When we first met Sauleah (in Kazakhstan) she appeared to be a very shy little girl, hesitant to look us in the eye or even raise her face up.
...Sauleah proved to be a very brave little girl, absolutely fearless about all the traveling and airplanes! She actually giggled and laughed throughout a rough batch of turbulence on one airline flight that had my stomach in my mouth… This part was the best part of our journey home! We had been upgraded to business class and the seats turned into fabulous beds. Daniel, Sauleah and I slept the entire flight back to New York! I would highly recommend that families on their return trips pay the extra fees to get business class – it was an absolute pleasure to land in New York well rested…
Now, I am going to skip a lot of details about our return home, meeting Papa and brother Nathan, all our dogs and cats because I could go on for hours. Sauleah has again proved to be fearless and bold – the dogs have not frightened her at all. She is actually quite bossy with them, “Sit, Katie. Sit, Oreo.” Several of the cats “adopted” Sauleah and her bed. On any given night, you can find at least two cats curled up in bed with her, sometimes along with a dog!
...Sauleah started Kindergarten on August 10th. We had made several visits to the school and her classroom during the previous weeks and met her teachers so she would be somewhat comfortable with this new experience. All my fears and concerns were erased the first day of school! She walked right to her cubby, hung up her backpack and settled right in – not one tear or worry. Her teachers adore her and tell me that she has done better settling in to school than many of their children that have spoken English all their lives!…
Sauleah is extremely clever and observant. Nothing gets by her keen eyes! Papa tried to tease her one morning on the way to school by telling her he was going to turn left (instead of right) to go to school. She set him straight immediately, telling him “No Papa. Skolka this way! Papa crazy.”…
This little girl is an absolute joy to our family! She is loving and kind, considerate of everyone and concerned for everyone… She is so appreciative of everything she is given, actually in awe that these things are for her. I had bought an American Girl doll with Asian features long before we brought Sauleah home, and stocked up on lots of clothes for the doll, but held off on giving it to her because I did not want to overwhelm her with “things.” One day I pulled out the doll, showing Sauleah how the doll’s eyes and hair match Sauleah’s. Sauleah was in such awe, asking “For Sauleah, Mama? Etta for Sauleah?” that it brought me to tears! We named the doll “Little Sauleah” and unpacked all her clothes together. Then we hung all of Little Sauleah’s clothes in Sauleah’s wardrobe right above all of Sauleah’s clothes. Now she says “Etta for Big Sauleah. Etta for Little Sauleah” as she gets the doll and herself dressed.
Sauleah is a perfect fit for our family. She is bold and adventurous, not at all afraid to try something new. She has a wicked little sense of humor, loves to joke and tease. Her teacher called me one day to tell me what Sauleah had done: at circle time Sauleah told all the boys to “Scoot over please, scoot over please.” When all the boys had moved over and made a place for her to sit, she walked over to the center of the boys, once again telling them “Scoot over please” and got them all to move back over in the opposite direction! Then she sat down in the center of them. The teacher said Sauleah looked up at her, meet her eyes, and burst out laughing, so hard that she rolled over onto the floor! She knew exactly what she was doing!..
It is hard for me to remember what life was like before Sauleah – she has become such an integral part of our family and hearts. She has her big, tough papa absolutely wrapped around her little finger! This has been a huge surprise to me since James is such a man’s man and so male oriented. It is such a pleasure to see him squat down to Sauleah’s level and ask her for a hug and a kiss! Of course, Daniel is madly in love with her and has been since he first met her in Kazakhstan. Nathan has been slower to warm up to her, admitting that he did not want to be “replaced” as the baby of the family. But he now has also become quite enamored of her, helping her in and out of our vehicles, swimming with her and even helping her complete her homework!
Traveling to Kazakhstan to adopt Sauleah has been a fabulous experience! It is one that I would repeat in a heart beat if I had the financial resources. There are so many beautiful, deserving children in the Detsky Dom alone – I can hardly imagine how many more there are throughout Kazakhstan, just waiting and dreaming for parents to come find them. …’’