05/08/2026
Mother’s Day has always meant something different to me.
It took years of IVF, a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, a ruptured uterus, and the stillbirth of our twins, Eli and Samantha, to get to the family I have today.
The grief of losing our biological twins is something Michael and I carry quietly. But what happened next – what came FROM that loss – is the reason I’m writing this today.
The same weekend we said goodbye to our babies, two little girls were placed in a small orphanage in Tver, Russia. We didn’t know them yet. We didn’t know anything yet. But nine months later, on Thanksgiving Day 2008, we opened an email with a photo of twins who needed a family.
Their names were Masha and Dasha.
In the Jewish tradition, children are often named after relatives we’ve lost. Michael’s grandmothers were Marcia and Doris. MA. DA. The initials were right there.
The signs were all there.
We traveled to Russia, walked into that orphanage, and our lives changed completely. One girl was tiny, fists clenched, fighting to survive. The other was running around the room like she owned it. Both of them were ours.
They came home. They thrived. They unclenched their fists.
And when they started preschool and I needed to find a teacher gift that meant something – I sat down with crayons, and Masha Dasha Designs was born.
Every piece of art I make carries their names. Every crayon, every colored pencil, every monogram – it’s all because of the road that brought us here. The losses, the paperwork, the 40 days in a snowy Russia, the moment I held two toddlers who were always meant to be mine.
Meri and Dani graduate Greeley High School this June. I can barely type that without losing it completely.
This Mother’s Day, Inside Chappaqua magazine told our story. I’m sharing it because someone out there is in the middle of their own loss right now – and I want them to know that love finds a way. It really, truly does.
Read the full story here 👇
https://www.theinsidepress.com/love-multiplied/
