Things are getting back to normal... NOOOOOO

Well, David bounced back from jet lag pretty easily. I thought I did too but I keep getting subtle headaches in the afternoons. I'm hoping that will stop soon.

We've developed all the pictures we took while in Russia and I really wish I could show them to everyone. I am in love with our son. (that's a good thing isn't it? LOL)

Thanks to all of you who have held us up in prayer. We totally know that God was protecting us and leading us throughout this trip. God is faithful.

We're Home!

Hi there! We made it home either late last night or early this morning, however you'd like to look at it. Our flights were very nice and rather uncomplicated but the day of Wednesday went on and on for a very long time! We left the region at 4:30 a.m. Russia time and arrived home to Tampa at 11:20 p.m. our time.

So where was I? The last post was after we arrived in the region, right? So here's the next part. Monday morning, after making a couple of stops, we made it to the orphanage about noon. We met our little guy and he is so cool! He's got an adorable laugh and is a very happy little boy. We were warned that because he's likely not to have ever seen a man, he might not warm up to David very quickly, if at all. Instead, he went to him very easily and actually really liked playing with him. He likes to hit things and jabber. The next day before visiting the orphanage again we made the stop for some paperwork and we made the decision to "proceed with the adoption"!!!! So, we're going to be parents!

The worst part is that now we have more paperwork to complete and then we have to wait some more. The estimated time frame before being able to bring our son home is about 4 months. We're praying it will be sooner, of course.

Again, we're not allowed to share any information or pictures but I think it will be ok to show you this... Talk to you later! PaKa

We're Here!

Just an update for those wondering. We made it to Moscow and did some sightseeing. We had a few hours to kill until our connecting flight and our driver took us around to some of the hot spots like the Red Square with St. Basil's church and also to an observation area to see a panoramic view of a part of Moscow. The city itself is huge. I mean very, very large. They say it is home to 15 million people! We were pretty hungry so our driver, Max, took us to TGIFridays. Yes, I did say TGIFridays. It's not much different than one in the U.S. except the servers wear funny head pieces. The guys wear different patterned fedoras and the girls wear anything from wire antennas to big Minnie Mouse type bows. It was fun, though a little (ok, maybe a lot) over priced.

In the evening we were on our way to the domestic airport for our flight out to Siberia. We got here to our region a little after 7:30 a.m. local time. Basically, we've lost 12 hours coming over here. We were really tired and after checking in to our hotel, we hit the sack. We got up a while later and found a local grocery store, picked up a few snacks and came back to the hotel. We had a yummy espresso in the lobby cafe. We came back to the room to email our families. Later in the evening we ate at the hotel restaurant which was surprising tasty and not too expensive.

So, that's what's happening so far. As I'm writing this post, it's 8:45 a.m. and we will be heading downstairs to meet up with our facilitator at 11:00. We'll be able to go to the orphanage later on today so we are extremely excited. I'll try to post again this evening but I thought you all might want to hear how it's going so far!

Meet собака (sabaka)

Sa-BAA-ka means dog. So that's what we've named this cuddly little critter. If everything works out, we're hoping to be allowed to leave Sabaka, along with the blanket, a photo album and a disposable camera with our little guy.

Our Visas arrived today! (angels singing) So, we're just about ready to get going! To think, in 2 and a half days we will be boarding the plane to head practically across the world! Amazing!

We're nervous, but getting more and more relaxed as plans and packing come together. I still have some things to buy like gift bags and such for the people who will be driving us around, translating and just all around taking good care of us. The biggest issue I'm having is trying to find brand new money. We were told that it should only be new, or like new money. (Banks can't order it, stores don't have it, and I can't find it!) It's been difficult but I trust God will provide as He always does!

..On a Jet Plane...

We received our itinerary for our visit to Russia! We're heading out next Friday, the 19th, and we'll be returning on Wednesday, the 24th. Whirlwind trip! We'll get to meet the little guy right in the middle of it all.

We've taken care of the big stuff, that we know of so far, and now it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty and start the hard-core packing process. It's pretty cold over there, ranging from the 30s to the 60s. Brrrr. Coats and layered clothing a must! My nose always turns red in the cold weather so I hope he doesn't think I'm Rudolph the reindeer!

Already???

With extreme pleasure I announce to you that

we have received a referral!!!
(in other words, we were matched with a child)

We got the incredible, jaw-dropping news last week when it was confirmed that we were registered in the region (see a couple of posts below) but before posting about it we wanted to spend some time listening for God's direction as to whether we should accept the invitation to visit the child.

You want the scoop on this precious one? We can't say a whole lot because of Russian laws on privacy but here's what we feel comfortable sharing. He's an adorable boy and is about a year old. Sorry, that's all we can say!!! You wouldn't want us to get in trouble, would you?

We are hopeful as we prepare to visit him in Siberia. We are super excited! We are also listening very closely for God's leading as we will have to ask several questions regarding his health and medical history. We know God is Faithful and we are trusting that He will give us the unmistakable peace as to whether this little one should become a part of our family. Please pray with us about this huge, life altering decision, as we must hear God's voice.

We'll post the travel plans as soon as we find out what they are, but know that we'll be flying out probably in a week or so. Crazy! Again, please pray for our trip and for the decision that we must make once we meet this precious little boy. God is so good!

As we wait

David and I went out today to get updated cell phones AND to look for provisions for when we travel on our first trip . We're not sure when that will be but thought it would be wise to start gathering.

I finally got a camera phone!!! Here's a shot I took of David looking at luggage. We already have luggage, just not the right sizes, so we thought we'd take a gander at some other things. We didn't end up get anything but I think the phone takes a pretty decent picture! :)

I found the cutest little blanket at Target. I just knew when I saw it that it should go to our child while he waits for us to bring him home. If anyone knows David, you'll see what I'm talking about... David is a cartoon monkey fanatic. :) Of course, as a baby blanket should be, it's SOOO soft and cuddly. I hope our child likes it! It's sitting in my arms right now! *sigh*
We also picked up some other things we thought would come in handy. It's not near everything, but it's a start. I have a whole list of things to collect, thanks to those who have gone before!

Map Spree

David was at Barnes and Noble last week and he broke down and bought several things that will help us on our trips to Russia. I think he's really getting into this travel stuff.... :)

The Region

We are officially registered!!! We know what region our child will be coming from!!! This was the next step we were waiting for and David and I are both ecstatic!!! I won't get into specifics but our child will be coming from the Siberian region of Russia! Very cold! brrrrr (isn't all of Russia cold... haha)

This region's recent visiting families have had to stay in country for more than 28 days on the second trip, so that's something that we will have to be prepared for. That means more money due to hotels and food and such but again, we know God will provide. I think the technology side of things are more advanced there so we'll be able to have get online a little easier and that's nice.

So what does this all mean? Well, we can now start preparing our region-specific paperwork so that when we do get a match it won't take AS much effort during the time in between trips. SOOO, I would venture to say that we'll most likely be traveling there for our first trip before the end of the year.

Woohoo!

Have a Vote

With such emphasis on the election this year, I thought it would be fun and fitting to take a poll. You even have the opportunity to write in your own choice! (If you choose 'other', be sure to type in the name you like in the box below it.)

First purchases

Hey everyone. There hasn't been anything much going on with the process. Since I finished the huge project I was working on this past week, David and I decided to go looking at baby stuff. One reason was to make the adoption seem a little more real than it has been. So, we went to Babys-R-Us and then stopped in to Target to glance at some stuff there. We looked at Cribs and Car Seats and Jogging Strollers, Sippy cups, utensils and even little people clothes. Everything was very cute, and also a little daunting. In the end, I wanted to just buy "something" since we've not made any purchases for our child, but have received several gifts from our friends and family. So, here are the little things we bought and I think they're really fun, even if they aren't major purchases. :)

More Paperwork... -revised

Got an email from our Family Coordinator saying that some things have changed on the paperwork front. We have one paper we have to re-do and another form we have to provide a second original. What does that mean? More apostilles! yay... not.

Something else that changed was that we will have to pay the foreign fees before any travel. It was my understanding that it wasn't ALL due until just before our second trip, but that has now changed, according to my new understanding, to being ALL due before the first trip. We're trusting God to provide. :) REVISED: Thanks to Heather's comment, I got clarification that the money is NOT due sooner than before. So, that's a relief. (Thanks Kristen for clearing that up).

This leads me to our new fundraiser page. I'm in the process of working out the kinks in the form, but if you'd like to see what I'm up to so far... please visit our fundraiser homepage here.
I'll be adding more products as things progress, but here's where we'll begin. TFL!

Please pray during the conflict

As many of you might know, there has been a difficult conflict between the little country of Georgia and Russia. Since the USA is an ally of Georgia, that doesn't speak well for our relationship with Russia. Please pray that adoptions from Russia aren't affected by this invasion and that things will continue to go as smoothly as possible for those of us waiting to bring our children home. Also pray for all parties involved who are having to suffer in this war-like time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/atoothless;_ylt=Ajb7Gv5EbAJn3Rm8GNrkOwpbbBAF

Lovely Getaway

This post is about our vacation. You might be wondering what this has to do with our adoption, so I'll explain. This was probably one of the few remaining vacations that David and I will have as a couple, until after our child(ren) are grown. So, in some sense, this does have to do with the adoption. It's what we did during our Wait. woohoo!

With David's work schedule being so full these last few months, and the big project finally completed, David was able to take several days off and we decided to head to the beach. David's brother and sister-in-law had been to Sanibel Island a while ago and recommended a small resort and that's where we landed. We would also recommend it to anyone who is interested. Here are some snapshots of what our time away was like.

They had bikes for us to use, and the first thing we did when we arrived was head around the corner to the beach!

This is where we ate dinner one night. Good food, fun atmosphere.

Path to the beach...

Time....

It's been a very full couple of months here at our house. Time has literally flown by! The last time I looked at the ticker at the bottom of this blog, it said 7+ months... Now it says 9+ months! Where did those two months go?

Work, for David, has been extremely hectic, with very late work hours and work weekends. It has also been very busy for me, with graphics work and also party planning and craft jobs. It's finally starting to slow down, and I have been able to find some time to get some required reading done.

I've also been able to spend some time watching youtube videos of other Russian adoptions. One in particular made me cry just thinking that one day we will be those people, bringing home our little one.

I encourage you to take just a moment and go to youtube.com and search for "russian adoption". I'm sure you'll find it interesting to see some video of what it's like over there.

Wanna hear something new?

Me too! So it goes during the "waiting period". Haven't heard anything except that there are about 15-20 people ahead of us waiting to be assigned a region. Things have been very busy around here. I'm getting a little nervous that I'm not going to have enough time to study up on everything that I need to know before bringing a little one home. One day at a time!

Excited/Freaked

Hey everyone. As many of you know, I like to figure things out. I like to try to figure when things will happen or how long it will take, and work things "just so I know", etc. So, when I heard that a family on our adoption message board got a referral early this week, I started my mental calculations. I've figured that if everything continues as it has with Russia and our agency, then we might receive our referral in 3-4 months!!! When I say 3 months, it sounds like such a short period of time and that makes me nervous, but when I say October, it sounds so deceptively far away. Time just flies by... it's already July and I feel like it should still be April!

There are so many things I have yet to do and many things I need to read, and many things I need to be aware of, and many things I need to prepare, and so much money we need to have. That's the Freaked part of me. Then, the thought that we could be visiting our child soon... well, as you might guess, that's the Excited part of me and I just know that God will work it all out.

Please keep us in prayer, and Please Please keep our child-to-be in prayer. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support so far!

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