The pictures have uploaded!

Friday, April 17, 2011

Sveta came over at 11am and we went to the market for a few grocery items. She was wearing some very high heeled boots and commented on how uncomfortable they are. When I asked her why she would wear them if they hurt her feet - she said it’s because she’s still single. Call me crazy, but I can’t see a man approaching a woman because she’s wearing uncomfortable high heeled boots. I’ll just stick with my flats, thank you very much.

We came back and started cooking. We made blini – a Russian crepe pancake – and a homemade apple pie filling. Then we made another batch of homemade macaroni and cheese and spaghetti with ground beef and tomato sauce. I actually did find some premade spaghetti sauce here and it was expensive delicious. Sveta was very excited to learn how to cook. I have a feeling that she will be over a lot. J

The missionaries arrived at 1pm on the dot – how’s that for Mormon Standard Time (Mormons tend to be late to functions)? I guess that’s just in the US. Unfortunately, the food wasn’t ready to eat until closer to 2pm. Oh well. They didn’t seem to mind. Elder Beck has only been in Russia for 2 weeks! And Elder Bitner has been in Nizhny for 4 ½ months. They are both really good missionaries.

Sveta invited a friend of hers to join us for lunch. His name is Dmitri. She said that he has been depressed since his wife left him 2 years ago. So sad. L He seemed happy enough with all of us and is a very good story teller (in Russian).

After lunch, Dmitri had to go back to work – I guess some people still do that, it’s strange since we just sit around all day and play here – and the missionaries wanted to share a spiritual message with us about love and charity. It ended up becoming quite a missionary conversation with Sveta. We talked about all kinds of gospel topics including how we each came to know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true. We all shared how we came to know of its truthfulness and how it is a plan of happiness. Sveta said she can tell that we are happy. It was a wonderful conversation and I think we’ll have more in the future, as Sveta says she has many more questions.

This evening, Sarah, Sveta, & I went to see a Russian opera. The tickets were $7 a piece. So cheap for such lovely entertainment! The name of the opera is Eugene Onegin which was composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and based on a poem by Alexander Pushkin, both of whom are Russian. It just seemed fitting to see such an opera in Russia! In fact, the opera theater is dedicated to Pushkin. I was impressed with the main female lead – she had a lovely voice. I also enjoyed the young ballerinas who danced throughout the opera. It was Sveta and Sarah’s first opera, my fourth. Tyler and I have tickets to see Bizet’s Carmen next week. I am looking forward to that!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Today we went to see to a puppet show down the street. It was based on Bambi but with some alterations, such as it was based in Africa. It was all in Russian and geared towards children. Very fun and entertaining. Outside the puppet show theater, they had ponies and all three of the children took a ride on one. It was fun.

I came home and took a nap, and then I made some blini for dinner. We ate them with bananas, nutella, or just plain. I feel very Russian when making blini. I ate them in Ukraine, but never made them. Sveta taught me how to make them yesterday. I will be making them often, I’m sure.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

We met Elder & Sister Lovett today outside the McDonald’s. It was a 10 minute walk to the church. They rent out the area to meet in. Everyone was very friendly. Like in Mariupol, Ukraine, it’s an LDS branch, about 40 people who meet each week. There are two very strong families in the branch plus everyone else. In Sacrament meeting, the seminary kids gave talks and sang. There are 4 kids (2 girls and 2 boys) in the seminary and their teacher is the son of the branch president who’s attending the university – he looked like a kid, himself. J I had a hard time singing along with the hymns, as I have not learned all the symbols in the Cyrillic alphabet yet. I am now motivated to learn them this week so I can sing more confidently next Sunday. I listen to everyone else singing and try to match the sounds that they are making, but I am certain that anyone listening to me must be laughing, because it sounded like gibberish to me - what I am singing, not everyone else!

We met the sister missionaries – one is from Estonia (and speaks English fairly well) and the other is from Washington state. They both seemed shy. We invited them over for lunch on Tuesday, assuming we won’t be on adoption business that day. This Friday, there is a game night at the church. I plan to invite Sveta to come with us, should be fun.

There are only 2 children in the primary in the branch. Our children more than doubled it! They mostly colored pictures in the primary. At first, Keith was struggling in there and then it was Iryna. I spent half of Relief Society helping Iryna to calm down and make good choices. Hopefully next week will be better, as they will know what to expect.

We walked home and I made a pot of potato and corn soup with some croissants that we bought at the store. The soup was so good. I’m grateful that my mom taught me to make a homemade white sauce – it has saved me with regards to cooking in Russia. (Thanks, Mom!)

Tomorrow morning, Sveta is going to call the MOE around 10:30am to see if we are coming in to look at files. I wanted to be fasting for 24 hours prior to our visit, but we don’t know when that visit will be, yet. It may be Monday or Wednesday or the following Monday – I hope it’s sooner rather than later! They only do adoption-related items on Mondays and Wednesdays, if you can’t tell. I hope to have good news for you tomorrow!

Some observations here in Russia:

We have green toilet paper that smells like apples.

The milk and ice cream and ketchup are all in bags, as opposed to bottles or containers. The milk is especially tricky to pour.

If someone approaches you and speaks Russian and you act like you don’t understand, they speak louder. As if that will help.

As promised, the pictures! If you have trouble seeing each picture in the collage, you can click on it to enlarge the picture.

Sarah, Sveta, & I at the Opera!

Some pictures around Nizhny Novgorod.

Keith's pony ride. He loved it.

Anna was more reluctant to ride the pony. I was concerned that she might be too big for it, but the woman with the pony insisted she could ride. I think she just wanted the money, because I hadn't seen that pony move so fast to finish the ride as he did with the twins. My baby girl is growing up!

The puppet show!

Puppets!

Inside the puppet show theater. I wonder if they have puppet shows in the US? Anyone know? It was really quaint and entertaining.

Iryna on the pony! She LOVED it, too. Big smile the whole time. :)

Russians love statues. I like them, too.

Pictures around the apartment.

Tyler, Sarah, Sveta & I playing quirkle (I'm taking the picture). You can see Keith's new Y E L L O W water hose. He loves it, as you can imagine. We hang things up to dry here. I am just grateful that we have a washing machine - not interested in hand washing! Hang drying is much easier.

The missionaries who came over to eat with us. Some pictures of food that I bought, made, and the yummy pizza! The missionaries came up with a game to talk into Keith's water hose and he would listen on the other end. This game has become a fast favorite.

Some more pictures, including the top left is from our window. It's really a pretty area, I'm very pleased with our location in Russia. :) Until next time, Paka!

Macaroni and Cheese

Yesterday was really fun. Tyler, Sarah, & Keith went with Sveta to a mall and found a water hose for Keith. You see, we brought his water hose with us and somehow left it on the plane when we arrived in Moscow. Bummer. And of course he’s been an emotional wreck without it. I am certain that no one has asked an adoption facilitator to help the family buy a YELLOW water hose for their child. At the mall, you could just buy the amount of the hose that you needed, which was nice so then we didn’t have to buy a whole water hose. PLUS they had several colors. Keith’s favorite color is yellow, so Tyler bought him the yellow hose. And Keith was happy…until he became greedy…and started asking for an orange one and a red one and a blue one…silly boy. We just bought the yellow one.

Tyler brought me home a box of kitkats. I’m heaven with these things. Yum. In Ukraine, they only had coca cola and Pepsi, no dr pepper. So I wasn’t expecting to find it here…until I did find 2 lonely cans of dr pepper at the grocery store. I knew that they were lonely so I purchased them. Sveta confided in me that dr pepper is her favorite soda, so I gave her one of them. The dr pepper is better here than in the states. You see, they use REAL sugar in the soda. Oh yeah. It’s super good. I hope to find more lonely cans of it very soon.

Keith has been asking for macaroni & cheese since we got here. Yesterday, I made him some. I cooked some curly noodles and then made a homemade white sauce with butter, flour, salt, & cream. I was having a hard time whisking it with only a spoon, until I discovered the potato masher which worked really well. I grated some Russian cheese and some cheddar cheese. The macaroni & cheese was delectable.

I had just finished making it when Sarah, Keith, & Tyler came home. I asked where Sveta was – because I was pretty sure she wanted to try the pasta – and they said she had just left. I called her on her cell phone and she came back. She ended up staying the whole day with us, which was fun. She LOVED the macaroni & cheese. After we ate, we played QUIRKLE together, then we played spades. It was so fun to play games and we got to know Sveta better. She’s 28, single, takes care of her mom and grandmother. Her dad left when she was young. She has two degrees. She likes to laugh. She has wanted to attend an opera, except none of her friends would go with her. Sarah & I are taking her to a Russian opera tonight. I am really looking forward to it!

For dinner, we decided to try out a cafeteria in the mall. We got there around 6:30pm, so there weren’t as many choices, but we made due. Anna got the asian chicken and rice and I spent the meal wishing I had chosen what she got. In Ukraine they boil peeled potatoes and put salt, dill, and butter on them. They are delicious! So, when I saw similar looking potatoes at the cafeteria, I got one plate for Keith and one for me. Yeah. They weren’t the same. It was some bitter type of parsley and way too salty. Bleah. The pork chops I bought were really thin and dry and the edges were tough. Perhaps I should stick with cooking at home? Ha ha. Everyone else (except for Anna & I) found foods that they loved. Anna ate her chicken and rice and disliked everything else she tried. She so picky. I wonder where she gets it from…?

We came home and the kids watched Spongebob Squarepants while we finished up our game of spades. Then the kids went to bed, Sveta went home, and Tyler, Sarah, & I watched HOUSE. Love that show. Today will be a fun day, as I am making a big Italian meal and have invited the LDS missionaries over to eat with us. I invited Sveta, and she actually wants to watch and learn from me while I make the meal, so she’s coming over early to do so. Then later tonight, Sarah, Sveta, & I are going to the Russian opera! Looking forward to it. Everything is still going so well. No complaints. J

We spoke with Sveta to get a better idea of the timeline after the 1^st trip to Russia. Basically, after we finish up our agenda during our first trip, we’ll go back and begin compiling documents for the dossier. Once we send it to Sveta, she will translate it and give it to the judge, who will give her a court date. The judge takes 90 days of vacation per year: in May and August. There’s a slight chance that we can get a court date in July. If not, it will be September. I was really hoping to get back in June, but that doesn’t seem possible with all the hoops that will need to be jumped through. I know that once I meet my children, I won’t want to wait so long, but what can I do? We will hurry to get our dossier put together asap. Perhaps we can come in July. That’s the goal for now. As you know, I am highly optimistic! I tried to post some pictures, but they're not uploading. Will try again tomorrow.

KitKats are better here in Russia

Yesterday was a nice, relaxing day. I didn’t change out of my pajamas; we watched plenty of HOUSE, played wii, talked, relaxed. This morning I woke up around 6:30am – not because I wanted to wake up, but because it was SO BRIGHT in the apartment. Like Ukraine, the Russians don’t seem to think that modesty is important, therefore, their curtains are completely sheer, so you can see in (except for we’re on the fifth floor) AND the sunlight shines in. According to Sarah, it was bright around 5:30am. Yikes. Oh, by the way, for those of you who have recently joined my blog, Sarah is my friend from childhood and has joined us in this adventure in Russia. She is recently married to Rodolfo and she committed to coming with me prior to her marriage so her husband had to let her come, er, he conceded to her coming as long as she does, indeed, return back to him. I have known Sarah since we were 7 years old. She is wonderful with children and an all expense paid trip to Russia was just what she was wanting…or, she agreed to come and help with our children when Tyler and I need to attend adoption related meetings. One of those is true.

Sveta picked us up this morning to go to our first meeting at the MOE – Ministry of Education. We met with a nice woman and she inquired about why we were there and how many children we wanted to adopt and what special needs we wanted in our children. She did inform us that we would not be able to adopt any “healthy” children. I have been told that there is a waiting list for healthy children and that it’s quite long and we’re not on it. We did specify that we want to adopt 2 children. Tyler & I feel that 3 children with special needs would be a bit much for us to take on at this time. We feel good about getting 2 children. We said that we would prefer to adopt children with physical special needs as opposed to mental ones. The woman asked if we would be okay with children with heart conditions. We said yes. I sense some foreshadowing with that statement…we shall see. We said we would be interested in adopting a sibling group.

Sveta had warned us that other adoptive parents had said that the lady at the MOE was not very friendly and that this was the most uncomfortable part of the adoption process – meeting with her. Naturally, this made us a bit nervous. However, I didn’t feel that she was unkind or rude to us. I did notice that she had beautiful handwriting. I complimented it and when Sveta translated my compliment, Tyler said that the lady smiled and was more relaxed and friendly. Afterwards, Sveta said that what I had said had helped with the meeting. Hooray! Sveta said that she would call the MOE on Monday and see if we could come in and see the files. I think the meeting went quite well.

I have to say…I feel like I need to pinch myself. Everything is going so well here in Russia. Too well. I feel like I’m going to jinx myself by saying how well it’s going. We didn’t have a great relationship with Olga and Oksana in Ukraine. In fact, they made our experience difficult, yet they got the job done. Sveta is not only getting the job done, she’s a delight. I told her that I needed to buy a blow dryer and a potato peeler. She said she would lend me hers until we leave. She is kind and supportive and genuine. I think she’s in her early 30s, lives at home with her mom and grandmother. I enjoy being around her and she is so helpful. We love our apartment. We are close to so many neat attractions. We live right across from the town square. So much to see. And it’s not too cold to get out and about, which is nice.

We went to a bigger market today after the MOE meeting. We found some fun items, such as spaghetti sauce, parmesan cheese, whipping cream, cheddar cheese, ground beef, kitkat bars (the tall ones and the chocolate is rich and smooth – not like in the US, I just might bring home a suitcase FULL of them…you think I’m kidding?), hot dogs wrapped in rolls, a cake that looks incredible, pizza (it was good, too!), ibuprofen (50 pills for 67 cents), and more.

It is drier here in Russia, so I’ve been needing lotion. I noticed today that Anna’s skin is dry, too. I guess we’re used to the humid weather in FL.

Sveta said that we can get tickets to the opera for about $7! There’s also the ballet here, too. I am excited to see some culture here in Nizhny Novgorod, and you can’t beat such low prices, either.

Can I just say that we are so enjoying the bread with butter and Russian cheese? It’s so delicious. We all can’t get enough of it.

I saw a woman wearing tennis shoes today. There’s hope for my style here in Russia.

The children are getting along very well here. They love the apartment and all the fun things we brought along to keep them entertained. Anna went with Tyler to buy some groceries yesterday. She brought home some ice cream. I think the flavor was whipped cream. Yum. All for now. Thank you for your comments! I feel close to home hearing from you all.

Privyet from Nizhny Novgorod!

We flew from Miami to GA. My childhood friend, Mandi, happens to live there and she was so kind to pick us up from the airport, let us stay with her, AND drop us back off at the airport the next day, to fly to Russia. Yes, my mistake in having such a long layover meant that I was able to catch up with Mandi, meet her husband and adorable children. We had such a lovely time. Memorable quote by the worker at Arby's drive thru: "I don't know what I'm doing." Thanks, Mandi! You are a fabulous host! :)

Jill, Sarah, Mandi - we all grew up in the same town in Mustang, OK. :)

The kids and luggage at the airport.

 It was a novelty for the kids to pull their own suitcase while carrying a backpack. The fun soon wore, off, however. Iryna was a stinker and didn't want to pull or wear anything. It was frustrating. A lot. You have no idea.

The kids LOVED riding on the airplane.

 

Fatigue finally set in for Keith. There were times (when he was awake) where he would realize that he was actually on an airplane and he would laugh and giggle constantly. He was in heaven on the plane. I am sure he will be asking everyday about riding another plane for a while...

This is how I look when flying.

Moscow, Russia. Yes, that IS snow. It was 91 degrees and sunny when we left FL. A bit different here.

Waiting for our taxi to arrive. In the back is a woman who rode with the taxi driver. I would tell you her name, except I don't know it because she speaks zero English. I hear that's common here in Russia.

Pictures taken from our 6 hour taxi ride from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod. 6 hour taxi drive after an 11 hour plane ride = very tired people.

Everyone slept...except Iryna. She didn't sleep on the airplane. She didn't sleep in the taxi. But she DID sleep well last night. 11 hours. Yes. She was tired.

The apartment. It's in central Nizhny Novgorod. We're right by the market and McDonald's. Perfect location. We love it! It has enough room for all of us.

 

A view from our apartment. The other two views refuse to be uploaded by Blogger.

 
So! You've seen some pictures, here's an update. The flight from Miami to GA was uneventful, except that it was Anna's first flight EVER. She was nervous and worried and I've never seen ANYONE pay more attention to the flight attendant during her safety demonstration. She now says that flying on a plane is "Okay." I guess that means it was tolerable? Maybe.

We had a great time with Mandi. She's wonderful and bubbly and her family is so welcoming. We had a nice stay there and all agreed that it was too short.

The flight from GA to Moscow. Well, it was 11 hours long. We tried to sleep as much as we could, since we knew that we'd be arriving at 10am in Moscow, yet it would feel like 2am (FL time). I wasn't pleased with 2 of the movies they played, as they seemed quite inappropriate for Anna. However, her gameboy was a great distraction and I just tried to sleep. I think I only slept for about 2 of the 11 hours. Iryna, however, didn't sleep. At all. That's right. NO SLEEP for my baby girl. She had taken her bedtime meds and melatonin - nothing. Iryna has some major self control. Well, in this instance. I don't think children with FAS are known for their self control. Ha ha.

We arrived at the Moscow airport. It was nice and clean and small and easy to navigate. The lines didn't take long and at customs they didn't even do anything or scan our bags - nothing. I kep waiting for the stress to come, but we were just ushered through. Nice. We went outside to wait for the taxi - it was a van that held all 6 of us, comfortably, the driver and his lady friend (still not sure what her role was, exactly...), and all of our 14 pieces of luggage.

I slept for about 2 hours again on the taxi drive. The traffic was better than what I remember in Kiev, but Tyler thinks it was because of the time of day that we were on the road. It was rainy and snowy and the driver was a pro. I didn't feel nervous at all, despite my seat belt not fitting.

Funny thing: Tyler & I wanted to buy some bottled water on our taxi drive to Nizhny. In Ukraine, they sell carbonated water and drink it plain. We didn't know about carbonated water, so we bought a dark blue capped bottle of "water" which ended up being carbonated water. Bleah! I have found that I am NOT a fan of carbonated water. This time around, we were DETERMINTED to not repeat our mistake.

So, when we went to buy some water in Moscow, we looked for the light blue cap on the water, shook it up and saw no bubbles. We bought 3 big bottles, since there are 6 of us. 5 minutes down the road...you guessed it...carbonated water. Bleah! Yeah, we felt pretty silly. However, this time around, Tyler has been boiling the carbonation out of the water on our stove. Yeah, he's engineery like that. The water does taste normal without the carbonation. (imagine that).

We arrived at 6pm in Nizhny Novgorod. Sveta - our translator - met us at the apartment. We were going to stay at a daily apartment (where we pay per day) but she found us a sweet apartment right across from the town square, a market, and McDonald's. It's awesome. We love the apartment. The only thing it's missing is an oven, so cooking will be...simple.

Sveta is nice and courteous and very genuine, plus naturally optimistic. Most Russians aren't very happy, but Sveta is and I appreciate that. She let us get settled in, after taking our documents and helping Tyler & I buy some items at the market.

Last night we all slept hard. I woke up at 10am this morning and felt super rested. I made some fried potatoes and scrambled eggs for breakfast. For lunch we had some sliced slightly-sweetened bread with butter and Russian cheese plus fruit. Anna says she is a big fan of this meal and wants it often - no problem, Anna Belle!

Sveta came over and discussed our visit with the MOE tomorrow. We will meet the lady there and give her our documents. She will ask us questions about ourselves and the type of children we would like to adopt. She will ask us if we have an adoption visa, we will say no, because they do not offer adoption visas anymore. She knows this, yet she will ask us, already knowing the answer. Okay, sure, no problem, I can read a script. Sveta said that the lady will want to know if we intend to adopt 1, 2, or 3 children. We had intended just to adopt 2, but Tyler said he was actually interested in 3...so we have the next 24 hours to think and pray about that. Please pray for us to get a clear answer!

Today we have been relaxing, playing games, watching HOUSE (Tyler, Sarah, & I) and enjoying this vacation. I emailed a missionary and they are going to meet us on Sunday to walk to church. I can't wait. This is fun. I am having fun. Wish you all could be here. xoxo

Getting things done

This morning I woke up so foggy-headed. I had thought that I would sleep well from the 13 hour drive yesterday, but I woke up twice during the night and just didn't sleep well. I'm sure that part of that is from Tyler having been out of town. He's home now (thank goodness!) but I never sleep well when he's gone. You know what I mean? I felt a lot like this:

It took a lot of effort to not go back to bed but to submit myself to a little pampering pre-trip to Russia. I got a haircut this morning - it's pretty short and really cute. I want to have long hair, but because my hair is so thin (hypothyroidism is to blame) it just looks best short. I haven't had a pedicure in 4 months and I need to get them monthly, otherwise my heels crack and bleed. I hit up a new pedicure salon and was thrilled with the place. Everyone was so friendly and they did a good job on the pedicure plus facial waxing (got to love the dark hair on my lip and my out of control eyebrows) and their prices were so reasonable. I left the salon feeling like a new woman! Then I went for a sumptuous Mexican lunch with a good friend, Nichole. I know that I will miss my Mexican food while in Russia for a month.

After that? I came home and took an hour nap - I was really dragging! Now the kids are home and the countdown to takeoff is 26 hours from now. It's crunch time, people! I've got a van to clean out, luggage to pack, kids/husband to feed, and some HOUSE to watch - I need some downtime prior to leaving tomorrow. We're driving to Miami in the morning (3 hours from here) and plan to eat out somewhere - much cheaper than airport food - and then arrive 2 hours early for the flight. I must admit that I'm not stressed right now, I just have a lot to do. It will be fun! Well...it will be fun when all the work is done and I'm on the plane. OH! And I got this book in the mail today. Talk about great timing. Now I have a fun book to read on the plane. Woo-hoo!

Apostille

I drove 13 hours and drank way too much Dr pepper to get 17 of the following:

We are officially done with paperwork prior to trip #1. Hooray. Sorry, that's all the excitement that I can exhibit at the moment. I am exhausted. We leave in 2 days.

Paperwork, Packing, Play!

And so, tomorrow I will drive 12 hours to get the adoption paperwork apostilled. That will take the whole day, yes it will. Other than preparing myself for that, I have been busy trying to get the packing organized. I went and bought snacks for the plane ride and some food items to pack in our suitcases which will help us have something to eat upon arrival in Russia. I have also made a packing list and am adding to that almost daily. I can't believe we're leaving on Saturday - so much to do! I looked on the airline website and realized that the carry on luggage has to be 22" x 14" x 9" or smaller to fit in the overhead bins. Of all the nice luggage that Tyler & I own, only ONE of them fits in the category. Each of the kids have a rolling suitcase that looks like this:

It's cute and even has rolling wheels. However, it's really small and doesn't hold very much. Considering the fact that we'll be in Russia for FOUR weeks, I'd like to have something bigger for each child. The issue here is that I don't really want to buy 4 carry on size suitcases for this trip, but it looks as though we will. I am sure you are wondering why we don't just check all of our luggage. While I would do that in a heartbeat, there are many stories of items missing upon arrival in Russia. Plus, it doesn't cost to carry on the luggage, but to check the luggage, it's $25 per suitcase. And my plan was to have each person have one carry on suitcase, one backpack (to take on the plane) and then to check maybe ONE bag with all of the orphanage donations in it. I'm guessing that it would be more cost effective to check the luggage than to buy 4 new suitcases...but I don't know. And top that off with the fact that Tyler is TDY (military term for out of town for the Air Force) and won't be back until Friday. Oh, and we leave on Saturday. !!! As for me, I feel like just playing with my kids instead of cleaning and packing and fretting. :)

Notary issues

Today we drove to Tallahassee, FL, from GA - where we went for spring break. The state apostille is located in Tallahassee, so we thought it worked out perfectly for us to stop by there today and get all of our documents apostilled on our way home.

However, the apostille people wouldn't apostille our documents because we had them notarized on-base, and the base notary isn't recognized by the state of FL, only through the Federal apostille, which is located in Washington, D.C. Grrr!

This means I will have to drive 6 hours (one way) back to Tallahassee after we've had the documents renotarized at a bank. And because of schedules for this week, I will have to go to the bank to notarize the documents right after my surgery on Monday. (I am having a D&C done due to a polyp) Lovely.

Who has one full day just to drive for 12 hours the week we leave for Russia? *sigh*

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Paperwork

So, we now have all of our documents notarized. Tomorrow we are taking them to be apostilled. Then - all paperwork will be completely done for trip #1! Hooray! What a blessing! Our visas are arriving soon, too!

I've been trying to get the word out for donations to take with us on the trip, but have been surprised at how few we've received. I guess the economy was better when we went to Ukraine, because we had the donations coming out of our EARS and struggled finding room in our luggage for them all. This time, we are checking bags just full of donations. Having said that, I've had 2 people donate 57 beanie babies + infant/toddler clothes (Thanks Hang & Jenny) and think that every little bit will make a difference in an orphan's life. I plan to take more donations the second trip, so if anyone has items to donate they can donate them then.

I'm compiling a list of items to take. I've also thought about the idea of cooking for 6 people in a kitchen in a foreign country. I've thought to bring some items with me, especially items that may not be found in Russia, or are pretty expensive there. Perhaps some of the following:

Peanut Butter
Instant Oatmeal Packets
Protein Bars
Tortillas
Colby Jack string cheese
Crackers

Any other suggestions? Or warnings? Or happy thoughts?

I believe in miracles

I have been blessed to see many miracles in my life and I just witnessed another one today. My husband called Bridgette and she said she would sign the form. She said that normally she would not sign it, but she doesn't want to prevent our adoption from continuing due to this. I am so grateful for her change of heart. I prayed that her heart would be touched. Most people in the business of adoption care about the children - that is their focus - and Bridgette has shown me that she cares about the children. I highly recommend this adoption agency: Heart of Adoptions Alliance, Inc, located in FL.

And so, we're back on track for Nizhny Novgorod! Speaking of our trip, here is a flyer I want to share with you:

If you are able to donate any of these items, we will take them with us to Nizhny Novgorod and give them to the orphanages there. It's a great way to help others. A BIG THANK YOU to my talented sister-in-law, Tisha, for making this flyer. You can email me or leave a comment if you have any questions: jilldpierce at yahoo dot com. Together, we can make a difference!

We need a miracle

Where to start? Our home study is done. Finally. I got the notarized copies in the mail today. That's the good news. The bad news is that Russia requires the Home Study Agency to be obligated to help the adoptive family register the new children with the Russian Embassy and send them the post-adoption reports. Well, our home study agency says that they are NOT obligated to do so and wouldn't sign the form. Without the form being signed, we cannot adopt in Russia. You can see our problem, yes?

Tomorrow morning, Tyler and Victoria (from our Adoption Placement Agency) are both going to call Bridgette (the head honcho at our home study agency) and try to explain the situation further and hopefully persuade her to sign the form. You see, we don't need for anyone to help us register our children and send post-adoption reports. We are reliable, responsible people. We get it done. So, by having Bridgette sign this form will not put her out at all, yet it will allow us to continue with our adoption. If she does not sign the form, we cannot continue with this adoption.

We have asked Victoria if Russia would allow for us to sign up with another home study agency just for that one form, but it doesn't seem likely that Russia will accept it. They aren't the most flexible people. (Don't tell them I said that). Everything has to be "just so" and this is no exception.

And so, my faithful friends, I need a miracle. I know that God can change the heart of Bridgette so she will sign that paper. I would ask that all of you please join with us and say a prayer tonight and tomorrow morning that all will go well in our conversations with her. I believe in miracles and I know that if God wants for us to adopt in Nizhny, that He will clear the path before us. Please pray for us. Thank you.

Let the countdown begin!

We have less than 3 weeks until we leave for Russia. My head is beginning to spin with all the last minute things we need to do. I just applied for my visas. What a pain they are! Ukraine didn't require visas, so this is new for me. I am ready to get out the suitcases and start packing them up! Why wait, right? I've thought about doing a little supply checklist and trying to put together some things for the orphanage. Still debating on whether to do that before this trip or before the second trip, when I will know more of what the orphanage needs. You know? Thoughts?

I ordered myself a warm jacket for the trip. It's 70 degrees outside my window here in FL, but it's 21 degrees in Nizhny Novgorod. Wow. It's hard for me to imagine being cold in a few weeks!

We are looking for a family from church to stay with during our time in Russia. I hope we can stay with a family and help them out financially, rather than just pay a hotel. Times are tough everywhere right now, why not help someone else out other than just our kiddos in Russia?

Supplies

Some supplies are coming in the mail. Don't you just love getting packages? I know that I do. I have some money holders (to carry under clothing), a power adapter for our electronics, and a microphone for our laptop so we can chat via Skype while on the trip.

We're less than a month away from our trip. I recently bought myself a coat online. I live in FL. I don't own a coat, but it's 21 degrees in Nizhny Novgorod, so I figured that I should at least buy a medium warmth jacket. So I did. It's black, even. Wouldn't want to stand out more than I already will in a country where everyone wears black and gray. :)

I need to pick out some small toys to take with me to play with our new children. It's hard to know what to take. Any suggestions?

The home study is now being reevaluated by our facilitator in Russia, then it will be notarized and THEN Tyler & I can have a hayday getting everything apostilled.

Slow slow come*

Slowly, things are happening. I am accumulating various items for our trip, such as a microphone for our laptop, so we can use skype during the trip. My friend, Sarah, is applying for her passport this week. We are talking over baby names. We really like the name STELLA for a girl, but cannot agree on a boy name. Perhaps that means that we'll adopt 2 girls? Not sure. Tyler & I keep imagining Stella to have curly hair and either blue or green eyes. We can't wait to get to Nizhny Novgorod and to see the files of the children. We are so eager to find our kids there.

It's interesting how things change when you already have children. I remember getting the baby nursery all ready for when Anna was born (she's our bio miracle). I had a theme, matching blankets and sheets, etc. Now? I'm not even thinking about themes, etc, just want my babies home. We'll find a place for them to sleep. Can't wait.

*translation from a Chinese phrase: "man man lai"

Counting down the days

We are about one month away from our trip to Russia. I remember wanting to go in February or March, but I am grateful that we have time to prepare for this trip. I like the idea of having the suitcases packed a couple of weeks in advance, instead of the night before - like our trip to Ukraine. I feel more relaxed and able to think about what items to bring (and not bring) for our #1 trip.

I spoke with Victoria at AAC today. There were two other families scheduled to travel in March to Nizhny Novgorod. I have been eager to follow their experiences to prepare for my trip. Unfortunately, both of those families are no longer to adopt from Nizhny Novgorod, thanks to the issue with the Alaskan mom and hot sauce. The two families were looking to adopt healthy children only and that is no longer allowed in Nizhny - for the time being - due to the hot sauce fiasco. HOWEVER, we have been told that since we are adopting at least one child with specials needs that it will not affect us. Let's hope that this IS the case. :)

More than one month away from our first trip to Russia, I'm already thinking about trip #2. Tyler & I will travel back to Russia to have a physical done in Moscow, then attend the court in Nizhny Novgorod. Then Tyler will travel back home and I'll be there for the 10 day waiting period. Then somone will come out to help me bring the children back. We haven't determined who that person will be. We are willing to pay for the plane ticket. We have asked a few people, family members and friends, but we haven't heard a positive response (yet). If you are interested in doing this, please contact me @ jilldpierce at yahoo dot com

Passport Pictures

I was comparing the passport pictures of my Ukrainian twins. The younger is picture is from 2008 and the newer one is from 2011. Look how much they've changed!

Keith

Iryna. Yeah, Iryna doesn't look too happy in her newer picture. To be fair, she had a fever blister (nice timing, eh) and she was READY to be done at CVS.

In 6 weeks, we leave for Russia! Wahoo! :)

$4,500

Our home study is done (on our end) and is being reviewed by Heart of Adoptions - our home study agency - and About A Child - our placement agency. It should be notarized within a week or two.

We mailed in our service agreement +$2,000 to our placement agency. It feels odd writing a check for such a large amount.

And this morning, I paid $4,500 for 6 round trip tickets from FL to Moscow. It was $753 per ticket, an amazing price! I found them on Delta Airlines. It's not as great of a deal like I found a week ago, $585 (Thanks for the tip, Mary!), but we needed to be in country longer and $753 is still a super awesome price, so I'm happy. We leave in April! Let the countdown begin! :)

Update

We are still waiting on one paper/form to be submitted and then our home study will be done. Hooray!

We are planning to leave April 11th. I am having trouble finding a good rate on flights - I am hopeful to find something for less than $1,000 per plane ticket. Has anyone found this?

I'm so ready to just GO to Russia! Keithy keeps asking when we're going on the "airplane in the sky" and I know he doesn't understand the meaning of 2 more months. :(

Orphanage supplies

I am going to plan to take a bag of supplies to the orphanage(s) in Nizhny Novgorod. I am thinking to ask the kids' school to see if any of the students/teachers want to donate items. Most people want to help orphans, they just don't know how. This will be an easy opportunity for them.

Has anyone used asaptickets.com to buy plane tickets? They're quoting $800 for a roundtrip ticket to Nizhny Novgorod, whereas, other sites show $2000...not sure if I should trust asaptickets or if I've hit the goldmine? What airlines have you used (or do you know others have used) to go to Russia?

I am putting together some really fun fundraisers for our adoption. Stay tuned!

April 11th

That is when we're planning to leave for Russia. Would I like to go sooner? Yes. But this is when we're going. And I'm trying to be at peace about it. I'm a planner and this just means that I have more time to agonize over plan every detail of the trip. It means we don't have to rush in getting our visas. It means that I can spend more time finding a great price on 6 round-trip tickets to Russia. It means that I can focus on fundraising for the adoption. It means that it'll be warmer in Russia in April than it is right now (28 degrees and snowing). There are two families traveling to Nizhny Novgorod in March through AAC, so I will be very interested to see how their processes go.

In other news, Tyler and I currently feel comfortable with the idea of adopting 2 children: one with special needs and one "normal". So that is our plan for now. Of course, whomever God asks us to adopt at the MOE, we will adopt them. We want to do His will above our own.

Dreaming of my babies

So last night I dreamt that I had a precious baby girl in my arms. I am so ready to go to Russia!

I am trying to be hopeful that we'll be going to Nizhny Novgorod in March. However, Tyler has to submit his itinerary 30 days in advance before we can go. The issue is that the last week of March and the first 2 weeks of April there are mandatory things at work that Tyler has to attend.

So for us to be able leave in March, we'd have to have our home study done. Plus we need to get money for our plane tickets and for lodging in Russia, home study and adoption placement agency fees, and paperwork fees in country.

Please pray for us! We need a miracle to help us get to Russia in March.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Names

I love the topic of naming children. It's something that I get really excited about! What a great opportunity to name a child - the name that they will have for their whole life! I really like the names of my children, thus far, and I am excited about picking new names for our Russian children. Here are some names that we're looking at currently:

Girls:
Vanessa
Stella
Katya (Ekaterina)

Boys:
Emmett
Russell
Luke

I am planning to keep the children's given names as their middle name (or first name if I really REALLY like it). I just realized today that I am "expecting" 1-3 children right now! And thinking of a name is a common topic when you're "expecting", right? Which of these names do you like best?

Passports all around

Today the passports for the kids arrived in the mail! Hooray!

I have a question. Have any of your ever had to do child abuse clearances (for each state that you've lived in since you were 18 years old) for your home study or international adoption? I was talking with Victoria from AAC and she said that they aren't necessary to have the clearances to adopt from Russia. However, my home study adoption worker says that we need them. Anyone know why that is?

The decision to take the kids

Tyler & I originally thought to take the kids with us to Russia. Then we thought about how expensive it would be for that many round-trip tickets and thought perhaps we shouldn't. Then we decided to make a list of pros/cons for taking them and pros/cons for not taking them. In the end, there were so many positives to taking them: start the bonding process with their new siblings sooner, help them feel more a part of the adoption process, and not put a strain on our relationship by having them separated from us for up to 2 weeks. The only real negative was financial about taking them. So, we prayed and felt good about taking the children with us. My friend, Sarah B, is going to come with us and help us with our own children while being in Russia. There are times that Tyler & I will need to do things adoption-related and it would be better to not have the kids with us. However, there will also be a LOT of downtime while in country, and why not have my sweet 3 kids with me to discover Russia? I'm very excited. They are excited. Anna is super excited about missing school (no big surprise there). Iryna is excited for a "baby brother and a baby sister". Keithy is excited about riding on the airplane. Ha ha. It will be an adventure, for sure.

When we went to Ukraine, I was so focused on the adoption - naturally - that I wasn't as focused on making it a vacation and enjoying myself while in country. This adoption, I am trying to think about relaxing and enjoying Russia while focusing on the adoption. I am excited!

Giveaway Fundraiser!

First I want to thank everyone who is following this blog. It means so much to us to have your support in our adoption to Russia! I love reading your comments and feeling of your love and encouragement as we grow our family with more special children. Thank you so much!

We have three items up for our Giveaway Fundraiser! How it works: choose one (or more) of the items that you are interested in winning in the Giveaway Fundraiser and go to the top right side of this blog, where is says: "Pierce Family Adoption". Click on "ChipIn!" and it will help you through the process.

First is a Coby Digital Photo Album. One entry for each $5 donated to our adoption fund, and if you link to our blog with a note about our fundraiser on your Facebook (or send an email to your friends), let us know and we'll give you an additional entry. To link to Facebook, click on the "Share to Facebook" button right next to where you leave comments. Please leave the name of the item you want to be entered for in the "comments" section when giving your donation.

Second is an AVerMedia DVD EZMaker PCI Digital Video Maker (it turns home videos into dvds). One entry for each $5 donated to our adoption fund, and if you link to our blog with a note about our fundraiser on your Facebook (or send an email to your friends), let us know and we'll give you an additional entry. To link to Facebook, click on the "Share to Facebook" button right next to where you leave comments. Please leave the name of the item you want to be entered for in the "comments" section when giving your donation.

Third is a 10.4" Digital Picture Frame. One entry for each $5 donated to our adoption fund, and if you link to our blog with a note about our fundraiser on your Facebook (or send an email to your friends), let us know and we'll give you an additional entry. To link to Facebook, click on the "Share to Facebook" button right next to where you leave comments. Please leave the name of the item you want to be entered for in the "comments" section when giving your donation.

We're happy to ship the items to whomever wins, so please spread the word. We will accept entries until February 3rd at 3pm. Thanks!!

Bombing at Moscow Airport

I hope that this won't affect our upcoming adoption in Russia. :(

Moscow (CNN) -- Terrorists detonated a bomb at Moscow's busiest airport on Monday, killing 35 people and wounding 152, Russian authorities said.
President Dmitry Medvedev, who called the bombing a terrorist attack, ordered additional security at airports and transportation hubs around the country, and Moscow police went on high alert in case of additional bombs.
The explosion occurred about 4:30 p.m. at the entrance of the international arrivals section of Domodedovo Airport, Itar-Tass said, citing a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Tatyana Morozova.
State TV aired video of the smoke-filled terminal, including what appeared to be bodies and luggage on the ground.

The Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee said 35 people were dead and 152 had been wounded in the explosion.
State TV, citing Russian authorities, said the bombing was the act of a suicide bomber who stuffed a homemade bomb with small metal objects to make it more deadly, then activated it in a crowded area where many people were waiting for arriving passengers. CNN could not independently verify those claims.
A heavy police presence remained outside the airport nearly four hours after the explosion, and more than 10 ambulances left the airport with lights flashing and sirens screeching.
Incoming flights scheduled to land at Domodedovo were being diverted to Moscow's other airports, Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, Russian TV said.
However, airport spokeswoman Yelena Galanova told Russian state TV that the airport was "operating as usual."
"There have been no departure delays. We were shut for only about 20 minutes after the explosion," she told state TV.
An airport employee, Andrei Surkov, told CNN that while the international arrivals area is still closed, international passengers were being routed through the domestic terminal located on the other end of the airport.
Lufthansa spokeswoman Claudia Lange said the airline has suspended all flights to Domodedovo until further notice.
Elina Bakhtina told state TV she was at the airport cafe she owns when the explosion occurred.
"The blast must have been very strong, because our cafe is about 100 meters from the arrivals area. When we heard the blast, glass just started falling from the ceiling," she said.

31 dead in Moscow airport explosion

Tatyana Papova, who was waiting at passport control when the explosion occurred, told state TV that escalators stopped working at the baggage claim area and airport employees started breaking down walls to help clear people from the area.
Domodedovo is 22 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Moscow. According to the airport's website, it is the largest of Moscow's three airports, as well as the busiest in terms of passenger traffic.
U.S. President Barack Obama called the bombing a "premeditated attack against innocent civilians."
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the U.S. government had no information that any Americans were injured.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said British officials are "in urgent contact with Russian authorities to establish the facts and to provide consular support to any British nationals who may have been affected."
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen condemned the attack and urged greater cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
German, French, and Isreali leaders also condemned the attacks.
Will Geddes, terrorism expert and managing director of International Corporate Protection Group, called the bombing a "very significant terror strike."
"To strike in the airport -- which is fundamentally believed and understood by many to be one of the most secure types of installations in a city or in a country -- to have such a devastating an attack with such a tragic result, means that they had planned this considerably well and gone ahead in achieving their aims," he said.
Russia has a long history of dealing with terror attacks.
In 2004, two airplanes that took off from Domodedovo exploded, killing at least 89 people in an attack blamed on Chechen suicide bombers.
More recently, female suicide bombers struck the Moscow metro during rush hour in March, setting off two explosions that killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 60. Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for that attack.

In November 2009, an explosive device derailed an express train, killing at least 26 people.

CNN's Maxim Tkachenko contributed to this report

Question on visas

After making a list of pros and cons and praying about it - we have decided to take our children with us on the first trip to Russia. We are now looking at visas to enter Russia. They have single entry, double entry, and multiple entry visas. Victoria at AAC has recommended that Tyler & I get the multiple entry visa for ourselves, but I'm wondering if the kids could just get the single entry visa? Also, since Keith & Iryna have dual citizenship with the US and Ukraine, do they need a visa to enter Russia? Anyone know?

Because I Have Been Given Much

The following is from this blog that I found through this friend. Enjoy.

It's estimated that there are nearly 150 million orphans in the world.  That's a staggering number.  It's a number that can make it seem impossible for us to help, or powerless for us to change.  But when you look at the faces of those orphans, it becomes a little different.  It becomes personal.  And when you look at the faces of some of those orphans and see one that calls to your heart, that reaches out across the miles and grabs hold of you and doesn't let go, it becomes more than personal: it becomes family.  And what wouldn't you do for your family?  What wouldn't I, as a mother, do for my children?  Our little boy in Eastern Europe reminds us of Zane; in fact, when most people see his picture, they tell us that he looks like he's already part of the family.  And it's true, he does look like he's already part of our family - and in our hearts, he is.  But he's not here with us right now.  He's in an orphanage.  And because of his special needs, he and all the other children there with special needs are in a desperate position: they will age out of their baby house when they turn five (sometimes sooner, if their orphanage is overcrowded) and be transferred to an adult mental institution.  Can you imagine?  There are no provisions made for children at the institutions - for their special needs or for their care as tiny children.  No hugs, no kisses, no treats, no toys.  What wouldn't I do to save Zane from a fate like that?  When I think of our other little boy waiting in his orphanage - waiting for his family, waiting to be saved from transfer to an institution - it makes me feel frantic.  Desperate.  And determined.

This is not a road most of us would simply choose for ourselves.  It's hard.  It's a hard position to be in - we're working with a single-minded purpose to bring our son home, to save him from a life worse than death in a place no child should ever be, and we're working against a ticking clock.  When the paper chase seems like a hassle (you've never seen so much paper in your life, I promise you!), when it seems hard to do it all at once, or to find the time for the fingerprints and the passport apps and the social worker visits and the physicals for all six of us, when you feel like all you think about is fundraising and worrying that you're going to annoy everybody with your barrage of blog posts and fundraiser ideas... it's all outside the comfort zone of pretty much anybody you'd ask.  And it seems impossible.  BUT...

Because I have been given much, I too must give.  We cannot see this need, and feel this pull, and turn our backs because it's too hard for us.  It is too hard for us, but it is not too hard for our God.  He has commanded us in the scriptures to care for orphans, and he has prompted me specifically with a heart for this particular little boy.  That still small voice has whispered to my spirit that I must go and do, and I know that when the Lord gives a commandment, He prepares a way for what He commands to be done.  

How can we help change the fate of so many children in such desperate need?

One child at a time.

Mailing addresses

Can you recall all the addresses that you have lived at for the past 28 years??? That's what Tyler & I are having to do for our home study. It's crazy!

Sweet big sister

When Carri was having her interview with Anna, she asked her what she thought about getting a new brother or sister. Anna responded that once she got to know Keith & Iryna, everything was fine. So, she is just eager to get to know her new siblings. She's such a good big sister. :)

Home Study Visit

Carri from our home study agency came out to meet with us today. She's very nice and I think we had a good visit. Here is where we are in regards to finishing up the home study:

- finish filling out Child Abuse Registry for New York (we had to do this for every state we've lived in since we turned 18 years old)

- Email list of names of my siblings, their spouses, and their children

- wait for Carri to receive the results from the Child Abuse Registry for every state we've lived in since we turned 18 years old - this includes TAIWAN for when Tyler served his mission there.

- pay second half of home study fee after taxes come in

So basically, Carri will write up the report, we'll finish up our end (the one form for New York, email of names, pay second half of home study fee), and then we'll all just wait for the forms back from all the states (and Taiwan). Once those all come in, the home study will be complete and we will book our flights to Russia. I've been checking prices and currently it's around $830 for one round trip flight. Any suggestions on airlines for flying into Moscow?

God works miracles

This past week we were having an issue with some medical documents. My husband is active duty in the Air Force, which means that our primary doctor on base changes from time-to-time due to PCS (moving) or deployments, etc. Our main doctor is deploying, so when we went in to see the doctor to get our medical paperwork filled out, we met with a new doctor. He really rubbed me the wrong way. He has a aggressive and dominant personality. He said that if he had his way, everyone would be on medication. (!!!) He also told me that I needed to get my lapband taken out and get gastric bypass. He was so insistent on this - it made me very uncomfortable. I tried to just not say much, because I could tell we would not get along. He wasn't nice to me at all about my weight. I left that appointment very frustrated.

Well, the paperwork that he filled out wasn't done correctly, so I had to go back to get it done right. I was reading my scriptures the night before my appointment. I read about someone asking God to go before him and destroy his enemies. The doctor that I'd previously met with felt as close to an "enemy" as I've had. So, I prayed that God would go before me and "destroy my enemy" or just make things work out in the appointment.

The next day, I went in and they had me meet with a different doctor. What a sweet man! He was so kind and sensitive and complimentary of our adoption. He himself adopted two children! He happily filled out my adoption medical forms and was only too happy to do so. He said that there should be more people like me in this world. I tell you what - it was a miracle! I know that God heard my prayer and answered it.

Update on Home Study

I had sent a check in to the agency, but made it out to the wrong name, so I resent another and they have received it. You'd think that the name on the website would be the correct name to makes checks out to, but no.

Tyler & I have to go in to the clinic tomorrow because our medical paperwork for the home study was done incorrectly. *sigh* I am eager to get this home study off the ground!

Moving forward!

We have submitted all of our home study documents. We have an appointment on January 17th for the home study visit. Yesterday we applied for passports for Anna, Keith, & Iryna. We are planning to take the kids with us when we go to meet our children (1-3 kids) in Russia! The region we are hoping to adopt from is Nizhny Novgorod.

My friend, Sarah B, is planning to accompany us in our trip to Russia. I think it would be nice to have some help with our 3 kiddos while in country, espcially during important meetings! I feel like things are moving along nicely! Financially, we are waiting for our taxes to come in, so we can book our plane tickets to Russia. Since Tyler is active duty Air Force, we are thinking about the idea of hopping over to Europe, but that would only take us to Germany and we'd have to take a train to Moscow. Still debating on that idea. Nizhny is one hour away from Moscow.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a meetinghouse in Nizhny, which will be nice! I am eager to meet the LDS people in Russia. The people we met in Ukraine were so warm and welcoming towards us. I am planning to sing Zdes Khorosho again for the judge in Russia. As a classically trained soprano, I want to share my unique talent in Russia as well. It was amazing to sing for the judge in Ukraine. I am pretty certain that it was a first for him to have an adoptive mother sing a song just for him. I will never forget it!

I am hoping that we can travel in February, but am trying to convince myself that March would be okay, too. I am so eager to meet our littles ones in Russia!