It was January of 2001 when as usual, my 5 year old daughter,
Peyton, and I were searching through the many faces of children who were available
for adoption. Peyton had wanted a sister desperately, and God truly had his plan!
As we clicked on beautiful faces, one after another, Kaldigul's precious face
appeared. It was then that Peyton squealed; "Stop Mommy, stop. That's her,
that's my sister!"
From that moment on, it was in God's hands. Fritz and I
prayed about this decision to adopt, and wondered constantly about how we were
going to come up with the large amount of money needed for international adoption.
We were financially secure, but in no way wealthy. We immediately made out a new
budget to include savings for the adoption. Of course, the money was just one
of the many obstacles to overcome. We had never heard of Kazakhstan, which is
the country where Kaldigul was in an orphanage. As always, God was there for us
because it was the very week after we found Kaldigul that an exchange student
from Kazakhstan was placed in my home room at school. I couldn't believe it, and
I knew it was more than a coincidence. Azamat helped me with translating letters
to Kaldigul and his family was supportive in helping us find out more about Kaldigul
by visiting the orphanage to see that she was okay. I knew God was there, helping
us during every step of this journey.
Our family and friends were not so sure. They thought we were crazy going half way around the world to adopt a child when there were "so many homeless children right here in our own country." We tried repeatedly to explain how this little girl was supposed to be in our family. Never had we experienced such a strong feeling of something being the right thing to do. We had to bring this precious child home, to her forever family.
After many months of planning, saving money, completing
paper work, and completing a home study, it seemed like finally we were getting
close..." We had applied for a small grant to adopt, and needed it desperately
to have the total amount needed to complete the adoption. After waiting months
for a response; we called to find out that our grant would not be eligible until
after January… this was August! We had already missed over two years of our
daughter's life, how could we wait another six months? We had been sending Kaldigul
pictures and gifts for months. How could we tell her we couldn't bring her home
for another six months?
Our hearts were breaking as we found A Child Waits
Foundation and applied for a $5,000.00 loan. The organization approved
our loan, and we were once again excited and feeling extremely blessed. Everything
was set to go. We planned to travel in October. Everything was wonderful! Then,
September 11, the National Tragedy occurred. All international travel was delayed,
and of course we understood why, but we were still devastated for many reasons.
Our country's peace and security had been compromised, innocent people lost their
lives, and we were afraid we wouldn't get to bring our daughter home. Once again,
there was panic in our hearts, but as we always do, we turned to God in prayer.
It was in October that we found out we could travel in November … finally,
this was going to happen. We left November 19, 2001 to set out on the journey
of a life time.
We arrived in Moscow, Russia where a representative from the adoption Agency met us and gave us critical information about our trip. After two flights, a six hour van ride, and an eighteen hour train ride, we arrived in Arkalyk. We met our translator and host family who were all wonderful, and we found out we would meet Kaldigul the next day. After a night of rest and nourishment, we were off to meet our daughter. The orphanage was old but very clean. The translator explained in Russian that we were there to meet Kaldigul. A few moments later, there she was, in person. We had seen so many videos with that little face, and now she was right in front of us, and she was even wearing clothes we had sent to her! We sat down with her; and began to try to communicate with this beautiful child that would soon he ours. She whispered in her course little voice, "Mama, Papa." We cried and said "Da, da (yes, yes)." We could see the fear and confusion in her eyes. We wanted desperately to help her feel safe. We brought her gifts of candy and toys, hoping to help her understand that we-loved her. That first day was emotional, but the following days were even more intense.
When we returned; Kaldigul Kellcie, as we had named her,
ran in fear and cried "Net: net (no, no)." She clung to her caregivers
and refused to visit with us. The caregivers were stern in telling her she must
visit with her Mama and Papa as they handed her to me and left the room. She was
shaking and crying ... I did the only thing Iknew to do; I sang to her and rocked
her. I then repeated "Ya tebia lu blu which means I love you. She calmed
down, but was still afraid. After three days of this same behavior, we all decided
it would be in Kaldigul Kellcie's best interest to come with us to the apartment
and not return to the orphanage. This was the right decision, because once she
left the orphanage, Kaldigul Kellcie never once cried again! She was so happy,
and for the first time, she smiled and laughed as she squealed the words "Mama,
Papa." On December 4, 2001, Kaldigul became Kaldigul Kellcie Byrd, the daughter
of Fritz and Stacie Byrd and the sister of Peyton Brianna Byrd.
Court was simple, although they did ask us many questions about our future plans
for Kellcie. It was extremely moving when the orphanage director whispered to
us in Russian, "Save her." Of course we knew we were changing her life,
just as she was changing ours. Kaldigul Kellcie, as she was being called by the
orphanage before we arrived to bring her home, was such a little trooper during
all the hours of travel and transition. She truly felt as if she had always been
with us.
By the time we returned home on December 14, 2001, Kellcie was speaking English almost fluently. She knew all of the nursery rhymes, could recite her ABC 's and count to 10 in English. She is such a smart little girl! Her homecoming was overwhelmingly emotional. It was about 11:00 at night, and after being delayed several hours on previous flights, we finally arrived at Nashville International Airport. All of our family and friends held banners and clapped for us as we walked through the long airport corridor. It was one of the happiest moments of our lives. Kellcie was finally with her forever family ... she was finally home. Her first day in America was her 3rd birthday. We had a Tweety Bird birthday, with just family. She was a little confused by all of the cake, candles and presents, but it didn't take her long to figure out it was a celebration for her. From that moment on, everyday has been such a wonderful experience for all of us, and Kellcie is the happiest little girl in the world!
She has since attended a private preschool which she loves, visited the mountains,
the beach, and she swims like a little fish in her Na Na's pool. She is so well
adjusted, and has no medical or emotional problems. She is just an incredible
little angel sent to us by God, and we are so blessed to have her in our lives!
God
Bless,
Stacie Byrd