Today, our home is filled with the sound of our beautiful daughter Lydia's laughter and sweet voice. She has filled our lives with so much joys that it often felt like our hearts are going to burst. We are so grateful to Cradle of Hope for giving us the guidance and support we needed to become a family.
Upon contacting Cradle of Hope, they set us up with Helene, who is one of their wonderful social workers. She presented us with all of our options and sent us plenty of information describing the process from start to finish and everything in between. It was very reassuring having a map of our journey in hand and a very patient and understanding guide just a phone call away. Because we had already completed our homestudy with a local agency, an agency approved by Cradle of Hope, our application for candidacy was processed and approved right away. We began compiling all of our paperwork for our dossier. Cradle of Hope also provides you with an assistant that concentrates on perfecting your dossier and holds your hand through each step of collecting and legalizing your paperwork, so that it will be accepted in the country from which you are adopting your child. We felt totally at ease as we moved every step further towards finding Lydia.
We had most of our paperwork completed when we received our phone call that Cradle of Hope had found a possible candidate for us. It was describable feeling when the phone rang and Helene was on the other end of the extension with amazing news that there was a little baby girl waiting for us in Siberia. The next day, Cradle of Hope Federal Expressed an envelope containing a video tape, a photograph, medical information, and a packet of information to assist us in our decision making. Included with the information were:
After reviewing three doctor's thoughts about Lydia's mental and physical state and of course, many discussions with our families and each other, we made the decision to accept Lydia's referral and make her our little girl. At the time of Lydia's referral, she was eight and a half months old. She was in her new crib and in our arms by ten and a half months old.
After making our final decision, Cradle of Hope then sent us a package of travel information, a list of travel agencies that are familiar with the specialized travel needs of adoption, a list of what to bring, etc. It was amazing how everything came together so quickly. We attended a travel meeting, had a chance to ask more questions about the travel itself, and before we new it, we got the news that our court date was set. Cradle of Hope checked in with us regularly to make sure that we felt prepared for our journey. They made arrangements for our arrival to have a coordinator, translator, driver, and a host family to stay with during our stay in Russia. These people were all very good at what they did and made us feel at ease and we never felt alone in any way. Every bit of paperwork was in order and processed quickly and smoothly. The moment we walked into the orphanage, we were warmly welcomed and the minute, they put Lydia into our arms, we were in love and more than ready to take our little baby girl home. Cradle of Hope contacted us everyday to make sure that we were happy with our decision and to make sure that we weren't having any difficulty with any aspect of our trip. Cradle of Hope is so personable that they go so far as to contact your family to let them know that as is well and pass on all the excitement. It was an experience we will never forget. We would be happy to answer any e-mail sent to us to discuss our experience or to answer any our your concerns. Our address is thubcap@juno.com We wish you all the luck in the world and may your homes soon be blessed with the sounds of laughter and busy feet, when you bring home your own beautiful child.
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