When our daughter came to us it was very hard for the first couple of Christmases. There was not much belief or hope. I think the lack of hope was the hardest for us to understand. I wrote an article that was published about our daughter’s feelings and thoughts and her belief that she was expecting coal for Christmas. I will try and find this article (published a few years ago) and post it, but I still remember the sentiments now. Hope and expectations – they didn’t exist. It took us a few years to establish them, but we did manage this eventually.