Adoption Blog

Spiritual Stretch Marks

It was a snowy, blustery day outside.  Just the right kind of day to spend a few hours in front of the computer, checking out fellow chatter’s journeys as they expanded their families through adoption.  As I wiped a tear from my eye and began to mentally regroup, I found myself praying for yet another family who was in the waiting process, seeing no outward signs of movement. 

“What is it you desire us to learn, God?” I asked as I sat there praying.  “This waiting is sooo hard.  Did we not hear you correctly when we felt you were calling us to Russia to adopt?  Is this incredible longing and hope we harbor deep in our hearts something of our own making? Why is this so hard?”

Then I began to really think about what adoption is, especially the international adoption we were in the midst of.  Someone from around the world, knowing that there is a special someone out there that we’ve been waiting all our lives to find. 

Russian Adoption Experience

 

I had always had a heart for adoption...i had worked at our local childrens shelter when i was single & loved 2 little boys who lived there & who were available for adoption.  I remember thinking that someday when i had a hubby & was older that maybe we could adopt a child. Years later, Greg & I met, married & had our sweet Thomas!  After his birth is when the reality of what it means for a child not to have a mom & dad really hit us.  Thomas was completely helpless & dependent on us for everything!  We could not comprehend a child coming into this world & not having the safety & love & all that parents give in the tiny moments of each day.

When Thomas was 1.5 years old we couldn't stand it any longer.  The call to adopt became so loud we were starting to lose sleep. We were praying & listening, praying & listening. There were so many unknowns about adoption i just wanted to make sure we were really doing what God wanted for us.

After telling one of my friends that we weren't sure whether to adopt or not & that we were trying to listen for God's direction, etc.  She sarcastically said something along the lines of "oh, yah..God doesn't want you to adopt."  That was it!  I had to laugh because of course the calling was from God!! 

So Greg & I went thru our local county's foster/adopt program & during the very last class i believed that we were not supposed to move forward locally.  After prayer & many mornings out on our balcony at dawn we decided  to adopt from Russia.  Like many other families, we weren't exactly sure why Russia, we just felt pulled there & not anywhere else.  We signed up with America World & requested a boy since there are so many there.  We traveled twice & brought Thomas with us!  Thank God for my brave Greg because i'm not the most relaxed traveler. 

So here we are now home since March 2008 with our little Siberian tiger, Andrey.  We are a family of 4 and soon would like to have another biological child.  Family life has been the most satisfying & challenging time of our lives!  It's really a beautiful thing.  The boys are true brothers in every sense.  They have tons of energy & stack up our furniture & put holes in our walls with anything that resembles a tool.  I have to laugh & then i have to thank God.  I have to also thank God for sending me all the way to Siberia because now when i feel scared (greg is rarely scared) to do something minor, i can say, "hey, i've been to Siberia twice, I can do anything!"

Greg, Jeanette, Thomas & Andrey Dini

Adopting from Russia...

We are the Freeman family from Tucson, Arizona. God has blessed us with three beautiful children from Russia. After several years of struggling with infertility, God called us to adopt. I still remember the day when I came home and asked my husband to consider adoption. Brian, in his wisdom, suggested we pray about it. Within a few days we felt God confirming in our hearts that he wanted us to adopt. That was March 17. 2004. Little did we know that on that same day, a little baby boy was found abandoned in Volgograd, Russia. It took us a long journey and over 2 years to connect with him, but when they told us that he had been found on March 17, we knew that our son had been “found” in more ways than one. We brought Benjamin home in June 2006 and he is an amazing blessing.

International Women's Day

International Women’s Day is an official holiday celebrated on March 8^th each year in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, among other countries.  This holiday originated with the Socialist Party of America in the early 1900’s as a means of highlighting inequality and the fight for women’s rights. In Russia, in 1917, a group of protesting women gained the right to vote for all women from the tsar on what became International Women’s Day.  It is traditionally celebrated in Eastern Europe by giving flowers and chocolates to the women and girls in your life.  It is similar to the US holiday of Mothers’ Day, except it celebrates all women.