new life

I know...I'm the one that started this blog...I'm the one that told everyone I would post updates....and I'm the one who's slacking off.

So here's the run down on our trip to get our son.

We spent our first few days going to the orphanage a couple of times a day. He wasn't sure about us for about 2 minutes... then you would have thought we never left. It made us very happy to know he wasn't going to hold leaving against us.

On Monday the 19th we spent the whole day driving from doctor to doctor..seems like everything else in this place...God forbid we put the doctors in one or two places. Anyway, some were much easier than others to deal with, there were a few that refused to think Tim was healthy....when he is actually healthier then half the people we seen.

Tuesday was our big meeting with the judge. Now when you say "meeting to get to know you" you think maybe a meeting room, you sit and chat about family, work, friends, home....etc.
Um...NO. For being an "informal" meeting...this was the most FORMAL meeting I have ever been to. Which caught us off guard and unprepared. We studdered our way through the questions she asked us. We answered, but apperently we were supposed to say more????

So Alla called us on Tuesday Night and gave us some pointers. I guess you have to look at it from their point of view. She says that giving a child to a foreign family (not just U.S.) is a shameful process and they want to make sure you are fit for being a parent, as well as, that they have tried to find a Russian family to take him. It's make some sense when you look at it that way. (some...not alot).

Wednesday we hung out and studied all the possible questions then could they possibly ask us and all the possible answers...we were going to knock them out of the park.

We got all dressed up and headed out on Thursday. We walk everywhere here (not a bad thing), but we also left way to early and had to sit a while. We had the Judge, the Proscutor, and a secretary, 5 witnesses, the director of the orphanage, 2 different DOE reps, plus us and Ziniada and Julie (our translator).

We got up and answered the questions asked, most of which came from the proscutor. She was a heavy set, nurse Ratchet looking women, but she was nice enough. The "witnesses" were actually people who were given the chance to adopt Landen and refused. The judge wanted to know why and asked a couple of other questions.

The first family said they were given many children to choose from and just knew that the child they picked was"their child". So that is why they didn't take Landen. The women even told us "good luck" as she left the court (with a smile)...I know...right!

The second couple were of a more Indian or Middle Eastern decent and they wanted a child that looked more like them.

The last "witness" was a single female and I am not sure why she decided not to take him.

The DOE lady who picked him out for us was also a large lady, very nice. She told of why she chose us and why they think we are a good match. The second DOE lady was very nice, skinny and all smiles. She is the lady that visited us at the orphanage when we were on our first trip and seen us play and bond with him. She was full of nice things to say about us.

The last to speak for us was the director of the orphanage, she is also the head doctor. She is a wonderful woman name Natiala. She has been doing this for MANY years. She talked about all his medical stuff and how he has developed. She also had many good words to say about us.

We then had to break...court ran from 10 am to Noon. Then we went back to the apartment until 3 pm. I have to say I felt much better about our chances when we were done. The "Court" was easier than our "meeting"!

We returned at 3pm..this time it was just Us (with the translator and Z), the sec. and the Judge.

She came out..said a few words and went back into her office for like a half hour. She then came out and told us she has granted our request to adopt Landen!!!!!!
But we have to stay the 10 day waiting period.

So we are stuck here until about the 6th of Aug. because we have to apply for his passport and wait for it. We are probably leaving for Moscow on the 7th (Saturday) and we will be in Moscow until the 12th. We have to take a couple of trips to the US embassy for a visa and to get his immigration stuff done.

The nice part...we were able to take over care for Landen on Friday. He has adjusted well enough. He fusses every now and then because he is stuck with us (just kidding).
Eating has been an adventure, but I hate the food...so I don't really blame him. He is atleast drinking fluid well and he sleeps well. He loves bath time.

We are very thankful to everyone who has shared this adventure with us....and to think it is only really begining!

I will try to be better at updateing this if anything new happens, just know that for now we are stuck here but because we are able to bond with our son...it is not such a bad thing.

few days in

Well after a few days into this part of our adventure I am ready to get my son and get going home!

The trip to Moscow was long but uneventful. We even got to watch Harry Potter (6) on the plane ride, which was a little ironic being as it was my Birthday and that is exactly what we did for my birthday last year...minus the plane ride to Moscow.

The apartment in Moscow was nice, clean. We decided to try our hand at making our own dinner....frozen pizza and ice cream!

The trip to Tyumen was long, the airport we used to fly out of Moscow is a hole....it is dirty and packed with very unhappy people. We were late taking off, so we were late getting to Tyumen. By the time we got into Tyumen...we were very tired. We had to wait for luggage, then when we got to the hotel we had to move to another room because of no AC. Then we were taken to see an apartment to see if we would like to switch to that the next day. It is a little cheaper.

Then after all that, we were told that we have our medical evals on Monday morning and they are not sure if the doctor will take our blood work because the paperwork does not look like an original????? WHAT? I am a little miffed by this and think that it is just another way to get money out of us. So needless to say I was in a bad mood last night.

Today was better. We moved to the apartment this morning, no Julia (our intrpretor) all day, so comunication was interesting. We then headed to the orphanage at about 11:30. Got to see our little man. He was tired or just waking up (not sure). It took him a few minutes to figure out who we were, then it was like we never left. Lots of hugs!

We were able to (over dress) him and take him for a walk around the city center park. He loves being outside, I am not sure he gets to do that very often. He had a great time just kicking his feet in the stroller. The park is like a year round carnival, so we took his first ride on a carousel. He wasn't too sure about it at first, but didn't want to get off when we were done. Lots of great pictures....he was very happy and probably very tired when we got back to the orphanage.

We are going to visit again tomorrow and then medicals on Monday. We meet with the judge on Tuesday (our original court date) and then Court hearing on Thursday. Please pray for a good court hearing and that they wave the 10 day waiting period...it would be so nice to be home soon.

Almost there

Hello all...

We landed safe and sound a little after 11 am (Moscow time) yesterday. It will go down as one of my most unique birthdays ever. We fell asleep almost right after settling into the apartment. There is a store around the corner so we decided to try our hand at finding our own food to cook.
Found some frozen pizza and put it in a pan to crisp the crust then into the micro. too cook it. You know....it wasn't that bad. Ice cream for snack (and again for breakfast). Not too bad if I do say so myself.

We are heading out in about 3 hours to go to the airport to head to Tyumen. I have no idea what they have planed for us today, we are hoping to be able to atleast stop into the orphanage to see Landen today...but don't know. I will post updates when we have them.

Long month paid off

So it's been a very long and busy month.....that has seemed so short when I look back on it now....wow, that makes no sense at all!

Anyway, we are heading out tomorrow morning for Moscow. We are going to be in country for about a month (hopefully less). Our court date is July 22nd (moved from 7/20) to give us enough time to get all the paperwork translated. I am going to try very hard to keep everyone posted.

Huge THANK YOU to Congressman Pete Hoekstra and staff for all their help with our USCIS and FBI paperwork. With out their help, we would be waiting until Sept. to go back.

Also, to our friends and family...we are so very blessed! Between the calls, clothes, money, baby shower, prayers, advise, etc. We are truly humbled by your love for us.

I ask that you please pray for a safe trip, good court hearing and a safe and quick return. We will never be able to thank you enough!