OUR JOURNEY, PART II

Being Silly - February 2009

Goofing Around - March 2009

First Day at School - May 2009

Marker Mustaches - June 2009

Local Fair - July 2009

Segei and Roman have taken a liking to the ice. They partook in their pre-Olympic speed skating training every Wednesday in December and January.

We will spending our second Christmas with the boys. Time has really gone fast and we are as busy as ever.

At around 4:00pm exactly one year ago today, we first received Roman & Sergei's referral. Our lives have never been the same since! We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their prayers and support along the way that helped realize our dreams come true! They are two of the happiest and charming boys. We cannot ever imagine our lives without them.

Here are a few photos of the boys from a trip down memory lane.

Wow, August is just around the corner. The summers around these parts always seem to go way to quickly. We've been pretty busy and still have many more things to do. Here are a few pics from our summer so far.

We got the pontoon docked at the cottage for the summer. Sergei took over the controls at the helm while Roman kept a lookout for any stumps.

I read the directions and could have sworn it said it would take two days to put their new play set together. Two weeks later, it was finally complete!

Roman & Sergei playing with their new sprinkler. They're pretty much magnets to anything wet, be it a lake, pool or mud puddle!

I was washing the camper getting ready for our first camping trip when I came around the corner and found the boys all wet and both squeezed into the wash bucket!

Our first time camping! The boys kick back next to the fire.

What's camping without some smores?

The boys, along with some help from mom, made to coolest shirt for me for Father's Day. On the front it said "World's Greatest Dad" and on the back the boys used a special paint to imprint their handprints on it. Of course Roman's prints were in red and Sergei's blue. For those who don't know, red is always for Roman and blue is always for Sergei. It's easier for us to keep track of them that way and to know whose tooth brush and toy belongs to who. Anyway, we had a great time!

The photo is of the two boys cleaning up after getting fingerpaint all over when making the shirts.

No matter their moods, Roman and Sergei always get excited and put on their happy faces whenever we go for a ride in the car.

Today was cause for double celebration. First, we finalized our adoption in court. The State of Wisconsin requires adoptive parents to finalize their adoptions in State Court sometime after being home for at least six months. During those first six months, we were considered foster parents while our homestudy agency was considered the boys' guardian. We've been home six months and one week and are very pleased to make it over this last hurdle. Other than an annual post-placement report over the next three years, no more paperwork for us!




Our second cause for celebration was that it was Sergei and Roman's 2nd birthday today! The staff at the courthouse was kind enough to adjust their schedule in order to accommodate us on their birthdays! After court we went to dinner and returned home with some family members to celebrate the re-adoption and have a small birthday party. Their real birthday party isn't until Saturday but it was nice to have a little pre-celebration. The boys, who are normally very outgoing, decided to get real embarrassed and shy when everyone sang Happy Birthday to them. It was really cute.

Daddy got to spend some time with the boys today so we decided to go to Council Grounds. Council Grounds is a State Park less than a few miles from our house. In the summertime, we spend time there boating, fishing, tubing and picnicking. Today we played on the swing set and took a stroll by the beach.

"Wild Life" certainly describes our lives now having gone from no kids to two almost two-year-old twin boys!

The boys got a treat yesterday when they got to witness "wildlife" of another sort. This time a baby black bear was perusing our front yard for the better part of a half-hour. The boys really got a kick out of it although we think they still think it was a puppy.

That's what our little boys are made of! I actually thought it was a good idea to take the boys out into the garage with me while I vacuumed the car. I didn't know they'd be so fascinated with the exhaust port on the Shop-Vac though!


In the good news department, we submitted our photos for our first Post Placement Report that the Russian Federation requires after being home for six months. They also require a report at 12, 24 and finally 36 months. Our part is easy, we just submit updated photos. Our local social worker, who did our homestudy, is the one who actually writes all the reports.

We have our State's finalization court date coming up on May 7th! In the eyes of Wisconsin law, we're just foster parents right now but after May 7th, it's the real deal! May 7th also happens to be Roman and Sergei's 2nd birthday. What a way to celebrate!

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words!

It's only been four days since the season's last snow storm but it's finally beginning to look a bit more like Spring outside.

Today is Tax Day so Sergei and Roman are quite pleased that we got our paperwork sent in on time.

April showers are supposed to bring May flowers but what if the April showers are actually snow storms? Not just any snow storms mind you, but three straight days of 40-50 mph wind gusts, power outages, two inches of rain and now over a foot of snow in some parts of our great state! That's life in Wisconsin.

It wouldn't be so bad but after a few days of 60 degree weather you sort of get your mind set on Spring type events such as putting away the Christmas decorations that, up until a week ago, were still frozen in the ground, maybe doing a little spring cleaning, watching the grass get greener with each passing day, getting the boats ready for Summer and all that other good stuff that one normally does around mid-April.

Instead of going to a zoo, watching an early season baseball game, or just going to play on the swings at the neighborhood park, the highlight for the boys this month was eating corn on the cob for the first time! Things can only get better.

We celebrated Easter a few days early this year because of our conflicting work schedules and other family commitments this weekend. That didn't stop Sergei and Roman from searching for their Easter baskets though. They also got to try their hand at coloring some eggs. As it turns out, that didn't work out so well. They discovered they could skip all the extra work and just squeeze the eggs until they cracked and eat them soon afterwards!

It really wasn't that long ago when the boys were content dancing in their pajamas. Not no more. Now Sergei and Roman insist on sporting their finest flannel plaid attire when exhibiting their latest dance maneuvers.

View Larger Map
I was actually was able to find Children's Home #12 in St. Petersburg, Russia using Google Maps. That's the orphanage where the boys lived for 15 months before we met them.

The blue balloon is on the building. It's an "H" shaped building marked "9" because it's located at "9 Prospekt Yelizarova". If you zoom in, you can even see the roof of the guard shack along the southeast side of the property where you enter.

I was OK with shoveling after the first 100 snowfalls we had this winter but at some point you need to draw the line and enlist some help. It took a lot of hard work and training but Roman and Sergei are now able to help Daddy shovel the long driveway!

Sergei is known for his smooth dance moves but his latest dance floor performance includes the infamous "Slap Yourself on the Butt" as he dances along to Theodore Bikel's Songs of a Russian Gypsy while watching our first trip to Russia video. Roman doesn't stay on the sidelines for very long after the music kicks into high gear.

During a recent visit at Grandma and Grandpa Wunsch's house, Roman and Sergei went on their nightly, after-dinner, happy screaming kick. I started videotaping Roman, but then the telephone rang and, we'll you can see what he does by watching the video.

Merry Christmas everyone! This photo is the only one of over forty attempts to get Sergei and Roman to look at the camera and smile at the same time. They're really not looking at the camera but instead laughing at Jess who's doing jumping jacks behind me. This photo cost her a mild hamstring injury!

We were originally scheduled to take the boys in and have portraits done but they were too sick at the time and we were running out of time to get our Christmas cards out this year.

We fell very fortunate to be spending time with them this Christmas. When we first started this process, we had hopes of having them home before Valentine's Day and ended up having them home in time for Halloween.

I think our original intentions in creating this blog was to document our adoption journey from when we first signed on with an agency and lasting all the way through until we returned home with our boys. The idea served several purposes;

First, it allows us an opportunity sometime down the road to one day take a look back, reflect and reminisce.

Second, it allowed friends and family members to stay apprised of what was going on and to follow us in our travels half-way across the world.

Finally, we hope other couples traveling similar paths can find some useful information here. It isn't a step-by-step guide on adoption but rather just musings that hopefully gives a glimpse of what they may expect along their own journey.

We weren't necessarily intending on keeping it updated once we returned home from Russia with our boys. Having said that, it's really kind of a neat way to still keep friends and family informed. Particularly those who live further away or maybe those whom we don't see quite as often as we should.

So from time to time, we hope to post pictures, news and other happenings in our lives. We'll begin with a cute picture of Sergei & Roman on the swing in the backyard. They really love the outdoors so far. Of course, winter hasn't arrived just yet.

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)


Just a quick note to let everyone know we finally made it home. We could have kissed the ground when we landed in Minneapolis at around 1:00pm! As soon as we entered the baggage terminal we were greeted by a welcoming committee with signs in hand reading "Welcome Home Roman & Sergei" . Some of the signs were even written in Russian (Just in case the boys didn't read English yet!) It was a wonderful and refreshing site.

After a quick visit at my sister Vicki's house we began the last leg home. She had our car gassed and packed with enough snacks and drinks for the three hour car ride home.

After the three hour uneventful trip home, we pulled into the driveway and were again greeted by an assortment of signs and balloons welcoming us home. The signs were staked all over the house and yard. Only later did we find out that some of our co-workers must have been busy over the weekend decorating. It made coming home that much more comforting.

Once inside, we were welcomed by other family members. There was all sorts of stuff strewn about the house. Signs, balloons, ribbons around the living room and the boys new bedroom and flags. We discovered a month's supply of an assortment of ready-made meals in the refrigerator and freezer too. There were also gifts and presents all over the place. It turns out more than one person must have known our super top secret location for our spare house key! Having all the pre-made meals will certainly make life a bit more easier over the coming days.

Alas, we are home!

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)

Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 3:29 PM
Subject: Amsterdam

Just a quick update to let everyone know we made it out of Russia and to Amsterdam alive! We even gain an extra hour of sleep tonight here because their daylight savings times is tonight. America's daylight savings time is next week. That's an extra hour of needed sleep but it also means another hour in Europe though. At least Holland is a change of scenery, plus they have a McDonald's! None of us really ever cared for McDonald's but now it looks so very good.

The boys had a rough flight, didn't sleep and cried for over half of the 3 hour flight from Moscow. I'm not sure we knew what we were getting into because tomorrow's flight is much longer. It'll be interesting to see how the 9 hour flight goes.

We should be getting back home to Merrill in around 24 hours from now. We really can't wait. Talk to you later.

(Chris and Vicki, we should be at the airport sometime around 1:00PM.)


Pat & Jess

Moscow Sightseeing

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)

Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 2:18 AM
Subject: Updates



Here's a picture of the four of us leaving Baby Home #12 in St. Petersburg for the very last time! This was taken on Sunday (October 21st), just after 9:00AM.

Prior to leaving the orphanage, some of the caregivers gave us our disposable cameras that we had left for them to take pictures of the boys with in between our two trips. They also gave us some of their toys, including their favorite teddy bears, that we left with them on the first trip. Finally, they wrote the boys a letter. The letter is written in Russian of course, but I later had one of our translators interpret it.

The letter reads as follow:

Dear Roman & Sergei,
We heartly congratulate you and finding parents who love you so much. Be polite and respectful. Be proud of your parents and make them proud of you. Love your brother. We want you to grow up strong, happy and healthy. We all wish you to become a very good person.

With love,
Caregivers of the 6th Group
St. Petersburg, Russia
Year 2007


In the other great news department, we have the boys' US visas! Now, we only have to register the boys with the Russian Consulate later today. That will finally be the very end of the mountains of paperwork it took us to get to this point. Actually, our translator is doing the paperwork at the Russian Consulate so we don't even have to leave the apartment if we don't want to. Afterwards, we are free to leave Russia at any time! We just have to wait for our Saturday evening flight to Amsterdam. On Sunday we're off to Minneapolis and then, home sweet home! We really are ready to leave now and even checked for flights leaving today and tomorrow. For only $16,000, the six of us can leave early. I guess that won't happen. Hopefully everyone feels better tomorrow so we can take in some sight-seeing to pass these last few days away.

My mom had the flu Tuesday and Wednesday and I've had it yesterday and today. I'm beginning to feel a bit better after having spent the last 18 hours in bed. Thank God the boys slept good last night for the first time since they're been with us. It made it much easier for Jess. My mom and dad have also been of great help. I've been virtually useless the past day so having my mom and dad along has been a Godsend.

That's all for now.

Pat & Jess

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)

Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 12:47 PM
Subject: Moscow Update

It's our third day in Moscow and everything is still going well and full speed ahead! Today, I went to the US embassy with our translator Natasha so that we could apply for US Visas the boys need prior to leaving Russia. We have our exit interview at the US Embassy tomorrow afternoon.

After that, all we have left to do is register the boys at the Russian Consulate. We plan to do this on Thursday. We are scheduled to leave Moscow on Saturday evening and fly into Amsterdam where we'll spend the night before leaving for Minneapolis on Sunday morning. We are scheduled to touch down in Minneapolis at around 1:00PM on Sunday afternoon and we can't wait!

Since we've been in Moscow, we've had a chance to sample some of the Russian cuisine but we really haven't had a chance to do any sightseeing yet. Hopefully we'll get a chance to do that on Friday.

Mom and dad are still holding up and, not unlike Jess and I, are still a bit culture shocked. People are really different here although all the people we have worked with have been superb and very helpful.

Five days and counting...

Pat & Jess

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)

Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 10:27 AM
Subject: Home Sweet Home.

Well, it's not really home but rather our apartment in Moscow. This is a picture of the boys' first night outside of the orphange with us. We were told they spent around three weeks in the hospital after they were born and, up until last night, the rest of their lives were spent in the orphange.

Pat & Jess

We finally get to see the boys tomorrow and keep them for good. We pick them up from the orphanage in about 10 hours. They'll be wearing nothing but their birthday suits so we have diapers and clothes to bring with us too. Afterwards, it's off to the airport and on to Moscow. We'll be staying in an apartment in Moscow instead of a hotel. The apartments are supposed to be very nice and are outfitted with appliances, dishes along with free long distance telephone and internet access.

After arriving in Moscow, We'll stay busy with medical exams for the boys, the US Visa application process, the US Embassy exit interviews and registering the boys with the Russian Consulate. We're hoping this takes place early through mid-week. Afterwards, we are free to come home! Some think we could be done as early as Wednesday which means we could head home a bit early if things aren't going too well. We'll just have to play it by ear because we would incur a pretty hefty financial penalty by switching return flights.

Otherwise everyone is doing fine and things are going well. Mom and dad have been able to visit the boys on most the same days we have. They also had a chance to take in some tours and sight-seeing. Although it's really been a once in a lifetime experience for us all, it really reinforces that we are lucky to live in one of the greatest countries in the world.

Until Moscow....

Saturday, 10/20/2007 @ 5:50am (St. Petersburg Time)

After actually sleeping in the past two days, I find myself wide awake since 4:40 this morning. I checked my emails and looked for things to do in our down time in Moscow, if we have any. Yesterday was one of the most enjoyable and stress-free days we've had since we’ve been here. Now that court is over and we're beginning to see light at the end of this tunnel, life should be much more enjoyable.

Yesterday we were able make a morning visit to see the boys. We spent about an hour and a half with them. Grandma and Grandpa got to along as well! They boys are really warming up to us and even seem very anxious to come by us when their caregivers bring them into the room.

We also had a chance to sit down and meet with the director of Children's Home #12 to learn a bit more about the boys. Earlier, she given us their baptism book and silver crosses. All the children in the orphanage are baptized Russian Orthodox and are usually given a Godmother. Their names are in the book and usually it’s a particular caregiver. Our translator Nina also gave us photocopies of their records from the orphanage along with the original bounded court orders allowing the adoption.

During this visit I brought along photos from another family who adopted children from the same home a few years back. The family wanted them to go to a particular caregiver who their child was particularly fond of. As it turned out, that same care giver was working, so the director (Svetlana) called her into the office where she was given the photos. She began looking at them and her eyes welled up and she began crying and even kissed some of the photos. It was really a memorable experience. Our translator told us the woman said she remembered the child very well and in fact had a picture of him on her TV at home. Apparently, the woman was also his Godmother at the Children's home.

After our visit, we went to a Chinese restaurant and had a huge meal. There was so much food that everyone passed around their own dishes and had a chance to sample just about everything. The food was really good and we had a great time.

Next, we stopped at a bakery near the orphanage to pick up some cakes and cookies to bring on our afternoon visit to the orphanage. We planned on giving them to the caregivers. They are really the special people throughout this whole process. While some seem non-nonchalant, others, like the woman mentioned above, are so genuine and really do love the children.



On our way in, we saw the same woman at the guard shack that we've seen almost every day as we enter the orphanage. She was her friendly usual self saying her hellos to each and every one of us as we entered single file. We forgot about her when we bought the cakes and cookies, so we picked up a box of chocolates later to give her on our next visit.

After we gave the cakes to one of the employees, she took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer some of our questions. She told us Roman and Sergei each have their own toddler beds now set up next to one another as opposed to the cribs they used to sleep in. She said often times they find that one or the other has crawled out of his bed sometime during the night to sleep with his brother. She told us they are very good boys who don't fuss much and that they play well with each other and others.

Our afternoon visit with the boys also went well. Roman still isn’t feeling 100% with his cold and congestion. Hopefully he has a chance to get better before our travels home.

Today, we get to go to the Hermitage Museum before our afternoon visit. We purchased our airline tickets to Moscow yesterday and will be leaving St. Petersburg forever on Sunday morning.

Our translator in St. Petersburg later told us that one of the caregivers she spoke to described some sort of desert the boys seemed to enjoy. Oksana said it's a cottage cheese dish the orphanage makes for the children as a treat. It’s made up of cottage cheese, raisins, sugar and flour and is then baked. Oksana said milk isn’t as common for children here in Russia as it is back home but she did say they usually are given some sort of dairy product with their afternoon snack. Sometimes the snack is milk, yogurt, cottage cheese or something I can't remember the name of but it's supposed to be like yogurt.

Court is over and we are officially mom and dad or as they say it in Russia, mama and papa! We first went to court yesterday and waited for the judge to show up. She finally did at around 10:15AM. We went into the court room and waited for the judge to begin the proceeding and eventually she did so at 10:35.AM Our hearing was now in session.

It began easily enough with Jess and I having to provide our identification information. Afterwards, she announced the case and then it was my turn to read our three-page statement. Everything was going fine until she began her questions after I read the statement. Did I say she ask questions? I meant to say "began to grill me"! First, the judge was wondering how in the world our house could be worth $153,000 yet our translated financial statements shows we owed the same amount. I explained that there must have been an error during the translation of the documents. The judge replied that our statements showed we still owed $153,000. I explained again that this was clearly an error and that we only owed around $75,000. She reverted back to the financial statement. This went back and forth a few rounds before she finally decided to move on.

Oh how we only wished she would have stayed on the subject of what we owe on our house because it got worse when she began questioning me about my sister Vicki and her religion. I should mention that as part of our homestudy, we talk about our family members, including what they do. That portion of our homestudy included information about Vicki recently completing her degree to become a minister. We had been forewarned that this particular judge believed that any religion that hasn’t been around for ten thousand years is northing but a cult. So of coarse the judge asked what religion my sister was practicing. Let the grilling begin! I got grilled for the next 15 minutes. She must have asked me ten different times what religion "this United Church of Christ was?". Each time I answered that as far as I knew the United Church of Christ was not only the church but the religion. I tried explaining that it was Christianity but the judge would only respond by saying she never heard of it. This literally went back and forth for fifteen minutes. The last time she all of a sudden said she remembered "this United Church of Christ" and knows America has over 4,000 different religions and this one is "a farce" and "nothing but a cult". She carried on and on about it until I finally said that my sister is a grown adult and that her religion had no bearing on ours. The judge knew we are Roman Catholic. I told her my sister made her own decisions and that Jess and I are Catholic. Just like that, she let up. Afterwards we were told the judge isn’t a religious person at all but is very anti-Protestant. It really was an unbelievable charade!

We continued with the hearing until around 11:40AM. The judge took a recess to return to her chambers to make a decision. After the break, she came back and we finally got the news we've so long been waiting to hear. The judge said she approved of the adoption! We were so overcome as she continued reading. Additionally, she waived the 10-day waiting period so the adoption went into "immediate full-legal effect! To say we were relieved would be such an understatement.

We quickly left court and began our six hour paper chase. First we stopped at some other governmental office where we obtained birth certificates along with adoption certificates with Roman and Sergei’s new names. Next we went to the registration office to have Roman and Sergei officially removed from the Russian Adoption Database. Afterwards, we went to another office to apply for their Russian Passports. Once we get those back today, we're free to take them to Moscow to complete paperwork from the US side of things.

As for now, we are off to see the boys for the first time since court. (They still haven’t heard the news yet!)

(This is a copy of an email Jess sent out the night after our court date)

Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 11:02 AM
Subject: Proud parents

Hi everyone,

We made it through court; it was tougher then we thought it would be. However, good things come to those who wait. Pat and I are now the proud parents of Roman and Sergei Wunsch. They are a beautiful addition to our family.

We are awaiting passports for the boys; apparently they will be ready tomorrow, Friday, by 1pm; then we can make arrangements to fly to Moscow. Once in Moscow, the boys have physicals and we have a lot of paperwork. We are hoping that maybe we can finish things up by Thursday. If this happens we may look into leaving Moscow a few days early. We'll just have to see how things go. If we do not leave early, we'll be home Sunday evening. We fly into Minneapolis at 1pm or 1:30 and then will be driving home.

We just want to say "THANKS" to you all for all your support and prayers. It has all paid off. We can't wait for you to meet our sons.

Much love,

Mama and Papa Wunsch, aka Jess and Pat

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)

Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 9:26 PM
Subject: Update

It's 7:30AM here now and we have our court appearance at 10:00AM. We're told the hearing should last around an hour and then it's off to the paperwork races afterwards. We probably won't get back until after 7:00PM tonight. We'll probably have almost as much running around to do tomorrow. We're hoping to have all our St. Petersburg paperwork done by tomorrow so that we can get to Moscow a bit sooner than planned so we can begin our paperwork chase there. Otherwise, we'll be traveling to Moscow next Monday or Tuesday as originally planned. It'll be around 1:00AM back home as we go to court, so continue to keep us in your thoughts, prayers and dreams!

It may be while before we get a chance to update everyone again, but we'll make sure do so when we get the chance.

Pat & Jess

(Posted from an email sent to family & friends)

Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 9:26 PM
Subject: Update

Alas, I had a wonderful night of sleep last night when jet lag finally caught up to me yesterday. On our last trip, jetlag really wasn’t a factor until after we got home. At any rate, it was nice to have a good night’s sleep.

We got to visit the boys twice yesterday. Grandma and Grandpa got to go with on both visits, so that was an added bonus.









Of course, Sergei began to cry when handed over to us and it didn’t take long for Roman to follow. What one does, the other is soon to follow. They truly are twins. It only took a few moments in our arms though before settling down.

Just as quickly as the visit began, it ended because it was their lunchtime. Prior to leaving, we got to go upstairs to watch them eat lunch for a bit though. The visit was short but sweet! We headed back to the hotel afterwards. You sort of just go with the flow here.

We had a great full two hour visit in the afternoon though and the boys showed the same bundle of energy that was on display during our first trip. They kept us busy playing with them the whole time. It was so wonderful that my mom and dad had a chance to see them happy and playing with everyone. We had a lot of fun! Other than the fact that they keep the orphanage at about 90 degrees, everything went great.

We have court on Thursday and now our nerves are beginning to surface. We are beginning to close this chapter of our lives as the next chapter only begins. We can’t wait!

We have to have some more paperwork notarized this morning but get to visit the boys again this afternoon. Hopefully we can take them outside today and play. They might have to bundle them into two snowsuits though because it’s only going to be 45 degrees out!

Pat & Jess