Last Day in Russia

I am really really behind on posting! Monday the 14th was our last day in Russia. We were not able to see our little one because it was a holiday.. so we spent the day sight seeing and then spent the evening with our new friends. They took us to eat Russian food! I actually liked it.. Next time we go to Russia I know I won't starve=) We flew back home on the 15th.. It was the longest day.. and the flight seemed so much longer going home then it did going. Very bittersweet. Excited to see my sweet girls but very sad to be leaving my son.
The past few days we have been getting all documents ready for court. We were able to collect everything needed in just 3 days! We put everything in the mail on Saturday. We are praying for a quick court date...This part is completely out of everyones control.. it rests in the hands of the judge...So I will do my best to keep busy and pray that time will pass quickly and that our precious little one does not forget the time we spent together.

Anther Touch Pointe Form God

Read carefully! Michael's mom has a friend who has a friend who lives here in St. Petersburg, Russia. They met while doing mission work here in the city. Anya was a translator.  To try and make a long story kind of short this awesome lady (Anya) found out we were here and gave us a call on Saturday. She and her husband, Rip who is American, also have a heart for orphans and do as much with the orphan community as time will allow. She invited us on a very special trip for Sunday.
They arrived at our hotel Sunday morning and we walked to the bus stop. From there we went to the train station and took an hour train ride. At our stop we then caught a 30 minute bus ride. When it dropped us off we then walked about a mile to this small "village". I can not pronounce the name of the actual village but this little area we went into was called "Hope for Children". A private philathropist in Russia saw a need with all the orphans and has started a pilot program of foster homes. He has built several homes that will house up to 8 children each. They are all in this one area. This way it pulls children out of the orphanage system and into homes which we all know is a much better scenerio. We got to spend an entire day with one family. We had the best time playing with all the kids...Even though none of us spoke the same language.. we had a blast..I played jump rope with the girls, Michael played football with the boys, we made bracelts and did puzzles. We also got to spend some time with the "mom" of the home. She is a single mom with 4 of her own children. She has an incrediable faith in God. She is so greatful for all she has.. yet she has nothing.. no car, (remember we walked a mile to get to her house and it was raining and COLD.. this is summer! The kids have to walk to school in the winter), really no food in the fridge, but still gave us coffee, tea, and cabbage pie. Children to clothe and she has taken on "the least of these" Some of who the doctors at the hospital said.. if you take this child home.. you are taking him home to die.. yet today he is thriving. When we asked her what we could do to help her all she asked for was prayer. I could go on and on and on about our time spent with Natasha...I would love to share with anyone that is interested! Its like nothing Iv'e ever experienced.
Rip and Anya are two of the nicest people we have ever met... There is no way we could have ever had this experience without them.. plus, buses, trains, subways, etc.. In talking to them we learned so much about Russia and it's orphans. I knew it was a problem but I didn't know how big it was. They told us stories of all the "underground children" that used to live in the tunnels of the subways, sleep on the ground of the subways, beg for money, etc.. as young as 7 years old.. The police have pretty much swept the subways and pushed them further underground.. There are a few that continue to come back to the streets.. When asked why, one little boy said because "the men use me like a women, the older boys steal whatever I find, at least in the city, I can hide". This is coming from an eight year old. The problem is not getting better but worse. But we heard story upon story.. as they have had many years of working with the street kids.. Rip's granddaughter moved to Russia several years ago and opened a shelter for homeless kids...the stories..It just makes me sad and makes me want to save them all.. and I know I can't. If you think about it ..please pray for the orphans, not only in Russia but all over the world. Pray for their safety and pray that they find God. It's not an easy life...
Please also pray for Natasha's family. Pray for strength as she not only raises her family but fosters other children. Again, as she is doing this all by herself. 

Somewhere in my heart there is a stirring and I know this will not be my last trip to Russia. There is a work to be done and I want to be part of it.

Russia Day

Russia Day (Russian: День России, Den Rossii) is the national holiday of the Russian Federation, celebrated on June 12. It has been celebrated every year since 1992.

So I thought what better day than today to blog about my thoughts on this country.. To be honest, when I first got here I was scared to death.. I'm an American who has only left the country once and it was to a resort.. so this was a first for me..It's different when you are in the middle of a huge city where you can't speak, understand, or read the language...and the money system is sooo different. Plus you get 18 hours of daylight!..My little world was turned upside down..After a couple of days I finally started to feel comfortable. We have learned how to cross the streets in "herds" so we don't get run over..Traffic lights don't really mean much around here and pedestrians do not have the right of way.. you will get hit! We have walked all over the city and actually found our way back to our hotel.. not sure how since we can't seem to find road signs at all.. I have really started to appreciate the "Russian" way... People here to me seem very laid back.. well, not when it comes to driving.. the driving here is insane... I'm surprised there aren't more traffic fatalities.. but what I noticed.. no road rage.. At home if somebody cuts me off or anything like that it can sometimes put me in a bad mood for awhile... here it's just the way it is.. We almost hit 4 people , almost had 6 wrecks.. but who's counting.. the point is.. nobody gets upset, nobody flips anybody off.. they just honk and go about there business without really getting upset.

People have been nice and helpful when they can be.. A lot of the younger people here speak some English..It doens't mean they always really understand what you are saying but at least you can somewhat communicate.

St. Petersburg is a beautiful city full of history and culture.  It's buildings are amazing! Today we took a boat tour through the canals of the city.. We tried to find the English tour.. gave up and took the Russian tour... very informative.. if you understand Russian..oh well, we got lots of pictures.. We also visited St. Isaacs Cathedral.. very beautiful! We were able to see the whole city from the top. We even got to watch the Russia Day parade! Very fun getting to be a part of the celebrations!

Saint Isaac's Cathedral

Day 3

Hospital where we had our medicals done

This morning we had our 8 MD visit at the hospital. When entering the hospital we had to put those blue bootie things over our shoes, just like we did at the orphanage...not a bad idea! We had to be there at 7:30 am!  We met with the head administrator to sign papers and go over the schedule. First we met with the doctor of infectious disease..he asked very simple questions then they drew blood! Next we met with the neurologist for an exam and questions..after that they provided us tea,coffee, and breakfast pastry...very good! Next we met with the pulminologist..she asked us several questions..but never asked us if we smoked..it seems like in America that is the first question every doctor ask..then again, smoking is very common in Russia. Next we had a chest x- ray done...then an EKG.. then off to our psych. eval.. I was nervous about this because I wasn't sure what to expect.. but it was not bad.. he basically just asked us some questions about our homestudy. Next we went to a room where we were examined by 3 doctors at one time.. A dermatologist, cardiologist, and oncologist. And  had to strip from the waist up in a room with my husband, 3 doctors, and a translator... talk about AWKWARD!!!  In America the docs always give you something to cover up with until they examine you.. not here my friends.. not here..just sayin! All in all it was not a bad experience! The whole process only took 2 hours and everyone was very nice.

After leaving the hospital we got to got to the orphanage to visit our precious son.  His group was on the playground.  He saw us, started crying, and ran to his caregiver... that is to be expected.. I am glad I was mentally prepared for this=) Once we took him to the other playground he was again.. fine.  We did not get to spend a long time with him but we are greatful for the time we got.. We gave him a little photo album we made of our family.. he liked looking at it.. I pray his caregivers will show it to him while we are apart. Then it was time to say goodbye.. This was difficult, knowing it was the last time I would see him until we return for court. I gave him a big hug and kiss and said "paka- paka" .... Then I cried.... Tomorrow is his 2nd birthday and I wish I could be there to celebrate with him..I'm sure he's never had a party before...Even though his orphanage is a very clean, nice place with lots of toys, it is not a home...He has never been outside the perimeters of that orphanage and I can't wait to break him out of there.. He has so much to see and experience! Thank you Lord that I get to be part of that..We officially signed all the papers to make "V" our son!  It feels good! It is only Friday afternoon and we are done with all adoption work...Our flight does not leave until Tuesday..Because Monday is a holiday here in Russia we got everything done in 3 days=) We tried to get our flights changed to come home early but it was going to cost $730 dollars per person to change.... so it looks like we are staying right here in St. Petersburg and enjoying the city!

This would be us after getting our blood drawn..see, we are still all smiles!

This is us with the head doctor and pulminologist-all the doctors were so nice!

Day 2

I can't believe I am so behind!! Time goes so fast! Today when we got to the orphanage we got to observe our little one in his "class".. We got to see his play area, where he eats, gets changed, and his little locker with his name on it..I am very impressed with how clean everything is.. When you enter the orphanage they have you put booties over your shoes...When we came into the playroom to sit down a couple of the kids came running up and jumped right into our laps! I think our little guy knew we were there for him because he went and got in his caretakers lap! We were able to observe him playing with his friends, sharing snacks with his friends, and even a little scuffle with a friend! After that we got to take him outside to the playground.. It was a really nice day but they still bundle them up! No crying at all! This was our best time together yet! He was all over the playground exploring everything. I think he finally started to feel somewhat comfortable with us as he began smiling.. which made my heart melt!

I was also able to get his measurements so when I get home I can begin buying clothes! My girls have been wanting to do this for months! Here is a little "snapshot" of our precious one!! I can't wait for everyone to meet him... you can't help but love him!

Great Day!!!

This is the building we went to, to meet with the committee to recieve our referral!

It is Thursday morning here. I didn't get a chance to post about our meeting yestereday because it was a long day 9-9! I could not have asked for a better meeting with our little one.. I think it went much better than what I expected. There is so much I want to share about our day but this post would turn into a small book! When his caretaker brought him into the room he was ok with everything until she left, then he began to cry! This is good though as it means he is attached to someone. The orphanage doctor then took us into a bigger room that had toys and left the 3 of us there..for 45 min..us in awe and our little one scared to death. I held my hands out to see if he would let me pick him up and he did! He let me comfort him and after just a few seconds he stopped crying=) He then became very interested in all the toys I brought.. He loved books..We played with cars , blocks and a ball. He is curious little boy. After about 30 min. he began crying...If I only had those bubbles!!! Our translator came in and began speaking to him in Russian and he stopped crying. She was giving him different commands to do with the toys and he did them! Guess I should learn more Russian! Then he started crying again.. His caregiver came back for him at that point because it was lunch time/nap time..
We got to see him again that evening while the Euromed doctor did his eveluation. So we got to watch the eval. then ask all our questions! He was sooo coroperative with the doctor. When the doc. told him to open his mouth.. he did.. When the doc. told him he was going to look in his nose he leaned his little nose towards the doctor! SOOO cute!
We get to visit him again today with his group and see how he interacts with his friends/caregivers and then spend more one on one time with him! I can't wait.. He is so loveable and so precious... words can not even describe..I know he will fit right in with our family!

Another Sleepless Night?!

It is Tuesday night..9:00p.m. I should already be asleep since I woke up Monday morning at 6:00a.m..I am so excited about meeting my son tomorrow. To be honest I haven't slept well since I recieved the "call". I have prayed and waited for this day for 4 years and I can hardly believe that tomorrow is it. I finally get to meet the little boy I have been praying for. Thank you Lord for moving in the heart of my husband and moving in the hearts of countless family and friends to make this day possible.. I used to think about all the orphans in the world and wondered what I could do. I read a quote on fellow bloggers post.. "adopting a child may not change the world, but for that child the world will change". The day I recieved my referral, he was no longer just an orphan out there in this big world.. he was my son. I can't help but wonder if he is being taken care of.. who comforts him when he is sad? Or gets hurt? Is he getting enough to eat? Is he lonely? Does he truly know what it's like to be loved? I may not sleep until he comes home=) Thank you Lord for placing this desire in my heart and thank you for seeing us through! Your grace is amazing to me!

We Made It!

We finally made it to Russia...3 flights and 16 hours later we are here!! Overall we had a great trip! We said goodbye to our girls and I tried very hard not to cry.. when we got to our first security checkpoint they checked my bag and they took my bubbles.. stealing from the orphans who have never seen bubbles! Then I got weepy... I know it is silly but I think because I was trying so hard not to cry in front of my girls I let it out on the poor airport security guy..When he told me I couldn't take my bubbles my eyes quickly filled with tears... Can you tell it's been a stressful week? Anyways, along the way we met some really neat people. Good conversation always makes time go by faster. We tried to sleep on the flight from Phili to Zurich.. not so much..everytime I would fall asleep we would hit some crazy turbulance and it felt like the plane was going to fall out of the sky, like maybe we would end up on some island and be on the next episode of "LOST"..Oh well..we got to spend all of 1 hour in Switerland.. Swiss people are soooo nice! Like crazy nice! We landed in Russia at 2:15pm.. and Viktor was there to pick us up! He had no problem picking out the Americans.. Me and my hot pink shirt and flip flops and my husband with his plaid shorts and flip flops and we were all smiles..He knows very little English and we know very little Russian...Somehow he and Michael were able to talk about MMA fighting..that was an interesting conversation... nice guy! Now we are about to venture out into the city for food!!! We have our committee meeting tomorrow morning!! Can't wait!

Travel Dates

We recieved our travel dates for Russia early Monday morning! The committe wants us there by June 8th! We are soooo excited but crazy stressed! We couldn't begin working on any of our travel plans Monday because it was a holiday..the first thing needed Visa's..So early this morning we started trying to find someone who could get us Visa's in 4 days.. We didn't think it was going to happen.. but at 3:45 we were able to get everything in the mail.. praying we have them back by Friday! Now that we have secured Visa's we are trying to nail down flights and hotel... Not easy but sooo worth it! Everything seems to be booked..looks like we will be paying top dollar for flights and hotels... June is a popular month to travel to Russia.... they hiked the prices way up! Once again.. we might have to adjust our budget=)

2nd Grade Awards

Today was the 2nd grade awards ceremony! We are so proud of you Kennedy and all your accomplishments!

Kennedy's Dance Recital

Kennedy had her dance recital on Saturday afternoon. She did a fantastic job on all 3 dances!!!