During our return to the U.S. following our second trip this year to Russia (the trip during we which we officially adopted our daughter), I confided in Terri that I wasn't sure I could call her Stella-Ruth or Stella, the name we had chosen for her. Instead, it just felt right to call her Yulia, her name at birth and the name by which we had come to know her (now her middle name). However, the radical change we saw in her when she was finally with us for good made the name change much easier for me. She truly now seems like a different person. I sometimes wonder what happened to the shy little girl we met on that cold January day in Cheboksary. The answer is she found her way home. Take a look at these two videos, the first from our first meeting; the second from earlier this week. [Note: You'll need Quicktime. If you don't have it, you can download it for free here.]
Yulia in January:
Stella in June:
She is so precious. She and Emily need to get together soon so they can chase each other around with their happy feet!
Posted by: Holly | Friday, June 30, 2006 at 03:26 PM
Just found your blog from the FRUA message boards. The difference in these videos is amazing and with just 6 months. Thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading some of your story.
Posted by: Debbie | Saturday, July 22, 2006 at 04:56 PM
Beautiful girls and a beautiful story. I just happened across your blog - very nice writing. All interesting, to me. My daughter is right now doing a paper on the issue of international adoption (she is a junior in HS). I will share your articulate blogs with her. Wishing you the best of health and God's blessings to you and your family.
Posted by: Anne Agura | Saturday, December 02, 2006 at 04:17 AM