Some stories are too amazing to keep to ourselves. For Dede Kolb, her daughter Diana has one of those
stories. It’s a tale of resilience, faith and the belief that God’s love can make the broken new.

A new children’s book about Diana’s journey, Adopted for Good, has been released. Authored by her
mother, illustrated by her childhood friend and published by her second-grade teacher, the book tells a
story of adoption, immigration, forgiveness and love.

This book means something different to each person involved: for Diana, it’s a reminder of how she
became who she is today; for Dede, it’s a love letter to her daughter; for Bethany, it’s a chance to
showcase her art while celebrating her best friend.

Dede and Steve Kolb had been married 26 years and had no children by choice. Dede, a pharmacist, and
Steve, a contractor, were both very career-oriented individuals when Steve went on a mission trip to El
Salvador and encountered a young boy.

Contemplating adoption, Steve’s pastor took him on a hike up a volcano in El Salvador. Standing atop
the volcano, he heard the voice of God speaking to him.

“Go home and look in your own backyard,” God told him.

So he did. Six weeks later, Steve and Dede became parents to an 8-year-old girl with a complicated past,
a stubborn streak and a toughness named Diana.

Prior to becoming a Kolb, Diana’s story was a series of uncertain chapters. She was born in Kazakhstan
to an alcoholic Russian mother and no father. Her grandmother tried to take care of her but wound up
leaving her at an orphanage.

“One of my few memories of the orphanage was they would hit us with bowling pins if we didn’t
behave,” Diana recalled.

At age 4, a family in Houston adopted her, but the mother made it clear she wasn’t truly part of their
family. So at age 8 she was faced with another transition.

“I thought it was a joke,” Diana said of the day she learned she would be moving to Lufkin with the
Kolbs. “I didn’t understand why it was happening again.”

Before she left, Diana and Katie, the Houston family’s daughter, exchanged teddy bears.
“We all prayed and cried,” she recalled.

Then she went to meet her new parents, Steve and Dede.

The transition wasn’t easy. Trust didn’t come naturally to Diana, especially when it came to Steve.
“I didn’t want him to be my dad,” she admitted. “I liked my first dad. I didn’t want another male figure in
my life.”

 

Steve, a former competitive swimmer, found a way to connect with her — water. Following a
counselor’s advice, he took Diana swimming and she had to hold on to him to not go under.
Something clicked there. From that day forward, Diana and Steve became close and a father’s
foundation of trust was established.

For Dede, raising a child was all new, and Diana came with experiences she and Steve couldn’t fully
understand. But they were committed. They had faith. And they had each other.
But healing wasn’t instant.

“The first summer, I kept wondering — where am I gonna go next?” Diana said.
The fear of being uprooted again was deep. But the Kolbs were steadfast.
“This is forever,” Dede reminded Diana after five years together.

They celebrated the five-year milestone with a party, marking the moment Diana realized she wouldn’t
be “adopted again.”

When Diana joined the Kolb family, Dede nicknamed her “my little Joseph,” referring to the prophet in
the book of Genesis who was forsaken by his family and overcame hardship in Egypt. In fact, the Kolbs
even bought her a coat of many colors.

Diana’s adoption was not only about finding a family but about finding herself. School was a challenge to
begin with. English was difficult, and she overcompensated trying to keep up. But in a small class at St.
Cyprian’s Episcopal School, she met Bethany Nerren, who would become her lifelong friend.
Bethany and Diana bonded instantly.

“She stuck to Diana,” Dede said. “She was loyal.”

Their friendship became an anchor that would carry them through years of growth and change.
Diana’s journey eventually led her to competitive swimming with Ambush, the swim club in Lufkin and
Nacogdoches. What began as a bonding activity with her dad became a passion. Through talent and
determination she earned a full swimming scholarship to the University of North Texas.

In fact, thanks to that scholarship and Pineywoods Community Academy’s dual credit program with
Angelina College, she earned both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in 2020, a bachelor’s
degree with double majors in psychology and kinesiology in 2023, and in May of this year, a master’s in
kinesiology.

But Diana’s story included more than just academics and athletics. Diana also pursued modeling and
acting, finding her way into a modeling agency. She even landed on the cover of Charm’s March 2017
issue, a moment she never could have imagined as a child in Kazakhstan.

According to Dede, from the time Diana moved to Lufkin, she was enamored with each issue of Charm,
as she could see people she knew and interacted with regularly profiled and photographed in each issue
of the magazine.

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“(Former Lufkin Daily News editor) Andy Adams snuck her into that photoshoot,” Dede said. “Nobody
will ever know what that cover meant to her.”
When Diana was 11, she first asked, “Can I tell my story?”
Dede held onto that thought for years. After retiring, she finally sat down to write "Adopted for Good" a
book not just about Diana but for Diana.

“I thought she needed something tangible,” Dede said. “A way to remember where she came from and
how she got here.”

The book is creative nonfiction, blending Diana’s real experience with storytelling elements to make it
accessible for children. It captures her emotions, struggles and, ultimately, triumph of adoption.
When it came time to bring the story to life visually, Dede knew there was only one person to do it
justice — Bethany.

Bethany has been drawing for countless years, but "Adopted for Good" is her first time having her art published in a book.

“I started looking at all of Diana’s old photos last summer,” Bethany said. “Talking with Mrs. Dede,
working through the story, and sketching by hand.”

​

For Bethany, this project wasn’t just about illustrating a book, but about honoring her best friend.
“Diana has been my best friend for so long,” she said. “But I’ve learned even more of her story through
this process.”

 

The final product was a labor of love, woven together by faith, friendship and family.
"Adopted for Good" was a Christmas gift to Diana. She was home from Denton and found her story, beautifully bound, illustrated by her best friend, written by the mother who had fought for her.
She was speechless, according to Dede.

Today, "Adopted for Good" is more than just a book, but a message to children like Diana with little hands that need hope. It serves as a reminder that healing is possible, that God’s love is enduring, and
that family is not defined by blood but by the people who stand by you.

For Dede, the book is a gift to her daughter. For Bethany, it’s a tribute to a long friendship. And for
Diana, it’s proof that no matter how her story began, God was always leading her to where she was
meant to be.