Annie
01-05-2008, 03:56 PM
My husband and I are parents of two bio-children, ages 25 (married) and 20 (living nearby). We have adopted four children from Russia in the past five years, the "newest" addition was in September. These children are: Sergei (13), Ilya (12), Anastasia (10) and Zhen (9). We also have a foster child (Maxim) who is 15, also from Russia via two disrupted adoptions.
Sergei and Zhen are "easy" - happy, balanced, very-attached children. Our foster child comes with a lot of baggage, particularly a lot of fear which comes out in anger. Anastasia and her bio-brother Ilya have experienced a lot of trauma. Anastasia has been with us for nearly three years, is a loving little girl and a great student, but still is sometimes unregulated. Ilya is my "wild ride" at the moment. He is homesick, can't sleep, is not learning English. He has picked up lots of "bad habits" from the orphanage, such as smoking, bad language, aggressive behavior and a rough way of dealing with things. Still, he is lovable in many ways and a talented artist. Though I know some Russian, my biggest issue right now is trying to connect with this twelve year old, who is very distant physically (my others have all been cuddlers), and with whom I cannot communicate well. Fortunately, I am an eternal optimist and have a sense of humor!
Sergei and Zhen are "easy" - happy, balanced, very-attached children. Our foster child comes with a lot of baggage, particularly a lot of fear which comes out in anger. Anastasia and her bio-brother Ilya have experienced a lot of trauma. Anastasia has been with us for nearly three years, is a loving little girl and a great student, but still is sometimes unregulated. Ilya is my "wild ride" at the moment. He is homesick, can't sleep, is not learning English. He has picked up lots of "bad habits" from the orphanage, such as smoking, bad language, aggressive behavior and a rough way of dealing with things. Still, he is lovable in many ways and a talented artist. Though I know some Russian, my biggest issue right now is trying to connect with this twelve year old, who is very distant physically (my others have all been cuddlers), and with whom I cannot communicate well. Fortunately, I am an eternal optimist and have a sense of humor!