[Jessi_76]

Hi Ophelia,

I worry about this every single day! You are not alone. I have fallen SO absolutely head-over-heals in love with our son just through his picture (I even imagine what his personality is like). It would be heartbreaking...devastating to lose him. Although we haven't yet seen a picture of our daughter, I probably worrry even more about her because of the incidence of Russian families adopting so many of the healthy girls. I fear that she, especially because she's so young, will be adopted by a Russian family before we ever have our day in court. I understand the fear, and although I have no first-hand experience, our agency has also talked extensively to us about this possibility as well. I can't imagine. My heart goes out to the women here who have gone through this.

It did happen to our dossier specialist...they met their daughter, fell in love with her, and then a member of her birth family came and showed interest. There were given the choice to immediately be given another referral or wait it out - six long months - to see if the birth family made a move to bring the child home. They chose to wait, and eight long months after first meeting their daughter, they were back for their court date. Heartbreaking, yes, but even in these instances, there isn't always a sad ending. There are happy endings, even when the birth family becomes involved.