"Postcard" from Russia

The video above was posted on Youtube by an adoptive family whose blog I've been following. Their "Gotcha Day" was in October. I had to share their video because they not only adopted from Russia, but Astrakhan, Russia. AND, they also adopted from the same baby home as Madeline. Watching their video, tears came to my eyes as I saw all the familiar sites of the city. Their video showed the streetscape of the city as they approached the home on "Gotcha Day" and also showed the interior of the baby home. Gosh, the stairs (in video) ughhhhh!!!!! The dreaded stairs....so filled with anticipation on our daily visits to Madeline and so filled with sadness when we had to leave her at the end of each visit. And, of course, the constant with those stairs whether we were coming or going was that the hallway smelled of cabbage!

It has only been three years since our own journey but it has truly been a lifetime! It is hard to fathom sometimes what we had to endure to bring our little girl home. Madeline is our gift from God and the three of us were meant to be a family. Sometimes it is hard to believe the storm we weathered to make our family whole but I would do it again in a second. This family's video was a bittersweet reminder of our journey. Their video footage is priceless....that is something I wish we did! As I watched, the tears streamed down my cheeks. And then, I closed down the computer, quietly checked in on Madeline as she softly slept, tucked her in and gave our daughter a soft kiss on her forehead and I went to bed feeling very grateful. We are so blessed.