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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!!!
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% .
I spent the weekend preparing for our trip. One project was a photo album for the Judge. I got the brilliant idea that I would put headings above each photo in both English and Russian. Google translate and a couple of our books where helpful but I am not too sure about what it says. This was somewhat time consuming. So when Rich came into the office when I was nearly done saying "I hope we are not calling the Judge a nasty name inadvertently." I shouted "me too, duh!!!" We'll have to ask our translator to read through and make sure we don't offend anyone. For a picture of the back of our house the caption read "Rear of Home" the word rear did not translate well. It now reads "Back of Home." We laughed pretty hard about that. We are so excited and nervous to be returning to Russia. I believe our time between trips has been rather short in comparison to other journeys. Knowing this did not stop me from being stressed out. Part of the frustration seems to be a compounded feeling of disappointments. This path of building our family has had its road blocks. It is now time to move forward. I mean we already have come so far. We have met a pretty fantastic little boy who I know we will Love unconditionally. Please send positive thoughts and Prayers our way for a wonderful reunion and successful court outcome. We will try and update with news while we are there.
Here is one of the pictures we included to show how we are preparing for our little guy. Most of the clothes are hammy downs from our super smart and cool Nephew Brody who is two years older then Jacob. It will be so much fun to see these two little boys playing together
Happy Birthday to my Husband. No need for numbers, I'll just share with you that I think he looks like 30 something. I got him a super cool case for his I-Phone and new Teflon pans for cooking eggs. I know the 2nd gift is a bit odd but Rich likes to have a specific nice pan for his yummy breakfast. Since I am often treated to this wonderful meal I will do whatever I can to keep my morning cook happy. This past long weekend has been a nice one. Sun and a cool breeze always makes for a fantastic Memorial Day. We have worked on Jacob's room and it is looking less like the guest room that it once was. My sister Jennifer is a very talented artist who if we are lucky will be painting a mural for us. Also found a nice gift idea to take with us for everyone that is helping us in Russia. More practice packing has started for our second trip. My Mom and Jay came to visit, they will be house sitting again. Getting closer to when we will be traveling.
It won't be long now. In just a matter of weeks we will be able to see Jacob again. Oops, I spilled the beans. Calling him Bunny is cute but I am starting to see him as my little Jakeypoo. Just kidding, he's a Jacob. We are missing him quite a bit. I remember saying to Rich on the way to the BH, first day. "Let's be guarded and not get too attached." Huh!!! That is so funny. We are goners. Completely over the Moon. Everyday I look at his pictures and short video clips. It helps to see his smile. The intensity of finishing what is needed is so much greater now. Must be the wait between trips. It is so much harder than waiting for a referral because you have met the little one you hope to parent. I am getting to a better frame of mind. "Every experience God gives us is his perfect preparation for a future that only he can see." I keep reminding myself of who is in charge. On Tuesday we had a conference call with the director of our agency's Russia Program. Other families also participated with role playing and asking great questions. We both thought it was so helpful. It focused on preparing for court. Just hearing A.G.'s Russian accent makes everything seem better. These next few weeks will be spent getting an education. We are trying to learn as much as we can about the court hearing and exit/visa paperwork. The blogs are so helpful with this, thanks ya'll. I hope you like the picture it was taken on day 2 of our first trip.
If you are a fan of the Movies this summer is a good one for blockbusters. Our family is really into movies. Such a great way to escape your own reality for awhile. So far Rich and I have seen "Wolverine" and "Star Trek" I really really liked Star Trek but Rich was somewhat disappointed. If I told you why it would spoil it. Wolverine was just OK. I also went to a matinee with my brother Jay to see "Knowing" which was sort of a bummer. The next 3 - 4 flicks coming out this month look so interesting. May not be able to get out too much later this year. I am more excited about that than anything. Luckily, I like G rated films too so there is a lot for Bunny to watch with us. Last year my favorite was "The Duchess" with Kiera Knightley (chick flick.) 2007 my favorite was "3:10 to Yuma" with Russell Crowe the sound and acting where fantastic (a good western so worth seeing.)
The crib is assembled. It was a gift from Rich's Mom along with three huge packages of diapers. My Sister Jess and Nephew BoBo (who is three) have given us so much to borrow. They want us to bring the big car tomorrow for more. We will be able to borrow a crib mattress and rocker/glider. We are so thankful and I am looking forward to Sunday to celebrate our Moms. Jess is having a luncheon for my Mom. This Mother's day we will be able to visit with both of our Moms who we love so much. Congratulations to all the new Mom's out there.
Happy Mother's Day
This past week has been filled to the top. We are so busy with so many different items on our to do lists. Successfully checking off completed ones just puts such a smile on my face. Getting closer to seeing Bunny again. I can't wait to hold you.
Our paperwork for the Russian Court hearing has been delivered to the agency. Not without a couple of annoying hang-ups. One involved a persnickety Bank Manager that our Dr. thought would be a whole lot more helpful with doing some notaries. Then a complete moron at the Secretary of State Super Center refused to apostile four of our documents. I showed her, I went to other center in a different County and got it done. I so want to go to her office first thing Monday morning and stick my tongue out at her.
There is one other thing that is more than a hang-up. We thought we had our flights all worked out with a travel agency. Thursday night our credit card was charged and we had a firm itinerary and I was so happy. I actually sleep well that night. Friday at 8:00am we got an e-mail that they had made an error and if we still wanted the flights it would cost an additional $1,000.00. So not cool! We asked for a full refund of course and I will check to make sure on Monday. Anyway back to the drawing board so to speak. We will get that done as soon as possible.I hope you don't mind sharing, we have a question for anyone who has traveled before us. Regarding the court and pick-up trips. How important is it to be able to change the dates on your flights?
