Hannah was adopted from Romania last December; we have had her for the past year and a half.  She is six years old and has grown into a sweet, even-tempered young girl with curling dark-blonde hair, olive skin, and intense hazel eyes.  She is beautiful.

Hannah's story begins long before we even knew of her or adopted her.

Hannah was born to a poor Gypsy (Romani) family; she was born with her legs twisted.  Her family didn't want the burden of caring for a severely disabled child, so they more or less abandoned her, left her in the streets to die. 

A Red Cross worker happened to be walking by one day and heard what she thought was a kitten mewling.  It was not a kitten at all, but a baby girl with twisted legs.  She picked the child up into her arms and took her to the Red Cross building where she worked; the child was then taken to a hospital, where she was thoroughly examined and cleaned up.   Other than a case of cerebral palsy, malnutrition, and lice infesting her body, the child was pronuonced in good health.

It was truly a miracle.

The child then was taken to an orphanage and was put up for adoption.  Sadly, nobody wanted her.  Then we stepped in after we got a call from our adoption counselor, who told us about the child, who was then called Ludwica.  They sent us a picture to see if we were interested.  Once we laid eyes upon the photo of this little girl, we could not say no.  We called them back and told them we would take her.

After all the paperwork and other recommendations were fulfilled, we waited to see if Ludwica would be ours.  While we were waiting, we decided that she would be called Hannah.  Hannah Lynee'.  Ludwica may have been her given name, but we found it unattractive; Hannah sounded much nicer.

We got the guest room ready, turning it into a little girl's palace, with pinks, purples, and magentas, toys, and enough clothes to keep her entertained.  All we could do then was wait, hope, and pray that Ludwica (soon to be called Hannah) would be ours.

The waiting was the hardest part.

Then came the day when the adoption agency called with the good news.  Hannah was to be ours; the adoption had been approved!

It was like Christmas, the Fourth of July, my birthday, and Thanskgiving all rolled up into one.  It was the happiest day of my life!

Six months later, in December, we picked our new daughter up.  She was now five years old and had grown considerably.  She was as beautiful as ever.  She was in a wheelchair and could not walk, but that was not important: what was important was the fact that we were now her new family here in America and that we loved her.  We cried buckets of tears that day.

We were now at last a complete family.  Two parents and four kids: two girls, two boys.  And add a cat and a dog.

It is now June, and Hannah is picking up new words in English each and every day; things continue to entrance her and cause great excitement.  She has been  having physical therapy twice a week and there is hope that one day she may be able to walk with a walker or even crutches.  She has come a very long way.

In the fall, Hannah will start kindergarten.  She calls me and my husband "Mama" and "Daddy" and her siblings her "brudders" and "sissies".  She has a little speech impediment, but not to the point to where we cannot understand her; she makes her wants and desies known quite clearly even despite it.  She is learning to read and write and can count to 50 and knows the names of animals or colors.  She is behind develeopmentally but is already making great progress.

We don't know what the future holds for Hannah, but one thing IS certain: she has certainly enhanced our family tenfold and we thank God each and every day for her!