Well we haven't verified it yet, but she is from a very small village. That name in that village could only be them. Not to mention there is a younger brother that is the spitting image of Arina with the same big blue eyes.
We have a dear friend Ellen, and she is from Ukraine. We met her at cvs where she has been helping us with the chaos that can be Jax medications for three years. Her mother even came to America to visit and brought Arina a bunch of Ukrainian gifts!
Last night Ellen and I were talking about Arina's birth parents. She is a little more harsh than me, saying she thinks its horrible that they gave her up! I feel like they didn't know any better. This is how their very small village is. If she had any major medical problems they wouldn't have anywhere to take her. The nearest hospital was in the city the orphanage was in, Cherkasy, 2 hours away.
But Ellen was able to find her father in a Russian Facebook page. There she found the pictures, which I can't post because we do not have permission. The bad part is we don't even think they have a computer. Last time he was online was in Oct. 2013! But our super sleuth Ellen found some relatives in his friends list and contacted a cousin. She is trying to get her to tell him to get online. I'm really hoping they would like to see pictures of her now, and would like to get to know us. But I'll understand if they don't want to get involved.
I have mixed emotions now that I've found them. I've always truly thought that they loved her. But they were young, and scared into giving her up by the hospital staff. I see this little brother and think, oh my gosh, Arina has 5 brothers! It's all a bit surreal, and I hope it turns out to be a great thing, finding them. And that they will be amazed at what a beautiful little girl she has become!
