Stacey's Story
Stacey's Story Stacey's Picture HOME			We first met Stacey in Dec. 2004. We had just had a failed adoption in Russia for a 5 year old girl and hadn’t decided what we were going to do with a completed dossier. But then a friend called and referred us to another agency. I was on the phone with them that same day. They said they had a referral for a 4 yr old girl if we would be interested. Needless to say we were and we were on a plane the following week to meet our newest daughter. Our first trip was a whirlwind as most first trips are. We returned home, waiting through the holidays for a soon to be court date. We returned to Russia in February for our court date and returned late February to the USA with our daughter. We have adopted internationally before and finding birth families has always been important to me. I feel that the knowledge we receive from our searches will answer a lot of future questions for our children. We contacted Mary and with her assistance we had a very fast and successful search. We adopted in Feb. 2005 and found Stacey’s birth family in November 2005. We decided to start with our newest adoption first in hopes that the information would be current and make the search very easy. Basic information was sent to Mary and the search began. I do not remember the exact time frame but very shortly after contact had been made with Stacey’s family. Much to their surprise their granddaughter was not only alive but doing well and living in the USA. They were so surprised and happy. They had first been told that she was adopted but then later was told that she was dead. The grandparents had actually been searching graveyards for the body of their granddaughter. How sad? For many nights as I tucked my daughter into bed each night I imagined the pain they must have gone through as they walked the grave yards. And during this time we were enjoying her running through her new home laughing and enjoying life. We have sent a letter and a stack of pictures to the grandfather. We are awaiting pictures from Russia any day. The grandfather has asked that we not contact the birth mom at this time. She has a new life, with a new husband who knows very little of her past. Stacey’s 8 yr old sister still lives with her birth mom. We are hoping in time that we can gain the grandfather’s trust and he will inform his daughter of Stacey’s life in America. Grandfather and birth mom live next door to one another in Engles. I look forward to years of communication and prayerfully a relationship with her birth mom and her sister.