God’s timing is perfect. We knew
that in our hearts, but it was hard to convince our minds
sometimes while we were in the adoption process. A rollercoaster
of emotions...our adoption story began in March 2006 after my
husband and I attended an adoption seminar and felt in our
hearts international adoption was the way we wanted to start our
family. In November 2007 on our 8th wedding anniversary we got
THE call. What a gift! An infant girl in Izhevsk, Russia, was
ready for us to meet her. We would be the first family with
Children’s Hope to travel to this region so there were many
unknowns.
My husband and I packed our bags and
went on the journey of a lifetime. In an orphanage in Votkinsk
we met our precious gift. Her name is Ksenia. The orphanage
director brought her in the room. She was smiling and looking
around at all of the faces in the room. She was and still is a
very happy child. My husband described her as beautiful and I
couldn’t agree more. We only saw her for a couple minutes that
day.
The
first trip was very busy with documents and such, but we were
able to visit with our daughter several times before we had to
come home. It was so hard to say goodbye! The only consolation
was that we could replay our camcorder and flip through photos
of her, taking us back to when we were together.
We were home for exactly a week when
we got the call that our court date was set. We couldn’t believe
that our adoption was finally happening!
Our second trip went very well. We
visited our daughter for a couple of days prior to the court
hearing. To our delight she remembered us from the first trip
and it felt like we hadn’t been apart. She was babbling more
this time and was crawling even faster.
Court was long, but the outcome was
all that we wanted to hear – that she was officially our
daughter. After the court hearing the judge who seemed to be
pretty harsh during the process, said the books are closed for
this hearing and then I couldn’t believe what she said next. She
said:
"People do not believe in
miracles anymore, but they still happen. This is the first
of many miracles for your family. December will be a
celebrated month as it is your husband’s and daughter’s
birthdays, your adoption day, and Christmas. Winter will be
special for you as New Year’s is in January as well as your
birthday. Miracles still happen.”
In
my heart, I felt like that was not the judge’s words, but our
heavenly Father answering our prayers.
The next day we were able to finally
hold Ksenia in our arms, not to say goodbye, but to be able to
take her with us. Our flight home was five days before
Christmas. What a Christmas gift! We are so blessed. We
celebrated Ksenia’s first Christmas in our hometown of Fort
Worth where she met many of her family. We also were able to
celebrate her first birthday as a family in our home in El Paso.
God’s Perfect Timing. We couldn’t have dreamt for it to be
better. During the process, my adoption consultant shared this
scripture with us and it was something that we drew strength
from: I Samuel 1:27 – “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has
granted me what I asked of him.”
It has been two months now that
Ksenia has been home with us and we don’t remember how life was
without her! She is a beautiful, happy 13-month-old who loves to
sing, dance, and be outside when the sun is shining.
Everyday is a new adventure with
her. We learn something not only about her, but also about
ourselves. Everyday we thank God for her. Our prayers have been
answered in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
~ Danielle Riddle, TX
Danielle and her
husband Jason adopted 1-year-old Ksenia from Izhevsk, Russia, in
November 2007.
If you would like to share your
thoughts, experiences or stories about your adoption,
email: Jennifer Newcomb at
Jennifer.Newcomb@ChildrensHope.net
We would love to post your family
pictures!
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