By The Cradle Staff
December 24, 2004 was a Christmas we will never forget. It was the day we brought our daughters Tatiana Katarina (3 1/2), and Victoria Maria (2 1/2) home from Russia. It was the most incredible gift we could have ever received, or given to our family. Big brother Kameron (8) was probably the most overwhelmed. He finally got to meet his sisters, and have his parents home just in time for Christmas Day. It had been an incredible journey, for all of us.
Well it has been nearly a year since we brought Tania and Vica home. They have mastered the English language. I often miss the fights they had in Russian, it was so hard not to laugh.
I also remember their first bath at our Hotel in Bryansk, Russia. It really was terrible, they cried so hard we thought somebody would think that we were being cruel and break the door down. This summer they were the queens of the beach. They jumped off the dock like Olympic Divers, people could not believe that it was their first summer in a lake.
Tatiana and Vica are also enjoying preschool together, they are in the same class but growing and changing so differently. Tatiana is the ever studious girl, while Vica is the class clown and always bringing her teacher to tears with laughter.
Adoption has given us the family we always wanted. Our home is always filled with the sound of laughter and craziness. Sometimes it is hard to believe Tatiana and Victoria haven’t always been with us. I cannot imagine our life without them. They just fit and we love them so much. Kameron could not be happier, he had held them in his heart for so long.
The Cradle was there every step of the way. Kristen Jones, our Adoption Coordinator was so incredible, we could never thank her enough. Our Russian Coordinators even threw us a champagne party on the side of the road after our court case, we were all like family. Adopting our daughters from Russia was life changing and we would encourage anyone who has thought about adopting to sit down with any of the families that we have met through this journey. The stories are all different but the end result is the same. Everyone is in love, the kids, the parents, the grandparents, everybody. None of us have ever been happier. Adoption was the best thing we ever did.
Sincerely,
Phillip, Krista, Kameron, Tatiana, and Victoria
