“My American Mama”
The couple took an eight-hour train ride from Moscow to an orphanage in the small town of Boravici. When they got there, they saw that the young girl was anxiously awaiting their arrival. Crystal will never forget how the girl greeted her.
Crystal, Caralee. Source: CBS News
“She looked in my eyes very warmly, and said, ‘You’re my mama’.” From the very beginning, the girl called Crystal, “my American mama.” The couple decided to call her Caralee. But Caralee wasn’t the only child they took home with them that day. They also adopted a three-year-old they named Joshua.