Are we really doing this, I wonder? One week ago we were perfectly happy, content to raise our daughter and love on our grandkids. We have grandkids for goodness sakes – should we really think about adding another child to our family?
We talk and talk about adoption, how this will change our family, what it means for the future all the while we work on completing the paperwork.
The following Sunday we attend our Church service. We have not yet mentioned anything to our family or friends about our plans. The sermon this week just happens to be focused on stepping out on faith and embracing Hope. “HOPE” is he really talking about Hope? By the end of the sermon I am fighting back tears and he announces that they are planning an adoption workshop for later in the week, if anyone would like to attend.
We look at each other in total amazement when the pastor says “I am going to do something different today…” He pauses and I swear he looks directly at me. “I want to ask anyone that has Hope on their heart today to come forward. We want to pray with you today.”
Through blinding tears, I make my way to the front of the church. As I kneel in front of hundreds of people I feel hands touch my shoulders and back as we pray together for this precious little girl named Hope.
After Church we do our usual lunch at Big Apple Bagel. Right after we sit down a family comes in with two little girls that were adopted from China. We kept sneaking peeks at them as they enjoyed their lunch. The girls were so cute and obviously loved by their family. Over the next few days we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by all things adoption. Families with adopted children were everywhere, conversations that we overheard were about adoption, commercials, pieces of random papers with adoption agency ads... Finally Pat raised his hands, looked up to the heavens and said “I already said yes didn’t I? I get it, really I do!”
A few days later, Pat asked me to call the agency and tell them we had completed our paperwork and that we had decided that we want to move forward as quickly as possible. But I hesitated to make the call. When he got home from work that night he asked me if I had called them yet. When I told him I had not, he asked me to give him the number. I watched in amazement as he dialed the phone and told the agency that he wanted to make sure that they were not going to let anyone else adopt this child that we want so much!
Who is this man? This person that always insisted that he would never adopt a child, is now on the phone with the agency, insisting that they guarantee this will be our child. He does not want to lose her!
The woman promises that they will do everything they can to assure that Nadia is ours. However, she will not be completely ours until we go to court and Russia approves the adoption. She can assure us though that no other American families will have the chance to adopt her, that she will be “held” for us.
Thanksgiving Day, November 2004 we FedEx our official application to the agency, and we tell Hanna that she will have a sister! She is thrilled to find out that she will get what she has been asking for forever – a baby sister!
Click here to go to part four.
YOur killing me. How many parts? I don't read books much anymore because I can't but them down and end up staying up all night to finish. You are killing me with suspense.
ReplyDeleteKate
Kudos to you for your adoption plans, I am in awe. I didn't know you had grandchildren also! But it sounds like Rylee gives you so much joy ~ I love reading your posts about her (such as the tutu, above!) :-)
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