THE BLUMBERG FAMILY

We began our journey in late 2003. I had been watching Discovery Health Channel's "Adoption Stories" while getting ready for work in the mornings. I was always so moved by the parents' stories, and then I saw the episodes about Russian adoption. It intrigued me. When I brought the subject of adoption up with my husband, I was pleasantly surprised that he was open to the idea. We discussed our options (domestic and various foreign countries) and decided on Russia. Then the research began. I do a lot of research for work, and so it was in early 2004 that we had already contracted with a local homestudy agency in Los Angeles (Vista del Mar Child and Family Services). I requested information from several agencies, and did more research before we decided on Adopt-A-Child.

I was drawn to them because they seemed to know their stuff. We liked the fact that the owners were both American and Russian. We also liked the fact that they only did Russian adoptions, that they did enough of them to know all the ins and outs and also that they were small enough to know who everyone is when they call. They ran their business like my husband an I run ours.

We signed up with AAC in February, 2004. We finished our homestudy, and then family disaster struck. We put our adoption plans on hold for about a year while we dealt with some family issues - then it was full steam ahead.

We finished updating all our documents in the Summer of 2005, turned everything in by September, 2005. Our estimated time line was to expect a referral shortly after the new year. Well, that didn't happen. I can still remember the call from Laura - "Hi Molly, I'm sitting here and I'm looking at a picture of a beautiful healthy little girl . . . ." That was just before Thanksgiving, 2005. We were so excited. I couldn't believe it - we weren't expecting to have a referral until after the new year and here it was not even Thanksgiving! Needless to say, we made our first trip in early December, 2005. Olga, the Moscow coordinator said we would probably have a court date by early February, 2006. We did. On February 14, 2006, my husband and I became proud parents.

Laura, Ellen and the rest of the domestic and foreign staff of Adopt-A-Child are wonderful. They make EVERYTHING EASY. The sample documents are easy to follow. Their instructions are excellent. Their foreign staff are knowledgeable and very supportive. The drivers are excellent. On the last trip, when I went to pick up our daughter from Baby House No. 8 in Moscow, I took my grandmother with me. I was never uncomfortable traveling alone, and the drivers and staff made us feel very safe.

We have been home for almost 6 months now, and our daughter has grown more than 3" and gained at least 6 pounds. She goes to preschool everyday and her teachers can't seem to say enough good things about her. She is smart, happy and healthy and we couldn't be happier. Thank you AAC for everything.

Molly & David Blumberg