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
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
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
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
Monday, July 23, 2012
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
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
Saturday, July 21, 2012
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
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
Friday, July 20, 2012
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
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
Friday, July 13, 2012
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
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
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