As a current adoptive parent, I am aware of the difficulty and concerns in identifying a potential forever home and family for a child seeking a safe a permanent solution. Thus, I am appreciative of and thankful for the time you are taking to consider my background.

My son was born in Russia, and after 6 weeks or so in a one room dacha, spent the next 18 months in an orphanage. I am experiencing the challenges of raising a child who, at age 15, has repeated two grades, reads at a 3rd grade level, but who is confident despite these challenges of his place in the world. Sometimes, perhaps, a tad too confident.

I am anticipating the challenges of raising a child beginning at a later age will have different challenges, some more intense, as patterns of behavior will have been established. I have worked with school counselors, resource officers, psychologists, tutors and other mentors to assist with my son, and am comforted that the resources available to adoptive parents of older children will provide a network of support to draw upon.

The experience of raising my son has been the most intense and rewarding of any of my life’s experiences to date. I have been seeking a sibling for my son, and second child, since 2012 when I hosted a 7 year old orphan from Russia. We were unable to proceed with adoption for legal reasons.

We live in a nice suburban neighborhood in Montgomery County Maryland, with excellent neighborhood schools and neighborhood community activities. My hobbies include golf, tennis, chess, and relaxing at home. My son’s interests include swimming, ice hockey, baseball, wrestling, and almost anything active. Our vacations usually center around 1 week in Ocean City, MD. With my son’s travel ice hockey schedule, we have had additional weekends the last few years in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and New York.

Within our house we have a foosball table, pool table, air hockey, table shuffleboard, a basketball hoop, and a pool in the backyard. When you add in the community pool and membership in a golf, tennis, and swimming country club less than a mile away, the opportunities to avoid boredom are almost limitless. A typical week in the Russell household consists of hurried mornings, school, homework, some Netflix movies, some video games, a few nights of sports practices or games, and other than that, we are pretty much homebodies and all the lights are out before the clock strikes 11.

Again I appreciate what a daunting task it is to gain an understanding of a family situation and opportunity based on a few written words and a photo, and respect your efforts to try to create the best possible situation for the children you are attempting to place.