I'm a mom

Oh my gosh, there is now a baby seat in the back seat of my car. There's a high chair in my kitchen. There are sippy cups in my sink. There's a crib and diaper genie in what use to be my guest bedroom. There are toys everywhere. My house is no longer clean. It's not really wierd, as I guess I've just been waiting for it and expecting it for a long time. After all, a two-year pregnancy is a long time.

Some have referred to it as "pregnant on paper", I like to call it my two-year pregnancy, yet in reality, it is simply the story of adoption. My husband and I recently adopted a 15-month old baby boy from Russia, something that took endless hours of paperwork, an incredible amount of patience, and yes, two years to complete. I had kept it very quiet in the time we were working on it, I felt it was better to keep it to myself versus telling everyone about our journey, mostly to save myself from answering constant questions. Yet, now that it is finalized, we no longer feel the need to keep it quiet.

During this journey, we made two trips to Russia, most recently, a four-week visit -- yes, that is 28 days. We spent about a week in Moscow, and the remaining three weeks in Siberia, which is where Alex was born. Siberia, you know, the place you use to joke about when you were a kid, the place you really never knew anything about, the place you imagined to be cold and dark and scary. Luckily, Siberia in the summer isn't cold (though February was a different story), yet it was quite the interesting experience.

We did have a translator available, but the majority of the time we were alone, navigating ourself through the city, shopping, eating at restaurants and trying to get around. We were without hot water for two weeks, as they do that periodically to clean the hot water tanks that service the whole city. That was a whole lot of fun, trying to shower and wash dishes with ice cold water, but we survived. We had internet service, but it was often slow and not always available. Music and TV were all in Russian, so we really didn't listen to either. We had a washing machine, but had to hang dry our clothes. Life was different, and the luxuries we typically had in the USA were no longer there. I must say, it made me appreciate the USA much more!

But the end result is an adorable, 15-month old boy whose life is now changed. He is being given a home, attention, two parents who love him, and so much more. He is a child whose life is changing for the best. He now will grow up in the "chiropractic lifestyle" -- getting adjusted, homeopathic remedies, organic foods, etc. He will be introduced to the wellness and drug-free way of life. It will be exciting and thus far, he is doing great adjusting to our home and each of us (as we are to him). We are all doing great.

It will be nice to be able to experience what my patients, friends and family go through as they raise their children, as I will now be able to relate a little better. I'm sure I will become even a better Chiropractor because of this, and I (we) have so much to look forward to. Though its a journey that has taken two years, we know it is just beginning.