I will (really...I will) be posting pictures later today (we cannot post pictures from the computer we are using here and will be going to an internet cafe later to post them...really).
We picked up our little man at the orphanage yesterday and watched as caregivers, teachers and doctors said their tearful goodbyes. We met with the orphanage director for a while and gave her a very large donation of diapers that were purchased with money kindly supplied by staff members at the school at which I am employed (A BIG THANK YOU FROM RUSSIA TO HORACE MAY ELEMENTARY!!) I had hoped to take pictures of the donation but had to set the large bags down and when we walked into the orphanage for our meeting and when I came out the diapers had already been put to use!
We took the advice of some folks on FRUA (Families for Russian and Ukraine Adoption) and asked if a caregiver or two would write down some hopes or memories of him during his first 16 months. We received four very nice letters - two of them from doctors. I think we will be thankful we did that someday. Right before we left the orphanage director (who is normally a rather stearn woman) pulled us aside and handed me this large bag tied with a ribbon. She whispered to our translator that we are always welcome in Petrozavodsk and that she hopes we will come back to bring home a third child! She then handed me the bag and said she wishes us a warm heart and much health and happiness. Inside the bag was a beautiful winter coat and snowsuit, an outfit, two warm hats and a wonderful pair of boots for our little man to wear next year - it is seriously the nicest winter clothing I have ever seen. Our coordinator was totally taken back - she said she has never seen anyone recieve a gift from the orphanage before. It was a great moment and I could tell our little guy had touched a really special place in her heart as she wiped tears away when we left.
We then took him on his first car ride (other than when he was taken from the hospital to the orphanage at 4 months old). We had to run into the busiest (and only) supermarket. He did really well but had huge eyes the entire trip. We thought when we got to the apartment he would take a few days to warm up, that he would likely be quiet and reserved for a while (that was how he was most often when we visited him at the orphanage). WOW - were we wrong!! He ran up and down the hallway until nearly 10:00 at night, laughing and giggling the whole time, stopping only to eat (and eat and eat!!). Ryan finally got him to sleep by laying and blocking him from getting out of bed, putting him back in his bed numerous times after he tried climbing over him. Our makeshift crib (two large chairs together) did not work for a moment as he boosted himself over the back of one within seconds. He is very busy and we are absolutely loving every moment of it!
Monday, December 3, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
здравствуйтё (hello)
Hello from Petro. We are currently experiencing technical difficlties (ok, and possibly some operator problems also) so please excuse the delay in not posting pictures...they'll be here...I promise!
We visited our little man twice now since arriving yesterday. Our visits with him have been great - I think he remembered us but it has taken him a little while to warm up. Yesterday we spent a couple hours getting reacquainted and introducing him to his sister. She fell quickly in love with him and began crying when we had to bring him back to his room saying, "no, we take brother with us" to the caregivers. Brought tears to our eyes. He played with Allison very well today and by the end he was following her around and she was calling him her "secret agent" (no idea where that came from). He now runs to me when our coordinator asks "where's mama?". He is not talking at all yet and has been given a diagnosis of "delayed speech development". It really seems though that it will come at any time. He makes some noises and responds well to other noises (so we are not concerned about his hearing).
Our 10 days were not waived (we did not expect them to be) so we will leave Petro on December 17 (we have to stay the mandatory 10 day waiting period and then an additional week to get his passport) and then we'll take a train to Moscow (where he will have his medical check-up and we have our appointment with the US Embassy) on the 18th and 19th, flying home December 20th. He will become a US citizen once his little feet touch US soil...so New York.
We will not be able to see him tomorrow (Sunday) but we are going to be able to take him back to the apartment with us Monday - whoo hoo! We will spend Monday picking up and delivering orphanage donations, talking to his doctors and getting any information that we would like from his files (were going for as much as we can). It should be a great day and hopefully I will have by then figured out how to get pictures posted.
We visited our little man twice now since arriving yesterday. Our visits with him have been great - I think he remembered us but it has taken him a little while to warm up. Yesterday we spent a couple hours getting reacquainted and introducing him to his sister. She fell quickly in love with him and began crying when we had to bring him back to his room saying, "no, we take brother with us" to the caregivers. Brought tears to our eyes. He played with Allison very well today and by the end he was following her around and she was calling him her "secret agent" (no idea where that came from). He now runs to me when our coordinator asks "where's mama?". He is not talking at all yet and has been given a diagnosis of "delayed speech development". It really seems though that it will come at any time. He makes some noises and responds well to other noises (so we are not concerned about his hearing).
Our 10 days were not waived (we did not expect them to be) so we will leave Petro on December 17 (we have to stay the mandatory 10 day waiting period and then an additional week to get his passport) and then we'll take a train to Moscow (where he will have his medical check-up and we have our appointment with the US Embassy) on the 18th and 19th, flying home December 20th. He will become a US citizen once his little feet touch US soil...so New York.
We will not be able to see him tomorrow (Sunday) but we are going to be able to take him back to the apartment with us Monday - whoo hoo! We will spend Monday picking up and delivering orphanage donations, talking to his doctors and getting any information that we would like from his files (were going for as much as we can). It should be a great day and hopefully I will have by then figured out how to get pictures posted.
Friday, November 30, 2007
OFFICIALLY OURS!!
About two hours ago (noon Petro time) we were declared official parents of our little man by the Supreme Court of the Region of Karelia! We are so excited!
We were told the judge arrived at her conclusion in "record time". The entire proceeding took just under two hours (typically a minimum of 3 in this region). It was a little intiminating, with difficult questions asked by both the judge and prosecuter. In the end the prosecuter explained that it is his recommendation that we be granted the adoption. After all questions were asked the judge went into her chambers to make her decision - she came back and read that she is granting our request and I cried...it was an awesome moment. It all went much smoother than any of the social workers, adoption workers and translators expected. We are going to see him shortly (we haven't been able to see him yet this trip) - we'll get to bring our daughter along and we cannot wait to watch them interact for the first time...the video camera will be rolling.
The trip has otherwise been alright - we are quite jetlagged but the adrenaline is keeping us going. Our little princess did really well on the flights but not so well on the train. She is definately struggling with the time change - she slept only an hour or two of the 14-hour overnight train ride...apparently testing our patience to make sure were ready for another one. We got here just in time to drop her off at a babysitter's and get to court. (The babysitting went very well - she stayed with a woman who spoke English and her daughter - she didn't want to leave after court!) We just got to the apartment and took our first shower since before leaving and now were getting ready for the orphanage. This city is covered in snow - really pretty and it is only light here from 10 am - 3pm!
Thanks for all the kind thoughts and prayers! Hearing the judge declare he's ours was so similar to the day I heard the doctor say, "yep, it's a girl"...that same feeling, just different words.
We were told the judge arrived at her conclusion in "record time". The entire proceeding took just under two hours (typically a minimum of 3 in this region). It was a little intiminating, with difficult questions asked by both the judge and prosecuter. In the end the prosecuter explained that it is his recommendation that we be granted the adoption. After all questions were asked the judge went into her chambers to make her decision - she came back and read that she is granting our request and I cried...it was an awesome moment. It all went much smoother than any of the social workers, adoption workers and translators expected. We are going to see him shortly (we haven't been able to see him yet this trip) - we'll get to bring our daughter along and we cannot wait to watch them interact for the first time...the video camera will be rolling.
The trip has otherwise been alright - we are quite jetlagged but the adrenaline is keeping us going. Our little princess did really well on the flights but not so well on the train. She is definately struggling with the time change - she slept only an hour or two of the 14-hour overnight train ride...apparently testing our patience to make sure were ready for another one. We got here just in time to drop her off at a babysitter's and get to court. (The babysitting went very well - she stayed with a woman who spoke English and her daughter - she didn't want to leave after court!) We just got to the apartment and took our first shower since before leaving and now were getting ready for the orphanage. This city is covered in snow - really pretty and it is only light here from 10 am - 3pm!
Thanks for all the kind thoughts and prayers! Hearing the judge declare he's ours was so similar to the day I heard the doctor say, "yep, it's a girl"...that same feeling, just different words.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Leavin on a jet plane...
Ready or not we are outta here in the morning. It is unreal that we are leaving in less than five hours for the airport (what on earth am I doing on this blog...why am I not sleeping?!?). We will be posting much more after court Friday (hopefully with pics galore). It has been to say the least a crazy week and I think it is a small miracle we are able to leave here at all. For now I am off to comfort a two-year-old who will not sleep because she's "too scared"... the next 36 hours may be very long, I know that light at the end of this long tunnel is coming soon.
Off to bring our son home...
Off to bring our son home...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Finally...An Itinerary
So...we have not left yet. We have schedueled, canceled, rescheduled and rearranged flights and train rides the past few days but have finally (hopefully) arrived at our schedule. Our major ordeal has been around that we need to have a business visa this trip and that takes quite a while to prepare. We have to fly to New York tomorrow where Ryan will take a two-hour cab ride to pick up the visas and get back to JFK for us to fly out to Moscow - then we'll hop on the quickest way via train, plane or automobile to get to Petro - changing into our suits on the way and arriving just before court - hopefully in time to get all the documents notarized that we need in the region which are needed for the judge. So...UGH! We are stressed to the max and very overwhelmed. It has been an extreme rat race the past few days. We cannot keep up with everything so I apologize to the friends and family whose calls and emails we haven't responded to. Our basic itinerary is:
Depart Mpls to NYC on Wed. at 6 am, arrive in NYC at 10am and depart again at 5:45 pm. We will arrive in Moscow around 11am Thursday and somehow get to Petro by 7am the next day.
We are coming home December 20 - I will post more on times at a later date.
Depart Mpls to NYC on Wed. at 6 am, arrive in NYC at 10am and depart again at 5:45 pm. We will arrive in Moscow around 11am Thursday and somehow get to Petro by 7am the next day.
We are coming home December 20 - I will post more on times at a later date.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
GUESS WHAT WERE THANKFUL FOR!!
Hmmm...what might we be thankful for this Thanksgiving day? How about
A COURT DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right...an answer to a prayer (or should I say numerous prayers). We are so excited, busy, frantic and OVERJOYED! What a day to get this news. We heard yesterday that it was possible that we would know very soon but to get this news gives us the greatest reason to be appreicative today. Our court date is set for November 30!!! No...it's not a typo - we will be in court pettitioning to adopt our son a week from tomorrow! We need to be in our region on Wednesday! We have yet to book flights, etc. but will post more as we know it, including iternerary, etc....oh and yes - we will be able to post pictures just as soon as court is final (a few days after our arrival). For now - I'm all smiles all the way down to Minneapolis to eat some turkey and surprise our family with this grand news.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Call Me Picasso...
Our Little Man's Room!
...and of course we couldn't start that without painting a new room for the princess of this castle. We've been working on these rooms for weeks and finally finished them tonight.
We do not (unfortunately) have any new news but expect to any day. The waiting in between trips is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. We are just grateful we do not (hopefully) have an extended wait.
Thanks again to those you who've provided us with kind words, prayers and support in recent weeks...this has been one of the most trying times in our lives and we are so thankful for all of your thoughts and prayers!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Missing our little man...
I posted the song above before but it applies so much better now. ..I love it but cannot get through it without tears. I had thought the first week would be the most difficult after leaving our little guy but as it turns out the longer were apart the more difficult the waiting becomes. I cannot imagine the struggles and pain of those who have waited so much longer (for some the wait is a year and beyond). I am so anxious to go back to see him. Work, school, every moment that goes by is a struggle to focus. We were told we would hear when our release letter and other documentation made it from Moscow to Petro. We had thought that would be around the end of last week but still have not heard that it has arrived. Once that happens we will be assigned a judge who will look over our paperwork and assign a court date. Our agency and those we worked with in Russia are so FANTASTIC - we are confident we are in good hands...we just miss our little man.
In the meantime I have been a little nuts...I am doing my best to cram 6 weeks worth of grad school and work into two weeks as it's likely I will miss the last month of my final semester in grad school. I am so thankful that I have very understanding coworkers and professors. We are also trying to get a lot of Christmas shopping in early and will be spending the next couple weekends at more craft shows selling jewelry for our adoption. Speaking of gratitude....not many husbands would miss an entire fishing and hunting season to help their wife sell jewelry (or watch their daughter while their wife sells) despite a large amount of harsh teasing from his buddies. (I promise guys you can have him back next season!)
In the meantime I have been a little nuts...I am doing my best to cram 6 weeks worth of grad school and work into two weeks as it's likely I will miss the last month of my final semester in grad school. I am so thankful that I have very understanding coworkers and professors. We are also trying to get a lot of Christmas shopping in early and will be spending the next couple weekends at more craft shows selling jewelry for our adoption. Speaking of gratitude....not many husbands would miss an entire fishing and hunting season to help their wife sell jewelry (or watch their daughter while their wife sells) despite a large amount of harsh teasing from his buddies. (I promise guys you can have him back next season!)
Monday, November 5, 2007
Holiday Cards for Russian Orphans and other thoughts...
I got this in an email earlier - the cards are adorable with the benefits going to a great cause:
Your purchase of these holiday cards, drawn by children who grew up in Russian orphanages,
will benefit our very successful Bridge of Hope program, which brings older Russian orphans to the U.S.
for a homestay with a host family, attendance at day camp, and the opportunity to find permanent adoptive homes. Over the past ten summers, 90% of the children participating in the program have been adopted.
Each year, we must raise $300,000 so that 75 Russian children can have hope for the future.
Every dollar of your purchase will be dedicated to Bridge of Hope.
http://www.cradlehope.org/BOH/2006%20Xmas%20Flyer.pdf
We do not have a lot of other new news. I spoke with our adoption agency today who shared she has heard nothing yet of a court date although she did state that when we do hear it will likely mean we will be leaving in about two weeks. Our jewelry sales went well this past weekend although looking at the big financial picture is difficult still. Although our sales have been helpful it is exhausting to spend the entire weekend working to return to a 15 hour workday Monday. One look at the little man's picture though makes it all seem worth it. It is crazy how all the work, all the financial worries and all the intense emotions seems to just fade away when we look at a picture or video...his smile is so contagious. I keep thinking about the moment our plane touches down in Minneapolis with our little guy and our daughter in our arms. I cannot imagine a better moment in life!
Your purchase of these holiday cards, drawn by children who grew up in Russian orphanages,
will benefit our very successful Bridge of Hope program, which brings older Russian orphans to the U.S.
for a homestay with a host family, attendance at day camp, and the opportunity to find permanent adoptive homes. Over the past ten summers, 90% of the children participating in the program have been adopted.
Each year, we must raise $300,000 so that 75 Russian children can have hope for the future.
Every dollar of your purchase will be dedicated to Bridge of Hope.
http://www.cradlehope.org/BOH/2006%20Xmas%20Flyer.pdf
We do not have a lot of other new news. I spoke with our adoption agency today who shared she has heard nothing yet of a court date although she did state that when we do hear it will likely mean we will be leaving in about two weeks. Our jewelry sales went well this past weekend although looking at the big financial picture is difficult still. Although our sales have been helpful it is exhausting to spend the entire weekend working to return to a 15 hour workday Monday. One look at the little man's picture though makes it all seem worth it. It is crazy how all the work, all the financial worries and all the intense emotions seems to just fade away when we look at a picture or video...his smile is so contagious. I keep thinking about the moment our plane touches down in Minneapolis with our little guy and our daughter in our arms. I cannot imagine a better moment in life!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Happy National Adoption Month!
November is National Adoption Month...check out http://national-adoption-month.adoption.com/ for details and a calendar of events.
We are keeping busy in attempt to keep our mind off the fact that are really missing our little guy and are dying to know our next travel dates already. Last weekend we started painting his room (pics to come). I have been busy trying to get ahead with grad school stuff in case we leave before the end of the semester. Unfortunately Ryan has been busy fixing our car. While I was feeling guilty about missing trick-or-treating in class last night Ryan was busy consoling Big Bird because as they were to leave for trick-or-treating the breaks went out on our car. My poor Big Bird.
This weekend we are hitting the fundraising head on (again) as we are going to St. Cloud for another craft show to sell jewelry. Other news is that we have decided on bringing our daughter with us on our second trip. Petro does not waive the 10 days so our stay will need to be 3 weeks. I cannot imagine leaving her that long - 6 days was long enough. We are nervous about the flights and 14-hour train ride but feel that we are still making the best decision. Last weekend we showed her pictures of her brother for the first time (we did not show her beforehand just in case) and explained to her that she will be going to Russia with us next time. She does not of course fully understand yet but she is starting to talk about him more. At Target today we had the following conversation:
"Mama, I get this shirt for brother"
"No, honey. That is too much money."
"No Mama. Not too much money. Get for brother."
"Do you have money?"
"Yes Mama. In your purse."
Then we had a good ol temper tantrum when I explained that actually there is no money in the purse and that we cannot get the shirt for her brother. OK...so this may seem like a funny way of showing some acceptance for her new brother but I'm thinking were getting there!!
We are keeping busy in attempt to keep our mind off the fact that are really missing our little guy and are dying to know our next travel dates already. Last weekend we started painting his room (pics to come). I have been busy trying to get ahead with grad school stuff in case we leave before the end of the semester. Unfortunately Ryan has been busy fixing our car. While I was feeling guilty about missing trick-or-treating in class last night Ryan was busy consoling Big Bird because as they were to leave for trick-or-treating the breaks went out on our car. My poor Big Bird.
This weekend we are hitting the fundraising head on (again) as we are going to St. Cloud for another craft show to sell jewelry. Other news is that we have decided on bringing our daughter with us on our second trip. Petro does not waive the 10 days so our stay will need to be 3 weeks. I cannot imagine leaving her that long - 6 days was long enough. We are nervous about the flights and 14-hour train ride but feel that we are still making the best decision. Last weekend we showed her pictures of her brother for the first time (we did not show her beforehand just in case) and explained to her that she will be going to Russia with us next time. She does not of course fully understand yet but she is starting to talk about him more. At Target today we had the following conversation:
"Mama, I get this shirt for brother"
"No, honey. That is too much money."
"No Mama. Not too much money. Get for brother."
"Do you have money?"
"Yes Mama. In your purse."
Then we had a good ol temper tantrum when I explained that actually there is no money in the purse and that we cannot get the shirt for her brother. OK...so this may seem like a funny way of showing some acceptance for her new brother but I'm thinking were getting there!!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Pictures!!
As promised below are pictures from our first trip. I wish we could post pictures of him but we are not allowed to until court is complete.
On a 7-hour layover in New York
On the train from Moscow to Petro
Us in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow:
Our little man's room:
Friday, October 26, 2007
Alive and well...
Yes...we are alive and well. The only major malfunction (besides jet lag) is my computer (and USB drive) which decided to quit working in Russia and it appears I brought the wrong adaptor so sorry for the late post (I will definately be better the second trip...promise). We arrived back around 2:00 this morning and are doing great. We are loving seeing our daughter and thankful we came back on Friday to spend time with her over the weekend. I will post pictures over the weekend as we are in another hurry to get home and I still am struggling with the USB drive. But here are the last highlights from trip number one:
* We were able to spend twice a day with our little man for both days in Petro. He warmed up quite a bit to us and every time we visitied him we fell more in love with him. He is super sweet. On our last day I spend about 20 minutes rocking him with him just clenched to me - he is just thriving for attenttion and love. We also spent some time in his playroom with the other children his age. They are all so wanting that attention and the orphanage workers are so overworked - it was hard to see.
*We signed all official paperwork our last day there with the Ministry of Education. All our documents are set to go. They were waiting for one more item from the orphanage and then will be sending that off to Moscow where it will get processed (which takes 3-4 weeks) and then a court date will be set (pray for SOON!)
*Leaving the orphanage and Petro was hard - the feeling of having two children on totally opposite sides of the world hit very hard. The train ride back was very jerky and we did not sleep well. When we got to Moscow we did our 8 doctor medical appt. - 8 doctors in 3 hours with little sleep and no shower - quite an experience and not my favorite part of the trip!
*We stayed on the 22nd floor of an apartment in Moscow our last night - struggled to sleep due to the constant sound of sirens and noises.
*We then spent 24 hours traveling. Many of you may disagree but let me say - we do not know traffic in this country - it took twice as long to travel in Moscow as it did to fly from New York to Minnapolis! Literally no movement for 90 minutes!! The ride home was long - we did not sleep on any of the flights or layovers so we are tired. It was wonderful to see our daughter this morning. Our plan is to show her the video we took of her brother and explain to her (as best you can to a 3-year-old) what will happen next.
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and kind words - having support from family, friends and the adoption community has been what has held us together!!
* We were able to spend twice a day with our little man for both days in Petro. He warmed up quite a bit to us and every time we visitied him we fell more in love with him. He is super sweet. On our last day I spend about 20 minutes rocking him with him just clenched to me - he is just thriving for attenttion and love. We also spent some time in his playroom with the other children his age. They are all so wanting that attention and the orphanage workers are so overworked - it was hard to see.
*We signed all official paperwork our last day there with the Ministry of Education. All our documents are set to go. They were waiting for one more item from the orphanage and then will be sending that off to Moscow where it will get processed (which takes 3-4 weeks) and then a court date will be set (pray for SOON!)
*Leaving the orphanage and Petro was hard - the feeling of having two children on totally opposite sides of the world hit very hard. The train ride back was very jerky and we did not sleep well. When we got to Moscow we did our 8 doctor medical appt. - 8 doctors in 3 hours with little sleep and no shower - quite an experience and not my favorite part of the trip!
*We stayed on the 22nd floor of an apartment in Moscow our last night - struggled to sleep due to the constant sound of sirens and noises.
*We then spent 24 hours traveling. Many of you may disagree but let me say - we do not know traffic in this country - it took twice as long to travel in Moscow as it did to fly from New York to Minnapolis! Literally no movement for 90 minutes!! The ride home was long - we did not sleep on any of the flights or layovers so we are tired. It was wonderful to see our daughter this morning. Our plan is to show her the video we took of her brother and explain to her (as best you can to a 3-year-old) what will happen next.
Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and kind words - having support from family, friends and the adoption community has been what has held us together!!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Our Little Man...
Our little man...we met him yesterday for the first time - it is still so surreal for us. So...a brief overview of our very exciting day: We were brought to the orphanage around 11am. Walking up was a little eye-opening. The orphanage is set amongst many very run-down apartments with a couple old, run down slides and graffitti on the walls. Walking into the orphanage is this immidiate feeling that everyone there is working so hard for these kids, every doctor and caregiver took as much time with us as we wanted. When we arrived we spent about one hour talking with the doctor, reviewing his social and medical history. A few concerns were discussed and then we were brought to a play room. I don't think I will ever forget the moment that occurred next. I was talking to one of our social workers when I saw her jaw drop. I turned around and in came walking this very cute, very small little boy...our little man. He is just adorable!! Ryan and I both gasped. It was a great moment. He is much smaller than we expected - he looks similar to many of the 9 month old children we know - both in weight and height. This was initially a concern however he appears to be doing well in so many other ways. We played for about 2 hours in a few different rooms. We also spent 30 minutes watching him have a session with a speech pathologist! He was able to complete all the tasks she asked of him, picking up blocks and stacking them, etc. During our play time there were a few times when he would put his arms out and run at me, giving me a hug!! Talk about pulling at your heart strings. He sat on both my lap and Ryan's (although he had never been around a man before). We gave him a blue teddy bear and a soft picture book with pictures of our family - he held onto those for dear life. We got to bring him into his crib for naptime and we then left for a couple hours and returned in the evening. He was just as cute and cuddly when we returned. As it neared bedtime he snuggled in my lap with his teddy bear for about 15 minutes. It was such a great day!!
So this morning (9am here) we are getting ready to go to the Ministry of Education to register some paperwork and name him!!!! We will be going back to the orphanage and then will be leaving for Moscow around 6pm tonight for another long 14 hour train ride. I think this ride will be so much more difficult because we are leaving him behind although we are also looking forward to seeing our daughter - and other familiar faces! Once we get to Moscow we have to do our 8 Doctor Medical (yep - that's right - we each have to meet with 8 doctors who speak Russian...looking forward to that!) We then will spend tomorrow night in Moscow (where I will post again) before heading home.
So this morning (9am here) we are getting ready to go to the Ministry of Education to register some paperwork and name him!!!! We will be going back to the orphanage and then will be leaving for Moscow around 6pm tonight for another long 14 hour train ride. I think this ride will be so much more difficult because we are leaving him behind although we are also looking forward to seeing our daughter - and other familiar faces! Once we get to Moscow we have to do our 8 Doctor Medical (yep - that's right - we each have to meet with 8 doctors who speak Russian...looking forward to that!) We then will spend tomorrow night in Moscow (where I will post again) before heading home.
Monday, October 22, 2007
WE MADE IT!!
We have very little time to post because...WERE GOING TO MEET HIM IN 30 MINUTES!!! Things have gone fairly smooth so far. We will post pics and other information later tonight (its 10:30 Monday morning here).
A brief update:
Got to Moscow after a very long 9 hour flight from New York yesterday morning. We were greeted by two sweet ladies and a driver who gave us a great tour of Red Square as we had some time before we got on the train. We took a 14 hour train ride from Moscow to Petro. We were then greeted by Ann who took us to her apartment where we are now - I just took my first shower in 3 days - very nice. We are meeting with two social workers in just a few minutes and then going to the orphanage...we can hardly wait - this is one of those days that will certainly go in the top 10 list...make that top 3!
By the way - if any of my fellow adoptee bloggers can comment on how I change this site from Russian to English we'd much appreciate it :)
A brief update:
Got to Moscow after a very long 9 hour flight from New York yesterday morning. We were greeted by two sweet ladies and a driver who gave us a great tour of Red Square as we had some time before we got on the train. We took a 14 hour train ride from Moscow to Petro. We were then greeted by Ann who took us to her apartment where we are now - I just took my first shower in 3 days - very nice. We are meeting with two social workers in just a few minutes and then going to the orphanage...we can hardly wait - this is one of those days that will certainly go in the top 10 list...make that top 3!
By the way - if any of my fellow adoptee bloggers can comment on how I change this site from Russian to English we'd much appreciate it :)
Friday, October 19, 2007
In less than 24 hours...
We will be on our way to Moscow. We are so excited and nervous. It looks like all of our paperwork is in order and we are so ready to meet our son. We are disappointed that our new friends Marie and Shane will not be able to make it after all (they were going to be on the same flight to meet their son but were told only recently that they will have to continue to wait)...we will miss you guys! We will spend the next few days on planes, trains and automobiles to get there (leaving at 4:30 am Saturday to get there around noonish Monday)...it will all be so worth it. Apologies go out to those phone calls and emails we haven't returned the last few days...can't wait to post our pictures and details from abroad!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Where in the world is Petrozavodsk?
So, I realized my map to the left leaves a little to be desired so here it is enlarged. Petro is on Lake Osega - near the Finland border. Petrozavodsk (Russian: Петрозаво́дск; Karelian/Finnish: Petroskoi or Äänislinna) is the capital of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, with a population of 266,160 (2002 Census). It stretches along the western shore of the Lake Onega for some 27 kilometers. We are very excited about the region. It's sister city is Duluth, Minnesota (only a few hours from here and one of favorite places to visit).
It is hard to believe that it is less than a week from us meeting our little guy. This past week is a very big blur. Allie is super excited about visiting Gramma and Grampa. She has every toy packed ready to go (which is helping us). Last night I explained to her (again) that Mommy and Daddy will be in Russia meeting her brother and she says, "I know mama and you gonna miss your Allie" with a big smile on her face, patting me on my shoulder. Tonight she helped me pick out a teddy bear to bring to her brother. She gave it a big hug and said, "you go to Russia with Mommy and Daddy" and then put it in my suitcase. (Where's the video camera when I need it?)
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Our itenerary
Here is a brief version of what we will be doing on this first trip:
Oct. 20th - leave US
Oct. 21st - Arrive to Moscow before 1pm, train to petro
Oct. 22-23 - Stay in Petrozavodsk where we will meet our son!!!
Oct. 24 - doctor visit in Moscow
Oct. 25th - leave Moscow
It seeems so surreal that we are leaving in less than a week. We have a variety of emotions going though us (none of which at all resemble calm or collected). We have spent the weekend packing, getting last minute paperwork together and reserving hotels and apartments in Moscow and Petro. The most difficult thing (gulp) will be leaving our daughter while the best will be meeting our son for the first time (Wow - this is so different than being pregnant) and then again knowing we will have to leave him there...ugh - I can't imagaine how that will go.
Oct. 20th - leave US
Oct. 21st - Arrive to Moscow before 1pm, train to petro
Oct. 22-23 - Stay in Petrozavodsk where we will meet our son!!!
Oct. 24 - doctor visit in Moscow
Oct. 25th - leave Moscow
It seeems so surreal that we are leaving in less than a week. We have a variety of emotions going though us (none of which at all resemble calm or collected). We have spent the weekend packing, getting last minute paperwork together and reserving hotels and apartments in Moscow and Petro. The most difficult thing (gulp) will be leaving our daughter while the best will be meeting our son for the first time (Wow - this is so different than being pregnant) and then again knowing we will have to leave him there...ugh - I can't imagaine how that will go.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
OUTTA HERE...
WE HAVE TRAVEL DATES!!!!!!
We leave Oct. 20 and will return Oct. 25! We are super excited and busy...so stay tuned, more excitement to follow!
We leave Oct. 20 and will return Oct. 25! We are super excited and busy...so stay tuned, more excitement to follow!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
WHAT IS THIS?!?
IT'S THE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WERE GOING TO RUSSIA TO MEET OUR BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Our NEW destination: Petrozavodsk, Russia
Our Little Guy is 15 months old and ADORABLE (we can't post pictures until court is complete)
OK....so I realize many of you are looking for an explanation. Trust me...we are as surprised as anyone that this is happening. So...here's what happened:
I was recently in touch with a woman who had swithced agencies when adopting from Russia. She suggested I contact the agency she had swithched to. We have loved the agency we had been using... they work very hard to ensure these children are placed into good homes however at what I believe is really no fault of their own, they had to extend our wait time. So...I decided to place a few calls to check on how much time and money is lost when switching agencies...really not thinking we would go through with the move. In fact after speaking with other agencies I figured I was pretty happy with what we had. My last call was to the agency the woman I had been in touch with had recommended. So...after an introduction the phone call went something like this:
Her: "What age and sex are you hoping to adopt?"
Me: "A..."
Her: "Let me guess, a boy under 18 months."
Me: Sigh (here it comes...the wait time conversation, this is where she tells me we have another year to wait and everyone she has waiting is looking for a little boy). "Actually, yes"
Her: "Really? And your paperwork is all ready? I actually have a little boy who is one-year-old coming off the database tomorrow. I just needed to find him a family who is ready to go by the end of October."
...She went on to explain that she should have some basic medical info and a picture (what we received yesterday) soon and we would then need to make a decision. The agency is very small but we happened accross it at the right time (when everyone else seemed to be looking for little girls or older children).
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! The remainder of the conversation was followed by many squeals and pinching (this honestly felt like a dream). So...this is a God thing...how else do you describe this?!? We have since been incredibly busy rescheduling some things and scheduling others (doctor appts, international doctor preadoption consultation, updating our home study, getting immunizations, etc., etc.). We complete each and every task with such smiles and excitement. Our day has finally come.
So...the reason for not posting anything until now (the phone call took place about a week ago) is for a variety of reasons - first, we really wanted to be sure this was true. Also, we really only got the official call late yesterday and accepted the referral this morning. We spent time emailing and getting in contact with others who have used the agency (all very positive responses) and verifying the referral would actually occur. Secondly, while we are ESCTATIC, there is a large sense of guilt for those I have become close to in this waiting game...especially to those who have been waiting longer. So...I really felt the need to get in touch and explain this to those people before making our big blog announcement.
We are so happy to be able to share the most exciting and uplifting piece of this journey with all our friends, family, coworkers, fellow adoptees and bloggers...we will be posting prior to and while in Russia so keep tuned in.
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