The ultimate 2 week wait!

Only 14 more days until we leave! Now the time is really starting to drag. I've got just about everything ready to go, all I need to do is pack. I got the car seats, ended up getting the Britax Marathon as those seemed to work the best with the kids sizes and also my car; now I just need to find someone to install them. I've alerted the bank to start gathering the fresh money, they always get a kick when I tell them I need "clean money". Got the dog sitter scheduled to stay at the house. I still need to finish "baby proofing", I did get all the outlet covers done and the door knobs done, but I still have to do the cabinets and drawers. My BIL Larry keeps asking me when am I going to do that, and then he ends the question with how difficult it is, and how he couldn't wait to get those things off when his boys were old enough. So I know the reason I am procrastinating is because of him. Gail is coming down the day before we leave for Moscow so we can both leave out of DFW, she is also going to stay a few days after we return to help us get settled. She has promised to make pies for us when we get home, I will hold her to that, if you have never tasted my sister's pies, they are AWESOME!

I spoke with my agency today and there is a family who is currently in Birobidzhan for their court date. Apparently it went very well, but the judge did not waive the 10 days which is very unusual for Biro; I really hope that is not the trend and we do end up with our 10 days waived; if not, we will survive, but it sure would be nice to get home sooner.

Kate asked for pictures of my shopping spree, it's hard to see them all folded and ready to be packed, but here they are, you'll get a much better idea when the kids can put on a fashion show for the camera!

That's it for now. Hurry up the 14th!!

Love, Jane

Twenty One Days

Three weeks and we will be off to Russia! This weekend I went to Grapevine Mills Mall and found some great children's shops: Gymboree, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, The Children's Place and bought the stores out! I got so many cute things, I hope I am right on the sizes, I went up by one size since I was in Russia in November. I am pretty well set on all the kids stuff, now I just need to figure out what I need to take for me. Gail and I are really getting excited about the trip, we can't wait to see the children again. I wonder if the orphanage prepares them for adoption? The people we met in Birobidzhan related to the orphanage all seemed to really care for these kids, so I am hoping they put a positive spin on leaving. We brought all our gifts for the people on our first trip, so we don't need to do that again although I will be bringing some special things for some key people that we were close with. Our airline tickets have been purchased (anybody know any tricks to upgrading to Business Class?), we'll be staying at the President Hotel in Moscow and the Hotel Vostok in Birobidzhan, still waiting to receive our visa's back. I did find out from the travel agency that there will be two other families in Biro at the same time we are there, so hopefully we will get together with them. As much as I love my sister, too much togetherness can breed contempt! So having other people to talk to will be a welcome relief for both of us! We're trying to figure out what we can take as far as food, we had a hotpot in our room last time, so we figure oatmeal and soup would probably work, anybody have any other suggestions? We really didn't care for the food in the restaurants last time, so we want to be prepared. I met with a Pediatrician last week and although he was a nice and competent doctor, I didn't feel like he would be the Pedi for us, so I have a few more referrals and will be speaking with them in the next couple of weeks. Still have to buy the car seats, I think I settled on the Britax brand, although I am not certain which model yet. That's all for now.

Love,
Jane

SBP: I received your card and gift!! Thank you so much! I love it and can't wait till I get my first issue! You are very sneaky, still can't figure out who you are!

Four weeks from today

Thank you all for your sweet e-mails and comments. I'm so happy I can't stop smiling, I look like I have a hanger stuck in my mouth!

Four weeks from today we leave for Moscow. It seems like an awfully long time away, but I'm sure it will go by quickly, I have a lot to do. My sister Gail will be coming with me, although it is like leading a lamb to slaughter. She's excited about bringing the kids home, but the travel is what is really hard. Our first trip went well, but our accommodations in Birobidzhan were on the level of a super 8 motel from the 60's (see my earlier posts) and it's the only place to stay. Gail is already searching the Internet to find if there are any spa's in Biro, she thinks she found one, but I think it's probably got some form of Chinese water torture, I'll let her try it first and then we'll see if I go. It was easier before because we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but now we know, so it's a little harder knowing what we have to look forward to. Passports have been sent in for our Visa's. Travel arrangements are being made as we speak, talk about sticker shock with airline prices! Ouch! Appointment with the pediatrician to be is on Thursday. I still need to buy car seats, anybody have any recommendations? I think I need the conversion ones that turn into booster seats. The last measurements I got on the kids was one is 40.5 inches and 33.5 lbs., and the other is 39 inches and 40 lbs. I don't know when these measurements were taken, so they may have grown since then. I'll also take any advice anyone has about travelling over 20 hours on a plane with a 3 year old and a 5 year old.


Wow, I just can't believe this is finally happening! It will have been 8 1/2 months since our first trip and 2.7 years since I started this journey, whew, I am glad this part is coming to an end and best is yet to come!

Jane

p.s. SBP, I got your sweet card and note, thank you!

Oh Happy Day!

It finally happened: I got my court date!!!

August 20th, 2007

I will leave for Moscow on August 14th, Birobidzhan on August 16, and my courtdate is scheduled for August 20th.

We then come back to Moscow on August 29th, and leave for the US on September 4th.

I cannot even describe the feeling that came over me when my casemanger called. I am just totally joyous. I am going to officially become a mommy on August 20th!

Jane

Happy 4th of July!

What a great day for Russian Adoption! The Ministy of Education in Moscow held a ceramony this morning and handed out the accreditation certificates to several adoption agencies. It won't be long now.

Katia and Pasha will be coming home!!!

Hold on to your hats!

I've got news!

It looks like I will be getting a courtdate and bringing home my children by the end of this month! I don't have a definitive date yet, but my agency is indicating that it most likely will happen at the end of July. With the agencies receiving their accreditation certificates tomorrow, July 4th and then forwarding them on to the regions they anticipate that the judge will start scheduling courtdates and mine will hopefully be before August. My homestudy and several other important documents are expiring in August, so this is perfect timing. I do not want to go thru the expense yet again of redoing all these documents, I would much rather spend the money on my kids.

So thank you to all who have been praying and keeping the positive thoughts about this ordeal. It's not done yet, so please keep the prayers coming, but it looks promising now!

Love to all,
Jane

The bane of my existence

Toads!

Every spring since I have lived in this house, the toads come out of hiding and congregate in my pond to have an orgy! They are pretty much here from May thru September, sometimes into October. The first year it happened, I was totally grossed out, but now I have just come to accept it; my alternative is to fill in the pond which I don't want to do. These creatures only come out after dark and and most nights there are two or three of them, but some nights there are so many it looks like a science fiction movie! They are ugly and excessively loud. These are not cute little green frogs, these are ugly, gray/brown/black reptilian looking creatures. The noise they make while calling their mates is indescribable! Not a nice little "rrrbbbittt", more like a "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" and this goes on well into the night, until day break. My little Scottie dog Rosie absolutely flips out when she hears them, crawls under chairs, shakes, and just wants to hide. All the neighbors know when the toads are in my pond as they can hear them as well. One night last summer, my neighbor and I had had enough of them and after a little liquid courage stood over the pond and caught at least 10 of them, put them in a bucket and carried them to a creek and set them free. The one thing we forgot to do was mark them with spray paint to see if the same ones made it back to my yard, because they were back in full force a few days later. Well these things being not the smartest of God's creatures, sometimes find their way into the pool instead of the pond and I am forced to fish them out in the morning. I take the long pole with the skimmer net on it and scoop them up and flip them over the fence into the alley. I am just waiting for the day when some unsuspecting driver finds a flung toad land on his windshield and gets an up close and personal view of "Mr Toads Wild Ride"! Well this morning was no different and of course found one in the pool. This time I think he landed in the neighbor across the alley's yard, maybe he'll make that his new home. I have attached a picture below of the one I fished out this morning just so you can understand my absolute disgust at these amphibians. If anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of them, I am welcome to suggestions!



On the adoption front, it appears that several agencies are going to receive their accreditation certificate on July 4th! WHOOOHOOOO. This is what we have been waiting for for the past seven months! It should not be too much longer before I get my courtdate, but I am beyond speculating when that might be. I just hope Katia and Pasha like toads!



Jane

We're lining the animals up two by two!

I am sick of rain! It has been raining here in Dallas nonstop for the month of June, there is flooding all around us, my pool looked like it was about to spill over until I drained several inches of water off of it today. I am sick of fishing toads out of the pool! One went to toad heaven the other day and thank goodness Jose was here to do the yard and he got that one out, I wasn't about to touch it. The pond is spilling over. The dogs hate to go outside in the rain, heaven forbid they get a drop of water on their paws, they might just melt! Daisy I can understand (Hurricane Katrina survivor, had her share of water then) but the other two are just being doggy divas. They look so bored, I wish they could color, that's a great rainy day activity! The air conditioning in my house went out today, I am waiting on the AC people to call me back to let me know when they can get over here and fix it. We may have to go stay at a hotel if the weather gets too hot and they can't get over here until next week. There's not much you can do outside with all this rain, so after looking at Katia's room, I decided I didn't like the quilt I originally got for her and found another one that I like better; look below and I posted some pictures of their completed rooms, her's with the new quilt.

Nothing too new on the adoption front. My agency is not very forthcoming with information so I glean most of the updates on reaccreditation from other's blogs and various chat sites. It does appear that 12 agencies have gotten word that all their paperwork has been approved and are awaiting their accreditation certificates. As soon as the certificates arrive, they will forward them on to the regions and hopefully courtdates will be set. There is some indication that the certificates will start arriving next week, so we all have our fingers crossed that this is the case. Keep those good thoughts and prayers coming.

Love, Jane

Katia's new quilt

Pasha's finished room:

I couldn't resist posting this silly one:

Rosie on Toad Patrol over the pond

Rumors

There is a rumor circulating that a few of the U.S. adoption agencies have received word from Moscow that they will be getting their reaccreditation certificate very soon. If this is true, this is very good news! But the rumor mill is a very scary place. I have been down this road before with promises made and yet they never came to fruition. It does appear that this one has some merit to it as there is more than one agency reporting this; we will see.

I also got a call from my agency saying that the court is wanting some updated documents, is this a sign of good things to come? I hope so!

Do you understand why we call this thing called Russian Adoption a rollercoaster ride? Stayed tuned for any further updates!

Jane

Nothing New

I really wish I had some news to share, especially good news; but I don't have anything. I am still endlessly waiting for this re accreditation of my adoption agency. I have begged to get some updates on the children, measurements, weights and pictures; I am hoping they will at least come thru with that. I am so afraid these kids will not remember me or worse, feel like they have been abandoned yet again. This is so unfair to them. There is also the possibility that a Russian family could come forward and try and adopt them. This is a remote possibility as these kids are older and most Russian families want infants or really young toddlers, but it is something that concerns me. Even though I signed papers indicating my intent to adopt, Russians have precedence and they are not mine until the Judge says they are mine. I really don't think I'll hear anything this week as it is a holiday week in Russia and everything seems to shut down. Please continue to pray and send good thoughts that this will end soon, this really is becoming unbearable.

Jane

Edited to add:

Here are some statistics about orphans in Russia, this is why we need these kids home now!!

The statistics are alarming...

More than 700,000 orphans are living in 2,000 state-run orphanages.

Of those, 95 percent have a living parent unable to or unwilling to care for them.

That doesn't include the estimated 2 million to 4 million homeless orphans living on the streets and in railway stations.

More than 80 percent of Russian orphans in state care fall 2 or more years behind in school by the time they are 12 years old.

Of those who are not adopted and leave the orphanage between the ages of 16 and 18:

50 percent of the girls become prostitutes
40 percent of the children become addicted to drugs or alcohol
40 percent commit crimes
10 percent commit suicide
Just 1 in 10 former Russian orphans becomes a functional member of society.

132,500 children are abandoned to the state in Russia every year, up from roughly 67,000 in 1992.

Nearly 4,640 Russian orphans were adopted by Americans in 2005, down from a record 5,865 in 2004.
13 out of every 100 children adopted by Russians are eventually returned to the orphanage.
40 million children in the former Soviet Union are living in poverty.

Sources: Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Commission for Children at Risk, Human Rights Watch, European Children's Trust, Rosstat Agency

What to do?

What's a girl to do with all this time waiting? As you can see, I have made some minor changes to my blog. I've added some widgets (see the right side of the page), I've changed the colors and the format. I'm trying everything and anything to keep myself occupied by this most excruciating wait. The rooms are picture perfect, their closets are filling up, my yard is meticulously groomed, I'm learning and practicing my Russian phrases for adoptive parents. I am driving myself crazy checking my e-mail 50 times a day to see if there is any news about accreditation.

The latest from my agency's new case manager is that accreditation will happen the end of this month and we will be travelling in June for court; but I feel like I have been down this road and heard this soooo many times that is hard to even get hopeful, but if I don't have faith, then what is left? The only one thing I am certain of is that this adoption will happen, but we just don't know when. I may be pushing a walker across Siberia to get them, but they will come home eventually. I am just asking for continued prayers and good thoughts to get these kids home. I miss them so much.

Love,
Jane

Latest news:

Here is the latest statement regarding the impending accreditation:

"On Wednesday, April 25, 2007 the Hague Implementation Staff of U.S. Department of State issued an official notice confirming the news that "no U.S.-based adoption service providers are currently accredited with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.” The following day, NCFA President and CEO, Thomas Atwood, along with NCFA staff Lee Allen and Chuck Johnson met with Alina Levitskaya, Director of the Department of Youth Policy, Upbringing, and Social Protection of Children of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Ms. Levitskaya was in Washington, DC to meet with senior staff within the U.S. Department of State to discuss the status of Russian intercountry adoption and the accreditation of U.S. agencies. Ms. Levitskaya told NCFA that her visit had been scheduled in response to recent publicly-stated concerns that the ongoing delays in re-accreditation process appeared to be aimed primarily at American agencies and that these delays were hurting children. During the meeting, Ms. Levitskaya offered explanation of reasons why the Russian government’s efforts to initiate adoption reform measures have taken much longer than anticipated. The NGO registration requirement and the Russian Ministry of Education and Science’s requirement to involve other Russian ministries in clarifying adoption procedures have presented huge challenges that, in Ms. Levitskaya’s opinion, appear to be near resolution. She confirmed receipt of the U.S. Department of State’s recent statement regarding the rights granted to Russian children adopted by American families – and thanked NCFA for acting as a liaison with the U.S. Department of State on this issue. Ms Levitskaya expects several agencies to receive renewal of their accreditation in the imminent future, as well as a steady processing of applications from other countries. Further, Ms. Levitskaya informed NCFA that, after clearing the backlog of pending accreditations, the Ministry of Education and Science will then explore the notion of accepting applications for accreditation by additional agencies."

I have no idea of their definition of "imminent" is; hopefully that means by the end of the month of May.

Jane

Another week of waiting

Well, another week has passed and still no travel dates; I guess the 5 to 6 week time frame I was given back in March is not going to happen. I am probably the only person who loves Mondays, as that means the work week has begun in Russia and maybe, just maybe, we might get some good news! I spoke with my agency late last week and their best guess is accreditation will happen the end of May. In the meantime, they are trying to to process the three families in Birobidzhan as independent adopters. This would mean that we essentially don't have an agency representing us, although our agency still does all the work, whatever.

I am willing to do anything at this point, including just flying over there and waiting it out in the Hotel Vostok in Biro. I do feel kind of sorry for these agencies as they really cannot take on new clients until this mess is cleaned up and without new clients, they have no revenue coming in. My agency is having to lay people off and rent out part of their space in their office just to keep the lights on! It amazes me how far reaching the consequences of this delay is having. Nothing else new to report. Thank you all for your e-mails and prayers; I am sorry I have not responded to everyone, I will try and be better going forward.

I do have some new babies to report on, here is what has set up home on my courtyard. At least someone is having babies around here!!!

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