Success adoption stories are different. Adjustment of an adopted child is not always easy: the process of adjustment of a child can be associated with many events. Some of them can be a base for funny stories. This is one of them, written by our long-time friend, who has adopted with Adoption Ark/Alla's help twice, Tina Venskus --- please read and enjoy.
...Since I haven't shared a funny story with you in a while I will do so now. First, I need to set the stage so you can appreciate the story. As you know, we have been trying to get Jensen to stop wetting the bed. Through numerous doctor's appointments with specialists we have concluded that there is no physical reason for his wetting the bed, it is purely that he is a very, very deep sleeper (and that is an understatement!). We have now introduced his Mr. Peeper to a beeper. At the slightest indication of moisture the beeper will sound a loud and obnoxious beep into Jensen's ear. This is supposed to stir him to get up to use the bathroom. The key words are "supposed to". As with everything regarding Jensen we are taking the long road. With most kids this works within a few weeks. With Jensen we are now on the three month plan! The beeper goes off and the dogs bark and run up and down the stairs. Alya and Chloe get up and tell Jensen to get up. Tom and I run up the stairs to calm the commotion. Then there is Jensen, comfortably sleeping as if nothing is going on. And, this is the way it has been for many nights the past three months.
A footnote: I am happy to announce that we are making tremendous progress, but out of desperation and not knowing what else to do, I have had to resort to some "mom" tactics to get this to work. Last week I had to informed him that if this beeper doesn't work there are BIG beepers that pinch that will work. I couldn't believe it - this took us to a level of control that even I didn't even expect! Magic! We haven't had an accident since! I wish I had thought of this two months ago.
Well, that's the scenario for my funny story. About two weeks ago when all of life seemed to be caving in and I was feeling like I was hanging on by a thread, I had a funny experience with Jensen. Each night before I go to bed I get him up to go to the bathroom one last time before he's on his own. This particular night he seemed to be in a very deep state of sleep. In fact, he was going to pee on his chair until I redirected him to the bathroom! Well, we get into the bathroom and I had to alert him to the fact that Mr. Peeper was still in his "bed" (underwear) sleeping and he needed to get him out to pee (otherwise he would've just peed through his pajamas!). So, Jensen got Mr. Peeper up to do his thing. However, in the process Jensen feel back to sleep and had propped himself up against the wall. I no more noticed this when I got the "oh so wonderful" experience of feeling warm liquid running down the outer portion of my leg. Mr. Peeper was awake doing his thing, but Jensen was not. Jensen completely missed the toilet and christened me. So, here I stood in a dark bathroom with a wet nightgown in a puddle of warm pee. How apprapoe for where my life was at that moment. I remember silencing screaming to the Lord, "Ok, I'm humbled!" Then I stood there for a few moments contemplating, "What am I to learn from this?" At that point, I didn't know if I wanted to cry or laugh. I chose to laugh and laugh I did. I began to laugh so hard that I woke up Alya and Chloe (Jensen, in true Jensen fashion, continued to sleep propped up against the wall holding little Mr. Peeper). Chloe came running in to see what was going on and she began to laugh too. Then, I got the "Mom, you are so weird" teenage response and she went back to bed. Alya, on the other hand, poked her head in and replied, "Yuck!" She then ran back into bed. I wish you could've seen her face, it was so Alya! As I stood there I immediately realized that perhaps God had sent me this "oh, so warm moment" so that I would remember to laugh in the midst of a trial. It had been a while since I had had a good chuckle and it was good for my soul to remember that life is serious enough on its own and we need to look for those funny moments to keep everything in its proper balance.
Well, I cleaned up the floor, tucked Jensen into bed and crawled into a nice hot bath of my own. Then, I thought to myself how boring life would be without my kids. The next morning I asked Jensen if he remembered the happenings of the night before and of course, he didn't. He told me over breakfast that, "Mr. Peeper be good boy last night, he no pee bed". Yes, Mr. Peeper had been a good boy - a little demonstrative for a moment or two - BUT, he didn't pee the bed and that was what was important. As I said, in the midst of a storm there is always a warm raindrop - or puddle - to enlighten our hearts and keep us focused on all that is good in life. So, next time you are standing in a puddle and thinking what a crummy day it is, I hope you will think of my puddle story and laugh. Hopefully, it will brighten your day just a bit. May no puddle ever look the same to you again!
Have a great weekend, my wonderful friend!
Tina
Thank you, Tina, thank you for letting others enjoy your wonderful story (one of many, by the way). I have always thought that you have to publish a book for adoptive moms and dads. As an adoptive mom of two children you can rock the world with your book!
My story 1
We are happy to tell you a story about another adoption. A wonderful, loving and fun family – Tina and Tom from Illinois ---- adopted a beautiful boy. Now his name is Jensen and he is a fun and loving kid who has blended in this family perfectly. Below please find some parts of the recommendation letter, this family has kindly provided to us and enjoy the pictures of them. Beware, Jensen will charm any of you!
This is from their reference letter to Adoption Ark:
"Please accept this letter of recommendation from our family and our sincere thanks for all you have done for all of us. We think the world or each and every one of you and we want others to know that if they choose to use Adoption Ark for their adoption needs they can be confident that they are working with one of the best team of professionals available!
For starters, we want to highly recommend Alla and the entire staff at Adoption Ark as facilitators for your international adoption needs. We would've been hard pressed to find a more professional or dedicated team of individuals to assist us with out two adoptions. Alla not only displayed "attention to very little detail" when it came to preparing our dossier, but she also exemplified professionalism, comparison and patience when stresses or the adoption were weighting us down and discouraging us. This seems to be a prerequisite for those who are part of the Adoption Ark team because Lena also made encouraging telephone calls to us during our waiting period. So in additional to Alla, there is an entire staff of very devoted individuals who are available to assist with your adoption questions and needs
As we previously stated, Alla directly assisted us with the preparation of the two dossiers needed to complete our adoptions. However, she did much more than teat for our family. During the preparation of our first dossier to adopt our daughter, Kazakhstan was experiencing many changes in their procedures. Alla not only made herself available for our preparatory needs, but also made her heart available to listen to our stresses and jitters. When we contacted her regarding our second adoption, we presented her with the challenge of helping us find a little fella whom we met on our first trip. She rose to the challenge and that little fella is now our son. With both adoptions, Alla demonstrated patience, comparison and concern for us during the moments when the stress of the adoption process was beginning to weight us down. All along, she continued to give encouragement without ever losing patience with us. Further and most importantly, she always told us the truth during these times. If she did not have the answers we were seeking at the moment, she didn't give us a false answer to appease us. Alla would tell us truthfully that she did not know and that she would find out. We ALWAYS had a reply within 24 hours. We respect that kind of professionalism, honesty and integrity.
We would be amiss if we did not tell you that Alla's assistance didn't end with the completion of the adoptions. She continues to keep touch with our family and she regularly inquires about the children. In fact, when they first arrived in America and they didn't have anyone who understood their words, Alla was just phone call away to talk to them. To this day, both of our adopted children frequently request to call Alla. In fact, our daughter has requested Alla's services to find her a husband (she's only eight years old). This tells you how special Alla has become to her. Both children have grown very fond of her and they love to share all that is new and exciting in their lives with her. They know that Alla played a very significant role in helping make their dream of forever family come true. Alla has always gone above and beyond what we ever expected of an adoption facilitator and for that reason we do not hesitate to recommend her to anyone considering using her services for their international adoption.
Now, we cannot close this letter without also mentioning Elina and Dina, two women who are also part of the Adoption Ark team. Like Alla, both of these women have made themselves available to our family's needs, especially during the transition time for our son. When he arrived home he experienced tremendous frustration over the inability to communicate his needs and confusions to us. Elina and Dina, like Alla, made themselves available via telephone so that he had someone to talk to. They both offered us their time as well as good advice regarding things we could do to help him. Further, Elina understanding his utter frustration with not hearing his native language, sent him videos that were in Russian so that he could at least hear his language via cartoon. This was a tremendous help to our son! Finally, when things were really tough for Jensen, Dina drove quite a distance to our home (on Memorial Day, mind you) to offer her help. She spent nearly the entire day with our son. From that day on his frustration began to subside and his behavior improved greatly. Both of these women gave children priceless gifts - their time and attention. No words can ever express to you how grateful we are for these gifts.
So you ask, is Adoption Ark a reputable and professional service that I can trust? Absolutely! It is an organization that is comprised of women who are not only very knowledgeable in their field, but they also possess integrity that is not often found in the world of international adoption. We can wholeheartedly assure you that you will not be disappointed in the service that they provide. If you should have any questions regarding details of our two adoption experiences, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would consider it a privilege to help you with this life-changing decision."