THE WOLINSKI FAMILY

As most childless families, we were experiencing a tremendous void in our lives. After batteries of tests, and the initial shocks of the unacceptable results, the infertility treatments began. Whilst the staff at the infertility clinic was nice, caring and accommodating, the results were ZERO. Thousands of dollars invested with no results. The pain and anguish became heavier every month that we unable to achieve a pregnancy. One day, whilst sitting in the sterile clinic's lounge, looking at the sterile wall with all of the "successful" (artificially inseminated) baby pictures looking back at us, my wife spotted a pamphlet on the also sterile lounge table. "ADOPT-A-CHILD". Right here in Pittsburgh. "Hmmmmm…adoption. These people handle international adoptions? What is this all about?" we asked ourselves. We proceeded to discuss Adopt-A-Child, possibly being the "last resort" for us to have children. I must admit, at first, I was skeptical. We obtained an appointment, and spoke at length to Laura Ellman. I distinctly remember asking her, "After we go through this procedure, are we guaranteed a child?" to which she replied: "Absolutely". "Huh? What?" …I thought you got on a (long) waiting list, and when one became available, viola, new kid! "Well, let's go the meetings, and get more information." It's 65 miles from our home to Squirrel Hill, where the AAC office is located, and that allows plenty of time to discuss points of concern before the meeting, as well as rehashing the statements heard on the way back. "What? Fly to Russia? ME? Impossible!" My flying experience consists of being in a Piper Cessna, over our little town, that's it. I've never, ever been on a jet airliner…And then fly 4,500 miles...

Well, we decided that these people at Adopt –A-Child are legitimate, because I checked them out. Sherlock Holmes would have been proud of me. "O.K., what do we have to do to make this happen, Laura?" We then began a process that to this day still chokes me up, because the procedure was so seamless, so precise, I still have a hard time realizing that the results are sleeping peacefully right behind me as I type this.

We accomplished all that there was to do in our hometown, (passport applications, etc), and went through the home study, and the I.N.S. stuff in Pittsburgh. So far, so good. Everything gets submitted, and we are approved. "YES!" One afternoon, Laura calls, and the referral is in. "SEND IT!!!" In the referral, there are pictures of this darling little chubby-cheeked baby girl, with blond hair & blue eyes, just like her mommy-to-be, and a medical report. Tears and more tears. "This could be our child, our little girl!" We went to Adopt-A-Child, and signed all of the paperwork, and I asked again: "Is this our child? Can anyone else adopt her?" Laura replied: "No one will see the referral. She will be yours; no one else will be able to adopt her. After your court date in Moscow, you will be the legal parents of this little girl." We then were advised of our court date, and Laura provided us with the name of an excellent travel agency that Adopt-A-Child uses. All of the arrangements were made, and we found ourselves flying to J.F.K. airport in New York City to make the connection for the flight to Moscow. Eight hours later, we are at the Moscow airport, anxious with anticipation. (Yeah, I flew the 4,500 miles. No turbulence. Imagine that.) Laura had earlier provided us a paper itinerary of events that we would undertake whilst in Russia, and exactly where the paper said he would be, there was our driver, Sasha. What a GEM of a man! He spoke perfect English, a nice, happy guy, willing to assist us in whatever we wanted or needed. He put our luggage in the car, and off to the hotel (the Marriott Tverskaya) we went. The coordinator that Adopt-A-Child has in Moscow (Olga) called later that evening, and we were advised that at 9 AM tomorrow, we will be going to the orphanage to meet our little girl. Promptly at 9 AM, Sasha arrived, and ten minutes later we were at "Baby House Number 5", a rather non-descript building that was holding our life's most precious commodity. Sasha & Onya (Olga's daughter) introduced us to the orphanage staff, via translation, (they were waiting for us) and suddenly this lady arrived with the most beautiful sight childless parents will ever see: the same little baby girl (OUR little baby!) from the referral, in person. Mere words cannot describe the emotional feelings that we had on that chilly (it was -5 degrees, actually) January morning in Moscow. What a tremendous moment! Little "Katuschka" (as she was known then) took to us immediately and we were overwhelmed by her. "Can't we take her home, now?" The rest of the trip was as the itinerary stated, go here, do this, sign this, go there, do that, sign that. We remembered Laura's last bit of advice, before we left: "Sasha will take you, Sasha will help you", and help he did...everything was done perfectly. We even had a little extra time to stop & see the Kremlin, Red Square, the Djetsky Mir department store & Izmailovo market.

No problems, no worries, no angst.

"Is this really happening?"

Regarding the rest of the trip, the court date went as described, and 45 minutes later, we were the (teary-eyed) legal parents of Sophia Cathryn Wolinski. After a few more visits to the orphanage, it was time to fly home. Leaving our little girl in Moscow was hard to take, but we were comforted by the fact that as soon as our paperwork went through the "channels", we would be back in Russia in two weeks to pick our baby up. And, as Laura had previously told us, 13 days later, we were indeed back in Russia. The next morning, we picked Sophia up at the orphanage, and completed all the paperwork and exams that were necessary on our second trip. Sasha was there again to assist us at the American Embassy, the Russian Consulate, and even took us back to the Detsky Mir department store to buy baby food, etc. "This traveling around in Moscow is not only interesting, it's really neat!" Saturday, we flew home, and when we landed, the I.N.S. staff in N.Y.C. was extremely accommodating. We had no problems on any of the flights, no problems with luggage, no problems with customs, no problems anywhere! Simply amazing.

Our daughter has not displayed any problems with the "culture shock", as one would expect, given the fact that she was leaving an austere orphanage setting, and is experiencing new people, sights, sounds & tastes. Since we both work, Sophia is now in Day-Care, and gets along famously with the other children. A happy baby, who was given up by her natural mother, has now filled the emptiness in our lives. And, yes, she is now an American citizen.

2006 update: Sophia will be 5 in November, and she has grown into the most beautiful little girl. She displays an uncanny eagerness to learn, and simply "lights up the room" with her smile. She is passionate about her family, and is one of the most affectionate kids you would ever want to see...It goes without saying that she is def a "Daddy's Girl"...

Thank you, Adopt-A-Child. Thank You Laura, Sasha, Olga, Onya, and everyone else. Normally, I am quite an eloquent typist, but words fail me at this moment. I hope that you, the reader, can feel the joy that we feel, and we want you to know that if you adopt with this Agency, your lives will definitely be filled with the child that you so deeply desire.

Let it be said: Adopt -A-Child, Inc. has the adoption process so finely tuned, so well laid out, it was akin to a dream. We were told what we going to do, why we were going to do it, and when the procedure would take place. Nothing could have been done to make the process any easier. In short, everything came together so perfectly that, at times, the intricate network that this organization has constructed still astonishes me.

Laura has our phone number. Call us if you need any additional information, or please feel free to e-mail me at: pandozer@verizon.net

We are willing to assist all potential adoptive parents at any time.

Ed & Cathy Wolinski

April 23, 2003

Updated May 31, 2006