One year ago, in July 1997, we called Cradle of Hope (CHAC)
seeking information about adopting from Russia. We had done much research on agencies, and
chose CHAC because they had a lot of experience in Russian adoptions, excellent
references, and seemed very responsive to our questions. We felt we could trust them to
help us bring our future child home. We have a five-year old daughter and hoped to adopt a
toddler boy.
After receiving a CHAC waiting children’s flyer, we noticed an
almost two-year old boy named Nikita. Actually our daughter, Katie, saw him and said,
"I want him to be my brother!" We were in the process of completing our home
study with a local agency and were awaiting INS approval. We called CHAC to check
on Nikita’s availability and found out he was available with no major health issues,
just minor developmental delays and a minor vision problem. Upon receiving Nikita’s
video we were determined to expedite things to get our son home. I went crazy cranking out
the paperwork and whatever we needed to do, to finish every last document and
appostille.
Our local home study was great; once we identified Nikita, they completed our home study
within two weeks. We were INS approved by the end of August.
After viewing the videos, when we had some serious questions about Nikita’s
health, CHAC went out of their way to get us information we needed to make an
informed decision, never pressuring us at all. Finally, by the end of September, our
questions were answered and all our paperwork was sent to Moscow. We then waited two
months for a court date. On December 8th, we got a phone call telling us our
court date would be December 22nd, and we needed to take two trips to Moscow
because of the holidays.
For our first trip we left our daughter Katie at home with her grandparents. We left
December 18th and met Nikita at his orphanage shortly after arriving in Moscow
and checking into our hotel. Although exhausted from the travel, it was so good to finally
hold that little boy we’d seen hundreds of times in the videos. He seemed tiny and
very afraid, but loved to be held. He enjoyed the toys we brought for him, too. He seemed
to know us better each time. He didn’t speak a word the entire time we were there and
rarely smiled.
Our court experience was simple and positive, as our coordinator, Natasha, was well
prepared and everything was ready. The judge was quite pleasant and she only took one
minute to give us a favorable ruling. It was sad to leave Nikita in Moscow after court,
yet we knew we would soon be back to take him home forever and we had our daughter at home
waiting for Santa to come.
We returned to Moscow January 13th - 17th to pick up Nikita and
process all the paperwork, passport, visa, etc. Five-year old Katie joined us this trip as
she decided, "she wanted to be part of the family when we got her little
brother". We stayed at the Radisson, which has a great swimming pool, and a
McDonald’s nearby; so she was quite happy.
When we arrived at the orphanage to pick up Nikita, he seemed to remember us. We
changed him into his new clothes, gave our gifts to the workers and children, and walked
away from Moscow Orphanage #20 forever. What a moment to remember! The transformation we
saw in Nikita was amazing. Within moments of getting in the car and leaving the orphanage,
we heard our little boy speak for the first time -- "Machina" (car),
"Paka" (bye-bye). By the end of the day he was calling us "Mama" and
"Papa" and our daughter, "Katie". It was great to have Katie there to
play with Nicky. He seemed to enjoy playing with her right away. He ate well, and seemed
to adjust reasonably well very quickly.
Our time in Moscow went by quickly. All the paperwork went smoothly and efficiently.
Most of the time one of us went with Natasha, our coordinator, while the other one stayed
at the hotel with the kids. We took the kids to the Moscow Circus and we all loved it.
Before we knew it, it was time to say good-bye to Moscow. We felt so thankful to Russia
and CHAC for our precious new son.
Six months later our little Russian angel has amazing speech (speaking in four- and
five-word sentences) and is doing great. This is the same child that was said to be speech
delayed in the orphanage. He loves to be held, yet is cautious with strangers. After a
three-month period of perfect behavior, he now has hit the terrible two’s and is a
normal two-year old testing us often. His roaming eye has been treated successfully
without surgery and a cute pair of wire-rimmed glasses. He has grown four inches, has
gained seven lbs., eats like a horse and sleeps well.
Our lives have been blessed with the addition of Nikita (now "Nicky") and we
are thankful to Cradle of Hope and Russia for bringing this child into our family.
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