The Lassiter Family

Our adoption story begins in August, 2003 when our son was born in Kherson, Ukraine. Though we did not know him yet, God knew that he was to be our son and throughout the long adoption process we took comfort in this. In November, 2003 we decided to pursue an adoption that we had been thinking and praying about for years. Though we were just barely old enough to meet the minimum age and marriage requirements we knew that it was God’s will for our family to grow through adoption.

As we moved through the ‘paper pregnancy’ there were many ups and downs and seemingly unending waiting, but nothing to match what we would experience after arriving in Ukraine on November 1, 2004. We embarked on our trip with excited anticipation of experiencing the culture of our sons’ birthplace. We spent our first two days in Kiev taking tons of pictures and soaking in all that we could, never imagining that we would have two more weeks of waiting before we would even hear our son’s name for the first time. During this time of uncertainty we were able to learn so much about Ukraine, the people, the culture, and the revolution!

On November 16 we met our son, Vladimir, for the first time and this is when our new life began. He was so tiny and a little bit sick and scared, but had the biggest most alive brown eyes full of hope. Every day Andre, our attorney, and Leanna, his nurse, took us to the hospital to visit him, and the day that we walked in his room to the reception of a big smile from our son was the most incredible day we will ever remember. Jackson Vladimir was born on August 30, 2003 and legally became our son on November 26, 2004, but we know that God made him for our family and our family for him from the day that he was born. Before we even returned to the United States he was already growing and learning and full of life, and every day he grows more into his own little person, loving his new puppy and new home and parents who have loved him since before we even met.

Justin, Jill & Jackson Lassiter