International Adoption
An Adoption Story in the Making
Jeff and Alesa’s adoption story began, like many adoptive couples, after battling infertility, but it soon took a very unique twist. They signed up for the China program, believing it to be the perfect fit for their family, and quickly met with some discouragement. As their yearning to become parents was getting stronger and stronger, they learned that the wait to bring their daughter home was lengthening.
Adopting Simultaneously
While they were waiting in the China program, Jeff and Alesa became aware of a little Asian girl who was available for adoption through AAI’s Russia program. They jumped at the opportunity to become the girl’s parents, but they still wanted to bring home a child from China as well. After some discussion and consulting with AAI staff, the couple decided to pursue a simultaneous adoption. Because the wait time in AAI’s Russia program is generally shorter than the wait time in the China program, they would adopt the child from Russia while they waited for their adoption in China to be completed.
The Russia Program
Jeff and Alesa signed up for AAI’s Russia program on November 15, 2006, and quickly completed their dossier. “Because we had already done so much paperwork for China, completing our Russian dossier was pretty straightforward and went very quickly,” said Jeff. “It was not much different from what we expected, because everyone at AAI does such a great job of explaining everything that will happen.” The couple made their first trip to Russia to visit their daughter a few months later.
Traveling to Russia
While the couple had traveled abroad before, and Jeff had even resided in England and Denmark, Russia was a new destination for them both. In preparation for the trip, Jeff learned to read and speak some Russian in order to help him communicate on the trip, which he was later very grateful for. “We still needed our interpreters a lot,” he said, “but being able to greet people and ask and answer simple questions in Russian definitely helped.”
Jeff and Alesa traveled through St. Petersburg for their first trip to visit their daughter in February of 2007. The city was “snow-covered and beautiful,” said Jeff, but it was also extremely cold. From St. Petersburg, the couple traveled on to their daughter’s hometown of Tyumen, Russia. “Tyumen,” says Jeff, “is a small city in southwest Siberia. Much of Russia’s oil and gas industry is centered there, so it is quite modern and prosperous.” But just like St. Petersburg, the city was also very chilly. “The coldest day was 25 below Fahrenheit,” says Jeff. However, the harsh weather didn’t keep the couple from meeting their little girl.
Phoebe
Very soon after their arrival, the day that Jeff and Alesa had been waiting for arrived. They were able to meet their daughter, whom they later named Phoebe Rose.
Before meeting their daughter, Jeff says, “We were anxious, of course, about how she would react to us.” But they soon learned that they needn’t have worried. “As it turned out,” says Jeff, “she was very warm and affectionate during each of our three visits on that first trip, if a little confused as to who we were and why we were there.” Overall, Jeff describes the trip as “wonderful.” When the couple returned to Tyumen again in May of 2007, it was to bring their daughter home.
Bringing Phoebe Home
On their second trip to Russia, the couple traveled through Moscow instead of through St. Petersburg on their way to Tyumen. In just a few short months, the landscape of Tyumen had changed drastically. The snow had melted, the buildings were fully visible, and the temperature was in the 70s.
Another stark contrast was how busy Tyumen suddenly became during the spring months. “Our first night there,” says Jeff, “there was not a hotel room to be had in the whole city.” The couple’s hosts put them up for the night in their flat, which gave Jeff and Alesa the special opportunity to experience Russian culture firsthand. “We got to see a typical Russian home, filled with art and the smell of great food,” says Jeff. He continues, “We had lunch in a local restaurant that tourists would never find and a home-cooked dinner and breakfast.” The couple also had ample opportunities to go sightseeing while in Russia. They took several strolls through Tyumen, and one afternoon, the couple visited many of Moscow’s famous attractions, including Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral, and rode the city’s famous subway. Overall, “Our trips to Russia were unforgettable experiences,” says Jeff, “and not just because we became parents there.”
Life Today
The couple arrived home with Phoebe on May 23, 2007, and today, “She is doing great,” says Jeff. “You wouldn’t be able to tell her [apart] from any other American two year old.”
Phoebe, who was just 18 months old when she arrived in the U.S., is learning more and more English every day. Her parents intend to keep her heritage alive through the Russian books and crafts that decorate their home, and by providing her with opportunities to learn Russian as she becomes older. “There are many Russian speakers in our town,” says Jeff. “We will try to reintroduce the language to her when she is a little bit older.” Until then, Jeff and Alesa will continue to use one Russian phrase with Phoebe, “spacoina nochee,” which is Russian for “good night,” when they tuck her in.
2009
While Jeff declares that he and his wife couldn’t be more blessed because of their daughter, their adoption story still isn’t complete. They hope to bring home their second daughter from China by the end of 2009.
For More Information
For more information on adopting from Russia or China, please visit AAI’s Russia Adoption or China Adoption page.
