Coming Full Circle

This past week, we were lucky enough to be able to speak at our adoption agency. We were guest speakers at an introduction meeting with prospective adoptive parents. I was so honored to do this for our agency. We had an excellent experience with them, and are so blessed to have brought home Angelina. This meeting was exactly two years from when Ken and I sat confused but excited in our introduction meeting, longingly looking at the family in the front with beautiful children. Truly, it was a full circle experience for us.

With that being said, it is bittersweet for me to say that this will be my last blog post. Being a parent, teacher and graduate student have filled all of my free time, and I just can’t continue to do our blog justice any longer.

I started this blog as a way to keep my friends and family updated on our journey, during our (what seemed like forever) wait for the phone call. I never knew then what doors would open for me because of this blog. I am so thankful for all of the support I have received from my blogging friends. Truly, I would not have been able to get through this process without their kind words, supportive comments and funny anecdotes. I love cheering on my friends who are going through the process currently, and know that Lina will benefit from the Russian connections we have made over the past year and a half.

I want to take this moment to thank all of my family and friends who have helped us along during our adoption. Whether it was the excitement from our families during our paperwork stage, or kind comments from fellow bloggers once we brought Lina home, I will forever be grateful for this support.

And, for now, we will just keep enjoying life as a family of three.
Da svidaniya!

She Always Finds a Way to Make Me Happy

It’s been a pretty busy fall with trying to find our new routine and getting back into the swing of things. I started school two weeks ago, and Lina has been back at full time day care. So far, our transition from summer has been great. Lina is doing well at day care, and we have not seen much regression with her behavior. I, however, am still fighting being back at work, and still like to hit the ice cream stand as many times as possible!

I think that I can speak for most adoptive parents when I say that we are always on the lookout for attachment signs in our children. Even after being home for 14 months, I still don’t think we are there 100%, and still have things that I want to see Lina do (or not do) in order to feel secure. This by no means diminishes the work that we have done over the past year. We have grown leaps and bounds in the attachment department, and signs of continual progress make me rest easy.

The latest in positive attachment signs came to me today, completely unexpected, and after a long day of in-service. I went to pick Lina up from day care, she noticed me, and actually RAN OVER TO ME! She gave me the biggest hug and it was all that I could do to hold back my tears! Never has Lina had this reaction to me arriving at day care. I’ve been looking for this sign for a long time, a genuine happiness that I have returned and a knowledge that I am there for her. Again, this is just part of our continual attachment growth, and I am just so happy that she has gotten to feel this secure with me as her Mama.

I never expected to still be talking about attachment after being home 14 months. Though its been a long road, its also one that has provided me with the greatest satisfaction. We still have miles to go, but to see how far we have come gives me inspiration.

**The above picture was taken over Labor Day Weekend. We spend the weekend camping, and took Lina on her first hike.