2 Years Ago Today!

2 years ago today Mike and I were in Kiev, Ukraine at the adoption center. It is a trip that will stay with me forever. In January of 2004 we decided to adopt from Ukraine. We spent the next few months doing our homestudy and getting our dossier together. In May our paperwork was sent to Ukraine. In late summer things slowed down so we waited and waited (sound familiar!). The first week of December we found out that we had an appointment in Kiev at the adoption center on January 12, 2005. We left on Jan. 10th and arrived in Kiev on Jan. 11th. On Jan. 12th we went to the adoption center in search of our child. We were shown very sick children of all ages and were told that there was no healthy children available today. We expected to be told this so we looked more. We were offered twin boys only to find out that they were "lost in the system" and then offered a little 2 year old girl. Her name was Olena and she had a cleft palate and needed massage therapy to her shoulder. We decided to go see her. We had to wait 24 hours to get approval to go so the next night we left at 3am on a 4 hour trip to her hometown. When we arrived at the orphanage we met with the director and then Olena was brought in to us. I can picture her in my mind now. She was tiny, about the size of a 6 month old. She was absolutely beautiful! We sat on the floor playing with her and she sat holding Mike's pinky. At that moment we couldn't believe we had a daughter! It was then that we checked her mouth and shoulder. The palate was one I knew could be repaired and I felt very grateful that it wasn't severe. Then came time to check the shoulder. I saw no problem with the shoulder but then was shown her back. It was that moment we saw that she had spinal bifida. Of course the staff didn't understand this. We were then told about her only having one kidney. I felt my world close in on me. I knew that I couldn't bring home this beautiful little girl that had already won my heart. How could I bring her home knowing she wouldn't live? Walking out of that orphanage without her was one of the hardest things Mike and I have ever done. I have never felt so lonely and afraid at the same time. We spent the next week and a half waiting for another appointment at the AC. During this time we made wonderful friendships that will last a lifetime. Galya is so dear to us and we miss her so much. She taught us so much and welcomed us into her family. She took us to spend many days at the children's hospital. The kids there are forever in my heart. I wish I could have brought them all home but they were not adoptable. These children had been abandoned in the streets. The police brought them to the hospital where they stay as long as a year in a hospital room with no toys, no books, no nothing, before being sent to an orphanage where they will most likely never be adopted. A week and a half later we finally got our second chance to go back to the AC but once again we left empty handed. There was no gaurantee that we would get another appointment and at that point we decided to come home. All of our hopes and dreams of becoming parents came to an end. I could go on and on about our trip. I do want you to know that even though things didn't work out for us I will always treasure our time in Ukraine. If you would like to hear more you can read our story at Caringbridge.org/ky/krameraddition . I hope you enjoy the photos below.