Letter for Lucy

Dearest Friends,

We have been home with Lucy for about eight months now, which is unbelievable for us to consider. We still feel so blessed to have her, and we also fully believe that she wouldn't be here without your incredible love and support. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for everything.

We do however, have some news to share. We have been talking about Lucy with our social worker, people at our agency, and other adoptive couples, and have found out some things about attachment that we wanted you all to know as well. 

Lucy is still very comfortable around strangers, and still goes to just about anyone. From everything we've read and heard, this isn't ideal behavior for an internationally adopted child. Although we fully recognize that some of that is her personality, we also want to make sure we are doing the best we can to assure she's bonding to us. So after discussing this with a few people, and much prayer, we are asking for your help. 

If Lucy is around, we would be grateful if you would ask before picking her up. Also, if you do have her in your arms, we ask for you to stay within eyesight. Just make sure we are around. Lastly, please be aware of how much affection you give her(hugging and kissing). These are all things that help us establish ourselves as the people who meet her needs. If you can help us out with these three things, that would be a great benefit to us and to Lucy.

We know how difficult it is to not pick her up when she comes running to you, so we appreciate your help in this. The last thing we want to sound like is overprotective parents. We still feel like we have no idea what we are doing, but just like all of you, we want to do what's in the best interest of our little girl. Rest assured this isn't a permanent request. This just a temporary measure to establish ourselves as primary caregivers. 

We love you all very much, and we are so thankful for your partnership as we do this together.

Love,

Russ and Anna