Worth the Wait

After the long trip and very little sleep along the way, I was surprised at how alert we all were when it was time to leave for MOE appointment. I did not feel nervous at all. We were picked up in the hotel lobby at about 1:30. We had about a 10 minute drive to a nondescript building where we met Marina, the translator. Then, the other couple along with us were all taken into a small room where we sat and were given a little information, and asked specifics about our family and our reasons for wanting to adopt a child from Russia. This was different from other people's experiences, I think. Most people are taken in one couple at a time. It went quickly and I did not feel any pressure at all. The women were very friendly and they complimented us on our clothes and how young we looked and that we were "nice looking." I felt really good leaving this appointment. Off to the orphanage....

About an hour outside of town, sits a building that is beautiful to me. It is very old, falling apart in some places and yet is home to 180 children that need a family. Inside is my daughter. We walked into the building and I cannot even put into words my thoughts and feelings at that moment. The walls when you walk in are covered in pictures of former residents. Pictures that their parents have either sent back or brought back on return trips. They are each a different story and soon, our story will be on that wall also.

Upstairs is a room they call the music room. We are told to sit down and so we do. And the next thing I know, the door opens and in walks a lady holding the hand of a little pixie in a pink dress with golden curls and eyes the color of a summer sky. Here they call her Vika. The nanny bent down and said something to her in Russian and the only word I could understand was "mama." Then, my little girl walked into my arms for the first time and it was amazing. She snuggled her head into my neck and I knew immediately that this moment was where God had been leading me for the past two years. It was worth the wait.