Sent it off...

Well we have sent the letter to the kids along with a few pictures from our visit. Our agency is going to have a courier (family) carry the letter to Vladivostok and have the office there mail it to the orphanage to the kids. Hopefully they will have it in a week or so. We are working on some of the final paperwork we need to complete for court so that everything is ready when we arrive back in Vladivostok in July (we hope). One of the things we had to do was to sign our Court Petition which is the document requesting that Russia allows us to adopt the kids. This document came from the agency and included some details that we previously did not know about. Specifically The names and birthdates of the kids immediate family members as well as their fathers date of passing. We found out that their father passed away about 3 weeks before I. was born. This document also is the first one that hold the kids "new" names. We have decided to make some changes to their names. We have given them our middle names and have changed I's name to an American derivative. Although we think we will continue to call him by his Russian "nickname" until he gets used to his new name. K's first name we really liked and since it is already "Americanized" in its Russian form, she will keep it. Well thats it for now...

Communications

Well we are working on a letter to the kids. Gloria's cousin is a Linguist for the DOD and is fluent in Russian. We are going to have him verify our translation and send the letter off to the orphanage with some pictures of our 1st visit. Hopefully it will reach the kids. We also hope to put together a care package for the orphanage to send over...they really want cars for the boys and dolls and jumpropes for the girls and we are working on collecting what we can to send over via mail. According to our agency we continue to be on track for a Mid-late July court date. Keep your fingers crossed. Have a great week!

An Orphan's Life!

Borrowed from a friend:

An Orphan's Life

I will never know the warm embrace of a mother.
I will never know a place called home.
I will never be tucked in at night.
I will never know all is right with the world.
I will never play catch with my dad.
I will never feel the ocean breeze in my hair.
I will never see the sunrise from the window of a plane.
I will never own the clothes on my back.
I will never eat popcorn in a darkened theater.
I will never run barefoot in a spring rain.
I will never have someone to catch me when I fall.
I will never watch fireworks explode in the sky.
I will never eat until I’m full.
I will never sit in a candle filled church.
I will never see a look of pride on my Dad’s face.
I will never ride a shiny new bike.
I will never dance at my prom.
I will never graduate.
I will never have someone to call for advice.
I will never make it on my own.
I will never stop wondering how my life could have changed -if someone had taken me home- for always.

So many things we take for granted...............our two little ones will never have to think these thoughts again!

They will have a mother, father and an AWESOME big brother, three dogs, a home, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and so much more!

They say that the kids are the lucky ones...............I don't agree...............WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES!

We miss you so very much!

Missing them...

Wow, I never thought it would be this hard...I see their faces constantly in my mind. I long to hold them, teach them, love them. I dream of them every night...waking to thoughts of them, where are they? how are they right now? Only having spent time with them for 4 days, how much I long for more. I only hope they remember the time we spent together...hope they know and understand that we are coming back for them, hope they have the same longing. I can hardly concentrate on work as my thoughts drift back to them...July, please come soon.

Pictures....

Well of course we took a ton of pictures/video. We of course cannot show the Kids faces until the adoption is final...however here are some pictures we can share......

1st day driving through Vladivostok.


Our Driver in Vladivostok...Sergey


Waiting for Flight to Vladivostok in Moscow


I.'s Room in Spassk. He is in bed no. 5 (Gloria's
Lucky number) just to the left of the window.


Mama and K. Making a necklace.


I. Playing with the new truck we gave him...he
loves anything with wheels...


Papa and K playing ball.


Papa loving on his new Boy!


Our translator in Moscow...German
(pernounced Garmon)


A Church in Moscow/pilots church at
airport.


The Square in Spassk and the Lenin
Statue.


Moscow Terminal


Gloria's new friend met in airport in Moscow.
Chicago Bulls, Scottie Pippen!

Whew! We made it...

Well we got home last night about 9:30 or so. Thanks Mom and Harry for picking us up at ORD. We want to thank everyone for following along on our journey so far. It looks like we will be returning to Russia in late July.

On our way home

We are currently sitting in the lobby of the hotel in Moscow. We are waiting for the shuttle to take us to the airport. We have an 11 1/2 hour flight to Atlanta and then a 2 1/2 hour layover there, then on to our final destination - Chicago O'Hare Airport. We are scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:16PM. We will miss being in Russia and seeing the kids but the sooner we can get home, the sooner we can come back and bring them home forever. We also have missed seeing Keegan. I am not sure he has missed us, it may have been a good vacation for him. When we get home, the hectic schedules starts all over again. Keegan has his track banquet on Wednesday and we are very happy to be going to it.