Walking a Little and Halloween

Almost there, just a few more weeks and I think Jacob will be taking off. He is an expert at walking on his knees and speed crawling. This past week he has walked four or more steps. Only if Rich and I (or one of his Grammys), face each other, with our hands out to catch him. The stairs are no challenge for our little guy. He goes up quickly but takes his time navigating his descent. Eating well and starting to say more words. When his Daddy is mowing the yard he goes to the window where the noise is the loudest, sometimes the door-wall and yells for him "Dah". Dah Dah Dah!!! I have stopped laughing at this because it is time to teach him the inside voice :)

Halloween was fun this year. For the first time in years I felt like participating, it helps to have a baby around. I am always on a diet so I buy candy we do not like. Not the easiest thing to do. One little boy came to the door and said "Yuck". I guess he did not like the Darts and Glow in the Dark Gummies we passed out. That made me LOL. He had on a super cute costume though. Jacob was a lion. He went to a party at Rich's work and stole the show. On Halloween night he only went to six houses, it was so cold and windy. After arriving home he had to be at the front door to check out all the kids stopping by. Of course I had to hold him. Once I had given out the candy he was shutting the door saying bye bye. I can hardly wait to see what he will be next year!

We are so excited about Thanksgiving! All my siblings, their partners and some family friends will be here. Mom is helping me cook. Gonna be Great!

Home for three months!

Bath-time is so cute. Molly has to be in the room too. Jacob and Molly get along really well. Except Molly does not like to have her tail pulled and she lets Jacob know that. The first time I gave Jacob a bath was in Kaliningrad after the driver dropped us off at the hotel. It was 90+ (HOT) in our room. The Moscow Hotel did not have air conditioning. Jennifer and I made sure the water was perfect and that we had a few toys. I placed him in the tub and he just sat quietly staring at the tiles. Made me a bit nervous. I had forewarned Jennifer that he may cry and could have a fit. Poor guy, now that I think about that day it seems he was in shock. We quickly bathed him and got him out of the tub. Maybe some of it was the heat? Now he splashes everyone, his flashy lights have to be on, the toys out, a washcloth on his head and he is in no hurry to get out of the tub, hehe.

Today Jacob has been home for three months. I have read on many blogs how the author feels like their new child has been home with them forever and always. We completely feel that way too. It is as if he has always been here with Rich and I. I will tell you about one thing I am working on. When he is breaking in teeth/teething he bites me. It can hurt too. He has not bitten Rich and I told him how lucky he was. Lil guy is strong. I have been reading about this and it is normal. At first I was concerned that it might have something to do with attachment and bonding. Now I am trying to teach him not to bite. Also working on not reacting too much. Some of my facial expressions make him laugh. He is in pain though, poor guy. A couple of our friends told us to get "Hylands Teething Tablets" and they seem to help. He is working on his 7th and 8th. Not sure how it will feel when the big molars start to come in. Tonight I am going to try the washcloth in the freezer, my cousin liked this remedy for her two cuties.

Regarding sleep, he is doing so good. A few blogger friends suggested "white noise" and that was a great idea. He still has the music to listen to. Plus we have a humidifier that Grammy gave him for his room. That humming sound does help a lot! I hope everyone is doing well!! :)

Videos for a rainy day

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Here's a couple of videos. The first one is Jacob's first haircut. This hot of the press - we just went this morning. The second one is a video from one of our first meetings with Jacob back in April. At the time I just posted the audio because we were not allowed to post pictures. So for those who haven't seen it yet, here it is.

Going Private!

We will be making the blog private. This time I thought I would let you all know first. If you would like to read along please leave a comment.

Feeling better and a new Birth Certificate

I always want to include a picture when I post. This is a black and white taken at the Target Portrait Studio for Jacob's first birthday. They did a real good job. We have had this frame for years but never put anything in it until now.

Today was a good day. We received Jacob's Birth Certificates from the State of Michigan. The process started about three weeks ago when I applied at the county to have a Probate Judge approve the application that was then sent to the State. The total cost was approximately $210.00 and we did ask for two official copies. Now I will be able to apply for his US passport and SS#. Let me say how very impressed I was with the staff at the County office. So kind and explained everything politely. The State of MI has been wonderful too except for some confusion back in May re: the State police clearances. Not that either of us had a record, just not sure they would get the paperwork done it time.

I have not posted about too much because I was just not feeling well. Nothing has effected Jacob he has been pretty fantastic. (Later I will share his whole rash scenario with you) You see I was so run down when I came home in early July. Kidney stones (yes plural) a double ear infection with popped ear drum and respiratory infection. Plus the emotional ups and downs of that court trip were not easy. Just in the last two weeks I started to feel better. The reason I write about this is because a lot of the families I am following are getting referrals and travel dates. It is so fantastic too! So excited for everyone!!! Here is some advise, take care of yourself. Hopefully, your placement agency won't be like ours and make everything much more difficult for you. Even with that taken into consideration I wish I had slept more, drank more water and exercised more frequently. So for me go get a massage, oh I wish I had done that before trip three, hehe.

What am I saying you folks all have it so together! Congratulations and Enjoy your lil one!

Two Months Together!

Tomorrow will be a busy day so I am posting today so I don't miss doing it. It's the day that marks Jacob being home in America for two months. Wow!!!! He is so great on so many levels. He is a blessing, a gift from god, an angel and the cutest baby in the world, hehe. Yes I could go on for hours. We are all so lucky to have him in our lives especially his Mommy and Daddy!

Yesterday we went to the store for baby food. He is so good in the car and at the store. On the way home when we pulled into the garage he said "Dadah Dadah", he knows his house and that his Daddy is there. Still working on the Mama. He says "Yeah" and "Oh oh" (when he drops something) just to mention a few. A lot of baby talk. Not quite standing and walking on his own but I can see it won't be long. This week I have been dressing him in 18 month clothing because he is growing so much. Some of the pants are still too big so I roll up the bottoms. Rich has been working so hard and misses his son when he leaves. This morning they were playing before he had to go. I heard Rich tell Jacob "you can't get through life on looks alone". Jacob said "Yeah Oodle Qee" it was too cute.

Fall is almost here

With fall right around corner the subject of Halloween has come up. Actually it came up a few weeks ago in the "Babies R Us" store because apparently baby costumes sell out fast. So Jolynn asked what I thought Jacob should be for Halloween this year. The first thing that popped in to my head was "IronMan." I have no idea why I said that, it was a silly answer. But on the other hand, it's also really cool. STOP. FREEZE FRAME. Now we've stumbled upon the root of what's turning out to be the great debate of 2009 "cool" vs "cute."

I've had other really cool ideas like "Ace Frehley" but all that make-up on a baby probably isn't a good idea. But still, Ace is really cool.



Then I thought, how about "Baby Hulk Hogan?" Jacob already has the long blonde hair. Jolynn thinks that it's outdated. True, but who hasn't heard of Hulk Hogan?




The whole time I've been coming up with ideas Jolynn has been campaigning for this cuddly little lion costume. Yeah, ok it's sort of cute. Then Jolynn tried the jedi mind trick on me and suggested a bunny costume. The reference being that before we knew anything about Jacob we were calling our child to be "Bunny." But I think Jolynn put the idea out there as an alternative to the Lion costume so that I would eventually just agree to the Lion suit. Ok. Maybe it worked. Because all I can think about when she mentions the bunny suit is Ralphie from A Christmas Story. It's just not fair to torment Jacob like that.



So in the end I think "cuteness" will prevail. I guess it really doesn't matter as long as Daddy gets some of those special dark miniature Hershey bars.

The Beach and Socks for Babies.

A day at the beach. It had to be nearly 90 degrees. Jacob loved the water and playing in it. He also liked watching the other children splashing, swimming and playing in the sand. I just know we will be going to the lake a lot. I sure would like to have a picnic this fall at a lighthouse and its beach, no swimming just gorgeous views. Michigan has such beautiful beaches.

He is doing really well. I have noticed he is all boy getting to and in everything. I was vacuuming yesterday and he followed me around, touching the machine. It was as if he was analyzing the equipment and how it is used. Fearless in a way not afraid of too much. Rich tells me he will be skiing and playing Hockey soon, what! Maybe in a few years, hehe.

When we first met Jacob I noticed his feet were cold on one of the visits. So I shared this with my Mom and Sister who also hosted the baby shower for us. They had a "Sock Drive" at the baby shower so we would be able to take socks for the little ones. On the third trip Jennifer and I delivered 70 pairs of socks in various styles, colors and sizes. This was before our baby shower and they came from family and friends sending us gifts who could not make the shower (70 pairs, wow). Once home and at the shower we received another 80 pair of socks plus 10 pairs of tights. Now I am not sure how to get them to K-grad. I am hoping one of the families that will be traveling soon would be able to take them. We have $2,200.00 rubles to give the family to hopefully cover the cost to deliver them to their baby's home. What do you think? Can anyone help?

Growth Charts :)

We went to Jacob's appointment and it was so good to hear the Dr. talk about how our little babe is thriving!!! He has gained 2 pounds and grew 1 1/2 inches in five weeks. The nurse gave us growth charts to keep in his file and we heard from more than one person that he doing "Wonderfully". I wanted to frame these charts. We are feeding him primarily organic baby food and he can have as much as he wants. His Dr. wants us to keep him on whole milk. Still looking for whole organic milk that is lactose free?? Any hints??? He does not like soy or rice milk too much.

A lifetime of music

As some of you know I have long commute to work everyday. Most days it's a little over an hour. On bad days it can be over 2 hours. So thank God for the ipod and satellite radio. Today, I listened to Queen. They are and always have been one of my favorites. Then I realized that I've been listening to Queen since I was about 7 years old. I can remember when one of my sisters bought "A Night at the Opera" and my other sister bought "A Day at the Races" on vinyl.

I can also remember listening to classical music with my dad. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and just about anything from Beethoven were some of my favorites. This might explain why I like The Trans-Siberian Orchestra so much. They're the only ones who have figured out a cool way to combine hard rock and classical music. Kind of like a musical Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

So now that Jacob is home we've been playing Beethoven at night while he sleeps. All 9 symphony's on a loop. It's almost poetic when I go in his room to check on him and the ipod is playing Beethoven's 9th or 7th symphony. Will music mean as much to Jacob as does to me? I don't know. But I hope so. I hope one day in the future when Jacob is an adult and he's listening to his holographic virtual music device thingy that he'll have some sort of memory of his first days with us.

But for now he seems content with the 3 Stooges song that plays on his jumpy toy.

Wow, just wait until he's old enough to watch the Stooges. Awesome!

Sleep, I remember you?

Can you believe it has been over a month since we picked up Jacob from the baby home. The time is going by so fast. The picture of him falling asleep was so unplanned he was playing, jumping and humming one minute and then quietly sleeping the next. He likes this toy it lights up and plays music that he sort of dances to, super cute.

It does feel like Jacob is the only one catching any ZZZ's in the house. I have to check on him and I swear he can hear my creaking bones or smell me, something. As soon as I peek over the crib rail he starts to fidget. If he wakes up and needs a bottle or diaper change and I am not moving fast enough. He'll start to cry and then Rich will sometimes check to see if everything is OK. This is happening once or twice a night. Not sure if he will sleep through the night or not. We will have to wait and see. Of course he is adjusting to so many new things and changes. It does seem like the last week he is getting caught up with some mobility. Standing, walking while holding on to furniture, feeding himself finger food, saying Dada, tons of baby talk and trying to go everywhere. I turned my head for a second and he was half way up to the landing on our stairs, WOW! Need more gates! He did gain about 11 ounces and he is eating well. A whole bunch of smiles!

Good news he is not allergic to Molly (dog) or Tutty (cat)! They did get a little worried because they have figured out the pecking order around here. Should know what this rash is soon. It did go away the first week so a lot has been ruled out. I hate thinking he might be uncomfortable.

Hope everyone is doing well. Does anyone know how to incorporate the blog into facebook? I am still learning how to use it but it does seem like a fun site.

Showered with support!

We are so thankful! On Sunday Jessica, Mom - Jessie, Brenda and Ila - Mom gave us a Baby Shower. It was so much fun and we Loved seeing everyone. Jacob came with Rich for awhile and everyone got a chance to see him in real life. It is not often you see the baby the shower is for. It was the first time we had taken him anywhere other than the Doctor or a quick trip to the grocery store. I know there are pictures of the actual shower but I still have to work on getting them on my lap-top. The dining room and den are filled with boxes and gifts. I hope to have thank you cards and some organization completed this weekend. Rich also had a shower at work for baby Jacob. He was so surprised, hehe. We are so appreciative of all the well wishes and support. Thank you all so much!

Last post we asked about medical records, thank you for sharing. We do not have anything for Jacob. I am assuming something was given to me in the region that needed to be part of the paperwork for the Embassy. No one told me to copy the paperwork. In fact they asked it to remain "as is" to be given to the Moscow representative. We have been calling and e-mailing the agency for more than two weeks. After not hearing back from them I decided to stop by yesterday after a Dr. appt. Jacob was with me and he was so patient during his nap time. Of course I really did not want to drag him around anymore but we feel it is important to have some medical information. At least the vaccination history. Hopefully they will get back to us? .

First Birthday

Yesterday was Jacob's first Birthday. He really likes chocolate cake and ice cream. His Gram got him a lazy boy chair and the all important old English "D" Tigers gear. Aunt Bren and family gave him all we would need to go to the beach including three beach balls (a favorite around here.) Grammy gave Jacob a spinning top that he is fascinated by and stacking blocks. Aunt Jennifer gave Jacob a pelican that talks when you drag it behind you, it also collects balls. We all had fun celebrating this very important day. As soon as the cake was on the table he was grabbing for it. We had to quickly blow out the candle. Both Rich and I feel he is adjusting well. The Doctor really liked Jacob and thought he looked in good health. They took a lot of blood and he was such a good boy for the nurses. We should have the results in a couple of weeks.

Just a quick question for families that have their little ones home. Did you receive medical records or any documents that detailed the vaccinations your child had been given?

More pictures (edited pics no longer avail - site OOB)

We are doing good. Yesterday was an interesting day for me. I had a kidney stone, yuck! Very painful and hours in an emergency room. I am so glad that we did not have to deal with that in Russia. Rich has two babies to take care of, lot's of work for a new Daddy. His Mom has been a angel coming to help us when I was sick, Love You, Mom. Jacob's rash is pretty much gone and he is doing really great. We mailed / sent out a lot of paperwork this morning. You still have paperwork to do when you come home but it is not a big deal.

Jacob

Here he is, our precious little boy. Just a couple of pictures from our third visit on the Court trip.We are home, the best feeling in the world! I was so happy to be off that plane. Rich was waiting for us and Jacob and I where so thrilled to see him. There was balloons for us at home and the Grandmas came over to help last night. Little one has a rash so we are going to the Dr. in a few hours. Jennifer, Jacob and I are taking naps when needed. Later we will share more.

They have his visa!

Jacob had his embassy appointment today and BOOM just like that he has his visa! I think because of the upcoming long weekend, the embassy was just jamming on the paperwork and getting things done. Finally a government holiday worked in our favor. Right now everyone is back in the hotel getting some rest and some food(it's been a long week). Jolynn will be checking into getting an earlier flight back home - not sure when yet.

Back in Moscow

Jacob, Jolynn and Jennifer are back in Moscow tonight. Jacob did really well on his first flight and he seems to be liking his new diet of American baby food. Everyone is exhausted because it's been non-stop since they left here Sunday morning. They have another busy day on Thursday. In fact I just gave them a wake up call (it's 4am there now).

Oh, and I was way off on the movie selection. Apparently Delta planes don't have that personal entertainment system that Northwest planes have.

That's really all info I have for now.

They're on their way

This morning I took Jolynn and Jennifer to the airport for the last trip to Russia. I'll admit it - I already miss my wife. I'm checking flight tracker to see where they are now. A quick glance here at 8:13pm tells me they're over Newfoundland, Canada. If the airline hasn't refreshed the movie selection, I would bet that Jolynn is watching "Best in Show" because it's one her favorites and she's seen the other movies already. Since Jennifer is new to the international flight scene, she could be watching anything right now. I would guess "Pride and Glory." But chances are just as good that she's listening to her ipod or even my ipod for that matter.

I have the house to myself for the next few days. I'll be working all week and getting things ready around here. I have Tutti and Molly with me. Tutti, the cat doesn't really seem to care about anything and I think Molly might be upset about her new haircut. Here's a before and after.
Her fur is so short now, she feels like a four-legged chamois cloth.

Since Jolynn and Jennifer won't be blogging directly from Russia this time, I'll try and keep posting as much as I can after they call me.

Cool Shoes!

Our bags are packed. Hoping to avoid fees in Russia for over-weight bags. We may have to move some things around to different bags at the other terminal in Moscow. This is going to be a long, long day or two of travel. With all the wonderful gifts and well wishes we have received this last two weeks we are able to take with us everything Jacob might need. Special thank you to Joy, our family in Texas and Michigan and friends who have made this trip so easy to prepare for. When I showed Rich the shoes Joy sent for Jacob he immediately picked out the tenny's with the flames (or is it dinosaurs) "Cool Shoes." Our little one is going to be super stylish.

The last few days there have been a lot of baby animals in the yard. Here are some deer with fawn. Cute and fun to watch. We leave in a few hours. Jennifer, Mom, Jay and Rich are sleeping right now. I would be too but Tutti and Molly are teasing each other, running around the house in circles. Kind of use to not sleeping too much and I know I will be checking on Jacob a lot. Actually we are all looking forward to taking care of our little one. Praying for an easy transition and smooth, seamless journey!

That was quick

Our 10 day waiting period is almost over and soon Jolynn and Jennifer will flying off to Russia again. That was quick. When we got home last week, I stepped off the plane and was back at work the next day. My sister also got married while we were gone so we had a dinner reception for them and my nephew flew off to Spain later that night. Then I worked all weekend. Then I averaged about 12 hours a day for the next three days at work. For those of you who don't know, I work in advertising. And of course this current project will make the world a better place because that's what advertising does. That was sarcasm. Sometimes it's hard to work in an industry that has a foundation of pure bullshit. But I forge on. Oh and to top it off, the SYNC system in my car stopped working. Nice. Thank you Apple, Ford and Microsoft. Way to go.

The strange thing is that I welcome these minor distractions in my life because it keeps me from worrying about Jolynn's trip. I know things will be fine. But still, my wife and my son will be a long way from home in a foreign land. Well foreign to her, not to him - and maybe not so foreign to her now either.

So I'm worried and excited. But I'm okay with it because I know things will be fine. In a couple of weeks everyone will be home.

Happy Father's Day

I thought this picture of Rich and I after the 2nd court hearing would be a good one to share. We are smiling! A week earlier we where in front of the same building, in the same outfits as white as ghosts. Hehehe. Just when I think I can start laughing about the court trip I remember with anxious excitement that I have to return. I am going to pick up Jacob, hooray!!!! Everyone keeps saying that is when the fun begins. That is why I wanna have someone with me to help on this trip. Rich will be staying home to "hold down the fort" and getting things ready. My sister Auntie Jennifer will be coming with me. Here are a couple of pictures of her smiling which she does a lot. She is super cool just like all three of my sisters are! We are so appreciative that she can put her work and life on hold for us. Due to the delay we will be in Moscow for the 4th of July weekend. Truly I do not mind that (nor will I while I am living it) if there are no more delays. Keeping my fingers crossed and Praying!

Happy Father's Day wishes to Rich, my Dad and all the Papas (and soon to be) out there, you guys are awesome!

The Zoo

On Sunday we went to the zoo. It was a cloudy day and there was some sprinkles of rain. At one point we hid under some big trees to keep from getting too wet. Rich made the suggestion and I was so glad that he did. The coordinator said the zoo is more than 100 years old and was built by the Germans. The containment areas and cages where so different from the Detroit Zoo or other places I have been to see animals in the US. We got so much closer to the animals. The big brown bears where playing or fighting. Not sure what they where doing but it was so wild to watch. The cost was about 200 roubles per person. It was so worth it. This really helped us keep our minds off of the 2nd hearing that was coming up. If anyone is going to K-grad check out the zoo and the cafe just right of the entrance. The cafe is sort of a small buffet style. We could go in there and try our limited Russian and point if we had to. The folks that worked there are very nice. The Hotel Moscow was just across the street from the Zoo.

Hopefully, I will be able to figure out the travel changes today or tomorrow. I was a bit anxious about this yesterday. Plus I was so tried. When I re-read my previous post I noticed it was totally whiny. Rich and I have a lot to be thankful for. So I will try and not be "fretting the minutiae" too much.

Home and Missing Jacob!

So we are home and missing Jacob a lot! I want to post pictures of his cute little face but I think we will wait. Just a couple of more weeks. Here he is standing for the first time last week and playing on the floor with his Daddy.

I will need to be back in Kaliningrad on the 29th or the evening of the 28th. So I have to change all the travel plans and rearrange everything. ***edited ...........***edited. We are just trying to focus on the wonderful parts of our journey as much as possible. I know after surviving the last two weeks that we will have our Son home soon and be a little family!

The Judge Gave Her Approval!

We are so happy to say that we are Parents. We both had a hard time sleeping but decided not to call the coordinator this morning until after 10:00 am Kaliningrad time. At 9:30 am she called to say the documents had arrived in Gusev and that we had a hearing with the Judge at 11:30am. She would pick us up to go to the travel agent and buy tickets to St. Petersburg at 11:00 am. We thought this was such a good sign but still we where so nervous. There was another couple who would be having their fourth meeting with the Judge today and she wanted to make sure we got done before she started with them. Also the third couple that was delayed who was supposed to meet Tuesday got postponed again till Thursday at 2:00 pm. We feel so lucky to have been able to get the Judge's approval today. So many Prayers! Thank you all so much! We will be heading home with a stay in St. Petersburg tonight and a stay in Amsterdam tomorrow. The plan is to keep the blog private until we are home with Jacob Ury. There was some difficulty that we thought was not necessary. It caused us to feel we where very alone here. We do not have a specific complaint today because we are Parents and we are so happy! We are so in Love with our little boy and can barely wait for you all to meet him! So Elated, A Great Day!!

Galapicos Islands

Some of you may think this is funny. The only channel we can watch is the BBC News 24 hour cable news. They are right this minute showing a documentary on the Galapicos Islands. Oh, the irony. We have seen Jacob this week and may be able to see him this weekend. The agency wanted us to stay in the Village where he lives but the hotel rooms did not have phones. No one spoke English at all. They would not send a translator with us to set things up so we could not figure out the logistics of staying there. I do feel yucky about it because I wanted to see Jacob as much as possible. For now we are staying at the Hotel Moscow in Kaliningrad. We will post more later.

More Hopeful Today!

We are doing better today. There is a possibility we will be able to stay closer to where "Little Bunny" lives. Not sure yet but it will be more remote. It kind of sounds like fun to live in a small Russian Village. We had a wonderful visit yesterday. Such a joy to see this little one. It makes us hopeful that the outcome will be positive. Thanks everyone for the well wishes, we appreciate them so much!

We had a bad day!

We had a bad day! One or two frisky pieces of paper kept us from moving on in this process. Needless to say we are devastated. Postponed after the hearing kind of thing. Meaning we had a hearing. It seemed to go well on our side or particulars. Rich handled the questioning very well. Then I don't know????? The judge re-scheduled the hearing. Can't get too specific.

In some way we feel we are facing the possibility of being childless. Hopefully our 2nd attempt will be successful but we are not going to lie we are very worried.

Tomorrow we visit the baby home again. I am scared that I will be hurt even more. This is so hard! :( We are pretty homesick right now. I wish I had better news to report!!!

Grammy to the rescue!

Wow, we needed to put on our bat signal in the clouds over the sky of Kaliningrad. It was shaped like my Mommy, Grammy. Yesterday just minutes after arriving back to the hotel from visiting the baby home the phone rang. It was our coordinator and she needed a document from the US. Yikes, I went into complete Kate Gosselin mode. I skyped Mom and said "I am in crisis over here, I need you." We called the agency and the folks who would need to prepare the paperwork. Mom dropped everything and our consultant at the agency helped with the verbiage. All day today all we could think about was did it get done? Well of course it got done. Mom spent hours making sure it was done! We Love You, Mom! Thank you so much.

Now on to a fun subject, "Little Bunny." Check out the hat he was wearing today. I so want to bring that outfit home with us. He has worn this a few times and it really makes his gorgeous blue eyes shine. We stopped on the way to the baby home to buy three packages of diapers. I wanted to give them to the director or assistant. Instead they walked me down to where they dress the little ones. This is the first time we have been anywhere in the baby home other than the playroom or director's office. It was so fantastic to see them at work. They have so much Love for all the little ones. You can tell they are getting the best care that can be provided. Jacob was handed to me and I kissed him on the check. What a visit. Playing for hours. We found out he is ticklish and he put his fingers in my mouth to do strawberries. That might sound yucky but it made us happy to think he may be growing some trust for us.

Hopefully, the hearing will be a positive experience. Rich has to do a lot of talking. We had a meeting with our coordinator today to go over what to expect. She said Rich has to answer questions from memory. No checking your notes. When she said that we thought she was joking. No you really, you have to do this from memory. So we have homework for our hearing. Not sure what will happen but we are hopeful. Lot's of Praying. Monday is the big day! We'll try to post when we can, internet is not 100% .