Our Adoption Story

     This is the story of our adoption.  After a couple of months of paperwork here in the USA, We were ready to leave for Ukraine.  I (Donna) left of on February 4th, 2000 with my sister and my mother.  My husband (Rennie) had stayed behind as long as possible to take care of our biological children until he absolutely had to come.  I flew out of Miami, FL. to Vienna, Austria on Lauda Airlines.  I had a one night layover in Vienna and arrived in Ukraine on Feb. 6th, 2000.

     On Feb. 7th, 2000, I went to the National Adoption Center in Kyiv and met the director.  The director asked if I wanted to go to Simferopol because that is where my sister had adopted her children from.  I, of course, said yes.

     I flew to Simferopol on Crimea Airlines.  This was by far the scariest flight I had ever been on in my life, but, I was forewarned that the train to Simferopol was ten times scarier and ten times as long.  So I opted for the two hours fright flight instead.  In Simferopol, I was met by my translator and was taken to my apartment.  I had dinner at my translator's house and met her family.

     The next day I went to the orphanage (Yolochka).  The director of Yolochka showed me some girls and then told me of twin girls that were going to be 2 y/o on March 6th, 2000.  I asked him to let me see them and fell in love immediately.  Their names were Masha and Dasha.  I didnt need to see anymore children after that.  I went to the notary office and started my paperwork for the twins.  Later that day we went shopping for things for the orphanage.  They are in such need of many things. 

     We spent the next few days shopping for things and visiting the girls.  I couldnt spend much time with Masha, because many in her group were very ill, including Masha.  On Feb. 13th, we took a break to go do some sight seeing.  We went to Yalta and walked through and old castle and went to dinner later that evening. 

     Rennie arrrived on Feb. 16th, 2000.  He arrived late in the evening and would have to wait till the next day to meet his twin daughters for the first time.

     The next day Rennie and I went to the orphanage with my sister and mother.  We went to get Masha first for a visit and I warned him that she isnt real friendly toward us.  Amazing she clung on him and he quickly fell in love.  Masha still cried to go back to her groupie, but when she was with Dasha they played very well.  The girls were addicted to the cheese and crackers we had brought for them, they couldn't get enough of them.  They love to eat.

     That Saturday my sister was having a party for the caretakers from the orphanage. This was held at a french restaurant and of all the stereo types that we found not true, the one about always drinking vodka was apparently very true.  It was a nice evening of fine dining and dancing, hugging and crying.

     Monday my sister and mother had to return to the USA.  Rennie and I were on our own and by this time I really wanted to get done and go home.  We had to go to court and make it all official.  Later that week we had to make a trip to Kirch where the girls were born and get new birth certificates in our name and officially change their names to Brittany Marie and Brianna Lynn. We then had to go to the American Embassy in Kiev to get the paperwork to let the girls leave Ukraine as our children. We then flew to Warsaw, Poland to the American Embassy,  this is where you have to go to get the visa to let the girls into the USA, this took two days and then it was the final trip back home.  We arrived back home two days before the girls second birthday. Even though the whole experience took a toll on us physically and emotionally, we wouldn't trade it for anything.  The joy these girls have brought us far outweigh the minor inconveniences we had.