Saturday Song

Progress in the toddler room

The embarrassing before picture. The room had become a general storage area.


Taped off and ready to paint. JJ still cannot kneel, so I cleaned while he taped. Then I did all the painting. Since we were only doing the bottom half of the walls it was impossible for him to help.


First coat of paint. It took three coats to get good coverage and a clean finish. This color is really electric lime. We are very happy with it. Usually we argue about paint colors, but we agreed on this one quickly.


Daddy shampooing the carpet. This is the end of Saturday's work.


Today we got a little more done. JJ put his crib together.


The end of day two. A painted wall and a crib in place. Yeah!

Waiting: Good or Bad?

We are trying to finish up our second dossier paperwork. We are waiting on our background check. The only other papers we are missing, I think, include our employment verification, copy of our I-171 and our medical form. We will most likely have to re-do some blood work. We had some testing done a year ago. The verdict is still out, but I think I can probably safely call the doctor and have the lab work rescheduled. We can always cancel if we get good news. So, we are close. I don't feel ready, but I suppose I never will. Oh, I am anxious to have our little guy home, but I am not ready actually. His room is a disaster. We don't have any real supplies, toys, clothes, or furniture. We don't have enough funds yet. We still have online classes and books to finish. I don't want things to slow down, but I do want to get more stuff done. This has become a time of wishing for more hours in the day. Things will happen though. People are planning baby showers. We will have at least one more big fundraiser. Tomorrow we have set aside the day to working in his room. I will have to take before and after pictures. Of course the before will be a little embarrassing. I think often of the first book I read. It talked rather in-depth about ways to use this time of waiting. I think we have our time full, but something that author said stood out to me. They encouraged using this time to work on yourself, not just your home. Spend more time with God, invest in relationships, learn a new skill. Why not? I absolutely want to be best mother I can be and I need more mercy and wisdom from God to achieve that. I need to hold on to the people around me. I'm certainly going to need them in the days ahead. I actually love learning. I know. I'm in a small group, but I want to spend my whole life learning. Maybe that's why I enjoy my job so much. Four year olds teach me more than I think I ever teach them. So bring on the waiting!

Random Thoughts

I don't think I ever shared about our day in Archangelsk. The day after we saw our little guy we got up early and flew back to Archangelsk. We had almost a full day, so we did some exploring. It was the first time during the trip that I felt like I was experiencing the country and not just sitting in an airplane/airport or hotel. It was -24 degrees Fahrenheit that day, but we made the best of it. We did some shopping. We took several pictures of the town. Statues seem to be very popular. We had pizza at a restaurant called Uno Momento. That is so odd. A pizzeria in Russia with a Spanish name. Anyway, we walked out on the frozen Dvina River. At supper time the hotel restaurant was hopping with some celebration so we had to eat upstairs in the Sky Bar. I found it interesting that it was really quiet and you were not allowed to smoke. It was a nice day.
Now for the random thoughts. I never ate anything in Russia that I didn't enjoy. I don't know how much of the food I ate was actually Russian cuisine, but it was all good. I had some fresh apple juice twice that was wonderful. I noticed that women wore high heeled boots and skirts despite the extremely cold weather. It was amazing to me, but I guess you have to keep on going. They were all so fashionable and pretty. I felt under dressed most of the time we were there. I have also never seen so many fur coats in all my life. JJ offered to buy me one, but it seemed unnecessary. Russian money is much prettier than American money. There was a Willow Tree figurine in the adoption officials office in Archangelsk. It made me feel much more at home. Of course so did Dr. Pepper from the supermarket in Moscow. I learned that they have machines to haul off the snow from the streets of Moscow so it can be melted in a special facility. Who knew a subway could be so beautiful. There are no subways in the panhandle of Texas, but I have rode a few and the subway in Moscow was so pretty and clean. The escalators made me nervous though. I made Natalia laugh because I told her I didn't like escalators in general and especially not really steep ones. I got my fill on escalators on the trip. I have this fear on being sucked in at the end. I know, it's ridiculous.
Well, we are working on our second dossier paperwork. I really wanted to be done this week, except for the background check and apostilles, but the weather and JJ's recovery threw me off schedule. Nothing feels quite right. I am happy to be back at home, working, going to church, seeing my family and friends, but I have this nagging knowledge that our lives are not quite the way they should be. We left our son in Russia and it is difficult to take at times. So, my last random thought of the day is Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee".

Sleeping, Surgery, and Shopping

We made it home just fine. Our family and friends were very concerned when they heard about the tragedy in Moscow, but we were already out of the country before anything happened. In fact, we were never in that airport. The last leg of our trip was both good and bad. Our flight from Amsterdam to Atlanta was the best flight of the whole trip. I would highly recommend KLM airlines. The plane was comfortable and well equipped. The flight attendants were so helpful and professional. We made it to Atlanta in plenty of time for our last connection. In contrast, the last flight was the most trying. Our flight was delayed. We changed gates three times. I got nauseous for the first time on our trip. I really think it was fatigue. At that point we had been awake since 3:00am (home time) and we had crossed six times zones. I was able to nap briefly on that flight and felt some better. We were able to stay the night in Oklahoma City. I was so grateful we could get a full night's sleep before heading home. We finally made it home, home the next evening just in time to see my closest friend who was visiting her in-law's while her husband finishes boot camp. Yeah! We went back to work the next two days, but it was tough. I was tired and it didn't seem like my brain was cooperating all the time. Then, we were back on the road for JJ's knee surgery. We were blessed that it could be scheduled on a day we already had off work. This was a three-day weekend for the county stock show. Yeah for the county stock show! The surgery went well. JJ had torn his meniscus. The doctor was able to repair his knee. He is currently sleeping soundly thanks to some well deserved pain medicine. I think I might be the worst post surgery caregiver, because I left him resting in the car a few times to find do some quick shopping. He was so sweet and patient with me. If you speak the truth when coming out from anethesia he must really love me. He said, "I love you" more times than I can count. He waited while I got our little guy an outfit. I had bought JJ a new outfit for Christmas in expectation of a new family picture, so I got our little one an outfit to match Daddy. Thank you Father for my two favorite gentlemen.

Adventures in Traveling

We had a wonderful day yesterday seeing the sights in Moscow. Natalia, the wife of our agency contact, drove us around Moscow and told us about so many things. We rode the Metro when we got closer to the center of town. She said parking was too difficult in that area. We were able to visit Red Square. We saw Lenin's tomb, St. Basil's cathedral, the wall of the Kremlin, and GUM. She helped us find souvenirs. We got almost everything we wanted to take home to our families. JJ really wanted to get his brother a furry hat and he found one at a much more reasonable price at the airport. That seems strange as the airport shops are usually expensive. It was the most walking we had done the whole trip and we were worn out by the time we got to our hotel. The Beshears flight home began last night, so Natalia dropped us off at the hotel and took them on the airport. I am extremely grateful we were able to share this experience with another family. We didn't feel so alone. Our hotel was hopping. Natalia explained it was a 60th birthday party, so it probably wouldn't last until the wee hours of the morning. It was some 60th birthday party! We were both so tired it didn't matter though. I slept the most I have this entire trip. Natalia wasn't picking us up for the flight until 5:15pm, so we had so down time at the hotel. We ate breakfast and lunch, checked several things on the computer, listened to a sermon from People's Church in OKC, and started a movie. Oh, we also carefully repacked everything to make the trip home. We had plenty of time at the airport and we were able to find the last few souvenirs. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:55pm. When they still were not boarding at 8:30pm we knew something was wrong. Soon they announced we were delayed, but only 30 minutes. We boarded without incident, but soon after the safety demonstration the pilot announced that we were delayed another hour due to weather. Yuck! It was actually the best flight for a delay because our layover in Amsterdam should have been 16 hours. We finally took off. They served a meal and JJ got ill from all the fish smell. Poor guy! I really enjoyed my fish and the first white bread of the trip. We had tried to reserve a hotel room since we would be stuck in the hotel overnight, but I messed up big time. The hotel was not inside the airport. Turns out there are two hotels in the airport and we are now in the tiniest room I have ever experienced. It works, but it is tiny. We'll try to take a picture, but it probably won't do it justice. Now for some sleep in the tiny bed. Tomorrow we have our long flight the rest of the way home.

Meeting our son

Okay, here are the promised details about our day at the baby home. We woke up much to early. We have not been sleeping well and this morning found us wide awake around 4:30am. JJ played the new Karate Kid movie on the laptop to pass some time. We left for the baby home around 8:30am. Our agency contact rode in the taxi behind ours with our friends the Beshears, so when our taxi driver pulled up I wasn't sure if we were at the right place. Most buildings in Kotlas looked the same to me. They all were around four stories tall with no signs to designate what might be inside. This building was no different, but it was the right place. Dimiti, our agency contact, led us inside, up some stairs and through several halls to an "office" of sorts. I was trying to soak everything in, but Dimitri walks so fast and I didn't want to get lost. I did notice several colorful decorations and door labeled in Russian with various child friendly designs. The "office" was fairly large with three desks near the walls, a table with a tea set, and a large bookcase covering the back wall full of toys. We were greeted by the doctor who let us know that our boys had different schedules. We would get to see our little guy first, but he had to leave at 9:30am for his first nap. The Beshears would see their little boy shortly after and he would stay until 12:30pm. We would both have a second visit in the afternoon. Soon they brought our son into the room. I cannot adequately describe that moment. The first thing that hit me was how small he was. We knew his height and weight from his medical records, but it was another thing entirely to see him in person. He came readily to us. In fact, if we would hold out our arms and gesture for him to come he would almost run to be held. It was wonderful and nerve wracking at the same time. He did not seem to care at all that we were strangers. He did not cry once during the time we played together. He was very tired that first forty-five minutes and only wanted to be held. He did not want to interact with the toys. He had a runny nose and a cough, but my nose has been running for over a week, so we took turns wiping our noses. They came at 9:30am to take him for a nap and we went to meet with the doctor and social worker. Well, I guess she was a social worker. She actually never introduced herself, but she gave us all the available family history. The doctor was very personable and open. She didn't bring up anything we didn't already know. He is much smaller than he should be and the most concerning is his head circumference. We know he had some challenges in the womb and his first few months of life working against him. Yet, he continues to make developmental progress and he is not far behind from where he should be. We were allowed to ask as many questions as we wanted and encouraged to send more questions if we thought of something later. After the meeting it was still not time for him to visit us again, so Anya, the translator, showed us a few more parts of the building and helped us find the secretary's office to send an email to our families. We did not have Internet access in Kotlas and I wanted to make sure someone knew we were alright. They brought our little boy back around 12:30pm and he got to stay until 3:00pm this time. He was much more alert after a nap and meal. We got down to the business of playing. He liked to hide things and then find them again. He loved anything with wheels. We got him to walk all over the room. We even heard him making sounds. He seems to love repeating what you do, which was very encouraging. My Russian is so limited, so when I would hide a toy I would raise my shoulders and spread out my arms to say, "Where is it?". He would mimic me in the cutest way. We showed him the picture book of his family, but he was much more interested in turning the pages than in looking at the pictures. At 3:00pm we were allowed to take him back to the room with his group. Everyone was busy playing when we arrived. Once again words are not adequate. Those little faces are burned in my mind. We were shown his crib and then his caretakers tried to get him to wave, "Paka". He was already playing and was not interested in stopping the task at hand. Of course we got one last hug before leaving. I was concerned again that he did not react to his caregivers or the other children really. Something to be praying about. We had been at the baby home this whole time and had not eaten since much earlier in the day, so we were very tired and ready to head back to the hotel. It had been an exhausting day emotionally and physically. Just before we left I went the restroom by myself and I contemplated what would happen if I ran back downstairs to his room and just took him with me. I think we are now in the hardest part of our journey, but we have so much support and I feel tremendously blessed. Soon we will be back home and I can get started on our paperwork. For now I am enjoying soaking up as much Russian culture as possible. I know this was super long, but I had so much on my heart, more than I can even share in words. It was such a marvelous day.