Even more reason Yuliya needs a family...

We got another email from the French couple I mentioned in a previous post. They have been so kind and supportive. The more we get to know them, the more thankful we are that Yuliya was able to be with them for so many summers. Here she is during the summer of 2006:

This last email was from the wife. She explained how Yuliya was pretty much abandoned by her mother at approx. age 6, and has not seen her since. Yuliya had told us that when she was here. She had also talked about 3 others siblings. Vera (the translator at the time) kind of shrugged it off, saying that Yuliya meant cousins since the word she used was not 'brothers and sisters', per se. Well, from what we gather in the email, her mom and dad separated when Yuliya was younger. Yuliya stayed with her mom, who put her into the orphanage. Dad got into another relationship, and does indeed have 3 other kids. This would make them Yuliya's step-siblings, which was what Yuliya was trying to explain to us. The heart-breaking information we got it is that Yuliya has asked several times for her dad to come get her, but he refuses, telling her that he cannot afford to support her and the 3 other kids. He does periodically visit her. He brough her home for a while over Christmas. I just can't imagine what it's like for Yuliya to be stuck in an orphanage for the last 6 years because 'nobody can afford her'. Carrie and I do hope the fact that her father is willing to let her be adopted by us indicates that he wants a better life for her. We did ask Yuliya on our last call if her father knew about us, and she said he did.

Hopefully, this all makes a little more sense (if possible) when we get there.