A Year Ago Today

A year ago today, John and I sat in the office of the National Adoption Center in Kyiv and chose our children. We were nervous; we were hopeful; we were excited; we were scared. Our two boys and a girl that we thought we had chosen turned into two girls and a boy in a matter of about two seconds after I asked what their names were. Liana was shaved in her picture; we thought she was a boy. She made for a funny-looking boy, and an even funnier-looking girl. But, those were our kids, so off we went.

What a day to remember. The day they officially were a part of our lives forever. Once glimpse of tiny pictures gave us a peek into our future lives together. Misha looked so sad and scared. Skinny and defeated. Vala looked so concentration-camp-like. No sparkle. No clue of any life in her. Not even Zina, the happy-go-lucky one had any spunk in her picture. I thought our kids (all three) were a little funny-looking.

A year later, these kids are Adam, Liana, and Aleksa. Very much ours, and very much the picture of health and happiness. What a big year. What a big life change (for every one of us!)

I remember wondering as I sat in the dark hallway of the NAC what our lives would be like a year from then. Busy, exhausting, sometimes frustrating, always adventurous, and thankfully, we did get our happily ever after... or as good of a one as we can expect this side of Heaven! Sure, we have our rough moments, but we also have many, many sweet and forever-cherished ones.

How are we celebrating today? Well, I talked to the kids about our NAC appointment, and told them again how Liana's picture made her look like a boy, and how much fun it was to choose them out of all the other children in all of Ukraine.

But this afternoon, we're washing windows. ;O)