Monday, November 21, 2011

Email surprise

We continue to have open communication with Dariya's birth father, Sasha.   He is always so gracious and thankful for all the pictures and information we send him about Dariya.  

When we met him his one request was that we would send a picture of Dariya each year around her birthday.  Of course, I asked our translator to ask him if he would mind if we sent more, like on a monthly basis.  He was so happy but, didn't want to impose on us.  He truly loves this girl and that makes our hearts so happy.  Every few weeks I email him a load of pictures and information about how she is doing health wise, transitioning to our family and at school.  He is so thankful each time and always responds with kind, appreciative words.

I still believe that if Ukraine had services and supports for parents when their child was born with down syndrome that Sasha would have kept Dariya.  I know many other adoptive families from EE don't have the opportunity to meet or be in relation with their child's birth parents so we are truly thankful for this blessing.

We never met Olga, Dariya's birth mother.  I wanted to ask why Olga never came to meet us any of the times Sasha came to visit with us and Dariya but, didn't feel like that was an appropriate question at the time.  Olga did call him while he was with us on Gotcha Day, she was at work but, obviously knew what was going on and that Dariya was leaving Cherkasy with us that day.

Sasha passes the pictures and information we email him to Olga.  We learned while visiting with him that they divorced after Dariya was born.   Sasha brought pictures of Olga to the orphanage to show us what she looked like and what Dariya looked like as a baby.

This week we were happily surprised to open our email to find pictures and video from when Dariya was a baby and a toddler.


Sept 2008 - Dariya is 7 months old
The director of the orphanage gave us Dariya's baby picture before we came home.  It  is so nice to have more pictures of her from different ages even though I don't have exact dates on all of the pictures.
A true blessing, thank you Sasha!

The Reece's Rainbow Angel Tree raised over $3000 for Dariya's adoption.  This was a huge start to our fundraising when we committed to her.  Please visit the Angel tree this year and help another orphan find their forever family.

11 comments:

Aimee said...

Not that it's a big surprise, but she's always been a cute little bean, hasn't she??? She looks so much like her birth mom! How fun for you to have a glimpse at her early years- and how great for her, too, when she's bigger. You can tell that her birth parents really, truly love her, can't you? Thanks for sharing!!!

Anonymous said...

That is so wonderful!!!! It will be so lovely for you to be able to show those to Dariya when she gets a little older!!

Stephanie said...

Oh that is beautiful!!! I often think of Sasha. I'm so glad he is able to keep in touch and see how beautiful Dariya is growing and how much she is loved.

Anonymous said...

That is wonderful that the Father wants to keep in touch! Love the pictures of her when she was a baby!

Kelli @ livinglifewithes

Becca said...

Oh, this is soooooo wonderful! I love the photos, and even more, I love how involved Sasha is. Knowing that Dariya has been loved from the beginning is amazing. :-)

Ashley Gibson said...

Beautiful!! And look at all that hair - on a 7 month old!! Wow!!

Patti said...

this is SO sweet, Rochelle. This story just gets more beautiful every day.

Emily said...

Her baby face - so sweet!
I echo Patti - your family's story is amazing, and a continual blessing to those who know it.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Katrina said...

What beautiful pictures. My heart rejoices for your family and Dariya and breaks for her birth family. Praying that one day things will be different over there for them and praying that those who live here will see what a blessing these children really are.

Katrina
Carlene's soon to be momma :)
www.operationorphannomore.blogspot.com

Jill said...

Oh my! Love those photos! Contact with her birth family is a true blessing for everyone! Just got an email from E's mom today. :-)

Erin said...

How wonderful. What a doll she was as a baby! And how wonderful that he is so grateful and continues to have an interest in her life.