Randman's World

Kim is doing Charlie's lifebook, and we really didn't have any pictures of Charlie before our adoption. We had gotten one picture off of the Russian Adoption Database, but I didn't get copies of the photos that I was shown during my visit with the Ministry of Education, when they asked if I would like to see Charlie.

We wrote an email to Vika, our translator in Astrakhan, and asked if she thought she could help us get the photos. She wasn't sure, but she would ask Galena (our CHI representative) to see if she could ask.

Vika and Galena came through. We now have a true baby photo of Charlie, plus several others. Here is one of the two pictures I saw while at the Ministry of Education.

Then, the other photo of a caretaker holding Charlie when he is a bit older.

And here are a couple of bonus photos that Vika sent.

And lastly, the close up of one of the above photos that was used on the Russian Database Website.

To say we are excited to have these photos is an understatement. There are no ways to express our gratitude to Galena and Vika. Even 7 months after the adoption is finalized, they continue to help our family. God bless them both.

UPDATE: The more I have looked at these photos, the sadder they have made me. This little child I love so much, who runs around the house, laughing at everything, so full of joy, is not the same child in these photos. He is so dead in the eyes, so lacking in love and comfort. I truly wish I could have been there, to take him from that orphanage when he was an infant, and give him all the love he needed so badly.

But, now, I guess I have the next 17 years to make up for it. And I'll never stop trying.