Gotcha day

Tuesday was a crazy day!  I woke up at 2:45 and could not go back to sleep.   At 9:30 AM we loaded up the van with all the gifts and went to the Embassy for scedule our appointment.  Robel was told we should come back at 1:00 pm.  We headed to a market (we did not go to the post office) and we had one hour to purchase things.  We all had to barter which made things interesting.

 

After the market we went to lunch.  Robel and I both had upset stomachs.  I took one bite of my meal and decided I shouldn't eat anything.  (by dinner time I was feeling much better).  Then we went to the TH to pick up our children.  Of course, Henry was sleeping so I had to wake him up.  The nanny asked me if I had a bottle.  A bottle?  um no, I was told he didn't drink from a bottle.  The nanny informed me he does drink a bottle 2 times a day... UGH... so the nanny gave me a bottle and then asked if I had formula..... Formula??  I asked.  She gave me some formula and then showed me how much to mix.  Over prepared Mommy was feeling VERY under prepared.  The nanny then asked if I has a Diaper bag, diapers, wipes, clothes.  I'm sure she was very worried that I was COMPLETELY clueless.     I said- Yes, I have that (thank goodness!)  We headed to the Embassy.  Nikki came to my rescue tonight and gave me an extra bottle and a fast flow nipple!!  She also gave me a pacifire since I didn't think to bring one....

 

The embassy was easy,  None of us brought any electronic gear so getting through security was easy.  We were asked a few questions and then we were approved!  Robel will pick up the VISA's Wednesday morning.

 

After the Embassy we went back to the TH to hand out the Nanny gifts and the donations.  We stayed at the TH for a couple hours.  Henry's nanny showed me how they give him a bath and lotion him up.  He stands in the bath tub while being washed.  She dressed him (bring your own clothes) and then she said goodbye.  She loves Henry so much it was so hard to watch the tearful goodbye.  The nanny and head nurse left the TH with an infant...  We hung out for a little while longer, I watched Henry get fed his snack and then it was time to go.  The Nanny and the nurse were gone so I quickly asked another nanny about the daily schedule:

5:30 AM - wake up and washing

7:30 AM - breakfast

11:30 - Lunch

afternoon nap and then bottle

4:30 snack

7:30 dinner

8:30 go to bed with a bottle (he falls asleep in the nanny's arms)

 

When we left the TH Henry was crying for his mama... his nanny... clearly he wanted to stay.  He was fine a few minutes later.  He has been great ever since.  We all met for dinner on the 6th floor.  Henry has spaghetti with meat sauce.  It was all over him and the table cloth by the time we were done... I had forgotten how messy toddlers can be when eating. 

 

After dinner we washed him off, put him in his PJ's then gave him a bottle.  He sat in my lap drank a few sips of the bottle then feel asleep!  He fell asleep at 7:30.  He slept through the night.  It's 6:30 AM on Wednesday so I should run upstairs to see how he is doing.

 

All in all, yesterday was a sweet, sweet day!  We are sooo glad Henry is part of our family!

 

oh, if you gave me pictures to take for the nannies... they were so excited!  They were walking around showing off their pictures to one another.  It was a sweet sight.

 

Patty- I was able to trace the foot!   I will scan it as soon as I get home.

We met Henry today!

The Savages arrived this morning!  woo-hoo!! 

 

We had lunch at the Hilton which is so beautiful!  Then we went to the transition home.  This is the day that we have all been waiting for.  Since our group was so small they took us in to the transition home one by one for a private meeting with our children.  Henry was sound asleep when we arrived.  We took his picture while he was sleeping but we decided not to wake him up. We played with some of the other children who were not napping until Henry woke up.   

 

When Henry finally woke up Rob picked him up and he cried.  I held him and he cried... he really wanted a nanny not us.  We were prepared for this reaction but it broke my heart, not for me but for Henry.  He finally feels safe in the Transition Home and now we are here to take him home.  Henry will have to deal with another loss in his life and he is not quite 2 years old.  The good news is he is attached to his nanny so he should attach to us over time. 

 

The nanny brought me a sippy cup but Henry was not interested in it.  She brought me a bottle and Henry's eye lit up. I fed Henry the bottle which helped him calm down.  I tried feeding Henry Cheerios.  Henry was not interested in the Cheerios until Sherry's little boy walked over and wanted some.  My boy got jealous.... jealous of sharing food or sharing me?  It's probably the food but I liked to see that he had an opinion.  Rob tried to carry Henry on several occasions.  Henry cried with him too.  I took Henry outside without the older children and the nannies within sight.  Henry finally held on to me and was much more comfortable being with me which is a sweet feeling. 

 

I blew bubbles to see if Henry would be interested.  He was not but many of the toddlers loved them.  I have some sweet pictures of your toddler children chasing bubbles.   

 

The new transition home is very large and has lots of room for the children to play.  The doctor was checking on the children while we were there.   He went over Henry's medical record and his concerns with me.  Henry has a cold which needs to be treated now before it drops into his lungs which is typical in this climate.  I brought all the medication the doctor recommended so we will be able to treat him tomorrow when we pick him up.  We will need to take him to the doctor as soon as we arrive home. 

 

All in all we had a good day at the transition home.  we will go back tomorrow to pick up our children!

 

In a few minutes we are going out for traditional Ethiopian food.  My tummy is not ready for Ethiopian food but I will go with the group to see the dancing.  More later!

Today we meet Henry

I woke up this morning at 3:45- I was hungry and could not sleep.  I ate a banana and tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't.  My stomach is the same as yesterday.  I hope I can make it all day.  This morning we meet at 10AM as a group, then have lunch and finally to the Transitional home!!  We meet Henry this afternoon!  I have Henry's backpack ready.  I have bubbles, snacks, toys and other fun things.  I cannot wait to see his personality, what he likes and does not like..... 

 

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that while we were having dinner with the Sparrs the power went off!  The staff lit candles and turned on a lantern.   About 15 minutes later the power came back on.  We brought a flash light just in case the power goes off while we are in our room... fyi- the rooms all have candles and matches.

 

for other AWAA families (moms)- if you get cold easily, make sure you bring slippers, a warm robe and warm PJs when you travel.  The rooms can get chilly.  We brought our white noise maker, it drowns out the street noise and morning prayers.  Yesterday was a special Holy day so the Orthodox church started their prayers on the loud speaker at 4:30 AM. 

We have tried to call the US several times but have not been able to get through.  My sister on the other hand is able to call us without a problem. 

Igor is doing well!  Thank you for praying foe him

 

Day 2

This morning I woke up at 2:30AM (ET time) and could not go back to sleep. My tummy felt better and I sucessfully ate a banana.  woo-hoo!   Thank you all for praying.  I can feel your prayers her in ET.  I felt well enough to attend church this morning.  We enjoyed the service.  Robel drove us to a place for lunch.  I had scrambled eggs while Rob and Robel enjoyed a pizza!  Lunch for the 3 of us was $15 total.

We spent 10 minutes at the lion zoo and then returned to the room.  My tummy was upset so I thought I would take a nap.  Rob and I woke up 3 hours later when the Sparrs knocked on our door for dinner!

We had a great time at dinner with the Sparrs.  Heather and I had plain noodles for dinner!!  I hope tomorrow my tummy will be 100% 

We hope/PRAY the Savage's are in the air now and will join us tomorrow morning!

Tomorrow we meet our children.  I cannot wait.

We made it to Ethiopia!

Hi eveyone! 

The flight on Ethiopian Airlines was very interesting.  I felt like I was at a house party.  People were up in the aisles talking, dancing, laughing and having a good time.  It was the most social airplane environment I've wittnessed.  If you want to sleep on the plane make sure you bring ear plugs. 

Also, try to sleep as much as possible before you land in Rome.  After the Rome re-fueling stop they turn off the lights for 2 hours and then they wake everyone up 3 hours before you land in Addis. 

I was so glad that I brought saline spray for my nose.  It's so dry in the plane.  I wished I had packed eye drops in my carry on.  My eyes were so dry.  Also, bring extra water on the plane.  The airplane ran out of water about 1 hour before we landed in Rome.  We had already finished the bottles of water we brought on the plane.

The hotel is nice.  There is a safe in our room.  Everyone is very friendly and helpful.  The prevoius travel group left last night :-(

we are waiting for the rest of the group to arrive tomorrow.

 

Would you please pray for me?  My stomach virus is back!  I will spare you the details but I was NOT the life of the airplane house party.  My dear husband disposed of the air sick bags without complaint.  He is an awesome husband. I have also gotten sick at the hotel.  I brought my medicine I took two weeks ago but I cannot keep in down.  (Gross I know).  Please pray for complete healing. 

 

We told Robel not to pick us up for church in the morning.  I will see how I feel in the morning.

Leaving for Ethiopia

The bags are packed and in the car. In a few hours we will leave for Ethiopia. I cannot believe that it's time to go. I feel as though I'm in some strange time warp, where time is distorted. It feels too soon to go yet so far away.

Please pray for our dear son Igor. He is extremely sad that we are leaving for the week. He insists on going to the airport with us at 4AM. He will have a great time with aunt Shawn but he is already missing us and we haven't left!

We have a small travel group-
The Savages
The Sparrs
We cannot wait to meet them!

We will try to blog from Ethiopia but the current travel group has had a hard time getting an Internet connection. They have also dealt with power outages. So, we'll try our best!
Merry Christmas!

My little brother

Danielle asked, "What does Igor think about having a little brother." Great question Danielle! Honestly, Igor hasn't shared how he feels about a little brother. I ask him occasionally and he says, "I don't know."

Igor has said that he will be jealous of Henry when he comes home. I think that's normal. But Igor has some other thoughts as well. Igor told us that Henry won't be able to listen when he arrives home. Igor says Henry won't be able to understand us. He remembers what that's like and how hard it was. Igor knows it will be hard for Henry too. Last week, Igor told his former speech therapist that he is going to teach Henry how to talk. (I love my son!)

Igor has been very clear- he won't change Henry's diaper, especially if it's "stinky"!
If Henry is scared at night Igor said that he will rub his tummy and say, "It's okay little brother."
When he prays for Henry he says he wants Henry to be a good friend.

I think Igor has started the become a little protective of Henry. At school they had a picture of Henry on the calendar. They were counting the days until Henry arrives. On Dec. 17, Henry's picture was missing (the last day of school was the 18th). Everyone wondered where Henry's pictures was. The teacher asked Igor if he knew where Henry's picture was. Igor looked up and said, I put him in my backpack, it's time for him to go home.
Yep, Igor is correct, it's time for Henry to come home.

I'm planning on blogging from Ethiopia. We are not taking a laptop so we'll be at the mercy of the Hotel computers!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! Igor and I will decorate cookies and put some presents under the tree. We'll have an early dinner and then go to church for the 7PM service. We''ll read the story of the baby Jesus coming into the world and then we'll go to sleep. Does anyone sleep on Christmas Eve? I don't. Igor is excited about Christmas and so am I!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Plane tickets and travel money

After several calls to FedEx last night and this morning, I was told the driver remembered dropping off a package to our house. The FedEx agent asked if we check the bushes. At that point I had to laugh, um, yes, we have checked everywhere. She suggested my next call should be to the travel agent.

Our travel agent is on the west coast so all I could do was wait until noon when they opened. A few minutes before noon the phone rang. It was our neighbor one block down, she had a FedEx package with our name on it! Yes, she had our plane tickets! Woo-Hoo!

Rob went to the Credit Union this morning. He was able to get clean, crisp bills for our trip. One more item crossed off our list of things to do!

My dad sent me a travel luggage scale. I LOVE it! Using the luggage scale is easier than trying to weigh luggage on a bathroom scale. I highly recommend it to anyone traveling internationally. I will let you know how accurate it is compared to the airline scale.

Igor and I made Christmas cookies this morning. It's the last "Igor and mommy" Christmas event on our things to do list.... well, we still have to decorate the cookies, but we will do that tomorrow!

Please pray for the AWAA families in Ethiopia right now. Several of them are sick. The Stager's little boy is so ill he is being treated at a clinic.

plane tickets- where are you???

FedEx sent an e-mail this afternoon saying our plane tickets were delivered to our front porch. We looked on the front porch, by the garage door and on the back deck, in the bushes (um, yeah, we looked there too!)- no package, no plane tickets, no nothing.
We have a neighbor who occasionally gets our mail and we hers, so I walked up to her house- no package. I have a call into FedEx to see if the package is still on the truck.

We are almost packed. I broke down and packed a forth bag because I could not re-arrange the bags to be all under 43 pounds (we want a little wiggle room for the 50lb requirement).

Today's #1 priority - go to the bank. We will need spending money while in Ethiopia. In order to get the best exchange rate we will need clean, crisp bills printed after 2004. Rob went to the bank this afternoon. Well, he went to four different bank branches because none had clean bills. Each teller said that people have been coming in all month asking for new bills to give as Christmas presents! Who knew??? The result, we don't have any new bills. Rob called a friend at the Credit Union to see if they have new bills. If they do, Rob will head to the credit union tomorrow.

It's time to make dinner- Potato corn soup- Yummy...

The Gingerbread house is up, packing and luminaries

You may recall that last year's gingerbread house crashed before we were able to decorate it. This year, we had much better luck. Igor and I completed our first standing gingerbread house!

This year's gingerbread house was from a kit. I decided that I would construct the house and we would wait several hours before the decorating would begin.

Igor was very excited about decorating the gingerbread house.

I placed the frosting on the house and Igor decorated it. We had a great time putting it together.

My dear son has decided that he will pose for one or two nice pictures and then all the rest will be "funny". Here are the "funny" pictures with the completed house.

We leave in a few days and we aren't completely packed. I was sick, then Igor was sick..... we are feeling better now and I am planning to have all the packing done tomorrow. All the orphanage donations (clothing, diapers, wipes, vitamins, pain reliever and more) are packed in two extra large suitcases. They each weigh 43 pounds. I have Henry's clothes picked out and his diaper bag is ready to go. Rob and I will only pack 2 or 3 sets of clothing. I hope this will allow us to only take one more bag. Don't worry, the hotel has a inexpensive laundry service! We'll be wearing clean clothes daily.

Tonight our neighborhood will be a glow with luminaries in support of the Ronald McDonald House. 2008 is the 22nd year of the Light a Luminary project, which has provided over one million dollars in support of the Ronald McDonald House. This year after the lighting of the luminaries we'll attend a block party where we will enjoy hot chocolate and sugar cookies. YUM!

Tomorrow, Igor and I begin the annual Christmas cookie baking and decorating. I cannot wait!

New Travel Dates!

Our agency sent an e-mail saying our Embassy Appointment in Ethiopia has been rescheduled. Our appointment is on December 30 instead of December 31! This allows us to come home a day earlier. I called the travel agency with the update and they were able to book us on an earlier flight home. We leave December 26 and arrive home January 2. Igor is so excited that we will be home a day earlier.

Rob's parents will be here tomorrow. It will be great to have them here to help with Igor while I recuperate. I am feeling better but was up once last night so I am tired this morning.

Yesterday Rob filed our re-adoption paperwork for Igor at the courthouse. I am so grateful that the paperwork is submitted before we leave for Ethiopia. It's one more thing I can cross off on our "Things to do list"!

Thanks to all who commented on space bags. I decided to give them a try. We have 2 1/2 laundry baskets of children's clothing to donate to the Transitional home. All the clothing fit perfectly in 3 space bags! The 3 bags fit in one jumbo suitcase and it weighs 43 pounds! (50 lbs is the limit). After 5 days there are no leaks.

In case you haven't seen enough of our sweet boy Henry, here's another picture

a week in review

It's been a crazy 10 days!

We took Igor to a Christmas parade in a neighboring town. It was a wonderful parade but we had no idea the parade members pelted the parade watchers with candy, pencils and all sorts of other items. We had to use Igor's chair as a holding area for all the goodies.

Santa visited our neighborhood. Igor was not afraid to sit on Santa's lap.



Friday night we met the Schmidt's for dinner. I forgot the camera so I don't have any pictures.

Saturday I came down with a stomach virus. Yesterday I went to the doctor's office because I was still sick. They set me up with an IV to get me re-hydrated and provided me with anti-nausea medication. The doctor thinks I'll be well enough to travel on the 26th! UGH!!
This has caused a complete halt in packing and preparing for Ethiopia. I hope to re-start the effort by the end of the week.

This morning I'm weak and dizzy. I "enjoyed" some Jello this morning for breakfast.


My adoption pal Karin is now pain free in heaven. Please keep her family in your prayers.


We may have the option to leave Ethiopia on Dec 31 instead of Jan 2! I will keep you posted on our travel plans.

Testing

Testing to see if we can post from e-mail.

Without words

Please be praying for Karin and her family. We both adopted from Russia in 2005. She has since adopted two other precious children. She has been fighting kidney cancer and things took a turn mid-week.
thank you

We have tickets!

We bought our plane tickets! We will be leaving December 26 and returning on January 3rd. We decided to buy Henry his own seat from Ethiopia to the US. We hope he will be able to sleep on the plane.

My sister will be taking care of Igor while we are gone. Igor is excited because he will be able to sleep in his own bed.

Igor's teachers are awesome. His kindergarten teacher has a picture of Henry on the class calendar. They are counting down our departure to Ethiopia. The resource teacher sent home a calendar with all the days we will be gone. They included a Velcro mommy, daddy and Henry. Every morning Igor will move "us" to that day. It's a great way for him to know exactly when we come home.

The Schmidts bought a telephone card from http://www.callingcardplus.com so their kiddos could call them in Ethiopia. We will buy a phone card through the same website so Igor and aunt Shawn can call us daily.

Tomorrow I will start packing the orphanage donations so we can use our dining room during Christmas. Has anyone used space bags? Do they work? I'd like to use space bags for all the children's clothing we are taking but I don't want to invest in the bags if they are worthless. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Henry is officially ours!

It is official! Henry is our son!!

Yep, his shirt says Captain Chaos!

Court Date Dec 4?

The Caldwells were notified yesterday afternoon that their court date was not December 2 but December 4! We are in their travel group so perhaps today is the day!
We hope to share good news with you soon!

No news...

They say no news is good news and today I would have to agree. The families who received a call from our agency heard news no family wants to hear- they did not pass court. These families are heartbroken... their children will not be home for Christmas.

So we wait, hoping and praying we will hear goods news tomorrow!

I have been listening to Andrew Peterson. His song -Faith To Be Strong -seems to be a perfect way to end this post.

Give us faith to be strong

Father, we are so weak

Our bodies are fragile and weary

As we stagger and stumble to walk where you lead

Give us faith to be strong

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able Lord,

give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn

Mend us up when we break

This flesh can be wounded and shaking

When there's much too much trouble for one heart to take

Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us hearts to find hope

Father, we cannot see

How the sorrow we feel can bring freedom

And as hard as we try, Lord,

it's hard to believe

So, give us hearts to find hope

Give us faith to be strong

Give us strength to be faithful

This life is not long, but it's hard

Give us grace to go on

Make us willing and able

Lord, give us faith to be strong

Give us peace when we're torn

Give us faith, faith to be strong

Court Date

We believe our court date is Dec 2. Because of the time difference, sometime in the wee hours of Tuesday morning our court hearing will be proceeding in Ethiopia! If all the paperwork is in order the judge should rule favorably and Henry will be our son!
Please pray for the judge, our family and the other 10 families who share our court date. We appreciate all your prayers! We are filled with hope. We should hear something from our agency on Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll let you know as soon as we hear something.

Thankful

I've been tagged by Melodie to write 5 things we are thankful for!

1. I am thankful for my dear husband who loves me no matter what. He is a terrific friend, encourager, father and husband.
2. We are so thankful for our son Igor. We cannot imagine life without you dear one.
3. We are thankful for the opportunity to adopt Henry! We cannot wait for you to be part of our family!
4. We are thankful that we live in a country where Christians may worship freely and do not face persecution.
5. Thankfully we will know in a few days if we passed court!

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks

My dad, a veteran of the Vietnam war, sent me the following:
If you go to this web site http://www.letssaythanks.com/
you can pick out a thank you card. Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq.
You can also pick out a "pre-written" note to include with the card.
You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services. How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! This is a great site. Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these cards? Whether you are for or against the war, the men and woman serving in Iraq need to know we are behind them.

Our family

Igor and I have started our Christmas baking. I know it's early but Rob and I may be in Ethiopia December 13-20! Igor was asking about gingerbread men so I decided we should make them this week. Last year Igor make a cookie family- Daddy, Mommy, Igor and little brother. He wanted to do the same thing this year except he wanted icing on the cookies. I made the icing and he frosted and decorated them.

This activity gave us time to talk about Henry being part of our family while doing something fun. We had a sweet talk about what a family is and what our family will look like when Henry arrives!
Please pray for our paperwork to be correct and on Judge's desk on time!

AWAA Gathering and grace

This weekend we got together with several other families who have adopted or are adopting from Ethiopia! We met at a local park and then ate dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant. It was so nice to meet so many adoptive parents and children! A big thanks to Marshall who took the group picture.

Here's Igor at the Ethiopian restaurant!

I am reading - Sin Boldly - it's about God's grace. On Sunday I was in a funk, I was not expecting to receive grace, I wasn't even looking for it.... but after church a sweet lady came up to me saying I had been on her heart and she wanted to help me in some way, she suggested cleaning our house or some sort of act of service. I was floored, humbled and grateful. If that wasn't enough of a message from God, our neighbor came by Sunday night with an envelope. A week and a half ago she received a piece of our mail. When we opened the envelope, it included a lovely card with a sweet message and a check to help bring Henry home. Rob and I were floored, humbled and grateful.

Thank you God for showing me your grace when I desperately needed to see it.

Gotcha Day!

On November 16, 2005 a Russian judge ruled Igor was our son!

Yesterday, we went to Igor's favorite restaurant to celebrate. Igor ordered pancakes, scrambled eggs and french fries. He received his first super hero action figure. Spider man was a huge hit!

Happy gotcha day Igor. We love you!

Taking night vision goggles to a new level

Igor and daddy have taken the night vision goggles to a new level. The picture is not a mistake.... this is a picture of Daddy (white lights) and Igor (green lights) finishing dinner in the dark. Life with boys is never boring.

This picture reminds me of our adoption. So many days I felt like I was in the dark. I knew things were happening but I couldn't see most of it. Now it feels as though I have night vision goggles on, I can see more but not everything. We are looking forward to our court date with an optimistic heart.

Traveling families

Seven families are traveling to Ethiopia this weekend to pick up their children! Five have blogs:
Notes from the terminal ward
Armstrongs2Ethiopia
Gambles blog
Pridemores blog
Yellow black and brown

If everything goes as planned, in one month we will be in Ethiopia to pick up Henry!!

Night visions

My dear mother, Nana, sent Igor an early Christmas gift- children's night vision goggles. My son LOVES his new goggles. We tested them out in the closets yesterday afternoon. Igor thought they were very cool.

Imagine my surprise at Odark:30 - Igor walked into our bedroom with his night vision goggles on saying, "Mom, I can see you!" Once I woke up enough to realize what was happening I said, "Igor that's awesome. Now please, you and your night vision goggles must go back to bed. See you in the morning." Tonight I am taking the goggles out of his room after he falls asleep!

On the adoption front, it finally feels as though Henry will be coming home. I think we've been living in some weird alternative universe where we knew that we were adopting a child but it did not feel real. We have returned to this universe and the adoption feels VERY real now. We FINALLY purchased Henry a winter wardrobe. All he needs is a winter coat, shoes, mittens and we'll be done!

We received some more pictures of Henry from families who were in Ethiopia last week! He is such a cute little boy! I cannot wait to show you his picture.

Fall vacations and Ethiopia on my mind

We went to aunt Shawn's for a mini vacation. It was great to spend time with my sister. We went hiking, to the zoo and visited a wonderful playground. The fall colors were amazing.

We were in the car for over 4 hours one way so I started creating my list of things to do before we leave for Ethiopia. Rob is not a list person. He is delighted that I will organize everything but really doesn't like lists. One of the things we must have done before we go is get Henry's car seat ready and Christmas presents must be purchased, wrapped and mailed!

I need your help- my nephew wants Toy Story for Christmas but I'm not sure which one to buy, there are 3 Toy Story movies. He wants the one with this story line (or close to it):

the family in the movie has to move (I think) and the Space Commander, and the cowboy have to find the family because they fell out of the window. . . . .

I haven't seen the movies. I read the plots of each movie but none match the above description. Do you know which movie this is? If so, could you leave me a comment?

Also, we need to bring a gift for the nannies at the orphanage. If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them. The creative part of my brain, which is very small, has been over taken by the list making side of my brain!

The dining room table has become Ethiopia staging area. We have collected diapers, wipes, hand sanitizer, clothing, books, toys and games to take to the orphanage and transitional home. If you'd like to make a donation, check out the list of needs on the Schmidts Blog. We'd like to take the smaller items since we know other families are taking diapers and formula.

While the Susan and William were in Ethiopia they met Henry! They took some really cute pictures of him. It was great to receive more pictures and have William and Susan love on him.... Several families are in Ethiopia this week so we should get more pictures when they return.

Halloween

When Igor got off the bus on Friday, he had chocolate all over his face and a funny look in his eyes. Guess what? They had a Halloween party at school. I think he over dosed on chocolate. Here's a picture so you can be the judge-

We always wait until Halloween to carve our pumpkins. This year Igor wanted to draw the face on one of the pumpkins. Of course, Dad cut the face out.

Igor decided that he wanted to be a fire fighter again this year for Halloween. Good news, his costume from last year still fits! Igor and dad went trick or treating in our neighborhood. We have several courts in our neighborhood and three of the courts had adult stations set up. They had grills going, hot cider and treats for moms and dads. I'm not sure who had more fun,

Igor or dad!

Court Date and Tenative Travel Dates

Many of you walked with us as we adopted Igor. You may remember that we had to face a judge and prosecutor in a Russian courtroom in order to adopt Igor. Once the judge granted our adoption Igor was ours. We went to the orphanage that day to start our lives together as a family!

The Ethiopian process is different. Our agency will go to court on our behalf. If/when the court approves our adoption, we will travel 10-14 days after the court date to pick up Henry.

Our court date is rumored to be Dec 2. I say rumored because our agency does not tell us our specific court date but we are somewhat certain court will be Dec. 2. If we pass, we will travel on Dec 12 or 13 to pick up Henry and return home Dec 20!

Not every family passes court the first time. There are numerous legal documents and official papers the judge must have on the court date to approve the case. Sometimes there is a mistake in the paperwork or some of the paperwork does not arrive in time for the judge to rule favorably. If we do not pass on Dec 2, our court date will be rescheduled and the earliest we could travel would be the third week in January.

We are so excited to have tentative travel dates, but we are still guarding our hearts because we know that we may not pass court the first, second or third time.

At this point we have two options regarding our airline travel. We can book our travel now believing we will pass court OR wait until Dec 2. Both options have a list of pros and cons.
Please pray we make the correct decision for our family regarding airline travel.

Igor will not be going with us to Ethiopia. He will stay at our house with Papa and Babushka. He will go to school and stay on his regular routine. Igor is excited about staying home. He likes to tell people- I'm staying with Babushka while mommy and daddy go to Africa to pick up my little brother!

That's our big news! If we pass court on Dec 2 we will be able to post Henry's picture on our blog. We are looking forward to that day.

Fall Fun

Life goes on as we wait for travels dates to Ethiopia.

Last week we went to the fair and had a great time. Last year we wore shorts and sunscreen, this year we wore fleece pullovers and hats! Here's a picture from the National Guard stand.

Igor rode one roller coaster and he decided that he still doesn't like them. He REALLY wanted to ride the Ferris Wheel. We said sure. As soon as Rob and Igor got inside the Ferris wheel compartment Igor realized it swung like a swing. He asked to be let off the ride. Maybe he'll ride it next year.

The fair offers not so healthy food- Rob tried his first fried twinkie and fried snickers bar (a recipe for a belly ache!). We enjoyed roasted corn on the cob, ham biscuits, a funnel cake and a polish sausages.

Last weekend I finally purchased a new digital camera as the previous camera is dead. Taking Rob's old film camera to the Fair was painful. We have been very spoiled by owning a digital camera. We still have 5 more pictures to take before we can have the roll developed.

This weekend was the Fall Festival at our church. It was a great time. We decorated cupcakes, had a pumpkin roll, a moon bounce and more. Igor's favorite event was the tricycle races. This year we had a Christian Illusionist share the message of Christ while performing his magic show. He did a great job.

Igor's latest painting:

This week I am going to the blueberry nursery to pick out 2 or 3 blueberry plants! I cannot wait.

And they are off!

Four AWAA families are headed to Ethiopia to pick up their children! Check out their blogs:
Jam & Cheese
The Redfern's
The Lusse adoption journey
Yellow, Black and White
Now that courts are open our agency has several groups traveling the next 5 weeks!

How do you say I-G-O-R? and art work

Igor is pronounced EEE-gore not EYE-gore. Most people pronounce it correctly but occasionally a doctor or nurse will call out EYE-gore and Igor won't even look up. He has no idea that they are calling him.

At school they are learning the sounds of each letter and how to read. The other day Igor came home very excited about the "E" sound. He said, "Evan, Ethan, Igor! We all start with an E". Now, Igor knows how to spell his name and he knows it starts with an "I". He is confused- why does the "I" in his name sounds like an "E". Oh honey, there are so many exceptions in the English language and your name is Russian!

Igor loves rules. His name being an exception doesn't sit well with him. On his latest painting he signed his name IGORE. Why the E? So people would know to say EEE-gore. Of course, why didn't I think of that?? As soon as we replace our digital camera I'll post his signature on the painting.

Here's Igor's fish in watercolors.


Here is Igor's acrylic painting completed in September. Thanks for the picture Cindy!

Orphans & adoption

Yes, two posts in one day! Who knows what tomorrow will bring??

There are a couple ways you can help an orphan in the month of November.
Our adoption agency, AWAA, is hosting a Gala called "Orphan's Ticket home in
San Antonio, Texas on Friday, November 21st
and in
Beaufort, South Carolina Saturday, November 8th, 2008.

Please consider attending one of these events. All proceeds raised will help:

1. provide the necessary legal services and documentation to help orphaned children become eligible for adoption.
2. open America World Adoption programs in Bolivia, Brazil, India, Rwanda, and Vietnam
3. rebuild a children's home in rural Ethiopia that receives abandoned children from the government.
4. develop an Older Children's Cultural Exchange Program in Ukraine and Russia

You can read more about the Gala and reserve your seat or table at: orphanstickethome.org.

Are you interested in adoption but don't know where to start?
If you live in the Metro DC area Come Celebrate National Adoption Day on Saturday, Nov. 15th from 6-8pm at Grace Covenant Church, Chantilly VA (http://www.gracecov.org/). Free Christian Concert, featuring Jericho, with a Hip Hop Team, a parade of Nations kids adopted from all over the world and a free fair- featuring adoption agencies, adoption attorney and department of family services to answer all your questions regarding adoption.

Re-adoption and BOC

Because Igor was issued an IR-3 visa, he became a US citizen when he walked of the plane in Dulles Airport in November 2005. We've thought about re-adoption in the US but haven't acted on it. Our state recognizes Igor's Russian adoption decree and we have not had any issues using his Russian birth certificate to enroll him in school.

We are not planning to move in the future but we were not planning to move south two years ago! If we ever move to a state that does not recognize Igor's foreign adoption decree we'll need to re-adopt him so he has all the legal rights as a biological child. At our last Russia post placement meeting we agreed to start the paperwork to re-adopt Igor in our state. Thursday we meet with our social worker for another post placement visit required by our state. Our state does not require an attorney to submit the adoption paperwork so we'll complete the paperwork ourselves.

BOC
We have decided on a name for BOC . His name will be Henry. When we asked Igor what he thought of the name he said, "It's a cool name." Excellent! We no longer have to call him BOC!

I have been tagged

My blogger buddy Melodie tagged me today. I am to share 7 random and/or weird facts about myself and then tag 7 other blogger pals. I broke the rules by coming up with 8 things because I couldn't decide which random fact to delete.

1. I would love to visit Uruguay some day.
2. I love Skittles, Smarties and Sour Patch Kids. They are not allowed in the house because I have no self control!
3. I wish I were more creative.
4. I still have all my report cards.
5. I love to garden but not weed.
6. I enjoy watching Monk and Lost with my husband
7. I cannot read without my glasses unless I'm standing under a VERY bright light!
8. I often wonder who reads our blog.

I have not decided who I will tag next... so stay tuned, you could be "it".

I171-H, travel dates the Forrest Family

One week after our fingerprint appointment we received our updated I171-H. This means we have all our paperwork in order to pick up our little guy once we pass court!

We have tentative travel dates. We could go to Ethiopia the week before Christmas or the second week of January.

On a sad note, please keep the Forrest Family in your prayers. In August they received a referral for an infant girl and toddler boy. Last week their baby was hospitalized. Their sweet baby died on Saturday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from complications due to pneumonia.

Court Date & Lance Armstrong in training

Good news! According to another AWAA mom, all families with referrals have been assigned a court date. Our agency doesn't share the court date with us but will tell us when we've passed!

Igor has finally fallen in love with bike riding. Every day after school he rides his bike through the neighborhood. He likes me to run along side of him so I can give him a push at the steep hill. I am getting a great workout while he rides.

Wednesday, Igor informed me that he was going to ride his bike to church. It's just under a mile one way so I knew he could make it. Of course, I was jogging along side. After dinner I thought Igor might complain about the bike ride home. To my surprise, he rode all the way home without complaint.

This morning Rob had to go to the church for a couple hours so Igor went with him. Igor rode his bike while dad jogged. I will be checking Craigslist for adult bikes. Pretty soon a bike ride to the church won't be a very long ride.

We have accepted a referral!

Yep, you read the headline correctly. We have accepted a referral for an 18 month old little boy! Let the rejoicing begin.
So, let's celebrate with some music




I love the words to this song- especially:
So Just Remember,
The Next Time You Feel Like December
Remember That Night In September,
When God Wiped All your Tears Away

Adoption events

If you are thinking about adoption but haven't decided if it's right for you, I encourage you to attend an Adoption Seminar or Adoption Expo. Check out America World Adoption Event page. There are seminars and expos being held all over the country this fall.

A catchy tune...

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?? I have the Addams Family theme music stuck in my head. For several days I have caught myself humming this song. Why?? Igor's teacher is teaching the days of the week to the Addams Family theme music. Igor loves to sing this song-
Days of the week (snap, snap)
days of the week (snap, snap)
days of the week, days of the week, days of the week (snap, snap)
There’s Sunday and there’s Monday,
there’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday,
there’s Thursday and there’s Friday
and then there’s Saturday!
Days of the week (snap, snap)
days of the week (snap, snap)
days of the week, days of the week, days of the week

It's a very catchy tune and Igor loves singing it but I hope to replace the song in my head with something else soon. Is it stuck in your head now??

Igor's kindergarten teacher, Ms. Molly, is awesome. She reminds me of Ms. Joya (Igor's nursery school teacher). Ms. Molly is calm, creative, very organized and connects with the children in a very special way. The transition to Ms. Molly from Ms. Joya has been an easy one. YAHHH!!

Did you know that Friday was talk like a pirate day? I didn't until Igor walked off the school bus and greeted me as his matey. At school they made pirate hats and talked like pirates. At dinner Igor insisted that we talk like pirates. It was very fun but my "pirate speak" is limited matey. Next year I'll be more prepared. I googled, "How to talk like a pirate" and there are so many resources. Arrgh!, See Ya Chum!

While I have some free time I am volunteering in Igor's science class. Last week we went on a nature walk. We all carried picture cards to help us identify poison oak and ivy! Luckily we did not spot any. The kids were great and Igor seemed excited to see me in his class.

Our church body has had some very difficult days. A lot of different things are going on and I've lost track of so many things. (which is very unlike me) Yesterday Rob had a funeral at 2PM and I was going to Susan's baby shower. For some reason, I got confused, I thought the baby shower was at 2PM. Imagine my horror when I realized that I had arrived ONE HOUR LATE! Ugh... I have no idea what I was thinking. The good news, I made it for the last hour of the shower.

I hope to have an update this week on a referral!

Mom, I want to have a party

Since school started Igor has talked about having a party at our house. He asked about it for 2 1/2 weeks before I took him seriously (bad mom). He was very specific-

1. we are going to have a party and invite so and so over
2. we are going to have cake and cookies
3. we'll have decorations
4. we'll play cars, games, take a nap and play some more (ahhh, nap?)

Friday after school we had a back to school party. We had cake, ice cream and cookies. I did not have decorations up so I was quizzed by my son (the party planner) - "Why don't you have decorations MOM?" Really, I didn't think decorations were that important... Everyone had a great time. Igor is talking about his next party.

I don't have any pictures of the party because the shutter of my camera won't open. The electronics shop wants $50 to tell me what is wrong.... ugh. For now I am using Rob's old
"film" camera. I have had a roll of film in my purse for a week. This is a total bummer.

Tomorrow is "Picture Day" at school. After school Igor is getting his hair cut. His bangs are finally growing out and they are uneven. Now, I need to figure what he will wear tomorrow.

Dentist and adoption update

Do you hear that banging noise?? It's me banging my head on the desk.
I went to the dentist today. I saw my new favorite dentist who I really like and have a lot of confidence in. We were finishing up the appointment, the dentist said everything looked great and then he said (insert foreboding music here), "Let me take look at that X-ray again." My internal monologue went something like this- must we look at the X-ray again, really, everything is fine, my teeth are happy, it's time for me to go. But instead, I said nothing. The dentist and the hygienist were discussing a back molar, he flipped to an X-ray that was taken when I was having a terrible tooth pain. The dentist had me look at the x-rays taken over the last few months. he showed me a dark spot on one of my teeth. He said, "Candy, I think I can save the tooth and avoid a root canal and crown."
I thought- What? save the tooth, avoid a root canal? I'm here for a cleaning, we haven't finished dealing with the tooth that was pulled- ugh... how much is this going to cost? Of course, I did not say any of that, I smiled and nodded my head.
So, after I paid for the visit I pleaded with my teeth- Stop it! We are adopting!! Why are you causing trouble?? Alas, they are teeth not people so I was talking to myself. heavy sigh. On the 24th the dentist will try to spare me from a root canal.

The conference call was jam packed with information. I won't post everything because it's too much to post. Here are some of the highlights from the call-

• The Transitional Home (TH) is full. Children who have been recently referred will remain in the orphanage until the next travel group picks up their children.
• The TH's lease is up in October. They may renew the lease because they have been unable to find another suitable building.
• AWAA has signed on with another orphanage- Espansia(?). It is located about 4 hrs from Addis
• Duni has hired two staff people in ET, an adoption director and an assistant to the director. They continue to hire more nannies and are looking to hire another nurse.
• Travel will be different, families will stay in a guest house instead of the Hilton

I am trying to get clarification on the toddler boy wait time. We are well beyond the wait time quoted of 5-7 months. I know our situation is unique, so I have asked our family coordinator to provide us with a wait time specific to our family. I will let you know when I hear something!

One last thing- I miss placed my reading glasses. The school sent home a form to review and I cannot read it! Now where is the magnifying glass??

Fingerprint appointment!

On Saturday we received a letter with our USCIS fingerprint appointments! I was surprised since we sent our request in two weeks ago. I thought it would take much longer to receive the appointment letter!

Igor is enjoying Kindergarten. His favorite part of the day is riding the school bus. Last week he survived the monthly fire drill. The teacher's aide allowed Igor to call home after the fire drill so he could tell me how brave he was. I love his teachers and aides!

Last week out of the blue, Igor said that his little brother won't be able to listen when he comes home. We asked Igor why he thinks this. Igor said, "Remember when I was 3 and 4 years old and I didn't understand?" (translation- remember when I was 3 and 4 years old, I didn't understand English?) Oh, my sweet boy... we do remember. I have no idea how that feels but perhaps you can help little brother when he cannot communicate with us.

Tomorrow is our monthly conference call with our agency. I don't know that we will learn anything new but if we do, I will post it.

A quick update (random items)

I don't have a lot to post... just some random items. We hope to announce that we have a referral soon but it's completely out of our hands. We've been waiting over 11 months! Yikes. Right now, I am okay waiting. Thanks to everyone who is praying or has written encouraging notes on our blog. We appreciate you all!

Last week the remnants of Hurricane Fay dumped 5 inches of rain on us in 24 hours. Igor was fine with all the rain! He thought the mushroom in the yard was very cool. He wanted to bring it inside so we could cook it... hmmmm... no thanks.

Igor is doing great at school. His favorite part of the day is riding the school bus!

We finally opened the pickles I canned in June. They are so yummy we've eaten 2 jars! I canned more garlic dills this morning so we'll have some this winter.

Have you rented Martian Child yet? On Friday night Rob and I finally watched it. The first half hour is very slow but it gets better! We really enjoyed the movie which focuses on adoption.

This summer we have enjoyed homemade Popsicles. I purchased molds that are BPA free. I make the Popsicles with 100% fruit juice (no sugar added). Igor enjoys one when he gets off the school bus in the afternoon. He prefers them to grocery store Popsicles.

Do you compost? If you do, I have to share these compost bags with you. The bags keep our compost pail on the counter top clean and it's so easy to dump the bag in the compost bin outside. I was buying them at Amazon.com but I recently asked our local Whole Foods to stock them. They called me in August to say they have them on the shelf! Who knew you could bring items to the grocery store and ask them to stock the item?? I'm so glad I asked.

Rain and the bus stop

Igor was never afraid of rain until we moved south. Last year we had a terrible drought so it rarely rained. This year we are still in a drought but we've had severe weather. Igor decided he was scared of rain this spring when we were under a tornado watch in March. That day Igor decided that he would not go outside if it was raining. We've spent months explaining that rain cannot hurt you but Igor has refused to go outside if it looks like rain or it is raining.



On Monday, Igor and I were playing outside when it started to sprinkle. I didn't say anything, I continued to play. When Igor noticed it was sprinkling he said, "Mom I'm not afraid of rain anymore!" Yippee!



Yesterday after dinner Igor said he wanted to ride his bike to the school bus stop. Rob and I looked at each other... we were both thinking- you want to ride your bike outside in the rain? Then he said he wanted to ride his bike to the bus stop on Wednesday morning and mommy could push the bike home. No comment from mom on this... So after dinner we put on Igor's raincoat and helmet, he got on his bike and rode to the bus stop. My heart was full, my little boy is growing up right before my eyes.

This morning was Igor's first day riding the school bus. Rain was poring down but Igor was not scared. He marched out of the house with his backpack and lunch. He was ready to ride the bus.


This morning the house is quiet.... I have a long list of things to do while Igor is at school. I have accomplished my first task which is adoption related- write a letter to USCIS requesting a fingerprint appointment! One item down, many to go.

Playing with the format and colors of the blog

I was tired of our blog colors, fonts and format. Please comment if the text is too hard to read.
thanks!

A week in review

Last week, Igor and I did a few special things before school started. We went to the children's museum in town. We had an awesome time. Igor was so excited, we played at every station. I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures.

We went to a local farm and fed the animals on Wednesday.

We took a road trip to the Coens! It was so nice to finally meet Jill. Ladies, Jill makes an awesome coffee cake and Silas is sooooo cute! I had to post a picture of Sophie because she has soo much personality. Thanks for having us over!

Igor and I continue to discover more wildlife in your yard. Igor wanted to "capture" this toad/frog. Luckily I was able to convince Igor that the frog should be free to roam our side yard.

On Sunday I tried to start my car but the battery was dead. The good news - we replaced the battery last year so it was still under warranty! AAA delivered and installed a new battery for free.

Today was Igor's first day of Kindergarten! Well, today and tomorrow are "get to know you days"- the children attend school 2 1/2 hours the first two days. Igor loved his first day of kindergarten. Wednesday, Igor will ride the bus AND all day kindergarten will begin. Igor was so silly this morning... this was the "best" first day of school picture.

Mr. H, the inclusion teacher assigned to Igor's kindergarten class is from Eritrea. His wife is Ethiopian and speaks Amharic! Mr. H. is so supportive of our Ethiopian adoption. We hope to get together with his family soon.

We have two pear trees in the backyard. Last year we didn't have any pears because of a late frost. This year we had pears but the squirrels have feasted on them all summer. They left us ONE pear! After school Igor ran to the backyard and picked our remaining pear. We drove over to the church to share it with dad. Next year we may have to net the trees. I would really like to have more than ONE pear next summer.

On the adoption front- our fingerprints expire in November. There is NO a chance we'll be going to Ethiopia before our fingerprints expire. Requesting a fingerprint appointment is on my short list of things to do. No word on our referral yet....

A time of sadness for an AWAA family

The adoption journey can feel like a roller coaster, highs and lows coming very quickly. This week one family is experiencing a low no family should have to go through... the loss of their little girl.... The Gibsons have this sweet little girl's story on their blog. Please keep this precious family in your prayers.

Call+Response

Have you heard about the new movie Call+Response? If not, check it out.

We continue to wait for our referral

Yesterday was a great day for our agency! Several families were issued referrals for their children! I love when referrals are issued, it means there is movement, it brings me hope.

WARNING- the next paragraph contains self-pity and whining....
While yesterday was a time of joy it also brought sadness. We sent our dossier to AWAA the last week of September 2007. Yesterday was the first day I was sooo tired of the wait. I know in my heart that our referral will come at the perfect time. I know that we are waiting for a reason. However, yesterday I was ready to say I'm done. The words, "Let's stay a 3 person family and move on" flashed through my mind. I thought it for a minute then I came to my senses.


Rob and I are reading Your God Is Too Safe as a devotion. Last night Rob read the following paragraph:

The Psalms are the prayers that God's covenant people have birthed out of their celebration and anguish, their hope and hopelessness, their anger and forgiveness, their captivity and exile and conquest through triumph. They track a path through the vastness of human emotion, its tundras and its jungles, and direct all of it Godward. What do you do with you hatred, bitterness, ecstasy, weariness, heaviness, longings, disappointments, despair, and desires? To whom can you entrust all that? Centuries of wisdom tell us that the Psalms give form to and language for the fullness and undiluted, to God. They are gathering places, repositories, where the mundaneness and tragedy and glory of being human can be sorted out and given back as worship. As prayer.

I really needed to hear those words, it was an "ah ha" moment for me. I was reminded of

Psalm 5: 1-3
O Lord, hear me as I pray;

pay attention to my groaning.

Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,

for I pray to no one but you.

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.

Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.


I prayed this Psalm as we waited for Igor's court date. I will now pray it as we wait for our referral. Today, I feel much better about our adoption and the wait.


Another contributor to yesterday's sadness was an agency update on the referral we lost. Please continue to pray for this little boy.

We are back!

We have returned from our vacation. We had a great time with Rob's parents and my sister. The weather was great. We enjoyed the beach, the pool, jigsaw puzzles, eating out, relaxing and playing Quiddler. We complete two 1,000 piece puzzles. One puzzle was missing one piece!

Here are some pictures of our vacation.

The highlight of Igor's vacation was flying with Papa in a bi-plane! Yep, our little boy LOVED his plane ride.

We are unpacked and ready to start the week. This afternoon I will start planning a few special mommy and Igor days. It is my last week with Igor before he starts school!