Prudens' 'Love' Life as a Big American Family

After three years, the Prudens have settled into family life in America.

ByABC News via logo
December 23, 2007, 1:14 PM

Dec. 24, 2007— -- After three years, the Prudens say they have trouble remembering a time when they weren't a family.

In the summer of 2004, "Good Monring America" was with Marie and Peter Pruden when they met their children for the first time. The Prudens had agreed to take the children for a three-week visit, but it didn't take long for them to realize they wanted to adopt.

They traveled to Russia, hoping to make it official. "We were nervous. We were in the courtroom 3 1/2 hours," Marie said. "We walked outside, and the kids were jumping up and down. It was very emotional."

Back in the U.S., the Prudens settled into life in Huntington, N.Y. The kids learned English quickly with the help of tutors. In fact, they're forgetting their Russian. "I still know how to say I love you," said Anastasia, or Ana, as she likes to go by.

Mom is more of the disciplinarian in this house. "My mom wants us to learn English, and she wants us to get good grades," Alex said.

"When we go shopping with my dad, and get a lot of stuff, my mom gets mad," said Ana.

"I'm always in trouble, 'cause I've taken them to the movies, or I've gone shopping with them," Peter said. "On a school night," Marie pipes in.

Their 15 years of marriage, before they adopted, now seem like a distant memory.

"I think that, for anyone considering adoption, if their gut tells them to do it, they should do it. I never thought I'd be an adoptive mom, but had I not gotten out of my little box of fear, I would not be experiencing all this," Marie said with a smile.