Hand Picked

I couldn't resist these PJs for the girls:


Hand picked?!
We are more than certain these children were long ago, hand picked, for our family.

And some more good news! Our Petition to Court arrived today! Yay! This is a must have document before we can get our court date in Kras. A few more signatures and formalities, then we send it back and wait to hear about court. We're still hoping to travel in early June, but it's too soon to tell.

We're looking forward to the dinner and silent auction coming up this Sunday. If you haven't heard, our great friends, Jon and Amy, have planned a benefit dinner and auction for us. The cost involved in adopting three children from Russia has become quite staggering. Jon and Amy realized this and set to work organizing a fundraiser. There are so many people behind the scenes who are helping out and making donations. It's already incredible. I'm reminded that when God calls us to do something, He always provides just what we need to carry out His plan.

We're so fortunate that our new family is being built in such a unique way. The prayers and support of others are step by step helping unite us. I will never know how to thank you enough. Just know, that you carry a piece of our family with you.

WHOA!

It was a Super Shower Saturday!

A great big THANK YOU to Amy, Leah, Rebecca, Krista, and Stacy for throwing such a fun shower. It was a very special day and I am completely overwhelmed by the love and generosity of our friends and family. How lucky Lexi, Natalie, and Justin are to have so many people who already care for them.

In some ways, it all felt a bit surreal... Is this really happening to ME? After all this time?
Well... there's a tricycle in the garage.
There are cute little outfits folded in the laundry basket.
There are tiny shoes lined up in the closet.
There's a pile books that would be just right for a bedtime story.

Now... there's just 3 things that are missing...

"When Are You Going Back?"

"When are you going back?"

That's been the question of the moment...day, week, month, season!
("Do they speak any English?" is a close second place. The answer, "Nyet!")

Here's where we are at: We are waiting on 1 very important document called the Petition to Court. This comes from Russia, to our agency, then to us. We complete it, notarize it, and have it apostilled in Sacramento. We then send it back to our agency, who sends it to Russia, where it is translated and processed, then submitted to court. THEN, we receive a court day, usually within a few weeks.

I was told this week that the Petition to Court should be hear SOON. Hopefully by next week. So, while no one can say for sure, we are still thinking an early June court date is likely.

On our next trip, we'll be in Russia for 4 weeks! We spend a couple of days in Moscow for medical visits. Then we'll fly to Kras. We'll go to court and then be required to spend 10 days in the region before we can take custody. During that time we should be able to visit the kids in their orphanages. A few more days, then fly back to Moscow. This is a 5 hour flight, and will be our first leg of travel with 3 kids. Now it takes several more days to get visas and passports taken care of in Moscow. AND THEN... back on a plane to head home. This trip will range from 12 to 20 hours depending on layovers. I'm in denial about how hard the traveling will be with 3 kids, so just keep telling me it won't be too bad.

We've been keeping busy with projects around the house. I've been working some extra days at a different school to bring in a little more money. Thanks to our amazing friends and family, plans for our benefit dinner and raffle sales seem to be going well. That's coming up soon, May 4. All in all, things are moving along. We're never going to get everything done, but I probably should get used to that feeling, right?

Everyday, I wonder what the kids are up to. Will they remember us? Are they safe? Happy? Please keep praying for them and those who are caring for them.

And now, just for fun...
See how much we are enjoying the van?! Here we demonstrate how spacious it really is. I won't tell you what Scott was murmuring through that cheesy grin! (But it was something like, "If this van is rockin'....") :)

Secrets Revealed

Sorry ladies... some top secret information has been released. You know, the stuff only we girls are privy to? The events that have gone unrevealed to men for ages.

Yep, the super secret activities that take place at only a baby or bridal shower! (For some reason always involving toilet paper???)
And now... Scott knows.

A couple of weeks ago some of the parents and players from his high school soccer team threw us a shower. What a fun day! I was so happy Scott got the chance to celebrate our kids in a way that usually only moms get to experience. He even got to adorn a toilet paper diaper. How's that for being initiated into the world of baby showers!? Of course, this shower did have a twist. Toward the end of the afternoon, the girls took turns trying to score a goal on their Coach Moc. (Way to go, Suzie!)

The Newest Member of the Family

Welcome the newest member of the family! It's a dark blue 2004 Honda Odyssey. Doesn't it look so nice parked in our driveway?! :)

We couldn't splurge for a brand new one, but this fella has all we could ask for and more! Well, Scott really hasn't asked for anything... except maybe for it to just go away. I, for one, am ready to have a campout inside the van! It's just so spacious and cushy! On a chilly night, we could crank up the heated seats and pop in a dvd. Can you say date night?

Oh, and are you ready for the best part? It has a cassette player! That's right! I broke out a bunch of my mix tapes from high school. I've missed good ol' Michael W. Smith... I think maybe he was right, Friends really are Friends Forever!

Pathetic? Maybe... but just let me know if you want to go cruising Friday night.

Just a little name change

As they used to say at Westminster Woods Summer Camp,
"ANNOUNCEMENTS! ANNOUNCEMENTS! ANOW-OW-NCEMENTS!!!"
For my pals who go waaaay back... you get it! ;)

But really, I do have a little something to fill you in on. Just a little name change...no, not a change... just a variation of the original.

Attention everyone: The part of Aly (our youngest), will now be played by Lexi!

Really, we're keeping her Russian name of Aleksandra, but we've decided to go with Lexi as the nickname. The NatALIE and ALY never sounded quite right to us. So, Lexi it is! Besides, I really like making cursive L's!

I do have one more MAJOR, 4 WHEELED, HEATED SEATS, type of announcement, but you'll have to check back for that one!

One Month Down

One month down.
March 3rd marks one month since we've been home from Russia. I guess that went pretty fast.

So what's the timeline? Like most things in the adoption world, there's no concrete timeline. On our end, we've had to update our homestudy (again!). I've sort of lost track, but I think this is our 4th update. At this point, what I'm hearing goes something like this:
Jen (our social worker): Still married?
Us: Yep
Jen: Still have jobs?
Us: Yep
Jen: Still live in the same house?
Us: Yep
Jen: Still ready to move forward with the adoption?
Us: Yep
Jen: Still got your checkbook?

Okay, I know the conversation is MUCH more meaningful. There's probably some secret psychological profiling going on that I'm unaware of. Maybe she's covertly taking DNA samples to send on to secret Russian laboratories. You never know what else they'll need to confirm we'll be good parents.

Um, where was I? Oh, timeline...

When we came home we also had to get some more labs repeated. Hepatitis, HIV, drug tests, even a chest x-ray! Turns out we haven't contracted any diseases by sharing dirty needles and apparently we haven't taken up with any shady drug dealers since the last time we had to be tested. Phew! Oh, and luckily, we both still have lungs.

Back to the timeline...

When do we head back? Mostly we just stay tuned to what's going on with families that traveled before us. It seems like it's taking about 4 months between trips. That's what we're hoping for at this point. That would put us back at the first of June. And look at that... already, one month down.

Here's a few pictures from our trip:

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow

Ice sculptures outside our hotel in Krasnoyarsk

Another frozen playground at Justin's orphanage

At the airport in Moscow

Out front of the girls' orphanage