.5mom

Daffynition:  .5mom: someone who becomes an adoptive sister when she is 31.  [Though I'm younger now...]

The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote for my alumni newsletter back in 1999.

In March 1998, Charles and Ella Mae Hedgepeth, my parents, traveled to Russia to finalize the adoption of two children.  It took some time for the Lord to change my dad’s mind about adopting after having raised a family of five.  By then my “baby” sister was already a junior in college.  I was pretty confident nothing could change his mind, however the Lord knew of two red-headed kids in need, so now I am the oldest of seven.

My mom has likened the eleven months of red tape to an extended pregnancy, however my parents ran into very few snags once they arrived in Russia.  The eighteen hour train ride from Moscow into the countryside was like a scene from Dr. Zhivago.  The poverty of Russia was evident in every village.

Mikhail, nicknamed Misha, and Oksana, now nine and six, are the youngest of five children in their Russian family, and spent about a year in the orphanage after being removed from their home.  On March 11, 1998, they were adopted as Hedgepeths and flew home to meet the rest of their new family.  The first few weeks they were here, the language barrier presented a real challenge, but the LORD provided an interpreter to help relay questions and answers between my parents and the kids.  At dinner we adults would talk across the table in English while Misha and Oksana chatted away in Russian, but we somehow communicated.

My first memory of the kids is the huge hug Misha gave me when we met them at JFK airport.  Since then we have been the beneficiaries, and sometimes victims, or a lot of hugs and kisses.  I am constantly amazed at the love and affection Misha and Oksana have shown us and brought to our home.

Mish and Oksana are best friends.  They never slow down and enjoy running at top speed and wrestling with each other at every opportunity.  Our new family motto inside the house is “this is not a gym.”  Life before they came seems quite dull by comparison.  They, too, are amazing children, healthy and intelligent, though they have become quite American and fuss about homework which interferes with play time or television.

Misha remembers more of his life in Russia than Oksana and would someday like to return to Russia to see his other sister and brothers.  Considering some of the tales he has told, it is only by the grace of God in answer to many prayers made by family and friends that he and Oksana have adjusted so well to our family and their new life in the US.  Our prayer now is that they will soon come to know Jesus as Savior and continue to learn about Him.

Whether as adoptive parents or new big sister, we agree that children are a blessing from the LORD. 

I'm not sure where the time went, but today Misha is 23 and Oksana is 20.  Misha can lift me off the ground, which is no small feat.  He's also great for a back rub.  Oksana is in college, gaining lots of knowledge, and there are moments when she mothers me instead of the other way around.  Having them as my "half kids" is as close to motherhood as I may get, and I am thankful for them.   My emotions run the gamut when I think about them, as in any close relationship and, I presume, "normal" parenthood.

They recently reconnected with their siblings in Russia and discovered they have a younger sister.  Reconnecting will help answer questions and fill in blanks but certainly opens up a new flurry of emotions, so if you would, please say a prayer for them.  

I would post current photos of them, but don't wish to face the stink eye.  This was taken in December 1998.