Our Brazilian Boys Have Come Home

We have been very happy with our entire adoption experience. From the moment we met Samuel, Gabriel and Thiago, we felt they were ours, as though we never were not a family. They are such beautiful, charming and well-behaved boys. We had our trepidations and were nervous about their reactions to us, as well as our reaction to them. We were to find soon what they thought, as children will be sincere and truthful. (I remember one day Samuel touching my stomach and saying how sad it was that his mom and dad were fat.)

Our first meeting with Thiago was a sweet experience. His tia had to awaken him; he did not know what to think. Then we went to Samuel’s and Gabriel’s school to meet them, as their wish for a long time was to have a mom and dad pick them up from school. They walked into the director’s office and were all smiles. Someone asked them if they knew who we were and they right away said that we were dad and mom. They sat on our laps and we talked with them. Soon they had to take us to their classrooms to meet their friends. It was a wonderfw experience. Unfortunately, we were not able to take them with us that day as the paperwork was not finished. We left them at their home and we went to a hotel. Needless to say, it was a long night. The next day we picked them up. We were all so happy; we were finally united as a family. I had worried about Thiago leaving his familiar surroundings and did not know how he would react to leaving with two strangers. But he never looked back and did not show much emotion. He just went willingly.

Our time in Brazil was a wonderful bonding experience. Samuel and Thiago did not have any problem with my showing affection to them. But, Gabriel, on the other hand, would shrug away from me. When I kissed him good night, he would turn his face. But, he loved his dad and he would give him all attention. In fact, all three of the boys loved their dad; they were very curious about him and everything he did. They depended on him for everything and bonded instantly with him. At first, it was hard for me, their mom, as I would feel very jealous at times. The boys initially did not understand my Portuguese accent and would turn always to their dad. When we went to parks or places that had “flowers” (dandelions), they would only pick them for their dad. But it did not take long for Samuel to get close to me. Soon, the boys began to understand my Portuguese.

We were able to take the kids to Sao Paulo to meet Eliseu’s family. They instantly fell in love with our kids (How could they not?) Their Grandma Conceicao soon gave our youngest son Thiago a nickname of “Little Potato” (Batatinho). The boys loved their new family. They often gave their bedridden Grandpa Alcino lots of hugs and would caress his hands and face. And when grandpa would call for his wife, the kids would run and tell their grandma what he wanted. They so loved their Brazilian grandparents. They also met many other uncles, aunts, cousin, and friends, all of whom they bonded to in some way or other. To this day, they ask questions of their family in Brazil, they write letters, and they speak with their cousins over the phone often.

We brought them home on January 23, 2002, to a warm welcome from grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunts, cousins and many friends who met us at the Salt Lake City airport with joy and smiles. We were able to spend the next couple of weeks visiting their grandpa who was terminally ill with cancer. The first thing the boys did was to run to Grandpa Steve’s bed and give him a kiss and hug and say hello to him in English. They would also caress Grandpa Steve’s big hands and sing to him. Grandpa Steve was happy to meet them and ten days later, he passed on. It was a sad time for us all. I had wanted them to know their Grandpa Steve and learn from him as he was a multi-talented man and so patient in sharing his knowledge. Not one of us imagined that he would pass on that fast and leave us. We were not sure how the boys would react to the death of someone they had looked so forward to meeting.   They were at grandpa’s side soon after he passed on and they were so much comfort to all of us. It was soon after that we had photographs developed of our meeting at the airport with some of grandpa smiling so big at his meeting with the boys. In fact, we had not seen my dad with a grin like that for a long time.

We believe we have bonded as a family and are very united. We do a lot together as a family. We celebrate each other’s accomplishments as well as sorrows. We play together, we laugh together, and we cry together. We are so happy with our boys, Samuel, Gabriel and Thiago. We feel as though they have always been ours. And we do not know what we would do without them in our lives.

Kimberly and Eliseu Beneditto