Lily and Kate make easy transition into family
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Joseph and Jill Solimini have four children, including two daughters adopted from China. (Clockwise from left: Griffin, Lily, Jill, Joseph,
Maddie and Kate) |
By Karen Sparling
Joseph and Jill Solimini were blessed with two beautiful biological children, a son Griffin, now 11, and a daughter Maddie, now 8, while several of their close friends struggled with infertility issues. As these friends chose adoption to build their families, the Soliminis saw firsthand wonderful and heartwarming adoption stories. This experience led them to adoption to expand their family.
They started the 18-month process to adopt a baby girl from China using Families Thru International Adoption (FTIA), which has an office locally. The process involved preparing an extensive dossier which was submitted to China and then a long wait for their referral. The day the FedEx package was to arrive with their new daughter's information, Joseph was out of town and Jill camped out on their front porch awaiting the delivery. Jill opened up the package and immediately fell in love with the picture of their beautiful daughter they named Lily. Jill scanned and emailed the pictures to Joseph, who couldn't wait until that night to see the first pictures of Lily. They brought her home from China on July 3, 2004. The adoption went smoothly and Lily, now age 3, transitioned easily into their family.
The Soliminis have become good friends with the families of four little girls adopted from China with FTIA at the same time as Lily. The girls see each other twice a week and celebrate special days, including Chinese New Year, together.
Joseph and Jill quickly decided to adopt again, but this time wanted to adopt an older child who had less of a chance to be adopted. Periodically Jill would visit the Rainbow Kids web site. One day she saw a picture of a 5-year-old Chinese girl with a sparkle in her eye and a serious heart condition. Jill knew immediately she was meant to be their daughter. They called that day and started the nine-month process to adopt daughter Kate.
Kate had a serious heart condition which had been surgically corrected in China. The family received extensive medical information ahead of time, including the surgery report. They had used the services of the International Adoption Center (IAC) when adopting Lily, but this time around those services were even more critical. With the help of Mary Allen Staat, MD, MPH, and a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center pediatric cardiologist, they were comfortable with proceeding with the adoption. Dr. Staat was especially helpful and supportive during this process since her daughter also had a heart condition.
Kate came home the day before Thanksgiving 2005 and quickly transitioned into the Solimini family. She initially communicated through gestures, soon started understanding the English language, then started speaking in English.
Kate is very happy, driven and motivated with a fun-loving disposition. Jill thinks Kate must have received lots of love and care in the Chinese orphanage to be so well adjusted. Kate was evaluated at Cincinnati Children's and nothing further was required for her heart condition.
Kate started kindergarten shortly after coming home and is now ready to start first grade. She is 6 years old and her math and reading are right on track. Her determination enabled her to quickly learn how to ride a bike and swim.
The older Solimini children, Griffin and Maddie, are proud of their siblings. Griffin realizes the world is bigger than Mason, Ohio, and understands the opportunity Kate and Lily have been given. Maddie recently announced they have room in the family car for one more and have asked when they can adopt again.
The transition of Lily into the family was very easy for Griffin and Maddie. With the addition of Kate, Maddie and Kate now share a bedroom which resulted in the normal sibling squabbling. Kate loves being the big sister to Lily, who knows she will always be the baby of the family.
The Soliminis' friends, neighbors and community have been very supportive and welcoming.The Mason Schools System was accommodating to Kate's transition including its English as a Second Language program.
Kate and Lily are little ambassadors showing firsthand the blessing of international adoption.
