He's Officialy Ours!!

We had court this morning and it was a whirlwind! Fastest court I have ever been to.....! Our translator is so very good at what she does, she's super confident and sweet! She and our driver were very reassuring before we went into court. Chris did a fabulous job answering so many of the questions. He really had the lion's share of them. I probably had about 5 questions total. The judge was very serious and you could tell she has the children's best interest at heart. Yet, her eyes were kind and it was somehow very reassuring as well. She was speaking super fast, and it was difficult for our translator to keep up with her... so much so that at the end when we were asked if we agree with her verdict... we had no idea if the verdict was Yes or not! lol! We could tell by the smile on our translators face that it was... and she nodded her head and of course we agreed. lol! And that was our time in court. I am so glad it was first thing in the morning, as I would not have wanted to wait all day.

After court we drove to the orphanage and they got our little guy ready to go out.... not because the 10 days was waived.. It wasn't. But we had to get his passport photo taken. Poor guy, he was definitely scared and cranky as it was his naptime. I wouldn't have wanted to go out in the cold either! It's funny because he cries when he has to take off his snow jacket, hat and scarf. Putting it on is no big deal. It took him a little bit to warm up to us.... he didn't want to come to me, but the caregiver kind of guided him over and I scooped him up as I knew we had to get moving!

He did great in the car, though we brought airplane bags just in case. He was fine! Just sat in my lap and watched the traffic. He was definitely tired and definitely unsure! We got the pictures accomplished and then went back to the orphanage where he cried again to have his hat and jacket and scarf taken off. Poor guy! After that Chris got him to warm up to us pretty well! Just silly daddy stuff! You could see his face not wanting to smile, but as Chris is pretty tireless in the silly daddy antics he got some smiles, then giggles, then outright laughs from him! lol!

We came home and crashed, then grabbed a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Then Chris took me to the really nice grocery store... and boy was it really nice! Ummm I mean I'm calling it the Gucci grocery store from now on.... I do believe we may actually buy a few things from there next time. Like maybe one berry for 100 rubles. lol! We figured out a pint of Hagen Daz ice cream was close to $15.00. Like I said the most expensive city in Europe... no wonder we are flying home in between trips!

Tomorrow we get to visit the orphanage again and our count of days starts then. So, after tomorrow there are 9 left. We fly back out on Sunday afternoon, very early Sunday morning EST. I'll be glad to get back home, but it's gonna be another whirlwind trip! This next one though, we are bringing home the best Christmas gift ever!

Court Today

I had a very restful sleep thanks to my Doctor's prescribed medicine. Even Chris was helpful in the snoring department. I slept for about 8 hours and decided to get up and spend some quiet time here in the wee hours of the morning in Russia. Chris is still asleep, so he must be pretty tired out. (He didn't sleep as long as me on the plane).

Today is court at 10am. (That's 2am for all of you in EST). Hopefully when you wake we will have good news to share. :-) Our driver is picking us up about an hour or so ahead of time, and I'm going to get ready. No coffee maker in this apartment, but the bed is sooo much more comfortable. I'm going to hate to leave this one. It's much better than the last apartment. Exactly the same size, just a bit nicer. (and no smoke smell) Our next apartment the bed looks about as comfortable as a thin mattress on a board. I hope it's decent, cause it's for 9 nights. Unfortunately the biggest celebration here is New Year's, and a lot of the apartments are booked for the downtown festivities. There has been very little to choose from. :-)

I'll post when I can after court. If all goes well, we hope to see our little guy today. (Not sure though).

We're Here!

Court is tomorrow at 10am... please pray all goes well.

I'll write more later tonight, we have to go eat dinner....

Lesson Learned....

Yes, I have learned my lesson for trip #3. Do not wait until the last minute to pack.... anything. Start immediately, even if you feel like surfing the net, or watching a little ESPN with the family. Don't do it! You will pay for it at 1:46am in the morning when you are still getting the last of your items ready to go....

However, it may make one sleep better on the 10 and 1/2 hour flight. Worth it? I'll let ya know....

Procrastination

Nothing packed yet... this is adding a new meaning to the term procrastination. :-)

This quote was on my yearbook page in highschool. (How true it is right about now.)

If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.

Leaving in less than 3 days!

We have our passports, travel visas all ready. I almost have all our documents for court. I have not gotten word back from my picture place about the photos I ordered for court. YIKES!!! I need those photos like tomorrow! Chris has to get 4 documents notarized tomorrow, and that should take care of our Final stage paperwork.

We fly out of Hotlanta (which is pretty chilly by the way) on Wednesday. We return a short 4 days later. I am armed with some stronger sleep aids for the plane this time. Thanks to my wonderful doctor!

Court is on Friday, so everyone please be praying for us that day. Especially that we would have well thought out answers to the judges questions. I pray that some how we would be an impact to the people around us. I was in Sunday school this morning and was really challenged that we are going to be in Russia during Christmas, and that the people we will be in direct contact with are all lost. Pray that if God opens up those conversations we would be aware and that he would use us to present the gospel to those around us. Yes, we will have lots of things going on while we are there.... but what better time to share of Christ's love, than Christmas.

Onto a less spiritual subject, I need to get packed up tomorrow! I mean it! Everything must get packed... so please pray that it all comes together! I feel like after trip One I am "wingin' it" this time. :-)

Still in Gear....

This weekend we have no sports! Not a one! How is that for unbelievable??? It couldn't have come at a more perfect time. We really need to knock out the rest of the baby room, and finish baby proofing the playroom. (I know I have promised pictures.... it's honestly still a mess!)

I finished typing up my Court Trip Packing List! Yay! Now, I just need to start packing everything! I also really want to plan all that we want to do and see for our third trip too. The boys want to see so much of Moscow, and I'm not sure how much we'll actually be able to do in the middle of winter. So, that is what we'll be organizing probably while we are in Russia for court.

Do you know the weather is 50 degrees in Moscow right now? How is that for crazy? It's warmer there than it is here! But no worries, it drops back down to a high of 32 degrees for the entire time we will be visiting. Hmmmm..... I still need to find boots and gloves for my kids. And long underwear. Looks like I'll be calling Land's End again.

I want to also try to make Christmas special while we are over in Russia. Nothing big, but just a little festive. Christmas Carols downloaded on the computer. I bet I have a small fake tree (like 8 inches) that I can sneak in a suitcase to use. I wish I had more room in our suitcases, we have so much to bring!

Okay, I'm off to finish off the playroom with Chris. I think this evening we might actually complete a room! lol!

Kickin' It into Gear....

Since my last post, I actually realized how much there is to get done before we leave. I thought I had all our paperwork accomplished... well at least everything that needs to be apostilled. However there are a ton of Embassy documents that I had to dig up and copy, plus a few others that I need to get notarized. UGH!!!

On top of that please pray that USCIS does not give us anymore trouble and forwards our new home study onto the US Embassy in Moscow. It needs to be cabled ASAP. I sent in a letter requesting this with a copy of our home study, and they sent one back saying that Chris needed to send the letter. Good grief! So, we FedEx'ed that today, and hopefully they will cable it to Moscow ASAP.

Packing, I haven't even begun yet.... hopefully soon! I'm still finishing up Christmas shopping for family! Crazy huh? I will try to sit down tonight and start my new Trip 2 packing list. It looks like Trip 3 will be the biggest job, I can't even begin to imagine!!

Tonight I spoke to a good friend in China who I haven't spoken to in months. Oh how I miss her so much!! Our conversation was cut short by some pressing needs by my family members... (note sarcasm).... and I hope I can talk to her again soon. I miss her very real conversations!

Back to my photocopier.....

Procrastination....

We leave in a week for court, and I am having the biggest bout of procrastination! I'm serious, I don't even have a list! I have paperwork to get ready and photos to get developed.... how about a packing list?????

Not sure what my deal is... I need to gete my act together here soon!

Third trip booked

Just want to let everyone know that we finally after much stress and saga, booked our second airline flight for over Christmas. Yay! This one is with the boys, so we will be flying out on the 20th and returning back on the 30th. 9 days in country! I hope I can make it..... 8 days was pretty long for us last time! But the good thing is we will by then have our little one with us, and we will also be sightseeing a little bit too (in the freezing cold!)

I have a list that is VERY long! So I need to get to it.... :-)