About 6 weeks ago we switched countries from Ukraine to Russia. It was a heart wrenching decision but one that we are at peace with. Of course, the day after making the decision, we get a call from our facilitator in Ukraine that we had a submission date (finally). I knew that was going to happen. I had to remind myself why we made the decision. Hopefully, it will be the right decision in the end.
Our reasons: We really want a girl and Russia program gives you a referral that meets your requirements before travel. The second reason is the age of available children. We feel strongly that our son will do better with a younger sibling based on his personality. He is still only 4 years old. Younger children can be hard to come by in Ukraine. Also, at this time we only want to adopt 1 child to complete our family. It seems like a lot of families going to Ukraine end up with larger sibling sets. That is not right for us at this time.
The other big factor that played into our decision were families coming home without children. So sad and so unnecessary.
We had a hard process in Ukraine adopting Connor. But - the outcome was wonderful. We have the perfect child for our family. It is the ending that matters. I hope and pray that those searching for their forever families find them wherever they may be.
We have been in process a year already. That is the hard part. Hopefully this second leg of the journey will be shorter. I plan on starting a new blog to cronicle our new adventure.
Christine
About Me
- Christine and Darren
- We are in the process of a Russian adoption. We hope for a little girl to add to our family of 3. We adopted our son from Ukraine in 2005.
Ukraine Map
7 comments:
May God continue to give you wisdom as you journey to your girl! God Bless and keep posting!
Christine...
I hope that all works out with Russia. We adopted our daughter from Ukraine in the end of 2006 from Ukraine. She was 2... I watched with alot of heartbreak that very few families were able to bring home "healthy" younger girls - though there were TONS sitting in the orphanages just waiting for their families! We may adopt again - and it might be from Russia - just because Ukraine is so very uncertain!
Let me know if you start another blog - we'd love to follow it!
Good luck to you!
Amy
Thanks for your encouraging comment on my blog. We are opposite of you--- first adopting from Russia and now Ukraine. May this change in your journey bless you with a daughter.
Christine-
I forgot to ask... can you send me the link to your new blog? Call me an addict to adoption blogs.. but I love to read about others journeys!
Hugs!
Amy
We wish you all the best as you make the transition to Russia. We hope things go smoothly and that you find your little girl quickly.
We had just the opposite experience. We spent 18 months trying to adopt a little girl from Russia, but had 3 referrals fall through. Then Russia stopped international adoptions for awhile. We had decided to switch to Ukraine and we found our daughter this past Feb.
Our experience in Russia was primarily due to the limited # of regions our agency was able to work in, so I don't think you'd experience the same issues.
You'll be in our thoughts!
I pray that you will find your desired little girl in Russia. We have been home 2 mos after adopting in Ukraine and your observations of the adopting process are right on target of what we and others with us experienced while there. Sadly, we too were aware of far too many couples who left Ukraine without a child. I would love to have your new blog address when it is available. God Bless the new direction in your adoption journey!
Melanie
Best wishes on your Russian adoption! Things are so uncertain in Ukraine and I completely understand changing countries!
Staci
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