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| Sunday, April 30, 2006 |
| Trip 1/Day 4 |
Hey! Did you think I forgot to finish? I've been busy, hardly at home the last three days. I come in and sleep, that's all!!
Well, day 4 started out early and in a hurry. We were packed up and ready to go by 8:30 a.m. We hopped in the car and were off on our 2 hour drive again. Upon arriving at the orphanage, we immediately met with the director and the doctor. Nothing was really new to us, just difficult to understand. One brother has multiple medical problems that we probably won't know the full extent of until we get him home and to all of the specialists he needs. The other's medical record was fairly clean except for the dental report (and he wasn't the one with the worst teeth). They also told us he had "anthrophilopathy". We questioned what this meant and were told there was no translation and they moved on. Damon later broke it down-- "anthro"- human, "philo"-love, "pathy"- disease. He was definitely the more cautious one and less loving, but nothing that we felt was extreme. I guess we'll see when we get him home.
After the meeting, we were taken to see the boys for about 10 minutes. I had asked if we could see where they slept. They came and took us on a complete tour of the orphanage with the boys. I'm sure many are not so fortunate. It was a neat place, not bad at all as far as orphanages go, I suppose. There were 5 or 6 beds in each bedroom and two wardrobe-type things, no decorations. We saw a school room, "concert" room where the kids would do special activities, and a common room.
After the tour we went back to playing. I had brought some Color Wonder fingerpaints to take to them. This was also a hit!! We did this for about 15 more minutes until they came and told us it was about time to go. I really hated that we did not get more time with them that day, but I was thankful for the amount of time we had the day before. They had us sign a paper accepting the kids and we began to pack up. We left a lot there. On our tour, I did not see one single toy. Maybe they were in the cabinets or somewhere, but I never saw one.
Right before we left, I took the director some gifts for her and the workers. She thanked me for coming and said, "Come back and get them." I assured her we would come back as quickly as possible. The goodbyes were very painful. The director saw my eyes tear up and kept smiling and saying, "Nyet!" The last picture I have in my mind is of the director, one boy on each side, waving as we drove off. I cried for a while.
We had a long drive after that. We had to catch our flight out of a city about 4 hours away. About an hour and fifteen minutes into our drive, our car broke down. We sat on the side of the highway waiting for someone for an hour and a half. The coordinator and translator were very kind and handled everything calmly. Soon our ride came. We quickly hopped in. We bypassed the city where we had stayed and kept going. After about another hour and forty-five minutes, we pulled over on the side of the road and were told to, "Change!" They got out, grabbed our luggage, and we loaded into a van. The van passenger got in the car we had been in. We sped off for the remainder of our journey.
Time was getting close and the driver knew it. He was apparently exceeding the speed limit. We got flagged over twice. Now, this was a whole new experience. Police do not drive in their cars with their radars on and catch speeding motorists. They clump up on the side of the road with the radar gun in hand. If they catch you speeding, they simply wave you to the side with a flag. You pull over, talk to them, pay your fine right there, and go on. I never once saw someone try to go on once they had been flagged down. It was very strange!
Anyway, our flight left out of the city at 5:30 p.m. We arrived at 5:00 p.m. Our coordinator was out and gone into the airport with our tickets and passports before we even unloaded. We literally ran through the airport trying to catch up with him. We made it onto the flight just fine.
We arrived in Moscow and were picked up by our guide there. Again, we had not eaten all day and were famished. They took us to McDonalds. I was amazed for two reasons. First, it tasted just like it does here, completely. Second, I enjoyed it a whole lot more that night. :-) We made it to our hotel and got checked in by 11 p.m. The hotel said they had no internet, but we were able to make our first call back home( at $4 per minute). We talked for 3 minutes and gave them our hotel number. They called back and we talked to each kid for about 20 seconds. This was wonderful. We crashed pretty hard that night. |
posted by 6blessings @ 9:35 PM  |
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| Thursday, April 27, 2006 |
| Trip 1/Day 3 continued |
Sorry there have been gaps in my story. We have had some major paperwork glitches and my days have been filled with adjusting back to "normal" life and fixing these problems.
Okay, where did we leave off? Oh yeah, we had just seen the boys. Well, after meeting with the director, we were taken to a large room with one of the workers and left to play with the kids. We had brought stuffed animals for each of the boys- an elephant and a dog. They were super soft and the boys loved them. We then spent about an hour and a half playing with puzzles, dinosaurs, cars, coloring, paint with water, silly putty, stretchy lizards, and the infamous Viewmaster. When we were doing paint with water, I noticed that one of the boys would switch off which hand he was painting with. He seemed to be good with both hands and didn't have a preference. I don't know if this was just because his developmental stage or whether he is ambidextrous. I can't wait to get him home and see. The stretchy plastic lizards were also a hit. We have the best piece of video of them playing with them. One of the boys was stretching one of them and its tail broke off. At first he was alarmed, but we just laughed and told him it was okay. Shortly afterwards, both of them were pulling until their bodies shook and their faces contorted trying to dismember the lizards. It was hilarious!! We laughed so hard we couldn't stop! The video is awesome. It makes us laugh everytime. Our kids at home love to watch it. The Viewmaster was the biggest hit of all. We only had one, but when we bring them home, we're going to have to have 2 of them and lots of disks. We had National Geographic disks with animals on them. They couldn't get enough of it.
Seeing as how we only had one Viewmaster, we were able to see just how well they got along with each other. They were amazing. Even when one desperately wanted a turn, they were able to work things out. Never once while we were there, did we see them fight, scream, whine, or cry. They were very even tempered and seemed to get along really well. A few times we heard the orphanage worker tell them, "Nyet!" They would stop their action immediately and move on to something else. They were incredible.
After playing inside, we were able to go outside for several hours. It was a mild day. I had long sleeves and a heavy sweater on and was very comfortable. We played with some rocket balloons. They loved these. They are super long balloons that you blow up and then release. They dart high into the sky, performing many loops before landing. Then you do it again. Needless to say, I got a small headache very quickly from blowing them up so many times. No, just kidding. ;-) We also played "Catch a Bubble". This is bubble solution that hardens a few minutes after contact with the air. Therefore, you can catch them, stack them, and they don't break when they hit the ground. They also enjoyed playing with the small balls and beach ball we brought. They are soccer players. Damon kept trying to play catch. However, they would always catch it and put it on the ground to kick it.
Part way through the day, we were invited into the director's office for tea and a snack. The boys attended also. They were so cute on the other side of the table. Their little heads barely cleared the table edge. They ate a lot of candy and finally some bread. At this point, the director kept strongly encouraging the children to call us "Mama" and "Papa". From then on, those were our names. Wow, what a feeling!! Damon and I talked later on and wondered how much they understood about who we were. Do they even understand what a mama and papa are or are those just names they gave us? We don't know, but we can't wait to get them home and teach them what a mama and papa are all about.
After tea, we were told to take them for a walk. We walked around the little dirt roads of the village for about 45 minutes. The orphanage worker tried to tell us what a few of the buildings were, but I don't know how much we understood. Before going on the walk, both boys grabbed a hot wheels car and clutched it in their little hand the whole entire way. They held our hands with their free hand. Along the way, we tried to teach them to skip. They could hop on one of their legs, but just couldn't quite get the other one going. They were so cute trying!! Everyone we met along the way stopped to talk to them or give them candy. They knew them by name. We heard the boys telling them that we were their Mama and Papa. That got some warm smiles. They are so well loved not only at the orphanage, but also around town.
Upon returning to the orphanage, the other children there started coming outside. All of them were older- junior high/high school aged. Every time the boys saw someone new come out, they would run up and show them their new jackets and the Viewmaster that Mama and Papa brought. (The jackets were ones my mom had purchased for the other boys we thought we were getting. I had taken them as a donation to the orphanage, but they ended up being the perfect fit for the boys!) Most of the older kids gave us smiles. Only one older boy shot arrows through us with his eyes. Several were cautious, but warmed up quickly. We had thought we were going to a baby orphanage and had brought tons of bubbles for the kids. We went to get them anyway. They were a hit!!! I couldn't believe how much the older kids enjoyed them. We also opened up our snack baggie and had the boys pass it around to everyone for a treat. They all seemed to appreciate this. All of a sudden there was a large surge of more children out of the orphanage. Food!
The older kids went to play basketball and Damon ventured around to the back side of the orphanage to shoot a few hoops with them. He came back and said we had to bring back balls for them next time. Theirs were completely bald and mostly flat. After this, we were told to come eat. They had made some rice and meat and wanted us to eat. It was about 6:30 p.m. and we hadn't had anything since our meager breakfast at 8 that morning. We readily accepted the offer and had dinner. While we were eating, our coordinator returned. After eating, we went back to the director's office and were asked what we thought of the kids, did we want to proceed with the adoption, did we have any questions, etc. Of course, we were thrilled with the kids.
Saying goodbye was okay that evening, but I was already dreading the next day. We made it back to the hotel at about 9:15 p.m. We paid for some internet service, only to find out that none of our accounts worked there. We also couldn't call the USA from there. So, we got creative. We sent my parents an American Greetings card with the orphanage information. The only problem was that they never opened it because they thought it was spam. :-) Oh well!!
Thanks for bearing with the long account of the day. It was the best by far! By blogging it here, I now have it journaled forever so that one day I can show the boys and tell them about our first day together. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:24 AM |
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| Tuesday, April 25, 2006 |
| pics for last post |
For some reason, the pics for the last post didn't show up. Therefore, I'm attaching them in this new one. You'll have to read the last post to hear about these pics. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:45 AM |
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| Trip 1/Day 3 |
First a disclaimer: Russian food: We really didn't have much of a chance to eat at all. Almost all the meals we had were in the hotels (3 breakfasts and 2 suppers). Most days we never ate lunch. We literally were in a car or on an airplane most of the time we were there. We had a few airplane meals- I wouldn't base my idea of Russian food from these. We also had one meal at the orphanage- rice with a little meat (pilaf). It was fine. Therefore, I am not the best person to take advice from in this area. Every meal we had did have tomatoes, cucumbers, and bread served with it(Of course, no veggies at the orphanage.). We also had 1 meal at McDonald's in Moscow. We munched on peanut butter crackers and granola bars I had packed.
Now, day 3. This day was the best day by far!! I awoke early, anxious to meet the kids. I laid in bed and began praying. I was a little nervous and had some worries. I shared these concerns with the Lord and prayed for our day. Finally, I got up and decided to peek out the window. We had come in the pitch dark. I wanted to look around. The pictures above show you what was directly outside our window. Wow! God was with us. He heard my prayers.
We got ready, ate breakfast(yogurt and bread), and waited on our ride. We said goodbye to the other two families who took off for another city. We wouldn't see them again. Then we got in the car with our coordinator and translator. After driving a few minutes, I asked what the orphanage was like. They replied that they didn't know, no one had ever been there. We drove for about an hour and forty-five minutes before being told we had arrived in our village. We had travelled a little two-lane highway that had obviously not been smoothed out before it was laid. Damon's motion sickness didn't fair too well. The scenery along the way reminded us of western Oklahoma- flat, full of wheat fields and small towns. The only difference was the dirt was dark. Oklahoma has red dirt.
Upon arriving in the town, we asked directions to the orphanage. Everyone seemed to have different ideas. Ten minutes later, we finally found it. The town was full of old run-down houses and buildings and lots of dirt roads. However, everyone had the most beautiful red tulips planted. The orphange had several large flower beds that were nothing but weeds with these red tulips outlining them. It was a decent place, clean and neat.
They took us to a room and told us to wait. Damon wasn't feeling well and so he took some crackers and water and went outside to get some fresh air for a minute while we waited. Soon our coordinator came in to me and said, "Eat! Eat!" He did an eating motion with his hands and motioned me to come. It was about one in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten. I thought maybe they had made some food for us and were inviting us to eat, so I followed him. He took me into a dining hall and held his hand out toward a table. At first, I thought he was wanting me to sit there. Then my eyes wandered one table further. There, backs to me, were two little boys, both with matching clothes and hair. The boys!!! They were so tiny! Their little legs just dangled off the chair. Everyone was speaking in Russian and one of the boys turned around. He was so sweet and so small! I felt like the room was spinning. I hadn't been prepared that I was going to see them at this moment. My feelings overwhelmed me. I managed to walk over and kneel down by the table. I didn't want to scare them so I just sat and smiled at them. One just grinned the sweetest grin, the other just looked at me. The orphanage worker kept telling them to eat, so I tried to motion eating and made funny faces. I ended up playing peek-a-boo off the side of the table and got a few grins. I think they thought I was weird. A few minutes later, they brought Damon in to the room. I think he was overwhelmed also. We both ventured a touch and got grins. We stayed for a few minutes, but the boys weren't eating so they took us out of the room.
We met with the director for a few minutes. She asked questions like, "Why do you want to adopt?", "Why Russia?", "What do you do?", etc. We were then taken to a big room and the boys were brought in. We gave them each a stuffed animal. They loved them. Then we broke open the toys. After a few minutes, our translator told us that they had business back in the main city. They were leaving and would be back to pick us up later. Therefore, we were being left in a city with no English speakers, almost 2 hours away from the main city. It was the best day ever!! I'll give more details tomorrow. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 5:51 AM |
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| Sunday, April 23, 2006 |
| Trip 1/ Day 2 |
We slept hard that first night. We got up early and were ready for our day at around 8 a.m. We headed off to find breakfast. It came with our hotel stay. We managed to find it, but didn't know what most of it was. We ended up finding some corn flakes and granola. Damon tried a sausage looking item, but said it was terrible! We then ventured back down to the marketplace. Most of the vendors were just setting up. We walked a long way back into it.
Almost all of the stores were identical. They either had a million pairs of jeans, a million pairs of shoes, a million undergarments, or a million shirts. Each store seemed to carry only one of these items, but had them in multiple. The vendors have to bring in their items every day and "set up store". In the evening, they put everything into boxes and took it back home.
On the first day, I had seen a beautiful porcelain doll that I wanted for my older daughter. She collects dolls. The doll had a traditional Russian dress on, a long red braid, and green eyes. My daughter has red hair and green eyes. I had tried to bargain with the lady, but felt she was really gouging me. I knew I really wanted it and would regret not getting it. So when we were in the market on the second day, I went by her booth again. A different lady was running it. Her starting price was the other lady's bottom price. I was able to bargain a little and bring the beautiful doll home to my daughter.
My oldest twin daugter loves Pooh bear. We found Pooh bear matroyshka dolls. They contained all of the characters, one inside the other- Pooh, Tigger, Christopher Robin, Eeyore, on down to Piglet. It was really cute. We got our son a Soviet era military hat.
After hanging in the market for a while, we went back to our room to await a phone call from our agency as to when they would pick us up. We received our call, went to find some lunch, and then packed up. We left the hotel at around 2 p.m. and drove to the airport. Our flight did not leave until 8:35 that night, so it was a long wait in the airport.
We finally boarded our plane and headed off for our region. The flight was about 2 hours long. The food was weird. I only ate the bread. Russians seem to have a great love of bread. We were given three or four different kinds of bread with every meal.
After deboarding the plane, outside, we were taken inside to a luggage carousel. There we met our translator. He told us the luggage carousel never works and we would probably have to go outside and get our luggage off of the truck. He was right. There is only one plane that flies in and out of this airport. It comes in at night and flies out in the morning.
We loaded in the van, along with our translator, driver, and 5 other people meeting their children. Shortly after leaving the airport, we saw police cars. As we passed, there was a dead body in the road. We still never heard the story on that one.
At about 11:45 p.m. that night we got checked in to our hotel and told when to be ready the next day. The other 2 families were going one way. We were told we were travelling to a small village about 2 hours away. They couldn't remember the name.
I am including a picture of the Russian marketplace. The picture was taken from our hotel room on the 24th floor. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:51 AM |
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| Saturday, April 22, 2006 |
| Trip 1/Day 1 |
Friday, April 14, we left OKC airport at 10:54 a.m. and flew to Atlanta. In Atlanta, we had two hours to catch our international flight. Everything went smoothly, except a gate change from the last gate- gate 36, to the second gate- gate 2. The walking did us good. We ate our last morsel of American food- a Chick-Fil-A sandwich.
The flight over was forever, as many of you know!! Our legs and backs were so kinked up. It was almost a full flight, so there were no extra spaces to stretch out. We left Atlanta at around 4 p.m. U.S. time and arrived in Moscow at 10:30 in the a.m. We had about 4 hours of darkness. We did not have that much sleep- maybe an hour or two. We met one other lady on our flight that was also on trip #1. She was going to the far eastern side of Russia.
In Moscow, we were taken to our hotel. We laid down for a few hours and then made ourselves get up. Our hotel was located next to the biggest outdoor market in Moscow. We bundled up (it was extremely cold and rainy) and headed out. We had to exchange money, then it was off to the market. We didn't buy much that day, just browsed. We bought a matroyshka doll for one of our twin girls. We wandered the streets looking for something to eat and ended up back at the hotel. After emailing family and getting a bite to eat, it was off to our room. We tried to stay up a while, but ended up falling asleep around nine that night.
It was one very long and exhausting day! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:56 AM |
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| Friday, April 21, 2006 |
| We're back from Trip #1 |
We're back! We're trying to catch up on sleep, do laundry, unpack, etc. Wow, what a trip! I'm just going to do a quick overview and will give more details in the days ahead. We picked our kids up from MeMa last night and I'm ready to spend some time with them today. My son is asking to play dinosaurs, so I have a very important engagement.
Everything worked out incredibly! We had many travel issues to overcome and God smoothed every single one of them out. We had a great time, other than my husband's travel sickness. Our children are precious! The boys are very tiny. They will be 5 years old in June. They weigh about 26 pounds and the size 2T clothing we took fit them perfectly, a little big in the waist. They have some major dental issues, especially one of them(like nothing but a few rotten stumps for teeth). Somehow though, it made their smiles even sweeter. Dental visits are one of the first things on our list when we bring them home. They came right to us, played with us, sat on our laps, and after a while, hugged us. Those were the most amazing hugs anyone could ever ask for. They loved all of the play things we brought, especially the ViewMaster! We stayed busy for hours.
It was so difficult to leave them there. However, they are the "babies" of this particular orphanage and everyone looks after them and loves them. I know they will be taken care of and loved until we can get back to bring them home. We are already hitting the new paperwork very hard! We have a goal, it may be impossible, but it is our goal nonetheless. June 6 is their birthday. We want to have them home by then or at least be getting them by that date.
I'll fill everyone in on more details later. Right now, I have a dinosaur date! :-) |
| posted by 6blessings @ 8:14 AM |
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| Thursday, April 13, 2006 |
| Leaving Tomorrow |
Well, this is probably my last blog before we're off. We leave our house at around 8:45 in the morning. I can't believe it's really here! I'm still a little tentative, wondering if it is really happening. Things are mostly packed. I can't believe how little it takes to reach the weight limit for the little planes once we get inside Russia. We have one suitcase for the orphanage and one for us. All I really have left to pack is last minute items and paperwork.
Our visas made it yesterday!! Big relief! It looks like we are about ready to go. The kids are starting to get a little clingy in anticipation, so am I. I know all will be okay, but boy will I miss them!
Finally, I wanted to say thanks to all of you who have prayed for us. God sure has done some amazing things. He is teaching and growing us in our walk with Him every day. We thank him for these new children and the opportunity to be going to see them so soon.
To all of you who will be gone on your trips by the time we come back, congratulations and good luck! We will be remembering you in our prayers and anxiously awaiting to hear your stories!!
Here we come kiddos!! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 5:41 AM |
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| Wednesday, April 12, 2006 |
| Packing and Fears |
Today's packing day! I have done all of my laundry. My kids are packed for grandma's. I have taken care of all arrangements for my responsibilities at the gym and church. Now it's time to pack for Russia. In two days we get on a plane to go meet our children. We will be going to spend time with them in the orphanage next Monday and Tuesday.
In Oklahoma today, it is supposed to be 89 degrees. It will continue on this pattern. So, on Friday, I will board the plane in near 90 degree temperatures, fly to Atlanta, fly to Moscow, where it will be around 32 degrees. Talk about bringing layers. I have been watching temperatures in Moscow and our region. They seem to change so much from day to day.
Another issue we face is our flights. We opted for the straight shot to Moscow from the States aboard Delta. Well, literally a few minutes after we booked our flights, Delta said they were going to strike. The magic day is the 17th, right in the middle of our trip. We'll get there, I'm just not sure we'll get back! =)
My biggest fear: Being separated a world away from my four beautiful children. I know they will be great at MeMa and PaPa's house, but mommas just worry. I will miss them so much! I have one that has exhibited some signs of us leaving this week. She has always had a hard time being away from Mom. She can go stay one night with a friend, but that's about it. She will have to make it 6 nights! I have been praying to God that she will stay so busy and have so much fun, she won't have time to think about us being gone.
Well, gotta go pack! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 6:39 AM |
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| Sunday, April 09, 2006 |
| Woo-hoo!!!! and Ugh!!!! |
Woo-hoo!!! Well, I am so excited. I spent the last two days at Western Oklahoma Sectionals competition. It was the qualifying meet for State competition in May. All of my team qualified. My team is small, but this was still a big feat. This is the first year for this gym to have a competitive team. Most of the girls I coach just started gymnastics this year. Competition is very stiff. I was so proud of all of them. Way to go girls!!
On another note, can I just say, "Ugh!!!!!" ? Prior to losing our first referrals we had all of our paperwork done, not only for this first trip, but also for our second trip. We were on top of things, ready to go. We were going to hand-carry our second set of paperwork, the ones needed for our court date, into the region with us on our first trip. Boy, did that go by the wayside!! This new region's paperwork is so much more extensive!!! I didn't know how lucky I was before. We are feeling very overwhelmed. We leave in just a few days and have so much to do!
Oh well, one day at a time, I guess. Today we will go to church. This afternooon, the packing begins- 2 adults for Russia, 4 children for grandma's and Easter. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 4:55 AM |
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| Thursday, April 06, 2006 |
| My 4 little angels |
Here's a picture of our four children who are excited to get their brothers home, who have had to endure the loss of brothers, who have to put up with mom on the computer blogging(especially the last one), who have to endure a lot of "Wait a minute, please"or "Not right now" while I am pouring over paperwork, who are four very smart, talented, beautiful angels.
I love you guys!! You are the best! |
| posted by 6blessings @ 11:05 AM |
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| Wednesday, April 05, 2006 |
| Catch Up |
Ok, I'll try to catch everyone up. My heart is about to jump out of my chest in overload trying to get ready for this trip. My already busy life just got put into super overdrive. In addition to all of this stuff, I am in the middle of preparing my gymnastics team for Sectionals, the State qualifying meet which is this Friday and Saturday. Yes, I will be gone all day those two days, no time for packing and planning then.
Anyway, back on the subject. As most of you know, last Thursday we got sent some new referrals. At first, it was difficult. None of them were what I expected. I think I was just still grieving the little ones we lost. Nothing else was good. In addition, I had really wanted a little one/little ones to cuddle and hold. These children were older. We quickly ruled out two of them and focused in on a new referral of twins. We did not expect them to send us more twins. They seemed to think that is what we wanted.
Damon was immediately drawn to them, I think even more so than the ones we had lost. Their picture was so sad. It was black and white, and their eyes were so empty. It looked like a Holocaust picture. The picture we had of the other twins was in color, cute, etc. I had printed it out and put it by my bedside. This new picture was not one I wanted to look at often, nor print out. Damon was very patient with me. He kept telling me we were in this together and if I was no comfortable, we would just wait.
Throughout the course of Friday and Saturday, my mind was a battle zone. Here's some of what went on inside my head.
Me: "But God, I wanted a little one to hold and cuddle".
God: "You followed my call to adopt when you thought you were getting little cuddly ones, how about now?"
Me: "But God, the language barrier will be so much harder at this age."
God: "I can handle anything."
Me: "But God, they are old enough to remember the orphanage, maybe even their mother. I didn't want to deal with all of that. My hands are already full with the four children I have."
God: "My strength is made perfect in your weakness. I will sustain you."
Me: "But God, they have medical issues and aren't healthy. "
God: "They are my children. I will take care of everything!"
Slowly the conversation became more like this:
Me: "God, change my desires to your desires."
God: "I love you child."
Me: "God, give my heart total peace if this is the direction we are to go."
God: "I will give you peace that passes all understanding."
Me: "God, these boys need a lot of love and I want to give it to them."
God: "I will fill your cup overflowing with enough."
By Saturday evening when I went to bed, I felt the awesome peace of God rush over me. On Sunday morning, my desire for little ones was gone, even when we taught our two-year old Sunday School class.
One of the boys had several medical issues that we were still unsure about. We were waiting on a medical update. However, we decided that we were going to accept the referral regardless of what the agency told us about his health. It ends up that they think he has a small hole in his heart between the atria. A pediatrician we know told us we wouldn't know exactly what the "noises in the heart" were until we got him home and ran tests. In the picture, he had a small tube coming out his nose and taped to his cheek. We found out that he had swallowed laundry detergent and had burned his esophogus. They were treating him for scarring and pain in the esophogus. The tube is now gone and supposedly, he is eating and swallowing okay now.
So, here we are. 9 days away from travel! We were originally going to Kemerovo, but are now going to Stavropol. Therefore, we have some new documents to redo and notarize and apostille, along with packing 2 adults for travel and 4 kids for grandma's. We leave on the 14th and will return on the 20th. Therefore, the Easter bunny has some packing to do too!! :)
God was so gracious and patient with me over this last weekend. I am truly beginning to see His "bigger picture". I will share more on that at a later time. Right now, I have some papers to fill out! :) |
| posted by 6blessings @ 5:48 AM |
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| Monday, April 03, 2006 |
| In a Flurry |
This will be a really quick update because it's late here and I need to get to bed. I just wanted to update everyone on our situation. I will explain more in detail in later posts.
In a nutshell: We accepted the new referrals. They are another set of twin boys, identical this time (although we're not 100% sure). They are four, almost five, years old. Upon notifying our agency of acceptance, they informed us that we would need to be in Moscow on the 16th so we could fly into the region that evening. We would need to be at the orphanage on the 17th and 18th. Did I hear someone say, "Of April?" YES! We leave for Russia in 10 days!! My stomach turns to jello just thinking about it. They are transferring our paperwork already and we sat and filled out our visa applications tonight, to be Fed-Exed tomorrow.
We just received all of this news a few hours ago and we are in a flurry. We are very excited and feel very blessed to have such a great agency. God certainly is keeping us on our toes. I'm just glad He is in control!!
Well, I'll update more later with more detailed information. I've got to get to bed tonight. We have a long day tomorrow. I'm leaving in the morning with my four kids on a field trip to a children's museum. We are meeting my mom, sister, and her two kids there. |
| posted by 6blessings @ 9:31 PM |
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