One Month update

It is so hard to believe it has already been one month home for Angelina & Anthony.

I started this post at one month and then another with pictures - so I am combining the two and posting together!!

So how have we all been doing?

Pretty terrific.

I will admit the language barrier for about the first 5 days was tough, tough tough but slowly they learned that we are good, their needs were being met and everything got better & easier for both them & us every single day.

Angelina & Anthony are very happy little children.  They are learning English pretty quickly and understand most of what we say to them even if they can't speak the language, they do understand  - this is huge for all of us and the transition and everyone is doing well!

So far we have had many doctors appointments and everything is checking out fine.

We have had evaluations and so far it looks like speech for sure for Angelina - she struggles with annunciation. Anthony might get speech as well if they can work the #'s but he is doing amazing and picks up works quickly, they learned alot of their body parts - Anthony can count to 10 Angelina to 5.

They are doing great - Anthony's walking better &  is able to kick a ball now.  Angelina likes to run after/with Nicholas......they can now both peddle a tricycle ........the only TV they like is the Wiggles...........no Elmo, or Scooby.


Here are some pictures

Our House before leaving for the airport

Nicholas made this sign at school

Big brother waiting at the airport for his brother & sister to arrrive

                                        
                                           
                                             First morning home

Well that is it for now I want to post this and not keep delaying an update.

DND

HOME

Very quick short update:

Angelina and Anthony and Dennis arrived home on Friday night..........Nicholas and I met them at the airport.............everyone was pretty much a mess coming off of that long, long plane ride. 

Dennis said he would never do that again & WOW this is great, great news since we don't plan on doing this again!!

Anyway they did survive all the worse for wear but they are home................

We anticipated the challenges of adopting two children who don't understand us and that we don't understand them but we can & will admit it is TOUGH!!!!!  Tough for all of us.....................the kids talk to each other a lot and I can only imagine what they are saying to one another? 

Dennis arrived home not feeling well and was pretty much shot on Saturday, a bit better on Sunday but today needed to go to the doctor.  Hopefully it is only a sinus infection and he will recover soon!!!  Love him and all and want him to feel better but this is really no time for doing the whole single parent gig with three kids (LOL!!)

Anyway we are getting by..........Angelina is a very picky eater and I'm not having much luck with her and eating...................Anthony is very determined and cannot be left unattended for ONE single second........our only savior is I happened to buy booster seats with straps and man on man what a Godsend.  I mean it - I don't think I could do this without them - if only to keep them with me while I attempt to prepare food or give them baths and such.  The kids have no interest in TV which is GREAT and I'm a big believer in not putting kids in front of the TV HOWEVER it would help if we could keep them still for even just a few minutes and not only that but it will help with them learning the language!!

They desperately need haircuts and on Thursday they have their first doctors appointments.  Now my plan was for them to see our International Adoption doctor however when I went to schedule the appointment about a month ago to see the Russian speaking doctor in the practice I couldn't get an appointment until mid October - way too long to wait and although I could bring them to Nick's pediatrician I really felt it might be important to have them see a doctor, intitallly anyway, that speaks Russian and I was successful in finding one very close to us and think that it might be comforting to the children to be seen by someone who can speak with them.  I was and I am concerned about making sure we get all areas covered in respect to all the  shots and blood work, parasites, etc and will tell them what I think is needed if they are not sure.  I also will need to bring them to all the pediatric specialists, heart, neurologist, opthomologist, etc.  I guess the second time around is easier since I have been down this road before!!!!

Nicholas is doing great.....................adjusting to the new dynamics and I think having the twins take some of the heat off up so he is happy!  The twins look up to him and if we (Dennis or I ) take them for a walk with Nicholas they flat out refuse to hold our hands and will only hold Nicholas - pretty cute!  He is a trooper even when he doesn't want to be - like tonight he told Dennis he was moving out only because they want to follow him and kiss him and be around him and he is five and isn't so much into two little ones who don't understand him !!!!

That is all for now - wow longer then I thought!

No pictures yet as they are not downloaded (GET BETTER DENNIS)!!!

Thank you all for you love and concern..............

Love to all,
DND 

HOMEWARD BOUND!!!!!

Today is the day - YEAH!!!!


Dennis, Angelina & Anthony are finally, finally coming home!!!!!

Dennis just called from the airport and wow the kids were jabber jaws in the background.........he said they were in awe of the airplanes and were just so excited to be seeing everything going on at the airport.

Dennis said Anthony did cry and cry when they dropped the caregiver off at the train station so much so that he cried himself to sleep in the car ride to the airport...............Angelina followed suit and fell asleep as well for the car ride & I'm sure it has to do with the motion of the car moving.

Dennis has checked in and they are just looking out the window watching the planes and jabbering away - wish I understood what they were saying but I'm just glad they are happy and excited and not sad or crying.

I am off today and will finish up lots of the last minute things that I need to tend to - food shopping, cleaning, all the last minute details before they arrive home.

My plan is to pick Nicholas up from school and head to the airport.............I'm sure we will be waiting awhile for them to finally come out of the arrival terminal and know Nicholas is super excited.............Nicholas is such amazing little boy.......  I was talking with him last night saying you know it might be hard for a few days until everyone settles in, things like that and that  we need his patience and understanding and such and he said "are my brother and sister going to get all of the attention when they come home?"  Now we have never spoken to Nick about such things and always say we will need his help since he is the big brother................he amazed me with this question/comment and I told him no but it will be tough sometimes and we then agreed & made a pinkie swear that if at anytime he needs us to stop and give him some special attention he just needs to let us know and we will make special time for him.  He was fine with this idea and shortly thereafter while brushing his teeth for bedtime he advised that he needed some attention...........just testing the waters I guess to see if I'd listen!!

Here are some photos of the kids last day in Moscow

So they are almost home & what a long, long journey this has been.

Fingers crossed and many prayers that Dennis & the kids will have a smooth, smooth flight!!

DND

MOSCOW

Dennis, Angelina, & Anthony arrived in Moscow on Tuesday morning!!!

Dennis said Angelina fell asleep pretty quickly and that Anthony told Irina (the Russian nanny along for the trip) that he didn't want to go to sleep!!  He was very excited as it was his first train  ride..........WOW we are so thrilled.  Yesterday I was so concerned on how they were doing on this long leg of the journey and couldn't wait to hear from Dennis on how the trip went..................I had an email when I woke up that they arrived and another saying they had to wait in a hotel lobby because they could not check in to the apartment until noon time......................on a side note I cannot begin to tell you how much our Agency has given us so much misinformation that it is past annoying.  I will get back to that another time.

In the meantime I spoke with Dennis briefly as they just got into the apartment when I called - he said the 5 hours waiting in the lobby of another hotel until 12:00 was pretty rough & after a few hours the kids were getting antsy and that they needed to regroup.  So the great news is they arrived, kids did great on the train (THANK GOD)!!! The medicals were done already - more about that later................... Dennis was heading to the market to get food and such and I will speak with him later on this morning again to get filled in on things.

Dennis said they gave cakes to the Doctor and the Director and had sweet treats and such for the kids group.  He did say that the caregivers joked how they will miss Angelina as she is a sweety but Anthony not so much (jokingly I do hope) &  that Anthony is a tough little boy - Wow this so shocked Dennis & I  because if anything our preception was that Angelina was the tough cookie and Anthony is the sweetie................well we can only hope that since it seems that Angelina is going to be a daddys girl in everyway that Anthony is going to be Mommas little man and is just waiting to for his Momma to bring out his sweetness!!!  I think between my two little men - Anthony & Nicholas Momma is going to have her hands very full!!

Dennis did tell me that he did receive the babies Christening outfits from the orphanage....this absolutly brought tears to my eyes................I am so touched that we have such a special keepsake for them & this makes my heart happy. 

Here is another adorable picture of the kids

That's all for now.

DND

Twins Third Birthday

Angelina & Anthony did get to celebrate at least part of their birthday with Poppa.

Dennis celebrated with some chocolate chip cookies.

I am hoping this link will work??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H838Bxp5TE&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Angelina & Anthony's 3rd birthday 9-9-12

Just as the visit ended today and they were heading back to their group Anthony got sick and vomitted.............hopefully it is the overindulgence of the cholocate chip cookies and not something more serious!!


Here is another cute picture of them copying their Poppa snapping away.

Today Dennis will pick up passports, shop for cake and sweet treats for a small going away party with the children at the orphanage.

He will then  pick up the kids at 8:00 this evening to begin the trip to Moscow with the 10 hour overnight train ride. We are hoping for a smooth train ride for the children.

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday they have various appointments and Friday is the day they will be flying home.

We are both hoping Dennis has WIFI in the apartment in Moscow so that he can keep me updated & keep sending me photos.

That's all for now.................fingers crossed all goes smoothly and according to plan!!

DND

Good thing Dennis likes Rollercoaster rides!!

Dennis is so ready to get out of Russia I can't begin to tell you......think Wilson soccer ball, video tours of his room etc.

Anyway it seems that Immigration wasn't coming for him!!!!  They said he could go see the children on Friday & that they assured Immigration he is not fleeing (leaving) Tambov until Monday with this kids and that it was OK for him to visit with them????  None of it makes sense but then again none of any of this has made sense at all throughout this adoption process and this was just the icing on the cake or better yet severe, very severe labor pains of twins!!!

The schedule is the passports will be picked up on Monday, Monday afternoon he will have a party at the orphanage for their final day & Monday evening they leave to go to the train station.
WHEW...........hopefully no issues at the train with Dennis' Visa but let's not go there!


Now onto some very heartwarming and heartfelt happiness & gratitude from me.......................it seems the amazing people I work with planned a shower for me for the arrival of our twins..............I was and am totally blown away by this very grand gesture - I was totally shocked when I walked into the cafeteria and all of this awesome people where there to celebrate our twins arrival - just writing this brings tears to my eyes...................look at this cake - it is AMAZING.

What an amazing cake and WOW I am surrounded by such amazing, caring and loving  people!
Along with the cake we received three cards,
one for Angelina,
one for Anthony &
one for big brother Nicholas - it was so thoughtful and very special

In addition we were given the most amazing, amazing gift that just has blown me away. They felt that a gift card would be most helpful and they were so generous - it really just blows me away.

I am deeply touched and know I am such a lucky person on so many levels. I just read somewhere that if you focus on the positives in your life you have no time to think about the negatives.........
and this is so, so true.

I am truly blessed and do thank God everyday if not once a day many, many times a day.

I have the most AMAZING husband who is the most AMAZING father who will do anything for his family and we have the most AMAZING son who is the light and love of our lives.........we will soon be blessed with two AMAZING children who will complete our family and our lives will be blessed.

Thank you GOD for giving us such an AMAZING life.

DND

On a side note we cut around the cake and I have frozen the picture portion of the cake so that our family can enjoy together!!

3rd Trip PROBLEM

Dennis is doing very well while in Russia with visiting the kids and having fun with them....he did send me 2 videos - not sure I can figure out how to attach them but will give it a try.

Now onto the problem - while attempting to process the paperwork for passports for the twins it was discovered that Dennis' Visa was not done correctly.  We found out later that the travel agency decided that just listing Moscow would be sufficient - guess what it is not - in theory Dennis is now in Tambov illegally.  Immigration is not happy - the hotel got called as well and they will most likely be fined for allowing him to register at the hotel with an incorrect Visa. 

Our concern was bigger - they did not let him apply for passports for the kids with this error. The long short story of it is that if they couldn't straighten this out he would have needed to get a new Visa - that would take well over a week - I was so so upset however the next day after going back to the police department and getting some type of letter the passport office accepted the applications and they will be processed.  We also found out that penalties will be given to not only the hotel but to us......GREAT  although our agency is stating that the fines should be paid by the travel agent since we completed the Visa forms correctly.................

WHEW I was super stressed..........Dennis was cool and reassuring & hopeful it would all work out.....................in the meantime he is not allowed to leave the hotel since technically he is not in Tambov legally.  So he must stay in the hotel (they did say he could walk outside for short periods) but this also means he cannot visit with the children.  Seems Immigration is coming to ask why his Visa is not done correctly and he must be at the hotel .   As far as the Visa goes - since it is all in Russian how the hell would we know it is not correct??? When Immigration comes he will need to call the translator who actually understands English to assist with this interview.  Hopefully this all goes as expected and my husband will not be thrown in jail - I joke but hey you just never know!

DND

Travels

Dennis left for our (his) third and final trip to Russia to pick up our children.

He left on Saturday 9/1 & arrived in Moscow on Sunday early afternoon, he was dropped off at the train station where he commented how nice his accomadations were - what?? Both of our prior trips the rooms were by far nothing much at all much less nice but not this time - Dennis said it was nicer then our last hotel
 !@!##  Anyway I'm glad for him - he deserves all of the comforts afforded him for being the most amazing husband and an even more an AMAZING father!!

To save costs Dennis was going to travel on the 10 hour overnight train car by sharing it with 3 other folks....... he was a bit concerned about this but was going with the flow and again much to his surprise he  had a comfortable train ride in his own car with a full bed and travelled pretty well to Tambov.

He arrived on Monday morning & was picked up brought to his hotel, showered took a trip to the courthouse and in the afternoon went to see Angelina & Anthony.......I was so happy to hear that Angelina sreamed in delight when she saw her Poppa and ran over to give him a big hug........Anthony also smiled happily and eased his way over to give his Poppa a hug..............................we are thrilled they were so happy to see him and  according to Dennis they have been explaining to the children that Poppa is coming to pick them up to take them home to Momma..............Dennis also said he believes they are referring to the children by our chosen names which is awesome!!!

Dennis did have to take them for passport photos AGAIN - this is the 4th time - seems our Coordinator didn't like the last three rounds of pictures - not really sure I get this but as Dennis keeps reminding me we have to go with it - but still they are children and it is for passports how good could they really be!?

On Tuesday morning they needed to take him to the childrens birth town to pick up their birth certificates - this was an hour and half drive each way & since they left at 7:00 AM poor Dennis did not have coffee before leaving and I'm sure he was cranky and did imply in his email that he might strangle the translator but more on that later......he survived the trip and documents were retrieved and then onto immigration they went and then a visit with the kids was on the schedule for this afternoon.

On the subject of our plans to have someone for Dennis to help with travelling to Moscow with the kids and help him on the trip we found out right before he left that the person they chose (we hired) does not speak English.  I was pissed and asked how do you think this will work for Dennis - how will he communicate with her since the whole idea was to have her to  help him communicate with the kids? Seems that this is the best they could do.........needless to say I am not happy but feel at least the kids will have the comfort of someone who can explain things to them.  She will travel on the overnight train & stay with Dennis and the kids in the apartment in Moscow for the 3 days while they get the Visa's and do the kids medical SOS appointment and the Consulate - he will also have the translator while in Moscow.  The caregiver  will stay until he gets to the airport and then Dennis is on his own - hopefully and I pray that the kids will be OK and that the travelling will be uneventful for all three of them.

That is all I have for now.................................

Dennis took the children to the park after the passport photos and look how cute they are!!!!

DND



Comng home

We have finally well almost finally worked out the details for the kids arrival home.

We are a bit disappointed on the length of stay "suggested" for the 3rd and final trip to bring our children home.  The schedule given was leave on September 1st returning home on September 14th.  WOW we were annoyed and questioned the lenght of this trip and we were told that we just never know how long things will take to be processed - the Visas could take 2 days or could take 5 days - they don't know how busy the women will be in the Visa office....................Great.

So the flights will be booked with changeable return tickets for the trip back so if & hopefully we pray that things will move much faster then scheduled.  The schedule went something like this.  Arrive in the region on Monday the 3rd, pick up birth certificates.....Tuesday bring birth certificates to Visa office..........?  what so of course I had to ask why, why can't the birth certificates be picked up on Monday and dropped off on Monday which seems like a logical question and although no one answered the question directly  I do think they got the message.  Are you kidding us - we have now been waiting over 9 months,  haven't we "waited" long enough!!

OK so on to bigger things.  Dennis my wonderful husband and father to our children will travel to pick up the children alone & this decesion was made for many reasons -  14 days is just too long for us to be away from Nicholas again and although this was always our plan it is more so now that Nicholas starts kindergarten that same week so how could he not be here for that??  Anyway we (I) always felt that having the 2 of us (Dennis & myself) travelling back with 2 (totally freaked out ) kids and us both being jet lagged, exhausted, out of sorts & high stressed would not be good for any of us so we had decided this would be our plan....................not a well thought out plan but our plan.  Long story short is after meeting the twins the first trip we (I) didn't think that Dennis travelling alone with two kids was a good idea at all.  Dennis of course disagreed - and yes I know Dennis can do ANYTHING and will do anything for our family but at the end of the day (or trip) would him travelling along be best for any of them?  Our kids will be 3 years old,  not speak or understand a word of English, taken from the only life they know and be on a plane  for a 10 hour flight with a new  person they don't know very well........................no, nope, I really wasn't happy with this idea......................

So for months I have mentioned to folks how we were looking for someone to travel back with Dennis and the kids with the only requirement being they need to speak Russian................not quite as easy find as I thought but finally we did and we were happy that we had this very important piece covered for the kiddos sakes...........but atlas that fell through last week when we wanted to finalize the trip.  I must admit I panicked and was very concerned - Dennis not so much because as noted above Dennis was like it's OK I can do it - don't worry. Again I know he can and will do anything for us but this was not going to be a good idea.  Longer story short we have thankfully gnow have a Russian speaking travel companion for the trip home for the kids!!!   (YEAH).

The schedule is Dennis leaves on 9/1 & arrives in the region on the 3rd......do region paperwork that could take 3 days or could be 5 days so anticipate  5 days  which means he will leave the region on Sunday night 9/9 with the twins & an escort to help with the kids for the 10 hour train ride.  They will arrive in Moscow on the morning of the 10th to process passports, medicals, embassy visit etc with the assistance of the person who will fly with the kids home......passports should, should take 3 days which means in theory he could leave Moscow maybe on Thursday the 13th and arrive home a day earlier...........we are really hoping the region piece will be 3 days, even 4 which would get them to Moscow on Thursday or even Friday the 6th or the 7th which would start up & step up the paperwork in Moscow earlier which means they could possibly be home in theory Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.   I know it's a long shot but I am hoping it will be the earlier rather then the later scenario.

So we have been getting a few of the last minute things we are thinking we need - we (I) have been shopping for clothes for the kids - a difficult task only because when I look at clothes sometimes they look too small to fit Angelina and sometimes they don't so hopefully I'm getting it right...............Dennis will need to bring clothes for them with him to bring them home.........................sadly they literally leave with nothing from the orphanage - which I understand but it is sad to think that after 3 years they leave as they came...................................happily it does bring my heart joy to shop knowing our littles are finally coming home!!  We also needed to get a bigger kitchen table - ours was a pub style with 3 chairs so time to get a family table  - which we did a few months back with seating for 6.  We finished out downstairs playroom and family room and the only thing that is a must have is another vehicle..................our current vehicle works somewhat for now anyway - Nicholas will move to the third row which is fine however we have a console  in the second row so the only way he can get to the 3rd row is to climb over the console or through the back which I'm sure he will be thrilled  to do - climb but me not so much - I'm thinking  rain, snow, and then he will climb in all over the kids seats to hop in the back.........................yeah so we need a new vehicle once we all get settled in.

So right now these are our plans.

Here are a few pictures to hold us over for few more weeks.

   DND

COURT

Today was the day of court for us.  We knew that our judge was difficult but we were hoping at this point she had everything she needed and court would not be to brutal.  WRONG!!

Court was at 10:00 AM and all were in attendance.  The orphanage Director.  The Prosecutor. The law Guardian of the children.  The Social Worker and the court appointed observer. Our Coordinator. Our translator and the Judge. 

The judge went around the room many times and requested certain people to speak.  Dennis gave his speech which he did wonderfully.  I then spoke and was told by those in attendance I did well and was very convincing.  The Judge then called for a one hour break and the Director told the judge he had a meeting so he go and asked if he could  speak before the break and then leave (lucky lucky him)  I think he was skipping when he left the courtroom.

So we went and had a few sodas and back to court.  The Judge then had a few others speak and everyone had the same conclusion that it was in the best interest of the children to allow us to adopt them.

Then the judge read aloud every single piece of documentation in our file.  Out loud every single document - by the way we have 3 homestudys completed over the last 2 1/2 years  and of course everything was translated to us as she spoke.  She went over everything.  Then she asked if we had any additional comments and Dennis spoke first asking again for her to grant our adoption.  I spoke and told her we have been waiting 8 months to bring our children home to please grant us our adoption.  The Judge then announced and adjournment for 10:00 tomorrow morning.  No one saw that coming and it was 4:00 in the afternoon.  Our Coordinator jumped up to advise her we had train tickets this evening and flights back to the States in the morning...........................all of us were in shock and Dennis and I just couldn't believe it.   Our Coordinator explained never in history did court take 2 days.  The Judge was pissed and reprimanded our Coordinator for not preparing properly and she left the courtroom. Everyone was in disbelief.  She returned about 15 minutes later and allowed the Prosecutor to speak and again she was in favor of our adoption.  She went around the room again and asked a few more questions. The Judge left again to make a decision & she returned about 25 minutes later and finally announce her decision and did she keep us hanging...............

YES she granted us the adoption of Angelina Capri and Anthony Christopher as our children. 
YEAH FINALLY WE ARE THE PARENTS TO OUR CHILDREN!!!!

We of course could not go to the orphanage to say our goodbyes to our children as it was close to 6:00 PM.  Dennis & I are sad about that but do know they wouldn't have really understood and we do know that the Social worker,  who was very supportive and kind to Dennis and I will explain to the children that Momma & Poppa will be back to take them home. 

WHEW................so tonight we sit in the hotel lobby waiting to take our 10:00 PM  - 10 hour train ride back to Moscow.  We have a 2:40 PM flight home to arrive in NY at 5:00 PM Friday evening.  We will go home and pick up Nicholas on Saturday.

Right now we can expect that we (Dennis) will be travelling back on/around September 1st to begin the process of bringing our children home.  Our children will be starting the 3rd year of their lives at home with their family just in time for their 3rd birthday on September 9th if all goes well!

We are very very happy and cannot wait to begin our lives together finally as our family will now be complete!!!!

We thank you for your good wishes and love as we know we couldn't have gotten through all of this without the love, support & kindness of our family & friends and for that we are so grateful!!

Sincerely,

DND

Next step

So we had visits with the children yesterday...not sure if it was our last visit with them as they keep saying it all depends on how court goes and how long it takes.  So not what I want to hear but I guess they need to remind us that we still do need the court to grant us our adoption.

The visits with the kids have gone very well and they have warmed up to us both. 

We are hopeful that after court we will be able to return to see the kids one last time before we head home.  If we do we hope to bring sweets for the all the kids in our kids group and my plan is to get a big watermelon for all of them to enjoy......thinking it will be a real treat for them.   Leaving them behind will be difficult but I we will know at that point that they will be coming home very soon and that is what will get us through our waiting time.  

We had our pre-court prep at the hotel last night and it went pretty well..............we decided Dennis will address the court first and he worked on his speech last night and is again rewriting it this morning.  (I think he is a bit nervous!!).  I will then speak  after Dennis and I'm going to wing it...........
I am a bit nervous but I'm sure it will be fine.

So this is the moment we have been waiting for for a very long time.  We hope and pray the judge grants us our adoption of our children and then we can make plans to bring them home after the 30 day wait.

Thank you all for your positive words and support as it makes us feel loved and know that our children are in your prayers and that our family is blessed with an abundance of love.

Thank you.

DND

PS: I am thinking I will not  be able to post after court as we are sure that we will start our travels home as soon as we are through here.

More on our children

Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) we were observed by the officer from the court.  It started to rain outside before she arrived so that meant we needed to move indoors.  We were a bit nervous having the kids in a small room and someone watching us but atlas she observed for about 15 minutes - our translator sat and spoke with her I'm sure telling her how much the kids have attached to us - not wanting us to leave or end our visits and how Anthony is coming around to Dennis etc.  We don't know the outcome but we are hopeful she will have positive things to report to the judge on our behalf as I really felt it went very well with the kids and feel confident.

On to some interesting things I want to write about so that I don't forget.

The mosquitoes are horrible here - not so much for us as they are annoying but my God the bites on Angelina are all over her face & arms - not just one or two but clusters of bites just about every where on her little body.  They don't use sunscreen and I am very surprised that Angelina doesn't get as red as a beet as she is so so very fair skinned.  She needs vitamins big time as her hair is so fine, thin and very sparse....Nicholas' was like that as well but once he got onto a vitamin regiment his hair filled in  immediately and I am sure the same will happen Angelina.  As I mentioned Angelina struggles with getting sounds out at times which we will need to work on. She is a very quick learner and also is eager  so to seek our approval or delight when she does something and is very proud when we acknowledge it.  While we were inside yesterday and looking for things to keep them busy we had some small hoola hoops which I decided to put on the floor and jump in each circle like hopscotch but just hopping................Angelina couldn't hop nor jump it was amazing to know that she didn't know how and doesn't seem to have the coordination to do it.

Anthony is just a shy little thing................he is a very happy little boy with a thicker head of hair and not as fair skinned as Angelina.  He is a very determined little boy and is very very head strong and likes  to do what he wants and doesn't like to be told not to do something.  Anthony also sucks his thumb and does so a lot.

This morning visit went well as been the norm these last few days - the children squeal in delight when they see us - especially Angelina and they run to us and turn around and say paka paka (bye-bye) to their caregivers and little friends.  When they see their little buds walking around they watch intently - not sure what they are thinking but do know on many occasions Anthony waves them off saying "his Momma and stay away".  They are very sweet children and love to be engaged and jump from one thing to the next.   I am sure that normally they don't get to do so many things at once.  From what we see the children at this orphanage are well cared for - as far as feeding them meals but most of the time when they are outside they are either walking around the babies in carriages or have the kids group in the little outside shaded playroom which is contains a few very old beat up old pieces of toys and the kids are just sitting on the floor or staring out at us.  no one is playing with them - the caregivers are either talking to one another or sitting watching the kids.....no interacting or at least not while they are outside.  Another thing that I can't help but notice is the condition of the children's clothing I mean they are so old and worn and missized to the kids - Anthony's shorts do nothing but fall down.  The sandals they wear do fit (Nicholas' little feet were literally stuffed into his sandals). 

The culture in Russia is one of a very serious people.  People do not smile or acknowledge one another.  They do not hold doors open for one another and no one says excuse me if you are in a store they sort of just push you aside.  I did find this hard to deal with but after a few times of holding the door for people and they basically push you along - not acknowledge you and just keep right on walking you learn quick to just keep up with that pace and attitude. Most people live in flats which are basically high tenement type buildings that are old and in bad condition with no elevators with very few people having air conditioning.  They do have alot of open areas around and lots of parks which is needed otherwise where would people go.  Right outside the orphanage is a very steep hill  open field that people walk from a small village to the city.  Another observation I made early on is that most women do not drive - all of the cars are driven by men and the women walk. And like in Kaz most women wear hi heeled shoes. 

I do often think about the children we see every day at the orphanage and realize how lucky our son Nicholas is and how lucky our two newest additions to our family will be.  Seeing the commercials on TV of starving children with no water is heartbreaking and although it is nothing like that here it is still very sad to see first hand children that have nothing.  The clothes are so worn and mismatched and don't fit.  No one is paying attention to them and they are just so sad.  It is heartbreaking for me and so wish that Russia would not make it so so hard to adopt or make it seem like adoption of their children to the outside world is such a terrible horrible thing. Ultimately these children will only know life in an orphanage.  We hope and pray and ask everyone to send us positive thoughts that when we go before  our judge on Thursday that she will see that we are the answer to Angelina & Anthony's future and that we are ready, willing and  able to be the best parents to these two very adorable children.  Our lives will be complete but their lives will be wonderful and that is all that we want.

DND

More visits

Our visits with the twins are going very well...............when we arrive they run to us.......well Anthony runs around Dennis to me and Angelina runs right to Dennis.

The twins tell the caregivers that Dennis is Angelina's Poppa and I am his Momma - Poppa is not his Poppa should go to Angelina.  We have made a lot of progress with them and they are certainly happy to play with us.............Dennis and I are happy that things are going smoothly with them.  Anthony has made progress with Dennis and will give him a kiss (if told to by the caregivers) and will run and play with him if only to run from him to me.

Angelina is a sweetie and thrives for Poppas attention.  It is tough when you have 2 kids especially because they each favor one of us.  So while I'm with Anthony I feel I am not spending enough time with Angelina and that makes me sad and when Dennis tries to spend time with Anthony she wants to get right in on it with them.  We are making headway but it is not easy.  Another sad part of this whole thing is that while we are bonding so well we realize that in a few short days they are not going to see us again for one month..................that is a long time..........too long and we fear that of course they will forget our fun times together and we will again need to work on establishing bonds with them. 

A few observations.  Anthony is much more talkative then Angelina.  I see that she does struggle to speak - she does try - we keep saying one two three and she tries so hard to get the sounds out I am sure this is one of the things that will really need help with.  Anthony has such a pep in his step and has a sweet happy little swagger walk he does when he is happy.....it is quite endearing.  Angelina is a tough cookie - when she wants her bother to do something she gets right in his face or will grab and make him turn around or try to hold him in place if they are on the swing and we ask for them to look at the camera......................Anthony is very shy...............and puts his head down and peeks up with his little gray eyes very shyly but he is determined  and very head strong and the battle of the wills comes out when he wants his way he will not give up or give in.......he is tough in that sense.

As for Dennis & I we have finally adjusted to the time change with Sunday night being the first night we slept straight through.................we had been waking up at 1 or 2 AM staying up for and hour or so and then go back to sleep......................the food at the hotel is good.  Breakfast is chosen for us and again it always is some type of sliced meat on bread..............to start.  Getting tea and  coffee is a challenge - it's like one cup of coffee for him one tea for me (tiny teacup size no less)...............sorry that doesn't cut it for us especially struggling with lack of sleep............................... and although we are good tippers which we always hope will help get want we want & need it seems in Russia it doesn't matter. 

We are also struggling with our translator.  We of course cannot complain as that would not fair well for us but we are not happy that we don't have someone here who can assist us more.  We ask questions and we get a blank look or an answer that doesn't really apply.  We do realize we are New Yorkers and we speak fast and expect instant information but still we really think our agency let us down by having us struggle along. 

Of course the rule with international adoption is go with the flow and expect the unexpected.......................well so far we have learned that we can expect to be in court on Thursday for at least 7 hours......with a one hour lunch break.............whew and I was worried we would miss lunch.  Yes seven hours as the judge will go through every document...............let's see that is 2 dossiers and a whole bunch of other added in documents that we needed to satisfy her & lets not to forget she wouldn't give us a court date unless we supplied said documents so you would think yes she has already read every single thing if not once but maybe twice - remember she also had the pre-court hearing - didn't read everything then?  Anyway it is what it is and we will suffer through  it (with lunch also thrown in).

Originally we were told the court observer would be coming to the orphanage on Tuesday morning.  This morning we were told she would be coming this afternoon so after our visit we went to pick up some coffee, teas and candies for her office - not a bribe or a gift just a nicety.....................

As far as the little man goes we are getting updates and photos and have called him several time and with the last call being he really didn't want to speak with us because he was busy at a street fair and we called just as they arrived at the fair - he did manage to stop to say hello and not much else.  He is doing well and having lots of fun and keeping busy.  He hasn't asked when we are coming back but they are counting the days until we arrive home.  Nicholas doesn't know where are - we couldn't tell him we were heading back to Russia because he would absolutely would have wanted to go with us to see his brother and sister and second he would not understand how come they are not coming home with us yet.  So we told the little man we are taking care of family business and he was fine with that. We do miss he little man a whole bunch and can't wait to see him - this part is hardest for us!!!

Ok well I guess that is it for now............................................................

Oh right pictures..............................................

DND

Our 2nd & 3rd visits

Our 2nd visit with the kids went pretty well.  We had the initial crying with them when they came into the room but after a few short minutes they were fine.  It was raining out so going outside was not an option & we had to make due inside.  Angelina warmed up to Dennis very well and Anthony warmed up to me.  Such a change from our first meetings back in November.  She seemed like she was going to be the harder of the two yet she has warmed up to us very well.  Dennis was saying Momma and point to me, Poppa and point to himself and then point to her and say Angelina and she got that really quickly.  Anthony was also calling us by name when prompted.  Angelina was giving kisses and was very playful with Dennis and Anthony was rather shy.  He is cautious with Dennis, always peeking out of the corner of his eye watching what is going on and then looks down quickly when Dennis makes eye contact with him.  It is kind of adorable!

Our 3rd visit on Saturday morning we needed to find the kids outside with there group and when we did and the caregivers told them we were here they both smiled and ran to us together - I didn't have the camera ready for that and missed a magical moment.  They went with us pretty easily with Anthony still being very cautious.  I went to pick him up and he cried.............Angelina actually motions for Poppa to pick her up - she is already working him to be a daddy's girl.  We brought bubbles with us and they both enjoyed them - again Angelina picked it up quickly and of course wanted to hold the bottle and make bubbles with Poppa.  Anthony was his cautious self but got the idea and was having fun with us as well - still peeking out to check out what Poppa was doing but wanted nothing to do with really going near him - he will go near Poppa to give him the ball or get a cookie but with hesitation.  Angelina was all about hugs to Poppa and having him carry her around.  Anthony was happy to hold my hand and walk.  As we walked around at certain times we would run into the caregivers walking with other children & both Angelina and Anthony were saying go away we are with Momma & Poppa (this being translated to us by our coordinator) and it was quite funny especially Anthony he would wave his hand and speak saying something and then say Momma.  Angelina again was all about Poppa and actually was reluctant to walk with me or let me hold her or let me play with her - she would give me the ball but still was really only interested in her Poppa.  We did bubbles again and after they both spilled the bubbles I started giving Anthony twigs and pebbles to fill his bottle, Angelina quickly wanted in on the action and of course neither would let the bottles go and walked shaking them to make noise.  Now the very interesting part of our visit today was when it was time for us to bring them inside, Anthony walked right to the door and motioned for me to let him put his bottle in our bag.( I was surprised by this thinking he'd want to keep it).  Angelina was having a meltdown as she did not want to go inside.  Anthony came back out the door and spoke to his sister which translated to her to not cry we are going inside now.........she was not happy and continued to cry all the way up to her room, I feel sorry for ever tries to take that bottle from her!  My how  things have changed.  At first it was crying when they saw us and now crying for us not to leave................... PROGRESS!!!

So some things to note.  The orphanage is almost identical to the one in Kaz.  The building itself is the exact same layout and the funny thing about that is the twins group's room is exactly the same room that Nicholas' group was in both buildings.  The orphanage is well kept and clean.  No strong food smells or anything like in Kaz but the grounds outside are not well kept like in Kaz.  The weeds are so overgrown and almost as tall as the kids themselves and although they have more kid stuff outside then Kaz but again everything is overgrown with weeds.

We have seen many other kids and they are adorable..................yesterday when we dropped them off after our visit the little ones were all in undershirts and underwear with socks and sandals - summer garb.  The condition of the undergarments were so old....it was heartbreaking to me and it makes me sad that this is all that these children have. 

The restaurant in the hotel has an English menu - thank goodness although we don't need to worry about that for breakfast - breakfast is included with the room and you don't get to pick what you want to eat they bring it over the breajfast.  Yesterdays was good - hot porridge with bread and salami and a small pancake with sour cream and it was very tasty.  Today it was porridge again, salami and bread and 2 sunny side up eggs with what looked like a hot dog but I'm sure it was some type of sausage.  So I am eating pretty light in the morning. Dinner last night was good - I had a chicken dish with french fries but for an appetizer I ordered calamari and it was tasty - I'm sure that will be the staple for me at dinner.  Funny they have no pasta or pizza on the menu (in Kaz I ate pizza most every night).  I'm thinking we will at least one night venture out to eat but it doesn't seem to be much around restaurant wise and not having anyone with us makes us a little less reluctant to travel around.  The coordinator with us everyday really doesn't understand English very well and when we do ask her things most of the time she doesn't respond so we are feeling a bit lost.  The main person who we feel should be here with us is not arriving until Thursday morning - the day of court so I'm guessing our court prep is not going to be very intense since we won't have much time for prepping beforehand.

Here are some photos from our first visit

We have arrived!

We left Nicholas on Wednesday morning with Aunt Chris and Uncle Nick.  Nicholas was excited to start his vacation as he referred to it while driving to their house - School spun it as a vacation since he won't be back for a while and that seemed to make him happy.  When he woke up he didn't want to eat breakfast at home but wanted to eat at Aunt Chris' house. We are sure he will be fine and Aunt Chris, Uncle Nick and David & Michelle have lots of fun activities planned so eh will be kept busy and on the go.

Our travels went as expected..................long, tiring and - long in case you missed it - it is a tough trip - 10 hour flight.........................then we went on to do our medicals in Moscow which  was the first stop on Thursday. What a racket that whole set up is but we got them done so onward to sit at the train station for 7 hours - we rented the room again which was so worth it otherwise you are just sitting and waiting - this way we could rest (I napped for about an hour) we ate and then the train was at 10:00.  We were EXHAUSTED and as soon as we got settled in our little car we went to sleep.....................waking up every few hours but at least we slept.  Train arrived and we were met by our coordinator and driver and off to a different hotel from the one we stayed at the last trip, they changed hotels due the hot weather - this one is smaller and our first room was going to be on the 5th floor (no elevator) so we got that changed to the 2nd floor,  first room had no AC so had to change rooms again which was fine.

We headed out to the orphanage prepared with lighted toys, balloons, balls, kid toy phones, beach ball and stopped at a store for some sweets.  We were prepared and expected the worse and of course the kids came into the room and although Angelina cried she sat right on my lap and Anthony plopped down on my lap as well (to be near his sister) and they both cried - it was decided we would bring them outside even though the weather is dreary they thought that would be best.  Out we went - Dennis with Angelina and I with Anthony.  Dennis and Angelina did GREAT - yeah he was with her and no crying or screaming & they were doing well from what I could see and hear or not hear.  Anthony was a challenge,  he cried, screamed and only wanted to run away back inside and not wanting anything to do with me............................finally I got him to go on one of those kid merry go round type things and he stopped crying.............actually at times he looked like he might dose off but he wasn't crying and wasn't running away so it was progress.  We walked around and met up with Dennis and Angelina who were doing great - he had her calling him Poppa and calling herself Angelina and they were playing together so we tried to get all four of us to play and it went nicely.........he would not go near Dennis but we all held hands Dennis, Angelina, me and Anthony so we have progress going on.  Our visit was over and everyone seemed very happy with our interactions and smiles were abound with our coordinator, the doctor and the kids who blew us kisses and waved when they went inside.

PROGRESS indeed!!!  We are relieved.......................................we will visit with them again at 4:15 this evening and do the same everyday.

DND

We do have a court date!!!

We have our court date for July 26........................we were a bit disappointed on how long we need to be in Russia before court only because we are not bringing Nicholas with us and we did not think we would be leaving him for so long.

We leave on Wednesday July 18th arrive in Moscow on July  19th.  Do our physicals and then go on an overnight 10 hour train ride to our region.  We will visit with the kiddies Friday thru Wednesday (exception might be Sunday as I'm not sure if we can visit on Sunday).  We have court on Thursday and we are expecting a very long grueling grilling court date at which time we get final approval to adopt our children.  We head back out on the night of the 26th taking that 10 hour train back to Moscow and then leave Moscow on Friday around 2:00 in the afternoon arriving to NY on Friday at 5:00.

Nicholas will be staying with Dennis' sisters family who are thrilled to have him for a long sleepover (that is how we are spinning it to the little man).  We will leave Nicholas on Wednesday morning and this will be like summer sleep away camp as he will not be in school until we get home. Nicholas is happy and we have been prepping him about his big sleepover and since he is a easy going kid I don't expect he will be wondering about how many days we are gone and think (hope & pray) he will like all the fun free time & attention he will have with Aunt Chris, Uncle Nick and cousins Michelle and David and the fun activities that he will be doing with them.

We are excited court is finally here, nervous court is finally here, anxious that court is finally here and on edge that court is finally here.  It's a very big mixed bag of emotions but we are ready and we will do it!!

We can't wait for this part to finally come to and end...............we have had over 8 months of waiting and waiting for court and although it has been quite challenging dealing with this judge and what she has been requesting of us (she hasn't YET asked for a kidney but it is still possible!!).  We are ready, willing and able to get approval granted on our adoption and begin finally living our lives with our 3 littles all together as a family!!

Prayers &  positive thoughts, good wishes and anything thing else you can think of to get us through this next part is all we are asking for!!

DND

The update we received is that our Judge scheduled a pre court hearing....yep a pre court hearing on June 27 and Dennis & I do not need to be in attendance.

At first we were like what, why, WTF? We were told pre court hearings are common in some regions and apparently now in our region with our new judge.  It just keeps on getting better and better!!

The MOE, Director from  the orphanage, our in country coordinator a few other folks are to be in attendance to review our file.

Our only thought is that they scheduled this hearing 3 weeks out which means when the judge schedules our  court date it will be at least 3 weeks out.........................that is our hope, that is what we are praying for.............................we do need positive thoughts and prayers right now so that our Judge grants us a court date on the 27th.

DND

So while we have been waiting

I had decided back in November that I would not rush to complete the twins’ room - I'd take my time so that it would help pass the time until they came home.......that theory worked until about mid March when we pretty much completed everything that we needed to do to accommodate our growing family.

Since our third bedroom upstairs was our office we moved our office downstairs but our third bedroom is the smallest bedroom. I want to keep Angelina and Anthony together - not separate them in different bedrooms when they first came home - Nicholas room was set up from the beginning to accommodate a brother if we were to have a boy (or for sleepovers) if we had a girl. Since my plan is to not separate them yet we needed to work with a very small bedroom to keep them together.......the bedroom is so small I couldn't fit two twin beds in the room and didn't want to over power the room with bunk beds like Nicholas' because it is so small & this room will end up being Angelina's room and I picture a totally girly room (not sure what that will entail exactly) but in the meantime we needed to do toddler beds.......of course since they are boy and girl I decided to keep it multi gender (is that such a thing??) as opposed to gender generic.

Anyway it is hard to see from the photos but Anthony's bed is navy blue - his bed linens are all light blue - again I'm glad I didn't decide to actually make the beds up as it would have been a long time before they end up actually sleeping in their beds - anyway Angelina's bed is pink along with pink linens. Since the room is so small we needed to go with a light color so since green - light green has always been my very favorite color we went with very light soft green paint and the carpet is beige with very gentle specks of colors. I also didn't want to overwhelm, or over stimulate the kids with an over the top theme so went with a small cuddly type stuffed animal decor -bears, rabbits, etc. I again went reserved just to keep it light and airy not too much too soon. We also plan to put up some white wall shelves over the tall dresser and some shelves either over each of their beds or on each side of their beds......I guess we should getting working on that soon in hopes that they are coming home before long.


This is Nick's room - which will end up being both Nick's & Anthonys bedroom - Nick's animals will need to find a new place to hang!!

The small animals on each bed were added by Nicholas as he wanted to help decorate his brother & sisters bedroom....he is an amazing little boy!!

Small closet but it will work short term

Also since we now have the room downstairs we decided to add a playroom to the mix and this is where we started

During this time I have also started picking up clothes every now and again for the littles....but it has been a challenge since I'm not 100% sure on sizes - I am pretty much am starting with 3T but on some things I'm moving to 4T's only because it is so hard to guage from pictures?!

Now this makes me happy focusing on when they come home!


DND

So what are we waiting for.............

We are waiting again..................last time our dossier was returned because the judge wanted some changes - all about a name - Dennis Michael and Dennis yes they could be two different people according to the judge so we needed to re-do about 50 actually it was 52 documents - signed, notarized, county flagged & apostilled She also wanted/needed an extract of NY Notary law....OK my agency get's that done. We then learn our dossier will not make it before Russia has a 10 day holiday - May 1 - 10th GREAT so we wait..........we apply pressure that we want it on the desk on the 10th for the judge. We expected/hoped to hear something shortly thereafter until our Russian coordinator says it might not be until the end of the month - I nearly hit the roof - what@#!!!
We are told they want to give us the worse case but it of course could be sooner........

While we are waiting I had asked for an update on our children & I inquire a few times and finally I get some pictures and a note on how the "boy" (I'm sorry you mean our son) has changed so much - oh yes so what I want to hear, really you think 6 months he's changed.........the pictures are interesting and I will share but they are interesting because yes our son has changed and in the few photos they send he is smiling a very happy little smile and that makes me happy - he is smiling - I'm sure because he is outside in the play area (I won't call it a playground as it is far from anything we know as a playground) but he is smiling and outside playing probably after being inside the entire winter............our daughter however in the pictures has that same pained upset look - why she is outside to? She is not smiling actually she looks to be on the verge of tears and is not happy.............I have mixed emotions - yes I'm happy he looks happy and he is a cutie, sad that he is not home with us - they should be home already....now our daughter who looks pained in every photo- gives me more to ponder......it seems she is unhappy and it in these photos it not because she is frightened to death of us - whew that makes me feel better. I know crazy thoughts but it makes me feel better that it isn't just the thought of us that makes her sad as she was when we met her.............but I'm pained because we are here - we are her parents and can make her happy.....we will make them happy, we can make them happy and we can't because our judge. This judge is hearing her first US adoption case - our case (this detail we just find out and our agency has no relationship with the new judge). Yes this really makes us feel confident - just think the US women putting her son on the plane back to Russia - so the judge is cautious and covering herself by covering all basis before granting us a court date.

We heard back on the 10th (Thursday) late in the day..............and it just gets better and better........we are told one document needs to be re-done.... whew OK frustrating but OK......Friday morning we hear not just one but a few more things are needed...........after two calls with our Agency and then with the Director who said we just need to supply the judge with whatever she wants. Again we kick it into high gear....actually Dennis had to kick it into high gear because I am just to overwhelmed with all of it - it is painful and sad and I just can't believe how this is unfolding.

Dennis is amazing and does get the one document we need - our Agency gets the other one one and then we are stuck because neither of us (my Agency) or us can get one document the judge wants. The judge wants a letter from USCIS stating that they (USCIS) does not seal/sign or place a raised seal on our Favorable Determination to Adopt document - they supply this form to every single family adopting from the US and this is what they supply - But since this is something our judge is requesting & because it is not signed/stamped/embossed with an "official seal" how does she know it is a valid/real document from the USCIS???

Our agency asked us to seek out assistance from our congressman’s office to see if they can pull any strings to get such a letter. They tried and they have not had any success either - quite simply because it doesn't really make sense HOWEVER our congressmen’s office did offer and our agency accepted to have the Congressman provide a letter from him that the document supplied is valid. We are getting these few documents Apostilled on Monday and sending back to Russia on Tuesday. What will the judge say or do - we have no idea.

Dennis & I are lost.............we don't know what to think much less feel other then angry (Dennis) and me I’m just so sad....sad that our kids are lingering in an orphanage for over 2 1/2 years and we are here waiting to bring them home and we can't................Please continue to send prayers, positive thoughts & good vibes so that the judge will be acceptable to everything we have done to accommodate her requests and grants us a court date and a favorable decision to bring our children home.

Here are some of the updated pictures we received........

This one I just love....look at his hand........I so wish she was smiling........

When I showed Nicholas the photos he said - wow they look like they are having fun......the next day when he sees the pictures again on the counter as he is walking by, he sat down with me and said "so how are my brother & sister doing?"......................



And so we wait and wait and will wait for however long it takes.

DND