For those of you that have been following our journey, you have come to learn that our faith is at the heart of who we are as people, as a married couple, and as a family. When I tell you that God sent us another message of affirmation, you will understand that this is not a coincident. Only the Holy Spirit can work in such ways.
On Monday, April 12, when Sveta, Kenny, and I were sitting in Tatiana’s office at the MOE anxiously awaiting to hear the limited information about our daughter that the office had on file, we knew already that Julianna shared a birth month with our son, Dominic. Then, Tatiana’s assistant read to us, an exact birthdate of , “June 3, 2002.” I turned and looked at Sveta in disbelief. This was not just the birth month of Dominic, it was the exact birthday, only 9 years earlier that our first child was born on June 3, 1993.
In my mind, I thought, “How appropriate. Dominic will be here with us when we officially adopt her in Russia.”
But this is not the end of the message.
Approximately two weeks ago when we were preparing for our trip to Russia, I considered in my mind the name that we would officially give to Julianna when we adopted her. I thought to myself, “Julianna is such a beautiful name and surely, there is a special middle name that has significant meaning for us that we will find to give to her.” The name that kept returning was that of my Godmother, Margaret, who was my mother’s sister. My mother also has an aunt named Margaret. I put the two names together, Julianna Margaret Licata. Hmmm….I thought…I like the sound of it. So, I said nothing at the time, and continued on with my preparations.
So, as I sat in the office at the MOE on Monday and learned that Julianna’s birthdate is June 3, 2002, it was then that I put the pieces together. You see, my Aunt Margaret, who was my Godmother, died very early in life from cancer on June 3, 1992, exactly one year before Dominic’s birth. In that instance, it became clear to me why I wanted to give her the middle name of Margaret. Unknowingly at the time, our Julianna shares her special day with my Godmother.
This was a message…another sign from God.
On Monday, April 12, when Sveta, Kenny, and I were sitting in Tatiana’s office at the MOE anxiously awaiting to hear the limited information about our daughter that the office had on file, we knew already that Julianna shared a birth month with our son, Dominic. Then, Tatiana’s assistant read to us, an exact birthdate of , “June 3, 2002.” I turned and looked at Sveta in disbelief. This was not just the birth month of Dominic, it was the exact birthday, only 9 years earlier that our first child was born on June 3, 1993.
In my mind, I thought, “How appropriate. Dominic will be here with us when we officially adopt her in Russia.”
But this is not the end of the message.
Approximately two weeks ago when we were preparing for our trip to Russia, I considered in my mind the name that we would officially give to Julianna when we adopted her. I thought to myself, “Julianna is such a beautiful name and surely, there is a special middle name that has significant meaning for us that we will find to give to her.” The name that kept returning was that of my Godmother, Margaret, who was my mother’s sister. My mother also has an aunt named Margaret. I put the two names together, Julianna Margaret Licata. Hmmm….I thought…I like the sound of it. So, I said nothing at the time, and continued on with my preparations.
So, as I sat in the office at the MOE on Monday and learned that Julianna’s birthdate is June 3, 2002, it was then that I put the pieces together. You see, my Aunt Margaret, who was my Godmother, died very early in life from cancer on June 3, 1992, exactly one year before Dominic’s birth. In that instance, it became clear to me why I wanted to give her the middle name of Margaret. Unknowingly at the time, our Julianna shares her special day with my Godmother.
This was a message…another sign from God.