ARLINGTON Youve heard of Cheaper by the Dozen? Linda Dillon laughed. Well, thats us!
In one sense, the Camano Island resident and parishioner of the Atonement Free Lutheran Church in Arlington is right, since not only have she and her husband Andrew had five biological children, but theyre also raising two adopted sons from Russia, an adopted son and an adopted daughter from Ethiopia, an adopted daughter from Guatemala, and even an adopted daughter from Alabama, which puts their total only one child away from a dozen.
At the same time, the Dillons know that its never cheaper to raise so many children at once, especially when such a large family is living on Andrews income as a diesel bus mechanic for Snohomish County Community Transit in Everett, and both he and Linda hold out hope of adopting two more children from Ethiopia, within a matter of months, which would bring their childrens numbers to a bakers dozen.
Linda Dillon explained that she and her husband were originally inspired to take on the responsibility of adopting disadvantaged children as a means of dealing with a hardship in their biological family. Their fourth child, Anne, was born four months premature and spent her first five months in an incubator, but a year later she was additionally diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
I started going to support groups for parents of disabled children, Dillon said. I found that some families had adopted children from other parts of the world, some of whom also had cerebral palsy.
The Dillons adoptions began with two Russian brothers, four-year-old Eugeniy and six-year-old Valeriy, in 1997. Andrews salary strained to cover the expenses of travel and immigration visas, even before he was faced with the prospect of paying the boys other adoption fees, which cost several thousand dollars for each child individually. Still, he shares his wifes view of the pressing need for their generous deeds.
By the time theyre in their teens, kids in Russia are considered too big to be cared for by orphanages any longer so a lot of them end up homeless, stealing and doing drugs, Linda Dillon said. Our Russian boys had never been camping before they came to America. Ethiopian children had never been swimming, or been in a boat. The first time they saw marshmallows, they asked me, Mom, what is it? Its been so heartwarming to watch their faces as they experience all of these things for the first time.
The Dillons have also witnessed their biological and adopted children developing close relationships with one another, describing their biological son Paul and their adopted son Valeriy, who now goes by his middle name of Peter, as best friends, while likewise pointing to the equally tight ties between their biological daughter Sarah and their adopted daughter Kalkidan.
One reason we adopted was because Sarah, who was nine back then, didnt really have anyone her own age to play with, Linda Dillon said. Anne was 10, but it was hard for her to play with Sarah, with her disabilities. At first, Sarah and Kalkidan actually didnt get along, but after a while they started to bond. Theyre on the same soccer team now, and theyve done just about everything together since then, including giggling and staying up too late.
Just as theyve fostered new friendships within their family, the Dillons want to preserve one of their adopted childrens friendships with two of the children with whom he grew up. Tadele, who now goes by the nickname of Todd, was adopted by the Dillons from Ethiopia, at the age of 14, in May of this year. But in the process, he left behind his best friends, 15-year-old Berhanu and 17-year-old Tesfaye, at the Catholic orphanage in Addis Ababa where hed lived since he was orphaned, at the age of seven.
The teenage brothers have lived in orphanages since Berhanu was a baby and Tesfaye was a toddler, but Linda Dillon reported that they still long for a family of their own. In a few months, Tesfaye will turn 18, making him too old to be adopted by American parents, so Dillon hopes that their community will contribute to their campaign to adopt the brothers.
We both have been praying to God to give us a family since we were very little, Tesfaye wrote in a letter to the Dillons. And still today I have the feeling inside me to get family love and to know what it looks like. I long to have a family, to have a mom and dad before I get too old for that.
The Atonement Free Lutheran Church in Arlington has started a Dillon Adoption Fund, for contributors to make tax-free donations toward the familys adoption-associated expenses, with the church administering the funds. Checks may be made payable to the Atonement Free Lutheran Church, and sent via postal mail to 6905 172nd St. NE, Arlington, WA 98223.