Family ties

Lowell adoption agency keeps close connections with children and parents

Lily Morey, 5, loves bouncing, gymnastics and chowing down on Chinese noodles. Paulina Manning, 4, enjoys dolls, tea parties and embellishing her fingers with plastic rings, treasures from a church fair.

Pretty typical behavior for girls their age. But what's a bit different about these energetic tots is that both spent their earliest months in orphanages -- Lily in China and Paulina in Russia.

Since being adopted by their families -- the Moreys in Littleton and the Mannings in Dracut -- they've flourished. And their grateful folks can't imagine life without them.

"The moment they put Lily in our arms, she was a part of our family," said Sherri Morey, smiling as Lily and her older sister, Maggie, 8, giggle and play.

"When we first saw Paulina, I popped right out of my seat and went over and grabbed her," says Joe Manning, watching adoringly as Paulina dresses her doll.

These successful adoptions -- and hundreds more throughout the state -- are thanks to the Florence Crittenton League, a 101-year-old, Lowell-based adoption agency.

"It's the most cheerful stuff you can do," said Ilze Keegan, who has worked atthe agency since 1981 and became executive director in 1989.

Choosing an agency is the first step families take on the road to adoption. For the Moreys and Mannings, the Florence Crittenton League was the perfect fit.

"We wanted an agency we could trust, one that would know us and our family," says Morey. "Every reference we got was positive."

The Mannings also felt comfortable from the start.

"We'd found an agency in Texas on the Internet, but when we walked into the Crittenton, it felt like home," said Susan Manning. "Ilze is warm, and with a local agency, we knew we'd have resources available."

Adoption experiences vary, depending on which country a family chooses to adopt their child from. Keegan and her staff help people untangle the red tape and keep in touch after the adoption.

Currently, adoptions are available through China and Russia with an occasional, "very rare" American adoption, said Keegan.

Russian adoptions take less than a year for boys and about a year for girls. Chinese adoptions now take about two years.

Many parents seek adoption after experiencing infertility or the loss of a baby. That was the Moreys' case.

"We had our (biological) daughter Maggie, then had two late term losses -- Katherine and Grace," said Morey. "We'd always talked about adoption and, after our losses, we went to an informational meeting. We liked the feel of the (Crittenton) agency. It was small and made us feel comfortable."

They started the process in October 2003, filling out paperwork and having the requisite home study, comprised of four visits. They went to China in September 2004, taking Maggie, then 5, with them.

They met 18-month-old Lily -- the name Maggie chose -- on their second day and fell in love with her immediately.

"She was really cute and had curly hair," Maggie recalled.

"It was very emotional," said Sherri.

After two weeks in China, Lily came home with the Moreys.

"She learned English quickly and is a wonderful child. She's so active and fits in perfectly with our family. She and Maggie get along well. They're goofy, they're sisters," says Sherri.

They honor Lily's birth country with Chinese New Year celebrations and socializing with other families who have adopted Chinese children. When she is older, she may attend a Chinese cultural school.

"We have a game of looking for things that are made in China, and Lily will say, 'I'm from China, too,'" said Sherri.

The Mannings had discussed adoption for a while when they decided to use the agency.

"A friend at work told me she was adopted and that her mother had used the Florence Crittenton League," said Sue.

"I told her to look into it, and I would go along with it," said Joe. "We got a list of other families, and there was a guy Iwork with on it. It helps knowing other people who have gone through it."

The Mannings decided on a Russian adoption, since Joe had studied the language in school and could read and understand it.

Russian laws require that adoptive parents make two trips to the country, one to meet the child and the other to finalize the adoption.

"It was positive traveling there. A translator met us at the airport, took us to the hotel and the orphanage," recalled Sue.

Paulina bonded easily with her parents, who brought her home three years ago this Friday, when she was 20 monthsold.

"She was ours from the start, playing peek-a-boo with us and smiling. Her caregiver seemed sad, so we knew she'dbeen well-cared for," said Sue.

Their life now revolves around Paulina.

"Every night I tell her the story of the little girl Paulina who came from Russia to live with her family. She loves it," said Joe.

Keegan loves connecting families with children and is eager to make it happen.

"My love for my clients has paid off, and people stay connected to us. It's like one big extended family," she said.

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