We started our Journey just the same as most. After years of trying to concieve naturely and failed fertility treatments we decided to turn to adoption to complete our family. My husband and I attended a siminar at EAC and knew instantly that we had not only made the right decision to adopt, but we also found the perfect agency for us. We joyfully started our journey to adopt our son from Russia.

After hand delivering our final paperwork our dossier was sumitted in June, and we were on the waiting list. Now we were ready to start what we called the rollercoaster ride! Everything was so emotional for me. We had such a wonderful experience with not only EAC but Russia as well. Althouth the process was very emotional, we knew we were doing the right thing for our family.

While waiting for the referral we prepared our 10 year old daughter for a little brother. I will never forget when we ran into a family member at the store and when she asked our daughter if she was excited to get her little brother home. Her responce was yes, but she wishes we could bring all the kids home so they would have loving parents like she did. At that point I knew our whole family was ready.

Then we got the call for a 12 month old little boy. When I recieved his information I just started crying (he was adorable!). My daughter walked in and thought something was wrong, I couldn't talk so I just handed her his picture. She got the biggest smile on her face and fell in love with him the minute she saw him. I was so excited I wanted to call our case worker and accept before looking at his medical, but my husband wanted to make sure we were able to deal with any medical conditions he might have. After speaking to a Russian medical specialist we lovingly accepted him into our family.

Our first trip was very eventful. After landing during a winter storm in our region we had to wait till the next day to see our little boy. But once we held him in our arms we fell in love. Before we knew it we were on our way home without our little guy.

After getting home Christmas Eve night I thought I was doing really good until my sister showed up with a little stocking that was embroidered with my sons name. I think at that very moment I realized how much I love my little guy!

Court seemed to take forever (we had to wait till the Russian holidays were over). Then we were off to Russia to finally make this little bundle of joy our son. After nervously finishing court we had to wait the ten days to pick Taten up. We were allowed to visit him up to three times a day during the wait (which actually helped him prepare for us). Once we picked him up I couldn't believe he was such a easy child. We really had no tears or rejection from him at all. His caretakers were wonderful women that did a wonderful job of taking care of our son. Our son has been home for 16 months now and we feel truely blessed to have him in our lives. He is the perfect addition to our family. I have had several people that say he looks just like his daddy.

I want to thank EAC and the staff for doing such a wonderful job. Not only was the staff here in America great, but the in country staff are just as wonderful! You all will be remembered and charished in our hearts forever!

Thank You so much!
Rich and Becky

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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