Step by Step - Our Journey to Adopt from Russia

Oh my goodness I had visions of a much different airport experience! Let me tell you about them. On our first trip we were in the airport for our return flight and I saw this woman with a little boy in a stroller and another young woman talking to her and asking all kinds of questions. You could tell one was bringing her new son home and one had been on a first referral trip. I thought to myself, "Soon Jackie it will be your turn to have the little one in a stroller and someone will be asking you many questions."

Flash forward to our third trip. Chris and the boys left me with all the carry on luggage and our little guy, so they could grab something quick to eat. I thought it would be wise to feed ds3, since it really was his lunch time. So I grabbed a favorite baby food jar and started to try to feed him. Simple right? WRONG! Seems the one I picked wasn't what he wanted and he started to scream and cry! A LOT! And nothing I did would console him. He wanted to go anywhere, but we had to stay with our luggage so he couldn't walk where he wanted to. So, he screamed and cried all the harder! My nice vision of "One day it will be my turn", turned into "Oh my gosh, look at that poor new adoptive mother and her toddler having a fit!" Stay away!

Needless to say it wasn't a good prelude to our plane flight. Someone was very fussy before we even took off and would pitch a fit faster than you can say it! I really think he was dealing with an upset stomach or gas. So midway through the flight, the child has hardly slept a wink and it's like way past his bedtime and no nap. We try to get him to lay down and again he will have none of it and is just crying his head off. Then he proceeds to throw up, all over himself and a bit on me. Fun! Fun! I knew he wasn't feeling that well.... I held him in my arms most of the trip (and he was content) while many other little ones screamed and cried the entire time. We've flown this trip three times and this by far was the worst, and not just because we had our own little toddler who we were trying to take care of. Seems like just about every child was upset. One woman in the back of the plane had two airplane pillows strapped to each side of her head to keep the crying baby noise out. lol! (I laugh when I think of that image.)

Our son finally feel asleep about 2 hours before we landed and he was out even for the landing! Here are some photos of everyone sleeping at different times. Ds1 didn't sleep a wink until we got to immigration, and he picked a spot on the floor. Poor guy!

We were the last people off the plane and the last to retrieve our luggage. Our two older boys did fantastic on the entire flight! Really really well. We had so many compliments on them and their manners. They pretty much entertained each other while mom and dad took care of little bro. The only bad thing is that the boys were so tired and we were kind of rushed, even with being the last ones, that they left a CD case with all their DVDs and Wii games on the plane. Chris drove to the airport today, after a call was fruitless, to see if he could locate it in the lost and found. Unfortunately it was not there. The plane went onto the West Coast after our flight, so hopefully someone will find it there. Please pray that they find it! The boys feel so bad, and we do too! We should have double checked their seating area too....

So, that was our flight experience. Way different than I imagined it would be in my idealistic mind. I think it was one of the hardest parts of the process! Here is a picture of our son all smiles as his feet finally hit the ground in the USA! He is officially an American Citizen when his feet hit the ground. (Of course we didn't know we couldn't take photos in that area of the airport. I have no idea why, but we had someone yelling at us to stop taking pictures, they weren't allowed. Sheesh! There were no signs that we saw, so we apologized and said we had no idea! I'm surprised they didn't take the camera. ) lol!

We are home!! Oh it felt great to sleep in our comfy beds last night! Ds3 slept in a comfy pack n play next to the bed until he gets familiar with his own crib. It was a good thing to, as he woke up several times during the night. Just slightly enough to want to be reassured by our voices, and then back to sleep he went.

This morning he woke up a little earlier than we would have liked, so we pulled him into bed with us. So sweet, he slept a little longer between his mamma and papa. Thank you Lord!

We videotaped him walking down the hall and into his room for the first time. He was so excited! Under his changing table are some toys and he was so cute ooohhhing and ahhhing over them. We are purposefully keeping the playroom off limits for at least today, so it isn't completely overwhelming for him. There are a LOT of things in that playroom!

One thing we quickly became aware of... we are sooo not baby proofed yet! Just watching him walk down those stairs was enough to make me nervous! We'll be heading to Babies 'R Us today to get the good cabinet locks and another stair gate, plus a few more safety door features. If there is one thing about us is we certainly try to be baby safe!

He's eating his breakfast right now with daddy. Eggs, toast and perhaps a banana. Yum! Yum! Our friends gave us a toddler seat that is kind of on the go, and that should suffice for a few days! Really, the child is just so happy to eat his food!

So, it feels good to be home! Chris took off until Monday so that we could all get adjusted together. I am so grateful he did that! The next few days will be filled with our finding a new routine in our lives. I'm glad we have a little while all together to get adjusted. :-)

I'll try to download photos and maybe a video of him checking out his new room. Try being the operative word..... :-)

Later,
Jackie

This is just a quick post to share that we got our ds3's visa today! Woohoo!!! We had our appointment at the Embassy to get this done, and it's the final leg of the adoption journey for us. (Other than the flight home!)

I won't go into details until we return home, but if you knew the mountains God moved to get this done.... nothing short of amazing! The other couple with us had their little daughter's visa processed today as well, and so they too can testify to the mountains that were moved!

All I can say is Thank you Lord! We are headed home tomorrow and we are all ready! Tonight we're going to be packing and getting ready for our l-o-n-g flight. Can't wait to set foot back in the good ol' USA!

It's been a busy two days here! Our little ds3 is surprisingly taking it all in stride! Yesterday we toured the metro system. It is full of beautiful architecture... mainly the early metro lines. The ones built during the 70's are typical of the political era they came out of.

I've forgotten what it's like to have a toddler around the house again. Thank goodness I have the boys to help out! They are great at entertaining him for a few moments while I make breakfast... etc.

So much to write about I don't know where to begin. First, if she's reading. a big ol' thanks to Becky! (I know you've been swamped at work and with Christmas). I just went back to read your blog from your time in Russia, and it was encouraging to read that you struggled with much of the same stuff. I'm sure many others posted about this too, but I hit her blog first. :-)

Boy o' Boy is our little guy a toddler! He can be happy as a clam and then soooo not happy in the span of a moment. When he doesn't get his way.... look out. The tears will come and the frown. My older guys are getting used to it, but it's taken a bit. They don't recall having been that way themselves, naturally! One thing he loves to do is put on mama slippers and walk around the apartment. I've been working on him saying "Mama", but it isn't coming yet. Though today he said it, just not to me. He thought it would be grand to be picked up in my lap and yell out the window (it was closed) as loud as he could "MAMA!". lol! I kept saying Mama isn't out there... she's right here. But that didn't seem to matter. He just giggled the whole time thinking it was the funniest thing. Funny for him maybe! LOL!

Food
He loves milk, loves bread.... and loves any sweet fruit. Right now his favorite food is breakfast, and he chows that down without a problem. So much so, that I think he is not as interested in lunch. I haven't found a lunch or dinner that he particularly cares for, other than the Gerber graduates microwaveable dinner...but I am rationing those as I only brought 4 with me. We've tried a Gerber graduates type of baby food to mixed reviews. we've tried cheese, totally dislikes it. We've tried plain pasta (not very interested). So, tonight we might try some pizza. (I'll be sure to bring along lots of cheerios and snacks) I can see that yogurt shakes with veggies snuck in there will be the way I get his nutrients in at home. I had to do that with my boys at this age too.

Sleep/Nap
Getting this little one down is the hardest part of the day. He just doesn't want to sleep, because he might be missing something. i literally have to lay down with him. I feel so bad as he self soothes himself by sucking on his finger. I know this is typical of orphanage behavior, similar to rocking. The one thing that is helping is laying next to him or rubbing his back if he will let me put him in the crib.... and then singing to him. My song of choice is edelweiss from the Sound of Music. Works like a charm. I wish I had it on video, because it reminds me of the scene in Mary Poppins with her singing to the two children. Hmmm, I may have to try that song next. However, once he is down, he sleeps so well. About 9-10 hours straight through the night. That helps all of us and everyone wakes up happy!

Meltdowns
They typically come when he doesn't get his way. We have not ventured out of the apartment yet, so we are keeping him from being over stimulated. We'll see how he does in the next couple of days as we venture out. His meltdowns typically occur at bedtime and naptime. He listens pretty well for the most part. Right now he is in his crib, and is actually not crying! He napped for only 45 minutes and I think he is still tired. The fact that he is in his crib and is okay with that is definitely progress.

Bathtime
Oh the boy just loves his little bath! I introduced him to cups and he just loved to stay in there picking up water and dumping it out. He would splash and mimic washing himself like mama washed him. He could have stayed in there all night, except that his little lips would have turned blue! I warmed him right up though! I know he is looking forward to his next bath, and I am too just for the tactile stimulation alone. It's something he has probably never done (play in a bath with water) and so everything is a learning and developmental experience.

Baby stuff
For the most part when he finds something small on the floor he brings it to me. Paper, string, whatever. I was just thinking today that I don't have to worry about him putting things in his mouth, and then he proved me wrong. He tried to eat/taste the smallest maestraka doll. The whole thing went in his mouth and I caught it. Thankfully! That was the end of the Maestraka dolls, and they got put up out of the way....I guess if he wants to play with them (and they are great for sizing etc) we'll take the littlest one out.

I'll leave you with a photo of our little guy sound asleep. He looks so peaceful...you wouldn't believe the tears that preceded this photo! lol!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! It seems that in Russia, Christmas is like any other day. At 7am we had a visit from the Doctor of the International Clinic. More paperwork to be filled out, and today a meeting somewhere for Chris with even more paperwork.

We did manage to celebrate Christmas as a family after the doctor left. Ds3 ate his breakfast sooo well of two eggs and then some, 2 pieces of bread and a 1/2 a banana. Lots of milk too! Then after some coffee for mom and dad, we all ended up in the living room to open presents. Ds3 really had no idea what was going on ...... I'm sure he has never really opened presents before. One of his presents, was a little See and Say that sings old MacDonald and has all kinds of farm animals and their sounds.

Here are some photos of our small tree that I packed for the occasion with all our presents on the kitchen table. We lit the tree last evening after all the kids were asleep, and I smelled a burning smoke smell. I think the voltage on our adapter might have been too strong, or something because I unplugged the tree right away. The lights were incredibly hot! We lit it again for 5 seconds this morning, just so everyone could see the tree lit up. Oh well.... who knew? It was still nice to have a Christmas tree!



This is a photo of Chris and all his boys in their new hockey jerseys. (his presents to himself and all his boys!) As you can see ds3 was not up for pictures! More like, "why am I in this incredibly oversized hockey jersey?"

(Edit to add: I typed this early this morning, but have not had time to actually post it until now! Oh well!)

He finally sleeps! And in his own crib too! I’m the only one awake at 2:42am, par for the course for me here with the time difference. It seems that unless I have a little help with my Dr. prescribed medicine, I am destined to wake up at this hour. Thankfully all goes back to normal when we return home!

Not that you were wanting to hear any of that…. Let me tell you about our Gotcha Day. The evening before we completely moved all of our stuff to our new apartment… (and you saw how much we had in the airport). It was way past 9pm when we finally had it all moved. The boys were exhausted and they went right to bed, and slept like rocks! We on the other hand had to prepare all our gifts and get our donations ready for the orphanage. I had been awake since 2am the night before, so I too was exhausted. After repacking and unpacking all our luggage and moving from one apartment to another, and wrapping and sorting and packing gifts and donations into our suitcases… we were finally ready to go to bed. (This is where all my southern friends would thow in a “Bless your Heart.” And it did need blessed by that point! Lol! Of course the biggest blessing would arrive the next day.

We awoke on Gotcha Day and prepared to head to the orphanage. Our last trip. I was tearing up in the car just thinking about this day. We arrived at the orphanage suitcases in tow. We waited again in a room for them to bring ds3 to us. When they did he just cried… he wanted nothing to do with us. My boys were a little stunned, as I am sure they had played out a much different scenario in their minds of meeting their brother for the first time. We managed to get his new clothing on, and his snowsuit (newly purchased in Russia since it has been so cold!) They did check by the way to make sure we had a snowsuit of some type, so I am glad we bought it! As I did that, Chris and our driver transferred all the clothing and shoes to a separate container. The social worker was sooo surprised at the amount of stuff we brought! She was touched.

We walked down the stairs and out of the orphanage and he did not cry at all. He slept in my arms a little bit on the drive back to our new improved apartment, and he smiled a bit at ds1 acted silly with his cap on his head. Once back at the apartment Chris ran all kinds of errands to the store to get some food, etc. We fed him cheerios, a jar of baby bananas, cereal, bread and a little formula and some arrowroot cookies. Not our best fare, but he ate it all like a champ. He walked all around the apartment and the boys entertained him sooo well! They stacked cups for him to knock down, they helped him with the connecting rings, and they just talked to him a LOT! At one point in the afternoon he gave each of us a huge hug…. So sweet!

For dinner Chris was tied up doing our final paperwork, so me being the superb cook that I am, grabbed a Gerber graduate (microwavable of course) of turkey, rice, carrots and green beans. He LOVED it, except for the green beans. We started with an appetizer of cheerios, and then moved to the main course, and had some more bread with it, and water. We naturally finished with the cookies and when Chris got home with the milk, he had some more cookies and milk. Yum! Having lived in an orphanage he eats so much and really stuffs his food, I think because he wants to make sure he gets it. So, I’m giving it to him in bits and pieces or he would shove a whole slice of Italian bread in his mouth at once.

Finally around 9pm, he fell asleep. Poor little guy actually fell asleep standing in his crib leaning on the soft rail! I peeked in and whisked him right into our bed which is where he stayed until I just woke up. He got a bit restless and so I scooped him back up and put him in the crib. He woke a few minutes later, and started to cry, but when I got out of bed and assured him we were right there, He lay back down and fell right asleep. Sweetie! He’s used to having people around all the time, so I’m sure this was a huge change for him. Overall he is doing great! Now we just need him to get used to Chris. He’s still very leary of him, and he’s been away for the day too doing paperwork etc. Hopefully tomorrow they will get more of a chance to bond, because I know Chris is soooo ready!

And THAT was our Gotcha Day, pretty smooth really. As true to our blog, I will not be sharing the names of our kiddos, but I will share a few pictures of our little man! These are from trip One, as I do not have the photos from this trip uploaded yet.

I'm not even going to go into detail now about the how's.....but we did end up changing apartments... and this is sooo much better! No smell in the wall! And heat!! Yay! Plus there is so much more room for everyone.

I don't have a lot of time to post at the moment because our little guy is with us! And he is not sleeping! Like at all..... He completely skipped his 3 hour nap today and will not sleep this evening. So, I'm off to help and probably will fall asleep myself. Tomorrow I will post about our day today and give you details....

Sorry this is so short! It's been a busy day....

After a plane ride that seemed fairly quick, we arrived an hour early into Russia. Now has that ever happened to anyone? A plane that is actually early? I have no idea why that was the case, but it was good for us... Making the plane was an adventure! Stressful! It was my fault too, as we left late... and it rained the entire drive to the airport! We got in at 3pm and our flight left an hour and 1/2 later. Thank goodness this one airline rep took great kindness upon us and the boys and we made it through check in and all our bags arrived in Russia as well!! We are so thankful for her! We made it within 10 minutes of boarding..... and that was that!

The boys did great on the plane, but are definitely jet lagged. It's funny but they took different avenues to show that jet lag. One was super tired, and one was hyper. We ate at a pizza place for dinner, and went to the grocery store afterward. They are amazed at how we must walk everywhere. One asked if we could get our driver to pick us up after dinner and take us to the grocery store. Ahhh the convenience of a car in the US.... they will appreciate it when they get back. My more extroverted of the two (ds2) said he couldn't wait to get back to the US. When I asked him why, he said, "So I can talk to people again, I don't understand what anyone is saying!" lol!

My ds1 naturally made a friend on the airplane. They shared game boys and he talked his ear off. I think everyone in our general vicinity knew of our adoption, what he likes and dislikes about planes, and his love of roller coasters. And that was the less extroverted of my two! I'm sure there was much more, but I fell asleep. :-)

Onto our apartment... it isn't nearly as nice as our last one... I'm definitely not as thrilled. It's older than all the rest and it's freezing. Typically we are roasting inside, but this apartment is very drafty or the heat is not as strong. Plus the heat in our kitchen isn't working at all. Not good.... So, I'm hoping all this gets rectified tomorrow when the work week begins. They did bring a portable heater to help in the bedroom...and some extra blankets. If anyone needs help with apartments when you get ready to travel, I can definitely tell you what to look for and what to avoid.

Which leads me to my next topic... the cold! Oh my goodness it is FREEZING HERE! I am truly adjusted to the south now, as even the winters we lived in NY did not feel this cold. (And we had two 15 inch snowfalls that year.) Today's high...when daylight actually breaks will be 19 degrees. I don't even want to venture outside in that! But I can't say our apartment is warm and toasty either! Pray the apartment can at least warm up.... (the outside, I'm not so sure about.) But, it's supposed to snow here mid week! Yay! It will be nice to have snow on Christmas Eve again. I think tomorrow we will try to get all our grocery shopping done, so we don't have to venture out if it's too cold!

Here are some photos of the airport and all our luggage.

I'm going to post something that I don't think a lot of people realize, and I know it isn't talked about too much in adoption circles.... but I'm gonna be pretty transparent here.

So many people have emailed or called and talked about the packing and stress of it, and have always mentioned the excitement that goes along with it. I have to admit, I'm not the type of person that gets excited a whole lot before a trip. Maybe it's my worrisome nature, but with SO many things to think about, the thought of having this adoption finally come to fruition is not even on the forefront of my mind. All the details are....

Aside from that personality quirk, it's not exactly excitement I'm feeling... (though I may get there on the plane).... quite truthfully I'm scared. Yes, scared is definitely the emotion I can most readily relate to right now. This little guy is going to be coming with us, and I want to smother him with love and hugs and kisses and comfort. But I have some many unknowns.... will he bond with us? Will he attach? Will he even accept all those hugs and kisses? What will he be like when we first have him in our custody at the apartment? Will we be able to communicate? Will he pick up language pretty quickly? Will he bond to our boys? Will he eat and drink alright? Will he do okay in a stroller? Will he sit alright in the car seat on the plane? Will I be able to comfort him as he wonders about the scary long plane ride we are on? (I'll certainly be trying!!) Plus so many other unknowns....

I'm sure this stuff is pretty normal, and I remember going to the hospital to deliver my first child and being pretty scared of the unknown too. Particularly the pain of childbirth.... It was a few months afterward that I realized that while childbirth is really hard work.... the hardest (and most rewarding) work is actually in the trenches raising your children. I was asked to speak that Mother's day in my church from the perspective of a new mother. What I shared was there were so many women more capable than I to speak on the subject of motherhood....many who had been in the trenches for years and were clearly role models to me. I recognized like I said, that the act of giving birth and the 9 months leading up to that were difficult, the mettle testing and growing comes in caring for that child. Learning to put aside sleep for those frequent night waking to feed or for comfort. Learning to carry that child on your back during the 5 o'clock melt down so you could actually cook a dinner. Learning to be consistent when your child buckles his legs and goes limp on you because he doesn't want to hold your hand across the street. Learning to stick to what you say, when you have to leave a favorite playground because your child will not be obedient. Even though it would be soooo much easier to give in just so you can have a 1/2 hour to actually talk to an adult!

All those things are good and hard, and things I have learned along the journey. But they haven't come alone. Mixed liberally in there, have been a plethora of love moments, full of joy and hugs and kisses and snuggles and memories! As I look back, I can see how motherhood has shaped me and grown me as a person. But as I head to the "hospital" to deliver this 2 year old baby, the doubts kick in.... and I wonder about all the unknowns.....

It's times like these that I need to lean on God's wisdom and strength. Two verses that I have been clinging to this week are: "I can do all things with Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13 NIV and "For God has not given you a Spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind." 2Timothy 1:7 KJV

All the unknowns will soon be "known"..... and then there will be more unknowns... because life is always full of them. I guess it's all in how you choose to handle them, because for me.... God always seems to grow me during times like these. And I'm always grateful (after the fact). :-)

When I was in Russia recently, the last day there I started feeling ill. As in nausea, loss of appetite and several other symptoms. I seriously considered the possibility of being pregnant.... for a few moments.... and then quickly discarded that thought. (And no I am not pregnant, for anyone wondering.) :-)

But I did have a bladder infection. Thank goodness I brought some leftover antibiotics with me or it would have been worse! That helped me having two days worth, and I was even more glad to be heading back to the States to see my doctor! After a visit to the doc, and an allergic reaction to an antibiotic.... I am now on a new antibiotic and hopefully on the mend. But let me tell you that the past two days stunk! That and the jet lag seriously threw me for a loop. I'm surprised I have been able to pack a thing! But somehow I've managed....

I still have about three more suitcases to pack and many more things to organize. I'm hoping that I feel a little better each day so I can accomplish it all. Good news is my new coat came in from Land's End and a hat too. Just in time as the temps in Moscow have dropped into the 20's as a high during the day! This coat should keep me nice and warm while we are there!

I am also working on setting up some tours while in Moscow. This is an educational trip for all involved as well.... and who knows when my boys will be able to see this again. So, we will be visiting the Kremlin and Armory and Diamond Fund, and well as hopefully a guided walking tour of the metro system. We are also trying to get to the circus before we pick up our little guy. So, all those things... I'm working on as well as packing packing and more packing!! I have 3 suitcases done, and 3 more to go!

This evening I've been perusing all kinds of baby websites. I've been looking at baby gates, and safety features for our stairs and cabinets. I've been checking out bowls and spoons, bibs and bottles. Which led me to ponder what I was actually going to feed our son while in Russia. I mean he's not exactly like us... we can't order him a Big mac and chicken nuggets, or even the chicken fajitas at the Hard Rock (my own personal favorite!)

His current orphanage diet is very very bland. And he is not to have sweets, based on the doctors that we spoke to. The poor guy has some eczema issues, and the sweets bring it out.... so no sweet goodies or junk. As a matter of fact, I kind of want to keep his diet bland until we get back to the States and our pediatrician and I can slowly monitor the foods we introduce and his reaction to them. (Skin allergy wise).

Then I thought, this guy is so small for his age.....he's just over 2 years. Maybe I should give him some formula too??? It certainly would give him the nutrients he needs even once a day. Plus the bottle feeding once a day might help with bonding. (though he likes to be very independent) He usually has some type of mashed meat with rice and soup for dinner and lunch. (no soup at dinner only lunch), and cabbage or cucumbers. SO, I have no clue what I might do. I'm thinking:

• cheerios or puffed rice (hardly any sugar in those),
• yogurt (he has that for breakfast sometimes.
• Cream of wheat
• baby cereal.
• rice with chicken
• rice with noodles
• banana mashed a bit
• Gerber graduates?
• biscuit type cookie (he had this as a snack when we visited the orphanage)

I also realized today as I was going through my clothing list that I have no socks for him. Um.... funny, but it's 28 degrees as a high in Russia... I think he's gonna need some socks! lol! It's the little things I'm forgetting!

Hopefully tomorrow I can pull the rest of it together... It's hard to figure out so much of this beforehand. I know we'll have lots of time to bond and figure out his likes and dislikes. But I like to be prepared with ideas and options while we are out of the country! Once we are home, I have the luxury of a car and shops close by to get whatever we need. So, if anyone has ideas for me on things to feed this little guy while we are in Russia, please let me know!

I am under some serious jet lag.... but wanted to let everyone know we had court and it went well! We have been officially declared the parents of our little guy! Yay!!!

We flew home not even 2 days later and will return after the 10 day waiting period. So, needless to say I still feel like I'm on a plane... (equilibrium wise) and I am t-i-r-e-d!! So much to do to pack for our next trip.... but it's our last one so I am glad for that!!

No pictures of court... we were not allowed to bring a camera into the courthouse....then afterward we were sort of rushing to get to the orphanage to pick up our little one and get his passport photo taken. I'm kicking myself for that one! But hopefully we'll be able to post many more in the coming weeks. One photo for sure will be of his room. Even if it's not finished (wall art etc), you can get the general idea.

Okay, I'm off to bed before I fall asleep sitting up on the couch!

Please click the link below to read this Christmas letter written by Marybeth Chapman. So beautifully written from a mother's heart.

Christmas Letter

I know I said in an earlier post that Chris and I were not doing anything at all decorating-wise for Christmas. Well, hmmmm that was before I saw all the pretty lights on our street. So, on Saturday night after we accomplished so much, I asked him if he would mind putting up the Christmas lights on Sunday. I think he also realized that the boys were really missing the holiday decorations that are usually found around our house. So, he agreed to put them up on Sunday afternoon.

He as usual did a great job and I had nothing but praise for his hard work and effort.... and then on Monday... well he took it a step further. Now ya gotta know me... I'm a white lights kind of a girl. Nothing too outlandish, and definitely less is more, if you know what I mean. So, I was none to thrilled to come home on Monday evening from the grocery store to find snow flakes now hanging from our trees and a polar bear (head bobbing included) peeking out from between my dormant cottage roses. I believe my exact words to myself as I pulled up the street were, "Oh NO he did not.... No, no no.... oh my word no."

But alas, yes he did. And suffice it to say, it was all for the boys. (And maybe a little bit for my husband too who looked gleefully from my face to the bobbing polar bear, pleased as punch with his new mechanical decoration.) Sigh. What's a girl to do? I'm completely out numbered. But I have to draw the line at multi-colored lights. And only one polar bear, no more! No after Christmas sale items coming into my yard. None! I'm digging my heels in here. (Can you see me????)

So here is a photo of the new lighted scene at our house. The picture is definitely not the greatest because my camera takes the absolute worst night shots. I was researching this after the fact, when several of my night shots in Russia came out horribly too. So anyhoo... here it is.

Chris and I had a very long list of things to accomplish today. Thankfully all sports are on hiatus until after the New Year (except for one basketball practice). Yay! That is a good thing!

We accomplished sooo much! Here is what we got done, though I must admit there is still a lot of get accomplished.....

1. Print Packing List for court
2. Fill out one piece of paperwork a day
3. Paint Toybox
4. Finish Painting new shelves that Chris built
5. Buy and install special baby proof outlet covers
6. Buy corner guards for the 4 sharp corners
7. Move all older boys small toys to new game room
8. Finish Baby proofing and cleaning up playroom
9. Steam clean little guys new room
10. Clean out garage
11. Put all laundry away
12. Find some of the pre-packaged foods for packing
13. Update all AWANA records for church
14. Hang pocket fabric hanging over changing table
15. Correct several Sparks record sheets that were wrong
16. Mail Christmas gifts
17. Find warm gloves, accessories for boys
18. Prepare lesson plans/schoolwork for coming week
19. Baby proof all cabinets with Totlock system
20. Baby proof stairs with gates and plexiglass
21. Sam's club shopping
22. Find snowsuit for little one

I'm now sitting here in our new play room.... we bought a new light from Target for the corner comfy chair... where I anticipate lots of reading will be going on. I love this room now, and I can really envision it being the new family hang out. Game room on one side (closed off by a wall, and play area on this side. (With wireless internet access and a big comfy couch for Chris to watch sports on cable. Yep, the downstairs living room is sure gonna miss us... :-)

This dear woman left a comment on our blog concerning our little guy in Russia. I am so glad that she tracked me down, as it really encouraged me today! Read on:

My husband and I are on trip one. Without sounding creepy, there are a number of adoption blogs I've been following to get a sense of the process and other peoples' experiences. Yours is obviously one of them.

During a visit with our little boy yesterday afternoon, we ventured into his group room to watch him play with the other children. While there, I spied a cute little boy holding onto his photo album and recognized your photo on the cover from "one of those blogs I read!" It has taken me a moment to track you down, but I'm glad I have and wanted to share a quick note with you.

Your little guy is sweet, was smiling and holding tight to the cloth photo album. Our boy tried to get him to share the album but your little guy pulled back and you could feel him saying, "No way! This is MINE! Get your own!!" My husband and I giggled because we had showed our little boy his album earlier and he loved it. He caressed it and kissed it and held it tightly to his little chest, as if he was thinking, "I'm finally getting my own little book. This means I'm going to be free soon." We were touched. The children all seem to be cared for considering the resource limitations the orphanage and caregivers have to deal with.

I hope this update finds you well and lends a little comfort to you through the wait. Best wishes to you!

My friend Jeannie posted this on her website and I thought it would be fun to play along. Hmmm... like I have all the time in the world to play around on the computer... NOT! But I'm procrastinating! lol!

1. Real tree or artificial? Both. We always get a real tree for our living room, but we now have 3 artificial trees that we put around the house as well.... This year though none of them will be going up.... :-)

2. When do you put up the tree? Whenever t he mood hits. Sometime after Thanksgiving. We used to put it up Thanksgiving weekend... now it just depends on our busy schedules.

3. When do you take down the tree? Depends on when we put it up. If it's early we will take it down after New Year's, and if we get the tree up late, we will take it down late.

4.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, pretty much.

6. Who is the hardest person to buy for? My father.

7. Easiest person to buy for? Probably my husband... there is so much we need that we never purchase, so Christmas is pretty easy.

8. Angel on top of the tree, or star? Both. One tree gets an old fashioned angel, one gets a golden star and one gets a big bow. We have another small tree, and that one gets nothing.... yet.

9. What is the worst Christmas gift you ever got? A cat pin. It was a cat playing a saxophone with sunglasses and covered in rhinestones. Chris bought it for me when we were first married, and it was awful. It's a joke now... and each year he has gotten me some heinous cat pin or another. lol! (Sorry to my good friends' who are cat lover's) Kelly!

.10. What is the best gift you received as a child? I honestly can't remember.

11. What is your favorite food to eat at Christmas time? Without a doubt it's the Christmas cookies. They are only made once a year and so they are pretty special.

12. What do you want for Christmas this year? Our adoption to be finalized, and that we would be together as a family of 5.

That was fun... I won't tag anyone... but play along if you would like!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family, cooked lots of food, but also exercised a lot of it off walking/running and playing football. All of our company has headed home now, and Chris and I are accomplishing quite a bit today... getting things together for the baby's room. While he isn't really a baby really... ( more of a young toddler)... .but he's a baby to us. :-) He's still in a crib, so we've been cleaning out and finally putting things together.

I think this is really cool how all the furniture came together. The crib I found back in 2005 at a yard sale in Pennsylvania. I paid $20 for it, and gave it to my sister when she was expecting her 4th child. When her little one outgrew the crib, my sister Lisa asked if I wanted her to save it for me. I said, "Nope"...but she saved it anyway. I'm so glad she did!!

Then friend's of ours from church gave us a bunch of toddler toys and clothing and they had a changing table to donate. The very same finish as the crib! They look like they are a set. Then we went to the attic to pull down some bins to store clothes, and low and behold was my glider rocker (the only thing that didn't sell when I got rid of my baby furniture years ago). Guess what? It's the same finish as well! I know many folks really aren't into all of that.... but I am, and I am so thankful for the way all of those pieces came together in our little one's room. We'll be hanging curtains and have been washing our sons' old bedding to put on the crib. It's got some plaid and chambray in it, and believe it or not, I still like it... :-) I even found the diaper stacker. lol!

So, that's what we have been working on all day. Plus, Chris is planning on building shelves in the game room area, so we can baby proof the play room. We need to purchase gates, and quite a few of them!

Chris asked me what we were putting up for Christmas and I told him "Nothing". He was like... "Seriously? Nothing?" "Yep", I answered... "absolutely nothing, but a wreath on the front door". He seemed happy with that, and I'm glad we aren't going to kill ourselves trying to decorate with everything else going on!

Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one!
(I'll post pictures once the room is just about done, maybe by tomorrow)

Jackie

Just wanted to let everyone know we have a court date! Yay! Travel dates are also now official, so on top of Thanksgiving company Chris and I are running around getting all kinds of adoption stuff done. Another big Yay!

I'm soooo not ready. I know I just got back from Russia and all.... but wow! Tomorrow my mom flies in for Thanksgiving and Tuesday my dad arrives. (He's been out west hunting, hence the two different travel times, but they'll drive home together). :-) Wednesday my sister and her whole family arrives. Let me tell you that I'm just not even close to ready. Not even close. My house is a disaster. I have nothing purchased yet food wise, but the turkey, stuffing (thanks to my mom) and ground beef. Scary I know!

My house is at 6's and 7's. (That's an old saying from a completely different decade). I wonder why they said that? Anyone know? Anyway, it is.... and I'm at a loss where to begin! I keep wanting to get our little ones room organized, but we'll have company there... so I can't really put anything there yet.

I do want to say that we have been so blessed by a couple at our church who gave us a changing table, and tons of toddler toys for our little boy. What a blessing! We had none of those! And the changing table matches the crib that my sister just gave us! I have bedding from when my boys were little, and I'll utilize that (even curtains). The one things we still need to get is a stroller, and a high chair, and baby gates.... well lots of different child proofing things, really.

Can you tell how my train of thought is bouncing around? From Thanksgiving to baby proofing, to decorating etc etc etc! I think I better get off this computer, and get something accomplished!

Traffic- It's crazy! In the circles they make their own lanes. But it was civilized craziness if you can picture that. Not like NY, where you have people ticked off and honking horns. None of that. Russians drive seriously, and pretty much expect someone to make a U-Turn across 5 lanes of traffic. lol!

Smoke- It wasn't as bad as I thought. Our apartment had a smoke smell, and that was awful... and the restaurants had it too. But, outside was just fine.

Apartment- If you can rent an apartment it was the way to go! Much more cost effective, and we were right down on New Arabat Street. We had a beautiful view of the city and also of Christ Church Cathedral. I loved to hang out in our living room looking out at the hustle and bustle of night life on our street.

Starbucks- Thank goodness for that, as the one thing our apartment did not have was a coffee maker. They did have a hot pot for making hot water for instant coffee... Ewww. Starbucks was a taste of home, and Chris would walk there every morning for his breakfast pastry and coffee.... :-)

I'll leave you with a few pictures of places, we visited. I wish I would have gotten a photo of our souvenir shop, but I didn't think of it. I'm looking forward to going back to Old Arabat for a quick shopping expedition. :-)

Well, we flew... so who knows. But we met both little ones at two separate orphanages on Tuesday. It was a completely full day and also quite emotionally challenging. We requested that a physician meet us at both orphanages to evaluate the children. I don't know how people do it, but making life changing decisions in a matter of days is difficult!

We ended up accepting one referral and declining another. How difficult that decision was! Yet we prayed so very much for wisdom and clarity, and felt an absolute peace about our decision.

So, we'll be bringing home one little munchkin instead of two this time. Yes, Chris is already talking about the next time we go over to adopt another one..... we shall see..... Like several of you, we were both ready to go back again, but wisely we'll try to get this one home and adjusted to our family, before we consider that. I will say, we would use our agency again in a heartbeat. Without a doubt they have been communicative, professional, and absolutely first rate!

I'm currently baking cupcakes for ds2's official birthday party tomorrow. So, while they bake.... I thought I'd do a quick recap of our grocery experience and our attempt at being frugal by cooking our own dinner.

Chris found the grocery store the first day. I was down for the count from the plane ride and something that I ate. So, I decided to rest in our apartment while he did some reconnaissance of the area. He had to locate someplace to copy our entry cards and stamped Visas. He also went to get some water, and exchange dollars for rubles. He was awesome at all of this, and certainly my hero that evening! So the next day we headed to the grocery store he found.

**Sidenote** I have to say, I had walked most of the day and my feet were killing me. Reminder to all: Wear comfortable shoes in Moscow, you have to walk everywhere! Don't try to blend in with those high heeled wearing Russian gals! Especially if all your used to wearing is flip flops all summer long! Even a small heel just about did me in! So, I was pretty tired by the time we got to the grocery store.

We walked in what seemed like circles looking for spaghetti sauce and spaghetti. We found the meat section and it all looked quite good. Not speaking any Russian myself, and who the heck learns the word for "ground beef'" when you go to Russia. Especially for those endearing words you want to share with your new child. Bravo, Spiceeba, Ya te bya lu blu and Ground Beef (insert Russian word there). Anyhoo.... so I point to the leanest ground beef and motion that I want about 1/2 a lb. Kind of making a square with my fingers and thumbs. Evidently he got it, as all he asked (pointing naturally) was "this one?" to the one I selected. I gave him the old thumbs up, and I felt like I was on my way to fluent communication. (In sign language naturally).

We left the store and went back to the apartment. That evening we had dinner with some friends who had just picked up their daughter! yay! So, as we talked throughout the evening my friend shared that on one of her trips she picked up some baby food at a Russian grocery store. (This is their third child they adopted over a 5 year period.) What she got was beef and carrots. However when a friend translated it she found out it was actually horse and carrots. Thankfully she had not fed it to the baby..... (Do you know where I am going with this?)

It dawned on me that I wonder if that was actually ground beef that I purchased? I mean, I don't have a clue....... it looked lean, but I don't read Cyrillic. Plus the guy behind the counter did give me a questioning look as he pointed to the one I wanted. I never questioned if it was ground beef or not, and just gave him the thumbs up! Hmmmm..... so a few nights later we decided to cook the mystery meat up or it would go bad. Oh my word! I'm just gonna tell you now... that it did not smell like ground beef! It smelled Horrible! And it made our apartment smell horrible!! I swear to you I was ready to barf, it was that bad! We ended up cooking it completely and putting it in a ziploc bag and throwing it away. Chris swears it was so lean that it couldn't be ground beef. From then on... even my burger at Fridays was questionable. Nope. I had to stick to chicken... all the time! Since then we have found that ground beef in different countries, is just different. I truly have no idea what we had, but I won't make the same mistake again.... :-)

So, check that baby food, and be sure you know what your purchasing if you decide to be frugal and cook for yourself. We should have stuck with plain old Ramen noodles or just spaghetti and sauce! Hmmm... next time I'm bringing canned Chef Boy R Dee!! :-)

Another thing that I had no idea about, is that we would have very little time to actually see Moscow. (Well except by car, and trust me we saw a ton of that!) What I wasn't expecting is how much of our day was taken up with the very important orphanage visits and driving to and from those visits. I know Chris and I had two orphanages to visit, but even if we didn't we would visit one orphanage twice a day. Typically we met our driver at 9am or 9:30am, and we would not get back to our apartment until 8:30 at night. We would have a few hours in the middle to grab a quick lunch, but not really enough to do all the tourist things.

So, again if you are heading over there I would recommend building in a day before or after for your sight seeing. We did get a chance to visit Old Arabat street, and I am insanely jealous of those of you who got to visit during warmer weather. I can just picture how much fun we would have going from shop to shop. (Becky I'm thinking of you, now!) I loved the woman who helped us numerous times at our favorite souvenir shop. (It's practically next to Starbucks on the opposite side of the street as Hard Rock Cafe.) Her name is Irina, and she was helpful, and not pushy. When we go back, we will definitely stop in to buy something from her and say "hello". I can't say enough about how much I liked her and her souvenir shop. So if you visit her I think the store is called "Arabatskaya Lavitsa Souvenirs" tell her we said Hi!

Hard Rock Cafe is a great place to eat. They spoke English, and their chicken fajitas were really good. We also ate at My My (pronounced Moo Moo and it has a big cow in front of it). I was pretty nervous to eat there as it's mainly native Russia folks who frequent the place, though they do have some English translation menus. I was glad I went, even though I felt like a scared rabbit. (Chris is sooo much more adventuresome than I am!) We also ate a TGI Fridays, and it was just okay. I'd chose Hard Rock over that if given the chance again. Also Chris ate at a really nice Russian restaurant, and I'll get the name to you. He wants to go back with me on trip 2.

We never made it down to the Red Square, as the day we were going to go, the weather turned really cold, and it started to rain. So, we will build it into the next trip. We stayed on New Arabat Street, and it was great! Everything was fairly close, (10 minute walk) like Starbucks, Fridays, Hard Rock and even a McDonalds. Next trip we also want to visit the huge Gum mall!

Next post I'll share our experience at the grocery store...... :-)

I know I went stealth on this blog for awhile. I'm sorry, but I wanted to insure some safe procedures while we were traveling abroad. It just was a decision both Chris and I needed to make.

So, we flew to Russia a little over a week ago! Let me tell anyone who has not traveled yet, the plane ride pretty much stinks. Not in it's foul smelling or anything...but it's just so daggone long! Plus going to Russia it's sort of our bedtime, so they keep the window shades down on the plane and keep it dark. It's hard to sleep in the economy section of the plane. Trust me, I know! It doesn't help when a not so nice Russian man is behind you and has his knees jammed into the back of your seat, so you can't even tilt your seat back. Nice. Let's just say, it wasn't very comfortable!

The jet lag going over was pretty harsh. I'll let ya know I'm not looking forward to doing that again! Plus the anticipation of being in country, not knowing what will be going on, and meeting your referral.... well it all gave me insomnia! I was told by our coordinator in country that it was very normal to sleep for about 2-3 hours and then wake up around 1am in the morning and have a hard time falling asleep. This happened to me several days in a row, and I really needed the sleep for a clear head at the orphanage. I even took a Tylenol PM on the plane, and it did nothing for me.... actually I took two (the regular dose). Nothing, nada! Can you believe that???

We stayed in an apartment and really felt that was the way to go! It was safe secure, and comfortable. (oh and less expensive) We would definitely utilize an apartment again. Especially since ours had a living room separate from the bedroom which allowed me to work, or read while Chris slept. (Lucky him!) Our apartment had a great view of downtown Moscow and Christ Church Cathedral. At night everything was all lit up and it was really cool. We used Skype on the computer while we were there to talk to our boys. It was awesome because I could take the webcam and turn my laptop around to give them a tour of the apartment and then show them the view at night of the city. They and my sister thought it was beautiful!

The staff in country were great! Very professional, and they had their act together. They made the process seamless. Both Chris and I were impressed.

I'll post next about some places we visited and how our days were filled. Again to those who have yet to travel, be ready.... I'm not sure if I just idealized the process from reading so many blogs, but it was much more difficult and draining than I thought it would be. I'm not sure if I would have really been prepared, except to maybe know that it has the potential to be far more emotionally draining than I ever imagined.

I'll post some more of our time tomorrow. I'm going to clean up from my ds2's birthday today. We had a family celebration.... and I made a cake. Free hand decorating.... I'll post a picture of that too. lol!

Later,
Jackie

For those of you I don't know IRL, I have caught a nasty cold... bleck. I am praying very much that it is gone before we travel. There is so much going around at church (stomach bug, colds etc) that I pray no one catches anything else either!

On another note, I just have to post how surreal this all seems. Maybe it's partly the head congestion, but it's hard to believe that we'll be flying to Russia soon. It's even harder to believe that we'll be meeting the little ones. I look at my lists and suitcases all empty and think... "hmmmm, that's nice." I am not feeling the sense of urgency or panic that I'll be leaving important info behind. At least not yet... it just all seems very surreal to me. Maybe it's two-fold, a part of disbelief that after 4 years of praying and 2 years of waiting we will finally be traveling....... And then again...... maybe it's the head congestion. :-)

In addition to packing ourselves, and packing for the boys.... I am also prepping for ds2's birthday party. It occurs only a few days after we return, and with jet lag etc., I would like it to be all handled and planned so I can just show up and enjoy it! So, I'm working on that too, with invitations getting set to go out. I'm also catching up on a mountain of laundry that I have in my kitchen. It seems like I have been packing and preparing forever, but soon we'll be traveling... I'm glad I have had some time to get everything organized. If I was under a time crunch I would have been doubly stressed.

Ds2 has come down with a cold this week, and as much as I want to nurture him, I cannot afford a cold while I am in Russia. I am the WORST when I have a cold. My head feels like a big cotton ball and my nose turns bright red like Rudolph from the constant blowing. I'm seriously miserable for days... so please pray that I don't catch this cold, or if I do...that I can get over it before we leave.

Finally, I am also trying to figure out how to upload video to my computer, so we can send it along to an IAD if we need to. I'm not doing a very good job at figuring this technical stuff out. I may have to send an SOS email out to my Sunday school class, for help from anyone who is techy in nature!!

On our second trip to Russia, we will be giving the orphanage a clothing donation. Several people I know have either given new or gently used clothing, or purchased diapers while in Russia. I just went to our consignment sale (the same one I visited last Saturday). This morning was their 50% off sale. I was dreading going, but I had a pass for 7:30am, and knew there would be very few in attendance that early.

I took ds1 with me and boy was he a huge help! We looked for mainly new and very gently used items. I remembered the advice of my friend Susan from this past summer when we were pricing clothes for a yard sale. Look at the tag to see how worn it looks. So, in addition to inspecting each garment, I looked at the tags. I got some great stuff! Tons really... and quite a few were new! Chris was so proud of me.

So we are going to pack an extra suitcase or two on our second trip, and give each orphanage a bunch of beautiful clothes. I also put the word out to my homeschool group, and will let our church know that we are collecting new or very gently used items to bring to Russia. I really hope that my boys are able to come with us on trip 2, as it would be awesome if they could present the gifts to the orphanage directors.

That's the latest and greatest here.... the only other thing going on is football.... lots and lots of football!

I think I finally maybe about shopped out. Chris will be handling the rest of the electronic stuff we will need.... He also has to get a carry-on piece of luggage for himself. Other than that, I think w are just about done. Thank goodness I have had a little while to get all this prepared. If I was scheduled to travel really quickly, I would have been stressed. This gathering bit by bit has been nice.

Last night I went to Target and bought two travel sets, that included the following 3 pieces: A fleece blanket (small), an inflatable pillow, and a mask to wear over our eyes. I also picked up two travel luggage locks. And I found a good deal on K-bars which will work for breakfast for us if we are running late in the mornings... or even a mid morning snack. We both love those things!

I also picked up a pair of boots and shoes at Kohl's yesterday. Not the wintry kind, but a pair that has a slip proof bottom, but I can wear them in the winter and even fall here in the States too. They are just an ordinary black low boot with a small heel and a side zipper. The shoes are just a small heeled loafer type of shoe. Basic in brown and black, and soo needed if you saw my current shoes! I hate to shop.... I know a lot of women love shoes, but I truly do buy them out of necessity and all my winter ones are worn to pieces. Thank goodness I can wear flip flops in the summer months! LOL!

This weekend we'll be working on packing up what we are able to and double checking our lists.... Plus a full Saturday of football as well... what else??

Today the boys had homeschool enrichment and I had a few hours to go out and accomplish some things on my packing list. The time flew so fast and I hardly got a thing done.

My first stop was at a consignment sale. They had a crib that my girlfriend told me about and I wanted to take a look at it. I didn't buy it yet, I'm still thinking about it.

My second stop was Kohl's as I really thought I would pick up some luggage there. I had $10 in Kohl's cash to put towards a carry-on item, but I found out that the promotion doesn't start until tomorrow. So, I looked for a few nicer shirts to bring to Russia (found only one that looked decent), and looked at some boots for Russia as well. Thy didn't have my size.... so I'm going to have to find them somewhere else. Anyone else have one foot larger than the other? On of my feet is definitely bigger than the other, so the boots fit my right foot great, but my left foot not so good. Go figure. Plus with heavier socks for the colder climate they would have been too tight and would have hurt. SO, all that to say Kohl's took up way to much of my time and I have to go back tomorrow to pick up the luggage piece that is on sale.

Next I headed to Dick's Sporting Goods store to pick up two items for the boys. They needed some longer sleeved shirts for football, and that's all I got.

Finally I paid a visit to Babies 'R Us. Definitely a store I need to stay away from! I could get into some serious trouble there.... I found two soft blankets there, that I can leave with the little ones. Can someone tell me again about the sense of smell and triggering a memory or recognition?

So that was my day, just not enough time.... I am also trying to plan for a birthday party for my ds2. His birthday is a few days after we return from our first trip, and with jet lag etc., I am hoping to have everything pre-planned and prepared. :-)

I'm back after a relaxing week in Florida. Saturday morning I woke up at 4am to begin my drive back home. If you remember I had to get back to go to a very large consignment sale in my area with my friend Jennifer. I was seriously pondering skipping the whole thing.... and I'm so glad that I didn't!!!

It was awesome! A HUGE sale and I bought a LOT of nice outfits. Of course I am sooo praying that they will fit these little ones. I also got this bead stand/cabinet, like what you would find in a doctors office...but not as neutral. I paid $20 for it, and I'd say it was the best purchase of the day.

Thank goodness for Jennifer! I seriously don't know what I would do if she wasn't there with me. She took four hours of her day, just to attend this event with me and help me shop. And she sure did help me. She knew brand names, and could tell me if something was a good deal or not. Just to have her to bounce opinions off of, helped me tremendously. I would have had such a glazed look on my face if she wasn't there to help and make it all fun. I had such a blast! Thank you sooo much Jennifer!

P.S. I'm too lazy to go and get the camera and go upstairs to the playroom to take a photo of that bead thing... but I'll post it soon, promise!

Florida has been fun. We brought our books, so we're still schooling lightly every morning. Sorry...guys. It's surprisingly added some structure to our days. School usually begins around 8:30am and we are done by noon. Then the kids will jump in the pool for a little bit. Today they will head with grandpa to hit some golf balls, while grandma and I head out to do a little shopping. We're going to end the day at one of my favorite restaurants chains... Chili's. Yay!

The weather has been beautiful.... I've found that I really like October down here in Florida. It's not as busy as end of February/March and the weather is a little warmer.

Tomorrow's our last day here...bummer. We've really been enjoying our time away immensely. The only downside (and it's a big one), Chris is not here with us. We miss him so much! It's just not the same when he isn't here. :-(

I mentioned in my earlier post how I planned to go to Florida to visit my folks this week. Okay...good idea...timing is right....just have to pack etc etc.

So, Friday night I am talking to my neighbor Jennifer and I asked her to accompany me to a consignment sale. Chris is not too "into it" as far as that type of sale, and he said... "You know Jackie, you're going to get what you want anyway". As in his opinion will be heard, but not necessarily taken. (I bet lots of husband out there are shaking their heads in agreement at that statement.) Plus he'd rather watch college football than go consignment shopping with me. I'm okay with that, and he does have a point about the opinion thing. :-) So Jennifer is going to come to the sale with me and I'm glad. Except for one thing... I have to leave at o' dark thirty from Florida to make it back here for the sale. Bleck! (You know how much of a morning person I am) NOT!

While I was talking to my friend who also consignes her kid's clothes regularly, I decided that this just might be the time to consign my kid's clothes. (As if I don't have anything else to plan for.......like maybe a trip to Russia?) So, after maybe a 30 minute debate, I decided that I would indeed prepare and tag clothes for this same consignment sale. This past Friday evening found me under the eaves of my attic pulling out bins and bags to sort through, and then washing all of the clothes etc. My partner in crime and the one who gave me a lesson in all things consignment is going to drop them off this week, while we are away. Thank you!!

Saturday I spent all day at the football field. And I literally mean ALL DAY 10am-5pm! Too long in my opinion.... we were ready to come home and relax. But instead I got busy printing all my clothing tags and pinning them to outfits. Today Chris and I dropped all the items off, and then we had church this evening. It is now 10:15pm...and I've packed very little for my mini-break to Florida. I need to get off this blog and finish it all up! Tomorrow morning we're getting an early start! I feel like this week is going to fly... and if I blink my eyes, I'll miss it!

P.S. Chris just came in and asked, "How are you doing, getting packed and ready to go???"

My response: "I'm bloggin' about it.......that's half the battle."

Thank you all for your kind comments and congratulations! I think you all are even more excited than me! That's okay.... I'll get there...once I'm on the plane. For now, there is so much too do and I vascilate between a sense of awe and peace and being scared half to death!

I'm dealing with everything well though! Even before we got the call with travel dates, I decided to take a mini-break to Florida to visit my folks. Only for a couple of days, but it comes at a great time. No committments on the football front and Chris has a HUGE project due. So this week he will be working long hours... Poor guy! But at least he won't have to worry about balancing work and family and football coaching. :-)

I'll be trying to get organzied with my parents help while away... looking for luggage and getting lists ready for our trip. Our ds2 has a birthday coming up, so I'll be planning for that as well... it's going to be a crazy few weeks that's for sure!

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

Yesterday was Chris's birthday. He had a great day! We all got up early and took him to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. It was nice! (Of course anything before 7am is way to early for me...but I was fully functioning after a few cups of coffee.)

He was invited several weeks ago to play in a golf tournament with one of his contractors, so that was his day! He got to play golf all day! How is that for a fun birthday!!

He got home and we had one of his favorite dinners waiting for him, and then hung out watching football (what else?) The boys went to bed, and at 10pm I remembered his favorite show was on. Life. So I called him into the family room (under the pretense of a nice chat), and then flipped on the TV. He was like a little kid, and said it was the perfect ending to his day. :-)

I was also tagged by a couple people to list 6 random things about myself. I've really enjoyed reading about everyone else....So I guess here are 6 things about me that not many people would know.

1. I love old musicals... I've watched them so many times I can repeat lines, and for sure sing many of the songs from them. Here are a few I know well, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Hello Dolly, The Sound of Music.... just to name a few. If you ever can't think of a song from one of those, I'm your girl. Just ask.

2. Do ya wanna know how Chris and I met? Country Line Dancing.... Yes, seriously. And that my friends was actually up north! We have very different versions of how we actually met that night....but suffice it to say that he was one good looking guy! (Still is!)

3. I really do not like to cook. Seriously.... I joke that my sister got all the cooking genes in the family. (I do believe she did!) She finds that very relaxing and loves to bake pies etc etc. All I can say to that (would I have to attempt it) is Ick. I am blessed at Thanksgiving as last year everyone came to my house, and my sister and mom did most all of the cooking. I'm happy to make the table look all beautiful and plan everything out..but I am soooo not territorial in the kitchen. Have at it folks!

4. I hate to camp or do any outdoorsy type stuff. My sister and her family go camping pretty often, and I can't even imagine it! Yuck! Mosquitoes and insects of any kind just bring out the slight germaphobe in me. My idea of roughing it is in a hotel. Now, I don't mind driving anywhere and having some kind of adventure exploring new cities or areas...but not somewhere with a dense forest etc etc. I can do it... I'm just not gonna like it much!

5. I'm a night owl too just like Kim. I am soo much more productive at night and my brain is really fresh and awake! I have really pondered why I'm like this... I think God just created me this way. Ever since I can remember I have not been a morning person. I have never felt awake and refreshed if I have to get up at o'dark thirty. Or any time before the actual sun is up! My sister can attest to this as well. I'm a grumpy bear in the morning or I'm just pretty comatose until I've had my coffee. (A LOT of coffee!)

6. I love to remodel our home with my husband. LOVE IT! But we love to do everything mainly by ourselves and on a budget. If there is a way we can re-use building materials or old furniture we will. I have two pieces of furniture that I found at a salvage store. (Well way more than two....but for this purpose I'll describe two of them). One is an old wardrobe that had a skeleton key. It was $50, and I came up with the idea to take DVD and CD racks and install them all along the back of the wardrobe. It now sits in our family room and houses all our dvds and kids games and puzzles. Then I also had an old dresser that I found for $10. The drawers never worked right, and Chris was getting ready to throw it out. I was hesitant as I knew I could find something to use that dresser for. We ended up throwing out the drawers and Chris made shelves for the inside. We added fabric attached with furniture brads all around the outside. That has been used in many ways, as a pretty storage area in our laundry room, to an entrance table to a buffet in the dining room. We also had a great time completely re-doing our former kitchen . Here are some of the photos.... (yes those are the same cabinets, we completely re-used them and made them flat front).

Most everyone I know has been tagged...but if you are reading this and you would like to play along. Post 6 Random Things about Yourself....

I had a few people email to see how I am doing. I'm okay really... I guess I'm just finding it difficult to put much of anything into words. Well, really transparent words...and so I'm just saving those in an actual journal that I have for myself.

Am I disappointed? Yes, I can't help but say that I am. We (and our agency thought we would have travel dates by now). Shoot, we thought we'd be traveling too. But unfortunately we have to wait a little longer. I'm an okay waiter... it's the roller coaster ride I can do without. I hate getting my hopes up and then being disappointed. I'd rather not have gotten my hopes up in the first place...but that's almost an impossibility.

We have not received news this week as well, and I'm still okay. Last week I was definitely not in a good place, and I was very sad. This week my expectations were lower and I am able to deal with the news better. I guess that is how it goes sometimes with international adoption... or maybe that's just how I deal with it. :-)

I am grateful for several people who just encouraged me this week. My sister just letting me know she's been thinking about me and wondering how I am feeling with the news of "no news". That just touched my heart. She's my only sister, and she's had to listen, stand by and watch over the two years we have been on this journey, through all of the ups and downs. I know she's shared my feelings of excitement, frustration and sadness. I'm so grateful that she is so supportive of our hopes and dreams.....

I also had a great conversation with my good friend in Maryland on Tuesday evening. It was one of those transparent conversations where we could voice our concerns and fears to one another, and know that they are completely normal. No judgement at all.... just affirmation and understanding. I needed that 2 hour conversation to catch up, share and just l-a-u-g-h! (Ummm yes we sure can talk...) :-)

So many people have shared that they are praying for us. Thank you so much! In my heart I know that God in in control and that He is not surprised by these delays. I know that... and when I seem to forget, my oldest son will remind me, that "God is in control and that he wants what is best for our family". My friend has this scripture up on her facebook page, and it is one of my favorite verses... another that I will add to my sidebar as I journey on this walk of faith.

Proverbs 16:9 "A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."

There is unfortunately no news on the adoption front.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.... I feel like when I tell my husband I like a piece of furniture in a certain place... and then look at it and go, "Nope I think I like it better where it was." And it's always one of the heaviest pieces of furniture too.... Anyone else do that?

We were all ready to make our blog private on Friday, and then I decided to research a few things. First, people would have to log into the blog every time they read it. Not a problem for google folks, but those who don't have an account (like our folks and family) will have to create one, and then remember the password. We want this to be as easy as possible for our family to stay in touch.

Secondly, if you use google reader like I do... you can't follow a private blog. This is a newer to me function that helps me manage all the blogs I read, and I know a lot of people use it too! I don't know how I waited so long to figure this out, but it helps me tremendously!

Finally, I seem to be a magnet for blogger bugs recently. I swear if they have it, it will probably find me. (I wonder if my blog's immune system has been weakened or something... ) So I am hesitant to go private and get some bug that locks me out, and then no one can read my blog. Which Murphy's Law says would probably happen right before we are ready to leave.

Having said all that... I am still mulling the decision. Thank you all for sending me an email, if we do decide to go private...I will send out an invitation to join our blog!

Today, like every Saturday, is football day here at our house. Both boys had games today and they both won! Ds1 has a pretty amazing team. They have almost all played before and the team is pretty cohesive. Ds1 was sooo close to catching his first pass.... I can't wait to see when he does, and what he actually does after that. (As in run downfield or what?)