Making a difference - be an ANGEL this holiday season

One of the blogs that I follow Creating My Own Little Nirvana had a post that brought tears to my eyes called "This is Katya".  Katya is a young woman who aged out of her orphanage in Siberia and is trying to make it as a young mother.  Unfortuantely this too often is the case with orphans there and it is hard knowing this could have been our own daughter V if she had not been adopted.  I am attaching a link to the story and hoping that other Angels can find it in their heart to send Katya a care package.  There are instructions on the blog on how to send the package, it is very important to list everything as USED for customs and make sure that the declared value is $25 or less total. 

Maybe together we can help make the holidays a little brighter for someone in need.
http://creatingmyownlittlenirvana.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-is-katya.html#comment-form

One Year - Where has the time gone?

One year ago we were in Biro and working hard towards getting our daughter home.  We had already been to court (Dec. 9th) and we were in our 10 day waiting period.  I am not sure where the time went, sometimes it felt like time was just dragging by, other times like it was flying.  This year has had its ups and downs, the good times, the not so good times and the times where we just had to keep moving forward.  One year later and our daughter has grown several inches, gained a few pounds, has glasses and receiving treatment so she can see, has had 14 teeth pulled and has 11 new teeth in her mouth.  Our daughter went from speaking 2 word phrases in Russian to full sentences in English.  V went from never being to school to doing 1/2 a year of Pre-K and is just finishing up her first 1/2 of the year of K.  V gets lots of therapies, speech, behavioral/developmental/art/OT and also has fun doing Russian Ballet and gymnastics.  She has gone from living in an orphanage to being part of a family with more grace and patience then most adults would have.  She has transformed from our little visitor to our daughter and we can't imagine our lives without her.   Now for the part I still had not done - Photos:

Heading back to Russia after her hosting program

With her brother in Moscow on Christmas - getting ready to go home

Our Russian Ballerina

Life is more fun with your siblings

Holiday fun after being home 1 year