We have a court date!

It has taken me awhile to get back to normal - well my normal. I was so exhausted and a little worn out after our first trip. Some of the documents needed for court made me anxious this past week. Another set of fingerprints. Come on you have two sets already. The 3rd letter about the 1st letter to describe who the 2nd person is, notarized and apostiled. Why would you need that. I guess if I walk in their shoes for awhile I can see the logic??

Yesterday while I was watching a video Rich made for us of "J" Bunny for the fourth time. I got a call from the agency. We now have a confirmed court date for June! I was so relieved. And just 5 minutes ago some paperwork from the state was delivered via fed-ex. This package had me worried if it would get here in time and it did so quickly. So now I am checking into flights and fantasizing that we will get the ten days waived. This made Rich laugh and tell me "stop thinking about that, you are doing the 10 days." Sounds like jail-time to me. I still don't get why they do this, am I blocking the reasoning? Does anyone know why?

The Church pictured is in Gusev. It really shows a lot about this little village. The old cobblestone road and the cross at the top of the steeple are my favorite points. We hope to have all the finish documents in Russia by May 8th, 2009. If we miss the deadline we will not be able to go to the Star Trek movie opening night, hehe! I really wanna see this one, so I need to get the last two documents finished. We can do it!

A few thoughts about my father

Today is my Dad's birthday. He's not with us anymore, he passed away almost 20 years ago. I'm not really sure why I'm thinking about it or why I'm even posting it in a blog. I guess it's because I've been thinking a lot about fatherhood lately. When my dad died I was only 22. The early 20's are a pivotal time in anyone's life - making that transition from school or military or whatever, into the big bad world of responsibility and adulthood. There are many times I wonder what I would be like if he were still around during my 20's and 30's. It's hard to comprehend.

My dad knew his first grandson, my nephew Michael but he won't get to meet my son, which is sad. So I have to believe that my father is somewhere looking over our shoulders and he knows what's going on. And that's the only consolation I have for my wife who is having a hard time with the waiting period. I believe, that not only my father and grandparents but Jolynn's grandparents are all up there (maybe they know each other, maybe not. I don't know how that works) looking over us and making sure that we will bring our son home safely.

My dad would have been 74 today. And I miss him.

Pictures of our trip (edited pics no longer avail - site OOB)

We are settling into our routines again. Rich is up and going quite well. I have had a harder time adjusting and have started to wonder what am I going to do when "J" Bunny comes home. Gonna have to toughen up or something. Jet-lag is rough!! I thought I would have only two more documents to work on for court but I now have six. No problem. I will get them done as soon as possible. We are Praying he will be home for the 4th of July!!!!

Here are pictures of Pushkin, a 1/2 hour drive from St. Petersburg.

Here are pictures of our region Kaliningrad.

Here are pictures of St. Petersburg.

Just click on the picture and it will take you to the slide. There is so much more but I feel the above is a lot to look at. Especially when all you really want to do is see the baby. Soon we will have more. I hope everyone has a Fantastic Weekend!
Congratulations to Jay and Nicole F. who had a gorgeous baby boy last night. He is just perfect!!!!

Happy Easter and we are home!

We are so Joyful this Easter! Our journey to Russia was filled with so many Blessings!

I have a link to bubbleshare (web photo sharing site) to share, we are keeping it somewhat private. I did send it to e-mail addresses that I have. It has some pictures of the baby home and surrounding area. Also a few sneak peek photos of Bunny. If you would like to see it please send your e-mail address, comment or a note on how to connect with you.

Thank you so much for all the Prayers, well wishes, e-mails of support and comments on this blog. You are all so Fantastic!!! Your help and encouragement is so appreciated. God Bless You!

Back in St. Pete and more sight-seeing

We have been to the country-side of St. Petersburg to the Palace of Catherine the Great. It was in a charming small town called Pushkin. My back was hurting some today from flights, sleeping on unusual beds and bumpy roads (could also be stress) but we went anyway. Not sure we will be here again with the opportunity to be tourists and I knew we would enjoy it. We walked a little on the grounds and got some fresh air. "A" our guide is an encyclopedia of all things Russian especially this area. The Palace was beautiful, colorful and filled with school children on field trips.

I kept looking and smiling at the kids thinking Bunny may look similar to that one when he becomes their age. We are talking about him a lot. And we have not stopped thinking about him. His first name we picked for him starts with a "J." I keep looking at his pictures asking what do your think "J" is doing right now? I just took a nap and dreamed about him. This wait is going to be very hard and I have asked Rich to keep me from torture e-mailing the agency with questions.

Last night we stopped at two McDonald's for a late snack. Both where just closing as we arrived one had a walk-up window with a line of half a dozen folks. We tried to wait but got too cold. We did get our McKie D fix for our lunch. It was pretty good and interesting how crowded it was in there. We'll p0st more later with pictures the internet is slow.

A big day

As you can guess by the title, today was a big day. First we went to the hospital where bunny was born and met the medical director. Then we signed the preliminary papers to start the legal process of adoption here in Russia. We also choose a name for him. Then it was back on the road to the babyhouse one last time. While we were there one of the social workers for the Kgrad region came in to say hello and ask us a few questions. Then it was time to say goodbye to the little guy. That was very hard and the next few weeks will take forever. And now I'm going to use a phrase that I can't stand: At the end of the day - it was a great day. Right now Jolynn and I are both physically and emotionally drained. We're going to head down to the pizza place for more pizza and Lithuanian beer.

Day 2 at the babyhouse **audio**

We had another day at the babyhouse today. We didn't have to meet our driver until 1pm so we took the opportunity to try and get some sleep. Didn't work - for me anyway. After a healthy plate of french fries for breakfast we got on the road. Just like yesterday, we stopped for gas (the trip uses a tank of gas round trip) and I added a bag of M&M's to the breakfast menu. The famous John Belushi skit came to mind. You know the one - he's an Olympic track athlete then it shows him smoking and eating a little bowl of chocolate donuts. "Little chocolate donuts are on my training table." Today my breakfast of champions was fries and M&M's. I have to do something about that. And by the way, why do M&M's taste different over here??

So once again we drove through the Russian countryside. It reminds of the album cover from Led Zepplin IV. There's many old villagers out walking and doing their thing. Kind of like the guy on the album cover. Leaving Kaliningrad the road is like any other highway in the U.S. But as you travel further away from the city you see more barns and livestock and people like the Zepplin guy. Sometimes the road turns into a narrow cobblestone road which makes for a bumpy ride. I really wonder what this land was like when the Germans and Russians fought here during the war. This country has an incredibly rich history and its really cool to be here learning some of it.

So we made it to the babyhouse and we were told to wait in the playroom. When they brought in Bunny, he looked a little sleepy. At first I just held him for a few minutes. Once he was more aware of what's going on, we brought the toys out. We had the same ones from yesterday: the butterfly that lights up, his stacking cups and a new one - the beach ball!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, he dug the Beach ball. Most of the remaining time we had with him was playing beach ball. I can't post pictures or video yet but I can post an audio clip. This is me and Jolynn playing beach ball with the baby. I can't wait to have guys see the real one.



Tomorrow we have another big day. We're meeting the Doctor that examines the baby's. And then we're going to speak to another social worker. Should be fun.

Peace Everyone!
Rich