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The couple has spent years trying to have children, with no success. But after researching international adoption, the Fort Washington couple decided to enroll in a summer program to host two Colombian orphans in their home for five weeks via Kidsave, a Washington, D.C.,-based organization that advocates orphan adoption.

"Any child without parents just shouldn't be," said Stacey O'Donnell, 37. "There is a group of older children who have been forgotten about."

The couple has been married for four years, and Kelly O'Donnell, 36, works as an engineer in Virginia while Stacey O'Donnell works as a sales associate. But their home had increasingly felt empty, Kelly O'Donnell said.

When Saundra Torres Preciado, 10, and her brother, Adrian, 8, came to live with the O'Donnells in early July, the couple found themselves living a family lifestyle.

Their days were filled with trips to the zoo and the Smithsonian museums. Stacey O'Donnell said she fell into a pattern of waking up early, preparing breakfast, dropping the children off at camp and going to work, only to come home and prepare dinner, something she said she thought would leave her exhausted.

"When you actually do it, you learn so much about yourself — I can do this," she said.

And in the process of showing the children their lifestyle, the O'Donnells said they, too, felt young again.

"There is this excitement of showing a kid something for the first time — you become a kid again," Stacey O'Donnell said. "The joy is there."

The couple said they overcame the language barrier between them and the two children: the O'Donnells didn't speak Spanish and the children didn't speak English.

In the beginning, Kelly O'Donnell was so nervous that he could barely say "hello" in Spanish to the children. But they soon found their stride using flashcards, language dictionaries and friends and family who were fluent in Spanish.

The children said their time in the U.S. was well spent.

"I've really been enjoying my time here," said Saundra, a shy girl with long hair and freckles, using a translator. "I really like the pools over here."

Adrian said he came to enjoy listening to rapper Daddy Yankee, watching the Disney Channel television series "Hannah Montana" and playing golf.

"I like listening to music and writing in the car," he said. "I will miss my godparents [Kelly and Stacey] the most."

Terry Baugh, co-founder of Kidsave, said the program was meant to give older orphans hope that adoption is possible.

Meanwhile, Kelly O'Donnell, who said the couple has yet to make a final decision to adopt, is hoping that the children walk away from the experience knowing there is something to live for.

"There's hope," Kelly O'Donnell said. "I think that's the key word here for these children."

E-mail Joshua Garner at jgarner@gazette.net.