A journey's end....

We got a call a few weeks ago with the heart-breaking news that Nadiya was fostered out to a family in Ukraine. She agreed to go, signed the papers, and was taken when the social worker who was our advocate all this time was on vacation. This all happened so quickly, we had no chance of stopping it. It's over, and we're left with broken hearts. Our faciliatator has been working hard to get some answers, talk to the family, etc., and perhaps get the good news that this is somehow all a fluke and that we can go get her after all. But that false hope is fading as we struggle to get answers from anyone in Ukraine. We have SO many questions as to what happened, why she went, how it all went down, where she is, how she really feels about it all. We have been through anger, sadness, hope, despair, anxiety, fear, etc...but in the end, the one thing that is consistent is the pain in our hearts. We worked for 18 months to bring her home and it all ended 3 months before we adopted her. Getting that emotionally close and then have it all come crashing down feels as if we lost one our own.

To Nadiya - you came into our lives and changed us for the better. Yuliya has only the fondest memories of you. You had a profound effect on her for so many years. Together, you both made it through some ugly times in life. We will never forget you. We pray that your life will turn out differently, and that you will not make the same mistakes of the people who chose to let you sit in a lonely orphanage for 12 years, only to suddenly jump into action when the 'Americans' wanted to give you the life that every child deserves.


We love you forever....