Waiting for a Court Date...

We have been home just over a week and we have been busy entertaining friends and family and getting Garretts rooms ready for his arrival home. The Kaufmans stopped in to hang with us a night and we had a fantastic evening catching up on our old Federal Hills days. Their 3 kids are terrific and we were sad to wave good bye when it was time for them to continue on their journey home.

We also had Gram and Coach in town for the long weekend. (Chris's parents) They were down from New England to enjoy the warm sun and a lot of play.

We completed the rest of our paperwork and sent it to be authenticated on Thursday. We are suppose to get court dates at some point this week and hopefully be traveling by early to mid March to bring him home. We are starting to get our visa paperwork together and the gifts we need to bring over for the contributing forces that are assisting us in finalizing the adoption. We have several boxes put together full of orphanage donations as well.

Jordan and I spent the afternoon shopping yesterday for some clothes and a special nigh night for Garrett. It was so great spending some quality time together. I think she is grasping the concept of having a baby brother in the house... I am just not so sure she understands that he will be staying forever. Today we decided to play hooky from our chores and we spent the afternoon swimming.

The room is almost complete and we are eager to carve out a special place for him in our world. Hope he is up for it!!!

Will keep you posted on our court date and travel plans.

We are home and counting down the days...

We made it home late afternoon yesterday and are definitely feeling the time zone and travel difference. (I don't want to chalk it up to getting old.) It took us 28 hours to get home from Samara, Russia. We know what we have to bring next time and that is coffee. Chris and I determined our addiction early on.

We got to spend a few hours with Garrett on Thursday (Russia time) before we left. He was very alert despite the fact that he was woken up from a nap when we arrived. Made a few noises, but otherwise very quiet and calm. This was good compared to the other 2 children that were running laps in the room we were in. It is going to be a fun flight home with all of them next trip. Jordan was also very "serious" when we met her and she has turned into a social talking machine. I am hoping that the "calm" disposition we were told about isn't really the calm before the storm. At least I am prepared.

We were told that our return travel dates will probably be March 13th or 17th. We are thinking the 17th. We are counting down the days. We watched the video last night with my parents and Jordan kept running up to the screen and saying "that is me!" (Maybe she doesn't know as much as we thought.) I will say though, when we arrived at the airport she had a balloon for us and ran into my arms! What a fantastic homecoming. She hasn't left my side since. It made leaving Garrett a little easier knowing we were coming home to her.

My dad napped the ride home. From what I heard, they were together 24/7. They had very busy days. I think my parents will go home and sleep for a week. My mom cooked a fantastic dinner last night AND cleaned up as I think I may have fallen asleep at the table. I don't know how we would have done it without them.

Glad to be home.... Only 28 more days till we go back... but who is counting!!
Missed you all.

I have fallen in love with another man...

Thursday morning, Samara time. (2am USA time). We had an excellent dinner last night in a local Russian restaurant. Some difficulty ordering with the language barrier and menu, but we managed to enjoy a great local meal. This afternoon we head back to the orphanage to see Nikolay aka. Garrett again and spend an hour or so playing and taking in every moment. The travel to this region is tough with the time difference and flight. We are very eager to get home tomorrow and see Jordan. We find ourselves talking about her all the time. I am sure the other 4 couples that we traveled with feel the same. Oh well. Garrett is in for a wonderful life...

The hotel has a bowling alley and pub so Chris and I have managed to keep the gang out late every night. Hey we have a sitter so why not take advantage, right?? We have sampled a lot of local brews as well as other more popular Russian brands. We are walking down to the Volga river this morning and hopefully to an outdoor market for some treats to bring home.

Missing you all.... but love being over here too!!! While it will be difficult to leave Garrett... we are sure looking forward to heading home into the arms of Jordan.

We Have FINALLY met our son!!!

What a terrific day this has been. It is currently 230pm Russia time (530am USA time) and we just got back from Orphanage # 2 in Samara, Russia. Nikolay was just gorgeous. I don't even know where to begin. We have taken a ton of pictures and video to bring back. He stands on his own, has blondish hair with big brown eyes. They have told us that he plays very well with other children and that is disposition is very "calm." I don't put much thought into that because Jordan was very calm too and look at her now. He babbled a bit, but spent most of our hour visit relaxing in my arms. He was very comfortable with both Chris and I and just seemed content looking at us. He did crawl a bit and is able to stand on his own and take just a couple of steps.

Tonight we plan on going downtown Samara to celebrate at a Russian restaurant. We will get to see him and spend more time with him tomorrow before we fly back to Moscow. His health is very good... there are no known concerns right now. He is being followed by an eye doctor for his one eye that tracks late, but it wasn't anything we felt concerned about. We traveled with 3 other couples to this orphanage. It was nice to have other people around to video tape and take pictures as a whole family. We also found out that he has been baptised and they will provide us with the cross and certificate.

We plan to return to the states on Friday and spend the weekend getting back on USA time. (The time zones were much more difficult than we remembered.) Samara is one hour later than Moscow time. It is known for its chocolate, vodka and women.

I cannot wait to call Jordan in a few hours. She has been on our mind. He loved looking at her photo in the album I made up for him. Will be in touch with more news... But what a relief today has been for us. We feel very blessed.

We Made it to Russia!!!

I cannot even describe how exhausting the flight over and time change has made us. Man are we old! We landed in Russia around noontime (Russia time) and couldn't wait to shower and the feathers. Only slept a couple of hours as we need to adjust ourselves to the new time zone. We met a wonderful couple on our flight from Frankfurt that are also adopting a boy from our same region. (They are from Delaware) We were told we weren't traveling with any other couples so it was a treat to find out that we have someone to travel with. This is their first adoption and Chris and I felt confident taking them on the subway down to Red Square this afternoon. Basically, every decision was a rock, paper scissor moment. You simply cannot read the signs. We made it though and got to take some great pictures. They are still decorated for Christmas here. It is BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

I have my watch set for American time... It helps me to still keep track of Jordan and what she is "probably" doing. Spoke with her this morning and I was happy to hear that Nana and Pop Pop were still very cheerful. (Especially after the birthday party I sent them to yesterday.)

We leave Moscow tomorrow at 1pm to fligh 1 1/2 hours to Samara. Not sure if we get to meet him tomorrow or Wednesday. We are just so excited.

It is FREEZING here. Can't even put it into words. It is nice to have been able to see Russia in all of its seasons.

Thinking of you all and will keep you posted!!

Kristen and Chris

Leaving tomorrow!!!

We wil miss you all and hope to have some great news for you to read soon. By the time you wake up on Valentines day, we will have met our new son!! I am not sure Jordan realizes we are going somewhere. She is more focused on the present mom has bought her. HA!

Will miss you all...

The Count Down is On.... 4 days to go!

Well.... things seem to be a go this time around. Relief to hear considering what happened with our last cancelled trip. We are expected to meet our little boy on Valentines Day. We never realized the significance of the day until people started bringing it to our attention. What a great day to fall in love!

We spent this past long weekend hanging out with our good friends, the LaPrades. While they brought the cold weather from the north, we managed to go to the beach and hang out. A nice distraction. Jordan keeps asking where her Madde friend is. Thanks for a great time! (currently 3 days sober.)

Jordan and I spent the day at the beach today with my friend Amy and her two beautiful girls. It was a nice relief from the packing and paper trail process that is associated with this adoption.

Everyone keeps asking if I am packing. I just can't wrap my arms around packing for 20 below weather. Yikes. Stay tuned. Will keep you posted on the Russian happenings. We do have pictures, but will save them to post once we meet him.

I hope Nana and Pop Pop are catching up on their sleep. They will need it next week. Jordan is just a little too excited to have them come and stay. We also are lucky enough to have Gram and Coach come the weekend after we get home.

Hope you are all doing well. We just want everyone to know how much we appreciate all of your support during this process. Hard to believe that last year I was worried I wouldn't make it to be be in my girlfriends wedding in Texas. (Rock on Shelby!) Almost a full year later we are finally traveling.

Stay tuned....