Friday, February 10, 2017

It all went wonderfully wrong.

It has been quite some time since I blogged. Mostly I update our "Growing Up Quinn-tuplets" Page on Facebook. We are currently in Ukraine. Just days before we traveled we found out the little girl we were fighting to get to was being adopted by a Canadian family. We were crushed. So very close. But too late. Her name was Tatyanka but from the moment we committed to adopting her I began calling her "Anna". Reece's Rainbow had her listed as "Chelsea". But for whatever reason I felt our daughters name would be Anna? I had never been particularly fond of the name Anna. It simply was. When we lost "Anna" we questioned whether we should even continue. We were confused, heartbroken. We decided to go anyway and see what child the Lord might lead us to. We were contacted just two days before we flew about a baby girl with DS and a heart condition that needed to be adopted quickly. We said YES! We found out her birth name was "Anna". We thought surely this is a sign that she is our daughter! Our spirits lifted we set out for Grandma and Grandpa's to drop off four of the kiddos and grab our plane to Ukraine! The evening before we left we found out "Anna" #2 was no longer available. Not to be deterred we continued to the airport. Mommy, Daddy, and Gage on a journey to discover the newest Quinn.

After arriving in Ukraine we met with our team. They told us about a new committee that was just assembled at the official adoption office. This new committee would review all cases before giving families permission to go to court to adopt their child/children. This committee had JUST been established and we were the first family our team would be submitting. (just our luck) This new committee could deny us even though we were already approved and after meeting our child.
They also told us about a baby girl with DS. She was 1.5 years old. The next morning we went to our appointment with the adoption officials and accepted a referral to visit this baby girl. We were exhausted but feeling optimistic about meeting her the next day. As we walked out of the office we stopped and asked "what is the little girls name? her birth name?" The official responded "Anna. A N N A." Marty and I looked at each other and laughed! Ok Anna #3 here we come!

The next morning we traveled to meet "Anna #3". The director was excited to see us and happily offered Gage chocolates. She asked if she could have copies of the pictures we had brought to show her of the other children. Although we spoke different languages it was clear to her that we were here for the right reasons and we understood that she truly cared for the children as well. We walked back outside into the freezing temps and across the street to a group of small buildings. They were old and looked more like sheds. In the back was a small building for sick children. "Anna" had been sick with some sort of cold/cough. We spoke briefly with the nurse about "Anna's" medical background and then it was time to meet our girl.

When they brought "Anna" into the room we instantly fell in love. Gage declared "My Baby!" She glanced up from the nanny's shoulder to investigate the new visitors and quickly and shyly retreated back to the nanny's shoulder with a hint of a pout. To most people this would be unremarkable but to an experienced adoption mom this spoke volumes! It meant "Anna" had bonded with her caregiver. That she COULD bond. That she reacted appropriately to strangers. This is exactly how a child should respond! The nanny laughed and smiled and so did I. A minute later I asked Gage if he would like to sit with Daddy so I could hold the baby. Gage agreed. I thanked him for being a good boy and reached for "Anna". She reached back. :D  My first thought was how healthy she felt. She was solid and had good posture. Her big beautiful brown eyes and long lashes looked at me curiously. That was it. She was mine. I knew instantly. Marty and I exchanged a knowing glance. That first visit lasted about 20 minutes and we scurried off to begin processing the appropriate paperwork to submit to the adoption officials and committee.

We chose the name "Annaleigh Faith" for our daughter. It seemed appropriate. My middle name and my oldest daughters middle name's are "Leigh". By adding the "leigh" we were able to personalize her original name while also preserving it. "Anna #3" seemed a bit impersonal. ;) We are currently waiting. Today the committee is suppose to meet to determine Annaleigh's future. This new process has added two weeks to our trip. The children back home are fond of their Grandparents, Aunts and Cousins. We miss them terribly! We call them over the computer and they seem content. But it is never easy being separated. So... we hold our breaths. We distract ourselves as best we can and try not to think about the possibility of the committee saying "no". We can tackle the challenges and speed bumps that arise. We can tolerate the disappointments with a minimal amount of complaining and whining. But there is one favor I ask of the Lord, let them say "yes". Let them say YES!


















No comments:

Post a Comment