many! Then we looked at boys and girls and decided we wanted the youngest to be a boy and the oldest a girl - but Kathryn didn’t want her to be older than she was! We finally narrowed it down to a sibling group – Miguel, 8,Laura, 9, and Luz, 10. They had been in foster care but were now in an orphanage.

 

In May, we sent a letter and our ‘dossier’ to Colombia requesting these children. Over the next months, as we waited we prepared our homes, our children, and our hearts for the big change that was to come. Finally, in late August word came that we had been approved to adopt Miguel, Laura, and Luz and to get ready to travel – it could be within the month. We asked when they would be told and was informed they would know the following week. Then – heartbreak! On Monday I received a phone call from our very compassionate adoption representative Julie. Julie informed me that the two girls had run away from the orphanage – just days before they were going to be told of their new Mom and Dad. I wanted to get on a plane and go look for them – but in a city of 3 million people (Bogota) I knew it would be futile. We were told that even if they came back to the orphanage it could be years before they would be eligible for adoption again (if ever) because they would have to go through counseling, etc. We were advised to move forward and look at other sibling groups if we wanted to proceed. This was the hardest part of the process – I wanted to protest – “it’s not like picking out puppies or something! “ We had already begun to love these three children in the photo. Laura did return to the orphanage on her own but to my knowledge, Luz has never been found. Today, we still pray for their safety and happiness and hope they find their forever family soon.

 

After some time to grieve, we finally decided to move forward and began looking at other sibling groups. It was even harder this time . Then the decision was taken out of our hands. Julie called and said that Colombia was offering us a different sibling group of three - Diana, 11, Johana, 10, and Jeison, 9. They needed to know within the next 48 hours if we wanted them. We believe that God deliberately took the choice out of our hands and said – “Here, these are the children I have for you.” Our answer was inevitable – “of course we do”! By now it was late October and we thought we might get to travel by Thanksgiving to get our children. A call from Julie, another delay, there was a new director of social services for the region and he had put international adoptions on standby while he was brought up to speed. In the meantime, we prepared to travel, hoping to get in by Christmas. As the days ticked by we realized our family would be apart for Christmas. We were able to send letters, pictures, and presents to them, but it was a huge disappointment. Finally, we received a travel date – January 10^th. ! We scrambled to make final preparations, contacting schools and work and getting my oldest registered for college before we headed off. Kathryn and Chris would travel with us but Teresa would start college at a new school before we would return.

 

Finally, it was the day! At O’Hare by 5:30AM, we began the trip that would change our lives forever. We were delayed in Atlanta (blamed on ATC of course!) but finally arrived in Bogotá at 9:00PM that night. We were whisked to the bed and breakfast where we would stay for the next three weeks! The next day we would meet our children!

 

My night was exhausting and sleepless. I’m sure some sleep occurred, but all I remembered was the being-awake parts. The next morning, we went to the social services office and met with the attorney, director and social worker and we waited and waited (I guess government offices are the same worldwide!) and finally at about 11:00AM, they were there. Jeison came in first with a big smile on his face and gave hugs and kisses all around, Diana followed with a bouquet of flowers which she shyly handed me. She then turned, went back out the door and dragged her sister, Johana into the room. There were hugs and kisses all around and then a small voice piped up (in Spanish, of course!) “Can I call you Mami and Papi?” With tears in our eyes, we assured Jeison that we would love it if he called us Mami and Papi. And, as I watched Kath and Chris show them how to play their new gameboys, I knew that this was meant to be, and that my family was now whole.

 

We spent another 2 ½ weeks in Bogotá, finalizing the adoption and getting to know each other. It is a beautiful country and there were many interesting things to see and do. Finally, we arrived back in the states. There were many firsts for our children during that time- the first trip to McDonalds, the first time they had seen snow, the first airplane ride, the first vaccinations for school (6 in one day!). As for us, we were trying desperately to improve our Spanish. We learned more Spanish in the first 6 weeks we had them than we had during the past year of attempting to learn it – but I quickly realized that explaining how to do square roots in Spanish was above my capabilities! Now, in our house you will hear what we call “Spanglish” as we learn to communicate – and often very loudly! The children are very, very affectionate, - much more so than we are used to in the States. Our adoption agency says it is a cultural thing - they always want hugs and kisses and to sit on your lap and to hear the words, “Te quiero mucho!” It seems appropriate that their first english words were…”I love you!” On the other hand, Chris’s first Spanish words were “NO Toca!” (Don’t touch me!), which he learned when he’d had one too many kisses from his older sisters! We have started back to work now and the kids are in school. A new life is unfolding in the Geist household. We are sure it will bring trying times, frustration, and tears…but it has also brought and will continue to bring love and happiness that is immeasurable! I am reminded of this daily as I pick up my kids from school and they literally come running out of the building and jump into my arms with a “Te quiero Mami!”

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I have a son!!!!

As I prepare for Aidan's 1st birthday I take a minute to reflect on the last 2 years. It was Feb 2003 when I embarked on this journey. I was nervous about starting it, and nervous about not starting it. After all, I had wanted a child ever since I was about 5 years old but I was now single after a divorce and wondered if I could do this alone. It took me almost 1 year to get my mountain of paperwork completed and sent to Russia and only 5 short months later I received a call from Pam, my coordinator, telling me they had a 6 mo. old boy for me. I said aloud, I have a son!!!! The reality of it all didn’t hit me until I was landing in Kaliningrad knowing I would meet my future son in only a few hours. That day seems surreal at this point. Our first meeting was scary for both Aidan and me. He was a shy, scared and withdrawn baby. I was a nervous, skeptical mom afraid to get too close too soon until I was sure he was going to be my son. Over our next few days in the orphanage he seemed to magically come alive. By day 5, he was vocal, happy, playful and very responsive but what was most amazing was the connection we had with each other, for such a young child to bond so quickly was amazing and quite touching. He would actually cry when I left the orphanage and would react when he heard my voice outside of his sleeping area. Sue, my friend who came along on this trip commented that there was definitely a time when she saw the change in me, that I accepted him and loved him." I can't tell you when that was or what happened but I too could feel it." On the second, 7 weeks later , I was afraid he wouldn't remember me, but he did and our bond was instantly strong again. Here we are 4 months later and our bond and our love for each other has only gotten stronger. Aidan is truly a dream come true!!! People constantly say to me "He is very lucky to have you." I counter that by saying "No, I am blessed to have him". He is extremely healthy, happy, and growing by leaps and bounds and greets each day with a big smile. He is learning to walk, completely fearless, becoming very talkative, incredibly sweet and loving and most of all happy. I can not ask for more in this lifetime!!!!!!!  It has been an amazing journey!!!!  I am fortunate to have wonderful friends and family to support me with Aidan and they have all accepted him as their own. He will be 1 on the 23rd of Feb. and I will thank his birth mom on that day for being courageous enough to give him a better life. I am eternally grateful to her. I can't wait to continue to show Aidan the world and watch him grow into a big (literally) strong man and live a long happy life.

Suzanne Denison
Chicago, Illinois

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Meeting Talia the Ticklish

Once we fed her and brought her to our room, we discovered that she is a very curious, social, happy baby - in no time, she was crawling
around, investigating her surroundings, banging on the formula tin, "talking" to us - we even managed to get a belly laugh when I was changing her diaper and found out that she is VERY ticklish! We had to take off a snow suit, shoes, sweater, pants, shirt, long underwear, and a onesie to find her tummy. We feel like we got a winner in terms of personality and intelligence, so we are very happy!  Here's a photo of her giggling during our first diaper change.                                    

Nikkola Carmichael, Oak Park, Illinios

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mail from Chelyabinsk from Matt and Anne McIntee,  Chicago, Illinois

 

"Wow!"

"It is about 9 pm and he is sleeping soundly.  We all had quite a day. 
It started at 8 am down at the office of the registrar to retrieve his adoption certificate.  Then off to another similar office in another district to retrieve his birth certificate.  Then to the passport agency to submit the documents for his passport.  Then back to the hotel for a quick lunch and to retrieve some final documents.

"At 3:00 pm they picked us up for our last trip to the orphanage.  The drive was quiet yet memorable, just absorbing the sights and sounds one last time. We were met by the orphanage director and they brought Patrick down bundled in only his blanket.  He was so cute.  We dressed him and then celebrated with champagne and chocolate provided by Dr. Nalalya Gorlo the orphanage director.  There were so many tears . . . of joy. . of thanks . . . of  departing.  It was some kind of powerful emotion. The entire process has been some kind of powerful emotion.

"Before leaving we went upstairs and fed cookies to the older children.  They were all so excited to see us and and OF COURSE the cookies.  One little boy sang us a song while all the children clapped, and they wished us goodbye.  Talk about heartbreaking !

Back to the hotel for dinner and a bath.  We were all exhausted from the day . . . and little Patrick crashed without much more than a squeak.  We have only been in to check him (or just look at him) about a million times.

"We can't believe this day has finally arrived.  To have your dreams come true is more than a gift . . .   Wow!"

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The baby who is now my son . . .

What an experience!  After graduating from college with a double major in May 2002, I was still feeling so strong about adoption that I decided to follow through, knowing that another son was in the Lord’s plan for me and my family.

 I adopted Brandon in August, 2004  when he was 18 months old.  I am a single parent.  A girlfriend went with me for the first trip.  Seeing Brandon for the first time was so emotional for me.  Of course, he was scared and stayed pretty close to one of his caregivers in the Baby Home.  Our luggage was lost and didn’t reach us until the day before we came home.  Marina and CHI took very good care of us.  At the end of the week, it was very hard to come home without my baby.  He didn’t know the difference.

My Mom (Baba – short for Grandma in Russian) traveled with me for the second trip.  I wanted her to experience Russia and seeing my baby before going back to the states.  What a trip of a lifetime for both of us.  For two people that haven’t traveled too much, we went half way around the world for my new son and Grandma’s newest grandchild. By the second visit, he started warming up and seemed happy to be the center of attention.  He was stacking 8 cups (different colors and sizes), and playing with a truck, rings and the noisy toy that I bought at the “Pink Store” in Novosibirsk. 

Court was a little scary, but when they told me that my baby was officially mine, I was very emotional.  We went to the Baby Home and they let me change him into his American clothes.  After saying good-bye to the caregivers and the doctor at the Baby Home, we got into the car, which was very scary to Brandon.  I know how difficult it must’ve been for Brandon’s caregivers and the doctor at the Baby Home, to say good-bye.  They took such good care of all of the children and I am grateful that he was happy and well taken care of.  Our first night in the hotel was exciting for all of us.  We played with the toys that I bought at the “Pink Store” – I wanted the toys to be familiar to him, so bought ones that he’d played with at the Baby Home.  Departing Novosibirsk was emotional for us.  We hugged and thanked Marina and Oleyssa for Brandon and everything they did for us.   

By the time we left Novosibirsk, Brandon was adjusting very well to us, calling me MaMa, and my Mom BaBa.  Brandon didn’t know what to think about the plane ride.The flight attendant asked to hold him when he starting crying a lot, and he calmed down right away when she started speaking to him in Russian. 

 Moscow was very enjoyable for us.  We stayed in the Baby Suite at the hotel in Moscow, which was wonderful for Brandon with everything “Baby”.  We walked (Brandon in a stroller) to the Kremlin and Red Square, walked around the hotel and had most of our meals in the hotel. 

Valery Nikoleyovich became Brandon Clay Trumbo (my maiden name) on November 4, 2004, in Wisconsin.  My Dad passed away 3 years ago and was so happy that I was continuing with my education and totally supporting (both of my parents) my decision to adopt a baby, and a brother for my biological son.  Brandon’s middle name “Clay” is my Dad’s first name and I gave Brandon my maiden name for his last name.  I know that my Dad is happy for us and would’ve loved Brandon as much as we all do. 

We just celebrated Brandon’s 2^nd birthday.  I was thinking of his birth mother, especially on his birthday wondering how she was doing.  She gave me such a great gift.  Brandon is thriving in Wisconsin.  He can count to ten, knows his colors and parts of his body, knows the difference between right and left, identifies many things, and is very well adjusted.  He has lots of little friends at the daycare and a “big” brother who loves to introduce him to his friends and show him off.  It seems like a dream to have gone to Russia to adopt my little boy.  I’m very happy that feeling so strongly about adoption for 4 years (while going to school at night), became more than a dream.  I cannot imagine what it would be like without Brandon in my life or my family and friends lives.  He is such a happy, good-natured little boy.

Thank you so much to CHI Chicago, St. Louis, Moscow and Novosibirsk for everything they did bringing me together with my little boy.  I didn’t have to worry about a thing.  Flights, hotels, schedules, interpreter and transportation were all scheduled ahead of time.   If I had the chance to say something to Brandon’s birthmother, I would tell her how grateful I am to her for the baby she gave birth too, who is now my son.

                                                                      Kris Lundquist, Kenosha, Wisconsin

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Miracles Waiting to Happen

 

Kevin Ladley of Trenton Michigan was the absolute king at his December  birthday party.  Kevin was a "waiting child" - a lttle boy with a cleft lip and palate who was waiting for someone to love him enough to  see him through his medical problems.  Gloria Ladley adopted Kevin and brought him home in August of 2004.  Kevin had corrective surgery this January so his lip and palate can grow just the way they are supposed to.  Gloria and her son were both part of a miracle just waiting to happen. You can be part of a miracle too.  Call Tina Qualls at our St Louis office to see if a child is waiting for you.

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. . . this beautiful little blessing known as Samuel

 

The Lord has blessed us beyond measure in the past year. I’m sure that all of you are aware by now of the arrival of the newest member of our household. Samuel Sebastian Vishnesky was born in Bogotá, Colombia on October 2, 2003 and placed in our arms forever on October 5, 2004.

 

On September 13, Dan got “The Call” at work. “You have a son!” They knew only that his name was Juan Sebastian and he was from Bogotá. We found out his birthday later that night, and the rest of the information followed the next afternoon.

 

October 5, 2004. the day our lives changed forever. We met Samuel at 10AM. He was very afraid and cried whenever I stopped pacing with him. For the next 2 days he screamed pretty much non-stop. He wouldn’t eat or sleep and we were beginning to wonder if he knew how to smile at all! God blessed us again through Samuel’s foster mother, who had provided us with a scrapbook dating from the time she received “Juanchito” at 1 month of age, right up to his first birthday party only 3 days before we met him. We had solid proof, this child really did have it in him to smile, laugh and play, we just had to wait for him to be ready! On the third day, he was. He sat on our bed playing with a cardboard box, in favor of the new toys that had come in the box, and low and behold, there appeared the most beautiful smile we’d ever seen!

 

Since arriving home Samuel has adjusted wonderfully. The child we were told was terrified of all animals now has to be scolded for trying to kiss the doggies on the mouth. The child we were told hated to eat yells “MMMM” whenever he sees something he likes (and has actually renamed Grandpa Hiatt to “MMMM” since he usually has the best goodies!) He smiles, he giggles, and he points and yells and sings and dances. He says mama, dada, doggy, num num, baba, and some other things we’re not sure how to translate. He can tell the Wiggles are on TV from clear across the house and he loves the ABC song. He plays hide and seek with mama all day and laughs himself silly when daddy comes home and tosses him in the air. We have one very happy little blessing in our midst, and that makes us very happy, thankful and tired parents!

 

 As we celebrate this wonderful blessing, I’d like to remind you of something that has been made very clear to me as I sit here reflecting on the year gone by. God did not do any of these things for a nameless, faceless group of people. He did these things for you, and for me. He knows our names, our faces, our wants and our needs. He knows the things that are best for us, and the exact moment that is best to give them to us. Each and every day He is there with us, in good times and bad. I thank Him now for the years of pain that led up to this very blessed year. Had we become pregnant, had our car not died, had we begun the adoption process sooner, we surely wouldn’t have had this beautiful little blessing known as Samuel, this exact child, born at an exact moment in time, meant for us before creation, and given to us in God’s perfect timing. As you begin the next year, remember that He will be with you, every step of the way, and He loves you, come what may.

                                                    

                                                     Brandy, Dan and Samuel Vishnesky

Chicago, Illinois

 

 

 

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. . .  such a wonderful little guy . . .

 

I wanted to let you know how it all went with Miguel and how he is doing today.  We’ve been home for 8 weeks now!

 

Our visit to Colombia went well. Just as CHI mentioned, everyone at the bed and breakfast and with the agency were just wonderful.   I went with my mother and we were in Colombia during the Thanksgiving Holiday and were quite surprised when the owner of the bed & breakfast surprised us with a complete turkey dinner.  There was a variety of families in the bed & breakfast at the time we were there, from Sweden and Norway. 

 

When I first picked Miguel up from the ICBF, he was quiet and shy.  I knew he was brought up well, as he put his toys away without being told, sat at the dinner table nicely, and was behaving for the most part. I thought I was very lucky to have this well behaved child.  This lasted for about 4 days and then he started to act differently.  In reading the material that CHI had supplied, I knew temper tantrums were a possibility, but thought that maybe they weren’t going to happen with Miguel.  But they did.  He would be going along just fine and happy, and something would happen, usually when I was saying no to something or trying to get him to stop doing what he was doing.  I had read that these were going to be a part of the transition, that it was his way of testing me. My regret, however, was that I didn’t take the learning of Spanish seriously enough. I feel if I knew more Spanish, rather than the very basic, I would have done better with Miguel when he was angry.  I wasn’t able to comfort him with words and I realized how much better off we would have been if I knew his language.  But when he wasn’t upset, he was great. I knew he was happy, but I also knew he was going to test me.  I eventually turned to the employees at the bed & breakfast to say to Miguel what I wish I could be saying in Spanish. They were great in helping out. I didn’t use them to discipline Miguel, just to tell him what I wanted them to say.   But we did fine.  Miguel was full of hugs and laughter, which made me realize what a wonderful kid I had, just that this was all new to him and he probably really didn’t realize what was happening to him.

 

We came home on December 7^th.  We had spent 2 ½ weeks together already in Colombia, and even though I didn’t know Spanish all that well, Miguel and I had learned how to communicate with body language.  We were actually becoming quite good at it.  If he wanted something, he would take me by the hand and show me.   But there was still a lot we could not communicate to each other. And I’m sure this frustrated Miguel.  He still had his temper tantrums the first 2 ½ weeks home. I was walking on eggshells because I never knew what was going to set him off.  The difference now though, it was just us.  There was no one to help me say things to Miguel. But then I read in one of CHI’s newsletters, about the Spanish Translator on the internet.  I sat Miguel down one afternoon and for an hour, I typed in everything I wanted to say to him and I knew he was understanding because he would smile, or shake his head.  I could see the difference in him when I was talking to him in Spanish. And after that day, we haven’t had one temper tantrum. I explained to him how I felt about him and that this was his home, etc.  Things just went so smoothly after that. So if I had to do it over again, I would definitely learn more Spanish and I think it would have made a world of difference.

 

Now, people ask me if I’m going to learn Spanish. After only 4 weeks, I was amazed at how much English Miguel was speaking and now after 8 weeks, it’s amazing.  He still has a way to go but I know he understands everything I’m saying, I just don’t understand everything he is saying. So I tell everyone by the time I learn Spanish, Miguel will be speaking nothing but English. He had been in school since January 3^rd  (started him in first grade) and he loves it. Everyone there loves him too because Miguel is a charmer.  He loves to hug everyone good morning and has to hug them all at the end of the day. Miguel has an older brother, Shawn, who is 14.  The two of them get along wonderfully.  They do have their moments, but it’s just the big brother, little brother syndrome.  Shawn has his moments where he wants to be alone, but he is very protective of Miguel.  They are both very affectionate toward each other.  

 

Miguel is such a wonderful child.  He has adapted so well and so quickly, that it’s amazing.  When he was having those tantrums, you start to think that that is who he is, but so far from it. I was prepared for them to last so much longer, but 2 ½ weeks was it.  He’s so happy now and listens to the rules at home and at school and I’m amazed how far along he’s come in such a little bit of time.  He’s repeating his favorite songs from the radio and he has his favorite TV shows.  At first he tended to be a loner at school, but now that he is understanding English more, he’s playing with the other kids and participating so much more. 

 

So – the first 8 weeks – we are doing great.   He’s such a wonderful little guy and I feel very lucky to have him in our lives. 

 

Denise S. Szydlowski

St. Clair Shores, Michigan