Living in the Light: Loving Alina, Forever Ours

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Loving Alina, Forever Ours

One year ago today, Chris and I stood in a tiny courtroom in Ukraine as we petitioned to adopt a little girl abandoned at birth because she has Down syndrome.

We knew in our hearts she was meant to be ours, and crossed the ocean for her.

Today we celebrate Alina Caroline, our little cherry blossom, who officially joined our family on April 16, 2010.

**I have two more posts planned for today, one with pictures and video from Days 2, 3 and 4 at the orphanage, and another with more details from court and day 5 in region. Check back later for those if you are interested :)...

4 comments:

keciaSaturday, April 16, 2011
Oh I WILL be checking!!!!love it and love that little girl!
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ShellySaturday, April 16, 2011
Andy's birthday is April 16, and Alina joined your family on the same date. Another thread that binds our families together:)

On my birthday, all I had was a picture of Sarah. On his, we're able to touch and hold her. Love is amazing.
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MeriahSaturday, April 16, 2011
what a happy day!
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BeccaSaturday, April 16, 2011
Happy 1 year in the family, Alina!! What an amazing year that's been, too. I just love following along and seeing what amazing sisters she and Bridget are.
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Welcome

For those of you already following us, Bridget's Light and Loving Alina have merged :). For anyone who is new to our story, Welcome!

Bridget and Alina are the youngest of our six children. Bridget (born July, 2006) is our biological daughter. Alina (born March, 2007, and adopted into our family April, 2010) is the daughter of our hearts. Both girls have Down syndrome.

Feel free to browse this blog at your leisure, to comment or to email us. We're are happy to answer questions or provide more detail to others who are interested in learning more about life with Down syndrome, or about our International Adoption experience.

Living in the Light

I've replayed the day Bridget was born a million times...and I hate saying (and remembering) that the day was filled with sadness and uncertainty. It makes me mad--though I'm not sure at exactly who or what--that we wasted that day being somber when we should have been celebrating. I feel sad for the kids, for Chris and for me, and for our extended family and friends who were worried--heart heavy--for us. If we knew then what we know now, we would have been celebrating. The little girl that arrived in our lives that Sunday in July was the best thing that ever happened to us.

She is everything that is good about Life.

I've re-written the moments in my mind to go something like this:

We were just beginning.
A beautiful life awaited us--
and it was far more beautiful
than we'd imagined.
It is the day we got her;
the day that everything came together.
It is the day we began living in the light...

Take Your Coat Off & Stay Awhile...

If you visit our house, you are welcome to kick your shoes off by the front door, or leave them on--whichever is most comfortable for you. The same applies when you visit here.

You should feel free to stop by often or sporadically. Leave comments whenever you'd like, but don't feel obligated (I'll always answer questions or entertain topics for new posts. Just email me or leave a comment if there's something you'd like me to address or know. And I'll keep writing even if everyone out there is silent...but if everyone out there leaves feedback, I'll have much more to write about!)

If you knock on my door and I'm in my pj's, I may or may not answer (I always assume it's the Fed Ex guy, anyway). But that is part of the beauty of blogland...you can pop in here, without warning, at any time day or night. You can slip quietly away, or take up residence. Since there's no chance of waking a sleeping baby--or encountering unflushed toilets--you can also go anywhere you please on this blog at your leisure.

This is all to say that however you got here, and whatever shape you came in, I'm glad you stopped by. Feel free to stay awhile and look around...

Living in the Light

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Loving Alina, Forever Ours

4 comments:

Welcome

questions or comments?