Friday, June 8, 2012

You've got questions, We've got answers

Q: First of all, where the heck have you been?
A: To Russia and back of course!  Although there are many good stories to tell, the adoption process is not always good for my writing habits.  When we're in the state of waiting, my mind and emotions are too preoccupied to complete a full sentence. Then we get a phone call that sets the wheels back in motion and our schedule turns to frantic planning of a trip - more paperwork, more appointments, more acts of financial creativity. Sounds like a pretty legit excuse, right?

Q: How was the second trip and what did you do?
A: The purpose of the second trip is basically the court date. 
Trip 2 in a perfect little dreamworld (AKA my world 80% of the time) goes like this: Arrive in Russia, see our kids, go to court, the judge says "Yes!", we celebrate the good news, see the kids once more, then back to the US of A to wait our 30 days. 

That was not our experience. 

The reality was more like this: Arrive in Russia, see the kids (yay!), go to court, the prosecutor starts saying angry Russian words we can't understand, the judge says she is going to delay court for another 5 days, we are left to wander the streets of St. Petersburg with no clean underwear until then, we see the kids 2 more times, we go back to court, we're very nervous, Jay has a special speech prepared just in case, but the judge says yes. We celebrate and hightail it out of Russia. 

Q: What did you do with the extra 5 days?
A: We were allowed to see the kids 2 more times, and then the rest of our days we spent sightseeing.  We bought a book of self guided walking tours around the city, Jay attempted to learn to read cyrillic, and we tried to soak up as much of the culture as we could.  Given the circumstances, and despite the fact that Jay wore the same t-shirt for three days in a row, we really did have a lot of fun. 

Q: So what's next?
A: Russia's civil court cases currently require a 30 day processing period until they take into effect.  For us, those 30 days are up on June 26.  We fly back for our third and final trip on June 26. 

Q: Yah, yah, but what about the KIDS?
A: Right now it looks like we'll pick up the kids on July 3 (family day!), take a train with them to Moscow July 4, Grandpa Kuebler (my dad) will arrive on July 5, and we'll all leave Moscow together July 7. We will be renting an apartment in both St. Pete in Moscow to give the little ones some more wiggle room while we are there.

Q: Do the kids speak any Engligh?
A: Nope, they still don't speak any English.  I've learned a little Russian though...we will speak a lot of love, do a lot of gestures, sign, and practice a lot of patience in our first months together.

 Q: When can we finally see them?
A: When we arrive in the US, we'll be able to post pictures freely like any other parents : ). 

Okay, I call that pretty good for one day's blog. I'll be back with more frequently asked questions in the next couple of days!








1 comment:

barbara said...

That is so awesome that your dad is coming out to help. With the kids and all their paraphenalia (how the heck is THAT spelled?) you'll need one person per child. Or two!
It'll be another decade before you leave the house without "luggage". Let's see, do we have enough extra clothes, snacks, clean underwear, water, umbrella, paper towels, wet wipes, ear plugs.....??!!