A D Update

Daniel in the new winter coat we bought him:)

After yesterday's very sad post, I think I'd like to balance things out with something a little more uplifting. As sad as I am about leaving Anya, I do have something to be very joyful about, and when I think of him, I can't help but smile and feel incredibly grateful.

D. I talk to him every day by phone and he has the sweetest voice. He calls at least once a day and usually just wants to say hi and hear my voice. He laughs the cutest lilting laugh when I butcher something in Russian. He is a darling, incredibly sweet little boy.

I got an email this morning from the director, as we had to discuss my upcoming visit. And at the end of it she added that  D stops by her office every day to ask about me.  'Every day, Keri! Like a clock!' she said.

D is well-liked by the other kids at the orphanage. In fact, I'm pretty sure a good number of the younger girls have a little crush on him. The older girls find him so sweet that they look out for him, and the boys seem to like him because he is non-threatening, very accepting, and always helpful. He's one of those kids that everyone likes. And the caretakers? Well, they ADORE him. He tows the line, listens to them very well, but has just enough mischief in him to make him interesting...lol! That was what the director told me.

I honestly think the director may be as excited as I am about D's adoption. She knows as well as I do that his life prospects were he to stay in Russia are dismal. Because of his FASD issues, he does not do well in school and has difficulty with his memory. It is difficult for him to concentrate, but he tries his best, according to the older teen girls I talked to. He is a very 'go-with-the-flow' kind of kid, and he will give you the shirt off his back if you ask him. In fact, he's already given away much of what I gave him on my last visit.

I'm sick with that longing that all mothers experience when thy are away from their kids. I already adore him, and so the thought of having to leave him here for several months makes my heart ache. But, I've survived this once before. I can do it again. God alone gives me the strength to do it. Just like He alone is giving me the ability to leave Anya.

God-willing, I will be back here in the late Spring to bring him home. There are some things you can pray for if you do pray:

1. That the DOE (Dept of Education) will waive the first trip since I have already spent ample time with Daniel.

2. That I will be able to complete my dossier by the end of December.

3. That D will be kept safe, and hopeful, until I can return.

Thank you, prayer warriors!

As terrified as I am to hope that this adoption will go smoothly,  (I know all too well what wrenches can be thrown into the mix), I am the eternal optimist and I am envisioning a smooth process as best I can. May God spare me the 'wrenches' this time around and may D be cuddled up in my arms, and his sister's arms, in his own little room in Marblehead very soon..