"I once was lost, but now am found…." I started playing a lullaby CD that began with Amazing Grace as soon as 18-month old Andrew came home from Russia. Three days later, they happened to play that hymn at our church, Hope Lutheran. Andrew sat straight up in my lap and began rocking back and forth. This was our song. We rocked and cuddled to it. And he knew it. Amazing grace, indeed.

I start at the end of our adoption journey because it's a very happy ending. Our story is similar to many stories in this book. But if you're reading this, you probably have a lot of questions, like I did so let me answer them in telling my story.

Motherhood – You want to be a mother. Stop wishing and believe. When I did, I finally became a mother….to two perfect biological children, Rebecca and Ben, and one adopted son, Andrew. Adoption is no less beautiful, rewarding and awe inspiring than giving birth. A mother's love – and a father's – stretches as large as needed.

Why EAC? – When you've been to the US Embassy in a foreign country, you see all of the other families adopting children. As I held Andrew, I felt so fortunate. God bless the families that were taking home smaller, sicker children, I thought. Having other young children, I knew I needed a sound child. Andrew's orphanage was run by an angel who kept the children fed, loved, healthy and happy. You could see it in his cheery disposition and his healthy glow. Of course the EAC team in the US was brilliant as was our guide, but the child in my arms was the truest evidence of the EAC difference.

What country? – Pray about it. God and your heart will lead you where you need to go. We love St. Petersburg, Russia. The people were warm and many spoke English. It was like an exotic vacation to a beautiful, rich land where they hand you a lovely child at the end. It was truly a daydream, but with EAC you have so many choices.

Boy or Girl? – Oh, this is hard. Adoption starts many times in a Mommy's heart. Many Mommies want frilly dresses and hair bows. But Russia has about 12 boys to every girl. In my heart, I knew that this journey was more about God and my child than it was about me, so I opened my mind to the possibility of a little boy. God and EAC presented me with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed cherub that even the Russians called 'sunshine'. He is warmth, soft energy, kisses and smiles…a sweet boy just like my other son Ben. I saw so many other sweet little boys lined up in their tidy little nursery.

But now Andrew is home. We still rock to Amazing Grace but every time I hear the third verse it makes me pause: "Through many dangers toils and snares, I have already come. His grace has brought me safe so far, His grace will see me home." Andrew sighs, and nestles closer and drifts in sleep. Grace has seen him home. Lucky me.

Editor's Note: Comments and opinions made in all stories may not reflect the current climate of adoptions in the foreign countries. While EAC does their best to maintain the highest level of care during your adoption, we cannot guarantee the exact experience.

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