“The” Dress Shop

April 9, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

There is a dress shop in Yerevan that those of us in the know refer to as “The” Dress Shop. Sharan Crafts Center employs talented local artisans who produce beautiful items for family and home including sweaters, pillows holiday ornaments, Christmas stockings, toys, hair accessories. And dresses.

I’ve heard the store is mostly frequented by tourists and while that may be true, whenever I see a child dressed in something from Sharan, all I can think about is Armenia. I know every single one of my fellow adoptive moms with kids from Armenia, swoon at the sight of one of our children wearing Sharan. Each of our little ones has her own unique charm, but those dresses add a certain je ne sais quois.

In 2009, when I visited Sharan, we went to the original location in a residential neighborhood. A sweater, a few dresses, a few hairbands, a knit cat, and a wonderful Christmas stocking all made their way into our luggage. A year or so later, they opened up a beautiful shop in the center of Yereven on Sayat-Nova 6. I’ve made sure to stop by–at least once–on every trip I made to Armenia.

The first dress our daughter wore featured a sheep. We are Shepherds, after all.

Clothing comes in an assortment of hues, from richly saturated like this dress she wore last year, to pale pastels. Every piece has delightful knit-work. I always find it hard to decide and I’m sure the shopkeepers wonder why I’m spending so much time perusing every last item on display.

You can find sweet floral hairbands and ponytail holders with a knit ladybug or a snowman. Little Bird still tries to squeeze her head into these hairbands she wore as a baby because she loves them so much.

There are hats too. And lest you think Sharan is just for girls, let me tell you that they are always well-stocked with sweaters, vests and all sorts of awesome duds for boys. Sharan also has pillows, stuffed animals, and a small assortment of table linens.

Whenever I’ve visited the store, I’ve found it nearly impossible to resist their delightfully decorated clothes. I always seem to leave with my purse heavier and my wallet lighter. The treasures I’ve brought home, especially the dresses, definitely fall far from my usual, I only buy second-hand clothing rule, but they are so darn cute.

Every time Little Bird puts on a dress from The Dress Shop, I think it must be the most adorable dress I’ve ever seen. Until she puts on another and I’m sure that one is the cutest, which is what I thought about this year’s dress featuring…a little bird.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Easter Bunny

April 3, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

On April 8, Easter Sunday 2012, our little family landed in Seattle. After 36 hours of travel time from Armenia to the U.S., we were too exhausted to hunt for eggs, but the Easter Bunny had a noteworthy gift for our daughter. When our plane touched the ground, she became a United States citizen.

We didn’t put an Easter basket in her hands, but we did let her feet rest inside her new crib, in her own room. For one little girl, the door opened to a brand new world.

Easter rarely falls on the same date twice. The holiday can vary by more than a month, falling between March 22nd and April 25th for the Western church, and between April 4th and May 8th for the Eastern church. But no matter the date, Easter happens in springtime, the season of renewal and new beginnings.

That is why Easter Sunday–wherever it lands–will always remind me that on this day my daughter got a fresh start and the three of us began a new life, together as a family.

Easter 2013

Easter 2014

And maybe this is why, out of all the toys in the nursery, Little Bird chose ‘Bunny’ to be her special lovey. For years, he magically appeared on Easter morning, sitting in our plum tree until one very special Easter, when he found a new calling, in a little girl’s heart.

Happy Easter! May the bunny be good to all.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Two weeks in Yerevan with an infant

April 1, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Three years ago, we spent a a couple weeks in Yerevan, Armenia, as a new family. In between obtaining a passport and visa for Baby Bird, we spent a lot of time wandering through the city. Here are a few of her favorite diversions.

Listening to the soulful sound of the duduk. Our little one was absolutely mesmerized by the sound of this beloved Armenian instrument. We found this man playing on Abovyan Street just outside the lovely 13th century Kathoghike church.

Baby Bird seesaw! There are several playgrounds in Yerevan with swings, seesaws, playground equipment. Or you can head to the top of the Cascade and check out Victory Park with its Mother Armenia statue, incredible views of the city below and take-me-back-to-Soviet-era funky rides where you can keep your kids entertained for hours and spend less than $10 US.

Baby Bird loved riding the escalator. Good thing because, inside the Cascade, are some of the longest escalators I’ve ever seen. Most of the time, when we visit the Cascade, we get our workout by climbing the stairs (all 572 of them to be exact), but she sure had a good time riding the electric staircase and our legs appreciated the break.

We met this dude at the base of the Cascades, outside Orange Elephant (no surprise there), a children’s art and education store. The store looked bright and cheery, a good place for a kid to be artsy in Armenia. But the elephant? She wasn’t too sure what to make of him. Neither were we.

Balloon inside. Bubbles outside. Sales attendants fawning all over our little munchkin. What’s not to like? This children’s clothing store on Tumanyan Street was probably Baby Bird’s favorite “attraction” in Yerevan. While Mama and Dada might have preferred checking out the view of Mt. Ararat, bustling markets and the ancient history of this city, one look at her smile tells it all–she thought this place was the bomb.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Nappies for Nork

March 27, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Do you ever feel like you want do something bigger than yourself, even just a little something? Send a few dollars to Nappies for Nork. Nork is a children’s home in Yerevan, one of the two children’s homes I visited during my trips to Armenia. Here’s more:

Nappies for Nork

Nork orphanage, located in Yerevan, Armenia, is home to approximately 80 orphans, newborn infants to grade-school children. Nork is in dire need of disposable diapers. While it should be the responsibility of the Armenian government to supply basic necessities such as diapers, economic constraints have made doing so a challenge.

In the US, a brand-name diaper costs roughly 15 to 30-cents per diaper. In Armenia, diapers are more expensive, closer to 25 to 50-cent per diaper, depending on the size and brand. The bottom line (sorry…couldn’t resist) is that for $1.50- $3.00, a child at Nork can be clean and comfortable for an entire day. $70 will keep a child in diapers for an entire month. Approximately $135 will ensure every child at Nork has fresh diapers for a 24-hour period.

Hopscotch Adoptions has partnered with SOAR (Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief) to set up a diaper fund: http://soar-us.org/diaper_fund.html where you can make a tax-deductible donation: http://soar-us.org/donate.html. Note: If you pay via the Paypal link on SOAR’s website, make a note in Paypal that your donation is for the Nork diaper fund. If you send a check, write ‘Nork Diaper fund’ in the “For” line.

Make your contribution, in any amount, between now and Easter Sunday–April 5–and you can also enter a drawing for a variety of items, including a cookbook, Armenian Christmas music cd, Starbucks gift card or an 8×10 photograph taken in Armenia by yours truly! Email viviane8 at yahoo dot com. Let her know you made a donation and provide your contact information.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Leaving one home to join another

March 25, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Out the turquoise doors we passed, our daughter leaving one home to join another. Walk through these doors in the other direction and you enter Baby Bird’s first world, a children’s home, where she lived for the first year of her life, surrounded by the voices of nannies and other children just like her, children who–for any number of reasons–were not able to live with their birth families.

I will always be deeply grateful to the nannies who did their best to meet her needs. But to me, these walls also tell another story, one with limited opportunity, where there isn’t space to crawl and run and play, where there are no clothes or toys that were hers and hers alone. The children’s home was a place where even the most loving of nannies cannot meet the needs of a child in the way a family can.

I can only imagine what might have been going through her head as two virtual strangers removed her from the only home she had ever known, from familiar faces, smells and sounds. I often think about what she left behind when–three years later–on most mornings, we clink our glasses together as a family and say ‘Genatz,‘ cheers in Armenian. I think about the women who cared for her, her language and culture. But then I think about the other children we saw, some whose faces I will never forget, many of whom will spend all their growing years inside the walls our daughter left behind in the arms of her new family.

As we drove south, from Gyumri to Yerevan, Baby Bird looked out the window–eyes wide open–studying the new world surrounding her. Catch lights appeared in her eyes. Photographers love catch lights, which are created when a light source causes reflections in their subject’s eyes. They give the eyes depth, soul.

If you look into my daughter’s eyes, you will see something beautiful, something that will always be inside her, that she will never leave behind. You will see the land where my daughter was born. You will see Armenia.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Our 3rd Family Day!

March 22, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

On March 19,we stood before a judge in Gyumri to ask if one 11-month-old baby girl could join our family. The selfie we took in our hotel room, all gussied up right before court, gives you a good idea of how we were feeling. We look a tad anxious don’t we?

If you’ve never been in our spot, try to imagine being in front of an authority figure, who doesn’t speak your language–in fact almost no one in the court speaks your language–and you are asking permission to do one of the most important things you’ll ever do in your life. Daunting, isn’t it?

I know I was nervous and Big Papa had some seriously sweaty palms as we held hands and waited to be ushered into the courtroom. Inside there was a judge, a representative from Little Bird’s home province, a representative from our adoption agency (who sat on the sidelines), and our translator.

We had a prepared statement describing why we wanted to adopt this particular Armenian child, and how we planned to care for her. Our agency’s representative had also forewarned us the judge or the representative from our daughter-to-be’s province could also ask us questions off the cuff. Gulp. After we took our oaths, my brave husband stood and presented our case before the judge.

Three [nerve-wracking] days later, on March 22, we went back to the courtroom to get the news. We found out the judge was sick that day. Oh no, we worried, how many more days would we need to wait before we heard her decision? A few minutes later, our representative returned and told us the judge had already signed our paperwork and acted favorably on our request.

“Congratulations,” he said to us. “You’re parents.”

I started crying.

“Why are you crying? The answer was yes.”

It’s hard to explain all the feelings swirling inside me at that moment. Here we were–finally. The culmination, legally anyway, of more than three years spent the throes of the adoption process–the “crazy train,” as Big Papa often refers to it. Five trips to Armenia, referrals found and lost, mountains of paperwork.

This is a picture of us shortly after we left the courthouse–legally parents. We certainly look more relieved than we did three days ago!

After a celebratory lunch and a walk through Gyumri’s open-air market, we returned to the orphanage to share the good news with Baby Bird. Here we are, our first photo as a legal family. She doesn’t look all that pleased. Not that I blame her. Who are these people? Why are they hugging me so tightly? Did they bring any snacks?

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Seeing our daughter again after five long months

March 17, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

I’ve never given birth, but I can imagine how desperately you long to meet your child after nine long months of pregnancy. However, while a pregnant mother-to-be has been with her child from the moment she was created, adoptive parents begin their relationship with their child many months later, even if they have the good fortune to be present at the birth. Adopt internationally and you will almost certainly miss out on many months–or years–of your child’s life. This is how it was with our daughter.

She was six-months-old when we met her, and the time that elapsed between our first, registration, trip to our second court trip was five months. Five long months.

I remember a number of people telling us a year is “nothing” in a baby’s life, meaning she wouldn’t remember the orphanage and the transition to her adoptive family would be easy. Three years down the road as a family, I will say I disagree. A year is a lot of time in a baby’s life, especially the first year.

Saying goodbye at the end of our registration trip. Baby Bird was six-months-old.

On March 17th, we went back to the orphanage where we’d first met our little one when she was six-months-old. In the five months that transpired between our registration trip and our court trip we hadn’t received any information or photographs. We had no idea what she would look like–what she would be like. For those of you reading this post, who have given birth, try to imagine what it might be like to take a five-month hiatus from your child during the first year of her life.

When they brought her out, it took me a minute to recognize her. She had hair! Lots of hair. Her once green eyes were now decidedly brown. She was much bigger. There was less “baby” in her face and more toddler. And the blue dots? Well, she was recovering from chicken pox and the nurses put a tincture on to help her sores heal.

Saying hello again, five months later. Baby Bird is 11 months old.

Big Papa and I passed her between us, wondering if there was any recollection of who we were lodged somewhere in the far reaches of her memory. When we first met her on our registration trip, I’m sure she thought she’d hit the jackpot with two new nannies who were spending a lot of one-on-one time with her. How nice! And I imagine, after the week passed and we left, she might have felt puzzled, “Where did they go?”

Dada and daughter. She might have been thinking, “Who are these people?”

For us, seeing her again was surreal. In a matter of days, this little girl would become our daughter. Forever.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Three years ago: Gyumri, Armenia

March 16, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Three years ago on March 16, we flew from London to Yerevan, Armenia. We arrived at midnight. Snow was falling. The roads were icy and hazardous.

I should also mention our driver, who did not speak any English, was a former professional wrestler. One glance at him told us all we needed to know. He was a very large, exceptionally muscular man. This was supposed to be a comfort to us–should we encounter any “trouble.”

However, as we wound our way up and down hills, through tiny villages, traversing small side roads unfamiliar to us, I began to worry. We’d driven from Yerevan to Gyumri and back, five times on our registration trip six months…but we’d never taken this route. My mind played terrible tricks as I imagined our fate.

But arrive at our destination we did. And safely. At 3:00 a.m. in the morning.

We checked into the Nane Hotel. I still feel badly for the poor guy at the front desk who was forced to wait up for us. He gave us the key to our room, a number I will never forget–the area code for our home city. On the table in our room, was this statuette, an apropos reminder of why we’d traveled half way around the world.

In the morning, a snow-covered Gyumri greeted us. Along with a temperature of 5-below-zero Fahrenheit.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Three years ago: London, England

March 12, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Three years ago, on March 13, Big Papa and I boarded a British Air flight and headed to London.

This was the first leg of a journey which would ultimately culminate in an Armenian court, in front of a judge, who would determine if she would allow us to adopt one special baby girl. And, this was also the last leg of a journey that had taken us three years, four trips to Armenia (five for me), and one failed adoption, before we were able to reach this milestone: Parenthood!

We were very excited.

And extremely terrified.

We arrived in England the next day, March 13, after10 hours of flight time and with a nine hour time difference.

Hello London! Hello jet lag!

The last time I was in London was 1980, at the end of my semester abroad in Amsterdam. I was excited to spend a few days–our last hurrah–before two became three. We had a grand time:

Exploring Kensington Garden and Hyde Park

Visiting Big Ben and Buckingham Palace

Walking over bridges–old and new

Enjoying a few meals out–bangers and mash…and beer, of course!

Three days later, it was time to say farewell. See you on the flip-side Heathrow. All aboard to Armenia!

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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Hyde Park: Taking a gander by the Serpentine

March 6, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

Three years ago, visiting London, we spent a sunny afternoon strolling through Hyde Park. When we spied a Greylag goose frolicking in the Serpentine, we just had to stop and watch his antics. What a grand time he was having splashing, flapping, rolling over, and diving into the water. His goose friend (gal pal?), standing a mere few feet away, appeared to be unaware or else she just didn’t care. Maybe she wanted a few moments of peaceful meditation in the sunshine. As for the gander…

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching

~William W. Purkey

Take the road less traveled, Beth

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