By Barbara Brown

Maureen and Steve Schroeder have one interesting story after another about their lives together; but all their stories were capped off earlier this year when an addition was made to their family.

The Schroeders, who live in North Branch, will celebrate their second anniversary in August, and theyíve just celebrated the first birthday of their son, Andre. The interesting part is how Andre came to live with the Schroeders.

Andre was born June 17, 2003, in a small town in Russia. His birth mother had borne five children and had one miscarriage. She left Andre at an orphanage when he was one month old.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Maureen and Steve were nearing the celebration of their first anniversary.

The couple met around August of 2001 through a telephone service called The People Store. They talked to each other for a couple weeks and decided to meet each other.

The two met in North Branch and drove to Taylors Falls for the Wannigan Days celebration.

That day, Steve met not only Maureen for the first time, but also met her entire family who was at Wannigan Days.

ìFor most guys that would be scary,î Steve said. ìNot for me. It was great. Theyíre a great family.î

Steve is from Maplewood and Maureen grew up in Taylors Falls, moving to North Branch nine years ago.

The couple quickly fell in love and decided to marry. Steve proposed at the Christmas Eve dinner table, surrounded by Maureenís family. The wedding was planned for August 2002.

During the time the couple spent getting to know each other, they both realized they wanted to adopt a child into their family.

Steveís family had a hereditary condition called neutropenia, a blood disorder that affects the white blood cell count.

It can be fatal and two of Steveís brothers died at a young age from complications of the disease.

Maureenís epilepsy caused some concern for carrying a pregnancy to term.

The decision to adopt was simple for them, the couple said.

In December 2002, the Schroeders met with Crossroads adoption agency in Bloomington to start the process of adoption.

Maureenís family and several co-workers had used Crossroads in the past and had good things to say about the organization.

One of Maureenís sisters adopted a daughter, and two doctors at Fairview Lakes Regional Medical Center, where Maureen works, also adopted.

Adoption has been a familiarity for Maureen throughout her life. Two of her cousins were adopted into the family, one from India and another from Texas.

The Crossroads agency worked with the Schroeders to understand the procedures as well as some of the impact a child would have on their lives.

Finally, in October 2003, the couple learned that a child had been found for them.

Although the Schroeders had originally asked for a girl, they found out that the only girls available for adoption had fetal alcohol syndrome with no prognosis for their futures.

But, a little boy named Andre had been found and he was available if the couple could get to Russia.

After many hours on airplanes, flying from Minneapolis to Vladivlostok, Russia, by way of Amsterdam, the couple arrived to meet their child.
The city of Vladivlostok is on the Russian East Coast. It borders China and North Korea and is run-down and shows evidence of having been disregarded for a number of years, the Schroeders said.

They said some buildings were more than 100 years old and some looked dilapidated. ìUnderneath they were probably very pretty buildings, but they had been neglected so long they just looked sad,î Steve said.

ìThe first time, it felt like it was someone elseís baby,î Steve Schroeder said. ìThere were all these other people around and we only got to spend about an hour a day with him for about four days.î

Maureen said she felt the pressure too. ìThere were these doctors around that kept asking ëDo you love him?í ëDo you love him?í There was a lot of pressure.î

After that first trip, the couple found that, in fact, they did love baby Andre just as their own and tearfully left Russia to await an answer from the US and Russian authorities on permitting the adoption.

The second trip over was different, Steve said, but no less eventful.

The couple got a call in the middle of the third week of January, 2004.

Andreís paperwork was in order and he could come home with the Schroeders, but they would have to appear before a magistrate about three days after receiving the call.

The couple immediately called the airlines.

Flight delays and loss of luggage threatened to ruin the trip for the Schroeders, but the couple remained optimistic.
ìIt was different the second time,î Steve said. ìWe didnít mind any of the problems because he was ours. We got him,î he said.
ìWe got to keep him this time. We got to bring him home,î Maureen said.

On Jan. 31, 2004, Andre Schroeder finally came home to live in Minnesota; his named changed on his birth certificate and his citizenship secure.

The past six months in the Schroeder house have been trying but joyful, the couple said.

Andre is a well mannered child who is entertained by just about anything. He enjoys harassing the family cat, Mini-Me, and is guarded non-stop by the Schroeders herding dog, Annie.

The neighbors canít get enough of his smiling face, Maureen said. Andre sleeps well through the night and the mornings are pleasant. The couple enjoys waking up knowing their family is complete.

Maureen has taken a flexible schedule at work, as a lab care technician and Steveís job at Schroeder Milk has him working hours where he can be home by 2:30 p.m.; which means the family has had a lot of bonding time together.

ìItís wonderful to spend the day with Andre,î Maureen said. ìItís hard to go back to work and not be with him.î

The Schroeders have already agreed they will be open with Andre about his birth and heritage. Theyíve already started to fill his baby book with items like his Russian birth certificate and information about the town he came from.

A St. Paul woman was adopting a daughter at the same time the Schroeders went to Russia for the second time to pick up Andre.
The woman and her daughter, Elizabeth, visit with the Schroeders and the children play together.

The Schroeders hope the two grow to become good friends and that they might find in each other any comfort needed to know that although they may not have been born here, they are American and they are loved.

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