Thursday, May 29, 2008

We left about 7:45 this morning to head to the airport. Traffic wasn’t too bad this morning. It only took about 1 ½ hours. We had to have our luggage searched, go through passport control, baggage screening and a pat down. Luckily, our plane was on time today. We were also fortunate to talk with two couples who were bringing their children home. One couple from Ohio had adopted a son who was almost two (Sherri—he was from Krasnoyarsk). The couple who was sitting beside us on the plane were from Wilmington. They were bringing home their 4 year old beautiful blond hair blue-eyed daughter. It was great being able to share experiences. Both couples also gave us ideas of how to prepare for bringing Evan Kirill home on the plane. That is an experience we have definitely been dreading.

We were thankful to arrive home safely and will begin preparing for Trip 3. We will be leaving on June 7th and returning June 21st. Please continue to pray for us and Evan Kirill that we will all have a smooth transition. Your love, prayers, and support are what have gotten us through this journey thus far.

Wednesday, May 28

We were able to visit with Kirill for about an hour this morning. It takes him a few minutes to warm up to us but then he is fine and plays with us and allows us to hug and kiss on him. We then met with the Doctor of the Baby House for a few minutes to talk about his schedule and the types of food he will eat. We were told he was not a picky eater. That is a good thing since I am not a great cook.

We had court at 2:30 this afternoon. It went well. We were in an actual court room that is set up just like you see on TV. We had a female judge who was a little intimidating. She was a no nonsense person. Kevin had to answer most of the questions and did really well. When it was my turn, I was tongue tied but managed to get my answers out. The court session lasted about 45 minutes and the judge left to make her decision. She came back in at 3:45pm and said our petition to adopt Kirill had been granted. What a wonderful feeling of relief to know the journey is almost over.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

We finally arrived in Kaluga this morning around 11:45am. We had left at 7:15 am. Traffic was so bad getting out of Moscow, it took almost 2 ½ hours to go 60 miles. Fortunately, I slept for most of it. Kevin says that every time we get in the car here I go to sleep. I know my schedule is completely off.

We were able to spend a couple of hours with Kirill this afternoon. He really hasn’t grown a lot but he has gotten cuter. He let us hold him and he made lots of eye contact. He still likes to bang toys together. I was able to feed him twice today. He likes to eat. This afternoon he saw the food being carried into his pod room and he headed right to the table where he eats and sat down. It was the funniest thing. We took him out for a walk in the stroller. Mind you, Kevin was in a short sleeve shirt and I had on a lightweight turtleneck. Kirill was dressed in a snow suit and hat. They believe in keeping the children warm.

It is 6:05pm here and we will soon be heading out to eat and hopefully to bed not long after (Kevin is napping at this time). Tomorrow is a big day. We have court at 2:30pm (6:30am EST). So please say a prayer before you head to bed tonight that all will go well. We are fairly sure that the 10 days will not be waived and that we will fly home on Thursday and return June 7th.

Monday, May 26, 2008

I guess most of you are off work today and hopefully are enjoying a beautiful Memorial Day. We arrived to rain in Moscow yesterday but today has been partly sunny. It is nice to see Moscow with green grass and leaves on the tree and not quite so cold. It gives it a whole new look. It is also strange to see that the sun sets around 10pm and rises around 5am.

We registered our Visa’s today and went in the Super Market with Marina. It was like being in a Super Wal-Mart. We are working on reviewing possible questions for court and packing to head to Kaluga tomorrow. We can hardly wait to see Kirill and how much he has grown.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

We arrived safely in Moscow after a two hour delay in Atlanta (sitting on the plane). Apparently the plane was overweight which caused a problem due to the heat, crosswinds, and a shorter runway. They actually made some people get off the plane and their luggage was also removed. We can only assume that the people who had to get off the plane were flying standby. We were just glad that our name was not called. The only advantage to arriving in Moscow two hours late was that passport control was not a mob scene. This seemed to be a fairly new plane and the back of each seat had its own television screen. We were able to choose from several movies to watch. I actually managed to stay awake and watch one movie. I watched 27 Dresses and Kevin watched I am Legend.

All Packed and Ready to Go

We finally finished most of our packing last night. It took some effort but we finally have the luggage below 50lbs each. The weight adds up so quickly. The hardest part is trying to plan for just in case the 10 days are waived and we end up staying. We don’t expect that to happen, but you never know. I tried to cut down on my clothes and I managed a little. We are also trying to pack clothes and toys for Evan Kirill just in case.

Evan Kirill turned 16 months old yesterday. It is hard to believe that we are leaving tomorrow for Trip 2. It has been 10 weeks and a day since we have seen him. I know he has changed so much. We will get to see Evan again on 5/27 and we will have court on 5/28. If the 10 days are not waived we will return to the States on 5/29 and return to Russia on 6/7.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel and make the adjustments to being new parents. Please pray especially for Evan that he will have a smooth transition and attachment to us. It will be a scary time for him to leave the only home he has ever known.

Our New Ride

We did purchase a new vehicle. I am now the driver of a Silver Honda Odyssey van. We have had it almost two weeks and I am still adjusting to driving the van. It drives great. The only thing I am still working on is parking, backing up and changing lanes. I guess everything but going forward.

We also spent Sunday installing Evan’s car seat. That was an adventure. Who knew something could be so complicated. We are still not sure we have it installed correctly. I plan to find out if there are any car seat clinics going on so we can get it checked out.

Court Date Scheduled

We learned yesterday, April 30th that our court date in Kaluga has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 28th. We are really excited and I quickly made plane reservations last night. As I have blogged previously, the court generally no longer waives the 10 day waiting period. Since we would not be able to visit with him during that period, we will return home.

We will leave for Moscow on May 24th and return on May 29th. The 2nd trip we will leave on June 7th and are tentatively scheduled to return home on June 21st with Evan Kirill. Please keep us in your prayers as we are entering this last leg of the journey to bring our son home and please continue to pray for us as we enter into the world of the wonder, joy and challenges of parenthood.