Our Journey of Love to Astrakhan Russia

Christmas Tree!

2008-12-04T12:12:00.001-08:00

This past Sunday Luke and I decided to start a new family tradition. We decided that we would cut down our own Christmas Tree. We thought what fun it would be to get the kids all bundled up, go a tree farm and pick our the perfect Christmas Tree. Well...................fun...........not so much. Yes it was fun for a while walking around in the snow with the kids but for some reason Luke and I thought that it would be easy to find "the one perfect tree". After about an hours and the kids getting bored we just finally picked one. Then the excitement began!!!!! So here is how it all went down:

Cutting a large tree with a little saw ----- NOT EASY ----ask Luke.

Loading the tree onto the cart -----NOT EASY - IMPOSSIBLE --DIDN'T HAPPEN----ask Luke.

Dragging a tree about a mile -----NOT EASY ----ask Luke.

Getting the tree on the car ---- NOT EASY ----ask the tree farm loaders. Getting the tree off the car and into the house ----REALLY HARD - NOT EASY ---ask Luke.

Thinking the tree didn't look that big outside once we got the tree inside - HYSTERICAL!!

Enjoy the pictures below!! HAHA!

The Perfect Main Family Christmas Tree!

Let the cutting begin! Yippie!
Cutting................................................

More cutting......................................

Waiting...............................

Waiting................................

Finally the tree is down!!! YEAH

Okay..............the tree didn't look this big before we cut it down.

Gotcha Day!!!

2008-11-24T07:58:00.001-08:00

Today is the 3rd Gotcha Day with Natalya! As I sit here writing this post I am amazed at how fast these past three years have gone. How much our lives have changed since that cold November day (Thanksgiving) . Three years ago today we were a husband and wife couple eagerly waiting to become parents. We were standing in a court room telling the judge how much we loved this little girl already and what great parents we will be, and that no matter what we will love her forever. Luke did such a great job talking with the judge and I on the other hand had a hard time not crying. I wanted Natalya so badly and would do anything to make her mine. After about 1 1/2 hours of court we were done and the judge left the room to make her decision. The next 20 minutes were terrifying. Then finally the judge came back in and said that we were approved for the adoption of Natalya Anelia Main !!!!!

When we adopted Natalya they waived the 10 day waiting period so we were able to pick her up that same day!! We hurried back to the hotel room got some clothes and rushed over the the orphanage to pick her up. We gave the clothes to the care takers and went to the directors office to wait as they were getting Natalya dressed. We were able to ask more questions and thanked the director for taking such great care of Natalya and loving her the way they did. Her main care taker brought Natalya too us all bundled up in her little pink outfit and purple snow suit. We took some pictures with the director and care taker and then it was time to leave. Natalya's care taker cried as we were taking her - and told us they were tears of joy as she knew Natalya would be going to a great family. It is hard to explain the feeling of pride I had carrying her out and knowing how much she was loved and knowing how much we were going to change her life. Natalya never once fussed (I think mainly just shocked) - that she just slept the entire car ride back to the hotel. Once we got back to the hotel - I think Luke and I were shocked - like HOLY COW...........we have a baby .................what do we do?????

Of course Natalya being our first we made some mistakes - like giving Natalya straight apple juice - which most will tell you gives babies diarrhea!! Needless to say we had A LOT of poopie diapers for the next week and several BLOW OUTS ..........poor kiddo!! But she survived and so did we..........and everyday since we have cherished everything about Natalya. We are honored to be her parents and are so proud of the princess she has become. She is beautiful, caring, loving and tells me every day how she can't wait to grow up and be a mommy just like me. She is a wonderful big sister to Vladimir - always helping him, guiding him and teaching him everything she knows good and bad. Everyday I count my blessings as I know how lucky I am to have her as my daughter. I love her so much and I am so honored to be her mommy!!

Happy Gotcha Day Natalya!!

Luke and I picking Natalya up - sleeping beauty!

Gleaming holding my 1st baby!

Natalya on her 4th birthday!! What a beauty!

Mommy loves her so much!!

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

It's a bird, no............it's a plane...........NO its SUPERMAN!!!!

The CheerLeader and Superman! Too cute!

We had such a great time trick or treating and the kids loved every second!! They were such good trick or treater's always saying "Thank You". Before we had kids it used to drive me nuts when we had trick or treaters come to our house and not say thank you after receiving candy. But my kids did great!!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!

Pumpkins Pumpkins Pumpkins.......Yippie!

2008-10-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

This month we are enjoying the beautiful fall weather and all the fall festivities. We as always have been busy trying to soak up all the outdoors have to offer before we are stuck inside for the winter.

The kids have their Halloween costumes ready to go for Friday's fun (Halloween). Natalya of course is going to be a cheerleader - and a real cute one I might add. Vladimir is SUPER MAN!! We taught him to say "Its a Bird, No its a Plane, No its SUPERMAN"!! He runs through out the house with his hands up in the air - it is pretty funny.

Last week we took the kids to the local zoo which was hosting a HallowZooWeen Party. The kids got to dress up and trick or treat through out the zoo trail. Vladimir did really good saying "Trick or Treat". It is funny how quickly kids catch on when candy is involved. Natalya entered a Pumpkin Coloring contest for the zoo. No she didn't win - but then I don't think she understood the concept of a contest yet. She was just so proud to see her picture displayed at the zoo. And of course it was a perfect picture moment but I forgot the camera.

We also went to a pumpkin farm. The kids did barrel rides, played in the kids area, fed the animals in the petting zoo, ate lunch, played some more, shopping the crafts (my favorite) and finally picked out our pumpkins. All around a great day!!

The kids school had a fall program this past week. In Natalya's class one of the songs they were singing was God Bless America. She had been practicing for weeks singing that song. I swear we must have sang that song a hundred times but practice makes close to perfect as she did an excellent job singing and WAVING at us in the crowd. Luke and I just sat back watching BEAMING WITH PRIDE. Then there was Vladimir's class. I mean it is really more cute then anything because get a group of 2 years old's together and try to sing "Where is Thumbkins" it is mostly just funny. I give the teachers a huge "E"for effort.

Other then that all is well in our neck of the woods! The kids are great and GROWING. I swear Vladimir is going through a spurt. I just bought his 18 month jeans at the end of September and as of this morning they are at his ankles. Geez.......it is great to see him growing.!!

Below enjoy the pictures!! Hope everyone is well and Congratulations to all the families home with their new little ones!! I love ready all the blogs. I might not keep up regularly on mine, but be sure I read yours.

WHeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

O' MY GOSH.......pumpkins EVERYWHERE!!!!!

I got this one!!

Will there ever be a time were I can get both of my kids to smile at the camera at the same time?

Hey!! Wait for me Natalya!

Feeding the animals

Hey look Mom.........I'm helping dad carry his pumpkin!! HAHA

Sorry I was MIA!!!!

2008-09-18T13:19:00.001-07:00

Yes!!! I was missing in action from the blogging world for over a month! I do not know where my days go or went over the last month but I just realized that I have done nothing with my blog since July and it is now almost October.

Updates:

Vladimir is doing great. We just had our 6th month post placement report and then found out the news about CHI - Chicago's branch office closing. So I am terribly sad that we will lose our social worker! She has been with us for 3 years completing post placement for Natalya and had hoped she would be stuck with us for 3 more but that will not be the case.

Vladimir is just doing wonderful. He is saying about 30 plus words and is getting the hang of potty training. I can honestly say potty training a boy is much harder then a girl. Vladimir got baptised last weekend and was so well behaved. Although during the baptism he recognized one of his teachers in the service and was yelling and waving "HI" to her.

Natalya is growing into a little girl everyday. She is going to start cheer leading soon. Luke wanted her to play soccer but she cried at that thought as she would much rather cheerleader. Not sure where she even heard about cheer leading but she "ra ra"s every chance she gets.

We are already taking about Halloween in our house. I just can't believe it is almost October. I have some pictures to share for all of you who may be interested.

Hope everyone is doing well! Congrats! To all the Astrakhan families who have had successful court dates!! I follow many of your blogs and love re-living all the exciting times!

Natalya and Vladimir at the IL State Fair riding a Cho Cho train. As you can see Vlad was not too excited.

Vladimir's Baptism : Pictured Luke sister, Luke, Natalya, Vladimir, Me (mom) and my brother. Doesn't Vladimir look so cute in his little outfit!!

Below: Luke, Natalya, Me and Vladimir.

Updates and 4th Birthday!

2008-07-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

It has been a really busy busy JULY and glad to see that August is around the corner!! We had a great 4th of July celebrating with the kids. Attended a local parade in the morning and it didn't take very long for Vladimir to catch on to the candy that gets thrown from the floats (Little Prince is Vladimir- I have decided it is just easier to write Vladimir & Natalya vs. LP's). At night we went to fire works and had a great view from the office building I manage. Vladimir and Natalya said "OOH and WOW" a million times over and over!

Then on the 12th we attended the CHI reunion picnic. We had a blast hanging out with our friends and fellow Astrakhan families. There is one particular family that we still meet up with and spend extra time with as they were the family that traveled with us on both trips while we were adopting Natalya in 2005, so we love catching up with them as often as we can!! At the actual reunion picnic there were a least 10 kids from Astrakhan which are the families who attend every year - so it is AWESOME to see how they change in a years time!!

Natalya turned 4 on the 23rd!! It was such a great day for her and a little sad for me as I find it so hard grasp that my first baby is 4. I always say time flies but seriously - these past 3 years flew faster then a rocket ship!! Natalya got up at the crack of dawn so excited! I let her open one present early and she picked her new Barbie Swan Lake ( if you haven't noticed by my pictures I post Natalya is the most girly girl you will ever meet). She doesn't leave the house with out a purse, jewelry or a baby to tend to. So Barbie is her new THING! Every thing is all about BARBIE! YIKES!! So the theme was Barbie.!! I ended up taking a half day at work and surprising her by picking her up early at school and taking her to the local water park ( Vlad too came along)!! Then we came home opened more presents, ate pizza (her choice) and had Barbie cake!!

Vladimir is doing GREAT!!! He is progressing so well. "Yellow" was the new word of the day yesterday, so everything is yellow. "Alrighty" is also a very common word he uses and the great thing is he knows when to use the word. Like if I ask him to clean up he will say ALRIGHTY!! He is growing for sure more so taller and he is slimming out some. I think he is officially losing that baby chunk - if he even really had that. He received his first incident report as school the other day! Apparently he was goofing off at lunch and was told to stop and threw a good tantrum. Mainly the the teacher wanted to let me knew that he is catching on well at school and is starting too mimic behaviors from the other kids good and BAD! HAHA!!

So that is the update for July! Below is pictures of the kiddos!! Enjoy!!

Ready to watch the parade! Again another picture where I can't get both to look at me and say cheese at the same time!!
Natalya ready to catch the candy!

Waving!! Hey Candy OVER HERE PLEASE! HAHA

Happy 4th of JULY!!

My 2 cuties! A picture together on Natalya's 4th Birthday!

My Princess if 4!
Happy Birthday!

O'man no presents for me???

CHEESE!!

LONG LONG TIME !

2008-06-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are still alive!! HA-HA It has been forever that I have posted and I know everyone is looking for new pictures and updates. We have been all so busy enjoying the beautiful weather outside, swimming, gymnastics practice, baseball games..........the list could go on and on. I can't believe June flew by so fast and July is expected to zoom by as well.

It has been 3 months since LP has been home and still everyday we admire him in amazement. LP is doing better then great! He is saying more words - I am pretty sure it is up to about 22. The new one this weekend was bite, as he was wanting a bite of my cinnamon roll - He kept patting my leg saying "Bite Mama Bite" . He is loving all fruit. He is not a big fan of meat? Which I am thinking it is a texture thing but I fight him just to eat a couple bites of chicken. Not even hamburger. When newly home he would eat just about anything but now he is picky. Not sure what exactly to do but hopefully this too is just a phase. . His favorite right now is strawberries. HE LOVES STRAWBERRIES The other day we bought some strawberries at the farmers market and once home I washed them and placed some in a bowl on the table. LP was eating them whole with the green leafy part!! He was popping them like M&M's

LP is doing great at school, and of course gets all the attention. Although the teachers say he hates being babied. I guess all the girls in the 4-5 yr age group won't leave him alone and it drives him crazy. He is a lot smaller then all the other 2 year olds but he thinks he is king at school.

I can officially say now that LP has NO FEAR of the dogs. In fact he acts like they are not even there. Right now the only issue is LP feeding the dogs off his plate. LP thinks it is hilarious, ME not so much.

LP is the shadow of his sister. Were ever she is he is sure to be behind her. They have their moments where they don't want to be bothered by the other but those are few and far between. Little Princess loves to tattle on her brother and does so at every chance she gets. For example this weekend she gave LP a red crayon and of course he colored the doors, walls and my coffee table all while she sat and watched him. I was down stairs for maybe 5 minutes changing out the laundry. So in 5 mins. LP made a wonderful masterpiece in my living room. THANK GOD for washable crayons and markers!!! I keep telling her that one day all that tattling will come back to haunt her!

On the health front, LP is up to 25lbs which is a 4 lb gain since being home and grew 1 1/2 inches. All his blood work and lab work came back normal and the doctor is more then happy with his adjustment. It is amazing what TLC will do for a kid!!

We are going to attend the CHI reunion picnic on July 12th and hope to see lots of families there! At last I will post pictures!!

Eating outside - buddies.

On this day LP got pooped on by a bird at school, so he had to wear his back up clothes which just happen to be sweats on a 85 degree day. Then to come home and prance around in mommies red high heels. Get a closer look at what his shirt says!! HA- HA
Please mommy! Pretty pretty please!
Daddy and kiddos
See MOM the dogs aren't so bad!! Let me just tug at it's hair.
Sure doggy eat what ever you would like off my plate!!! HA- HA
Father's Day gifts
Another father's day gift. I had to special order with their names, but I LOVE IT.

Cake for Daddies Birthday! YUMMY!!

Cake for Daddies Birthday!

Partner's in Crime!!

1 month home!

2008-05-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

WOW!! I can't believe that LP has been home for a MONTH! Where has the time gone? Although it seems like forever ago that I was in Astrakhan, dying to be home. LP has made a tremendous amount of progress since we arrived home and I am so lucky he has transitioned well. He is still a mama's boy at heart and usually that is the first word of the day from him. Last night Luke and I were laying in bed trying to fall asleep and LP was laughing and saying Mama in his sleep. Just too cute.! He understands WAY more then we give him credit for and surprises us daily with something new. Both the LP's are doing well together and the sibling rivalry/jealousy is slowing calming down and they are enjoying being playmates. We finally got more boy toys in the house as Luke was getting tired of seeing LP carrying purses around the house ( his sister has way to many purses - just like her mommy) and/or trying to wear headbands like his sister. Right now he loves hammering with his play hammer and dinosaurs. He carries this dinosaur around and will growl. He also loves to mow the yard (pretend - with his bubble mower). He just gets a kick out of doing something daddy does. The sandbox is his FAVORITE!! He could play in the sandbox for hours. I could go on and on but I will spare you those details and post some pictures.

You would never think that a month ago this kid hated the water! He is an official water bug just like his sister.

MOM............enough already with this picture stuff.!! HAHA

CHEESEBURGER.....CHEESEBURGER! At the ballpark.

Finally a picture together and they both are smiling! TOO CUTE!

My Princess at the ballpark.

Mom and the kiddos! Family fun at the ballpark! HEY BATTER BATTER!!

Update

2008-05-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

As usual things have been busy......I guess this will be my life now with 2 kids. Although I can't complain as I love every bit of being a mommy to 2 great kids!

Little Prince had his 1st doctors appointment yesterday - the great news is that he gained 1 lb 7 ounces and grew a 1/2 an inch since we left the Embassy Doctor. So he is at 3% on the weight growth chart, 1 % in height and 42% on head circum (if you saw the rest of the family and how big our heads are - he fits right in- HAHA). Of course we have tons of lab work to get done and I have to collect stool samples (so fun - HAHA) to check for giardia etc. So no shots this visit but we go again on June 9th to see what shots needed and results of lab work. The doctor said overall LP seems to be doing GREAT and looks pretty healthy. The doctor was happy to see that LP was doing great in the attachment process. He said he sees a lot of kids who struggle with attachment and was surprised to see LP making such huge progress already. I am pretty lucky in that department because both of the LP's really didn't have too many attachment or bonding issues.

Little prince's vocab is growing. Below are the words he is currently saying:

Woof.......woof
Done
Mama
Papa
Dada
Talya (for his sister)
ball
Wawa - his version of water
No No
yeah
Yum Yums
and of course the one we hear the most:

Ka ka - (which I don't even now if I am spelling right - hopefully you get the idea)

Tantrums are few and far between anymore. Our biggest issue is still the dog and now LP has become a really picky eater. Which is a surprising change. Other then that we are all doing well!! Playing out side a lot and exploring new a lot of new things!

I post again soon!

Pictures Pictures and more pictures!

2008-05-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

LP loves this little scooter.....at first he could only go backwards but has recently figured out how to go forwards! Beep Beep!

Mommy had too much fun with the sidewalk chalk!

LP loved his first taste of chocolate! Cupcake....yummy! (yes he is wearing a pink bib......his sister insisted he wear one of her old ones - since he doesn't care what color it is yet - I just went with it)

Sister and brother tired of getting their pictures taken. To get them to smile at the same time or even look in the same direction is Misson Impossible!!

Long awaited update! Finally

2008-05-05T13:08:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted but our lives have been a whirl wind since we have gotten home! I can't even tell you how nice it is too be home with our kids. They are amazing and I think I am still disbelief that LP is home.

Now about our travels home: Our flight left at 12:55 pm on Friday to JFK, so of course we were up at the crack of dawn to get ready, eat and leave. Of course the day I can't wait to leave there was tons of traffic in Moscow. It took us over an hour to get to the airport and by the time I got there the line for Delta was a mess. After waiting for a least 30 minutes with tons of luggage and a scared little boy we were at the counter. OF COURSE there was an issue with my tickets. If you remember I had to change them at the last minute and after the change I didn't have seat assignments so that was a concern. Well there was some issue with my tickets and they wanted to know why I didn't leave on Thursday etc. After a hour (they pushed us to the side to wait so they could deal with other people first - nice), we finally got our seats. I was so relieved because I was going to put on the water works if I had too!! I can't even EXPLAIN how thankful I was to be on that plane. I didn't care where I sat just as long as we had seats. I am not sure if this was planned but Delta had all the adoptive families in a section on the airplane, which worked out really nice. All the families were so nice and it was great to be able to chit chat. I regret not getting those families emails addresses etc as I would love to know how they are doing.

The flight was pretty uneventful. LP did great!! He ate a lot but what ever made him happy at the time. No major melt downs or water works, but he did only sleep one hour on that flight. Some of the other kids did cry and I felt bad for them because the other people on the plane didn't help the situation. I got pretty annoyed with some of the other occupants. They were staring and talking in Russian all annoyed (almost yelling). I just wanted to scream "Yeah we know he is crying...........it is a 8 hour flight and they don't understand - your gawking doesn't help anyone"!!! I just sympathized for those families!! It is not easy and people complaining at you just makes it worse.

But the Russian couple (who spoke English) sitting next to me at the end of the flight actually said that LP was such a good little boy and thanked me - that they could tell how happy he was with me and glad he was going to a good family. Which was so nice to hear because sometimes I sense the opposite reaction.

After being such a good boy on the flight I knew that was too good to be true. LP had a major melt down while going through immigration. MELT DOWN!! He was so tired - poor guy but we were able to cut in line in front of everyone else (I am thinking LP's crying and screaming played a part - HAHA). Then we were taken to the room for our interview which was a piece of cake. I got in and out in 30 minutes!! Plus the flight was early from Moscow, so I had plenty of time to catch my connection!!

The flight from JFK to Detroit - not so good. LP just wanted to sleep but couldn't get comfortable and he only wanted to be held etc...... I was on the verge of crying!! Thank goodness we were literally that last seat on the airplane and everyone else moved to the front - HAHA- At that point I really didn't care about anyone else comfort and enjoyment.

Our connecting flight to home was running late due to bad weather in the Midwest and I did some major praying that they weren't going cancel it!! But after 1 1/2 later we boarded the plane home! At that point - I was just so emotional. I could n't believe I was going home!! LP slept the entire flight which was much needed!! We arrived home about 10:oo pm and some really nice man helped me with my luggage until I got to Luke. Once I saw Luke and Little Princess I cried and cried. They were standing holding signs saying "Welcome Home Mommy and Brother". I was so relieved to be home and just exhausted!!

Honestly it was worth every struggle but it was by far the hardest thing I have ever done!! It was not easy traveling with Luke and I when we adopted little princess but to do everything solely by myself was so hard.

Both my LP's are doing really really well!! Little princess is having a tougher time adjusting then her brother I think. She is having some issues sharing mommies attention. To include her she is mommies helper and is becoming a little mother hen, but then she gets a little too bossy. She doesn't like sharing her toys and if he has something first she wants it etc. Little Prince ADORES his sister!! He follows her everywhere doing everything she does. He always wants to hold her hand or be around her - it is really cute. All these issues will take time and are works in progress. Little prince is terrified of our dog, which has been a struggle. I don't know how to make that better but slowing he can tolerate looking at the dog outside.

I can't believe we have been home for a week now as it all seems like such a long time ago!! I do want to THANK everyone who took the time to write messages on my blog. They mean the world to me and you helped me pass the time. Thank you!!!

A shout out to the Catherine!! Who heads to Moscow tomorrow!! Safe travels and I will be thinking of you!! Keep your head up!! We miss you!!! Almost home!!

I'll post again soon!! - I'll give you a break since this one was a long one!!

I have been tagged!

2008-04-30T07:45:00.001-07:00

Okay, I have been tagged . . . This is my 1st time in playing the Tag Game, so I will TRY!

RULES:Link to the person who tagged me (you will change to me): http://reuschfamily.blogspot.com

Post the rules (see below) Share 6 unimportant habits/quirks about yourself: see below
Tag three other people. Here they are (I only have two) :http://adoptionblog.mpdsales.com/ http://ourjourneytohotdog.blogspot.com/

Make sure the people you tagged know you've tagged them.

1. I am an organizing freak. Everything has a place and I hate clutter. My closets all have to be nice and neat. Even my hall closet where I have my bathroom towels, extra toilet paper, and paper towels are nicely stacked and orderly. Even the food and condiments in my refrigerator are neatly organized. Although I do have one junk drawer in my kitchen?? (weird - I know)
2. I am really weird about expiration dates on food. I will throw milk away a least a day prior to the expiration. I will not let either of my LP's eat yogurt or any dairy products on the day they expire (they too will get tossed out). I am always asking or checking everything for an expiration date.
3. I talk to myself in the car A LOT!! I will go over my day or talk about work, things to do, etc. Little Princess always asks " Why are you talking to your self mama"??
4. I have never (that I can remember) ate a pickle!! Serious - they gross me out!! Also Ketchup! I can not even touch the ketchup bottle! One of little princess 's favorite sandwiches is a ketchup sandwich!! GROSS!

5. I have to check to make sure the front door is locked at least 3- 4 times. I know I have locked it but I always second guess myself and have to recheck it. Even if I know Luke has locked the door, I still sometimes will have to check it any way. I know this drives him crazy but I'll ask him "did you lock the front door - are you sure"??

6. I love buying purses! Especially black purses. I have tons and tons of BLACK purses. Now they can't be small purses either. They have to be BIG. Big enough to carry all my crap and they the stuff belonging to the kids and husband. If I go to a store (target, tjmax, bergners etc) that is the first section I check out is the purse section. Luke gets so mad when I buy ANOTHER BLACK purse. I try occasionally to buy a different color but mainly stick to black.

Tag - you're it!

We made it home!

2008-04-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Finally we made it home on Friday night. We got in late due to bad weather in the Midwest but at least we got home. LP did pretty well most of the flights but had a meltdown during our immigration interview etc. I have so much to tell and when I get a free moment I will write more about our travels home.

On the home front LP is terrified of our dogs so that is not going well. He has been very clingy to me since we got home, which is understandable since I am all he really knows for 17 days. So I am kinda taking a back seat so Luke can bond with LP more. LP just needs to realize that Luke can take care of his needs as well. It seems to be working but again will take some time.

Hopefully in the next day or two when our lives calm down I will write more!!

Jennifer

We are ready to leave tomorrow!

2008-04-24T06:31:00.001-07:00

Our appointment at the US Embassy went smoothly. There was a long line of Russian citizens awaiting to get visas to the US. While security was checking my passport, standing in line waiting with the other Russian Citizens to get into the Embassy was El Vera who was a translator for us while we were in Astrakhan. She has been trying to get a visa to get back to the US for school. She had been talking about having to complete Embassy paperwork but I was completely shocked to see her there - small world really!

There were was about 15 other families getting Visa's for their children and about 10 of us are on the JFK flight tomorrow. At least I won't be the only one with a kid on the plane. We leave the hotel tomorrow at 8:00am, so it is going to be another early day for LP. Please say a big prayer that we make it all the way home. I dropped the news to the other adoptive families at the Embassy that I only had 1 1/2 to get through immigration, so hopefully they take pity on me and let me go ahead of them.

Hopefully my next post will be via home!

Have I been here that long??

2008-04-24T00:08:00.000-07:00

Have I been in Russia that long that I starting to blend in with the Russian folks??? Well I have been here 25 days so far and usually stand out like a sore thumb. We have been told that normally Russian's can spot out an American right away, but not this morning. I guess they can tell because we smile a lot and the fact they think my hair is a wig -HAHA. After breakfast LP and I went for short walk and then to the market to get some water. We also watched the hundreds of pigeons in the park (trying not to get pooped on). From the time we left the hotel until the time we got back I had 5 people (YES FIVE) ask for directions (at least I am assuming that is what they were asking me - HAHA). I was shocked!! Again I just smiled and said sorry I don't speak Russian. Most just said nyet (no) and walked away. One gentleman - after I said sorry I don't speak Russia chatted with me for few minutes in English.

I am trying to work out my plan of attack for tomorrow. I am contemplating letting LP take a nap today, which we leave for the Embassy at 1:00pm which is his nap time anyway so maybe all that excitement he will not want to nap. I just want to make sure that at some point LP will nap on the plane tomorrow. It is a ten hour flight to JFK, so I hoping he will sleep for at least 3-4 hours. Usually if he is really tired he will take a good 3 hour power nap. But the down side he is can be a monster.

I'll post again tonight after our Embassy appt!

Day 2 in Moscow

2008-04-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Today we got an early start and LP is not a morning person. I partially blame the hotel, they took a little long to get me a crib, so LP didn't go to bed unit 9:30pm. I was up at 6:00am and I woke LP up around 7:00 to so we could take advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel. The morning started off rocky but once LP had food in his belly he was good to go.

Natalia with CHI picked us up at 8:45 am so we could have our Dr. visit for the Embassy. LP did really well, he cried a little but the doctor felt he was faking. The doctor told me not to run to him every time he cries. I know what he is saying but it is hard not to want to console him, so he understands that we will be there for him. Otherwise he said LP looked really well. LP is 21 lbs and 31 inches so right now he is not even on the growth charts. We have work to do when we get home!!

After our Dr. appt we came back to the room for a much need nap. After LP's nap we ventured out a bit and stumbled upon a large park/amusement park located a short distance from the hotel. It was really nice with lots of food stands, games, rides etc. There was a lot of people walking around and kids playing. LP and I just walked around and people watched. Below are some pictures.

Tomorrow we have our appt at the US Embassy to get LP's visa at 2:00pm. The driver is picking us up at 1:00pm. Tomorrow is a good day! That means that we are one step closer to home.

Talk to you soon!

We made it to Moscow!

2008-04-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

We arrived!! YEAH!! LP did really well. At first he was pretty nervous getting on to the plane. He did shed a couple of tears but nothing major. The seat are rows of 3 so I was on one end, LP in the middle, then a younger Russian man was in the 3rd seat. When he saw us settle in his row, I know he was probably thinking O' GREAT. LP was so well behaved the man was able to sleep!! I did let LP eat dry cereal 1/2 of the way as I didn't want to rock the boat with him and he was being so good just sitting in his seat eating a snack. We got into Moscow around 12:40pm and it took me a while to get my luggage, but our rep and driver were waiting for us when we got there. The traffic was terrible. It took us at least 1 hour to get to the hotel and LP slept the entire time. I was hoping he would nap once we got into the room but that did not happen.

Once we got settled in our room we headed out. Our first place of business McDonald's!! Unfortunately no one spoke English, but I managed to get a Happy Meal for LP and McNuggets for me!! LP ate 1/2 of a burger and 3 french fries. After our late lunch I walked around until I found a grocery store. We needed water and some basics: like bread, cheese and water. I was able to pack some left over food I had in Astrakhan, so we have tuna, oatmeal, apples, and snacks for LP. So we are in good shape for the next couple of days.

Tomorrow morning we have an early appt with the Embassy doctor. We will leave the hotel at 8:45am. I am not sure there is anything else on the agenda for the day, so LP and I will probably venture out. There is no other CHI American families here right now. I wish there was but we should be fine. I heard there was a park near by so we may check that out.

To Mandy and Catherine (in Astrakhan) I miss you guys already!! You both will do fine!!! I am not going to lie and say it was easy but we made it. I am so thankful to all the people who helped me during my travel, I will never know who they are but I appreciate their kindness . One man gave LP a lollipop in the airport, another women carried my back pack onto the airplane another man helped me maneuver my luggage from the baggage claim area in Moscow. So if people offer their help - take it!!

Talk to you soon!

Monday April 21st

2008-04-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

Time with LP is really fun! The last couple of days we have been walking around A LOT site seeing with the other mom's. There is Mandy who has her son with her waiting for his passport, then there is Catherine who is waiting out her 10 days for her little guy. So having each other is really helping everyone. All of our husbands are at home so it is just us moms. We head out after nap time and usually come back in around dinner time. So at least a good 2-3 hour walks. I have taken a lot of pictures and enjoyed seeing the sites.

The bath time tantrums have officially stopped. Last night he was actually splish splashing in the water and laughing, so I just went with it. I think it is a great sign that he trusts me and he now feels comfortable around the water.

Tomorrow, Tuesday we head to Moscow. Our flight is at 10:30am and we arrive in Moscow sometime around 12:30pm. So this 2 hour flight is going to be a great test of how our 10 hour flight to JFK is going to go?? I still have a few things to pack up yet, but for the most part I was all packed on Sunday. HAHA! Leaving will be bittersweet but I am ready for the last leg of this trip and to head home on Friday. I still am praying and holding on to hope that I can leave Thursday, but I really don't think that is going to happen.

As soon as we get situated in Moscow I will post to let you know we arrived!! I am really hoping LP will be fine on the flight!! It is actually making me nervous.

Wish us well!

Pictures

2008-04-20T09:20:00.001-07:00

View of the city of Astrakhan from my room.

Rehabbing the Kremlin - there is like a fortress surrounding Kremlin

The grocery store is in this building - crossing this street is like playing the real version of Frogger.

Subway - me and the other Mom's finally found it! It was Yummy.

People fishing on the Volga River.

My little bath time cutie!

Day 6 with LP

2008-04-19T01:06:00.000-07:00

It has been 6 days since I have had LP and it seems like he has been with me forever. Like I couldn't imagine him not being in our lives. He is so happy go lucky and always smiling or giggling. Bath time is still a struggle, he will tolerate a bath but cries the entire time. I make it as quick as possible and as soon as he is out of the bath he is back to his normal happy self.

Last night I ordered Pizza again.........I am dieing for American Food, so I decided Pizza is as close as it is going to get. I went to the lobby desk and ordered just a cheese pizza, nothing else. When I got my pizza me and LP were ready to dig in!! Well I got cheese but I also got corn. Yeah corn!! I have heard of a lot of crazy toppings on Pizza but never corn. LP wanted nothing to do with the pizza, I tried but he was not having it. Even with the corn it was pretty okay - it did not stop me from eating it!!

I was scheduled to come home on the 24th but it looks like I will now not get home until the 25th. Which means another night in Moscow which I wasn't anticipating. I am really pretty disappointed and am ready to come home. I have already been here for 2o days and one more day doesn't seem like a lot but right now to me it is. There was a scheduling conflict and I need more time in Moscow. I am still trying to get my flights changed and deal with all of that scheduling. Please cross your fingers that everything will go smooth and we can get flights all the way home!!

Day 4 with LP

2008-04-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

Day 4 already - time is going by so fast now. Things are going well! The tantrums at eating time are getting better. Either he is getting to realize that the food will always come or just becoming more patient (or I am just getting better at keeping him occupied)?? LP is eating like a champ. I feel like he is always eating but when he has had enough he will actually shakes his head no at me, so at least he knows his limit. When he is hungry he will stand by the refrigerator and make noises, signaling me to come over and feed him. When I open the refrigerator he has to look inside and ohs and ahs at all the food inside.

It has been cold here the last couple of days so we have remained inside. Looking for the warmer weather to come back. LP loves riding in his stroller and we need to get out.

LP is starting to babble a lot more. Besides saying Mama & Papa he is saying DaDa, and uh oh. We are working on Bye Bye which right now sounds more like Baba. He will wave when I say bye bye. He is also responding to his name already. These are all great signs!

He is fascinated by the TV! He loves pressing all the buttons and oohs and aahs at the screen. Most of the time the only channel we end up having on is Animal Planet, it is at least a channel that I could understand. So we try to work on learning our animals that way.

Well we are meeting a family for dinner tonight! So got to run! Have a great day!

More Pictures

2008-04-16T01:36:00.001-07:00

Here mom.... I found something Yucky on the floor just for you!!

It was kinda chilly today, so had to bundle him up or I would for sure get looks from the locals!

Look Mom...I love your necklace!! His sister is going to love the fact that he wants to play dress up already!

GO BEARS!!!! LP in his official Bears PJ's!

We are doing great!! Thought you would enjoy some pictures!!

First full day with LP

2008-04-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

Today was my first full day with LP!! Last night bedtime went really smooth. LP sucks his index finger just like his sister does. LP went down with out a fuss. He moves around a lot in his sleep and plays with his ears. The orphanage schedule has him up at 6:30am. So I was up at 6:45 but LP was still sleeping, so I though well I'll just lay here and let him sleep another 1/2 hour - 1 hour longer. Well I accidentally fell back asleep until 8:45 and LP was still sound asleep. I woke him up and he was happy as could be. We got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. One thing I have learned is that if the food does not come fast enough or I can't make if fast enough he has a fit!! Hopefully once he realizes that the food will always come and he will always have enough this won't be an issue.

We went and got our plane tickets to Moscow today (YEAH!!!). LP did much better in the car today, although he held on to me for dear life but he is getting better. It was somewhat cooler here today in Astrakhan, so besides the car ride we stayed inside and played. He is such a good kid, always happy (except around meal time) and laughing!!

Another family came in today!! There a family that we have know for years now. They adopted their 1st child when we adopted our little princess in 2005. Our first & 2nd trips in 2005 overlapped and it funny that we are here again at the same time for our 2nd kids. Long story short, we were talking about dinner plans and they suggested we order pizza. I said WHAT? They said yeah if you ask the front desk they will take your order and the pizza place will deliver to the hotel!! AGAIN WHAT?? I have been eating ramen noodles, peanut butter and tuna fish for 12 days. Needless to say I jumped all over the idea of ordering pizza. I took a really really long time for this joint to deliver but worth every bit I ate!!

Another issue which I don't know if it was because LP was just really tired or if he was really just that scared but bath time didn't go so well either. I tried to make it as quick as could be but he hated every second. I tried to make if fun, but he was not having it.

So a great day today!! Some issues that will take time and have to be worked out but overall a great day!!

A few pictures!

2008-04-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

Picture of LP during one of our visits!! Love those cheeks!!

The director, me & LP!! Isn't he just the cutest!!

LP playing with his blocks!

I'll post more later. Thought these few would hold you over!

Jennifer

Gotcha!!!!

2008-04-14T03:25:00.000-07:00

This is a long one so hang in there - I just have so much to tell and say!

Yesterday the new family came in and they are great!! I was so excited to see them I was like a little kid on Christmas!! Just so giddy to spend time with people who spoke English and could relate to what I am doing. We went to dinner and talked for a least an hour! After our wonderful chicken schnitzel dinner I showed them around a little. I took them to the grocery store and then showed them were the little like convenient store was. I am truly glad they are here and they are willing to help me out in anyway!!

After spending time with the other family I came back to my room, watched a movie and TRIED to sleep. Sleeping was like almost impossible. Honestly I think I slept a couple of hours before I was like, why even try anymore. The second I got up I was an emotional mess. The reality of finally getting my little guy forever and ever was here! I was so happy, nervous, anxious and scared all at the same time. I hoped that he felt comfortable enough with me that turning his world upside down would not be too much of an overload for him.

I was picked up a little after 9:00am and we (Lena one of the translators and I) went to meet Galina (CHI rep in Astrakhan - Love her!) at the Registrar's Office. This is where I get LP's birth certificate with Luke and I listed as his parents. Once we got to the office, I waited in another room, while Galina took care of business. Then there was a problem. There was a issue concerning one of the court documents. Apparently the court had LP registered in the wrong place. I really don't understand it all. All I know is Galina had to run down to the court house and get the document fixed so I could get his birth certificate. So while Galina was running around, Lena and I went to get some diapers for LP. We also went to a store to get some chocolates, cakes, coffee and tea for the orphanage caretakers and director. Let me just say this first - EVERYBODY walks here. There are a lot of people who drive, but I think for the most part people walk. It is just what they do. We as Americans are just so used to walking out the front door getting into our cars and driving everywhere! Not here. So when Lena said the store was up the street I knew I was in for hike. THE STORE WAS LIKE 4 MILES AWAY!!! Yes I should not complain as I need the exercise but round trip that is like 8 miles!! But anyway I miss my car!!

Galina was able to get the document fixed and we were in business!! We got his birth certificate and were on our way to get LP. Once we got the orphanage we went into the directors office and presented her with cakes and chocolate. I gave the clothes for LP to wear to Galina so she could take them to his room so they could change him.

We went over some paperwork and then signed some more papers. The director is such a wonderful lady. She asked me if I had any questions and then my tears just started coming. I thanked her and her staff for taking care of my little guy until I got there. I thanked her for giving me the two best kids a mom could ask for and I was glad that both my kids came from the her orphanage. I thanked them for showing LP their love and I promised that I would be the best mom to him!

I am so grateful to everyone involved who made this happen. Thank you will never be enough and all the hard work and effort are appreciated!!

While all this was taking place LP came in and I could tell he was already taken back by everything. But he came right too me and just wanted to be held tight!! We took a couple of pictures, one with the director and one with his caretaker. Then they gave me a list of his schedule and what he eats. After that we were ready to leave. I picked up my little boy and was so proud to take him away that I cried all the way the car. I don't know if I will ever be able to explain what it feels like to take a child away from an orphanage (not that the orphanage is terrible by any means). But what it feels like to know that you are going to love and be able to give this child a family!!!

LP was pretty scared during the car ride. Apparently they said the only time kids at the orphanage ride in cars is when they have to be taken to the hospital. But I just held him tight so he knew I would take care of him. We got back to the hotel and he was just so curious about everything!! He follows me everywhere calling for me "Mama, Mama, Mama". He has no idea how to drink out of a sippie cup. He does not get that he has to suck, so in the mean time, we are using a cup. He ate a good lunch, played with some blocks and then waited for the hotel to bring up a crib. He was not ready to go down for a nap. It took a while but I didn't give in. Right now, my LP is soundly sleeping. Once he gets up I think I am going to take him for a little stroll outside.

I know you all are wanting to see pictures but I am having a problem trying to attach them. I will try again later but in the mean time enjoy Monday!!

Love !! Jennifer & LP

Day 9 of 10

2008-04-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is my day 10!! I will not unfortunately get to pick up LP tomorrow and will have to wait until Monday. I would love to say it flew by but I can't. I am just so anxious to get LP that it feels like our court date was so long ago. My visit with LP was okay today. He wasn't really cranky but trying to be naughty. I think he is really trying to test the limits with me and see what I will and will not tolerate. Which is hard to set limits in the orphanage. He was really distracted by all the kids outside playing ( it was 76 degrees today). He kept pointing and making noises as he watched the kids play. I promised him on Monday we would take a stroll outside. I honestly don't know if he has ever been outside. We will just take a little walk (LP will be in a stroller) to gradually get him used to the environment outside.

After my visit with LP my interpreter took me shopping for a spring coat for LP. First we went to this children's store called Banana Mama. Which was like a BabiesRUs and has EVERYTHING. Although it has everything you could ever need for a baby - toddler, they did not have any spring coats left for little boys. The second place we went was kinda like a Disney store (located at the ACTOP -shopping mall) but I really don't remember seeing any Disney characters but they had plenty of spring coats left.

Tomorrow being Sunday I will not get to see LP, but great news is a family should be arriving tomorrow!! YEAH............People to talk too!! Since tomorrow will be a slow day I won't post again until Monday. I also want to thank everyone who has been leaving messages on my blog!! I love reading the comments and appreciate your messages of support!!

Day 8 of 10

2008-04-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

TGIF............kinda of! Yes - I am glad it is Friday because technically that means I only have one Friday left here in Astrakhan. Two more days until I get LP and 12 more days until I am on a airplane back to the US.

Luke made it home Thursday night and had a little delay from Atlanta to Peoria due to bad weather. Luke also had some issues in Moscow: the first being the Delta counter for some reason was requesting a receipt for his plane ticket and all he had was the confirmation itinerary. We have never had any issues prior so not sure why that was such a problem. After Luke explained several times, that he did not have a receipt they ended up giving him a boarding pass anyway. The 2nd issue was in the Moscow airport prior to getting to the Delta check in line, you have to have your bags searched. That means 2 Russian airport official people open your luggage and riffle through EVERYTHING. Well I gave Luke my clothes that I wore to court (I have no need for them now and it will save me room in my bags) so he could just take them home. They were very curious why Luke's luggage had women's clothing and shoes. HAHAHAHA. If you knew my husband the zillions of questions they were asking on why he had women clothing probably embarrassed him to no end!! Sorry Luke!! They ended up telling him next time have your wife carry her own clothing. HAHAHA!

My day was the usual of breakfast, short walk, email and visit with LP. LP is great as usual but our visit was kind of short as we had paperwork to pick up and drop off. I took some Mega Blocks with me to play with today and he really seemed to enjoy them. It did not take him long to figure them out. When it was time to clean up and go, he again was not ready AT ALL. I am glad that he enjoys spending time with me and wants to spend more time with me. I kept telling him only a couple of more days buddy and we can be together all day.

Tomorrow the interperter is going to take me to get a spring coat for LP. I just have the winter jacket/snowsuit combo which is too much for this nice weather. I am still not sure if I will be picking up LP on Sunday or Monday but I would love for it to be Sunday!!

Have a good day!

Day 7 of 10

2008-04-10T07:17:00.000-07:00

Only a few more days and LP will be mine forever!! YEAH! It is wonderful how that little guys smile can brighten up my day!! At my visit today he just comes walking in with the BIGGEST SMILE on his face, and when he says Mama it melts my heart!! The care takers gave him a interesting hair cut!! It will need some fixing up once we get home!!

Today I saw a kinda sorta tantrum - if that is what it was??? Our time was up and we had to clean up so I could take him to his room. LP didn't not want to stop flipping the pages in his book. Well I took the book and he huffed and rolled onto the floor. Never once cried or shed a tear but I think he was more or less looking for a reaction. I just laughed and thought WOW that is all ya got? Once he knew it didn't phase me he got up and took my hand and was ready to go.

The last couple of days I was able to take LP to his room. I am not allowed to go all the way in but I am able to view inside the room. Most of the time all I see is the kids in his room just playing. LP's room is on the 2nd floor and the hallways there are just like galleries of picture of the kids. They all seem to be having a wonderful time and again I can't stress enough, how much I think these caretakers love these children. I always tell people that the orphanage does the best with what they have but I don't think lack in the love department.

It is pretty lonely with out Luke but I am doing good. On the agenda tonight is dinner and a movie!!

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Day 6 of 10

2008-04-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

This morning we took Luke to the airport for his flight to Moscow. Tomorrow morning he will head back to the States. THAT WAS TOUGH!! I try to up hold this strong/independent exterior but deep down I am a big baby and I miss Luke terribly! It is a good thing that he is going home because even though Natalya is having a GREAT time at grandma/papa's house it has been a long time for her to be away from us. We miss her terribly as well and Luke is excited to be reunited with her. He is really concerned about doing her hair everyday. HAHA!!

After the dropping Luke off I went for my daily visit with LP at the orphanage. The caretakers really try to spiff him up before seeing me. He always has his hair slicked over really nice, he looks like such a little man. He saw me and said Mamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Which i just about fell apart! He was really looking around for his daddy but soon enough we will all be together. Today his fascination was Kleenex. He has a runny nose so I brought a travel pack of Kleenex and we seriously played for a 1/2 with just Kleenex. He would take them out and give them to me and try to put them back in. Then he figured out that he could rip them up in small pieces so then we had snow.

Hope is all well with everyone!! I'll post again tomorrow!

Jennifer

PS... I can not post pictures until my 10 days are up. So after Sunday I will post pictures.

Day 5 of 10

2008-04-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

We had a early visit with LP this morning and honestly the 10 day waiting period is a great time to bond with him. This way he can gradually adjust/adapt to us and we are slowly building up his trust. LP loves books right now, but not for the enjoyment of the story. He just loves to flip the pages. That is all he wants to do is flip pages. We have tried to read them, but he has no interest. This was Luke's last visit with LP as he is leaving tomorrow morning. It is sad but Luke is glad he was able to stay some extra days and spend the time with him.

As I said Luke leaves tomorrow......sad but I will be alright!! I will only have a couple ( 5) of days by myself before the next round of families arrive. I really have enjoyed this time with Luke all by ourselves. We have missed L. Princess terribly, but from the reports back home she is having a BLAST.

After our visit we dropped the other family off at the airport and headed to lunch at a restaurant called the Horseshoe. It is a Russia version of a Outback Steakhouse (minus the steak - ??). We had a Russia business lunch. Luke and I had a Russian version of chicken noodle soup which was excellent. Then for the main course we had chunks of pork in a red cream sauce with mashed potatoes. Again it was excellent. I am not sure what it is but in Russia they have great Bread. Bread is served with every meal and it is just great tasting bread.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Day 4 of 10

2008-04-07T09:19:00.001-07:00

Today was another beautiful day in Astrakhan! One of our interpreters gave us a mini tour around Astrakhan this afternoon. We walked to the Kremlin and then to the downtown area. It was nice to see the sites and hear more history of Astrakhan. We really enjoyed her company and she was very interested in American culture as well.

We had a late visit with LP today, which we discovered he loves Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Of course the words are different but I think he recognizes the rhythm. Luke and I were commenting how similar his personality traits are to his sisters. He is very curious, but serious. He is sweet and patient. It will be interesting to see how he acts outside of the orphanage. One of the Spanish couples were at the orphanage during our visit again. This entire time, they have only spoken Spanish and then today out of the blue the husband started talking to us clear as day in English. We were able to chat with them and share/swap stories.

Tomorrow we will have an early visit with LP and then we have to drop off the other family at the airport. We are heading to bed early as we are EXHAUSTED ( it is almost 9:00pm here). All that fresh air and playing has worn us down.

Dah svee dahn yah ( Good Bye) - it sounds exactly like it looks!

Day 3 of 10

2008-04-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

This morning we visited LP. When we got to the orphanage workers were outside painting and sprucing the place up. In the 2 years we have been away they have done a lot of work to the orphanage. They have new playground equipment, have planted tulips and trees, and have done a lot of painting. It all looks fantastic. We can really tell there is a lot of TLC in the orphanage.

Today's visit was good. The Spanish couples were back and then us and the other CHI family. So four families in one room trying to bond/play with their children. It is tough, all the kids get easily distracted by the other parents/kids. But Luke mentioned yesterday that LP says"Mama & Papa", which today it was more like the Budweiser commercial when they said "WHATZ UP ". LP kept doing "MAMAAAAAAAAAA" with a cute grin on his face.

I was getting concerned that he had grown a bit since we left and questioned whether his clothes were going to fit, so today we took some clothes and shoes with us during our visit to see if they would fit. The shoes seemed to be exactly the right fit and the clothing seemed to be a good fit as well. I think there might be one or two outfits that won't fit , but I guess what ever doesn't fit, I will just leave for the orphanage.

Well tonight we are going to treat ourselves and dine out for dinner. We have been really good this past week and have only eaten out once and that was celebrating a successful court. The rest of the time we have taken advantage of the grocery stores and eaten items we had brought from home.

Day 2 of 10

2008-04-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening here in raining Astrakhan Russia. This afternoon we got to see LP. We played with him about an hour and a half. He was really good and at one point was uncontrollably laughing which made us uncontrollably laugh. It is funny how his personality is really just like his big sisters. He is still saying mama and papa and says it with a smile now. I believe he gets it. We will be going back to visit tomorrow morning and not sure if we get to see him tomorrow afternoon or not. Today it rained most of the day, so we did not do anything. Jen slept and I watched a movie. Tonight we had a very Russian meal (HAHA), Romain noodles we cooked in our room and a traditional Russian dessert, Snickers. Yes we are Americans. It is nice though, how the hotel staff is really trying to make us feel welcome. They say "hello" and "how are you today"?. They are trying. I asked the front desk person where the Subway restaurant is in town and she pointed to the restaurant in the hotel. So still a little language gap. Another family got here today, so it is nice to have another English speaking family here.

I am really glad I extended my stay here in Russia. Our second visit with LP was yesterday, I would have missed that, as I was supposed to fly out yesterday morning. Also it makes me fell like a celebrity some more. When we are eating out or just walking around, people are always looking at us. We don't have a flashing light above us that says, look were Americans, but sometimes we feel like it. I am sure we will be updating our visits with LP tomorrow. Will talk with you later.

Luke

Day 1 of 10

2008-04-04T07:34:00.000-07:00

Today is day one of our ten day wait until we can get LP. Finally we both slept all night, it has taken us a couple of days to catch up and adjust to the schedule. So here is hoping that we can sleep all night tonight. Last night we went to the Aeroflot office to get Luke's ticket to Moscow. IT WAS SO WINDY - I am talking really really windy. Astrakhan is a very dry climate, which they say does not get a lot of rain, therefore there is not a lot of grass. Just a lot of dirt. So on the way to the Aeroflot office we both ate about 1 pound of dirt. We were able to take picture of a Peter the Great statue in the park area along the river front. We had a late visit with LP today at 3:30pm but we stayed until his dinner time which was 6pm. There were 2 other families there from Spain. We found it tough to keep LP's attention as there was so much going on!! A good thing is that LP kept close and would run to us it the other families got to close, so maybe a good sign of bonding?? The interpertor and our CHI rep Galina took us grocery shopping at a store similar to WALMART. We were able to get some basics, bread, sliced meat (pork) and cheese.

They informed us of another family coming in tomorrow, which earlier in the week they said we would be the only family until the 13th, so that is how fast things change. We are excited to see another American Family here!! Tomorrow we again will have a late visit with LP, so in the morning we are going to venture our to find the Subway (sandwich resturant).

Thanks to Matt & Patti for leaving all the great stuff behind!! We really appreciate it. And a big thanks for the map on your blog. It is a great tool for us, we use it often!!

Clarify

2008-04-03T06:19:00.001-07:00

I just want to clarify really quick, that we were awared a positive outcome, meaning they are granting us the adoption. We don't have physical custody of LP until the 10 days are completed. So now we just visit him and wait.

Jennifer

We have a SON!

2008-04-03T02:54:00.000-07:00

We had court today at 10:00am which from the title was a success. Court lasted 2 hours and was really really hard this time. Going in we didn't expect this be any easier, but honestly thought we had a tiny advantage having done this before. In the end court was a success and they granted us the custody of our son!! WOW we have a son!! We celebrated after the court at a resturant called the Camelot. Which was a mid evil time decor. Food was great but then we tend not to be too adventurous. This afternoon we are going to purchase Luke's plane tickets home at the Areoflot office. We will visit our LP tomorrow to begin the 10 day waiting period. We are off to venture out and relax after a stressful morning.

Jennifer

End of Day 2

2008-04-02T08:55:00.001-07:00

It's me........Jennifer, I thought I would just let you know what happened today! We were able to visit LP (little prince) and the care takers taught him how to say Mama & Papa. When he saw me he came right to me and said Mama. Our visit went great, he just woke up from a nap and was full of energy. He kept saying Mama & Papa the entire visit like he could put two and two together. Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!! We leave at 9:30 am and were told that our judge is a man. Which with princess we had a female judge. We were also told to expect the 10days not to be waived, which we knew prior, but it would have been nice to hear we could go home early.

Luke has decided to stay a little longer then originally. He was suppose to go home on Friday but will now stay until the 10th. He leaves Astrakhan on Wednesday morning and will fly out of Moscow on Thursday. I think the reality of me being all by myself hit him once we got here. After Luke leaves I will still have 5 days by myself until the next family gets here, but at least I will get 5 more days to be with him!!!

We talked with princess tonight and she sounded like she was having a great time. She told me to tell brudder that she loved him!! How cute!!

For dinner I made Ramen Noodles in a hot pot, which wasn't so bad. After breakfast we ventured out a little and watched the locals fish on the river front. We spent an hour justing watching locals fish, it was actually pretty interesting.

Well signing off for tonight!

Morning of Day 2

2008-04-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well I am getting my feet wet on blogging. Up to this point Jen did this and I just watched, kind of like a lot of things we do, so here goes. Day 2 in Astrakhan, we both slept well. Getting ready to go to breakfast, which for me will be coffee and hot dogs(Russian sausage). We have a great breeze in our room which is nice. Suppose to get over 70 again here today. I miss having our friends here Matt and Patti from the first trip. It is just us and soon to be just Jen, but another family is coming soon while Jen is here. We are able to get internet in our room and can watch movies we got from Jen's mom from the comfort of our room. We both miss our Princess, but we know she is having fun with grandma and papa, and playing with her cousins. She is probably thinking is my brother ever coming home? Our nephew Ryan was born in September, and over Easter weekend Princess got to play with him. She is real pumped on getting a brother and playing with Ryan got her talking about all the things she can do with brother. Ok, not to be random, but there is major construction going on at our hotel and all around Astrakhan. But there is a guy climbing up on scaffolding without any kind of harness or anything outside our room. We are on the 4th floor but there are up on the 6th-7th floor right now. It is kind of like having a circus outside your window. We do have a nice view of the Iran Embassy as well. We are excited to go see little Prince this afternoon. It seems like it has been forever. His Chicago Bears clothes are just waiting for him. Well it is off to breakfeast and have everyone look at us. Thank you for everyone leaving comments on our blog. It is nice to know family and friends are sharing our journey with us. Keep them coming!

Thanks

Luke

We Made It

2008-04-01T04:28:00.000-07:00

We finally made it!! It is Tuesday about 3:30pm in very warm sunny Astrakhan. Leaving Moscow it was a brisk 30-40 degrees and right now in Astrakhan it is 75 degrees. We were told that we were not going to spend the night in Moscow, but plans changed so we stayed at a hotel close to the airport. It honestly looked sketchy from the outside but inside was pretty nice. Our driver kept telling us that it was only rated 3 stars?? Apparently the Holiday Inn in Moscow was very expensive this weekend and we read that fashion week just ended so we are thinking that is the reason. But the M&M hotel was nice enough to sleep. Could not really venture out but we were there only for the purpose to sleep.

So we arrived in hot Astrakhan, which the room still has the heat going and we have the windows open? We honestly did not pack for this weather. But everything has gone smoothly flights, etc. Tomorrow we will be able to visit Little Prince and then Thursday will be our court. Getting excited to see the little guy tomorrow!!

I'll post again tomorrow! Have a great day!

See YA!

2008-03-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well the next time you will hear from me I will be in Astrakhan! YEAH! Today I am finishing up last minute laundry! Then last minute packing. Everything else on my to-do list is DONE! I am as prepared as I think I can be! I am over on weight a little bit on pretty much every suit case, I wonder how much that will be??? But I am not willing to part with anything I packed. I did end up packing the snow suit for Little Prince. I read somewhere on the CHI site that it is required that you have a snow suit for the child up until April.

This afternoon we will be dropping off Little Princess at her Grandma & Papa Main's house. She is really excited about staying with them, which is such a relief to us. Luke wants to practice doing her hair before we leave. It is pretty cute watching him trying to put her hair in a pony tail. Poor kiddo, thank goodness she is at the age where she doesn't care what she looks like.

Here is my Little Princess at Easter! I will miss her terribly! She is such a mommies girl! Luke calls her my "Mini Me". Well I am off to finish up packing! We leave at 6:00am! Talk to you soon via Astrakhan!

3 days until take off!

2008-03-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

Three days left.............I still can't believe it!! Yesterday was a stressful day as we had issues at the Secretary of State!! The notary we had used for all of our last minute documents has two stamps one that will expire in the next couple of days, and a new stamp that continues until 2012. So when notarizing my documents he used his new stamp so we would not have any issues. Because you see if we used the old stamp the documents would become expired while in Russia and not valid. Well apparently the (pleasant- HA HA) ladies at the SEC of State, said that he should have then used both stamps because he can't use the new one until the old one expired. WHAT??? Anyway long story short, all the documents had to be REDONE!! (Did I jinx myself or what, just the other day I was saying how weird it was to be done with paperwork). So thankfully I have a WONDERFUL employer, who let me travel to Springfield to get the new documents apostilled this morning. Now we are officially done with paperwork!! YEAH!

I also found out that our travel arrangements have been tweaked a bit. Apparently there is something going on in Moscow on the 31st-1st, so the room rates are really high (higher than normal), so we will not be staying in Moscow over night and then heading to Astrakhan. Instead we will fly into Moscow and then directly head the region that same day! Which at that point what is another 2 hour flight??

A tip to any families traveling soon. I purchased these space saver travel bags at Target for I think under $10.00 (3 to a package). They are the bags that suck out all the air and condense large piles of clothing into a somewhat flat package!! THEY ARE AWESOME!!! You might need to purchase that wrinkle release spray but so so worth it. I am shocked how much room I have in my suitcases. Just a suggestion!

Have a great day!

5 days Left

2008-03-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

So the hustle and bustle continues. We got our VISAS yesterday, so we are ready to go on that end. Tomorrow Luke heads to the Secretary of State to get our final paperwork apostilled (hopefully) and that should be it as far as paperwork. YEAH!! It's a strange feeling as this will be the last time I will ever have to worry about paper work AGAIN!! Literally I have been doing adoption related paperwork NON -stop since Little Princess's adoption in 2005. I look forward to the days of having a clean desk with out piles of documents to be notarized or apostilled.

To all you ladies who read my blog (not sure how many men besides my dad) but today was an emotional day! I am sure it was a combination of anxiousness, stress and excitment all mixed together. The thought that I will no longer be a mommy to one little kiddo but I will be a mommy to two kiddos hit me. I also think being away from my Little Princess will become harder then I think. Not to mention being away from my best friend (my hubby) will be just as hard. Don't get me wrong I am over the moon excited to leave but just an emotional reality check of a day.

I am trying to think of ideas for Little Princess for her to track the days we are gone. For example, on our first trip we gave her a greeting card with a note in it for every day we were gone (SHE LOVES getting mail - so this was right up her alley). But since I will be gone so long the greeting card idea might be a little much. I welcome any ideas!!!

I wanna send a "BIG" shout out to our friends Patti & Matt who should be on their way home with their little one!! Congratulations!!

Happy Monday!

2008-03-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I said it HAPPY MONDAY! Most of you are probably thinking, yuck a Monday! Not me, because by next Monday I will be in Russia!! YEAH! This week will be a busy one finishing up all our last minute items. Tonight, haircuts are on the agenda. Then buying a suit for Luke. This past summer we cleaned all our closets out donating 8 large bags of clothing to the Salvation Army. Well Luke's suit went right in one of those bags. I kept telling him my golden rule, if you haven't worn it in over a year, toss it or donate it. Again, me not thinking we would need his suit in the near future let it go to the Salvation Army. I could kick myself now but what can you do?? Then Tuesday night, it will be my turn doing some last minute clothing shopping for Little Prince and I, probably Little Princess too! HAHAHA Sorry Luke.

I found out this weekend that there should be 2 families in Astrakhan sometime during my trip, which was a huge relief. I will be happy to have the company and maybe site see with.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!

What was I thinking??

2008-03-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

Okay so Good Friday started out with "What was I thinking?" First I must say that I have been running around none stop trying to tie up loose ends everywhere before we leave. So did I know today was Good Friday..........Yes! But I honestly woke up thinking TGIF!!! So I got up and did the usual routine this morning and me and Little Princess where out the door running late as usual (I go to work, she goes to daycare/school). We show up a school - keep in mind Little Princess attends our Church's daycare/preschool. The first thing out of Little Princess was "Where is everybody Mommy?" Yeah I wanna know the same thing??? Finally after the school door not opening, the maintenance man came to the door and said "Sorry, school is closed today in honor of Good Friday?" WOW!!! What was I thinking?? So instead of school Little Princess was a terrific helper at mommies work! She was such a trooper!! Luckily our offices closed early at 2:00pm, so Little Princess and I were able to come home and enjoy the beautiful spring like weather!!

The agenda this weekend will be spending time with both of our families for the Easter Holiday. We will head up to the Chicago area on Saturday, for some good eats and an egg hunt for all the kiddos. Then on Sunday will travel in the other direction to spend Easter Sunday with Luke's family. Again good eats and an egg hunt for all the kiddos!

Have a wonderful Easter Holiday!

9- days left!

The final countdown!

2008-03-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

This will be a quicky!!

HOLY COW!

10 days and counting!

I am getting so so excited!! I can't wait to hold my little guy again! I can't wait to hear him giggle again or to see his sweet little smile! I can't wait to be his mommy forever and ever!

Recap

2008-03-18T07:40:00.001-07:00

Busy busy busy.............I don't think that will stop until the day we leave. I am actually looking forward to sitting on the airplane for 10 hours, just to somewhat relax and do nothing. I know that sounds crazy, but I feel like I haven't stopped since we got the call.

I am happy to say that although Target got a lot of my money this weekend, a lot of things got scratched off my to do/to get list. Clothing is now my new concern. I have been following another families BLOG who is over in Astrakhan right now. They keep writing how nice and warm it is in Astrakhan and that has me thinking that by April it could be 60's-70's (wishful thinking). Which my little prince will be pretty warm in the gear I have gotten him so far. I wonder if I should still bring the entire snow suit for him or just the coat??? I am now not going to bring a winter coat for myself but a spring coat and going to bring more short sleeve shirts. One definite is that I will for sure be going over on my luggage weight limit!! At this point it doesn't matter and I really don't care.

Here is a picture of Little Princess at the Easter Egg Hunt this weekend. She was so excited!! Can you believe it? SNOW!

Here is a picture of Little Princess's Dora Easter Eggs. We did these last night and she was so amazed that we could change the color of the eggs. She thought it was so magical!! Too Cute!!

Busy Busy Busy

2008-03-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

TGIF!!!

I was out of town for the last two days for work which turned out to be kind of a test run for Luke and Little Princess. I know that 2 days is a lot different then the 3 weeks I'll be gone, but I have to say I am proud of Luke!! The house was in one piece and Little Princess was a happy kiddo.

I am making progress on my to do list and honestly I am starting to feel a little panic setting in. I am having an issue finding long sleeve sleeper like pajamas. Every store I go to has all the spring PJ's, which the weather is nicer in Astrakhan vs. Moscow, but not nice enough for short and t-shirt sleepers. I think this weekend I will hit up TJ Max or Marshall's.

Little Princess has an Easter Egg hunt tomorrow at the Park District. She is pretty pumped!! I think she has reminded me 50 times, not to forget her Easter basket!! Then it will be a full day of errands and shopping.!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Making Head Way

2008-03-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

This weekend was progress on organizing the zillions of things that I have to do in 19 days!!! WOW! So to be more organized I decided to make a detailed list of everything thing that must be done. The list keeps growing and growing instead of getting smaller and smaller. So far there are only 2 things scratched off that list!! I know!! not much progress, but I am saying this now "I work great under pressure". This will mean that I will be a total lunatic a least a week before take off........but I'll getter done!

O' geez....as I am sitting here literally typing this I just thought of one more thing that has to be added to the list.......gather pictures for a photo album for the judge for court.

Little Princess 's preschool has been passing around the flu bug and I swear she has had it at least 3 times this season. So Sunday night, little princess came down with a fever. Poor thing just felt terrible and just wanted to cuddle with mommy!! (which I loved). She is doing much better today and back to her normal self.

Well, gotta run! Have a great Wednesday!!

22 days until take off!

2008-03-08T06:16:00.000-08:00

Twenty Two days sounds like a lot time but when you have so much to do to prepare to leave, it does not seem like enough time. We received the call for our court date on Tuesday (3/4/08). Excitement, shock, joy and relieved are just some of the words that describe getting the call from CHI telling me we had a court date. I kept asking my CHI REP "seriously"? "are you serious"?

So this past week I have made our plane reservations and ordered our Visas. YEAH!!! The sticker price on our plane tickets was SHOCKING!!! We were able to save a little money on our Visas as we have more turn around time. Now that those two things are taken care of I can start to gather the remainder of the paperwork I need to take with me.

Luke (my husband for those of you who don't know) will be leaving a couple of days after our court date to be home with Little Princess. I will stay in Astrakhan through the 10 day waiting period and return home on April 24Th. YIKES!! I am starting to get nervous about being over in Astrakhan for that long by myself, but I CAN DO IT!!!!!

So on the agenda today: Organize paperwork

Little Prince's crib is over flowing with items I have bought along the way for our trip, so I think I will organize that as well, maybe even pack some stuff. For those of you who don't know I am an organizing freak!!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Welcome!

2008-03-07T18:23:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my first ever blog!! I am an AVID reader of many CHI blogs and thought it was about time I created my own blog. So here it is..........I am still trying to figure this all out so please bare with me!

A little history about us before I jump right into where we are right now in the adoption process. My husband and I adopted "Little Princess" in November 2005 from Astrakhan Russia. Little Princess (this is the name I refer to her as) is everything and more then we ever expected. She is so amazing and I wake up everyday feeling thankful and blessed to have her in my life. We decided in July 2006 to start all over again, and add a Little Prince to the mix. Fast forward to March 2008! We received our referral in January 2008 for our little boy in Astrakhan Russia and are leaving for trip # 2 on March 30, 2008. Going forward I will chronicle our journey to bring Little Prince home.