James and Shannon Jones
5210 C Kodiak St
Eielson AFB, AK 99702
eodjj@gci.net
Adoption completed December 2002

    24 December 2002 we were able to get the most precious Christmas gift in the world. A Beautiful little girl, with the biggest blue eyes. We started the process of looking for an agency in November 2001 and found AIA through recommendations of other adopted parents who had used them. It took 7 months from the time of registration till we came home with our child.

    I can say that this was probably the best decision we have ever made in our lives. Natalia was our coordinator. She was able to get us several medical videos and updates on measurements in no time. Her patience while walking the two of us through the paperwork made the process so much easier. She was able to get some of the "last minute" items taken care of with grace and skill.

    While in the Magadan region we were assigned to Zoya and Ivan. Through their dedication we were able to receive even more history on our little angel. Paperwork was a breeze. We did not have to worry about anything except pictures for visa's and picking up our daughter's passport. Everything was taken care of for us. This made us more comfortable and gave us precious extra time with our baby. Never once were we told we could not go to the orphanage to see her and play with her. Our driver while in Magadan was so helpful. We did not know that our daughter used a pacifier and Sasha drove from store to store trying to locate one that she liked. The whole time she was letting us know her displeasure at this oversight. Sasha just smiled and said "she has excellent lungs."

    In Moscow we could not have asked for a better coordinator than Andrei. I felt sorry for other parents staying in our hotel that did not have the benefits of his services. While we were there the temperature was well below freezing and he stood in line at the US Embassy for almost an hour so that we didn't have to take our daughter out in it. I could not say enough good things about Andrei. He made our lives in Moscow a pleasure. I hope that when we are ready to adopt another angel he is there.

    We will be adopting another child once the winds settle from this one. Alaska International Adoption will be our agency. We would not think of using anyone else. There is a level of caring and professionalism that far surpasses any other agency out there. We would love any comments or questions prospective parents might have.

Ken and Helen
Anchorage, Alaska
Adoption completed in November 2002 in Magadan.

   If you have made it this far in your search to expand your family, feel confident that you are on the right track. We returned from Russia just before Thanksgiving, 2002, with our wonderful new 3 year old son, "Dima." The entire adoption process, from our introductory meeting with Natalia at AIA, to our final court date in Magadan, took us just over 5 months. We can't say enough good things about Alaska International Adoption and highly recommend them. They are sincerely interested in the children and are committed to helping families come together in a cost effective, timely manner.

   Having said that, please also recognize that international adoption is a personal test in patience, fortitude and forbearance with what must be the ultimate bureaucratic process on earth. Choosing the right agency to facilitate and advocate for you and your child is the most important decision you will make after committing to the adoption journey. Frustrating as it is, much of the process is out of your immediate control and at some point you will realize that a leap of faith and utter reliance on your agency is required. Alaska International Adoption made it happen for us and we plan to use their help again to bring a sister home for Dima in the near future.

   I am a professional in the mineral resource industry and my husband is an estate planning attorney. We are both well educated, adept at paperwork and (we thought) extremely tolerant of bureaucratic quagmires. We were still challenged by this process in many ways. AIA was always sympathetic and responsive to our moments of frustration and performed beyond our expectations. Their Alaska based staff and their support staff in Russia are all excellent. There were no surprises and we were well taken care of all the way through. Our experience is the best story we have heard on the grapevine of chat boards and personal stories we are aware of.

   AIA is obviously well respected by the Russian authorities, orphanage directors and staff in the Magadan region. They seem to be able to expedite the process and overcome unseen hurdles whenever they arise. I believe the agency also does an excellent job screening available children before accepting them for their clients. The orphanage where Dima was being cared for provided an exceptional, loving environment and Dima came to us healthy and well prepared for the transition into his new family.

   It is impossible for us to know if we have just won the lottery against all odds, or if our experience with Dima is more common than we could ever have imagined. We did a lot of research and went through the normal emotional roller coaster ride of anguish, fear and worry about international adoption; adopting from Russia in particular; and adopting an older child. So far none of our fears have materialized. Dima literally came running into our arms the first moment we met him at the orphanage. He accepted us as "Mama and Papa" from that point on and never looked back. He weathered the grueling journey across Russia and around the world back to Anchorage (24 time zones in ten days!) better than his parents did.

   We have been home now just over 2 months and Dima has been a sunny, curious, fun loving toddler, up for whatever challenge is presented to him. His sense of humor and flair for drama have won the hearts of all of our family and friends. English words have begun to pour out of him in droves and he understands almost everything we say (look out!). He absolutely knows his parents and seeks us out in any gathering. We don't expect any attachment issues to arise.

   He is all boy, a typical 3 year old imp, full of action and mischief, but he is not the hyperactive toddler who never sits still. He relishes long hugs, cuddling in our laps and reading books; plays quietly by himself for long stretches of time and loves to be in his car seat, out exploring the world. He is anxious to please and has learned an amazing amount in this short time. He is now a pro at long, fast sled rides; peddles his tricycle with amazing dexterity; and has taken to downhill skiing and the local swimming pool with wild abandon. After 10 days of initial anxiety, he declared our 80 pound, very large but gentle shepherd/cross to be his best friend. He is sensitive and sweet to all animals and people, large and small.

   In short, Dima is a beautiful, engaging and outgoing little boy. Nothing has phased him despite the extreme transitions he has had to endure in his short life. Our friends, our extended family and we continue to be amazed and overjoyed that we have found each other. We will be forever grateful. Best wishes to you in your quest.

Greg & Deborah Macres
Granite Bay, California
dmacres@surewest.net
Home Christmas Eve 2002
Adoption Date: December 18, 2002

   I will always look at my family as a beautiful patchwork quilt. Each of our children has a different and unique story. I mention a patchwork quilt, also to describe how each and every child is loved whether he or she was born from your own body, or was a gift from God lovingly placed in your family. I often have to remind myself that some of my children were adopted. Our daughter Ashley (11 years old) is our first biological child. We had a second child, Gregory, who was diagnosed with a genetic disease called Gaucher when he was almost a year old. And we were blessed to have him with us until age 4. We choose adoption to complete our family that we had forever dreamed of. We adopted our son Matthew at birth in 1998, through open adoption. We have frequent contact with his birth family, which is a wonderful blessing to Matthew and us. He will always know he was loved so much that his birth family made a different plan for him, and chose us to be his forever parents. We considered pursing domestic adoption to adopt another child, however the waiting time could be years. God opened our hearts to pursue International Adoption. We researched the various programs, agencies, and different countries. I spoke with several families who had adopted from Russia, and knew this was the direction we were being lead. I discovered Alaska International (AIA), from the FRUA (Families for Russian Ukrainian Children) Web site and Chat. I could not find one negative incident about this agency. There were many others I considered, but each of them had some sort of negative experience that was being discussed. I kept hearing about how caring, and trustworthy the staff was with AIA. When I contacted AIA in January 2002, I knew this was the agency I would be working with. I spoke with Olga and Natalia (Natasha) about the various programs and regions they worked in. Soon, most of my contact was with Natalia who runs the Magadan program. The response to emails, phone calls was very prompt and thorough. Working with an agency in Anchorage Alaska, and me being in California was so different than our first adoption here in the USA. I must say, she was very organized, and most of our forms were emailed to us with detailed instructions on how to fill them out. All the paperwork that is involved can be overwhelming, but if you stay organized and complete things when Natalia requests them it is all manageable. Natalia was very patient with our family, as we waited many months longer, to find the right child match for our family. It was encouraging to go on the AIA Chat on Thursdays and talk with the families who were returning successfully with their child(ren). I had some concerns that the majority of the families were adopting from Khabarovsk, and little was mentioned about Magadan. I now know God had a specific plan for us, and to unite us with our daughters he had chosen for us. We knew of our girls in September 2002, and were so thrilled to get our court date of December 18, 2002. Once we landed in Magadan, Russia we were greeted and escorted by the support staff they had set in place for us. They brought us to the orphanage, knowing we were very anxious to meet our girls. The first meeting was not the fairy tail meeting one would expect. Both of the girls were a bit hesitant, and were very unsure of these new strangers that the staff was quickly introducing as Mama and Papa. On the second meeting with Victoria and Nicole, they warmed up to us and the Cheerios that we presented to them. Victoria, our 2 year old, soon became "Daddy's girl" and Nicole our 1 year old became very attached to her new mommy. This preferential attachment lasted for several weeks after returning home. Now both girls have formed loving attachments to Greg and I, their new siblings, and all the animals.

   I cannot say enough good things about Zoya and Ivan, who took care of every detail while we were in Magadan. Zoya was always very timely, efficient, and very professional. She and Natalia are both highly respected with the staff at the Orphanage. While Zoya was getting documents in order, Ivan was very generous to bring us to the orphanage a couple times a day to visit with our girls, tour us around Magadan, take us to museums, and find the most fabulous restaurants to really experience the culture and city from which our girls were born. The orphanage staff will forever be remembered in our hearts. They were so incredibly warm and welcoming to us. I truly believe that our girls were blessed with each of them as their mommies to care for and nurture them until we were united. The staff of doctors and teachers does such a fabulous job in caring for all these children, with such limited resources. They should be very proud of all the activity and therapy rooms they have set up for the children, so they can grow and develop accordingly.

   We were thrilled when all the paperwork went smoothly in Magadan and Moscow, so we would be home in time for Christmas. We were greeted at the airport by our friends and family on Christmas Eve welcoming Victoria (2 yr) and Nicole (1 yr) home.
There is obviously some adjustment time that happens for each member of the family. I must say the girls have done extremely well considering their whole world changed. Everyday, I see such incredible progress in each of the girls. Victoria is very eager to learn new English words. After a month, I would say she has learned about 20 words in English, however she understands even more. My heart melted, when she said "I Love You" to me. She loves to play outside, and explore all the wonders that surround her new world. Before leaving the orphanage with our girls the staff explained to us the basic routines the girls were used to, to make the transition period easier. This was extremely helpful when dealing with a 2 year old, which became very accustom to routines. Even today, we try to have some regularity so she knows what to expect, and avoiding any miscommunication or meltdowns. The comment I hear most about Victoria is how she is so friendly, and always smiles. She loves music, and is often singing in the car.

   Nicole has changed so much in the first month of being home. She was walking very unsteady with about 4 steps at the orphanage. Today, she is walking all over the house with such confidence. She is now beginning to talk some very basic words. She is very healthy, alert and happy. She is such a cuddle bug.

   The family adjustment to 4 children has been pleasantly busy. We are forever thankful to AIA for helping us create such a beautiful family. Everyone keeps saying how lucky these girls are, and I say no it is quite the opposite….we are the ones blessed by having two beautiful daughters to love and complete our family. Our daughters Victoria and Nicole will know that we were willing to go to the ends of the Earth to bring them home.

   I included several details of our adoption journey, in the event a family is researching domestic or international adoption possibilities. There is pro's and con's to each choice in completing your family. Feel free to contact us at dmacres@surewest.net