letter to Jenya

10:00 a.m. Kolkata time
September 18, 2007

Dear Jenya,
Today we are going to pick you up from Matri Sneha ("mother's love"). We can't wait to meet you. We bet you will be the best sister ever. We wonder what your personality will be like. Will you be feisty? Will you be cuddly? Who knows? We started this adoption process when Andrew was six and Evan was two. It took three years. You had your 10-month birthday two days ago.

There are four people in our family and you make the fifth. Evan is the little one with the orange curly boing-boing hair and the rosy cheeks, Andrew is the nine-year-old who is almost as tall as Daddy and has kind of long bangs, Daddy is the man who goes to work every day and has glasses. He is the best dad ever, lucky you. Then there is Mom. She has long curly brown hair and glasses. She is the best mom in the world, lucky you.

We are going to take you to Providence, Rhode Island. Your house will be a big yellow house with a bright red car and a green station wagon. Their names are Rosie (the red van) and Oz (the wagon). Your room will be upstairs. Andrew's room will be right next to yours. Evan's will be down the hall. Mom and Dad's room will be right in the middle. The stairs are across from Mom and Dad's room.

We are excited about meeting you, a lot. We are really, really, really, really, really excited about meeting you. We named you Jenya.

Love, Andrew and Evan