February 7, 2008 was the first day we held our daughter at an orphanage in the small town of Pavolvsk, Russia. We shared three hours together and knew that we would be a family forever. One of the hardest things we ever had to do was to give her back to the orphanage caregivers. But four months later, we returned to the orphanage and brought her home with us.
Below are pictures of Natalie on the day we met in 2008 and now in 2009. What remarkable growth and progress she has made in only seven months. We were at the adoption specialist today and Natalie is finally on the charts for weight and head circumference. Praise God! Her milestones for motor and verbal skills are right on target for her age group. We are beyond blessed.
Some of her new words include: morning, oh man!, dude, what's that?, and no way! She has also learned that she can climb out of her crib (such fun for mommy and daddy!). Natalie also loves to imitate animal sounds. Her favorite is the lion, but her monkey imitation is too cute (oo oo ahh ahh).
Thanks for all your continued outpouring of love and prayers over our little princess. Take a look now for yourself at how much she has changed.
8 comments:
God is SO good, isn't He? I love following your story! Thank you for showing the before and after - they are incredibly inspirational! She's gorgeous - here's to many many more years of blessings!
Thanks for sharing this amazing one year history, friend! We were all ooohing and aaahing over the incredible transformation captured in your pictures - Though we see her every week, it's almost impossible to believe it's only been a year when you see how much Natalie's changed since last Feb... You guys are great parents! Love has moved mountains and made miracles. We NEVER had a doubt!
We look forward to sharing many moments together and to seeing what another year will mean for Natalie's health and development, and for your family. We know what it means to hear that your child is "right on track" after many fearful possibilities have NOT become realities...God is so good!
Love,
Michelle and Steve,
Caroline, Laura, Stephen, Julia, Abby, and Sean
Abby's already talking about swimming in the pool with Nattie:)
7 months!! That makes sense, as we just passed 5 months with M. I'm so glad for Natalie's milestones. I know how you must look forward to them with more anticipation that most parents, as we are experiencing that ourselves. She is growing to be so beautiful and you are doing a wonderful job as her parents. Thanks for keeping us updated because it is really encouraging to read your posts.
She is beautiful! And - Yes! My how she has changed so quickly! Must be all that love and spoilin'! :-) So happy for you!
amazing. God is good. :-)
i still have those presents for Natalie - i had my brain surgery and everything kinda went crazy, i haven't really been able to drive and things didn't exactly go as planned. i'll email you as soon as i'll be able to drive to the church so we can figure out a good time.
praying,
Michelle
Hi Karen,
I couldn't find your email address so I hope I can reach you through your blog. We are hoping to go to Russia in the next few months to meet our little boy. My sister is giving a benefit concert and has asked if I could put together a slide show to play in the background. I'm wondering if you might have some pictures of Russia, the orphanage, and children in the orphanage. I'm hoping to nudge some hearts about the plight of these kids...I hope you can help me out with this. My email is monicalrobbins@msn.com. I'm enjoying seeing Natalie's pictures...she is just so precious.
Thanks,
Monica Robbins
God Bless you all. I cried as I watched your story. It has been ten years since we brought our son and daughter hoe from Voronezh. Your story took me back. Thank you, God Bless you. Happy Easter.
Kathy C
After watching your adoption videos on Youtube, and crying my eyes out at how blessed you are, I decided to google your daughters name to see if you had a blog. Low and behold you do. I have enjoyed so much reading about your journey to your beautiful one.
While teaching Sunday School at my church I met a little girl named Annakate whom was adopted from russia. I fell in love with her and it opened my eyes and heart to Russian adoption. Now, my husband and I plan to adopt a daughter from Russia in the future! It is amazing how much your Natalie resembles Annakate. You would almost think they were twins. Anyways, Thank you for sharing your story! God Bless!!!
( lordressler@yahoo.com )
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