Our Story

Adoption; I think from an early age I have thought about it. I would drive by big old houses that people no longer lived in and would think what a waste. I could see having lots of children laughing and playing inside and out. There the house would stand for years and years, silent, of no use to anyone.

We have four home grown children, three have been out of the house and on their own for a long time now, Michelle (28), Adam (27), and Will (22). We had one loan duck, Lilly, she is fourteen and of course still at home.

In 1996, Lilly started talking about wanting a sister or brother. I thought it was a phase and would pass, but she just kept on. I had two miscarriages a year or so before, bottom line, I could not have another baby. We had checked into adopting in Nashville, Tennessee for almost a year.

It was now December of 1998, when we got a call from a friend that knew of two girls 7 and 9 that would soon need a home. We talked to their first adoptive parents and met them a few states away for a weekend. We had a hard time leaving them, we were in love with them. By Feb. 4th 1999, they were in our home forever.

Our Galya and Elena was born in Taganrog, Russia. They were brought here in 1995, leaving their two older sisters behind. We looked for them for years, and in June of 2002 they were found. So now what do we do? We wrote them a letter and sent camera's so they could take pictures of themselves. We ask if they would like to come to American, and they said yes.

Varvar, Nastia, Elena and Gayla

So we called up Janet at the Adoption Place here in Nashville and told her we needed another homestudy done, this time for the sisters. When my husband found out how much it would cost, he asked how on earth will we be able to do this. Our family and friends and quite a few strangers jumped in to help. We had Christian concerts, many fund raisers and spoke at a few churches. The girls and I sold calendars and candles on the corner parking lot in the Mall.

We had a few things happen that made it look as though we might not be able to adopt them, lots of red tape. At the same time Janet told us about an 11 year old girl in Magaden, Russia, her name was Angela. She showed us pictures and a film and again, we fell in love. So while there was a hold-up on the sisters adoption, we started working on Angela's dossier also.

Yes, it got a little confusing at times, but thank God for Janet and Rita at Pudget Sound Adoptions, they helped us out so much. They make a great team, along with all the people in Russia they work with. One adoption is hard enough but they have helped over and above what most do. The one thing I have learned is you have to have a good agency, they know what you need before you know you need it. They helped us go to see the sisters of Galya and Elena first and they had everything ready for us to get Angela.

On March 22, 2003 we arrived in Magaden Siberia, five minutes later we met Angela, we took a short tour through the orphanage. To tell the truth jet lag had hit us by this time and it was a blur. The one thing that sticks out is when we got ready to leave, Angela beat us to the car and was sitting in the car waiting on us. We stayed in what they call a two bedroom flat. It was nice and quiet, with lots of hot water, we had just gone a week without a good shower. We took advantage and rested and played with our soon to be daughter. She ate and ate and ate, she ate a box of cereal a day plus all the meals. She had never been able to just go to the kitchen and get what she wanted, and she was loving it.

Two days later we went to court. They waived the ten day waiting period, and a few more days of paper work there and we were off to Moscow. After a few days there finalizing everything we brought our daughter home. She had never been in an elevator before. She was pleasantly surprised at water fountains and escalators. She had not been on a plane, (nor had I until this trip). It has been wonderful watching so many first in her life, sometimes you don't need a lot of words the face says a lot. We have been home a little over six weeks, she is learning English really fast, she has amazed us. She is reading lots of signs and words without any help.

She was the first to be adopted from her orphanage. It's sad, but not many people want the older children. Thank God for organization like this one, A Child Waits Foundation, without their help an 11-year old might not have ever known what it was like to have a family, and we would not know the joy of having her. God has truly blessed our family with a sweet little girl. Her life changed March of 2003, and ours just got richer.

Oh, by the way we leave on June 13th to go to Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don region, our court date is June 17th. We hope to get the adoption of Nastia finalized and have her home. Because of Varvara's age we will have to go a different route, but we have plans and hope the next time we write we will have them both here, their little sisters have missed them, its been about eight years since they have seen them. The rest of the story is to come later.

	Dad, Varvar, Mom and Nastia

Thanks to all who helped us,
Tony, Lisa, Galya, Lilly, Elena and Angela
soon to be Nastia and Varvara Harper

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