This weekend we attended a wedding and picnic put on by our regional coordinator for our agency. We had a great time meeting other parents-in-waiting and adoptive parents...there's something so therapeutic about sharing similar joys and struggles. It is a rush to listen to the travels of others going to meet their child(ren) for the first time knowing that this will soon be us. I felt so selfish complaining about the wait time to adopt our child when speaking with parents anticipating a three year wait for their child from China. Were looking forward to keeping in contact with other Minnesota adopting families. Some things we learned today: it can be 40 below 0 in January in Russia (drastic even for Northern Minnesotans), nearly everyone advises against taking your child with you to Russia (little Al will stay with gramma and grampa), to not be alarmed by the potential small size of our child and that we are not the only ones struggling with this waiting thing!

On the adoption front...things are quiet. Not a lot of news as we wait. I did talk to our consutant from St. Louis today. She stated that while they are no longer updating families where they are in line, she will notify us when we are second or third in line so we have a couple months to prepare. She felt our wait time was still around 10 months from April although she anticipated this would decrease as accredidiation should occur soon. While we would love to have our little guy home by Christmas it does not look like this will happen. We keep focusing on that more time will allow us to continue fundraising and time for me to complete my masters degree and thesis (this January - yeah!!). On another note, we had our fourth jewelry fundraising sale this weekend...it was very quiet where we were but we did well fundraising. We were able to visit with friends and relatives there and so appreciate all of our friends and family who came by to see us including my folks, Ryans dad, Donn, Shar and Cristrian, Laura and Jade and Mellissa and Khrystine - it was so great to see you all and we appreciate all of your support! So..I am taking the advice of friends and adding a guest book to the blog - so say hello or comment if you wish...this spot has been therapeutic for us and we are happy so many of you have signed on to follow our journey.

FAQ's

I decided to post answers to our most Frequently Asked Questions about our adoption...if you have more to ask, please feel free.

• Why Russia?

We decided on Russia after exploring an array of options. We truly felt a calling to the area. We have ansectors from the area and we are allowed to adopt infants (not true of all foreign adoptions).

• Have you met your child yet?

No. We will not meet him until our first trip.

• Will you get a picture?

Doubtful, most Russian adoptions do not give pictures to families however the region we are adopting from does do this occasionally.

• Do you have to go to Russia?

Yes, twice. The first trip is our "referral trip" where we will meet the child and accept or decline the referral. We will be able to send medical reports back to the University of MN adoption clinic for review prior to our acceptance.

• Did you consider adopting from the U.S.?

Not so much. We really saw this as an opportunity to add to our family while also helping a child who is in need of a home.

• How old will he be?

We have requested a boy between the ages of 6 months (the youngest you can adopt from Russia) to 18 months.

Shirts and fundraising...

These shirts are too cute (found at http://www.adoptionmama.com/) - a fellow blogger talked about the site and it's attentiveness to adoption issues! The first shirt says "Yes, I am still adopting. No, I haven't heard anything yet". The second shirt is difficult to read but states "WARNING: I am in love with a child I haven't met yet. I am in the process of adoption. I am subject to cry at any moment. Please bear with me until my referral comes".

On another note...we had our third fundraising sale this weekend. It was ok...I guess you take the good with the bad. We met very nice people and many who took our card to look at our blog here - if you did - thank you so much for your support!! So...here I go - this is my therapeutic venting for the day - if someone says hi to you - say hi back!!! UGH! I cannot believe the amount of people that do not say "hi" when spoken to OR the amount of people that feel it is okay to say "don't you know there are kids in the US?" My response, "Yes, I am aware of that. We are so fortunate to live in a country though where there is not a high need for adoption of infants while in Russia 700,000 children wait in orphanages". Still...I am sure people can hardly hear me as I'm grinding my teeth in frustration. Yet - there are others who are so supportive - people who stop to ask about the process or stop to introduce me to their adopted child....no amount of sales can make up for moments like that. The amount of love and support from strangers to not was so much more when I was pregnant than it is now. So this is my soapbox (for today): if you know someone who is adopting - show her just as much excitement and joy as you would if you saw a big round belly on her...she needs and deserves that!

Tag - I'm it!!

I was tagged by Rachel with this questionnaire - so here we go!!

5 things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Enjoying my first year in Northern MN
2. Driving a Volkswagen jetta
3. Working on my social work and education degrees
4. Living in a cute little apt. overlooking the lake and university
5. Working in residential treatment

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Coffee!!
2. Pizza - any kind, any time
3. Spinach dip
4. Pringles
5. Mocha ice cream


5 things I would do if I were a Millionaire
1. Pay off our debt - then check to see if there was anything left :)
2. Adopt a couple more little guys
3. Pay off the debt of our friends and family
4. Help the AIDS foundation in Africa
5. Help others adopt orphans around the world


5 bad habits:
1. Talking too fast when I'm nervous
2. Eating when I'm stressed
3. Over worrying
4. Pushing the snooze - for 30-45 minutes!
5. Eating before bed

5 things I like to do:
1. Swim
2. Hike
3. Cross country ski
4. Go to the amusement park or zoo with Allie
5. Drink coffee by the lake with a good friend

5 things I would never wear again:
1. A two piece that does not cover my tummy
2. Rolled jeans (except on a dare - remember Betsy?)
3. Super high curled bangs
4. Any type of perm (not a good look for me)
5. Any multi colored neon items

Hmmm....who's the lucky one to get tagged....I'm going to pass this on to my fellow Tver adoptee Carrie!! Enjoy!

Catching up...

It has been a little while - what have we been doing? A lot! We returned late yesterday after a whirlwind of events. We left suddenly after my Grandmother passed away. We traveled to Minneapolis to help with funeral arrangements and be with family. It was a hard week. My Grandmother was full of life and spirit and speaking at her funeral was one of the hardest things I've ever done. She had been so excited about our adoption and I am sad our little man will not have the pleasure of knowing her. Immediately after the funeral we headed North for a jewelry fundraiser. We have had great increase in our jewelry sales and are considering starting a website just dedicated to selling it...I even sold to a couple of people who are looking to sell it in their stores / boutiques!! We then headed further North for some much needed relaxation time. I am sure those of you in this waiting stage can relate to the feeling that the adoption never really leaves your mind...thinking of our son who we have not yet met sitting in an orphanage is very, very difficult sometimes. Getting back to reality is always hard...Ryan continues to search for employment and time will tell whether we will remain in our home. I was hoping to hear news about our agencies accreditation but no word yet. It also does not appear that things in our region are moving along very swiftly as there have not been any referrals there for quite a while therefore we may inquire about switching regions if this does not pick up after summer months. I am posting a pic from our trip...Allison had a blast up North - she caught her first fish, paddled her first canoe and ate way more raspberries than she could count. A special thanks to Tom, Pat and Patty who were very hospitable while we stayed with them!!