Back to Moscow

After we left Ana, we went to the train to start back to Moscow. We had to leave Kazan for these 10 days (by law). We got to Moscow this morning and are just hanging out until tomorrow to get on our flight to Germany. We decided to do something fun and exciting to keep our minds busy and to have one last vacation as a couple. We figured if we sat in Moscow for 10 days we'd go crazy missing Ana. I will be posting our vacation (I hope). I'm excited to show Marc all my childhood memories and to catch up with some of our AF friends stationed there.

Twinkle Toes!

I think dance lessons are in her future! Perfect ballet pose don't you think? This picture was taken right before we had to leave. She is at the door to where her "group" is. I'm glad she wasn't sad to go back to her group. She walked in expecting us to follow her and when we didn't she looked surprised. We told her "Paca" (good-bye) and that we'd see her in 10 days. I hope they prepare her during this time to leave. I bet it will be a very hard adjustment for her. These 9 other kids are her "family" and the caregivers love her and seemed sad but happy today to meet us.

Passport Photo Outing

We got to go with her to get her passport photo! This lady went with us. She was Anastasia's caregiver when Ana first came to Baby House #2. Very sweet lady who told us Ana has always been "calm and observant". Ana was focused the whole time she was outside. She never got scared...but was definantly curious and aware. She sat on Marc's lap on the way to the passport pic. place and mine on the way home. Nope, no car seats over here. No seatbeats for that matter either. This picture was taken at the front door of Baby House #2.

Balloon

We were upstairs playing with her for a good while. She has such a sweet personality. Very calm, gentle, and quiet. However, she has a little spunk to her when Marc gets her going! We discussed MARC being calm for the airplane ride home. He's so excited.

All Smiles!

We then drove across Kazan to see our daughter. She came around the corner and saw me and went straight to me to gave me a big hug. Sorry Marc didn't get it on film...but I got it in my heart! Then Marc grabbed her and I didn't get her back the rest of the visit! :)

Cuddly Boy

Andrew was so tired and just wanted to be cuddled. The caregiver said Marc is the first man he had ever met so it was pretty neat that he felt comfortable with him. We still haven't gotten a smile from him...we hope it is just because of his teeth hurting and messing up nap time! Hopefully when we get back after our 10 days he will feel better and we can work with him more. But it's nice to cuddle with a sweet baby.

Off to see Andrew

We left straight from court to see Andrew. It was right before nap time and he was VERY clingy. He holds on pretty tight. His caregiver was telling us there are only 3 babies in his group right now and he gets a lot of attention. That's great! We don't know when we will come back do to "the hurdles" we still need to overcome...so it's great to know he is loved.

Ministry of Education

Moneira is the "big wig" of the Ministry of Education I was telling you about who felt horrible about Alex. She is the one who jumped through hoops to find Andrew for us. She also was sitting in our court and had to speak about Ana and her history and state that she had seen us interact well with her. She was crying in court as well with happiness for Ana and us. She told me after court she would still work very hard for us to maybe come back for Alex someday and apologized again. Notice her folder. When I asked if I could take her picture she grabbed it out of her bag and told me she has had this folder 7 years from the first American couple she assisted in the adoption process. She is a very proud and strong lady who has the children and families best interest at heart. I'm glad she is on "our side".

It's official...Ana is our DAUGHTER!

Sorry for the delay in updates! From court we were not stop until we got on the train back to Moscow. COURT WAS AWESOME! The judge was stern but friendly. He even cracked a joke about me not marrying a "cowboy from Texas". We had to stand to speak. Marc spoke first and the judge was curious/asked questions about his military career. He didn't ask any inappropriate questions, he just seem to be comparing to their military. For me it was more specific questions in regard to our dossier...good thing we studied! Yes, it's about us...but it's good to word stories the same. At the end we stood to hear the judge's verdict and Elena was crying and I was crying...the judge said "approved" and even smiled! Could not have gone any better.

Preparing for Court

After a good night sleep...in a bed, we woke up pretty early....nerves. Had a yummy breakfast and came back to our room and started studying our "dossier". This is our massive amount of paperwork we had to submit for our adoption. We were told that the court is very formal and intimidating and should be about an hour long. There is a "slim chance" that the judge won't allow us to have Ana...but still a chance. Please keep us in prayers as we get through ONE MORE DAY of stress. After today...it should be all smooth sailing. Until...Andrew's time (we hope). I must say, Marc and I have discussed this whole Alex and Andrew deal and we have an amazing feeling of peace. (Thank you Jesus!) We have asked to be kept in the loop on Alex. They said they would let us know what happens to him. As far as Andrew goes, if this works out and we bring him home someday we believe it is just a part of "the plan" that God has in store for us and we are trusting in Him. Off to court! Keep your fingers crossed for us! :)

PIZZA!

So after tears of sadness and tears of joy we said good night to Farida and Elena and went to "THE pizza place" in Kazan. This pizza saved our lives on our first trip. Our friends ,The Cooks and The Dears, who were here on their second trip bringing home their sweet baby girls on our first trip...would bring us a pizza every night. Sooo yummy and yes...we had a piece for you guys! However, I must say my insides are all messed up with emotions so I watched Marc eat most of it! Tomorrow is our court date and I really do need to try to get some sleep. After court we will go see the kids again and then off to the train to get back to Moscow to start our 10 days of waiting...for Ana! Love you all and thanks for all the positive feedback!

Cookies make it all better!

When they gave us Andrew he was fine and then he realized he didn't know who we were and the tears came down! We quickly stuffed a cookie in his mouth and that made it all better...Typical man...Feed him and he's fine! We also think he is teething and that his teeth were hurting because he kept rubbing that cookie on his teeth the rest of the visit. We doubt we can get him home this trip due to the amount of paperwork and we are still talking with our doctors to make sure all is fine. We already had prepared to have to come back for Alex so this really doesn't bother us. However, when we get back from our 10 days in Germany, we will see what needs to still be done and do it. There are some hurdles to still make but everyone seems to be confident that this one will really work. Please keep all that good praying going...Our hearts are SO fragile right now and this was something we said we wouldn't do...But he needs a home and we need a son and this might just work!

Andrew...

We were leaving "Baby House #2" which is where Ana lives and Elena tells us that the Ministry of Education is so sorry and wants to make things right for us and they are offering to show us a baby over in "Baby House #1". Would we be willing to see him. We had nothing to lose...of course...so we get there and they bring us out Andrew. (This IS his Russian name.) Some of you know that when we were trying to decide on a name for Alex...Andrew was my first choice but I was "out voted".... :) ANYWAY...our hearts sank. He is 11 months. His birthday is 20 May. (We get home the 17th). His health is perfect. His birth mother even had care during her pregnancy. There was information on the birth father also. They stated financial issues for their reason for adoption. MAN...what a day of ups and downs!

Sweet Smiles

So content to sit with her daddy. Marc is SOOOO happy (as am I) that you can't get him to stop smiling. Her hair is longer now from the first trip. She doesn't seem like she has grown much. We met with the "Baby House" chief doctor today to discuss her health and everything seems to be the same. It was a wonderful visit. We both really needed to see this little girls smile! She's perfect.

Throw me in the Sky!

Marc can totally get her to crack up every time he throws her in the air like this. Her giggle is truly priceless. She is SO sweet. (Elena is the lady in the background...Our interpreter).

Nastya...ANA

Finally we got to see Nastya...as the Russians call her...short for Anastasia...or as we like to call her ANA! She was ADORABLE when she toddled on out to see us. She had a big ol smile on her face. We like to believe that she did recognize us..who really knows. BUT she was sad when we left today.

No Parking

We watched this man upload this car into his truck for a good 5 mins. CRAZY! There was a car that was parked behind him when we first stop to watch and the owner of that car ran out of a store and into his car and took off. This poor person will be surprised I'm sure to come back to no car! But there aren't any signs saying it's no parking or anything either...

Jennyfer Store

This store is across the street from our hotel. It is a type of department store and has a little bit of everything. It's funny how they call me "Jenny...fer" here. Very pronounced "Jenny". I bet this store is one of the reasons for that!

Downtown Kazan

After "the talk" we had two hours until we could go see Ana. So Marc and I went on a walk. Kazan has a lot of neat old buildings, but everything is a little run down. We found a "mall" and the people were very friendly to us. I was surprised to see all the cables for the bus system. It's a little old world and new world combined.

Good Bye to Alex

So after the psych. eval. Elena (interpreter) and Farida (Russian social worker) sat us down and gave us "the talk". It basically boils down to the facts that Alex is a Kazakhstan citizen (since his birth mother is) and can not be adopted through the Russian Federation. He will probably be deported to Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Education (big wig in this whole process) personally apologized to us and seemed genuinely sorry. She had papers of the birth mother from when she checked into the hospital with her passport that states she was from Kazakhstan when she delivered Alex. If she hadn't used her passport...this wouldn't have been as big a deal as it has become. We were now dealing with THREE countries to adopt Alex and the "red tape" is too thick to cut. So we had to terminate Alex's paperwork and EVERYONE was sad. This is international law that no individual can solve. We are dealing with countries that don't even have procedures for this issue. Please continue to pray for this sweet baby boy because no one knows what his fate will be including the administrators. Marc and I are doing okay and have a little bit of peace knowing that we will see Ana today and just be extremely grateful for her!

Off to our Psych. Evaluation

We were so nervous to go to this psychological evaluation in Russia...I think we have watched too many episodes of "24"! However, it was fine. We were together for one or two questions and then she individually questioned us. We had our "Kazan interpreter", Elena with us and that made me feel better. Some tough questions for Marc about the military and for me about Russian characteristics of children...but we passed with flying colors and even said they wouldn't mind doing this if all the couples were like me and Marc. (We were the first ones to have to do this in Russia with all the new rules that were passed last week).

Onto KAZAN!

The train car was comfy and I was happy to drink my tea and GO TO BED! Funny thing...all you Alaskan's will relate...remember the midnight sun? As it is only a month and a half away from Summer Solstice...it NEVER got completly dark. This picture was taken around 9:00pm and you can see out the window how light it still was.

To the TRAIN

We were greeted at the airport by Marsha (she greeted us our first trip too and is our "Moscow Interpreter"). This greeting was very different from the first encounter of a stone face and monotoned "Follow Me". ALL hugs and kisses and we were genuinely happy to see her and vice versa. We got into our car and drove an hour and a half to the train station. We slept the whole way...oh so tired! This is the train station...all outside! This time there is NO snow! It's the perfect climate right now for us. 50's and 60's.

Enough Said!

WE ARE HERE! When we walked off the airplane in Moscow this was on the walls in the terminal. I just had to laugh!

On Our Way

So far so good! No phone calls (knock on wood) saying we have to postpone again...so we are on our way in the morning! We have breakfast plans with our good friends the Williams at Cracker Barrell and then they will take us to the airport so we can begin our two days of travel to Kazan, Russia. After 3 plane changes and 20 hours of flying we will land in Moscow on the 26th. Then we will take a 12 hour night train to Kazan from Moscow. We will check into our beautiful hotel (we stayed there on the first trip) and have our first appointment which is a Russian psychiatric evaluation Thurs. the 27th. We hope to see the kids Thursday too. We were told today that there is no way we will bring Alex home on this trip. They are still hopeful that we will bring him home in 3 to 4 months from now. But we are thrilled to get our Ana! Once we get settled we hope to get online to let you all know we are there safe and sound!

"Alex's Drama"

The Friday (14 April) before we were originally suppose to leave is when we got the phone call that we might not be able to adopt Alex. The judge in Russia was over looking the paperwork for our original court date (18 April) and realized that Alex's birth mom is from Kazakhstan. We all knew this (Americans and Russians) since they presented him to us and there seemed to be no problem. However, according to this judge, Alex's birth mom needs to be a Russian citizen to be adopted. Even though he was born in Russia and she signed the papers for him to be adopted in Russia, SHE needs to be a Russian citizen. So, they are currently looking for her and will hopefully have her sign paperwork to become a Russian citizen. Our agency says to be "cautiously hopeful", and maybe in 3 to 4 months we might be able to go back to Russia to adopt him. This has crushed us and this last week has been a very sad and hard time for us. This is completely out of our control and we have to just pray that it is God's will for us to have him. Both of us feel like he is our son and this will work out somehow!

New Travel Dates!

So after a very sad and frustrating weekend...we are very happy to report that we got new travel dates today. I was so worried it would take months to get back over there, but we leave for Russia next Tuesday. YEAH! We don't have to go to Berlin now for the "adoption visas". We applied for them yesterday and should have them before we leave. That is a huge relief. We still need to leave the region for 10 days after our court date in Russia (on the 28th) so since we have tickets to Germany, we plan to do a fun trip/vacation. I am excited to show Marc all my childhood memories since I spent seven years in Germany when my family was stationed there when I was a kid. There is still no news about Alex. We were told to be "cautiously hopeful". Please continue to pray that it is God's will for us to have our little boy. Needless to say, we are doing well and are excited to go get Ana and "hopefully" Alex!

Bumpy Start

The beginning of this week we recieved a phone call that the Russian govt. changed their laws on visas. We can no longer travel into the country on a "tourist" visa. Now there is an "adoption" visa we need to apply for. We were going to have to travel to Berlin, Germany to get this adoption visa after our court date on Tuesday. Now, we can't travel at all until we have an adoption visa. So we did not leave today. They hope to have this figured out soon and we will let you know when we know something. I am relieved in a way because I was pretty nervous about finding the Russian embassy in Germany...too many language barriers for my comfort zone! Hee hee. However, we would have made it happen for our babies sake! Now we will celebrate Easter with our friends and thank God for us not being over there when this happened and that we have a great agency who is working hard to get us closer to our kids. Now hopefully the "Alex drama" will work out before we travel. We are finding the positives and keeping our chins up! Again...God's plan....

Kid's Room

They tell you when you adopt two at the same time to keep them in the same room to help with the "adjusting" since they are use to having so many kids around them. We decorated in a Noah's Ark theme because....they came two by two! (Tom likes the kid's room to0.) The picture above Alex's bed is awesome. It's a mommy and daddy's hands with the American flag behind them and a baby's hands with the Russian flag behind it reaching out to each other! Thank you Gordon's!

My AMAZING students!

I had to show you my class! I had the best student teaching experience because my students were the best. Thanks guys, I miss you!

16 March-Trinity Lutheran School Surprise Shower!

I finished student teaching "officially" the 15th but since it was a Wednesday I didn't want to be leave in the middle of the week. SO...I went half day on Thursday and my "cooperating teacher" Molly, asked me to run some errands for her and when I walked back into the classroom the kids were giggling and had the sweetest smiling faces! Molly and the parents decorated the classroom and had baby games for the kids to play and everything! AMAZING!

March 6th- Surprise Church Shower

I am a part of a neat group of ladies at our church and we get together the first Mon. of every month and either have a bible study or a social gathering....depending on the month. We had decided to meet at a yummy restaurant in the area called Wildflower for dinner or dessert for our March meeting. When I walked inside there were tables all connected together and gifts and people everywhere! Kimmy Hopely had mentioned to me that a couple of the ladies wanted to give us gifts for the kids, but she said "a couple" not EVERYONE...it was so special. The excitement and generosity was more than I can express. We are so blessed to have such an amazing church family who have supported us with prayers and love since the beginning of our adoption process! Thank you!

March 4th-My Baby Shower!

Our Air Force family really out did themselves! My baby shower was beautiful and everyone was SO generous. From white roses to Russian nesting doll magnets as favors for all who attended, it was perfect! Ana and Alex are so set on clothes and toys for a good while. The amount of love and support was overwhelming and I am so thankful to all of you who were apart of it!

1st Trip

Our first visit to Russia was exciting, scary, and hectic! However, it ended with a feeling of joy and sadness because we KNEW who our children were, but we had to leave them until we recieved a court date from Russia. Meet Alexander Lee and Anastasia Louise!