Leaving Comments

Today I ran into a friend from where i used to work. It was great to see her again. I have missed some of my fellow colleagues. I am a little surprised that I haven't heard from them but I guess we all get too busy with our own lives. Anyway, she mentioned that she had difficulty leaving a comment on here. For those of you that do not have a blog account, you can simply leave a comment by typing it in the box once you click on comments. Then I believe there is a code word or jumble of letters for protection. Type that in where it mentions it. Then click on anonymous. That way you do not need to deal with an account and password. Just remember to leave your name. HOpefully this helps a little. I love when I get comments. Or, you can just email me at Khamele@sbcglobal.net

I look forward to hearing from all of you. Keep in touch.

Family Gathering

Yesterday Mike and I went to my parents' house to celebrate family birthdays. My mother's, my sister Karin's, my sister Kristin's, my sister-in-law Jan's, and my nephew Alex's birthdays are all in September. What a busy month. It was great to havee everyone all together. We don't usually get everyone together, so it was really nice. We enjoyed a nice afternoon and hamburgers and hotdogs and just great company. I really enjoyed watching my nephews play my parents' Wii. My mom and dad like to play the bowling and do the Wii Fit. As we left last night, I did mention to Mike that it was nice to have everyone together, but as I said it I felt sad since not everyone was there. Perhaps next year Colby will be with us so he and his cousin Keith, who is only 2 months younger than him, can play together. Then that would trully be a perfect day.

Another Letter Sent

Yesterday I sent another letter to Colby and Tatiana, the director of the baby home. I have been sending one a month. It helps me feel a little more connected while we are apart. Along with the letters, I try to send a little something. The July letter included two little baseball caps. They always keep the kids in hats when they go outside so we wanted to send a couple for Colby and his friends. In August I sent a couple long sleeved shirts. It is starting to get cooler there already. Winter will be coming quickly. The two families that I know are in Russia now say that it is about 50 degrees now. Yesterday I sent a couple disposable cameras. I admit this was a selfish act on my part. Nothing for my little guy or the baby home but completely for me. I am hoping that the caretakers and Tatiana will take some pictures of him, themselves, and the baby home. I want to make a memory book for Colby and those pictures will be great to have as a reminder to share with Colby as he grows up. I'll also love seeing how much he will grow before we go back.

We are still hoping for Christmas. We shall see. The documents should be with the judge so hopefully we will hear what docs he wants us to update. Keep your fingers crossed for us for Christmas!

Happy Birthday and It's Been a Year

First, let me say a big Happy Birthday to my mom. She's celebrating a big one but I won't say which one!

Well, it has been a year since Mike and I went to our first informational meeting with Wide Horizons. I can't believe it! So much has changed yet so much remains yet to change. A year ago I had no idea I would have travelled to Russia, Siberia no less, to meet my child. I had no idea that a little curly blonde haired, grey eyed baby boy was waiting for me to go through a ton of paperwork and come get him. We've met with many different doctors, dealt with a social worker (who is amazing), met lots of great people who have been very supportive through all of this, lauhed, cried, and been totally amazed by this whole process. Where will we be next year? What will we have done? I look forward to celebrating my mom's birthday next year with her grandson as well. It's been a year, and it isn't over yet, but we are getting closer everyday. Hurry up judge and read those papers! We want to get back soon.

A Quiet Day, Lots of Birthdays, and Fellow Blogger Updates

Today was a nice quiet day. The weekend has had beautiful weather. You can tell that Fall is coming. It has been rather chilly in the mornings. Today I went with my mom and my Aunt Doone to a craft fair in Deerfield, Mass. Ever since I can remember, I have gone with them and my cousin Carmen (Aunt Doone's oldest daughter) to craft fairs and other shopping excursions. It was nice to go again today. We had a nice ride up there and walked around. We didn't buy much but the day was great nonetheless. Then we went down the road to the Yankee Candle Factory and had lunch and walked around. I really enjoy spending time with my mom and Aunt Doone but we haven't had much time together lately. Everyone is so busy. When we do get together it is always lots of fun, talking, laughing, and just enjoying eachothers' company. A nice day all around!

I also want to mention a few family birthdays. September is a busy month in my family. My sister (in-law) Jan had her birthday on 9/2. My sister Karin's is 9/15 and my sister Kristin's is 9/17. They are actually a year apart but Karin is older, so on 9/16 they are the same age. My mom's birthday will be on Mon 9/22 and my nephew Alex's is on 9/23. Lots to celebrate. I can only hope that Colby will be here next year to celebrate with them.

A congrats go out to a few fellow bloggers. One family is in Ekat visiting with twin daughters who will be adopted in just a few days. Another couple is travelling to Ekat tomorrow to see their daughter for the first time. Wow! Congrats to everyone. I love reading the updates and either gathering insight into our future trip or helping out those on their first visit. I look forward to all the updates.

TV Show

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I was flipping through TV channels and came across Discovery Health. This is a channel that I often watch. When I turned it on, the show that was on was called "Adoption Stories". The show was taped in 2004 and dealt with a family in Mass as they went through their adoption journey. This family decided to adopt from Korea. They already had a 7 year old son and due to the wife's age, they decided to adopt to grow their family. Of coincidence, the family used the same adoption agency as Mike and I are. It was nice to see that the agency did suuch a great job with this family.

The show did get me thinking though. This family went through the Korea program which allows for the child to be brought here to the family by escort and then the family does not have to travel to Korea. It seemed much easier than having to travel, especially with the high gas prices and changes in flight fees now. Mike and I will have to travel at least twice to Russia, we will most likely stay there while we wait out the 10 day post-court waiting period. The cost of the travel and missing so much work is not easy which makes the Korea program seem better. However, I sit here now recalling the experiences that Mike and I had while we were in Russia. Meeting other adoptive couples, seeing the country, hearing the language and meeting some of the people, seeing the baby home and meeting the director and the caretakers who are watching over our son. That is only a part of it. We can then share those experiences with our son when he is older. I would not take those experiences back. I loved every moment of them. I am not sure which adoption path might be better, easier, etc. However, I am content with knowing the Mike and I made a choice and it seems to be the right choice. Sure, we could have dealt without the 30 hour chaos of the flight there, but I am happy we did what we did. Now if only I could get back. No news yet. Ugh!

Still Waiting....No News

IT has been about a week since I posted anything on here, but there really isn't much to say. We had heard on 9/6 that our court documents were sent to Russia to be translated. I am assuming that they have probably arrived there and are in that process now. I hope that they hurry up with that so the judge gts them soon. We have not heard anything else. I haven't received any updates on Colby. I was told in July that they might give us an update once every 3 months or so. What agony.... It has been almost 3 months since we first saw Colby and I can only imagine how he has grown and changed. He must be a little bigger now and probably walking on his own. He was just on the verge of doing that when we first saw him. Is he talking now? Is he getting lots of attention and love? I hope to write him again soon and I want to include a couple throw away cameras. Maybe the caretakers will take a few pictures of him and themselves so I will have something to look at later to see how he is changing. I hate not being there. This is really hard.

The Beginning of the Wait

Well, it has been over 2 months since we first saw Colby. It is now September and children have returned to school. I have begun my new job as a school photographer. My first "shoot" was on Friday 9/5. It was tiring but fun. I really enjoyed interacting with the kids. I was really worried about how it would feel to be in a school and not be the teacher. But honestly, I didn't really think about it much. I was able to enjoy the kids and not worry about the administration and the requirements of teaching. It is nice to have my nights back and not worry about correcting papers and grades and all of that. I am thinking about doing some tutoring but I am not sure how to get that started. I don't really know anyone with kids except those where I taught before but I don't want to go there. We'll see what comes up. In the mean time, we begin the long wait.

As mentioned previously, Mike and I sent in our court documents on Wed. We received an email from Vica on Friday saying that they looked great, well organized, and she was shipping them off to Russia that night to get translated. Then they will go to the judge in Yekaterinburg. Hopefully not too much will need to be updated. But for now, it is not in my hands. I did my job as quickly as I could. (I hate waiting on people for paperwork.) I wish we had gotten in done quicker but I have been told it takes most people about 2 months to complete it all. That is how long it took us. And now we wait. While we wait, I am glad to be able to read fellow adoptive couples' blogs. I have enjoyed reading about how Nicholas is doing now that he is home and I look forward to many of the joys that are occurring in that household. I have recently stumbled onto another blog and that family is traveling in Yekaterinburg to get their twin girls. I look forward to seeing those photos as well. Hopefully Mike and I will share in their happiness soon. We are still looking at the end of this year but I am not sure. It has taken most families about 8-11 months inbetween the first trip and bringing their child home.If it does take that long, and we do miss Christmas than I hope to have Colby home before his birthday in April. I don't think I could bear him not being with us for a second birthday. Christmas will be hard enough. Please, everyone, keep your fingers crossed for us. Wish us good luck. We certainly deserve something good to happen.

Finally!

Yeah! I finally sent out our documents for the Russian court today. A total of 2.3 pounds worth of paperwork. Now our paperwork bundle is up to almost 8 pounds. But, it is complete thus far. Once it is translated, the judge in Russia will look through it and decide what he wants updated. Which means, more paperwork. Crazy, but true. I was very excited to send it out FedEx today. The agency will receive it tomorrow. Then it goes to Russia to be translated. I hope it doesn't take too long. We are still shooting for a return trip before the new year but I am not sure. The email I received today from Vica mentioned that 3 families are going to Yeakterinburg within a couple weeks. They have been waiting from 8-11 months between their trips. I know that with the accredidation process that things were held up a little last year. Hopefully we won't wait that long. If we do we may not even get Colby before he turns 2. This waiting stuff stinks. I have been patient for 2 months, I am not sure how much more patient I can be.

On the bright side, one of the couples we met in Russia has been home with their son now almost 2 months. He looks great. I have enjoyed reading their continuing story and seeing his pictures. Congrats C & M!

Relaxing Weekend

Mike and I had a great weekend. We brought his parents up to New Hampshire to my grandparents' house on Lake Winnipesaukee. My parents also have a house there, right down the road from my grandparents'. My parents were there as were my brother Keith, his wife Allyson, and their 1 year old son Keith. It was a nice, relaxing long weekend. We drove up on Friday after work and came home on Monday around lunch time. On Saturday we brought Mike's parents to Castle in the Clouds. It is an old mansion that was built in the Ossipee Mountains in 1914 for $1 million at that time. It is beautiful. You need to drive up the mountain about 2 miles to the carriage house and then take a short trolley ride or walk to the main castle. The scenery was beautiful and Mike's parents seemed to enjoy the ride. I was hoping to drive around the lake but we went back to the house instead. At night Mike, his mom, and I played dominoes after we all went to dinner. Sunday we went out to breakfast and stayed around the house. We enjoyed the peaceful sound of the waves, they were huge this weekend, and I read my book. Mike and I drove into Alton Bay to the craft fair and just to walk around.

Overall, the weekend was great. It was relaxing, something Mike and I certainly needed. We have been struggling hard to finish the adoption paperwork and the weekend away was perfect. When we came home, we found the last paper that we needed had come in the mail. I now need to bring that and my employment letter to Hartford to be apostilled tomorrow. The department will do 1 or 2 papers while you wait. So, our paperwork should be done tomorrow! I will definitely let you all know as soon as it is sent out. Then we need to wait, sort of patiently, for the paperwork to be translated and then see what the judge wants updated. So, we are slowly moving ahead. YEAH!!!