Getting Settled

First off, I apologize for it taking so long to post. My life has been going around in a whirlwind ever since I stepped off the plane and has not quite stopped yet. I came home to mountains of paperwork, eager friends and a very wide open 1yr old!! Noah is doing great. You would think he had lived here his entire life. God has been so good to us and I praise Him for it!! My Noah is the best child anyone could ever ask for. He has slept like an angel from day one. It's like the time change and lack of sleep on the plane didn't affect him at all. I couldn't have asked for him to adjust any better. He only cries or whines if he is sleepy and other than that he is usually smiling. He jumped right in with his new friends and plays like he has known them for a while. He will smile and be attentive to almost anyone who talks to him. He has bonded with me so quickly. He knows who his mama is! He will practically eat anything you give him. I will have to say, he is learning that he likes to play games now at meal time. His new game is how long can he hold his food in his mouth before swallowing! It's driving me nuts!! I need a trick to make him swallow it. I guess that about sums it up. I can't imagine life without him now. I was thinking tonight that it seems now like I had just sent in my application. Like there was barely any wait. I guess it probably helped that there were next to no bumps in the road for me. Sometimes I still can't believe he is here....then I hear a little voice and know he is :)



Thank you all so much for all the prayers and gifts and support. I can't tell you what they have meant to me!! Here are a couple picture of Noah since we have been home.

Almost American!!

Yep...tomorrow is it. The day that Noah Overman becomes an American Citizen. I take pride in just typing the word American. I was so proud today, as other times in this journey, to say I am a US citizen. I had such joy inside of me to walk up to the US Embassy building today and see The American Flag on the coats of the guards there! One day, I pray my Noah will be just as proud. How blessed I am and how Thankful to live in my country. No matter what is going on or how rough it might get ..I know that God IS still in controll. That will never change!! Therefore I am so glad to bring Noah home tomorrow to the USA!!
I keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. I look at him in his crib sleeping and he looks so perfect! I can't beleive that he is finally, officially an Overman. That tommorow we will board a plane..together, to go home to meet his new family and friends. He has no idea what lies ahead, but I know that no matter what his life brings, he will always be very loved and very wanted! This journey has been an adventure to say the least. It is by far the scarriest but most exciting, saddest but happiest, hardest but most rewarding thing I have ever done. I am certainly glad it's almost over, but would do it all again for the same result! There are so many beautiful children here that I have seen. (That would be the saddest part.) I wish they all had homes to go to. Someone to take care of them..especially after seeing how much Noah has "come alive" since getting personal attention. I pray that anyone who has ever had the thought of adopting, for whatever reason, that you would follow through or at least look into it.

Our flight leaves tomorrow at 1:30 and we arive in Raleigh at 10:45pm. Please pray that God will continue to keep us safe and that Noah will be an angel on the flight! :) At least somewhat. Also, that we will quickly get through check in since I changed my tickets and have to finish some things at the airport and that we will breeze through immigration!
Thanks for all the prayers!!! Can't wait to see everyone!

Almost there..

We went today with some friends to Red Square and St. Basil's Cathedral. I have seen pictures of St. Basil's in magazines or on blogs, but still nothing compares to seeing it in real life! When we turned the corner and there it was, I was almost awe struck. It was very impressive. Unfortunately, the pictures are on my mom's camera and she is out for the night so I will try to post them tomorrow. We also went to GUM which is a VERY nice, high end mall. I will say that for the most part, I love alot of the fashion here. I could have spent all day going through the stores. Too bad for Noah, his mamma does love to shop!! We ate at a little cafe in the mall. Mom and I both ordered a club sandwich thinking it would be our supper. It was more like an appetizer. Good..but very small. Let's just say for our real dinner tonight, I had rice and mom had toast. blah! Noah did really good all day. He has gotten to where, if I am holding him, he does fine. It's when I put him down now, he cries. At least alot of the time. It's understandable considering he has never had so much attention. He is having so much fun learning about his surroundings. From bath time (which is much better now), to sight seeing, to just playing here in my room, he is always observing and always copying. I am so ready to get him home in a more baby proofed environment so he can just explore. I especially can't wait to see what he does when he is let loose on the grass. I hope there is a little warm weather saved for us! It's not looking too promising from what I hear :( I really can't wait to see what he does when he meets Tucker..or maybe should I say, what will Tucker do :0

Tommorow is it. The last thing to accomplish before leaving. I can't believe it! Around 1:30 I will have my appointment at the US Embassy. It will take about 2 hours. They will go over things about immigration/naturalization and tell me what to do when I arive in Chicago...at least that's what I'm told. Then we will pack and be ready to jump on a plane Friday. Hip Hip Horray!!!

A Reason to celebrate!!

Not much new with Noah today other than each day he is testing the waters to find his boundaries. It has been crazy to watch how much he has changed in just the few days since he has been out of the orphanage. In there, he never cried...he just played with his toys and looked cute. Of course he became more outgoing as we kept visiting him, but not like he is now. Now, he is a little comedian one minute and crying for attention the next. Too funny! I have to turn my head sometimes just not too laugh at him when he is showing his colors. He knows his name very well now and he quickly learned the word "No" too. He will try to do something he is not suppose to and when I tell him no, he just looks up at me with this pathetic little face and huge brown eyes and looks soooo pitiful. Like I just stole all his joy. Sometime he will fall back on his behind and pout/cry..then stop, look to see if I'm looking, then do it again. Very cute. The doctor came this morning to look him over and he did great. Many times the kids from orphanages are scared of men because they are never around them. Not Noah, he was completely fine with the doctor and when he picked him up, Noah started pulling at his mustache. He got a clean bill of health and that's one more thing down. Two more to go!
Now on to the other good new...We get to come home this Friday!!!!! I called the airlines todayto see if by some off chance I could get my tickets changed. I couldn't believe it. It only cost $150 to change. Two of the tickets were no charge. I was shocked and thrilled!!! God certainly took care of us. My friend who is here tried to do the same thing and it would have cost them a fortune to change. Tell me that's not a miracle! The extra bonus is this will save me several hundred dollars in hosting and food. I am beyond ready to get back to North Carolina and to my Tucker!! Just 4 more days!!!

The Zoo

Today we took Noah to the zoo. It was only about 15 min away by metro and we had no problems getting there. It felt good not having to wander around lost. He loved watching the animals (once we got him to see them) My favorite was the monkeys. Other than that, it was a rather quiet day which is more than I can say for yesterday. Noah showed us that he does have another side. It was not pleasant. I woke up sick, he woke up sicker. My poor mom had to put up with both of us all day. He cried at everything. Eating...sleeping...falling...walking...holding...not holding...you name it, it brought tears..and screams. It's a good thing we had already decided to stay in yesterday, accept for the embarassing trip to the grocery store. I was quite frustrated by the end of the day. Thankfully after some pep-talks from a few people back home, I got over it and slept good. Everyone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning :) He is also almost over his cold. Tomorrow, we are going to try to make it to Red Square if weather permits us. Here are a couple pics from today and a favorite of mine from yesterday !!





This bear was too cool. He would just sit there sticking out his tongue at everyone.




This is the fun we have at bathtime....I don't think the mohawk helped :)





PS..Later on, I'll be posting for some friends that are adopting things that were invaluable to bring on my trip. For now, I have a couple. One would definitly be Helman's Mayo. Haven't seen it in the stores and sandwiches for lunch has been great. Earplugs! The only thing that has helped me sleep. The traffic here is so loud. Most important..a mom that can cook for you. My mom has cooked almost everynight a home cooked meal. A few I think have been inventions, but still good. It's been great, plus having an extra set of hands to hep out with Noah. Thanks Mom!!

Under Moscow

Well, we went out to use the metro today to get somewhere new and literally wandered under the city in the tunnels for a while. It is like a maze....correction...an endless maze down there. Just think of one of those maze games that you have to find your way to the middle without knowing what's ahead....then throw in about a half a million people and you have Moscow City Metro System. Noah tollerated it much better than I did. He is such a trooper. We actully found ourselves "off track" several times today. I guess we had that "lost look" because three different people came up to us to see if they could help...all at different times. We made it to our destination and back though, which is always nice. Noah was mostly happy all day. I think he was just getting tired by the end of the afternon. Tonight, he let me know that he had figured out exactly what I was doing when it came to bath time. He was having none of it..or so he thought. I didn't make him suffer too much and as soon as he was out of the water, he started smiling. Big faker! He is also eating everything I put in front of him. Some of his 12 mths clothes fit good, some are too big and almost everything is too long but I think with his appetite, he needs the extra space! That's about it for today.

Happy Gotcha Day Noah!!!

What an awesome day! We woke up, after a good night's sleep, finally, to a beautiful day. It was about 53 degrees today and all sun. Vlad picked us up and said this was very unusual for this time especially on the day we were picking up Noah. I say God knew exactly what He was doing. He planned Noah's first day out to be perfect..and it was. We got to the orphanage and the doctor, who I absolutely love, gave us lots of hugs and kisses and said how much she liked us. She said this time she was going to be the one crying because she hated to see us all go. Very sweet!! I signed a few documents granting me permission to take him out early and then they brought him down. All smiles as usual. We had to put on his new clothes and thankfully his 12mth old clothes fit him perfectly. I bundled him up and then we said our goodbyes. I have to say, it was almost a bitter sweet for me. Even though we could not verbally communicate, I will miss the ladies that we saw everyday. I know how much they cared for Noah and part of me felt like I was taking him away. That's just me though. Vlad says they are just used to it and I know they are glad to see him go to his new family. Then we were off to this exciting new world. Noah was soooo alert. He was very pleasant, but very serious. He just stared at everything. It was really neat to watch his little face soaking it all in. After about 10 minutes, he just laid back and started smiling again. Mom and I took him out for his first restaurant experience tonight. He did great. He sat in a high chair next to me and ate everything I gave him. The caregiver said he was not picky. We then walked back to the apartment and he was amazed by all the lights. I'm pretty sure he really enjoys walking around because he started making all kinds of noices. He got his first bath tonight too. He was a little apprehensive about it, but did fine. By the end, he started fussing a little, but as soon as he was out, he was ok. I am so relieved to have him with me. It is a good feeling to know that no one can just come in a take him away again. The rest of our stay should be much better but I still can't wait to get home.

To God be the glory for all His blessings. I am so thankful that He would give me the priviledge and responsibility of taking care of one of His children.


New clothes..




Not sure where my face came from..but Noah looks cute :)








Taking it all in...





Night on the town..





Clean as can be...

The Day Before..

My life changes forever! Tomorrow is it, Noah's Gotcha day! I can't believe I can actually say that. I hear so many people talk about their gotcha day it almost doesn't seam real that it's my turn. As my friend Stacey said, tomorrow, October 23, 2008 will go down as the last day of the first part of Noah's life and the first day of his new one! If he only knew right now what was about to happen. Today, he was full of laughter. He was smiling and laughing at everything! He is a little sick so I was surprised. He has a bad runny nose. We will get picked up at 3:00 to head that way. I am working tonight on getting everything cleaned and ready for our new roommate :) I hope he will settle in to this temporary environment with no problems. Of course, if he has problems sleeping, it won't affect me any since I'm not sleeping hardly at all either :)

Just another day

Noah is still doing great. Still no tears, just smiles and funny faces! I feel like our bond is getting stronger. Yesterday we had a moment. I was holding him and making noises and he just stared at my mouth for a while. Then after a few minutes of that, he started doing this head-butt thing he does. Then he leaned in and out of nowhere gave me a kiss. I'm not sure who taught him that, but it was very sweet. He did that about three times and then just stopped and stared at my eyes. He stared for the longest time, not taking his eyes off mine. I wish I knew what he was thinking. For me it was a great moment! He is also a little mimic. Today I pointed to my nose and then his. Within a couple min. he was pointing to mine when I would touch his :). Today, Vlad called and said I will be able to take him out of the orphanage on Wed. I can't wait!! Wish it was a little sooner, but I'll take anything I can get. We will have his passport picture taken that afternoon and then wait until Monday to start the rest of the paperwork. The ten day wait is not over until Friday so that's why we have to wait. I'm not sure the schedule of next week yet but I figure it will involve right much running around. I can't wait to see how he reacts to all the sights and sounds of the world around him. If he is doing ok, we will most likely take him out to see some places over the weekend. He was not very cooperative with picture taking today so here are a few from the past few days. PS.. on my computer sometimes all the pictures don't show up. There should be 4. Just refresh if you don't see them.

No slowing down.

Today Noah decided to find out how many times mommy could run after him before she colapsed. He was so wired today for some reason. He didn't sit still for much more than a minute, (unless he was eating) and wanted to go everywhere he wasn't suppose to. He would start heading in a direction that he wasn't suppose to be going and then stop to turn and see if I was coming :) Then he would just laugh at me and keep going. He has this all figured out I beleive. He also has this funny face he makes when he is really excited. It's like he squishes up his entire face. It is hysterical. I posted a video which will show it a little. I believe he is going to be a little comedian. Mom also taught him a little trick with putting his blanket over his head. He though that was great! There is a video of that too. As far as me and mom. We are beat!! It takes an hour one way every day. I can handle the metro, but the walk is not so pleasant. I hope that by the first of the week I will have him. That should make the time go by so much faster. I miss home very much!! What I would give for some Smithfields BBQ and sweet tea right now!!! mmmm The biggest problem I'm having is not getting on a sleep routine! I was up until 4am this morning. Completely wide awake. It's been that way for several days now, so hopefully tonight it will have caught up with me and I'll be out!

Noah's outdoor adventure.

Today we took Noah outside to play. The orphanage is surrounded by an iron fence and in the yard there is a paved walkway that circles the building. There are about three "huts" that are off the path set up as play areas. It is very cute and you can tell someone has put alot of work into them. We got there to pick him up and went to his group. They have changed the room he is in probably since he is now a year old. We poked our heads in the door and he saw us. It was soooo cute. He started waddling straigh over to the door. I LOVE IT!!! We then got to see the "ritual" of bundling him up. The poor child could barely move after it was all over. :) Here are a few pictures of today:

PS. Thanks to all of you who have written notes back. I look forward everyday to reading them.!!!

Another fun day.

We made it to and from the orphanage today on our own with no problems. There has got to be a million people in the metro. I can't believe what I'm seeing down there. I guess city people are used to it. Noah was great again today. He has the best personality. He smiles all the time and really never cries. He started to yesterday when I took away the spoon, but it lasted for all of about 2 seconds. Distraction is the best tool :) I think he is really enjoying the one on one time though. He seems to eat up the attention. Today he got some apple juice and about gulped it all down. I had to take it away from him because I don't want anything to mess up his stomach too bad. He aslo tried some sweet potatoes and liked those too. He is starting to look around for me some too so that is awesome. Today a couple times, he turned his head when we called his name. Does that mean he is getting it??? Mom seems to think so. That's really about it. It will be the same routine for several more days unless I get a surprise phone call to go get him. I'm posting a couple pictures of Noah and of the city.



This is Noah's Orphanage:

The view from my bedroom windowThere are so many gorgeous buildings here, this is not the best shot but I hope to get more once I have Noah and we go sightseeingLooking a little devious

How cute is his new hat!!

Day 2 with Noah

Each day Noah is coming out of his shell more and more. Today he had his first experience with apple sauce and apparently his first with a spoon as well. He caught on very quickly and made it clear to me after he had figured out what was going on, that he could do it himself! Sort-of. We didn't make too much of a mess. He is boogying around like crazy, still falling once in a while. He loves any kind of toy with buttons on them or that makes music or lights up. I've already memorized the music to both of the toys that he plays with here :) I guess that is just the beginning!! He also learned very fast about pushing his toys. One is a little lion I got him that has wheels. He saw me push it toward him and then kept hitting/pushing it back to me. He'd just look up at me like..come on mom..get with it! Looks like he'll be into cars and trains!

I had my first experience today with the metro. Not nearly as difficult as I though it would be. The orphanage stop is 15 min. from the apartment and then another 20 min. walk from there. It doesn't feel as cold as it did last trip, so the walks are really nice. We went to a beautiful lake/park today while Noah was sleeping. It was gorgeous. Lots of trails through the woods with all the fall colored leaves on the ground. Looked like something out of a painting. The interesting part was watching a lady strip down to her birthday suit and jump in the freezing cold lake for a swim right next to the no swimming sign :) Not sure how she handled to cold water, but to each their own I guess! We ate next to the lake at a little place that just appeared out of nowhere. It was a tent set up in the middle of the woods with a few men in it cooking over hot coals. It was like shishcabobs (sp??) of pork and another one of mushrooms. It was sooo good!
Tommorrow I will go see Noah in the afternoon. I can go see him on my own now which is nice. Vlad told me today that I can get him out early, but it will probably be the beginning of next week. Still crossing my fingers for a little earlier, but something better than nothing.

Many of you have not seen Noah yet, so here is a quick video from yesterday.

Court

Today was the big day! The appointment was suppose to be at 11:30 but the prosecutor was late so I didn't go in until 12:30. That really helped my nerves! It was all actually pretty easy. I stood in the middle of a room on a small platform and answered the questions as the judge asked them. Masha stood next to me and translated everything. Once that was over the orphanage director spoke about Noah and a lady from the social worker's office spoke. The judge then left to make her decision and was back in in under 2 min. After a few more I do's and I understand's, she said that the Moscow City Court officially grants me custody of Noah Alexey Overman. Yipeeeee.
I went to see Noah around 4 and he is doing great. Very happy, smiley boy! We had a great time together. I will go tomorrow to get a ticket for the Metro so I can go to the orphanage alone from here on out! I will probably go about twice a day. That's my day in a nutshell. It was a huge sigh of relief to walk out of those doors knowing that it was official. I can't believe I'm almost to the end of this adoption journey. At least the end of the first part. Now will start the real fun :) I'm off to bed. I'm a walking zombie right now since I have only slept about 5 hours since Friday.

Russia...part 2

I have not kept up with all the happenings lately, but I got my court date finalized last week for tomorrow. We made it safely back to Rusia today. Our flights were great. First flight we had plenty of room because it was an exit seat and an empty seat next to us. The second flight, the attendant at the desk, moved us up to two seats right behind the bulkhead so we had lots of extra leg room. Aside from our bread not coming out in a basket, it was just about as good as first class and a lot cheaper :) Max, our driver flagged us down and seemed very glad to see us. I think he might have been missing one of his pick ups. While he waited, he kept turning around and smiling great big. Maybe he thought we might wonder off??? I then talked with the coordinator for our team and found out my court time is 11:00 ot 11:30. I will be going again at the same time as the other family who was with me last trip, so that should help calm my nerves. It should be relatively short and then off to see my Noah!! There may definitly be a shot of getting him out tomorrow or at least in only a few days. I will know after court but the team is working on it so that was excellent news. I won't be able to stand myself if I get to go pick him up right after court!!!! They have the heat turned on in the apartment this time which is good. This time, I'm actually keeping the windows cracked to keep it cooler. After a hard rain fall this morning, the sun was shining until it set. I think God was just smiling down on us because last time, I barely saw it at all. On another note, mom and I had another shopping adventure tonight. I'm not a big fan of grocery shopping here. We decided to try another brand of milk since I didn't like the last kind. Remind you, everything is in Russian. We also picked up a huge chunk of cheese for crackers and some breakfast rolls that looked like cinamon for tomorrow. When we got back we broke out some good old fashion bannana sandwiches and I went to open the cheese. It was the worst smelling stuff I had ever smelled. I came really close to throwing it out the window!! It stunk up the entire kitchen and living room it was so potent!! My mom stilled braved it and tried a piece even though I warned her I had no idea how to get her to a hospital! She said it wasn't near as bad as it smelled, but I couldn't take it. I think it burned it's odor into my nose because I still smell it. Lets just say, I hate it for the poor soul who picks up the garbage tomorrow! I then went to check out the milk...it looked a little thick...we figured out really quickly that we picked up butter milk. By this point we were both laughing. Last but not least, we discovered our cinnamon rolls, are not cinnamon. Not sure what it is, but nothing a large amount of jelly won't cure. I think the best purchase of the night was the large bottle of Pepsi. I think I'll stick with what I know from here on out!! :)

Home Sweet Home

I made it home last night safe and sound. Still a little tired, but I will catch up soon. Now it's time to start getting my house ready for my little man to come home. Hopefully that will be by the end of October! Thanks for all your comments while I was gone. You hear about how nice it is to get them while you're gone, but I never knew how much I would look forward to reading them!! Thanks

Sad to say bye...happy to come home!!

I'm all packed back up and ready. I can't wait until I get back to warm weather. Aside from when I take a 30 min. hot shower..twice a day, I don't think I have been warm since I got here. Most buildings here have their heat controlled from one central location. I guess it got really cold a little early this year, so they have not turned any heat on in this building. It has been in the low 40's all week. Next time, I'll be like Noah..so many layers I can't bend my arms :) .

As of this morning, I have officaially requested to adopt him. The notary was extremly nice. Afterward, mom and I went to Old Arbat street to do some shopping and eat lunch. Around 4:00 we went to spend some more time with Noah and say our goodbyes for a few more weeks. We were able to play with him in the play room today so I got to see him crawling around everywhere. He is nowhere close to walking yet but loves to jump up and down with help. We did some measuring and he is 27" tall and about 18lbs. He should be in 12mth old clothes. His feet are 4" long, so I have to figure out his shoe size. He smiles alot and laughs, but not outloud. He doesn't make alot of noise actually. Not to worry though, I'll wear off on him soon enough!! It was a little sad to drive away, but I have so much to do now to prepare for a little boy. Clothes to buy, bedding to pick out...flower gardens to kill :( Masha said that our court date will probably be in about 4 weeks.
I'm off to take my evening shower so I can get warm before bed!

The Hand of God...

I didn't quite know what to title this post because it is not at all what I thought I would be writing. Sorry it took me so long, but it has been a long couple of days. On tuesday morning we went to DOE to get permission to go to the orphanage and meet Sveta. I wasn't nervous like I thought I would be. We went into a small office where there were three ladies sitting. One was the Social Worker in charge. They pulled out the referral page with a picture and some information on it. We talked for a few min, then left to go to the orphanage. Once there, we were carried to a play room where Masha (my interpreter) went over the medical report. Long story short, I decided, based on several factors, that I would not be the right match for this little girl. It broke my heart, but I knew without a doubt it was the right thing to do. Masha then told me about a little boy that she really wanted me to meet. I was extremly hessitant, but finally agreed. We left and went to another orphanage a few minutes away and to sum it all up...I fell in love with this little boy the second I saw him. I can't explain it, but I knew this was the child God wanted me to have. It is so clear that His hand orchestrated many things to bring me face to face with an amazing little 12 month old boy who's name will be Noah Alexey. Little Svetlana will always hold a special place in my heart, for without her, I would have never met my son.

Today I was able to see Noah twice and spend several hours with him. He is such a good little boy. He just turned 12 mths on the 11th of this month and he is full of energy and very alert. I believe that bonding will be very quick. He was born a preemie, but still weighed 6lbs. I can't wait to get him home and fatten him up a little :)

Tomorrow we will go to the notary to have my petition to the court notarized and then in the afternoon I will be able to spend 2 more hours with him. Then Friday morning we will be back on a plane for the long flight home back to the much missed USA. I love my country!!! :)
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.

Hi from Moscow City

We made it in safe and sound. What a day!! Our flight was really good. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We stood in line about an hour to have our passports stamped and then saw Vlad holding our sign. We were able to stay with Sasha so Vlad carried us straight there. Vlad is very nice and speaks very good English. Sasha is also very nice and funny but his english is not as good. It was a struggle once Vlad left to communicate but we made it. Sasha was so funny because as he was showing me around the apartment the things I would need to know, he kept saying...come here...you have test! He would show me something and then make me do it again for him....several times. He then walked us to the market a couple blocks away and we bought a few items for the apartment. On the way back he said..."I walk slower" which meant he wanted me to find my way back to the apartment on my own. He just smiled the whole time, but I made it just fine and remembered all the locks, keys, and passcodes it took to get back into his building to boot :) Mom and I have the apartment to ourselves which was very nice of him. It is in walking distance to alot of shops so tomorrow, we will be busy. We ventured out tonight to find the Marriott to get an american map. We decided to have a cup of coffee and relax since we had gotten lost and wandered the streets for about an hour :) She brought us our ticket and we left her money to cover it and guessed on the tip. It seemed a little high to us, but we still aren't familiar with the money here. Jena (another lighthouse family here) called me tonight and when I told her how much it was, she informed me that we just spent about $17 on two cups of coffee (probably only 4oz each) I will say it was the best coffee I have ever had, but it will be the last time I visit the marriott in Moscow!! On a sad note, We found out that a Russian plane crashed yesterday just outside of Moscow. There were over 80 passengers and no survivors. I am so thankful the Lord has had His protective hand over us so far and pray it continues!

It's hard to beleive that my baby girl is somewhere only min. from me. I can hardly wait until Tuesday. We are having a bit of trouble with the phone card right now, so hopefully tomorrow I can get it figured out and make a couple calls. Until then, thanks for the prayers and we will update tomorrow.

Next stop....Russia

I can't believe it's here! I leave tomorrow!!! I've been packing now for a week. Going over my list, and over it and over it. If there is any question as to how excited (and nervous) I am, then realize it is 2:00 in the morning and I am wide awake. :) Guess I'm getting a head start on loosing lots of sleep!
So here is my agenda. My mom and I will fly out of Raleigh at 12:30, layover in Atlanta and arrive in Moscow at 10:30 their time. That will be about 2am our time. We will be picked up by our driver at the airport, who will be holding a sign with our name on it. How fun..I've always wanted my name on one of those signs :) We will be staying with a host. Hopefully Shasha. He has an apartment and lets adoptive families stay there. I really want him, because I hear he cooks for you alot and I can't wait to try some authentic Russian cuisine. We will be able to relax Sunday and Monday. Probably get to do a little sight seeing. My appointment at DOE is on Tuesday morning. It should be brief. They will go over her medicals with me. Then, depending on the orphanage's schedule, we will go to meet her!!!! yippee. I'm not sure how much time I will get to spend with her that day or the rest of the week for that matter, but I will get to see her everyday. That is really it for this trip. When we are not in the orphanage, we will be traveling the city. This is the best trip to pick up souvenirs since the next trip, my precious "souvenir" will take up all the extra space. Not because she comes with alot of stuff. It's like my mom said, she will come just like she was born, not a stitch of clothing...just a naked little baby:)
I am going to try and post each day. It all depends on where I can get computer access. We will be flying home on Friday and get back to Raleigh on Sat. at 7:00.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. Please pray for our safety in traveling on the plane and in country and that all will go well and Hannah will adjust well to all the changes she is about to go through!

Confirmed

I found out yesterday that I have an appointment date of the 16th. Yay!! I'm a little sad that it was postponed a week, but it's for the best. I had so much going on this week!! Speaking of..I'm writing this from my brother's couch and he and my parents just left to take my sister-n-law to the hospital to deliver a my little nephew. I'll be meeting him in the morning when my niece wakes up. Very exciting! As for me, I will be boarding a plane next Saturday the 13th headed to meet my little girl. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind, so I know the next week will fly by. I'll post details as soon as I get them.

Small Update

Looks like my appointment date will be the 9th. That will be confirmed on the 2nd. Be here before you know it :)

I GOT THE CALL!!!!

At exactly 10:15 this morning I got a call from Lorien letting me know that there is a cute little 19 month old waiting for me to come get her. Usually the first call is to give a travel date...mine was not. It was even better. Lorien was given 13 pictures of this little girl. Moscow is not a region that gives out information before travel so I was so excited. Before anyone asks, I'm not sharing the pictures just yet. I want for everyone to meet her for the first time in person. But I will say that she has the most beautiful big blue eyes. She has straight, blonde hair and fair skin. She is cute as a button. She was born January 1o, 2007. Tomorrow the DOE will be meeting and hopefully schedule me a travel date. It could be as soon as next Tuesday (meaning I would leave Sunday) but we think it will be the following Tuesday. 9/2 I actually hope that's when because I have so much to plan, plus...my wonderful baby nephew is due to be born at any time!! I'm hoping he will be here this week so we can all have time with him before I go and so I won't miss his birth. I can't believe I'm actually posting this right now!! I'm still in a daze :) Praise the Lord...He is so good!!

Update...

It's been a really exciting week! As of this past tuesday, I'm first in line to go to Moscow. Even though it still may be September..anything could happen. I could get a call at any time! I've already been nesting..but now, I'm in overdrive!

I did make some progress this week in the baby's room. Here are a few pictures.

Blessings flow...

What an incredible day yesterday was. My fundraiser was such a success. It's amazing how God worked in ways I didn't expect. Just over 300 plates were sold, which was not as many as I had originally hoped, but in addition to the plates, I received over $600 in donations!! Added together it was the same amount raised as I had hoped for, plus, if we would have had more plates sold, I wouldn't have had enough food. Maybe one day I will remember that God knows what I need much better than I do! :)
As I stood in my church, for a moment my eyes filled with tears as I looked around and saw so many wonderful people that gave of their time to help me. Many used their gas to deliver plates, some took off work, a couple made sure I got the best savings on everything and some of them barely even knew me but came anyway. I am truly blessed beyond measure!! I also had several friends that worked very hard to sell tickets for me. This fundraiser wouldn't have been a success without every person.Thank you all!

Nadeah made it to Moscow...

Well Nadeah has safely landed :) Here are a couple more pictures of her trip.I really thing Jules' husband enjoyed his trip :)


In other news..the fundraiser is almost here. With the help of several others, I am selling tickets right now. We are hoping to have 500 tickets sold by Monday! I think it's going to be alot of fun actually! There will hopefully be alot of people coming to eat in. The hardest part of this to me is selling tickets. I have a hard time asking people. So far though, the Lord has blessed. Many people have volunteered to help. Kristie, my preacher's wife, has been a huge blessing. She has helped line up all the volunteers not to mention helped me organize everything. Couldn't have done it without her. Thank you also to everyone who purchased a ticket. Please keep praying that things will continue progressing smoothly and that the funds will come in as they are needed. I know that God will provide!

Spring is blooming..

I've been working on the baby's room for a while now. It started with painting it yellow a few months ago. Finally my ideas on the "garden room" are taking shape. Here are some pictures of the progress. I still have a little ways to go with building the fence. I almost hate to put up the fence now because I like the flowers so much :)

Nadeah goes for a ride...

Well, my dossier has been named Nadeah. (the names means Hope..I thought that was fitting). It was recieved in Illinois by the family taking it to Moscow. Nadeah was taking a break earlier today on her friends playset..here she is:
Jules said that Russians like red-heads. She is trying to send good vibes :)
She will be sending more pictures as Nadeah's adventure continues.

Almost Registered

Well, my dossier will be in Moscow in only a few days. There is a family traveling this weekend and they will be taking it with them. Once recieved by the Lighthouse team in Moscow, it will be translated and then registered. This doesn't mean I will travel any sooner, but if sure does feel good to know it will be there! Being registered with the region is a big milestone for me! Now the fun part about this is a little thing the Lighthouse family does. Each time a family carries someones dossier over, they draw a face on the front of the package and it gets named. They take picures of it during the trip over. I know it sounds crazy, but it's a fun way to show some progress and pass the time. Tonight I have to name my package. I'll post some of the pics as soon as they send them to me.
YIPEE for progress.

Just checking in

I can't believe it's already June..almost July. My projected travel time has changed. It looks now like it may be closer to September before I get to travel. I'm still counting on having her home for Christmas! It's vacation bible school at church and I'm helping in the Kind. and 1st graders class. It is a lot of fun not to mention good experience :). Some of these kids are a hand full!
I have been slowly working on her room. I got the most beautiful crib from a lady in Raleigh. She gave me an awesome deal on it. Yesterday I got in the crib bedding I ordered. It could not be more perfect! Most of my wall decorations are things I will be making so I'm taking my time on those. Anything to help the time go by! I hope to do the first fundraiser the end of July. That's all for now. Amy

Dossier Complete!!

Last Wednesday, I went to Raleigh for the second time to have my dossier appostilled. For those who don't know what that is...all 24 parts of my dossier have to be notoraized. Then each notary stamp has to be approved by the state (appostilled). The Sec. of States office has to stick a non-removable approval page to the front of each of my pages. I mailed out my completed dossier on Wed. I can't believe it's done!! Lorien will now send it off to be approved and translated. She said that it should take about two weeks and then it will be registered in Moscow. As of now, there are three or four dossier ahead of me, but by the time mine is recieved, those should be matched. Hopefully by week-after-next, I will find out it has been registered and maybe even get a travel date. I am still hoping to make my first trip by the end of June.

FBI Approved :)

I know I just wrote yesterday, but had to let everyone know that my UCIS approval came back today !!!! I was surprised....didn't expect it until next month. What does that mean..well, that means that once I recieve my Home Study revision next week my paperwork is pretty much done! I will have to file a change form to UCIS to change the country but it won't stop me from traveling my first trip. Of course as always nothing is for sure, but this means that there is a good chance I will be able to travel as soon as next month or June. I'm still praying for the funds..but I'm so excited.

Status...

Not too much has changed but so much has happened. I'm trying to have my dossier ready to send to Lorien next week! I'll still be waiting for UCIS approval, but we can go ahead and send everything else over and have it translated. That will put me on a waiting list so once the approval comes, it will be quickly added. I am still hoping to travel in June or July. Time is flying by. I do have to share something. I just want to thank the Lord for everything he has been doing in my life. As I look back over the past several months, I see how He has been putting all the pieces together. A HUGE piece of that puzzle was bringing me to my new church! I think it is so important to have a church family you can lean on and I am so thankfull that I will have a church that I love to bring my little girl home to. I spoke with my Pastor and his wife today and the support from them was so awesome! It was no accident that God brought me there and I am very grateful.

Russia....how it works

I wanted to explain the process of how Russia will work. It's very different from Ukraine! Once I have signed with an agency, which I have, they will decide the best region for you to go to. This is based on what type of child you are looking for (girl, boy, age, ethnic background). Lorien thought that Moscow City would be the best for me. They have the fastest turn around time and what appears to be more healthy little girls. Once my dossier is complete (that's all the paperwork) it will be sent to the country and translated. Then, once a "referral" or child becomes available in that region that meets what I requested, a date will be set for me to travel to meet her. That trip will take about 3 to 7 days as long as I accept the referral. btw, this is what they call traveling blind. I won't really know anything about her until I get there. If I accept, I will come back home and wait for my court date. Usually it takes b/w 4-6 weeks. I'll then go back for court and then there will be a 10 day waiting period for them to make their decision. Sometimes you are allowed to keep your child with you in this time. Depending on how much it cost to stay v/s come home and whether or not I get to keep her with me, I may come home during this wait, otherwise, when it's over, it is just a matter of finishing up paperwork and then we get to come home!!!!!!!!!! The second trip can last anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks I think. There is always room for things to change, but as for now this is the standard procedure.

Maybe next time I post, I'll have more exciting news than this :)

Playing Catch Up!

Ok, so it's been forever since I have posted. There have been alot of changes in the past month. First and most importantly, I'm now going to Russia instead of Ukraine. When I began the adoption process, I prayed that God would show me where I was to go, I was torn between Russia and Ukraine. I chose Ukraine because I was familiar with it and because it is where my mom and I had talked about so many times in the past. Well...I chose wrong. God closed that door and pointed me to Moscow city, Russia. Because of this, I had to find an agency. I can't tell you how scared I was to trust an agency. Well, after a week of reading websites, ordering booklets and asking for references..I found Lighthouse Adoption. I talked with Lorien and had an instant connection. She was so helpful and here is the crazy part...she said that because of how far along I was in the paperwork, I should be able to travel within 2 - 4 months!!! I was so excited, had a nervous break-down later, but really excited (thanks Stacey for the moral support! ). The whole time I'm thinking I will be traveling at the end of the year and I had plenty of time to get things in order......now that's out the window. Of course, nothing is set in stone with international adoption, but I at least have to plan for it. Anyway, that's kindof where I am now..waiting to finalize a few documents and make the necessary country changes and then wait for my referral. Anyway, now your all caught up. I'm going to make another post that will explain how Russia works.

One down....

Well, I finished my homestudy! Yeah...that's one step closer to bringing my little one home. My social worker was so nice. We had two visits and both went very smooth. She asked me lots of questions and put them all together in a report. I also recieved notice from INS that they recieved my application. I should be getting a letter soon with my appointment date for my fingerprinting. I will have to go to Charlotte to have them done. I am still waiting to hear from Roman (my facilitator) about sending documents to Ukraine to get on the waiting list. I pray that will happen, if so it will probably shave off a couple months of wait time. I keep thinking that my daughter (or son) is sitting in that orphanage right now, being neglected. She could be sad or hungry and has no idea that I am trying to get to her! That soon she will be safe and have all the love, attention and food she can handle. I pray that God will keep her safe and healthy until then.

Any skeletons in the closet...

Today I recieved confirmation that my home study packet was recieved. Next I should be getting a call from my social worker to set up our first meeting. There will be several of these meeting so she can get to know what I'm all about. Scarry for her :) The home study process should take about 6 weeks or so. This sounds silly, but I was actually nervous even putting the fed ex packet in the mail. Not just a scared nervous but also an excited nervous. I guess because I know that aside from the desire placed in my heart, this was the first real step!!!

Stay tuned....