Our Adoption of Maria
We adopted Maria, at the age of 11 years from Russia in 2004. Maria is relatively healthy but very thin no matter how we try to feed her. She also has a stuttering problem.
Our trip to Russia was pretty much what we expected. Both my husbands and I are Russian and speak the language fluently, so we felt at home in Russia. Our only difficulty was that we traveled to Russia with our 8 month old son which made the trip quite difficult. However we were very blessed that the judge waived the waiting period.
We were actually very impressed with Maria's orphanage in Russia. It was very clean, neat, and well organized. It appeared that the director of the orphanage truly cared about the children. When he walked down the hall the kids would run up to him for hugs and kisses, it seemed that he had a personal relationship with each child.
Since we speak Russian fluently we had no interpreter or representative with us in the court room. The judge was very much amused by our situation and kept asking millions of questions. He couldn't understand why a Russian couple with 7 children already, wanting to adopt a Russian orphan. As a result, he kept us in the court room much longer than is customary. Our adoption agency reps that were waiting outside the court room were getting worried that something went wrong.
Before we adopted Maria she was with us for the summer host
program. We didn't see her for over a year and had a very difficult time reaching
her over the phone. Every time we called, we were told that she was unavailable
to talk or people would simply hang up the phone. Maria was never given messages
that we called. Later we found out that the director of the orphanage had a
special bond with Maria and didn't want her to leave. When we saw Maria for
the first time the overall feeling was that of gratitude and relief.
We were told that Maria knew we were coming that day, and that she was on pins
and needles when she came into the room. She ran into our arms and couldn't
stop beaming.
Things are going very well. Maria hasn't had any problems integrating into our family. She was like our other biological children from day one. Maria is doing well in school, has made many friends and speaks English fluently. She hardly ever talks about Russia and if asked, states that she doesn't miss anyone or anything in Russia. Maria is an integral part of our family; it's hard to envision our lives without her. She is full of joy and is always happy. Her bright laughter always fills our house.
We are presently expecting another baby in 1-2 weeks (Maria is thrilled). God willing we will adopt more in the future. We feel that Maria is a very special blessing in our lives, by her radiant being and presence she continually reminds us what life is worth living for. There are no words to express our gratitude to A Child Waits Foundation on making this adoption possible. You have been instrumental in giving a home and family to a child and enriching our lives.
The Karlgut Family