New baby adds joy for reservist and his family

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  After waiting three years, the Slahta family was finally notified that there was a child in China who was available for them to adopt. Senior Airman Andrew Slahta, 445th Civil Engineer Squadron, and his wife, Dana, started the process to adopt a child from China in 2005. Today, 16-month-old Makenna is living in Kentucky with her new family, which includes 12-year old Olivia and 9-year-old Jackson.

Dana said they had almost given up since they had not received any news after three years.

"We looked at the different options we had for adoption. At the time, we were hearing a lot about people adopting children from China. It seemed like it was a regular process and there were referrals on a regular basis but then China adoptions slowed down. A couple years went by and we thought we were not going to be able to adopt a child from China. Then on December 29 of last year, I received a phone call saying that there's a child for us, and we were sent her photos," Dana said.

The couple was thrilled that the adoption came through. Their next step was to travel to China in April to pick up their new daughter. However, Airman Slahta was not able to make the trip with Dana due to his upcoming deployment in May.

"It was unfortunate timing that after waiting over three years for the adoption process, my deployment would fall on that exact time," Airman Slahta said.

Before he left on his deployment, Airman Slahta got to see Makenna on Skype (a software application that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet) while his wife was still in China.

"It was great to see her face before leaving the country because I didn't know how long it would be before we had contact again," Airman Slahta said.

Dana said her husband was able to record a video for them and dropped it off in the mail. He used a program called "Hearts Apart," and she can't wait to get it so Makenna can watch it every night. In the meantime, Makenna is adjusting to her new life and is surrounded by family and friends that love her.

"Our kids were so excited to find out they were getting a new sister. They were only 5- and 8-years-old when we started the adoption process," Dana said. "Makenna is crazy about them too. She loves playing with them."

Airman Slahta is scheduled to come home in September. In the meantime, Dana shares photos and DVDs of Makenna with Andrew.

"I can't wait to get home and spend time with Makenna and our other two kids. I love her already and this is going to make coming home even more special," Airman Slahta said.