Our Story

I've been asked to write a bit of our story for a Facebook page/blog.  So, here's the quick and dirty version of finding and adopting Sara.  And an update on how she's doing now since it's been way too long since I've done one of those.  

In 2008, I moved to Mexico to work with kids with special needs.  9 months later, I was suddenly back in Illinois with no idea where my life was headed.  I had a job I loved and some amazing friends.  My life was good but I was looking for more.  I wanted to be a mom.  I started looking into adoption.  Specifically, I was looking into local options for adopting a child with Down syndrome.  As a special education teacher, I always loved my students with Down syndrome and was just drawn to them.  I felt like I was chasing my own tail and quickly became discouraged.  I didn't think that a birth family would ever choose a single mom.  At some point during that time, a friend showed me the Reece's Rainbow website but I dismissed the idea of international adoption without looking into it at all.  

In December 2011, I was spending Christmas break in New York with my family.  My mom called me into the kitchen to watch a news story.  This news story changed my life.  

I returned to Illinois in January and started researching Reece's Rainbow.  I wrote a very vague blog post on January 1st hinting at the future.  I read about the process and the funding options.  I read about single adoption and Down syndrome.  I read profiles of kids and thought about the best options for me.  I sent a Facebook message to all of my favorite single and adoptive moms and closest friends asking them if I was completely crazy.  They told me that I wasn't so I started moving forward.  

I decided that the best fit for me would be a girl, at least 3, with Down syndrome but minimal medical problems in a Latin American country since I speak Spanish.  I thought I had found her but was told that the girl I was interested in had a family coming.  The contact at Reece's Rainbow sent me a picture and a short description of a little girl that hadn't even been posted yet.  

I saw that picture and jumped in with both feet and didn't look back.  My profile went live on Reece's Rainbow in February and I spent the next year working, fund raising, paper chasing, and preparing.  It was a whirlwind.  Half the time I thought this was the best thing I could be doing with my life.  The other half of the time I was in a complete panic.

I flew to Colombia on January 12, 2013 and met Sara on January 14th.  

She was tiny and timid and perfect.  (And she bit me.  A lot.)  She was almost 4 1/2 and in a size 2T.  She knew about 5 words in Spanish but was able to use a lot of gestures and noises to make her needs and wants understood.  She refused to repeat words and seemed to have no interest in speaking any more than she did.

She had a rash on her face and a perpetually green, snotty nose.  The bags under her eyes were huge.  Her hair was thin and wispy and an odd red color.  She was scared of everything.  The dog in the hotel and the fountain at the mall were especially disturbing.  She cowered easily and was scared of anyone who made sudden movements.  

She was goofy and stubborn and fun.  She learned sign language incredibly quickly and started growing immediately.  She grew out of her 2T clothes in the 7 1/2 weeks we were in Colombia.  She was independent, potty trained, and able to dress and feed herself.  She didn't need a mommy but she let me hang around anyway.  

We arrived in the United States on March 7, 2013.  She became America's newest citizen and we really started our lives together.  

In our five years together, she has gone from a tiny, timid toddler to a confident, spunky, hilarious big girl.  She has traveled to more than half of the states, Mexico, and Canada.  She loves to fly and is a great road tripper.  

She loves school and is getting Physical therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech therapy and educational services.  She talks.  All the time.  Constantly.  She repeats everything.  She has a great sense of humor and she loves adventure and new experiences.  

She is adored by her grandparents and all of my friends.  We go to a church that loves and accepts her.  

She takes dance classes with other girls her age.  She plays all kinds of sports with other kids with special needs.  

She's been a flower girl three times. 

We've survived two cataract surgeries and a tonsil removal.  

 She loves her mommy more than anything and I cannot imagine life without her!  

I'd say, she's doing pretty well.  

2014 - Our Year in Review - Part 1

I know.  I've been very negligent when it comes to updates.  It's certainly not because there aren't things going on.  Maybe it's because there is too much going on.  Here's a summary of our 2014:

January:

We rang in the New Year in Maine with my Dad and my brother.  Our actual New Years Eve was not very exciting.

However, I got to spend New Years Day with my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and many of my cousins.  We picked my Uncle up to take him to see my grandmother.  He himself had been in the hospital since the fall.  It was fun to be with him while he experienced life outside of those four walls for the first time in months.  Sadly, my grandmother passed away two days later.  

On the 14th, we celebrated one year together.  

We went to Disney Princesses on Ice.  It's possible that Tia and Mommy enjoyed it a little more than Sara.  

The rest of the month was cold, snowy, and uneventful.  

February:  

February was more cold and snow.  

March:

In March, we got to meet our friends the Aschoffs in real life.  They also have a daughter from Colombia.  We met up with them at the IDSC's meet up at Great Wolf Lodge.  Sara was in her glory!  

We rocked our socks for World Down Syndrome Day! 

April:

We drove to Cincinnati and  NY for Spring Break.  Sara is a serious road trip warrior.  

We got to hang out with the Allison family in Cincinnati and meet their newest additions.  They adopted their son around the same time that I adopted Sara. 

A few days later, we flew to Maine for my grandmother's memorial service.  

Sara started swimming lessons.  

We had a quiet Easter with just the two of us.  

And then my poor baby got pneumonia.  

Sara took a tumbling class.  

May:

Sara rode a pony at her school's Family Fun Night.  This was something she refused to do in the fall.  

We did a 5k for my work.  She ran some, walked some, and rode some.

She loved the Memorial Day parade.

June:  

She was in her first ever school program!

My baby finished Kindergarten.

We were both in Tia Anna's wedding.  

I officially finished my 14th year of teaching.  

Sara went to summer school in the mornings for a few weeks while I tried to remember what I used to do before she consumed every minute of my life.

We made a quick trip back to New York to see my brother George graduate from high school.

I love her confidence.  

Check back soon for the rest of the year!

Wedding PARTY!

Months before Sara came home, she was asked to be a flower girl in a friend's wedding.  In all honesty, I've been nervous about it ever since.  Sara can be INCREDIBLY charming.  She can also be moody and crabby.  (Sounds pretty normal, huh?)  When she's not in a good mood, things can get ugly pretty quickly.  Sara also likes to do things the way SHE wants to do them.  She's not always a fan of doing what she's told.

I was worried.  Then, I got the 9 page itinerary for the wedding.  This couple is incredibly organized and had every detail planned out.  This wedding was going to go off without a hitch.....except that they had invited my daughter to be a part of it.  (Cringe.)

You also need to understand that I am hyper-aware of Sara's negative behaviors.  Much more aware than anyone else.  There have been several occasions where I've been mortified by her behavior only to have others comment on how good she was.  I think it comes from my job.  Teaching young adults with special needs, I've heard (and probably said) "Well, his parents created this mess" or "Did you see how she acted with her mother?" and other equally judgmental statements.  I really don't want to be the parent that staff are talking about in ten years.  And, I know that right now, Sara is young so the things she does are cute.  They won't be cute in 10 years.  Anyway, I was mortified to think that she might ruin the wedding.

The rehearsal on the 3rd went pretty well.  Sara was petrified of the ring bearer.  I have no idea why because he was the cutest little guy ever.  They were the only two kids at the rehearsal so he kept walking by trying to engage her.  She's cry and whine and climb into my arms every time.  She was not going to walk down the aisle with him but she was ok with doing it herself.

We had the 4th off from wedding festivities but had lots of other fun for Sara's first 4th of July.  All the fun left Sara very tired and a little crabby.  She took a nice nap on the way to the hotel on the day of the wedding.  (We actually ended up sitting in the parking lot at the hotel for half an hour so she could sleep longer.)  The problem with her long naps is that she has a really, really, REALLY hard time waking up from them.  

We checked into the hotel and headed off to the church.  She did NOT want to be there and she did not want anyone to bother her.  The bridesmaids were all excited to see her and she let them know it was not mutual.  Anna and I managed to get her dressed while dodging fists and fingernails.  Somehow, Anna got her hair up but there are not any pictures of little Miss Sara with the wedding party before the wedding.  She was not interested.

A little bit of attitude.  I can just hear the groan.  

We forced her to take this picture with us.  As you can tell, she was not happy about it (or anything at that point).  

I have learned that Sara loves people on her terms.  She prefers the people that are not in her face.  She likes the ones that don't act interested.  She also doesn't like anyone until she has woken up.  We found a quiet (and very hot place) to sit until it was time for the wedding to start.  After a few minutes of quiet time, she came over and apologized.  We found her spot on the stage and went out and joined the wedding party.

Practicing after pulling it together.  

She still didn't want anything to do with the ring bearer so she walked in with her Tia Anna who was the maid of honor.  I couldn't get any pictures of her from where I was sitting but the ceremony was beautiful.

Waiting for the bride.

The bride and her dad.  

Sara sat with me for most of the ceremony.  She did very well until I ran out of gummy Life Savers.  Fortunately, it was almost over at that point.  She walked back up on stage and excited with Tia and the best man.

After the ceremony, she was a little more willing to take pictures.  (The groom bribed her with some candy.  Smart man!)  

With Mommy!  (Quick!  Take our picture while she's in a good mood!) 

Tia Anna, Mommy, and Sara.  

This picture melts my heart.  6 months ago, she was living in an orphanage.  Now, she's a flower girl in a beautiful wedding.  She was a cast-off in a society that didn't see her potential.  She's now a beloved daughter, friend, niece, granddaughter in a position of honor.  

After a few more pictures, we did a quick dress change (all the fashionable girls have two dresses!) and jumped in the car to head to the reception.  It was so nice to crank up the AC.  The church was supposed to have AC but it definitely wasn't on!  If I was hot, you know it was miserable.  

Checking her "contact" in the mirror.  She pretends to pull it out of her eye, puts it in her mouth and puts it back.  

I knew that Sara would love the reception.  Food and dancing---her two favorite things!  

Making her entrance into the reception with the Bride's brother.  

She finally decided that Owen was ok.  

Waiting for the fun to start.  (Chapstick might be her third favorite thing.)  

I don't really have any pictures of her at the reception.  (The lighting wasn't great for pics.)  Let's just say that she danced EVERY SINGLE SONG until I took her to the hotel at 11:00PM!  She probably would have stayed for the last hour but I wanted to get her out before she got so tired that she lost all control.  She pretty much danced with everyone there.  She just went from person to person.  About 9:00, she started getting really tired.  She still danced but made everyone hold her while she did it.  She just arm surfed from one person to another.  She definitely enjoyed the reception.  

I do wish they hadn't paid for her food!  She had no time for such things.  The only thing she ate was bread---because it's portable!  

                           

She crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel and slept until 9 this morning.  This is UNHEARD of these days.  Now, if I only I could get her to stay on her side of the bed.  Dancing is exhausting!

Thank you so much to Drew and Lauren for letting us be a part of your special day.  Thank you for loving Sara!  

Megan--You're next!  3 more months!