Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat - What are They Feeding You?

After over 30 hours of travel, we were so happy to have our friend and translator Svetlana help us to get all checked into our nice apartment with lots of space, homey amenities and a distinct smell of cats.  Ahhh Russia! 

Since there is never a dull moment in our ongoing saga, she greeted us with interesting news and a funny story.

Interesting news: (And by interesting I mean that's the nicest adjective I could think of to describe it)

The girls have CHICKEN POX!  They are on their fifth day of it, so it should hopefully be on the downswing by the time we pick them up, but Grandpa might need to bring us a few extra things when we meet him in Moscow - just in case.  Also, we're not sure if their brother has ever had chicken pox so this could get reeeeeeal interesting folks.   I mean, we might as well check chicken pox off the list at the same time as: first day as a family, first train ride, first experience being left with 2 people who are calling themselves mom and dad and speak no Russian, and let's not forget first 20 hours of traveling day! Chicken pox - bring it on!

Funny story: (relayed onto us by one of the caregivers at the baby home where the girls live)

Our middle daughter, whose personality is unending, saw another girl at the orphanage wearing the dress her caregivers put her in the day she met us.  Apparently she looked at her and gave her a big ole "NYET! That is MY special dress I wear when I see my Mama and Papa!"  Love. that. girl.

Alright, we've got an early morning tomorrow driving to Luga where the kids live and working on all of the documents to get them US Citizenized. If we get finished early, we get to see the kids!

July 7, 2011

On July 7, 2011

We did this....

 
...and consequently this piece of mail had insufficient postage and got returned a month later.

BUT... we DID officially send that first letter on July 7!   

And we WILL officially be stepping onto US soil with our three amazing children exactly one year later.

Pretty cool if you ask me, even if we did forget a stamp or two along the way. ; ) 

One Week!

I really can't believe it.  It's a week away. Time to go back for our third and final trip. 

Time to pick up our little cuties and bring them home forever.  Wow, when I type it out, it sounds so easy.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, back to St. Pete we go!

A neighbor asked me last night if I was "nesting" at all. Nesting? Oh you mean that 6 page long to-do list I'm obsessing over? Is that nesting? Um, yes, I'd say so. For every thing we cross off the list, I add three more items.  By the end of this week, Jay will probably sprint to the airport seeking sweet relief from the relentless list of tasks.   

"I'd rather be at my favorite Russian art museum than doing your to-do list"

Example: The 10 day forecast in St. Petersburg is 65 and rainy. This Mama didn't take into consideration that it would be that much cooler than it is here. Panic! Panic! My kids need sweatshirts.  Fun fact: a toddler sized sweatshirt is impossible to find in Iowa in the middle of June. Shocker, I know.  Halleluiah for online shopping after a day's worth of visiting every children's clothing carrier I know.   

Cold? Windy? Russia? No!

Example: The laundry room is suddenly way too dirty to be used as it has previously functioned.  Must...clean...every...corner. I must re-organize everything. I find a painting extension rod with the brooms - What is THIS doing in here? I javelin launch it into the garage where Jay is busily cleaning.  Jay threatens divorce and forces me to "hug out" my frustration. Oh how I love my husband. 5 minutes later I come to the realization that BOTH my washer and dryer are not working.  Almost in tears, I bring in Jay from the garage again, who has already lovingly forgiven me for the javelin incident. I explain to him that the washer and dryer have suddenly stopped working.  Kels, the cycles are just finished, he says. Good God, I've lost my mind and I've admitted it in a public forum.    

Laundry is important so we don't have to see Jay wear this shirt every day next trip.

Example: We have been so fortunate to be showered with love and gifts from family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Like ridiculously fortunate. If it's possible for children who live in an orphanage to be spoiled, ours are. I decide at 11:00 last night that I need-to-right-this-instant put together the sand/water table we've been gifted and haul it from the basement upstairs and into the backyard. That would have been all well and good had I not made the executive decision to NOT screw in the legs with screws as advised.  Turns out those screws actually keep the legs in place.  I learned that as I bumped the table into the wall and all the legs went crashing down the stairs. 

Jay has visions that due to their Russian heritage, our children will turn their water table into a fountainous masterpiece

There you have it, three brutally honest examples of the hot mess I actually am right now. It'll all get finished, and in the end, it will make me feel better. In the end, it will also probably not help us to be any more prepared than we were are the beginning of this week.  Oh well.

My favorite place in St. Petersburg

As I typed this post, our passports with visas just showed up at the door! Cross it off!

Item # 19839 Visas/passports arrival

Peaceful.

 And for those curious, writing a blog post... was not on the to-do list.

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!

A flight itinerary for WHO?

It's confirmed. It's booked. It's official.

They're coming home!  

July 7. 

(And yes blogworld, we've got some catching up to do. ; ) )

Everyday

It's been 50 days since we've seen the kids. And it... feels... like... an... eternity.

Can I speak from my heart for a moment?

I am constantly thinking of them.

What are they doing? Will they remember us? How will they react when we leave them again? How will I react when I leave them again? What will our first days together as a family be like? Have we lost our damn minds here? What's the Russian word for love? play? eat?

When I'm checking papers at school, I'm thinking about them.

When I'm driving in my car, I'm thinking about them.

When I'm walking the dog, I'm thinking about them. 

When I'm having a conversation with you, I'm probably thinking about them. Sorry about that.  

Every single night I look at their pictures, I watch their videos. It's my only way to see them.  It makes my heart ache and swell with joy all at once.

I can't share videos with you YET Blogland, but Miss Tech Savvy here figured out a way to give you another sneak peak at a moment we shared with one of our children.

This one's of the littlest Schmitzy.  She was the shyest of the three by far.  I don't blame her. I can't imagine what was going through her little mind when she was introduced to us.

However, when we visited on the second day we began to see some of her personality slowly shine through.

And just before we left, girlfriend gave her Mama the best gift of all.

A full-fledged belly laugh.  With a side of mischief, might I add.

So here ya go Blogland, my littlest daughter. With a belly laugh that makes me smile when I need it.