Will the waiting ever end?

Here it is, April 24 and I still have no word on when I will travel to pick up my children. My agency says they are doing everything possible to pull strings to get the families in Biro court dates, but we still have no date. There has been a recent media blitz stating the all Russian adoptions are on hold until this accreditation issue is resolved. Well that is not entirely true as there are some families traveling right now to meet their prospective children and also who have secured court dates to bring them home, the caveat to that is that they are all in different regions than the one my kids and I are in. The Birobidzhan region apparently will not commit to any court dates until the agencies get their accreditation and the accreditation issue is tied up in the bureaucracy of Russian politics. All the while, these kids are sitting in crowded orphanages while they could be home with families that love them and want to provide a terrific life for them, what is wrong with this picture??? My agency says this media campaign was started by various different adoption agencies here in the states to "light a fire" under the Russian officials to get the program going again and it will take a little time to see if it works. I am so thankful though that I have met a family in Long Island that is in the same boat as I am in, so we commiserate together. They also are bringing home a little boy who is in the same group that my Pasha is in, he is absolutely adorable and I hope they remain friends when we both get them home.

I am asking anyone that is reading this to say a prayer that all the families who have been waiting so long to get their children home be granted that desire very, very soon. As soon as I have any other news, I will post it right away.

Love,
Jane

Another document

My agency called last week and told me the judge is asking for one more document; on my medical report it is stated that my hepatitis test is negative, Russia wants it to say I am both Hep B and Hep C negative, this is how picky they are! Well I got it done, notarized and off to Austin for apostille in less than a week, so Russia should have it by early next week. Hopefully this is the last thing they need before assigning a court date. I keep thinking as long as they keep asking for things, we are making progress. That's the latest.

Jane

Map of where my kids are currently living

Click on the map and look for the white star in the far southeast portion of Russia just north of China and that is where Birobidzhan is located

Still on tract

I got all the required updated documents to my agency this week. I asked if we are still on tract with the time frame they gave me a couple of weeks ago, they said yes, this would make it 3-4 weeks from today. I honestly will believe it when I see it; I'm certainly not making any plane reservations yet.

One thing I must make mention of is this most frustrating process. When you get your documents notarized for an adoption, you must also get them apostille by the state that the notary is registered in, mine being Texas. Well when I sent these latest documents to the Secretary of State of Texas for apostille, I enclosed a self addressed FedEx envelope for their speedy return; I received them back this past Monday, not only did I receive my documents, I also received documents of three other families! All very private information. Talk about a breech of confidentiality! I immediately called them and told them of the issue and they seemed to not think anything of it! and just asked that I send them back; no wonder why we have such identity theft issues in the country!



Pasha's room is finally finished! I have to say, it is adorable! Daisy the dog now thinks this room belongs to her and it is not at all uncommon to find her napping on Pasha's bed. I'm hoping she becomes Pasha's dog and I can finally get her out of my bed for good!


Okay, gotta give equal time to the other two four legged children:

Miss Rosie

Miss Violet

Sometimes I think I have lost my mind! Three dogs and 2 kids! What was I thinking???

Jane

A glimmer of light

Received a call from my agency on Friday telling me that my file is in front of the Judge in Birobidzhan and that they have requested two updated documents. This is progress! She also told me that most likely their accreditation will come in 5 to 6 weeks and to expect to travel at that time. That would put me at mid to late April with travel dates. I am telling you this with a lot of trepidation as I have waited so long and have had many false hopes that I really don't want to get excited until they call and tell me to get on a plane and come and get my children. But this is the most news I have received in 12 weeks, so I have chosen to look at this as promising.

Jane

Still Waiting

Still waiting for a court date! All adoption agencies that place children in Russia need to be accredited to do so. About 95% of the agencies right now are waiting for their accreditation to happen including my agency. The region that my children are in will not allow any adoptions to proceed without this accreditation, so we wait, and wait and wait! My agency tells me this will most likely occur in March, when it does happen, things will proceed quickly. This is honestly the most frustrating and depressing process I have ever experienced. I wish that when we were in Russia in November that they would have told me to expect to come back in June, not the middle of January like they did; that way, if they called in March with a court date, I would have been surprised and happy, not disappointed and depressed as it is now. In the meantime, I am almost finished with the rooms, just waiting on the furniture to arrive for Pasha's bedroom, it is on back order. Many people have asked for me to post pictures of the rooms so far, so here they are:








Katia's Room

Pasha's Room

I hate the wait!

Okay, the holidays are over both here and in Russia and I still don't have a court date. This waiting is killing me, I want my kids home! My agency tells me they have no news, I keep thinking this will be the week I hear something and then nothing; I am willing the phone to ring. All I can think about is bringing these babies home. The rooms are about 50% done, so that is keeping me busy, but if they called and said come and get them tomorrow, I would so be there! I can't stand this, ring phone, ring!!!

Jane

Almost Christmas

Christmas is right around the corner. This is probably one of my favorite times of year yet I am so engrossed in whipping this house into shape to welcome these children home that I have done nothing to get into the spirit of the holidays! My home is remodeling central, I have hardwoods about to be installed in the bedrooms, children's furniture is scattered all over the house. I am waiting for my housekeeper to remove the current furniture so we can move the kids furniture into their rooms; it looks like a tornado has hit it! It is driving me a bit crazy as I can't stand all this disorganization. I will be spending the holiday in Chicago with my sister and her family, so at least I can be away from it for awhile and don't have to look at it everyday. I am wishing for a Christmas miracle that while I am away, all of Santa's elves will sneak in and put the house together!

I have not heard any word on when my court date may be, I am still hoping for mid January as they indicated while we were in the region meeting the children. I still have so much to do, learn some Russian, train the dogs, just about everything I should have been doing over the past 2 years!

I wish all of you a happy holiday season and a healthy and happy new year!

Jane

Home Sweet Home

Monday, November 27

Made it to the airport and said our goodbyes to Arlena and Viktor, we could not have asked for a more gracious hostess and conscientious driver, they were great! The flight back was uneventful, just some loud and rowdy 15 -16 year old hockey players from Detroit, they settled down though pretty quickly. Slept a lot and visited with another pre-adoptive mother from Wisconsin, she just met her 18 month old little girl, just precious! Made it to Atlanta, Gail and I said our goodbyes and we both found our respective gates to home.

This truly was an adventure of my heart. So many stories to tell these kids, I can't wait to be their mom. The people we met along the way have been fantastic, I could not have wished for anything better. It looks like I will be going back in mid January for my court date and to finally bring my family home, I'm open for a travelling partner, any takers???

Love and thanks to you all,
Jane

Back in Moscow

We survived the flight! We were met at the airport in Moscow by Arlena and Viktor and driven to the President Hotel. This was a different hotel than when we were here a few days ago, it is in another part of the city. The President Hotel was wonderful! After the awful experience we had at the Hotel Vostok, this was pure luxury! Two double beds, a great view, large space and best of all: A clean bathroom with lots of towels and bathrobes and slippers! We thought we went to heaven!
Here is the view outside our window:
This is a statue of Peter the Great in the Moscow river; apparently the story is: the statue was supposed to be of Christopher Columbus and a gift for America, but is was so big that they couldn't figure a way to get to the United States that they decided to turn it into Peter the Great and keep it in the Moscow river. Okay, my little history lesson for the day.
After we got settled in the room, we took a walk around the neighborhood of the hotel. It had great shops and cafes and a Mexican restaurant called Pancho Villa that we stopped and got some nachos. Not the greatest nachos, but not too bad!! The corona tasted great!! Did some final souvenir shopping and made it back to the hotel. We ordered room service, repacked all of our treasures and went to bed for our final night in Russia.

The trip back to Moscow

Jet lag is a killer! Sorry it's taken awhile to get to the end of the trip.

Tamarra and our driver met us in the lobby early Sunday morning to drive us to the Khabarvosk airport. Gail and I were pretty tired so we didn't talk much and just enjoyed the peaceful 2 1/2 hour drive. The road was pretty much covered with snow except for one lane which was used by cars going in both directions, thank goodness there was not much traffic. The Russian version of speed bumps is to travel along a paved road and then it will turn to gravel/dirt for about a 1/4 mile, this was the case in about 4 or 5 spots along our route. The countryside is dotted with villages every few miles which consist of a few shacks that constitute someones home, very dreary.

We finally arrived in Khabarovsk about 2 hours before our flight was due to leave. Tamarra helped us with all of our luggage which was considerably lighter since leaving all the toys and clothes for the kids at the orphanage and the gifts for the caregivers, although we still ended up being over the limit and had to pay a small amount. We got our boarding tickets and then Tamarra suggested that if we needed to use the restroom, now was the time to do so and she pointed to it down this flight of stairs. She also whispered to me to "take my sense of humor". Gail and I followed this group of women to the restroom and stood in line (just like America), when it was my turn, I opened the stall door and found a small step up and a hole in the ground!!! I about died! There were two places to put your feet and you were expected to stand up and take care of business! No time for a bashful bladder - when in Russia, do as the Russians do!! Gail was up next and as soon as she saw it she said "no way"!! I told her the alternative was using the disgusting airplane bathroom, she chose the stall. Back upstairs to say our goodbyes to Tamarra and then on to the gate to wait to board the plane. Everything they are announcing is in Russian, Gail and I just pray we get on the right plane headed for Moscow and not China. We board the bus to take us to the tarmac to board the plane, everyone just pushes and shoves their way on, no semblance of order, it is insane. We are finally seated in our seats and pleasantly surprised to find we are on a much newer jet and there is no ugly smells. Now only 9 more hours till we are back to Moscow.

More Pictures:

Here is a picture of Katia's bedroom.

This is a picture of some of Pasha's group taking a walk around the grounds of the orphanage.

Saturday night, November 25

Well, we're back in hotel hell and packing to go back to Moscow, the towels have never shown up. The Hotel Vostok is hosting a wedding in it's restaurant and will not serve us. I am tempted to crash the reception just for the cake and vodka! Unfortunately, Americans stick out like sore thumbs and there would be no way to blend in! This time we are a little more adventurous and decide to take a walk around the neighborhood in search of a restaurant. We walked two blocks in every direction from the hotel and could not find anything except one place that had all men eating dinner (not one woman in sight) and we were not about to crash that party! So we are right back where we started! After a light dinner of yet another Special K bar, topped off with animal crackers for dessert, we really started getting silly. Gail started modelling the latest in Siberian fashion which consisted of pajamas, socks and boots and her new fur hat! I really would love to show the picture, but I have been threatened with my life if I did! You all will just have to have a mental picture!

Jane

Chasing Pasha!

Saturday afternoon, November 25

Met Pasha again at the baby home and boy oh boy, this kid is all boy!! He is quite the character. He thought is was the best game of just taking off running and me chasing after him! He could have done this for hours! It also appears he has "stop, drop and roll" down to a science! as this was his second favorite game, I am having visions of him on the plane ride home and it is not pretty!! Gail just sat in one of the little chairs laughing, saying "better you than me" and "he is all yours, you are going to have your hands full"!!! All said and done, he is definitely a "keeper". He is very smart and with a little direction from his teachers, he really does focus. This is such an unnatural experience for these kids when a stranger shows up that I think it tends to exaggerate all their behaviors. After our two hours, it was time to go, it is so heart wrenching to leave these children, but I know I will have the rest of my life with them and I have waited so long, I can wait a few more weeks.

Oh one more thing, I got to officially give them their "American" names! But this is the one thing I am keeping to myself until after my court date; you all will just have to wait!

Jane

Tea with Tatiana!

Saturday, November 25

Instead of Tamarra coming to pick us up at the bowling alley, Tatiana, the coordinator shows up. She asks me if I am ready to commit to these children, I tell her "yes I am"!!! She pretty much knew that would be the case and had taken it upon herself to start working on the paperwork that she will need to file with the court in Birobidzhan for me to formally adopt these kids. Tatianna tells us we need to go to some officials office so she can print the paperwork and I will sign it. We go to Olga's office, not sure who Olga is, but she has something to do with adoptions in the region and also find out that our driver for the day is Olga's dad! This is a small town, so it's really not that big of surprise. We also find out that today, Saturday, November 25 is Russia's "Mother's Day"! What a perfect day to sign these papers! We arrive at Olga's office and Tatianna has screwed something up on her computer and needs to retype the paperwork, but instead of her doing it, she asked me to retype it from a template. It turns out I am typing my own petition to adopt, it was a little intimidating trying to type this on a Russian laptop with these two very important people looking over my shoulder as I typed, I was just praying that spellcheck would work in English! Finally finished with that, and Tatianna invited Gail and I to a back office where she had set up a little tea party! It was just like chatting with your girlfriends, we found out Tatiana loves to shop, goes to China (1 hour flight) often to find bargains and asked me to bring her back a pilates dvd when I return for my court date. At this point, if it would help to move my court date up, I would bring her a real live pilates instructor! The tea time was actually a really lovely experience, one of the highlights of the trip!

Tamarra then shows up and we are taken to Pasha's orphanage to visit with Pasha again.

Lunch at the bowling alley!

By this time, Gail and I are really hungry, all we've had is a power bar and hershey kisses and water. Tamarra suggests that we eat at the local bowling alley, that they have good pizza. Sounds good to us! She drops us off and escorts us to the restaurant, interprets to the waiter what we want: a salad, cheese and mushroom pizza and pepsi light. Okay, we don't think they can screw that up! Tamarra leaves and will come back to get us in an hour. They bring out the salads which consist of frozen tomatoes, frozen cucumbers and frozen brocolli, then comes the pizza, thin crust with an assortment of different mushrooms, the likes of which neither of us have ever seen! Needless to say, Gail and I are now on a diet whether we like it or not!

Seeing the children again

Saturday morning, November 25th

We were told by Tanya yesterday that we would have a different translator for the rest of our stay as she (Tanya) was meeting a family coming in today and preparing them for their court hearing on Monday.

We met Tamarra, our new translator in the hotel lobby this morning and asked her to ask the hotel if they could provide us with more and clean towels, they apparently told Tamarra they would. Tamarra explained to us what the agenda was for the day and we left for Katia's orphanage. We met Katia in the large "music" room of the orphanage. Again, Katia was very shy but was willing to play. Her caregiver placed her in one of those "ball pens", the kind that is a large tub with hundreds of colorful balls in it. She wasn't exactly sure what to do, but with a little coaxing by Gail and myself, we got her to start throwing the balls at Gail. It's my impression that these kids just really do not know how to play, they are extremely regimented by the orphanage staff and the staff does their best, but these children do not know how to relax and just have fun. We finally pulled her out of the ball pit and got one of those large exercise balls and started playing with her on that, finally a smile! and a giggle!!! She seemed to really enjoy that. After a while, we pulled out the "try on clothes" that I had brought and she knew exactly what to do: stripped down and put on her new clothes all by herself, she looked adorable! She is a very "prissy" girl and could not get to a mirror fast enough to see how she looked! We then had to fix her hair and put new ponytail holders in with butterflies and she was just beaming! We felt like we were playing "beauty shop"! We pulled out the photo album of all the people and pets waiting for her when she gets home and she was totally engrossed in it. This child totally gets that I am going to be her new mommy. After about 2 hours, we walked her to her "group" for her to have lunch and then on to a nap, again the big tears came, knowing that we were leaving; Tamarra and the director swept her up and explained to her that yes, I was going to be her mommy and promised to come back for her in a few weeks, but that she will just have to wait. Okay, this is now breaking my heart again just typing this out! I can't stand it, I want this baby home with me!!!

Jane

Back to Hotel Hell

Friday night, November 24

After our emotional meeting with little Katia, Tanya, our translator and Slava, our driver took us back to the hotel and dropped us off. We attempted to ask for more towels via our little translation book and thought the staff understood us, but hours later when no towels showed up, we just gave up. Neither of us felt like eating the food at the restaurant and since we didn't have our translator with us this evening, we really didn't want to attempt ordering ourselves, so we settled on Special K bars, Hershey kisses and animal crackers. We tried watching a dvd that I had brought, but we were both so tired with the time change (16 hours ahead of Dallas time), we finally just went to sleep.

The weather in Biro is much colder than in Moscow, but it is clear and dry. The high temperature is about 15 degrees F. and -5 degrees for the low. Our room is kind of chilly as they only have piped in heat and the insulation is pathetic, you can practically feel the cold air blowing in thru the windows.

Pictures!

I am not allowed to show any pictures of the children until they are officially mine, but I will entertain you with some from the trip:


Meat Market at a flea Market

Changing of the guard at Lenin's Tomb:

Meeting the Kids!

Friday, November 24th, 2006.

We were met in the hotel lobby by our translator and driver and taken to the specialized baby home in Birobidzhan, Russia. This is where we were to meet my soon to be little boy! We arrived at the orphanage and were escorted to the main teachers office, Tatiana. There we waited a few minutes and in walked the cutest little boy I could have ever imagined!! Pasha!! He is absolutely beautiful, light brown hair, big brown eyes, fair skinned and the sweetest smile I have ever seen. He immediately ran up to me, "mama, mama"!!! I was blown away and tears started flowing! I have waited two years for this and could not have asked for a more beautiful moment! We were allowed to spend about an hour together playing in the office with the watchful eye of the teacher and the translator. I pulled out the toys I had brought for him and he was loving every moment as was I. I am still in complete disbelief that I have travelled half way around the world for this. We left about an hour later with the promise that we would be back tomorrow.

We then went and met with the coordinator of the adoptions in the region, also a Tatiana. She is a pediatrician and went over the complete history of the children and included all their medical history as she knew it.

Later that afternoon, we went over to the other orphanage to meet my little girl. We waited in the orphanage directors office and finally they brought in Katia. Katia is a gorgeous brown haired, brown eyed beauty who is very shy, very typical of a 4 1/2 year old who is on display to complete strangers! She has some Asian features and is very petite, absolutely beautiful!! She loved the toys we brought and spent the hour on my lap a little weary of what all the commotion was about, but definitely understood that I might be her new mommy. When it was time to leave, Katia's eyes welled up with tears as did all of ours! She is so sweet and so sensitive and if I could have stuffed her in my bag, I would have taken her home right then and there.

At this point in time, I am still completely in disbelief that these beautiful children are going to be my kids! I have done a lot of things in my life, but I must have done some things right for God to give me this gift.

Jane