We Said Yes!!!

We just heard back from our IA docs. They said she is perfect...well not really perfect, but they didn't see a thing that would raise a red flag. So, we just called our agency and said yes!!! I am so happy, I can't stand it!!! Okay, I will let you know more later...right now I can't think straight.

Going Private!!!

Effective immediately this bog is a private blog. This means that only those of you that received an invitation to will have the ability to access it. This means that WE GOT A REFERRAL!!!! First, a few rules...This blog has to be private in order to protect the children of Russia and to protect our adoption process. I have only invited a select list of trusted people to continue following our journey, until our child touches American soil. This means that it is very important for you to follow these rules (Do I sound like a school teacher yet?) Anyway, everything written about the child, our process, any dates or amounts are to remain strictly confidential. Please do not share this information with anyone!!! Especially, an unknown person on the web. Russian officials do monitor chat groups, blogs, etc. They WILL stop our adoption in it's tracks!

Okay, enough with the lecture. Our referral is a beautiful baby girl with dark brown/black hair and brown eyes. She looks like she may have some Asian genes in there somewhere...this is common for the far east and a few southern regions of Russia. She was born in March 2008. All of the medical information I have seems to suggest that she is healthy, but I have to wait for an IA doctor to confirm this. I have already sent her information to them for an assessment. So, now we wait to hear back from them. This whole process is "hurry up and wait", so why should this part be any different, huh? Anyway, I will keep you updated. Hopefully, I will know something by Friday.

Pretty In Pink

The baby's room has been ready for a long time. All it needs is a baby. Here are a few pictures for those of you that live out of town...and never come visit...you know who you are.

Yes, I took ALL of the pink. It's all in her room. After two boys and a ton of blue and green, I decided I was going to use every shade of pink I could possibly find...and I did!

Notice all the "boy" toys in this picture...her big brothers decided to share their toys with her and placed them in her room. It was so cute I just left them all in there. (Their toy box is full of "big boy" toys anyway.)

Thanks to Aunt Kasey for the help with the butterflies. (Do you remember how long we waited for these?) They are perfect! (They look much better in person.)

The Russian Federation

I thought you might like a geography lesson. No really, here are some interesting facts about the Russian Federation. Enjoy!




Area
17,075,400 sq km (6,592,850 sq miles).
Population
141.4 million (UN 2007).
Population Density
8.4 per sq km.
Capital
Moscow. Population: 12.6 million (2007 estimate).
Geography
The Russian Federation covers almost twice the area of the USA, and reaches from the enclave of Kaliningrad in the west over the Urals and the vast Siberian plains to the Sea of Okhotsk in the east. The border between European Russia and Siberia (Asia) is formed by the Ural Mountains, the Ural River and the Manych Depression. European Russia extends from the North Polar Sea across the Central Russian Uplands to the Black Sea, the Northern Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. Siberia stretches from the West Siberian Plain across the Central Siberian Plateau to the Lena River and takes in the Sayan and Yablonovy ranges in the south. East of Siberia stretches the Russian Far East, a region almost as big as Siberia itself, running to the Pacific coast and including the vast Chukotka and Kamchatka peninsulas.
Head of State
President Dmitry Medvedev since 2008.
Head of Government
Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov since 2007.
Recent History
Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, won a landslide victory in March 2008.
Language
Russian is the official language, although there are over 100 other languages. English is widely spoken by younger people as well as some educated older people.
Religion
Mainly Christian with the Russian Orthodox Church being the largest Christian community. Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish minorities also exist.
Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz; Russia uses a standard two-pin European plug.
Social Conventions
It is customary to shake hands when greeting someone. Company or business gifts are well received. Conservative wear is suitable for most places and the seasonal weather should always be borne in mind. Smoking is acceptable unless stated otherwise.
Currency
Rouble (RUB; symbol руб) = 100 kopeks. Notes are in denominations of руб5,000, 1,000, 500, 100, 50 and 10. Coins are in denominations of руб10, 5, 2 and 1, and 50, 10, 5 and 1 kopeks.

Let me catch you up...

I am starting this blog a little late in the process, so I thought I would tell you about all of our ups and downs and catch you up. We first decided to adopt last fall. We did not care where our child came from; we just knew we wanted a girl. So, we chose our agency first and let them help us choose our country. They talked us into Vietnam. I know, you are thinking "the title of this blog is Our Russian Love"... just keep reading...it's part of the downs. Anyway, we started the "hunting and gathering" part of the process, gathering about a million different documents, having the home studies, being fingerprinted...and so on and so on. Then in November, just as we finished up, our agency calls with terrible news...Vietnam is having major problems and is most likely not going to be an option. However, they hoped that the problems would fix themselves. We were in the front of the line for this country and didn't want to change, so we decided to wait and see. Well, Thanksgiving came and went...Christmas came and went...Then in mid-January we got another call...this one was even bleaker, but they still had hope. So, we kept waiting. I knew in my heart it was time to change countries but I felt like I would have wasted so much time and OHHH...all that paperwork. Then, we started reading things like "Vietnam is closing." (Which turned out to be true.) Our agency told us our options but really left the decision up to us. Okay, so, do we switch and if so what country do we choose? We had researched our options and were leaning toward Russia, but we were truly at a loss and were not sure what to do. We kept praying about it and just weren't hearing our answer. My husband told me to keep praying, but apparently I am impatient...(this is still to be determined). I kept telling my friend Kenessa that I just wished that one day I would walk outside and find a burning bush in the front yard...you know like Moses. So, in April, we are on a beach in sunny Mexico...oh wait that's a different plan (Sorry, inside joke I couldn't pass on)...in Ft. Lauderdale, FL when out of nowhere comes one of those really annoying planes that insist on flying right over your head. This plane was pulling a banner that said "Every Child Deserves A Home". Well, I already knew this, but then not a second later comes a man walking down the beach wearing a t-shirt that says "RUSSIA" in HUGE letters. I had cold chills...on a 90 degree beach. I knew it was time to call my agency...I had just seen my burning bush. Even more amazing...when I get back up to the hotel room I start to tell my husband what happened and he says "Yes, I saw that too..."(from the other side of the beach). Okay, now I KNOW it's time to call our agency. Well, we call our agency that Monday and start the paperwork process ALL OVER. Yes, it was worth it. Our dossier went to Russia on June 26, 2008 and we received our first referral on Sept. 9, 2008. Unfortunately, this beautiful little girl had medical problems that we were unable to care for and we had to decline. It would not have been fair to her for us to try to take that on. So, I still pray daily that this angel will find a loving home that is capable of caring for her special needs. Now, this also means that we have to wait again for another referral. But, we know in the end that God will bring us to the child that is meant to be ours. So, now it is December...Thanksgiving has once again came and gone...Christmas is about to come and go...and still we wait. But, I will let you in on a secret...we are NEXT!!! Looks like Siberia in January for us...I said this would happen all along. (I was just really hoping I was wrong!) At least I will hopefully get to see some real snow...Oh, how I love snow!

Our decision to adopt...

I new from a very young age that adoption was an option for me. When I directed our VBS's at Liberty we had missions projects that went along with each theme. One year our missions theme was "Shoes for Orphan Souls". There were pictures of orphans all over the place. On the books, the walls...everywhere. As I was teaching "my children" why it is important for us to help orphans, it occurred to me that...we should really help orphans. I know it sounds like a blond light bulb moment. (Sorry, if you are blond. My family always said I should have been.) Anyway, I knew from that moment on adoption is a wonderful way to grow a family. Fast forward a few years to when I found my wonderful husband, he agreed! We were married in June 2002 and had our first child in 2003 and our second in 2005. I had two absolutely horrible pregnancies! In 2007, my youngest son was about to celebrate his second birthday and for some reason it occurred to me out of the blue (I now know this was God...not blue...whoever that is.) that I have 2 1/2 years between each of my children and if I going to adopt I should get started. Well, I just let that thought pass. One day I was shopping with my mother buying clothes for my niece and cousin for their birthdays when I casually told my mother, "I need a girl." She, not so casually, said "YES, you do!" So, I came home and started doing research on adoption. I spent hours on the Internet...so long that I gave myself a headache. So, anyway, I decided to think and pray about it. Well, that very night I was in bed talking to God. (This is what I do. My husband falls a sleep as soon as he is in a horizontal position. It takes me a little longer. So, I either talk to God or the wall...kind of a no-brainer.) Anyway, at the very moment I start to discuss adoption my cat jumps up on my bed and starts doing his kitty thing. You know, kneading the bed, purring, settling in to choke me in my sleep (Well, that's what it feels like anyway.) It instantly occurred to me that this cat, this goofy cat that I don't like most of the time, has it better than more than half of the children in the world. WOW! No words can describe how I felt. I knew what I was going to do...other than first convince my husband that a house full of kids was a good idea...I think it took one day...I told you he is wonderful! So, are we doing this to "save an orphan"? No. Don't they need loving homes? Yes. But, we are simply growing our family in a way that won't kill me (bad pregnancies). So, really she is saving me. Our Father lead us here and we agree...it just happens to be the best for everyone involved. Thank you for joining us on this wonderful journey.