AND BABY MAKES THREE!!!!!
On May 27th 1999 our world changed forever. This is the day that our dreams came true. We were awarded permanent custody of our son Kevin. A lot went on prior to this day. We would like to share our story with you and maybe provide a little help to those who are waiting for their call, assignment, or just wondering which adoption agency to go with.
My husband and I were infertility patients for eight and a half years. We were in and out of doctor offices, tried the medications and had our hopes go up and down. Unfortunately we all know the routine. Finally one doctor sat us down and told us we would not be able to conceive. Yes, we were upset. We couldn't understand why this was happening to us. We were good people and always tried to do the right thing.
After taking a few months to let this all sink in, we then talked about other options. Adoption was the way to go, but where to start? We did not know too many people who had adopted children. So, I called the State of CT and asked for all the adoption agencies that were qualified and approved. A few weeks later I received a rather large packet with over forty different agencies. Next we started telephoning them. We called many of them and had more information sent to us. We did meet with a few agencies, but did not feel comfortable with them. You MUST feel comfortable with the agency and be able to share many things with them.
Then we spoke with Thursday's Child and set up a meeting with Iris, the executive director and co-founder. This meeting was totally different than our experiences with all the other agencies. We felt very comfortable with Iris and the surroundings. Also, she was the only one we felt was working for and with us. She told us the possible ups and downs and what to expect.
When we choose Thursday's Child to help us become a family, we were overcome with many emotions. Thursday's Child was there to help us with all of them.
We had our home study with Diane, one of their social workers. She was just great!! She made the home study fun and not rigid. We learned a lot about ourselves and the adoption process. After that we waited for a referral. Never did we think that would be so fast!! We were fortunate. He was beautiful and we feel in love instantly. However, there was a delay in getting our travel arrangements to go to get our son. This was the hardest part of the entire process. There was nothing that could be done to speed up this process. So we had to wait for our call.
On May 14, 1999 we got our phone call that we were to leave for Moscow on May 24, 1999 and land in Moscow May 25, 1999. We met our translator and our adventure continued. We had a tour of Moscow and were on another plane in four hours to go to the region where Kevin was. Two and a half hours later we reached our destination. We were met by another translator and brought to our hotel. After a few hours of rest, we drove to the orphanage to see our son. He was so tiny and a little withdrawn, but when he saw my husband for the first time, he went right into his arms. We loved him so much and finally were able to hold and touch him. This is an experience we will never forget. We will always remember the look that Kevin gave to us as he studied us so precisely. And then, the most wonderful thing happened. He smiled at us for the first time. This melted our hearts and we knew that our journey was complete.
After our visit with him, we had to get ready for court the next day (May 27th). The judge heard our case and granted us permanent custody of our son. The next day, bright and early, we drove to get paperwork done and most importantly we went to go get our son!!
Bonding went pretty fast. Kevin went right into his father's arms and slept in both of our arms those first few days. He was everything to us. The next day the three of us flew back to Moscow to get more paperwork done so we could come home. Again, the translator met us at the airport and got us in and out quickly.
On June 2, 1999 we landed at JFK airport. We were home!!! Kevin was eight months old and weighed about eleven pounds, but did he ever catch up with his weight!! Kevin is a thriving sixteen month old at this writing. He started to walk at ten months old and now is running all around. He keeps us very busy and we love every minute of it.
We owe a great deal of thanks and admiration to Thursday's Child. Without their help, we could never have become the family that we are now. We would feel very comfortable in recommeding Thursday's Child to everyone. Even though they are not the biggest agency, biggest does not always mean the best. Thursday's Child made our dreams come true. We are a family!!
The thought of traveling to country we were not familiar with was a scary one. One word of advice to share to make the trip go quicker is to stay focused. You will be amazed at the proficiency that the agency has in this type of work. The pride and joy that you feel when, at homecoming, you first touch American soil, is indescribable. Make the most out of the experience and try to gather information for your child to help understand his or her birthplace. We purchased numerous gifts that we will give to Kevin as he gets older.
We hope that our story is helpful and if anyone would like to chat some more, we are more than willing to do so. Our e-mail address is wsuprono@aol. com. Always remember that the dream of having a family can really come true!!!
Bill and Deb