Fifteen years ago today, I celebrated so much more than another birthday...

[cbreezen]

It was, also, the day my deceased husband and I picked up our son from one of the most sad settings, ever.. a poor orphanage in Ukraine.

Our trek around that country was the most enlightening experience I have ever participated in. To see what has happened to the country of my child's birth, breaks my heart. To see the tactics used here by trolls, seems so obvious to me.

On the other hand, Vlady Daddy will never be able to get his slimy, scuzzy paws on my kid!

Happy Adoption Day, Alexsei. You are the bestest Birthday present, ever!



(posted with Alexsei's permission)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Happy Birthday, dear cbreezen, and Welcome to DU!

And what a wonderful, timeless birthday present your son is! He will truly be the gift that keeps on giving.

[cbreezen]

4. Oh, California Peggy...

This is catabryna, and thank you so much. My old Journal is still around, but I had password and log in issues after election day and decided to start over with a new nick.

Really missing Wayne today... couldn't have done it without him.

[Turbineguy]

2. You can't do everything.

But you did something big.

[cbreezen]

5. In the long run, he has done far more for me,

than I could ever do for him. But, thanks.

[irisblue]

3. Welcome to DU

And Alexsei, good to meet you too.

[cbreezen]

6. Thank you.

It's nice to meet you, too!

[oldcynic]

7. Alexsei, shoot for Mars! Send postcards.

[cbreezen]

11. Cryptic messages must go through the FBI.

[oldcynic]

23. They already have my file.

[cbreezen]

24. I'm sure they have mine, too...

Federal and state agencies really scrutinize people approved for international adoption.

Ugh!

[oldcynic]

26. adoptee or adopter? I smell an interesting story.

[cbreezen]

27. Adoptive parent

My son is a Ukrainian by birth. An American through adoption. A dual citizen unless Putin gets his way.

[oldcynic]

28. good for you

write it all down for him.

[Skittles]

8. that is a cool name: Alexsei

yes INDEED

[cbreezen]

12. Hubby was a hockey fan...

He chose the name, I chose the weird spelling.

[pnwmom]

9. Happy Adoption Day!

We have given a home to a student whose adoption didn't work out (a senior in high school when she came to us, she's in college now.) She had been adopted from an orphanage in Russia at about the age of 6. I used to think it would be fun to take her to Russia, to see her homeland. I'm sorry to say I wouldn't feel safe traveling there anymore.

[cbreezen]

13. We chatted a few years about service dogs

In the Beaverton School District for autistic kids.

I am happy to let you know that my kid's SPED class at Westview High in the BSD is working with service dogs.

[FakeNoose]

10. Thanks for the wonderful heartfelt story

Cbreezen you are so lucky and your son is lucky to have you.

Please don't consider the Ukraine as the same country or even the same culture as Russia. They are very different!

The Ukraine has done nothing bad towards us, in fact they are also victims of that awful man Putin.
They speak the same language and they both used to be part of the Soviet Union.
But they're completely different countries now.

Best of luck to you!

[cbreezen]

15. Thank you. Ukraine was so much more progressive then

than it is now. The Orange Revolution of 2005 was nothing like Maiden in 2014. The goals were completely different.

[Paula Sims]

14. Many happy years together

or as we say in Ukrainian - Многая Літа!!

[cbreezen]

16. Really? I'm more Irish than Ukrainian...

Translate it for me.

[Paula Sims]

21. Literally translated - "Many years"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnohaya_lita

[Freddie]

17. Happy Adoption Day!

My beloved niece is adopted from China and they still celebrate her "gotcha day" as well as her (probable) birthday.

[cbreezen]

18. My son really wants to meet his birthmom.

And, I want to meet her, as well. I want her to know he is well cared for and that she is respected in our home.

[Freddie]

19. That would be great if he could meet her

And let her know how well he is doing.
Katie, my niece, was left on a riverbank in 1999 when Chinese girls were often killed or aborted. She was in a blanket with a note "please take care of my baby." She will always have a scar on her chest from a skin infection when they found her. She was very fortunate to spend her first 9 months in one of the better orphanages and was well cared for before she was adopted. There is no way she could ever find her birth mother. I wish there was a way we could let her know what a great kid Katie is.

[cbreezen]

20. Hugs!

These kids are survivors.

[raven mad]

22. Happiest, Alexsie!

[cbreezen]

25. Thank you!

I shared the DU Board love with him.