I was once like you, reading this book, praying for a child. My mother kept telling me, "You will get the right
baby." But how would we get our baby? Invitro? Adoption?
My husband and I did not feel complete. We had been happily married for 18 years. We had been busy with our lives and, before we knew it, we were in our late thirties and childless. We were used to hard work. We believed that if you worked hard, you could achieve anything you wanted. No matter how hard we tried, we could not have a baby.
We were getting ready for our third invitro when we attended an EAC seminar. We knew we had found our answer. We signed the application that day and canceled the invitro. Eight months later we were in Russia holding the most beautiful baby in the world.
The adoption paperwork is a small price to pay for a chid. We were excited after each step was completed, knowing that we were one step closer to our baby. The "magic wall" is awesome. We were thrilled when our picture was placed on the wall, waiting to be moved to the top row when we would get a referral.
»We were getting ready for our third invitro when we attended an EAC seminar. We knew we had found our answer.
It was an emotional roller coaster. I prayed every night for God to find us the right baby. Soon the phone rang and we heard Claire's voice saying "A boy baby is waiting for you in Russia!"
Few weeks later we were on our way to Russia. We stayed with three other couples at a very nice host family home. The next day the other couples were taken to their orphanages to see their babies. We were left waiting. There were a lot of discussions and phone calls among the workers. We were huddled on a couch, holding hands, and knowing something was very wrong.
Finally, our guide came over to us and said, "I'm sorry, but your baby is gone. The mother came and took him two days ago." I think that was the lowest point in my entire life. We had tried so hard...come so far. My husband said, "We will get a baby...we won't leave Russia without our baby..." That evening we faced the other three happy couples. Then EAC called. They promised that they would find another baby available for adoption.
By some miracle of paperwork, our guide took us to the same orphanage where the first baby had been. The baby boy they brought out responded to us! He looked us in the eye and smiled at us! We melted. We were looking at destiny in the face. We believe we were "sent" to find him...we believe God chose us to be this wonderful little boy's parents.
We got to see Thomas Mikhail for three days before going back to the U.S. We felt horrible leaving him. It was close to Russian Christmas and we were afraid court would be delayed, but EAC called for us to return within five days! We were to leave on Sunday, but our visas had not arrived! We panicked! We called the tracking company all night. We did not sleep at all. My husband went to the post office at 6 A.M.; our visas were on the truck! We left at 9 A.M.
Our plane was delayed for three hours due to a snowstorm. We flew from Pittsburgh to Paris, then from Paris to Moscow. We were exhausted, but overjoyed to be back in our son’s country. We were looking forward to a night in a king-sized bed at the Radison, but our guide said "Big snowstorm coming! We must leave tonight!" Our luggage hadn't arrived so we flew to our region with the clothes on our backs. Our hotel there was cold and dreary, but we didn't care -- we would have slept in a tent if we had to. We were getting our baby!
On December 25, we got to see Thomas Mikhail again. What a Christmas gift! The next day we went to court in the clothes we had been wearing for three days. We stood before a black robed judge and explained why we were the best parents for Thomas, and that we would love him forever. On December 27 we went to the orphanage and dressed him in a little outfit that said "going home." The workers were all crying; one who had cared for him said she would have adopted him herself if she didn't have children.
We spent three days at the Radison. It was wonderful, just the three of us, with his crib by our bed, ordering room service (the food is good). Thomas played with his toys and stayed awake most of the time on the plane trip home. We were all laughing and crying when we got off the plane in Pittsburgh, PA. At our house there was a "Welcome Home, Tommy" sign in the yard and yellow ribbons on every tree.
Thomas did well at home. I did not. I had picked up giardia and was hospitalized for two days (DON'T drink the water in Russia). Thomas was malnourished, anemic, and had bronchitis. He weighed 16 pounds at 10 months; at 3 years he weighs 30 pounds and is very smart, coordinated, outgoing, and happy. He has a huge vocabulary and never stops talking. He swims, takes gymnastics, and loves Spiderman!
Where there once was an empty crib, there now is a sleeping angel. Our once quiet house is filled with laughter. Empty arms are now filled with our sweet smelling baby. Dreaded holidays are a thing of the past. The former dark house on the street at Christmas is now glowing.
The years of heartache only make being a parent that much sweeter. We treasure every smile, every kiss, every touch. Not a day passes that we don't thank God for our beautiful child. EAC made it easy, helped us every step of the way. God and EAC found us the "right" baby.
James, Jennifer, Evan, & Sarah Murphy
Presented by European Adoption Consultants, Inc.