We are home

It's been a while since I updated our blog, but I wanted to get caught up on everything that has happened since our Embassy Appointment and finally share some photos.

On Thursday, Irina came to the hotel to give us the Russian Consulate documents. When she saw Hannah, she commented how relaxed and happy she looked. She said she looked like a different child. That was great to hear that she is already benefiting from having a family and one on one (or two) attention.

She did quite well on the flight home. Although she screamed for the 1st 2 hours she finally slept for about 2 hours. When she woke up she was great and played quite contently. It was a long 9.5 hours, but we arrived at Kennedy early and were able to catch an earlier flight to Boston. Our friend, Michael, picked us up at the airport and by the time we got home, it was 8 pm (4 am Moscow time) and we were utterly exhausted. I can't believe that in all that time, Hannah only slept for 2.5 hours. It will take quite a few days for her to catch up on sleep.

I was very excited for Emily and Hannah's first meeting. When we pulled into the driveway, Emily raced to the front door. I was carrying Hannah and Emily gave her a quiet "Hello Hannah" and a soft kiss on the cheek. Very cute. We played for a few minutes, but needed to get her to bed.

Saturday was a great day getting settled back in at home. It was great to watch Emily and Hannah play together. Emily is a little tentative. She hasn't been around young children very often, so it will take her a little while to figure Hannah out. Emily was a great helper all day. When I put her to bed at night, I asked her what she though tof being a big sister. She said "it's OK", when I asked why, she replied "it's a lot of work!".

Since our first day, things have only got better and better. Hannah is such a joy and is a very funny, cuddly, confident child. It is fantastic having a young child again. I just love hugging her and rubbing her little back. At first she was very easy to put to bed. She would cry out twice and them go to sleep, but after 2 weeks, she refused to go to bed. It would take a couple of hours to get her down because everytime I left the room she wuld get out of bed (she is in a twin bed with a rail) and scream and scream at the top of her lungs by the door. The last thing I wanted was her to fall asleep on the floor from crying, since everything is so new still, so I would stand by the door or rock her in the rocking chair until she fell asleep... which some nights took 2 hours because she kept looking up to make sure I was there. I am sure this is mostly typical baby behavior, but it also has to have something to do with the affects of being in an orphanage. She is getting much better now because we are getting into a better routine and falls asleep pretty quickly.

She LOVES her baby dolls. She spends most of the day pushing them around in doll strollers, and giving them their bottles and rocking them. It is so sweet. She is very nurturing. She also likes her little baby bike and her noisy toys, but mostly, she loves to climb on everything, including us.

She's eating great. She finishes most everything we give her, although is starting to be more picky, perhaps because she figuring out that there is a fridge full of food.

We took her to her pediatrician 3 days after we returned from Russia and she gave her a full bill of health. She is 70% for height, 50% weight and 90% head. We are getting caught up on her vaccinations and she got 4 shots that visit (including N1H1) and has another visit in a month. We are also taking her to Children's Hospital in Boston in early December for a Post-Adoption Evaulation. I am not expecting any problems, but it will be good for her to be checked by an adoption specialist. Her speech is slightly delayed, which is fully expected. She didn't say too much while in Russia... Da daaaaaaahhhhh, and a few babbles, but since we've been home, she is babbling all the time and it is so adorable. She makes new noises every day and we think she says "Cat" and "Meow". We are not sure, but she gets very excited when she sees the cats. She does occasionally say mamamama. I expecially love the long conversations she has with us. I am sure she knows exactly what she is saying, we just nod in agreement.

We are thrilled that everything is going very well. We are so grateful God found us this beautiful girl and it is wonderful being a family of 4.

Embassy appointment

Today was a lazy day. Hannah got up around 8:15am - very respectable! We went for breakfast and them just lounged around waiting for our 2pm Embassy appointment. We joined about 5 other adoptive families with young children in the waiting room while a lady explained what we needed to do when we entered the US and information about the children's dual citizenship. It was great to speak with other families and hear that their experiences were very similar, we even met a family that used the same agency. Everyone has experienced tantrums and were getting their kids out of the regimented orphanage routine. After a very quick and painless 30 minutes we came away with her visa and a sealed envelope with copies of her papers to give to immigration at JFK. We are technically now able to leave the country, but since we are registering her at the consulate, we have 2 more days. We gave in the paperwork to the consulate this afternoon and the documents will be ready on Thursday afternoon. Irina will bring them to our hotel at 5pm on Thursday and we will say our farewells.

Hannah is starting to get used to Marc more and more each day. As I write, he is giving her a bath, so I took the opportunity to sneak away and enjoy some tea and desserts in the Executive Lounge (yes, I'm becoming a hotel snob). The embassy appointment was right at nap time, so Hannah got about 10 minutes nap on the car ride there and about 30 minutes on the car ride home, so hopefully the bath will soothe her so she is ready for bed. Hopefully she'll sleep in late!

Nothing much planned for tomorrow or Thursday. We'll probably walk around town a bit more and try the pool again. We tried the pool yesterday and at first Hannah was petrified and just put her head on my shoulder. Her ears turned bright red and hot, not sure if this was a reaction to the temperature of the pool or fear. After a short while, I sat her on the ledge where she was much happier splashing the water with her hands and kicking her feet. We walked down to the pool again this morning just to look in the window to gauge her reaction and I couldn't pull her away, perhaps this means she liked it? We'll find out.

Thanks to everyone for their well wishes, kind words and prayers. It has made the trip even more enjoyable knowing there are folks who care so much back home.

Back in Moscow

It is so great to be back at the Marriott. It is great to hear English and be understood again. The room is great, we were upgraded to a deluxe room, again with Butler service, and access to the Executive Lounge that has drinks and food all day long. The hotel restaurants are very expensive, so this will help keep meal costs down.

The pediatrician arrived at 10:30am on Saturday to examine Hannah. She didn't cry once while he measured and poked her. He was very kind and spoke great English. She is 75% for head size, and 25-50% for weight and height. The doctor said she was in great health and there were no signs of any of the medical issues on her chart at the orphanage. Her speech is delayed, which is expected, but she will catch up quickly. The examination lasted about 30 minutes after which he gave us a sealed envelope to give to the US Embassy when we apply for her Visa.

She took a nice long nap (as did I) and in the afternoon, we walked around the hotel, played in the room, and ate in the lounge. The first time I tried to bathe her in the region, she screamed the whole time and refused to sit in the baby bath, so I gave her a quick shower. I am not sure why she reacted this way. Perhaps bath time was not pleasant at the orphanage, or not frequent. The next night, I put the shower head on the floor making a fountain and this seemed to occupy her while I washed her. She desperately needed a good soak, so I decided to try another bath when we got back to Moscow. She started crying while the water was running, but I added bubbles which she loved and she completely enjoyed the bath. Yay! Now she likes it, this will be a good activity each night.

She slept great on Saturday night. She fell asleep at 6:30pm. I was nervous she would be up early again, but she fussed for about an hour around midnight, then slept until 8:30am. WOW! We felt totally refreshed!

Today is Sunday and at 11am, Irina met us in our room to go over all the Embassy paperwork. She will take everything to the Embassy on Monday and will meet us again at 11am. We will have the rest of the day to ourselves. She left an envelope with various documents that we need to read over to prepare for our interview at the US Embassy at 1pm on Tuesday. Nothing to get nervous about, they will just ask us about the process.

So, for now, we are relaxing in the hotel, we may try out the pool tomorrow, now that Hannah seems OK with water.

Right now, we can't access the internet on our own laptops, only on the computers in the Executive Lounge, and unfortunately, we don't have a flash drive to transfer photos. We will try to add photos later in the week when Marc orders internet for the hotel room. We don't feel comfortable adding photos of Hannah until we are home, just to be safe, but we'll share photos very soon.

Week in Petrozavodsk

The week we spent in Petrozavodsk was very quiet. The hotel room was large enough for Hannah to run around, but there were only 2 beds. To make sure Hannah slept well (which would make our lives much easier in the long run), Marc graciously offered to sleep on the couch. Hannah went to bed around 7:30pm each night, but kept getting up earlier and earlier each morning, with a 4:15am wake up call on the last day. As most of you know, I am not at my best that early in the morning, but we survived and I took advantage of her nap time to catch up on sleep myself.

Our typical daily schedule was breakfast, then pace the hotel hallways (there were 4 floors which I think we covered several times), a walk outside with Hannah in the stroller, then back to the hotel for a nap. After nap, lunch, then playing in the room, more walks in the hallways, more playing, dinner, and finally bed.

Over the course of the week, we learned a lot more about Hannah including that she can eat a LOT! We don't know where she puts it all. For breakfast, she can down about 1 ½ cups of oatmeal, ½ peach, a pineapple ring, 2 large pieces of cucumber, ¼ of a tomato, and a small glass of milk. She stumbles back to the room letting the weight of her full belly propel her forward. It's pretty funny.

We also found out that she can pull a fantastic tantrum – for just about anything. If we take anything away that she either shouldn't be playing with or is putting in her mouth that she shouldn't, or pull her away from a hot radiator, or even if Marc tries to pick her up, she collapses on the floor and flops backwards into a fit of crying and tears. She's bumped her head on the hard floor a couple of times, but now we can see the signs and are there to catch her. We've let her cry it out a few times, but Irina told us to keep her quiet so not to attract attention, so if we are in public, or in earshot of anyone, I quickly pick her up and she immediately stops crying and places her head on my shoulder.

It seems, right now, I am the only one who she will come to to be picked up or comforted. I feel terrible for Marc since I am getting all the cuddles and bonding time, but he is taking in stride. He prepared himself for this very thing, understanding that she has not had much exposure to men, having only been cared for by women.

Although it has been a long week, with not much to do, it has been great to spend so much time together and get to know each other. We are very much looking forward to returning home and introducing her to Emily and our family and friends.

At 2pm on Friday, while Marc looked after Hannah, “Frodo” picked me up and we drove to the Office of Internal Affairs to pick up Hannah's passport. We first went to the office on the 2nd floor. Here we needed to get her birth certificate stamped, I think this validates her Russian citizenship, although I am not sure. Unfortunately, the ladies were not very organized and has not completed the paperwork. They also needed the papers signed by the manager who was returning in about an hour. So, we were asked to return at 4pm. “Frodo” took me back to the hotel to wait. When we returned, the papers were ready and we went to Office 12 on the 1st floor where I signed for her passport and we left. I was so relieved to have her passport because it meant we could board the train. Without it, she could not leave the region.

At the hotel, we finished packing and at 6:15pm, “Frodo” took us to the train and we waved goodbye as the train left the station at 7pm. This was a big moment since it was the first time she had ever left the town where she was born and we were one step closer to home.

I was fully expecting Hannah to enjoy the movement on the train and fall fast asleep, but unfortunately, she didn't settle at all and kept us up for most of the night. In the early morning hours, I was starting to lose it, so Marc stepped in to help and since Hannah was so tired, she allowed him to hold her and comfort her. I was so grateful, because after a 4am start to the day, I was running low on energy and patience. She finally fell asleep from 1-4am and again from 5-6pm. She was very restless and it made for a tough night, but we finally made it to Moscow.

The Amazing Race - Adoption Day

The object of today's race is to pick up Hannah. The train arrived in Petrozavodsk at 8:50am and Team Crosier found their driver, Fyodor (or “Frodo” as he has become affectionately known). First we raced to the bank to transfer money for her passport. It was then onto the court to pick up copies of the Judge's adoption decree. The next stop was the Office of Vital Statistics for Hannah's new birth and adoption certificates. Here we met a Detour. Because the judge used abbreviations in the documents, the clerk would not accept the paperwork and we needed to get it redone which would take about an hour.

To pass time, we stopped for breakfast and much needed caffeine to keep us going. We visited the Ministry of Education to return some paperwork, thank them for all they have done, and offer a gift (which the clerk was too shy to accept). Our revised court documents were ready on time and we were back in the race. With lunchtime approaching, the new papers satisfied the clerk at the Office of Vital Statistics and thought she asked us to return after lunch, we pressed her for the documents right away. While Team Crosier was with the clerk, “Frodo” raced to the orphanage to collect Hannah's passport photos and rejoined the team.

Office of Vital Statistics

Next was a quick stop for photocopies then into the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Here we hit a Road Block – one of us had to face this challenge alone. Natalie was “volunteered” because Russian law requires children's passports to be linked to the mother, so Natalie needed to sign the papers. Inside the office building (which looked like the Department of Motor Vehicles) we tried to enter Office # 12, but it was locked, as were all the other offices. In order to get into the offices, someone had to swipe their badge to turn the red light green. When someone entered Office 12, we darted over to the door. I had already closed, but when we knocked someone let us in. We gave the lady the papers and left for an office on the 2nd floor. This office was open and we gave the lady more papers and were told to return on Friday to pick up here passport. Since we completed all the steps in the Road Block we could continue the race.

Court House

At this point, Team Crosier was feeling pretty confident, so we had lunch and checked into the hotel. About an hour later, at 3pm, “Frodo” took us to the supermarket to buy gifts for the orphanage, diapers, and food for the week and it was onto the final stop – the orphanage. When we arrived, all the children were getting ready to go outside to play, so they kept Hannah inside. We played for 10 minutes while Irina did “official” business, and the children and caregivers said their farewells – a few even cried. It was very sad to see their faces and say goodbye to the women who had taken such great care of Hannah. We changed Hannah into her new clothes and shoes and left her old ones neatly folded on the table. This upset me because she was leaving without even the clothes on her back, but at the same time, it was a fresh start and everything would be new and exciting for her. She had a bright future ahead of her. We left 12 gift bags in the room, extended our thanks and said our goodbyes to the Orphanage Director and got into the care and left. Unlike the Amazing Race, there was no sprint to the finish, no wondering if we were in first place, we simply picked her up and started our lives together.

Hannah and Dad leaving the orphanage

OK, so comparing our day with the Amazing Race is a tad corny, but we are little stir crazy and needed to change things up a bit.

Back in Moscow

Greetings from Moscow. We arrived safely this morning after a great flight. We were a little delayed getting out of JFK because Air Force One (the President's plane) had arrived and backed up departures. We saw the plane parked outside a hanger as we were taking off. Pretty cool!

In Moscow, we were greeted by Irina (our host) and Valery (our driver) who took us to the Marriott. We are staying at a different Marriott this time because it has more amenities what will help occupy Hannah. It is beautiful and thanks (again) to Marc's frequent travel, we were upgraded to a suite that has it's own butler!!! No kidding. Seconds after arriving at the room, the butler knocked on the door and bought us some champagne and told us to call him if we needed anything. A ½ hour later he arrived with cheese & crackers and a full bottle of wine. I could get used to this!

We got caught up on sleep, took a shower, and are now relaxing in the Executive Lounge (another perk) and enjoying appetizers and drinks and getting caught up on emails. Tomorrow we plan to visit the inside of the Kremlin. Irina will pick us up at 5pm to go to the train.

It is strange to think this is our last trip. Although I am sure we will be back when Hannah is older. It is still hard to believe we will be coming home with another daughter. We feel very blessed that everything has gone so quickly and smoothly. God has been in control of everything and we trust that he will be with us over the next 2 weeks as we finalize everything and bring her home. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and can't wait for you to meet her.

Hannah is our daughter!

The judge agreed to the adoption! So, Hannah is now part of our family. We are overjoyed.

The morning was quite stressful. After breakfast at the hotel, we headed across the street to the court house and took a small elevator up to the 6th floor. After a security check, we were taken to the court room which was about 20 ft x 20 ft with benches at one end, where we sat, and 3 large, ornate wooden chairs at the other end of the judge. In the middle were 2 rows of tables facing each other where the prosecutor and the social workers sat. There was also a computer where the secretary sat and prescribed the proceedings. There was also a cage on the right of the room; I imagine this is for criminals.

Irina had warned us about a male prosecutor she has seen in the past who is against international adoption and asks lots of tough questions and is rather rude. We were very fortunate that the prosecutor was a woman – she was much nicer. Once everyone arrived, we stood up as the judge walked in and sat down. We introduced ourselves and answered the many questions from the judge and the prosecutor, standing up when we were addressed. The questions weren’t very difficult, but we had to be careful about how we answered them to make sure we didn’t accidentally say anything wrong. Irina sat behind us and translated everything. The questions lasted for about 30 minutes and then the judge read from a large folder containing all of the documents we had prepared at the beginning of the process. The social worker read her conclusion, followed by the prosecutors conclusion (both of which recommended the adoption) and after our final remarks, the judge left for 15 minutes. She returned and read a paper that has been prepared that stated she approved the adoption. As she read, we held back tears. We couldn’t wait to go to the orphanage to give our daughter a big hug! Everyone congratulated us and then it was all over. In total we were there for about 1 ¾ hours.

We returned to the hotel to pack, check out and have lunch. We got to the orphanage around 4:30pm and played with Hannah until 6pm. We played with skittles, in the ball pit and she scaled the wall a few more times. People over here carry blue shoe coverings that they put on when they enter buildings after it has rained. We were wearing some of these and Hannah was very curious, so Irina gave her a set. She was so proud of herself and walked around the gym showing off her “shoes”. She was so funny. At 6pm she had to join her group for dinner and we had to go to the train, so we said out goodbyes. We desperately wanted to take her with us, but we can’t take custody until after the 10 day waiting period.

We return to Moscow on October 23rd and will see her again on 26th. She will stay with us in the hotel in Petrazavodsk until her International passport is ready on October 30th. Then we take the overnight train back to Moscow. A doctor will visit us in the hotel over the weekend and on Monday we will apply for her visa and on Wednesday will register her with the consulate. Everything should be completed by Thursday November 5th, and we will return on the 6th. It will be a long 2 weeks without the conveniences of home, but it will be great bonding time.

Visiting Hannah

It is official; I am no good at Skipbo. Marc is beating me 14 games to 1. Pitiful! After 12 straight losses, I did finally win a game, but my luck was short lived.

The train ride to Petrazavodsk was long. After a dinner of ham and cheese sandwiches and delicious Russian cookies, we played a few card games then tried to get some sleep. We tossed and turned, and both woke up around 3am as the train was pulling into St. Petersburg for a pit stop. Since we were both wide awake, we played a couple of more games of Skipbo (I lost again!). We did manage to get a little more sleep before arriving just before 9am.

View from the train

Train hallway

Our cabin

Fayodor, our driver, was there to greet us. We went to the court house where Irina dropped off some paperwork and then we went to the orphanage. We met with the Orphanage Director and the head Social Worker both of whom were not there on our first visit. Then we met Hannah outside with her group and took her to another part of the playground. She was bundled up in a snowsuit, 2 hats, a scarf, boots and gloves. She had so many clothes on, she could hardly walk. We played on the swing and the slide and after about 30 minutes our toes were frozen, so we went inside to play in the gym.

Hannah is taking to us very quickly and is really enjoying our company. She has an adorable laugh and comes to us when we ask. She loves playing the piano and in the ball pit. She is incredibly strong. She scales the small climbing ladder attached to the wall with no assistance. We were really impressed!

Just before noon, we took her back to her room for lunch and nap. The kids know exactly what is expected. There were 2 little tables each with 6 chairs. Hannah knew where to go and ate what was served with no fuss. They had vegetable soup, mashed potatoes, zucchini and pot roast. Although Emily will be teaching Hannah a lot, she can learn a thing or two about trying new foods.

Bedroom

We had lunch at the Parisienne restaurant again then checked into the hotel. Irina went over a ton of details about court – what we should and shouldn’t say, what will give a good impression to the judge, the types of questions they will ask, and information we need to prepare in advance. Tomorrow is the day we have been building up to for the last year and will determine if we can adopt Hannah. The social worker from the orphanage and the city social worker will be speaking in our favor, but there will also be a prosecutor who will be arguing to keep Hannah in Russia. We are quite nervous but Irina assures us everything looks positive. After our 2 hour appointment, the judge will give her decision before we leave court.

From 4-6pm, we went back to the orphanage and played with Hannah in the gym. It was so much fun. We buried her in the ball pit, played basketball, looked out of the window at the snow (yes, snow!!!) and enjoyed some cuddles. Irina gave Hannah her cell phone to play with and when it was time to give it back, she had a little temper tantrum. It was so cute. She fell facedown on the floor and crawled forward with her head still on the ground, screaming… it was quite the sight. She eventually got over it just in time for dinner.

We are now enjoying a quiet evening in the hotel and will fall asleep pretty early so we are ready for what will most likely be a very emotional and stressful day.

Back in Moscow

Greetings from Moscow. We arrived safely and were greeted by Valery (our driver) and Irina (our host). We were not expecting to see Irina until the evening, so that was a pleasant surprise. We talked about the trip briefly, but she will give us more information about the court appointment on our way up to Karelia.

We were spoiled in Business Class on our first trip, but it was back in coach this time. Needless to say, we didn’t get much sleep – an hour at best. We were lucky, however, to get an upgrade to a junior suite at the Marriott – another perk of Marc’s frequent travel. We spent most our time in Moscow catching up on sleep, the time change really affected us this time. We did make it to the gym and went to a local grocery store by the Kremlin to get some snacks and dinner.

Although it has been 6 weeks since out 1st trip, it feels just like yesterday we were here. We are less nervous about the trip because our schedule and surrounds are more familiar. It is cooler; about 40 degrees in Moscow and people are walking around in heavy winter coats, scarves, and hats with kids in snow suits. Seems a bit overkill for 40 degrees, we would have thought they were used to the cold. It is going to be in the 30’s in Karelia, but we are prepared with warm clothes and winter jackets. I see that it is 34 degrees in Milford today with a chance of frost, so we are all feeling the start of winter.

We do feel slightly underdressed when we walk around the city. Most women wear skirts (some of them very short!) or slacks with high heel shoes or knee high boots. We stick out in our jeans, sneakers and colorful ski jackets…. lol.

Right now it’s Sunday afternoon and we are relaxing in the hotel lobby waiting for Irina to arrive to take us to the train. I am on my 2nd cup of tea so hopefully that will keep me alert enough to study all the medial terms we need to memorize for court on the train ride.

We can’t wait to see Hannah again tomorrow. We will go to the orphanage directly from the train station. I wonder how much she has changed and if she will recognize us. I don’t believe we have much else to do on Monday, so hopefully we will be able to spend a lot of time with her. We hope to see more of where she has been living. Last trip we just peeked into the playroom, but we would like to see where they eat and sleep. Currently we have a “big girl” bed set up at home, but need to know if we should bring down the crib.

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting us. We are truly luck to have such wonderful family and friends. We can’t wait for you all to meet Hannah when we are home in early November.

Back to Russia

We leave for our 2nd trip to Russia tomorrow morning. My mum arrived yesterday to take care of Emily while we are away. It is such a blessing that my mum can stay. Although Emily is sad that we have to go, she really looks forward to spending time with Nannie. Living so far away, these trips are giving them a chance to spend some quality time together.

We have almost everything ready, just need to get a couple of documents notarized at the bank on my lunch break.... oh yeh, and we need to pack. We have a list of medical terms to memorize too, but we will have plenty of time on our long plane ride on Friday and even longer train ride on Sunday. Besides the court appointment on Tuesday, I don't believe we have any other "official" responsibilities, so hopefully we will have lots of time to spend with Hannah. I am not sure if at the end of this trip the court declares her officially part of our family, or if we have to wait until after the 10 day waiting period. I guess we will have to see. All we pray is that it goes smoothly and there are no problems.

Other last few weeks, we've finished her room and brought some books and toys down from the attic. Emily is really intrigued by the baby toys and has spent a lot of time in Hannah's room playing and reading the board books. She's even asked to include some of Hannah's books into bedtime reading time. It's been interesting to see her process all the changes and see her get more and more excited to have Hannah home.
The next month will be very hectic. If all goes well at court, we will be travelling 3 out of the next 4 weeks. But, after that we will be home. Please pray for safe travel, a successful court date, quality time with Hannah and safety for Emily at home.

We'll be home by November 6th

WOW, everything is coming together. We leave in 2 weeks for court. All of our paperwork has been submitted so we are ready to go. All that is left is we have to write a paragraph about why we want to adopt that will be presented at court, take photos of her new bedroom and memorize her medical history. Not too concerned about the 1st 2, but both Marc and I have terrible memories and are not too good with medical terms, but I think over the next 2 weeks we should be able to learn it all.

Assuming all goes well, our 3rd trip will be on October 23rd-November 6th. On that trip we actually have custody and I think we take care of her in the hotel for a few days before we are released to leave for Moscow. In Moscow we process her passport and take her to the American Embassy where she is declared an American, then we can leave. In short 6 weeks, we will be a family of 4 (well, 6, Emily will be upset if we forget the cats).

We appreciate all of your prayers. This has all gone so smoothly that we know God is in control of every detail. Please pray for our safety, that everything is processed smoothly and quickly, and for Emily and my mum back home.

Court date is scheduled

Hi everyone,

Our court date has been scheduled for October 13th at 10am. Although we’ve already been to Russia once and have met our daughter, all of a sudden this seems so much more real. If all goes well, we will be home with our new family finally together by the 1st week in November. It is hard to believe and seems like it is going so quickly.

We will be leaving for our 2nd trip on Friday October 9th (just a month away). This trip will be somewhat easier since we know what to expect – what we’ll see and what our schedule will be like. We are nervous about our court appearance, but I am sure Irina will prepare us well. She took good care of us on the last trip.

I have Hannah’s photo on my laptop screen and am falling more in love with her each time I see her. We are really excited to see her again. Before we leave, we will find all the age appropriate toys stored in the attic. We had given all of Emily’s toddler clothes away, but our neighbor has kindly offered us all her hand-me-downs, so Hannah will have lots of fun clothes waiting for her.

We would value your prayers as we prepare for the next trip. There are a few documents we need to gather and we need to apply for our visas (fortunately, we have lots of time and won’t be biting our nails waiting for the passports to arrive the day before we travel). Leaving Emily is difficult for all of us. We miss her terribly, but know she is well cared for and thoroughly spoiled by my mum.

More doctor visits

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Today was similar to yesterday. More doctor visits, but by the end of the 2 days we had all 8 signatures. We went to a notary to draft up the adoption paperwork and to the bank to transfer money for the visa invitation letter. After a few more trips back and forth between the notary, the ministry of education and the ministry of foreign affairs, everything was completed. Now that we have applied for adoption, Hannah can not be adopted by a Russian family, only by her birth family, but everyone has relinquished rights, so we should be in the clear.

We had completed all the “official” business by 1 pm which left us time to drive around the town to see more of the city. We walked along the lake front and saw a statue of Peter the Great (who the town is named after) and visited a souvenir shop.

At 4pm, we went to visit Hannah again and stayed for 2 hours. We spent some time in the gym and outside. It rained a little, so keeping her under the covered area was difficult because all she wanted to do was walk around, but she was happy on Marc’s shoulders. After it stopped raining, we played peekabo in the play house and she laughed a LOT. We said our farewells at 6pm and headed for the train. We slept better on the ride home – partly from exhaustion (although all we did was sit in a car for 2 days), part from knowing it was all over and we could relax, and part from the enjoyment of finally meeting Hannah.

Visiting Elisabeth for the first time

Our 13th wedding anniversary – and what a way to celebrate by visiting our new daughter!

We didn’t sleep much on the train ride – a combination of being unfamiliar with the surroundings and excited about meeting Hannah Elisabeth. We were greeted at the Petravadosk Station by our driver, Dyotor, and immediately went to the Ministry of Education to accept the referral and received more information about the mother and father. We checked into the hotel and then went straight to the orphanage which was in the back of a large apartment complex. The building was very old surrounded by a 4 ft cement wall. Security was very lax. We walked right into the open gate and we found Hannah Elisabeth’s group in the far corner playing in a very basic, old playground with a sand box, a rusty slide, some trikes and a small jungle gym. There was an area of broken flooring (rotten 2x4 planks) under a roof, where the children played when it rained. This would never pass code in America!

Hannah was sitting on her tutor’s lap. The tutor cleaned her faced and placed her in a stroller and wheeled her over to us. We greeted her and touched her hand gently. She was very shy, at first just looking down, not making a sound. After a minute or 2, she looked up and studied us one at a time. She held our finger, but did not break her guarded expression. We walked her around the path, taking photos and video. She warmed us to us pretty quickly and we tickled her legs and shoulders to make her laugh. We went to another corner where there was a toy house. She loved the house and walked in and out repetitively, opening and closing the doors. After another 5 minutes, we were asked to return her to the group. We spent around 20-30 minutes with her in total before going inside to meet the pediatrician and the social worker.

We first went to the pediatrician who read through her medical record. Many of the issues stated on the initial medical report have gone away. Next we visited the social worker. She was very kind and provided a lot of information on Hannah’sfamily.

We left the orphanage and started our whirlwind medial tour of Petravadosk. The court requires Russian doctors to sign off on our general health. The driving was interesting. The main roads are paved, but all the side roads are full of pot holes and many are unpaved. It was an off-roading adventure. Also, there is little landscaping, so all the grass a weeds where at least waist high. The buildings were very old and in need of repair. Around 7 pm we returned to the hotel to a quiet evening to recover from the hectic day.

We have arrived in Moscow

We arrived safely in Moscow this morning. The flight was amazing. We were in business class and the seats layed flat, so we actually got a fair amount of sleep. Great food and lots of room. We could get used to it!

Thursday night was interesting. Just when we though everything was in order, we got a call at 5:30pm from the agency asking us to get some blood tests. Wished they gave us more notice, because we had to scramble to contact our doctors to authorize the tests and get to the lab before it closed, but we got it all done.

In Moscow, were greeted by a driver who took us to the hotel. We got some more rest, then went to explore the city center. We walked around Red Square, saw St. Basil's church, the Kremlin, Lenin's tomb. etc.. We are taking a guided tour tomorrow morning and will try to go inside some of the buildings.

We met with our translator this evening who gave us more details. She will accompany us the entire trip.

We are excited for what the next few days will bring. Will write more as internet access allows.

Natalie & Marc

We are leaving for Russia!

WOW, the last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. After accepting the referral we have been busy preparing paperwork and making travel plans. We’ve had a few hiccups along the way. Last week when we booked the plane tickets, there was a glitch on the Delta website and we didn’t realize the tickets weren’t actually booked until the next day when we were preparing to send the confirmation information to the agency. The price of the tickets had doubled overnight! Fortunately, we have enough frequent flyer miles for one trip, so we decided to use the miles for this trip. Marc even had a few extra miles to upgrade us to business class. So, hopefully we will be well rested by the time we get there. There have also been a couple of issues with doctor’s not being overly cooperative, but, thankfully, everything was resolved. Also, our visas didn’t arrive until today (we leave tomorrow), so were a little nervous (to say the least) that we wouldn’t be leaving on Friday, but God was in control.

Some wonderful things have also happened this week. We have received a tremendous outpouring of support and excitement from friends and family. Friends have generously offered financial support, others are praying for us, our employers have been very gracious with the short notice of our trip, and, we have even received some baby gifts (so cute!). My parents are just wonderful. My mum is flying up with little notice to take care of Emily (and my dad is looking forward to his own little vacation :o) Also, the Milford water supply has been contaminated for 8 days, and we were grateful that the boil order was lifted yesterday, just in time for my mum’s visit. That is one less thing she will have to worry about while she is here.

Emily has been great. While she is not showing a lot of excitement, I think inside she is looking forward to finding out more about here sister. I don’t think it is real for her yet since her sister is not home, but that will be soon enough. Her biggest concern is that her sister will mess up her bedroom. I think being a big sister will be a transition for her, but a wonderful experience.

We are not sure if we will have internet connection when we are there, but we will try to update the blog if we can. Unfortunately, we can’t post photos of Elisabeth, because of the agency’s internet policy. We appreciate your prayers for safe travel, Emily’s well being, and that everything will go smoothly with minimal issues.

Thanks!

Natalie & Marc

We have a child!

Last Thursday we got THE CALL! Marc called me at work and told me to call him back outside. I was worried he was going to tell me he lost his job, instead, he told me the amazing news that we have a referral! We couldn't believe we heard after only 5 months on the wait list. It was a very emotional conversation as Marc told me all the details he received from the agency. She is 18 months old and named Elizabeth. We received basic medical records which were reviewed by a pediatrician specializing in international adoptions who gave us a good report, so we have accepted.

Since then, things have stepped into high gear. We are leaving on the 1st of 3 trips on August 21st and will be there for 6 days. We should be notified of our second trip while we are there and the 3rd trip will be 10 days after the 2nd trip. We should be able to bring her home by Christmas. What a present!

We are busy applying for our Visas, making travel arrangements and completing paperwork. Everything should be done just in time for our trip.

What's amazing about all of this is we found out on Emily's 7th birthday. Also, my mum surprised us by coming for a visit on Wednesday (the day before) so she was here for all the excitement, and Emily is due to go to her friend Elizabeth's birthday party the day we arrive in Moscow, rather we are going to visit her sister, Elizabeth (although, she'll still make the party, my mum will take her). These may seem like "coincidences", but I know God has been planning this for a while.

Mum went home on Monday and will be coming back next Wednesday to take care of Emily while we are away. She'll enjoy time with her Nannie.

We are overwhelmed with anticipation and can't wait to meet her. We'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we finalize plans.

Natalie

Referral Update

The referral department from the agency called us today to confirm some details and it looks like we may receive a referral as soon as August/September. The region we have been assigned to in Russia is sending referrals quicker than others. We are not going to get out hopes up, but it definitely seems like we will be travelling this year sometime. We were originally told it would be up to 14 months. August will be 6 months on the wait list, so that is great news.

We are slowly getting her room ready. Marc removed the baby border (the room used to be Emily's nursery) and we are getting ready to paint the walls a very light purple to match the bedding. My mum visited recently and Emily kindly gave up her room so Nannie could be comfortable. She slept on her sister's bed (to make sure it was comfortable) and assures us it is just right.

Natalie

We are officially on the wait list

For those of you who may or may not know, Marc and I are adopting a little girl from Russia. We are all excited to be expanding our family and helping out a child in need, including Emily who is thrilled at the propect of being a big sister.

We started the process last summer. We did a LOT of research on the topic and choose an agency that came highly recommended by family friends and in whom we feel very confident will match us with God's child for us. Since then, we have been filling out paperwork after paperwork, and in many cases, redoing it over and over again. There have already been some snags along the way, but amazingly, we've stayed calm and simply taken care of what has needed to be done.

Today we received the LAST documents needed for the foreign dossier, and this evening the agency notified us that we are officially on the wait list. I never thought I would be so excited to be on a wait list, but it means that we are one HUGE step closer to bringing our daughter home.

I will keep you updated as we get more information. We may not have much more to say for a few months, but I wanted to at least get the blog started.