That Cute Little Guy !!!

Check out these shoes!! Can you believe it?? Yes, that is my boy in the pink socks!! On the day we met him, he was wearing these adorable hot pink sandals, with hot pink butterflies on them!! I wish I had gotten a better picture, but you can sort of see them here from the side. Isn’t he just adorable?? As Wayne and I reflected on our visit to the Baby Home. we were both just thrilled!! We both commented that Little A. had exceeded our expectations. We were thrilled with his outstanding motor skills and coordination (you should see that kid kick a ball….he is first-rate!!). He had exceptional comprehension and his attention span was quite long. He seemed to have a pleasant personality and he was very well liked by all of his caregivers. Angelina, the Director of the caregivers stated that as busy as he was ( when he was running and sliding, laughing and playing), that behavior was only a very small part of what he was capable of!!! She said he could be quite precocious and get into everything!! I was actually somewhat relieved to hear of this, as I had visions of an inactive child, that sat around and could not concentrate….or the opposite: one that could not sit still and focus, and ran from one thing to the next, totally out of control. I had brought with me several different assessment tests to perform on the child to assess developmental level, risk of autistic type behaviors, hyperactivity, etc. As it turned out, I didn’t need them, and I had the reassurance that he was a normal, healthy baby!! Our in country facilitator informed us that the older brother, age 8, would be arriving in town later that afternoon. He attends a boarding school in the interior of Siberia, still within the Magadanskaya Oblast (Region), but it is a five to six hour drive, depending on the roads, weather, AND vehicle (you can imagine what I mean). Now we anxiously await his arrival and hope the visit with him in the afternoon will go as well as the visit we had with his younger brother this morning.

Sightseeing in the City

Just after completing our visit with the little guy, our facilitator decided to take us into town to see some of the downtown area, and to look for a few souvenirs. We looked in a few shops and saw some interesting crafts. They have quite a few artifacts about some natives….like Inuit’s….I am not sure what they are called, but the ethnicity of the Alaskan Eskimo. It makes since that if there were this race in Alaska, that they would also live in Eastern Siberia, as many, many years ago, the lands were connected. Also, during the winter, the Bering Strait is frozen, and I have read some blogs of people who crossed the Bering Strait while it was frozen. I think that is awesome, but, I don’t know about you, but I think I am choosing a different goal in life!! Anyway, we saw several plaques and crafts about Russian-Eskimo type people……I shall have to do more research in this area as I know I am speaking quite ignorantly now!! There were also some beautifully crafted bowls, serving pieces, and tea sets. I saw several sets of Matroyskas, Russian nesting dolls, which I later purchased. I was actually looking for a pair of winter boots to wear while in Magadan. My Nike Shox about froze the bottoms of my feet right off!! I had heard that some boots made from felt, called “VA-linki” were very warm, yet inexpensive. So….off we trotted to the shoe store to look for these warm, felt boots. Well, those of you that know me…..the two words Susan and Shoe store in the same sentence spell trouble!! We arrived at the shoe store, and I was shown the Valinki. They were felt alright……and may I add, NOT very stylish!! Of course, they only cost about 12 rubles!! WOW!! That is less than 50 cents!! Sorry…..it was a great idea, but, I was not in the least attracted to those big, clunky, felt things. I looked around….and Man, oh, Man!! Such cute, CUTE boots did I see!! Now, the good thing in Russia is……the ONLY colors they have are…..brown or black!! ( I did see a Russian woman in Moscow wearing a white pair of boots, but everyone stared at her!!). So…..at least I did not need a pair in all kinds of colors!! HA!! Before Wayne could get me distracted and out of that store, I bought 4 pairs of boots!! They were very comfy and warm, too. I must say….much more comfortable that boots I have tried on in the U. S. I wonder why??? Maybe it has something to do with the temperature and WANTING to keep your boots on!! Sometimes there is method to our madness…….

The Meeting!!!

The time had come to meet our youngest referral, little A. Wayne and I were sitting on the couch in the large, living area of his groupa. Besides a couch, there was a small table and some chairs (toddler size), an umbrella stroller with a doll (kookla) in it, a small plastic climbing gym with slide, and a couple of see-saw toys. We waited on the couch for A. to enter. The representative from the Guardianship department, Svetlana L. was sitting in a chair across from where we sat. She was observing us. Suddenly, I heard the caregivers speaking in Russian to little A. (I have learned some words and phrases, and it is easier to understand what is being said in Russian, than to speak it, at least for me…. as my mind does not seem to work that fast!!). The caregivers were saying to him, “Come in here, your Mama and Papa are here”. “Your Papa and Mama have come to see you.” “Come see your Mama and Papa!!”. We were so nervous waiting for him to come around the corner to where we were seated. As the voices got closer and closer, I was feeling more and more anxious, wondering what I would see with that first glimpse. Would he be normal? Would he look like his picture? (I hoped not…..he had some questionable characteristics in the picture, but then, it is hard to determine overall health status from a small picture). Would he be hyperactive and lack focus and concentration?? Just then, he walked around the corner and came to stand in front of us. He was still holding the care givers hand. She picked up his hand and started rubbing it on Wayne’s leg and said “A. etta tvoy Papa” (A. this is your Papa), and then the same with me, stroking my arm “ Etta tvai- YA Mama” (this is your Mama). The look on his face was one I will never forget. It was one of wonderment!! He looked almost as if to say “Papa?? Mama?? Where in the world have you been???” He looked adorable!! He was a little on the small side, but was well proportioned. He had such fair skin, and pink rosy cheeks, with blue eyes and medium blonde hair. I pulled him up in my lap and spoke with him. He looked intently into my eyes. I reached down into my bag and pulled out a couple of toys we had brought for him. One was a little blue elephant (sloan) with activity beads and such on it, and the other was a kitty puppet. As I started to squeak the sloan (elephant) his face puckered up as if he was going to cry!! I quickly put that to the side and tried the kitty puppet! It seems he was afraid of that, too! The children are very limited in what toys they are exposed to there in the orphanage. I think he just had never seen toys like that before. I reached into my bag again and pulled out several cardboard books, with pictures, colors, animals, etc. I also pulled out some of the snacks and juice (sok). He sat in my lap for over 30 minutes while we “read” stories. He loved looking at the books, and enjoyed pointing to all of the pictures. I then passed him over to Wayne’s lap. He took one look at Wayne and started to cry. His chief caretaker, Angelina, had entered the room by that point. She explained that the children in the Baby home never see any men, so most of them are afraid of men. We quickly distracted little A. with the books again, and immediately he was fine. I also pulled out a blanket we had brought for him to hold while we read. He allowed Wayne to hold him for the rest of the visit. I was shocked by his manner of concentration and focus on the books. He sat very still and paid very close attention. Angelina told me that he loved books and loved to be read to!! So much for the hyperactivity thing and not being able to sit still to concentrate!! Angelina then announced loudly to Svetlana of the Guardianship dept. that she had absolutely NO reservations about of as his parents, whatsoever. She said she could tell by all the thoughtful things we had brought him, along with our interaction with him that we would be very good parents for him. That made us feel really good that she said that in front of Svetlana. Angelina then called to little A. and had him get down from our laps. She said in Russian…”Let me show you what he can do”. She then proceeded to give him instructions of things to do, and he followed them all precisely!! She asked him to slide down the slide, run around the room, kick the ball, etc. She was calling to him, and he was laughing, and giggling and running away. He was really having fun!! She asked little A. to push the doll in the stroller, He went running around -the room with it and then slammed it into the wall! Then she said “ Di–tee kookla chai” (Give the doll some tea). He immediately ran over to the table, picked up a little cup and then ran back and then held the cup up to the kookla’s (doll’s) mouth, so she could drink!! I am thinking……WOW!! Angelina then asks him to be nice to the kookla, and he then starts stroking her hair and petting the doll!! Of course, Wayne is still a little bit in the dark, and not exactly understanding what is happening, as he does not understand Russian yet. I thought about what had just happened. I was SO impressed!! All of the concerns I had about his supposed “hyperactivity” and his “inability to concentrate and focus” had all disappeared, and now I was seeing him “in action” at full speed, and not only comprehending what was asked of him, but actually doing it!! I felt so relieved!! I had not even had the opportunity to visit with the doctors yet regarding his medical condition, but after seeing him and evaluating him in person, I knew he would be absolutely fine!! He is a perfectly normal little boy, who just had very unfortunate circumstances. He only has a few institutional delays…..and this we can handle!!

The Baby Home

We arrived at the Baby Home, called the Magadan Specialized Children’s Home about midmorning on Friday (after finally reaching Magadan on Thursday evening…..remember we left on our trip on Monday a.m.). You remember “This is the song that never ends”……well, this was the trip that seemed to never end!! Finally we arrived! As you can see, it looks pretty awful on the outside. We are taken through the door and entry room (all buildings in Siberia have a very small entry area, that protects the inside of the building from the harshness of the cold outside, I can’t remember what you call it, but it is like a small wind breaking room) into the main hallway of the orphanage. We walk down a hall and go into the Chief Doctor’s office, a large room with a desk, a long conference table, and a sectional couch. We wait for her to discuss the health condition of little A. After waiting a few minutes, we discover that she is out of the building for a while, and we will be taken directly to see the child. We go upstairs to his groupa (group), but he is not there. He is down the hall with the other children in “Music Class”!! Isn’t that adorable? They have different classes for the babies and toddlers, that include music and other activities, and they have a schedule they follow, which I’ll post at a later time. We walk up some stairs up to the second floor. The stairs are made of cement, and have moderate size chips out of them, but they have a fresh coat of bright enamel on them, orange in the middle with blue stripes on the sides. It is very bright and fashionable, despite all the cracks and wear and tear that is present. We enter the door to the groupa and the first room is a small one with wall to wall lockers. All the caregivers in this groupa are assigned a locker, and there they hang their coats and all of them change their shoes, and wear clean slippers only inside the home. We take off our coats and shoes, and enter into the “living room” area (as they called it). I immediately recognized the pattern on the couch, as the one in the picture of little A. Of course, in the picture he was only 14 mos old, and now he is 24 mos. I will digress here for a minute and say a few things about our referral process, which is different than some other areas. We are given a picture of the child, birth date, and list of medical diagnoses (with NO elaboration or explanation) and the color of the child’s hair and eyes, and a description of the child’s personality (Little A. was described as a “fidget child” meaning they felt he was overly hyperactive) before we travel. We either accept to meet the child/children, or decline and are given another referral (with gender, age, etc. listed above). The official letter is sent to our e-mail from the MOE (Ministry of Education) in Russia. All referrals come from them, and not the individual adoption agencies. So, since we already had the formal letter (sent in Russian and also a translated copy), we did not need to meet with them upon arrival. However, during the first meeting with the child, a representative from the Guardianship Department is required to be present. This person observes your interaction with the child, and then testifies in court as to what they saw and how they interpreted your interaction with the child. Svetlana L. from the Guardianship Dept. had already arrived and was waiting for us in the living room area. We took off our shoes and went in and were introduced to Svetlana. We sat down on the couch and awaited the arrival of little A. Tomorrow……the meeting!!!

How is it Magadan?

As I was commenting previously in wonderment, while in St. Louis at the Secretary of States Office, I met a young woman from Magadan, and explained we were adopting from that area!! She asked me how I ever got assigned to the area of Magadan. That is another miraculous story! When Wayne and I were first investigating adoption agencies and deciding on which one would be right for us, I read a story of a family that adopted from Magadan, Russia. When I read that, it was like something “stirred” inside of me. We knew we wanted to adopt from Russia, and I had heard only wonderful things about AIA, Alaska International Adoptions. So, I called the director of the agency, Olga, and told her we would like to use their agency, and that I wanted to be assigned to Magadan. She was very happy to have us join as clients, but was not very positive about going to Magadan. She stated that area was very limited and probably would not work for us. Olga said she would send us to a large area called Khabarovsk (ha-BAR-osk) yet still in Siberia with much more availability. I had already met several families who were in the process of adopting there, and although the children are beautiful, it is a more hostile area toward Americans that are adopting, and the waiting times were so much longer there. I explained to Olga that I was in a “two-year down time”, meaning, I am finishing up an educational program that requires some additional “on the job training” that will start in a couple of years. So this gave us a perfect time to bring another child into our family. Olga stated she understood, and therefore would send us to a new area just opening in our agency, the Moscow City area. I said that would be great and we went on to complete our paperwork. We contracted with the only Social Worker qualified to do a home study for international adoption. Our social worker had a reputation for completing a home study quickly…..usually within a month or less. We were thrilled about that, and were ready to get going. All the intrusive questions were answered and we had our portion turned in to her by mid June and the home visits were completed by July 8th. We anticipated a completion of the home study by the end of July, first week of August by the latest. Then the nightmare began!! The long and the short of it was the social worker went through a divorce, and her typist went through an illness……and the home study was finally completed October 28th!! Our social worker was a “freelance person” and was not associated with an agency, and that is where we started to fall in the cracks. We were having trouble getting an agency license, although she was affiliated with a business type agency and had a business license; the business she was employed with did not do home studies. At any rate, the Russian government had certain documentation standards, and essentially, we were up the creek without a paddle. Olga called us, and said she has been frantically thinking about what to do about our paperwork deficits. She stated she had no other choice other than to send us to a less strict region, and she was changing our area to Magadan. MAGADAN!! Well, that was where I felt we should be all along!! I was so happy!! Our paperwork was sent there, and translated into Russian and submitted to the Ministry of Education in Russia, and I believe they received it around the first week of December. Our boys became eligible to be placed on the data bank for adoption on December 7th, and we received a referral for them on December 8th!! We made plans to travel to meet the boys on January 8th………they were wonderful and exceeded our expectations!! And…….the rest is history!!! Or, at least, we hope the rest will be history!! So, you see, our frustrations in our delays were all a part of the plan because our boys were not eligible for adoption yet (children placed in an orphanage cannot be adopted for the first nine months they are there, to allow time for other family members to come forward and adopt them). We had to be held up for a while, until the timing is right. As I continually say, “We are providing the fuel, but God is driving”. THAT is how it came to be Mag-a-DAN!!

Wonders Never Cease!!

I had such an interesting experience!! I mentioned the other day about being optimistic versus unrealistic in getting all my documentation completed and apostilled on Friday. I had originally planned to take the 3 hour drive to St. Louis on Friday afternoon after I had gotten our forms for our medical exams notarized by a physician friend of mine on Friday morning. He was going to accompany me to a bank for the notarizing because there was not a notary in his office. His office is also over an hour away from my home, too. Well, yesterday I had a meeting at the hospital, and I unexpectedly ran into this physician…..AND I had my medical paperwork with me!! We went to the hospital administration office and got everything notarized!! WeeHee!! That saved me a trip!! So yesterday, I was actually able to take off much earlier for the Secretary of State’s Office in St. Louis for the apostilling. When I arrived there, a young woman came in behind me and was speaking with an accent. Having just returned from Russia, I knew she HAD to be Russian. So…..I introduced myself and told her we were adopting from Russia, in Magadan. Her eyes opened so widely, and she repeated “Mag –a- DAN?” (Russian pronunciation)…….”I was born and raised there” she said! WOW!! She told me she left there 12 years ago and lives here now with her parents and her sister, although she and her sister are now married. I said “Yes, I was just in Magadan last week, would you like to see pictures??”!! We visited for quite a while, and then exchanged phone numbers. She was so shocked to find someone adopting from that area, as she has never even met another Russian from that area before!! I plan on introducing the boys to some of the Russian children she knows, and it will be so very nice for them to meet someone who has a connection the area of their birthplace!! Wonders Never Cease!!

Finally....... Pictures!!

I was finally successful in posting pictures!! Apparently, one must click on the I AGREE to the terms of service box, and then one must ACTUALLY VIEW the terms of service!! HA!! Who knew??

NOW Check out Wayne passing the time away during our 15 hour Moscow layover !!

The top picture was taken the morning we were going to meet little A. That is his little "sloan" (elephant) I am holding. We are loaded up with toys, books, balls, and snacks consisting of goldfish crackers, teddy grahams, Gerber baby biter biscuits, and juice!! Oh, and of course we have lots of baby wipes!! The last time I used those baby biscuits, as I recall, they were VERY messy, but very yummy!! We are nervous, as the boy we are most concerned about is the younger one. The parental rights were terminated for these boys, so I have health concerns about drugs and alcohol. We are excited and afraid, both at the same time, but here we go!!

Tomorrow .................. The Baby Home...........stay tuned for the adventure!!

Focusing in on the Boys

Tomorrow I shall begin the yarn describing our first meeting with the boys, when I am a little more coherent and have had some rest and sleep (Just finished a 13 hour shift!). I am also seeking some help tomorrow about why my pictures won't load onto the blog. I really have some great pics of Siberia (winter and all) and wanted to share those too......but learning about the boys and how our meetings went is probably the most important thing. So.....for the next few days, we will focus on that!!

What is in a Name??

We have been working feverishly to complete our paperwork and application to the court. Only one hitch.....we must have a name to submit. We all seem to be a crossroads about this. We do not really like the name of our older boy and would like to give him a new one. But.....how do you tell a child that is eight years old that he is getting a new name?? I told Wayne we should just pick a name we like and tell the boy that is the American translation of his old name.....HA!! Wayne did not think that was fair (or honest)!! Any suggestions from some of you?? I apologize again for not posting the info on the boys yet, but it is coming. I have just been having to work so much to make up for the time off when we were in Russia, plus I am trying to finish up the last of some classes I have been taking!! If all goes well, we will have all of our paperwork completed, notarized and apostilled by Friday!!! That is......IF all goes well, and that includes a trip to the doctor on Friday morning and then a 3 hour drive to St. Louis for apostilling at the Secretary of State's office! Can you tell I am a REALLY optimistic person?? Optimistic or Unrealistic?? HA!! Sometimes they are the same!!

Unfortunate Delay

I am having some technical difficulties trying to post some of our pictures on the blog. I thought I had it figured out, but I need to work out a couple of bugs. I'll keep working on it, but for now I apologize. Of course, part of my problem it that the area in which we live has NO high speed, so all I have for internet access is dial-up!! Can you believe it??? OK>.......Thank you for feeling sorry for me!!

A Funny thing happened while in Russia!!

We noticed a few strange things right away upon arriving in Russia, or at least it was strange to us!! 1. While in the plane on approach, getting ready for our landing, as soon as the wheels of the plane touched down, a spontaneous round of applause broke out and cheers ensued!! Is it that joyful to be back in the "Motherland"? Or, were they actually relieved in their confidence of their pilot? 2. When we arrived in Moscow we heard several comments on the weather being very mild and warm with complaints that there was NO SNOW on the ground. The main complaint was that it was not COLD ENOUGH!! Can you imagine......NOT cold enough???? 3. There is no speed limit in the city of Moscow......I guess. Our driver was going 160 kilometers, which, at the time we were not sure how fast that was.......but we discovered it was about 105 miles per hour!! Mind you.....the streets were wet, and others were driving about 55 to 60 mph!! DO NOT attempt this travel on a full bladder!! You WILL be sorry! 4. Also....along the way on the highway (5 lane freeway) we passed at least 2 men pulled over on the shoulder and peeing over the guardrail!! 5. The Russian cleaning women at the airport just walk in and clean while the men are in the restroom and actively using it!! Wayne was so shocked to turn around and find a lady mopping just right behind him!! He said it happened twice!! 6. Every piece of pizza at the Domodedovo Airport had broccoli on it!! I mean, I really like broccoli......but it is weird on pizza! 7. While we were "stuck" at the Domodedovo Airport (our luggage piled up on a cart in front of us)....an older Russian lady came over and sat next to me, and started blabbing away. I told her "Yenya pan-youMY-o Parusky"....(I don't understand Russian) and I was looking at one of those Russian tabloids to pass the time away. Well, she grabbed the paper away from me, I guess thinking that if I can't understand Russian, then I certainly can't READ Russian (Kon-YESH-na nyet) - Certainly Not!! Well, I promptly took the paper back, explaining to her that I was looking at the pictures!!! HA!! She continued to ramble on for 10 or 15 minutes more, probably talking to her imaginary friend!! While we had our 15 hour wait at the airport, we did a lot of people watching for entertainment. Check out Wayne waiting and trying to pass the time away!!

Major Jet Lag!!

Wow......I can't believe how tired I am. Doing that magical time travel in only 8 days is very hard on one's body! I finally fell asleep at 5am, and the alarm went off at 6:30am to get up and take the kids to school. Then, I had to work 12 hours from 9am to 9pm.....and I am beyond tired! I was like a zombie at work! It reminded me of all the times that I worked night shift and then had to attend my clinical classed during the day......sometimes going for around 50 -54 hours with only 4 to 6 hours sleep!! I sure am glad those days are over!! I have Thursday off, so I can catch up on my rest and hopefully adjust to "going back in time"!! Hang on......I will be posting pictures of our trip this weekend, and I'll fill you in on those two great kids we met, too!!

A Funny thing that happened while at the Airport!

Two rather amusing things happened at the beginning our our travels. The first was while we were in St. Louis going through the security check to get to our gate to travel to New York ( to try to get the flight to Moscow....that we did not catch!!). At any rate, as I mentioned before, during our packing, we were afraid the bags would be too heavy ( I must be psychic!!!), so we added an additional bag and decided to take a carry-on, with spare clothes and emergencies and such, in case our baggage was lost. Wayne carried the "carry on" bag, and he was in front of me. As soon as his bag went through the X-ray machine......they requested to open and search it. Suddenly...... a large group of TSA agents swarmed on the bag and a large commotion began to take place!!! Wayne looked frantic and motioned me over. I ran over and looked in the bag......only to find all these huge bottles of lotions and creams we had purchased to give as presents for the orphanage caregivers......about 150 ounces of liquids and gels!! YIKES!! I said to my husband, "Honey, don't you remember when we went shopping for our own lotions and gels, soaps, etc, that could only be THREE ounces ......or less??" HA!! I guess in our haste of shuffling and redistributing the weight, we accidentally put the "illegal volume" in our carry-on!! SHEESH!! Once we explained to the TSA agents what the items were for, they were very understanding, and we had plenty of time to go back to the counter and check that bag, so we could still take the gifts to the orphanage workers. I was relieved we were allowed to continue on our journey.......and not go to jail!! The second funny thing was the next day, when we were actually going to be able to get on the Aeroflot flight to Moscow from New York. I was standing in line for check in, and the Aeroflot attendant at the counter began speaking all of this Russian to me!! When I began to speak to her in English, she immediately had a surprised look on her face and apologized to me saying she was sorry, but I looked Russian, and what was why she was speaking to me in Russian. Gee.......I wonder what gave it away???? My Cardinals Shirt or my Cardinals earrings????? !!!!! Seriously, I was also wearing a very heavy wool, long dress coat I had purchased 6 or 7 years ago in one of those trendy mail catalogs......oh, and when I got the coat and read the inside label?? It stated "Made in Russia"......imagine that! The fur on my wool hooded scarf contributed to the image as well, I am sure. I bought that fur scarf in New York as graduation present (for one of my numerous and many graduations that I seem to keep doing.....HA!!) I am personally one who believes in protecting animals, and I am against cruelty, but at the same time, being a medical person, I do believe some type of animal testing is tolerable, if cruelty is not involved and if it is for the benefit of saving human life. So, purchasing the fur was something I had to weigh carefully. It turned out that is was Canadian fox bred specifically to be used for such things. Secretly, I hoped my scarf was from a very small, starving fox that was euthanized due to poor health. But then again.......maybe those Russians are big on those World Series winning St. Louis Cardinals!! Yeah, right!!!

Doggies, Kitty, and Kids......OH MY!!

We are finally home!! I feel like a new person after sleeping in my own bed!! And my back also thanks me (ya toe-zha) ....(me too!!). Kitty seemed to fair just fine on his own and didn't seem to suffer during our absence. He still had some food in his bowl, and.........since we live in a rural, country area, apparently Kitty had an extra snack while we were gone......as I found a little tiny mousehead in the living room!! UGH! Whenever Kitty finds and eats a mouse, he eats all of it except the head, (eyes, ears, and skull)....I guess it is too crunchy.......gross!! The doggies are Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties) and both of them lost weight......poor things, but were SO HAPPY to be back home. We were happiest to see our sweet children and had such a wonderful time "catching up" on all that was missed last week. This evening we looked at pictures and videos we made of the boys. Tav and Rem have been working on the boys' room, and they had gotten out one of our old cribs (Tavia's actually) and scrubbed it clean, and them disassembled a daybed that was down stairs and brought it upstairs for the big boy. The boys will be sharing a room upstairs. Then they got out their old wooden train set and assembled it in the boys' room. They are both so excited to bring these new children into our family. I know we shall have to take the train set out, as I have heard that children living in orphanages should not have toys in their bedroom initially, as they will stay up all night and play with the toys, and not settle down and go to sleep...... it is not something they are used to. But......I could not dampen the enthusiasm that Tav and Rem both have. For now.....the toys and train set can stay in the room. What sweet giving children they are to make this sacrifice to share with two boys who have nothing!!!

There and Back Again!!

We arrived in New York this morning, Monday January 15th, only to find the entire airport deserted. There had apparently been a terrible ice storm in the midwest, and most all flights from there were delayed or cancelled. We slept most of the way to the U.S. from Moscow. It is definitely easier traveling East to West, versus the other direction!! Nevertheless, we were very tired. We hurried to our next gate which actually was not departing for about 6 more hours, but we were anxious to get home! Of course, due to planes arriving late due to the bad weather, our plane to St. Louis was yet again delayed. Finally it was almost boarding time.......and they announced to the crowd that the flight was overbooked and would be asking for volunteers to give up their seats and fly out later, and if they did not have volunteers, they would just randomly bump some of the passengers. I looked at Wayne and said I was way too tired to volunteer for anything like that. I missed our kids, and I just wanted to get home. Then......I heard my name paged overhead.......NEVER a good sign!! We were told that our bags were too heavy, and we would have to stay overnight in New York, and get a flight out in the morning. What is it with the bags again?? We gave a lot of gifts to the caregivers at the orphanage......and still had to pay additional weight to get back to Moscow. That is because you are allowed 30 kilograms from Moscow to Magadan, but only 25 kilograms on the return flight. We had unloaded a lot of stuff we brought for the kids.....but it must have been the boots I bought that weighed so much .........OK....FOUR pairs of boots I bought. I am sorry, but Mother of Russian boys most (must) have Russian (said with a "rolling R") buts (boots) to wear!! HA!!So after explaining to us we would have a hotel voucher tonight (sounds familiar, doesn't it?) and get a new flight in the morning......they will call our name when it is all ready. A few minutes later, I am overhead paged again......expected to get the hotel voucher and new flight info.....they unexpectedly give us boarding passes and tell us to get one the plane!! Hooray!! One unexpected treat for us and our delay was being able to see Wayne's oldest daughter, who leaves in Nebraska, and was also re-routed unexpectedly to St. Louis due to weather problems. So when we arrived in St. Louis, we had a brief, pleasant rendezvous with her. Now.....only a 3 hour drive to the town in which we live.......and we will be sleeping in our own beds tonight!!

Finally We Arrive in Far East Siberia..... Magadan!!!

What a wild and exhausting airplane ride this has been!! We finally arrived in Magadan on Thursday evening, fatigued beyond belief!! Listen, I have personally birthed 5 children, a couple of them were extremely difficult labors.....and compared to this process, redtape and travel, THAT was a piece of cake!! My hat goes off to all of you who have endured this very difficult process of foreign adoption. I have such incredible respect for you and your perseverance!! In my book, you are all Heroes!! But........just as in having a difficult labor and the pain that is experienced, one look at that precious little new life, and all is forgotten. So it is with this trip. We were able to meet the boys on Friday, January 12, "little A." in the morning, and "big D" in the afternoon, and as soon as we saw them and spent time with them, all of those feelings of trials and frustration quickly vanished. They are beautiful, sweet boys, both with very, very unfortunate life circumstances. More on the boys later...............

The plane we were able to purchase a fare on out of the Domodedevo Airport in Moscow was ancient. We were herded like cattle and it was a real "free-for-all". People were pushing and shoving, and yelling at one another trying to be the first to get their luggage checked. It acutally reminded me a lot of being in New York with the taxi drivers yelling at one another, only, I could not actually understand the cuss words since they were yelling in Russian. Once we were finally "coralled" on the plane, we took off. Wayne and I were in the business class, because those were the only 4 remaining seats on the entire plane (seats 6a and 6b). Of course, we are both idiots and thought the "0" in front of the six was actually an 8!! We are thinking "WOW...they sure have LONG planes in Russia for us to be in row 86!! HA! Well, after we made it to the back of the plane, and saw the last row was #28......we had to fight our way back to the front past all these hot, sweaty Russians in their fur hats and coats, and it was only around 35 to 40 degrees.....very warm for Moscow this time of year!! After great difficulty we arrived to our correct seats and it was time for take-off. Just as we are lifting off the ground, the wall (with the curtain you pull) that separates business -class from first-class suddenly fell down on the first row of passengers!! YIKES!! We were on some 1960's or 1970's plane with "ALPHA AIRLINES" written in English. It was such a nightmare, and we had these thoughts of horror flying over Siberia. We looked at each other wondering if we would ever really arrive in Magadan, and arrive safely. We trusted the Lord and did finally arrive!! Siberia is BEYOND cold!! The city of Magadan is actually on the Artic/Pacific Ocean, and it is totally frozen. I do not know how one thrives in this environment of such cold and little daylight. The sun rises around 10:00am and sets again by 3:45. It is dark at 4:30 pm. But yet, the people here seem content with their life and go about each day as if there is really no problem at all. It is amazing. We do apologize for being behind in our posts, as we had some e-mail difficulties in Magadan, plus the adapter we brought with us ( to use this brand new lap top purchased SPECIFICALLY for this trip!!) apparently was not useable for notebooks!! HA!! So much for the eleventy-seven movies we brought with us and paid overweight charges in our luggage ($2000 rubles)!! We have made the best of it however. Wayne and I spent a lot of time discussing the children, and making some very good observations about those who are less fortunate financially, or those who just lead a different life, and have a very different lifestyle. He and I are so blessed to have had parents that gave unconditionally to us, and who loved and cared for us. From my very youngest memories, I knew I was loved. Thanks, Mom. Unfortunately, it is not so for all in this world.

Out of the frying pan and into the Fire!!

We finally arrived in Moscow only to find about 20 men standing outside holding up signs......only none of them had my name on it!! We stood and waited about an hour and one half for him while telling about 50 taxi drivers "Nyet Spaseeba". We tried to call him, but could not get a connection after he answered. Finally one of the taxi drivers got on his personal cell phone, dialed the number we gave him, spoke sound fast Russian works to him, and then hung up. Andre promtly showed after that. We made it to another airport (landed in Shermetevo and transfered to Domedero (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) and we were taken to a counter where Andre and the lady behind the counter spoke a lot of Russian, we paid for new tickets, and were given a flight to Magadan at 11pm tonight. I asked what airline that was. He stated it was not an airline, but the Ministry of Emergency Services, who will book you on a plane if you ever miss your flight. Who knew?? We have no idea what airline we are on, just a gate number, and we show up at that time and get on the plane. It is probably a plane full of supplies like poultry and maybe even sheep or something!! I don't care, just let me sit next to the tomatos and arrive safely in Magadan.

Russia or Bust!!!

OK!! Huh-rah-SHOW!! A miracle occured and on an over-booked flight with Aeroflot, they accepted last night's tickets for the same fare!! Hooray!! We are on our way to Moscow!! This is great news, and so Andre, who is the Moscow man working with the agency, will meet us in the morning when we arrive. Olga said he will be holding up a sign with my name on it, only she wasn't sure if he knew how to spell my name correctly.......so just go with any man holding a sign, well, OK then!! How could this trip get anymore interesting???? We are extremely relieved to know we are continuing our travels instead of going home and post-poning the trip. The only catch now is that there are no available flights (showing on U.S. computers) until Saturday, and as we said before, that does not give us enough time with the boys. So, for sure we will make it to Moscow, and we have no idea as to when we shall arrive in Magadan, but God has a way and a plan. I am just providing the fuel for the vehicle, but He is doing the driving!! Olga, our agency director said we will just need to make accommodations for us to stay longer into next week, if that is what is required for us to see the boys. We will just have to return a few days later, and our jobs will just have to understand!! The kids will be disappointed as they are anxious for us to return home.....and sorry doggies...(Bella and Kaiser our Shetland Sheepdogs) will be sad to stay a few more days in the kennel!! So....we are off to Moscow, and then unknown from there!!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles......

OH YES!!! Just like John Candy in the movie.....and he could not get where he was going.......we are in the same boat!! Our plane in St. Louis was over 1 and 1/2 hours late taking off for New York, where we to board for Moscow. The pilot said "Not to Worry, for there is a tail wind, and we shall make up time along the way". Needless to say, that did NOT happen. When we finally arrived at the Aeroflot gate, after going outside the terminal to pick up our own luggage to have it rechecked by Aeroflot.....because American could not check our bags all the way through....and we landed clear on the other side of the terminal (southern term, there), they would not let us on the plane, as the flight was leaving in 35 minutes. Soooooo frustrating. Bottom line....fly Delta, as they do check the luggage with Aeroflot, and the terminals are right next to one another.....or other similar carrier that will at least be accommodating. Our big dilemma now it that the next Aeroflot flight is tommorow at this same time.......but the flights to Magadan, our remote area of Siberia are only twice a week! So....the next flight (since we will miss the one tomorrow) will arrive in Magadan on Saturday the 13th in the afternoon, and we are scheduled to depart on Sunday the 14th!! That is not enough time to spend with these boys and get to know them, and for them to feel comfortable with us!! I know there is a court date scheduled for the 15th, and then another family is to be scheduled right after them.......so I have a couple of phone calls in to our agency director, Olga.....and she is trying to coordinate with the regional facilitator, Zoya. Do we try to extend our visit into next week if it can be done so on the other end??? They will KILL Wayne and me for not showing up at work next week!! These people will FLIP if we don't come back to work!! We spent over two hours with American (since it was their screw-up that made us miss our flight) and they tried every way to get us to Moscow by tomorrow......but no go. I even lost it and started these shaking like sobs with huge crocodile tears streaming down my face. I am not usually like that at all (unless it is a Kodak commercial where the kids grow up)....but I guess being overly tired and hormonal put me over the edge. So the dilemma is to decide if we should travel on.....and hope for "stand-by openings" with Dommedevo, that is currently full right now, and also will not accept the ticket from Aeroflot, so we need to pay yet ANOTHER airfare to get to Magadan.....OR do we go home and and try again in another couple of weeks?? After all our Russian Visas are good until February 9th. We called our Red Star Travel person, and Olga, and they are trying to get some idea, as to whether we should keep traveling to Moscow and hope we can get into Magadan, or possibly regroup and try another time later this month before the visas expire. Hopefully we will get more information in the morning.

Packing , Packing and More Packing !!

The last couple of days we have been packing and trying to get organized. We have read so much on chat boards from previous travelers to "pack light"......but how does one pack light for below zero weather?? We will need to dress in "layers" in order to keep warm, but all those layers are making the bags heavy!! HA! We had planned to just take one bag each to check, but as we kept filling them up with more and more stuff (for the children and the caregivers, along with our own many layers) we were sure they would be over the weight limit!! So we decided to add a couple of extra bags. Now we look as though we are moving there!! Our agency director told us that the gifts for the caregivers are really for the second trip, but that if we wanted to bring a few gifts for them this time that it would be a nice gesture. So......we are just bringing some lotions and soaps and pen and pencil sets. We have a few pencils for the boarding school and some toothbrushes for both the baby home and the boarding school. Wow....I cannot believe we are finally taking off for Russia in the morning!! For so long things were just at a standstill for us.....and now everything is at breakneck speed!!

Shopping, Shopping, and More Shopping

Today was a whirlwind day of shopping for the final items we needed. We had been gathering a few little things along the way...but still lacked the majority of items we desired to take. It has been a little difficult to complete the shopping earlier, as we were waiting on a size update of the children from our facilitator. However, due to Christmas Holidays, and our U.S Agency Director taking vacation, and our Magadan facilitator now on vacation, somehow the new sizes were never acquired. We only have their measurements from one year ago.....so we made the most of it and gave our best educated guess!! We made Remmy be the guinea pig today and he enthusiastically participated!! He was really a good sport about it. If the clothes were small on him, then we thought they would be a good fit for the older boy. After a full day of gathering coats, hats, mittens and play clothes, ( we did not even know where to begin to guess for shoes) we quickly redid some calculations of inches to metric centimeters......and....OOPS!!! I think everything we purchased will be too large!! What is it they say?? It is the thought that counts!! At least the pajamas have cuffs at the wrists and ankles, so they should work. The older boy is coming into town from where he goes to school (about 3 hours away) and will be staying a couple of nights in the hotel in Magadan with an orphanage staff member that is accompanying him. He will be in a unique situation, with no other children to engage in play, and minus the child-friendly environment he is used to. We had a blast today getting all sorts of activities together to keep him occupied while also getting to know him, despite the ever present language barrier. We have puzzles, play dough (complete with factory), paints, crayons, learning books for shapes, colors and animals, balls, electronic games, magna-doodle, tic tac toe, balls, bubbles, an adorable stuffed animal bear, and puppets!! I am not sure how much the older boy will enjoy all of this, but Wayne and I can hardly wait to start playing!! WooHoo!! Kidding aside, I know the three of us will have such a fun time!! Did I mention snacks? We have also packed goldfish crackers, juice, Teddy grahams, and Gerber baby puffs....whatever in the world those are.....but they looked good and sounded fun, so I am all for it!! We also have some baby toys and books for the toddler boy, and that should be fun as well. I do hope they allow the boys to see each other. That would be very special to see them reunited, as they have been apart for such a long time. Well, tonight and tomorrow my job will be translating the names of the colors, shapes and animals and writing the transliteration in the book, so we can read the stories to the boys. Funny thing though.....several months ago I was ordering a few story books from a Russian adoption bookstore online for a preschool age child ( the 3 to 4 year old we were anticipating coming into our family). I goofed and accidentally bought an entire book of stories (Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, The Three Little Pigs, etc.) written completely in Russian, with a short 2 page interpretation written in English. I remember thinking at the time....... "What will I ever do with this book??? I don't read Russian!!" Well, that is true, I do not read Russian. But I am about to meet someone who does....... and he shall be reading to ME!!

Beginning the Adventure!!!

Welcome to our journey and our adventure to adoption!! We are a "Forever Family" with a desire to bring another child into our family. Ours is a blended family, with two younger children still at home, Tavia 13 and Remington 12, and five older children either attending college, working, or both!!! (Good Job Kids!!) We have such GREAT kids, and have enjoyed them so much. They are all such a tremendous blessing to us! However, for some time now, we have been impressed to bring another child into our Forever Family. After much contemplation and prayer, we finally decided that adoption would fulfill that desire. We eventually chose an agency, after much research and more prayer, and decided on AIA, Alaska International Adoptions. Our country would be Russia!! Interestingly enough, Wayne and I have always had a fascination with Russia. Little did we know that little spark of interest we both possessed had been planted there for a reason!! After MOUNDS of paperwork, and then MORE mounds of more paperwork.........and the "eternal homestudy" (taking over seven months to complete........DON'T even get me started on that one!!!!!), we had completed our dossier and it was finally sent to Russia. We were assigned an area, Magadan, Russia, in the far eastern part of Siberia on the edge of the Artic Circle!! It is an extremely remote area with no roads, so the only way in or out is by plane or boat.....IF the ocean is not frozen solid (which happens about 3 months out of the year!!). If one is not wealthy enough to purchase airfare(which by the way, was a pretty penny!!), then one has no hope of ever leaving that area!! Shortly after submitting our paperwork to Russia, the Ministry of Education (MOE) gave us our referral. We had requested a pre-school age boy, possibly a sibling pair of around age 3 to 5. Our referral is for two brothers, age 8 and 24 months!! Talk about being at the opposite ends of the spectrum!! WOW!! Initially, we felt the older boy was too old (and we were really not expecting a child under 3 and 1/2).....but we learned some interesting facts about the boys. They have lived in the orphanage for almost 2 years (since the baby was 2 months old), and they are separated and live in different orphanages that are several hours apart. The older boy constantly asks about his baby brother, always inquiring as to how he is doing and if he is O.K. I think that says a lot about the older boy. So, we had a family meeting, and we discussed it with the younger kids (Tav and Rem) and we have all decided that it is a definite possibility, and the age range may just fit right in as the perfect blend. We accepted the invitation from the MOE to travel to meet the boys. So.....mixed in with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we scrambled to get our Russian Visas and travel arrangements!! We are leaving for the trip of a lifetime on Monday, January 8th!! We are, and have been praying that God will guide us to the child/children he has planned to come into our family. Wayne and I both know that we have this desire for more children for a reason, and we want to do what is right for all of us.......including Tavia and Remmy. So please keep us in your prayers as we travel and meet these children. We have been told another referral can be given to us while in country, if we decide not to adopt these boys. Pray for us that we will make the right decision. Adoption in Russia is very treacherous these days, as Americans have low priority in adoptions, and ANY Russian family that would like to have a child/children that have been referred to Americans, are given that child. We have met several friends in our adoption agency who have lost their child to Russian families.......some on the day before the court date to finalize the adoption!!! So, right now, we are making plans, counting on God to direct us (paraphrased from Proverbs 3: 5&6). Join with us......and share in our adventure? Won't you??