Videos

I was just running through the video we recorded with Katerina. Some of it has cute moments like Katerina smiling or cooing or just making noise. Other videos not much of anything. First time I viewed it though since it was recorded. I will probably take the best of each video and put them together to form one long video. But irrelevant of all that, watching the video just makes me want to have her home because she is so adorably cute.

Travel Nightmare

So here is how it went down for Kelly and me.

At 7:30 am, local Moscow time, on December 25th, we get in a car to go to the airport for a 10:30 flight to Kiev, Ukraine where we would then take a 2:00 pm (local Kiev time) flight to JFK in NYC. At the Moscow airport, I asked why we were not getting a boarding pass for the NY portion of the trip and the rep said we would get it in Kiev. This is not what happened on the flight over. I guess my spidey senses were up already.

At about 11:15 am (local Kiev time 1 hour behind Moscow) we land in Kiev, Ukraine. We quickly find out that there is a problem and that there were people already waiting 24 hours for their flight to NYC, one of whom is Garrett. Trying to speak with the Aerosvit representatives was impossible. They were rude, and always tried to speak to Ukrainians and Russians first. Many would not form a line of any sense and just cut you off when you tried to speak with the reps. Quite rude to be honest.

By about 2 pm (Kiev time), we knew we were in trouble and started trying to find ways to get out of that airport that day no matter the cost. By 3:30 pm, we were trying desperately to get on to either a flight to Amsterdam or Paris and spend the night in either airport to catch a flight to the USA in the morning. Unfortunately, this left us with requiring a rep to escort us past security to buy the tickets because they departed within a couple of hours. The Aerosvit representative were nowhere to be found and pretty much useless in all ways imaginable. Needless to say this did not happen.

So now it is becoming late in the day and we are being told that our plane will leave at midnight. So I go about trying to make certain we will be on that plane when it leaves. This was a chore and it was not until about 9 pm that I am told we will be on that flight when it departs. Of course, it has now been moved back to a 2:00 am (on the 26th) departure. We originally thought this was a second flight rather than the same flight from earlier which was delayed because it was being fixed. I finally get a rep to admit that this is the case, but that we would be on it when it left.

Every time a rep came in to say something, the locals would get in an uproar. At this point, many had been there near two days. One of the passengers punched the rep because he did not like the information the rep was providing. I was walking around at this time but Kelly saw it happen.

At around midnight, we once again decide we have to try and find another way out of this airport. When the flight was pushed back from 2 am to 4 am, it was official. We would find another airline that could get us out of the Ukraine, no matter the cost. There were options but because we were now within four hours of early departures, we could not get tickets on Travelocity, Expedia or Orbitz. So I purchased two tickets on British Airways leaving at 2:00 pm that afternoon (26th). They were more expensive and got us in later than the others we looked at but had no way of getting anything earlier.

Then a woman using my laptop says she got something on Lufthansa's website and may be able to buy them for a 6:50 am flight. It was about 4:20 am at the time. Garrett goes first and actually gets confirmation. I ask Kelly and she says, "do it!!! Get me out of here." So I buy us two tickets and decide I will deal with the British Airways tickets later. We are now scheduled to fly out Kiev at 6:50 am to Munich, Germany. From Munich we will fly to Newark and land at 6:40 pm (local Eastern time).

Again, we have to get a rep to get us through customs. This time we have little problem. The reps during the night were much better and more helpful than those during the day. Some others who have been waiting were already given tickets for later flights out of Kiev and had grabbed their luggage. Garrett, Kelly and I, escorted by the Rep who was punched earlier, head through security and down to get our luggage. I grab a red suitcase that looks like Kelly's before realizing it is not hers. We search for hers but it is not there. Someone else already grabbed it. Probably the person who owned the luggage I grabbed because they were so similar in color. In essence, Kelly's luggage is lost. It included gifts although luckily only a few small ones. It also had all of her clothes and some books we had for Katerina. (We are currently trying to recover it but suspect it will not happen.)

Kelly and I must now get our boarding passes and get back upstairs to the waiting area. With Garrett's help translating at times, we get through passport control and back up to the waiting area about five minutes before boarding time for our flight to Munich. We fly to Munich with no problem although Garrett learns that he must check alcohol because the European Union, nor the USA, will allow it to be carried on to the airplane.

The Munich airport is absolutely the nicest I have ever been in. Although based on our experiences in Kiev, it would not have taken much. It reminds me of Eddie Murphy's bit about even crackers tasting great after not eating for days. We had some great food and then waited for 6 hours until the Newark flight departed at 3:00 pm (local Munich time). While we ate breakfast, I used Garrett's Skype account to contact Travelocity who reimbursesus in full for our British airways tickets. First really good thing to happen in the last day and a half. Kelly reads on her nook, while Garrett and I sleep on chairs. They actually offered cot rentals if you wanted. After the rudeness we encountered in Kiev, the Germans were incredibly nice. Everyone we dealt with, no matter why, was very courteous at the Munich airport.

The flight departs with no problem. A Spaniard is nice enough to switch seats with me so Kelly and I can sit next to each other. The plane was huge and we each got to watch a movie of our choice out of 12 or so. The screens were on the chairs in front of us. My screen was a bit beat but Kelly's had a very good image. I watched 500 days of Summer and then Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I tried to sleep as much as possible so I could drive a rental car home from Newark. Kelly watched a few movies. An hour outside of Newark, we are told new travel rules in the USA (thanks to the idiot who tried to blow up the plane in Detroit) required all carry ons to be stored in the above containers. We had no problem with it but apparently some people were not happy about it.

The Captain puts on the seat belt sign as we approach Newark because of turbulence from the storm on the East Coast. We break through the cloud and fog and can now see land as we approach the runway. The turbulence is jostling the plane left and right and up and down. At probably 25-50 feet above ground, the plane is still being jostled by the turbulence. It is the worst turbulence I have ever landed in. It was scary and all I wanted to do was be on American land at this point.

Happy to finally get through passport and customs, Kelly and I head to rent a car and figure to be home by about 9 pm. All Five car rental agencies are all sold out of cars. I felt like screaming. How could it get any worse at this point? We end up catching a cab to Grand Central Station to take a train to Bridgeport. Second good thing to happen to us occurs here. We beat the train departure by ten minutes. And it was was nearly a direct (only 2 stops instead of about 12-14) before our stop.

Once in Bridgeport, we take a cab home. We get into our house at 10:30 pm eastern time which was about 47 hours after we left the Hotel in Moscow. Happy to make sure the cats were all well, the fish tanks still standing, and the rabbit still hopping around. We showered and went to bed.

So in a nutshell, It was supposed to be a Moscow to Kieve to JFK and then a van home. It ended up as Moscow to Kiev to Munich to Newark to a cab to Grand Central Station to a train to Bridgeport and then finally a cab home to Monroe, CT. And boy was it great to finally get there.

A story we will some day explain to Katerina to help her understand everything we went through to get her home. I laugh now because there is not much else you can do with such a situation. We have decided we will always buy direct flights to Moscow after this nightmare.

Update after taking some time off to recuperate

Okay, so after the hectic trip back, which will get its own post, I took some time to get back into my normal routine. I have slept a ton and had to work from home yesterday when my car would not start (needed a new battery). But I am back at it now and will make posts as things pop up.

We now wait for notification of the court date which will be our second trip. Once the judge approves of us as the rightful guardians of our little Katerina we have to wait ten days for his decision to become official. We will travel back two weeks after this to get Katerina and take care of other paperwork with visas and passports, etc. We are being told all of this should be done by the end of March and possibly a few weeks sooner.

We are home!!!

We got home last night at about 10:30 pm, 47 hours after we left the hotel in Moscow. I will enter a longer and more thorough blog later. For now, Kelly and I are going to sort through the pictures and video we have taken. I will add, it was great to sleep in our own bed last night after only sleeping on chairs at airports and on the planes.

2 Hours to go

Our flight leaves Munich in 2 hours. Cannot wait to know the final leg home is underway. Just want to be home. My sleep patterns have stunk. So my bed will be a great thing.

Unfortunately, Kelly is on call for the next week so she will be recuperating from our lost sleep slowly.

Last post until home because I am going to try and get some sleep right now.

Munich!!!!

Our last stop before Newark, NJ early this evening. Finally out of the Freakin Ukraine and into a real country. Thank God. New Jersey here we come.

Hopefully Last Post from Ukraine

First, this post may not make it into Kat's scrap book and the journal we will create for her based mostly on this blog.

Now, we are being told we are on the 2:20 am flight to JFK. I will believe it once we are seated on the plane.

Lastly, I honestly believe this might as well be a third world country. The customer service for this incident is absolutely the worst service I have ever seen. And lastly, I have decided that no one can tell me that the Americans are the rudest people in the world. Not even close to those here. Especially the reps from the airline.

Hope to be home before all you guys wake up.

Stuck in the Ukraine

Airline chooses to tell us when we arrive in Kiev that our flight has been canceled to make way for yesterday's which was canceled.

A little help in Moscow would have been nice because we could have caught a direct from there and worried about cost later on.

Merry Xmas from Ukraine now.

Last Post From Moscow ...for now

We got to see Katerina again today. The first visit was cut a little short which was a bit depressing because we knew we would not see her again for awhile after today. The second visit was short as usual but still good. she is such a cutie pie. She cooed and giggled a little bit more today than yesterday. She showed attachment to her caregiver each time she came to get her. Which was good. She smiled a lot with us but more with her care giver.

We are sad to be leaving her. Happy to have started the process and happy to be heading home to our own beds and the kitties. We can't wait to get word on our court date so we can get back here to take step number 2 of 3 in getting Katerina home. She is our little princess already.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Christmas Eve & Merry Christmas to all!

I am not sure how much blogging I will get to tomorrow as we prepare to leave early Friday morning.

If I were one of my many nieces or nephews, I think I would be using the old adage "It is Christmas Eve somewhere." This year they can a little more precise and say that "It is Christmas Eve where Uncle Craig and Auntie Kelly are now." I'd be pushing to open a present now as it is Christmas eve here in Moscow.

So I wanted to take the time to thank you all and say I hope you have a happy & safe Christmas Eve and a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! We look forward to speaking with many of you when we return Christmas night.

Wednesday's visits

More of the same. It is difficult to give her back when it is nap time and feeding time which are our exit times. We get to see/play with her from about 12 - 2 when she naps. Then we get to see/play with her when she wakes up about 4:15 until feeding time at 5:00. Not nearly long enough for us but that is the way it goes.

She was cooing a little bit more. She smiles a lot but we got her to giggle for the first time. Got her second giggle on video I believe. If any of you watch the TV show Bones, we used the dancing phalanges (moving fingers) to get her to smile a lot. The books that I have read said to make contact through a lot of skin to skin contact. We weren't sure how she would reacted but she likes when we touch her chubby cheeks. We are quite lucky she is such a happy baby. We try to read to her little books but she just wants to put them in her mouth. As most of you parents probably know, and doctors too, it apparently helps with the teething process to chew on things. (Kelly explained the evolution/science of this to me. We always knew she was the smarter one). It does not matter whether it is our fingers, hard toys, stuff animals, or books, in the mouth it goes. Although she like our fingers the most. I guess they are easier to chew without hurting her gums as much as plastic might. With her two bottom teeth showing, she can actually do some damage with them.

We hold her and try to get her to crawl. She tries pretty well. The little legs kick out while her arms hold her up. She just does not get anywhere yet. With the minimal attention she does get, the ability to be held or even tempted to crawl to toys or things is difficult to come by. So while she will be ten months old on Christmas day, her motor skills are a little behind. We knew this would be the case though. It is common. We have read that experts say the delay is about 1 month for every 3 months in an orphanage. So combining the 3-4 months at the time we take her home, plus the fact she was 3-4 weeks premature (out doctor hit this nail right on the head from the video and birth data), she will be about the equivalent age of a 6-7 month old.

This will be made up quickly once she gets all of our attention at home. We are a bit jealous of the families we have seen in our hotel that are able to bring their little ones home in the next day or two. I think one of them flies out today to Ohio.

Weather

As the map to right shows, the weather has warmed up here. It feels like a heat wave. The weather is supposed to stay between 25-32 for Thursday and Friday which means all in all the weather was cold a few days but bearable. And now, it practically feels like spring. Hopefully the weather will be similar or better when we return home.

Correction

In my rant, I said the map online showed the Orphanage as being hundreds of meters. It is really about 7.5 miles form our hotel. Still takes an hour to get there but it has taken me an hour to get 7.5 miles in Boston at times too. The traffic is still worse here. Some people follow lights when they want. We have some people want to be the last person through a red light. Here, the last person may also be the first person through the next green light.

Next time here we will stay at a hotel much closer to where we need to be. We are still happy we stayed here due do its proximity to major tourist sights including the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square and Arbat St.

We are taking her!

The process went like this. We were picked up and brought by Alexander, an aggressive driver but surprisingly one we felt comfortable with, to the Ministry of Youth and Social Services for a quick interview about our house and how we would parent. Who would be home at what times. Who would watch Katerina etc. Then it was off the baby home (aka orphanage).

After that we met with the physician at the baby home, she explained all the information she had on the parents of our little gal which amounted to absolutely zero. She answered all of our questions (This was Kelly's area because she gets the medical better than I do). I looked at Kelly at one point and she said "nothing has changed," so we were off to see our little gal for about 45 minutes even though we did not have the signature from the Ministery of youth yet because the head honcho was out until after 2 pm.

They brought Katerina in and handed her to Kelly. She was a happy baby who was clearly teething. She tried to chew on our fingers and was putting everything in her mouth. She had two bottom teeth showing. She was just as cute in person as she was in the video we had previously seen as well as the pictures we had printed out to show family members. The only time she cried was when you bumped her head trying to crawl.

All in all the cheeks were as cute in person as in the pictures and video.

After seeing her and knowing we would be happy with her, we went back to the Ministry to pick up the paperwork to give to the home so we could "officially" see her. This was a bit painful because it was about a 2 hour drive there and back. It was probably a few miles each way at most. Traffic is that bad!

We then returned to spend another half hour with Katerina and sign the paperwork saying we will adopt this girl. It was much too short a time. Went by surprisingly very quickly. While there are a few more dates to make it official (court date), it is now as official as it can be at this point.

We will get to see her for about three hours today and tomorrow before flying home on Friday. Seeing her for the last time Thursday afternoon will stink. It will be quite difficult to walk away until our court date. But unfortunately we have no choice.

Basically, she was a great, adorable, little girl. We are lucky to be getting her. She is a bit behind the curve for her age but that will pick up quickly once we get her home. She is not crawling yet but she was trying. We could those little legs pumping hard. It was like a Scooby cartoon. The legs pumping but no one moving.

Thanks to all who have been reading this and keeping up with are progress in the adoption of our beautiful little girl.

First my Rants

I had to say a few things about today before getting to the news of the day.

1. Despite the snow everyday, our room is so dry that my sinuses just shrivel up.
2. The traffic in Moscow is like none I have ever seen. It seriously makes New York or Boston look like a walk in the park. It took us an hour to go what a map says is 300 meters. So about half a mile.
3. Way too many smokers here which still amazes.
4. When we are driving, with windows up or down, there is just so much exhaust fumes. It can be overbearing.

Probably are more that I am just not remembering.

GO TIME!!!!

It is 8:34 am here. Two hours from now we should be in a car to officially apply for the ability to adopt. From there we get to see our little gal. Despite another bad night of sleep (I am starting to think it is the bed), I am ready to go. Kelly and I are very excited to see Katerina.

Another Adoptive Family

Was sitting in the lobby checking email when I noticed an American Family chasing a beautiful little 2 year old girl. Struck up a conversation with the mother who explained they were from Ohio and on the third trip of their adoption of the little girl.

I was happy for them and longed for the time when our third trip will be here. They explained their process which started in a region about "1.5 hours by flight and then a 3 hour car ride from Moscow," they said. All the adoptions finish here because of the need for an interview/visa from the American Embassy. They were flying home with their little girl on Christmas Eve. She was cute running around the lobby while the mother chased her around, attempting to keep from going outside.

Was nice to hear how others fared with different organizations and orphanages. The girl looked very happy and active. Soon that will be Kelly and me. The other family did say we were lucky to only have to be in Moscow and not have to worry about going somewhere else. I liked hearing that even though it seemed obvious to me. Their process also took just under two years. So we are happy that ours will take under a year, probably 9-10 months total. Thank you Adopt-A-Child, Inc.

E-Mail issues

Having some problems sending email from my business account which is a bit annoying. I was asked to pick something up for someone but forgot what it was. I walked by the store but was not reminded about it until afterwards. Now I will have to find another one or get back to that one. It was kind of close but not that close.

Stupid email.

Oh well...better things to worry about. We got the call earlier this evening. We are being picked up at 10:30 am to start the process. We are looking forward to it. Finally seeing Katerina tomorrow morning.

Mid Monday

We walked around Old Arbat Street. A tourist area for buying souvenirs and the sort. Probably overpriced but the costs of the things we purchased seemed quite fair to us. A Few T Shirts which were $10.00. The Matryoshka Dolls were also fairly priced we thought. Or I guess a better way of phrasing it is, we felt what we got for what we paid was fair. Because we were not going to many other places, and the amounts felt fair we had no problem paying the price.

Snowed again here but nothing like what you guys back home have gotten. It also seemed a bit warmer today than yesterday. The fine snow on our cheeks did not hurt like it did yesterday.

The store had an American Presidents Matryoshka doll set with Obama being the outer then going inwards, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Raegan. As a joke I almost got one for Jim. They also had one which was Obama and then his family with each one inside. In the end we figured we were better off saving the money because Jim may not find it as funny as I did.

I will add, some of the dolls really were impressive. The artwork can be so detailed on them. We also bought a few things for Kat to have from Moscow. The staff at the store, because we purchased a decent amount and knew we were adopting threw in a few little things for Kat as well. They were quite nice. I would certainly suggest the store to anyone who chose to ever go to Moscow.

Here are some pictures from inside the Kremlin

Below are pictures from inside the Kremlin. We also went inside the Armory House where they stored many bronze, gold and silver pieces from their history but photographs were not allowed. They were neat to see but I think the Churches and the Kremlin grounds were really the things to see. I have posted some of the pictures below from inside the Kremlin.

The Russian Seal on their Federal Govt. Building inside the Kremlin



A Church and automobile entrance to parts of the Kremlin.



One of the numerous churches inside the Kremlin. We walked through a few but pictures were not allowed. they were quite impressive inside. Old murals and paintings were impressive.


Yet another church.


This is the main entrance for vehicles into the Kremlin.


A cannon.

Sightseeing and Pictures outside the Kremlin

We walked around Red Square and inside the Kremlin yesterday. Some pictures posted below. Kelly's foot got a little sore from all the walking and her stress fracture potential but otherwise it was cold and impressive. Really a beautiful area and something to see. Not sure what today holds but tomorrow is THE DAY!!! WE GET TO SEE OUR LITTLE GIRL!!!!!!!!!

No pictures of us yet because we agreed we will post pictures of both of us when we have some. I had the camera all day so we only had pictures of Kelly and none of me.

These are all pictures outside of the Kremlin.

Lenin's Masoleum

Christmas Tree in front of the Historical Museum.

St. Basil's Cathedral during the day.

Below is St. Basil's Cathedral in the early morning hours. We could not sleep.

Kremlin, Red Square & St. Basil's Cathedral

We had breakfast and went to Red Square before the sun was up. Hopefully the pictures come up but they are still on the media for now in the camera. We are back in the hotel for a couple of hours, probably until 11-ish and then we will go back down to the Kremlin to get inside and see it inside.

The area is beautiful. I look forward to viewing the pictures to see which if any came out.

One downer is the pillow must have stunk because my neck is just one wrong move from being really painful.

Thoughts while I can't sleep

It is now 6:05 am. I slept from 9 - 2:30 when Kelly and I both woke up. Tried to sleep after chatting but that did not work out. So at about 4:15 we decided to watch Dodgeball. Love that movie. We will shortly be showering and getting breakfast. Then heading out to see the sights. I think our plan is to break the day into a morning venture, then nap. Then an evening venture to see the sights at night as well.

As you can imagine, we are anxious for Tuesday when we finally get to see Kat. But also excited for today and tomorrow. There was some great looking architecture on the drive in from the airport. Although as I was so tired and not feeling too well I was more anxious to just get to the hotel. The hotel is nestled on a side street and is quite nice. Combining the hotel's staff with the proximity to most things we want to see, it really can't be beat.

We ordered room service last night and as one would expect the cost was high. We were told not to drink anything but bottled water so I ordered a bottle of water. Kelly got a Corona which was 200 rubles (about 7 bucks). My smaller bottle of water was about 300 rubles (nearly 10 bucks). Bottled water is not cheap here. That is for certain. But we are on vacation so we are going to have fun and not worry about cost (as much as I can not worry about those things).

Will post again this evening after we have seen the sights. Hopefully will have some pictures or video to add as well so everyone can share with some of the things we are seeing while here.

We are here

We arrived late this afternoon after the worst drive in the world. For an airport that is 16. something kilometers from the hotel it took us about an hour to drive here. The traffic is atrocious. The combination of bad traffic and no sleep for me really has me feeling blah. But we are here and tomorrow we see the Kremlin.

It is cold although could be worse. My understanding is the east coast is about to get hammered by a large storm. We landed in snow in Kiev where it was -14 C which is about 7 F with a lot of wind. Our arriving flight docked to a tarmac where we walked right into the airport. The departing flight we actually took a bus out to the plane and had to walk up the stairs. I thought only foreign dignitaries used those so thy could wave to everybody. I just wanted to get out of the snow.

Well heading back upstairs so I can go to bed and get a good 12 hours of sleep or more to make up for the near no sleep I got in the past 28 hours. More to come tomorrow after we see parts of the city.

Also one day closer to starting the process and getting to see our gal!!!

The Time Has Come

We are all packed and just waiting for tomorrow. We are now just days away from seeing our little girl. I think about it and it brings a big smile and near tears to my eyes. The time is really here.

Please keep an eye on the blog as we will be updating it from Moscow when we get a chance. We will be unable to post any of the many pictures we take of our little gal but we will be posting other pictures, from all over Moscow, when we get a chance.

Merry Christmas to all those who we will not get to speak to in the next week. But we could think of no better way to spend the time leading up to Christmas than with Katerina.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

12 hours of flying to get to Katerina and Moscow....Here we come!!!!

It's Coming

It is now early Wednesday morning. I can't wait to just be on a plane so Ukraine and then Moscow so we can see are little girl.

The weather continues to look cold but I will brave the cold weather to see the sites and take photos so Katerina can some day see where she is from and what her heritage looks like.

Everything Set To Go

We spoke with Adopt A Child, Inc. this afternoon to finalize the itinerary for the trip. Everything is good to go. We bought more toys to bring with us to play with Katerina. Some touch/feel books as well as some other rattle and noise making toys. Bought a train but probably too big to bring with us so will await her arrival home sometime next March or so.

Now I have a better understanding about what to bring for cash too.

Looked at the weather today. It is supposed to be brutally cold during our sightseeing days. That really stinks but we will brave it to see the sites. Should be interesting. We have plenty of clothing, as well as hand and feet warmers which should help. Now I just have to hope my camera survives the cold so I can get tons of pictures of the Kremlin, Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, the architecture, AND OF COURSE OUR LITTLE GIRL.

Also heard today that our Passports and Visa will be shipped to us for Wednesday delivery. Have the house ready to be house sat and animals ready to be cared for.

As the title says, everything is all set to go. Moscow and the cold here we come.

A Few Days Since My Last Post

Had Christmas at my mom's with my siblings today. Yesterday, we were shopping to get things we need for the upcoming trip.

Tomorrow is the big day. We have a telephone conference scheduled to discuss our itinerary in Moscow. I also meet with a gal from the Vet to discuss taking care of our cats, fish and rabbit while we are gone. A lot of responsibility there. Both to the gal taking care of them and to me. Kelly would be quite upset if something happened to them.

Will have a longer post tomorrow night I suspect. We are still excited about seeing Moscow around Christmas time. We will be braving the cold to see red Square at Christmas time.

Putting things together

We have a conference call scheduled for Monday to discuss our itinerary/schedule while in Moscow. The first two days are ours for tourist stuff. I think we will spend most of that time at the Kremlin and Red Square areas.

More importantly is trying to get everything we need for the trip. Small things like warm clothes, hand warmers, scarf and hat. Kelly may need a pair of comfortable boots for walking to help with her sore foot. If I am lucky I may be able to get everything together this weekend so I can still play Volleyball on Tuesday. Getting everything ready also includes at the office though which is my larger concern.

I have to get to the Customs Border Patrol to have my laptop approved. Believe it or not, I can bring it out of the country with no problem. But if I do not have a receipt when I enter the US coming home it is possible that I would have to pay customs on it. So I need a form to prove I owned before I left the country. Who knew?

All worth it in the end!

I-171H Received

We received our I-171H form which is basically USCIS (old INS) approving us to adopt a child and bring her in to the United States with full citizenship upon entry. This was not a worry about i still one more step in the process putting us closer to bringing our little girl home.

Travel Plans

Travel plans are set. Now I am getting nervous that we will not be able to make the connection flight with an hour and 10 minutes between landing and take off. Hopefully there is a tailwind across the Atlantic Ocean. Well, even if miss it, I suppose they have regular flights between Kiev and Moscow. They are only about an hour and half away by plan.

Starting to plan what we are bringing. What we can carry on and what must go in the checked baggage. All electronics will be on us: Camera, camcorder, lap top, Kelly's Nook, and cell phones. As well as all media needed for these.

On the next trip which will be a short stay, we hope to maybe do Paris or London for a couple of days but who knows about that. We will see when we get there. Most importantly is taking care of this trip and meeting our little girl.

Bought our First Toy and Stuffed Animal Today

I spoke with our agency today to confirm our dates again. Nothing had changed thankfully because we had already booked the air and hotel. Did cause a tad of panic in me at first though.

But better than that, as the title says, we bought our first stuffed animal for our little girl. As well as a couple of other toys to play with when we are over there seeing her.

Not very long now and we will be over there for a week. WOO HOO!!!

Reservations Booked

We have hotel and airline tickets booked. The flight has a one stop each way but at this point it made more sense for us to do it this way than spend an astronomical amount on a direct flight. We will take a direct flight home when we have Kat with us but for now, we can do this as it is just the two of us. We are staying at Hotel that is not even a mile from Red Square and the Kremlin.

We are really looking forward to seeing our little girl and then as an after thought seeing some of the things that Moscow has to offer. It is an old city with impressive architecture as well as many other things to see. All of which is an after thought to our little girl. A bonus shall we say.

We also forwarded our documents to a contact in Washington DC in order to get our Russian Visas. Hopefully have those by the end of next week.

Weather in Moscow

Just checked the long term weather for Moscow. While it only goes as far as the 17th, it is going to be quite cold. Right now the weather for the 17th is 12 degree and snow and 7 degrees for a low that night. That is cold. I am going to have to purchase one of those big hats to keep my head warm.

IT'S OFFICIAL - WE ARE TRAVELING TO RUSSIA THIS MONTH

We have our first dates in Russia. Our first meeting is December 22, 2009. The first time we see our little girl. I had chills when I thought about it after speaking with Kelly. We are so excited and now have so much to do to get ready for this.

To see her just before Christmas is the best present we could ask for. To see Moscow at Christmas time will be very cool. Although the celebrate the Christian Orthodox Christmas which is later than ours (around the new year), the Kremlin and Red Square will still be decked out I hear.

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE KAT!!!!!!!!!!

Seeing our little girl on Christmas

It is still up in the air but there is a decent chance we will be in Moscow seeing our little girl on Christmas. What a great present for us! We had to finagle to find coverage for Kelly but it worked out in the end. Now let's hope our agency can make it happen.

update

From now on rather than going by my nickname, Garc, and Ms. Garc, our first names will be used. I am Craig and my better half and soon to be mother of our beautiful little girl is Kelly.

Timeline of the Process to date

June, 2009

• 30th - Adoption package sent to Adopt-A-Child, Inc.; Process has begun!!!!!
  

July, 2009

• 15th - Application sent to Lutheran Social Services to perform Home Study
• 18th - meeting with Psychologist re: MMPI exam
• 20th - fingerprints at Connecticut State Police
• 20th - First meeting with Lutheran Social Services, Home Study agency
• 22nd - one document package sent to Adopt-A-Child, Inc.
  
• 23rd - Craig meeting with Psychologist
• 29th - Craig and Kelly meeting with Psychologist
• 30th - Craig gets blood work done (happily comes back negative on all counts)

August, 2009

• 10th - received clearance from F.B.I.
• 10th - first meeting, at our house, with social worker for our Home Study
• 25th - Medical documents forwarded to Adopt-A-Child, Inc.

September, 2009

• 14th - Home Study meeting at Lutheran Social Services
• 18th - I-600A application submitted to USCIS
  
• 22nd - Hague required seminar/class - all day

October, 2009

• 5th - updated home photos forwarded to Adopt-A-Child, Inc.
• 12th - Home Study meeting at Lutheran Social Services
• 21st - finger prints for USCIS in New Rochelle, NY
• 21st - Hague required seminar/class - evening - completed

November, 2009 (GREAT MONTH)

• 9th - receive notice from USCIS that Home Study was denied due to a lack of one sentence stating that our house is compliant with Connecticut requirements
• 16th - Receive referral for our little girl from Adopt-A-Child, Inc. by telephone call
  
• 17th - updated Home Study forwarded to USCIS
• 17th - Receive seven and a half minute video for our little girl from Adopt-A-Child, Inc.
  
• 18th - speak with Dr. Laurie Miller of The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center regarding our little girl
• 19th - Confirm acceptance of our little girl/referral with Adopt-A-Child, Inc.
• 24th - Receive travel package from Adopt-A-Child, Inc.

December, 2009

ANXIOUSLY AWAITING TRAVEL DATES SO WE CAN SEE HER FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!

Russian Visa Application

Just began completing the Russian Visa Application for the trips to come. We have not received the dates yet but I figured this would be one less thing we needed to do when we did get them. This is a tougher application than the US Passport. Last two employers not including the current one is tough because I have been self employed for seven plus years. My wife had an easy last one but but had to go back to her college days to find the second one. The forms I was provided were also small. I was able to find the application online in PDF format which made it much easier because I am able to type the information in and then print it out. Plus this means only typing it once for each of us rather than writing it out three times.

All worth it in the end though to get our Katerina!!!

Some ideas

Our friend's page about their adoption from Russia had some really nice things on it. I really like their time line as to the process. When they started it and when each thing occurred after the start (i.e. what happened along the way). I think I will copy their great post and do a similar post this week.

Hopefully!

Thanks M & R. Initials are used because it is their choice to determine what is public and what is private about their adoption. It is not my choice to make any of their information public. Although we know who they are and they know who we are and we share information through other sources as well, I just feel it is best to keep their anonymity on my site because it is not mine to give out.

Thoughts

We get more anxious as each day goes by. Ms. Garc anxiously awaits the travel dates, while I anxiously await USCIS (old INS) approval for the adoption. I suspect each will come this week although we do not need the INS approval until just before the second trip so I do not think it will matter. There is still the chance we may have to travel before Christmas but it is seeming more likely after the new year in the middle of January due to the Russian New Year and Christmas holiday.

We were looking at little girl clothes today. They are so little and adorable. Kelly wants to buy now but I think we should hold off until after we see her so we can get a feel for the right size. Either way, she will be adorable in the clothes we buy her because she is adorable now.

Lastly, my sister-in-law told Ms. Garc that they may have a rocker/glider chair for us. That would be great because it will mean all we need now for her room to be complete is the mattress for her crib and toys for her to play with.

We get more and more excited each day as we wish that we could get her home yesterday but understand we are probably three or four months away from that happening.

First Family Viewing

For the first time members of our family were able to see pictures of our little girl. Unfortunately I was unable to get the DVD to work on their computers. I am not sure if it is lack of software, bad disk or just a weird file type.

This of course is not the important part. What is important is that they all thought she was adorable. We had about 6 screen print pictures from the video which we could show them. She is such a beautiful little girl. We are quite lucky to have been given this referral.

We are so excited to get to travel to Moscow soon to meet her for the first time in the next month to month and a half.

What I am Thankful For

I am thankful for our little girl who we should be bringing home soon. It feels like she will never get home but we know the time is coming. After a few trips to Russia, Katerina will come home. And then we will be thankful for her health and those that provided for Katerina in the Baby Home for the first year of her life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Fees and Other thoughts

We received the next to last big invoice for our little gal. I will be quite happy when these are paid for and we can just have her home. As soon as she gets home the cost will be irrelevant as well as however long it takes us to pay it back. But still some sticker shock when we see the invoices.

Luckily I have a couple of cases coming due which will allow me to generate some decent billable hours plus a few other cases which will help pay for the travel.

Lastly, I showed her picture to a friend. It always makes me smile. Can't wait to show my family so they can see their future grandchild, niece, and cousin.

Our Feelings

Now that it has been nearly a week since we first learned that we had a referral of an adorable little girl waiting for us to take home, we are as excited as we were then, possibly more. We wish she could be home tomorrow.

We will have to travel to Moscow three times in the next three months or so. While we are excited to see Moscow and the impressive tourist sites within Moscow, we still just wish it were over and she was home. We have not been given our first travel date yet. It will either be the week before Christmas or about the week of January 11, 2010. Travel dates are the next anxious thing for us.

We are also still awaiting USCIS approval as well. This is not needed until the second travel date. We were denied because the Home Study did not include a simple sentence saying our house was within the statute in our home state of Connecticut. It has been rectified so we expect the approval in the next couple of weeks.

Now we are trying to learn how to be parents. Well not really, but we are trying to learn as much as possible as to what children in this age bracket eat and play with; about car seats, strollers, etc. There is so much to learn about this stuff. It is scary becoming a parent for the first time. To have a little girl's well being in our hands. It is our job to give her everything she needs and hopefully more.

I think we will do fine but it is still unnerving while being incredibly exciting!

A Long update

I haven't posted in awhile and we have had great news. I figured I would first post my facebook comments and then later give a long post about what has happened:

November 16 at 5:07pm

previous message deleted until I can call family with the news. I will repost in a bit. [this was deleted so I could give my family the heads up before my friends]

November 16 at 6:22pm - NOW THE GOOD NEWS

Ok now that the family has been called. And with time, we are a little less shocked, it is really happening! Mrs. Garc and I received a phone call this evening that there is a referral with video coming tomorrow for us to review. So we will get to see our little girl for the first time tomorrow evening. A little bit of nervous[ness] and a whole lot of excitement for Mrs. Garc and me.

November 17 at 12:12am

[I] want to thank everyone for the kind words and congratulations. It is awfully nice to have a bunch of people think highly enough to comment on Mrs. Garc and my adoption. We will keep you posted (meaning tomorrow night or Wednesday after we have watched the video). Once again thank you. It means a lot to Mrs. Garc and I to have all this backing from more than just family.

November 17 at 8:52am

Mrs. Garc looked at the weather in Moscow today: 32 and snowing. Assuming all goes well, we will be traveling to Moscow in the dead of winter it appears. Will probably be cold :). Lucky Us.

November 17 at 2:18pm

I have the video and some medical documents. Can't watch the video until Mrs. Garc this evening with Mrs. Garc. we agreed we would watch it for the first time together. Also, will not be able to show any of it to family or friends in any public domain until the adoption is final (read email or internet). I forgot we signed a waiver agreeing to this. We will post an update though after we watch it.

November 17 at 5:51pm

We have watched the DVD. She is a little cutie with chubby cheeks which surprised [us] because we were expecting a malnourished child. But assuming the adoption doctor does not say anything unexpected we will be accepting this referral. We have now seen our little girl and she is adorable!

November 18 at 12:34pm

I have been contacted by the international adoption doctor informing us to expect a call this evening from her. Once we have this call, we then make the final decision which is strongly leaning towards acceptance. Then the process of scheduling from Russia's side really begins.

November 18 at 6:22pm

It won't be official until tomorrow when we call the agency but after having a conversation with the Specialist from Tufts.......WE ARE ACCEPTING THIS REFERRAL!!!! This little girl will soon come home!!!!

Thu at 12:07pm

IT'S OFFICIAL! We have given the organization a thumbs up, a definitive yes, so they are running with it. First travel will be either just before Christmas, returning home just before Christmas or the middle of January.

A longer post will be made int he next day or so about our thoughts.

Everything is ready to go to Russia. We are basically now on the clock. The organization, Adopt A Child, Inc., says about 8- 10 months which would mean July - December of next year. Earlier is better but time shall tell. We are quite excited now!!! It is coming together.

A little downer is we learned there will be three trips and not two as originally though. But part of the game to get our little girl, who will most likely be named KATERINA!

Crib up

We got our furniture in today for our child's room. The crib box was beat up so I put the crib together to make sure it was fine. It was. Now I just have to move the other furniture into a different room. Not sure where yet but somewhere.

Primal Wound

The more I read of "Primal Wound," the more I just cannot agree with the author's primary basis. I have trouble believing a child could live with an issue such simply because they were separated from their birth-mother right at birth. I do believe there can be some problems but to suggest that the child could never love another as they do their birth-mother seems wrong. Also she does not explain the numbers in her sample sizes but rather uses a word like many.

Good news for today

We are going to use the following pattern for our little girl. This means our lilac color walls can stay. Very similar to the elephant. I will only have to address the molding which will be easy. We originally chose the light purple color because we thought we would adopt a little girl. But when looking at patterns we leaned towards green and light brown animal motifs until the below one popped up.

http://www.kidslineinc.com/products/infant/zola.php

Scary Thoughts

Just started reading "Primal Wounds" by Nancy Newton Verrier about adopted children and the wound of them losing their birthmother at an early age. It is a scary thought that our adopted child will never be able to bond to us fully because we are not her birth parents. We will do the best we can and certainly provide a good home to our little girl. But still a scary thought.

Room changes

This weekend will start the processing of remodeling the room as is needed. Pulling the old molding will be the first job. Then preparing the ceiling for painting. All while taking Mrs. Garc out for her birthday (breakfast and dinner).

In the end, the room will be painted a light green for a jungle animal design.

I-600A

We got our notice for fingerprints with DHS - October 21, my brother's bday. Hopefully our Home Study will already be in at that point as well. This means we will just be waiting on the fingerprint search/background search. This will be the third one done on us. At least we know how it will come back.

After that we get to start waiting because it will be time to send everything to Russia so we can get a referral for our little girl. Basically means by the end of next year, our little girl could be home. Maybe even sooner.

Adoption Changes

Been awhile since I last posted. I am going to swing mostly towards the coming little girl that my wife and I are adopting. The process started in June and is really starting to pick up steam now. I will throw in some other thoughts but will try to make this sort of a diary for my little girl as well about her adoption and our thoughts of the process.