Starting on Friday, September 13, 2002, the Murtiff family from Bucyrus, OH and the Neff family from Collegeville,
PA gathered at the Nemacolin Woods Resort in Farmington, PA to celebrate a milestone -- the fifth anniversary of
our trip to Russia and the adoption of our sons, Cole Murtiff (Born 4/10/97) and Alex Neff (Born 4/7/97). Both
Cole and Alex were in an orphanage in Russia and both were adopted officially on September 17,1997. Not only did
the momentous occasion of the adoptions of Cole and Alex instantly turn 2 couples into parents, but it also
created an incredibly special bond between our two families. Since the adoption of our sons, we have shared in the
joy of Liz and John Neff’s adoption of their daughter, Katie, in July 1999 and the birth of a daughter, Samantha,
to Lynn and Brad Murtiff in February 2000.
Much has changed since the picture of the boys was taken at the Hotel Ukraine in September 1997. While Alex was then the larger of the two, Cole is now taller. In some ways, the boys resemble each other because of their brown eyes, darker skin tone and smile. Indeed, before Katie turned 2, she would mistake pictures of Cole (displayed on the refrigerator in the Neff house) as being pictures of her brother, Alex. Both boys are attending full day kindergarten this year and participating in sports (soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming, karate, to name a few). Alex and Cole are typical boys who enjoy playing video games and watching such shows as “Scooby Doo” and “Power Rangers.”
The trip to Nemacolin Woods was the second time our two families had gathered since September 1997; we were fortunate enough to meet in Cleveland at the EAC annual picnic over Memorial Day weekend in 2001. It is amazing how well the
»the adoptions of Cole and Alex...created an incredibly special bond between our two families.
boys get along when they are together. You would think they saw each other every day. Perhaps they feel and understand
some special kinship.
Although we live many miles apart, we make an effort to keep in touch by e-mail and phone when we have time (which is not as often as we would like), exchange presents at the holidays, birthdays, “Gotcha Day” and, most importantly, share pictures of the boys and their sisters. We continue to look forward to being a part of each others’ lives and sharing the joy of watching our sons grow and develop (and their sisters too) and learning what life has in store for these 2 special guys. We can’t wait to see what the next 5 years have in store for us!
Thank you EAC for bringing these two special people into our lives and for bringing our two families together!
by Liz Neff and Lynn Murtiff
Presented by European Adoption Consultants, Inc.