"Every little girl loves a pretty new dress, and my daughter Anna was no exception. Trembling with emotion, she ripped open the department store bag that contained her new dress, tights, shoes, and undergarments. Then she pulled out the lavender floral print dress, caressing the silk lining and rubbing her face in the soft fabric. Platya, she whispered. Dress. The quiet was only momentary, though, as the reality of the situation sank in. Platya, she then cheered. Halya doma. Halya is going home. Although it was the first time in her life that she had ever owned any piece of clothing, it was not the dress that brought such emotion, but what it represented. The new dress meant that it was finally the day that Halya (whom we would name Anna) would leave the orphanage and travel home to live with her new family."
Anna was born with special needs in Ukraine and adopted at age 3 by Rob & Deb Amend. Their story is inspirational, as you will see in the videos, below. The quote above is from Deb's book, A Dress for Anna.
Here is a portion of one of Anna's poems, "Where I'm From".
"In an old scrapbook I can seeYou can read all of it here. I really liked it.
A lot of pictures with faces I know.
The faces of those who have changed so
But I wanted to capture you in one moment we’ll both remember.
From my best friend’s rare smiles to my parents radiating laughs.
It is from those memories that I know and love.
It is from those memories that I am from."
The title of this post comes from something that Anna says in this first video: Most kids from orphanages never get adopted.
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