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Six Lucky Siblings

An Older-Child Adoption Story

By Kelly Burgess

As it turned out, Yuri, who changed his name to Mike when he got to America, does have learning disabilities, perhaps associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, but is a very ambitious, hard worker who has learned to work the lights for the family's show. So well, in fact, The Morning Show hired him when it came to town. He also has a natural talent for fixing things. His little sister, Anastasia, is doing great in school, racking up all "A's" and rapidly becoming a typical American teen. The four Kazakhstan children are also making their way through a sometimes difficult, sometimes amazingly easy, adjustment.

All six children work at the theater complex and are paid for their work. Sheila sees this as an opportunity to learn how things work in America. For a while, Natasha went through a bit of a lazy streak, complaining that she didn't know when she came to America that she would have to work. Sheila explained to her that this is the American dream, working hard for the future.

Thanks to Sheila and Dean Dutton, these former orphans now have a family – and a future.