Things I've Already Learned

Things I’ve learned parenting young adopted biological siblings:

• As much as I wish I could, I can’t differentiate between their cries… yet. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Sick?

• I can’t imagine loving any individuals more if they had come into our family any other way. What a story we have! “Jesus loved you so much, He brought your parents halfway across the world to bring you together and bring you home.”

• Girl poop is much less messy than boy poop.

• It’s very hard to get a one-year-old to drink when she doesn’t use a bottle and doesn’t understand the sucking needed for a sippy cup. I’m worried she’s not getting enough fluids… but we’re still going through diapers. Hopefully one of us will catch on soon.

• Laying down face-to-face with my son and having him fall asleep looking into my eyes and grasping the charms on my necklace is heaven. Pure heaven.

• As difficult as it may make juggling things, I secretly love the fact that when my baby girl is sick, nothing but Mommy will do.

• Disciplining a child who has never felt the love of a mother or father, or who has never had any material thing completely belong to him is difficult.

• Hearing our boy say “Mama” and run to me melts my heart.

• …so does seeing how much his face lights up when his Papa returns from doing one of several hundred things that he seems to be taking care of.

• Parenting makes me love my husband even more.

• Doubting yourself and your parenting skills in these early stages is not helpful, though it's hard not to do so.

• It is nearly impossible to get a good meal with young kiddos who are desperately drinking up the one-on-one attention they are finally getting—and so deserve. I honestly think B and C have ate more today than either of their parents.

• Baby Einstein “Praise Baby Lullaby” is one of the best DVDs ever. If it were up to me, it would have won an Academy Award. Or, at least a super-duper Mommy award!

• This is as hard as I expected. Possibly more…?

Parenthood is definitely setting in. It’s tough! But more rewarding than nearly anything I’ve ever done.

C is sick. She has some bug causing her to be congested and I believe she is also teething what must be a monster of a tooth, considering how uncomfortable she is. We have the proper medications. I just wish they would work faster—and longer! (sweet thing didn’t get much of a nap today since she was in pain).


Derek took B out to pick up lunch while I held and walked with C. Derek reported that Bennett did pretty well! He didn’t say much, as he’s not a fan of strangers—or, “dya-dya” in Russian. After they had a bite to eat, it was time to play some more. Today Bennett gave one of his stacking cups to his sister. We’re making strides!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I plan on putting up our “tree” and have the kids decorate. I plan to post pictures—especiallysince some of you helped make the ornaments! We have small gifts for the kiddos to open on Christmas. Three a piece—just like Jesus.

Well, Derek just got back with dinner for us. He has quite the story to tell about his journey out tonight! But I’ll let him share it later. Hee hee…

I think we lucked out last night with the kids each getting 11 hours of sleep. Poor C has been up twice already and it's only 9 p.m.

Good night friends.

Happy Birthday Celia!

We left our hotel this morning at 9:20 a.m.—well before the sun came up. This Saint Petersburg winter day—which are usually extremely short as it is—was practically non-existent since today is the shortest day of the year. But man! We sure packed a lot into this “short” day!




After making two quick stops for paperwork, we went to the “Baby Palace,” or where we pick up our official adoption decrees and new birth certificates. After a two hour wait and several Russians asking us (I’m guessing) “Are you in line?” they called us in. Signing the documents that officially state that we are Bennett and Celia’s “Mama” and “Papa” gave me chillbumps. Derek reached for my hand and we both glowed with excitement as we got up from our chairs and said “spa-see-ba” to the women who prepared our documents. (They also commented in Russian about how “young” we are. I suppose to be adoptive parents, we are rather young…)



Side Note: As we were off to drop off some of the documents to Bennett’s baby home, “Pour Some Sugar on Me” played on the radio. One of my favorite childhood memories is of me with my late brother, Trevor, in his red Chevy Camaro just listening to rock songs, one of which was “Pour Some Sugar on Me”. To this day, the song makes me think of my brother, who passed away five years ago. It was good to have one of those “hugs” from God at a time like this.



We dropped off the official documents to both baby homes so that they could take them to the local police station and have our kiddos legally released from the orphanage. After making both stops, I looked out the car window and pleasantly watched a mother pull her young son on a sled through the snow. At that moment, I wished for a little sled with which we could play with B and C this week, but realized that trekking through on a stroller would be adventure enough.



And then it hit me.



The stroller!



We left the stroller at the airport yesterday. Completely forgot about it! Not a single thought. Nothing until that very minute. Oy!



“Not to worry,” our amazing and laid back driver/translator told us. He took us by the airport—which, luckily, was a short drive away from the baby homes—and we picked up the stroller. It may have taken us filling out several pages of customs documents for unaccompanied luggage, waiting and hour and 15 minutes and paying two Euros per kilo (thank goodness this sucker was relatively light!) and a “service and handling” fee, but we got it! This was just Mommy Mistake #1 of what I’m sure is going to be a long list of “oops!”



We then got to swing by Celia’s baby home for a quick visit and to sing “Happy Birthday” to the birthday girl. Perhaps she could feel that I was a bit frazzled after the craziness that turned out to be our day, because she was particularly taken with Papa today—something I know he absolutely didn’t mind! I wanted to do more for our C’s birthday like bring a cake and celebrate a bit more, but the day didn’t allow for that. I told her I’d make it up to her when we got home.

After several other quick stops we went to file for B and C’s passports. Derek and our driver/translator took care of everything after waiting just 20-30 minutes. The Russian passports should be ready Saturday, which is a day earlier than was first estimated. That could put us home as early as the 30. However, since we already had tickets booked and it would cost us a minimum of $600 to change them, we’re sticking with our original plan and coming home on the 31st.



To those who would like to meet us at the airport (and we would LOVE to see you!), we will land at 6:20 p.m. if the weather cooperates and everything goes as planned. I hope you fall in love with our kiddos at first glance, just as we did!



We will head out tomorrow morning at 9:15 and make a stop at a store to pick up diapers, wipes, food and a scarf (for me, since I lost my nice black cashmere scarf somewhere along the way…). At about 10:30 we’ll be at Celia’s baby home, saying goodbye and THANK YOU to her caregivers, dressing her in her first outfit that 100% belongs to her, and take her from the orphanage. The three (plus our driver/translator) of us will then be off to pick up Bennett and do the same with him. Our babies will meet for the first time in their life, and the brother-sister-bond will start, something that is near and dear to my heart. We should be back in our hotel room tomorrow in time to feed them lunch!

Blessed Reunions

It’s so good to be back with B and C! We’ve missed them so much over the last month and a half, so our reunions were nothing less than fabulous!

I woke up this morning not feeling well. Not well at all. Derek was worried I wasn’t going to make it to the baby homes, however it would have to take one heck of a bug to keep me away! We had the wonderful and FREE! breakfast buffet to give us the fuel for our face-paced day. (Since we are unlike most adoptive families in that we are adopting two at once—and not only that, but two in two different locations—our days are usually jam-packed.) Then we were on our way to see our babies!

I got so nervous on the way to see C. I was practicing my Russian—“NEE BOISS-ya” (don’t be afraid) “fsyoh ha-ra-SHOH” (everything is okay)—in preparation for what may have been to come. All bundled up, we walked in through the baby home’s gate and up the path to the main door. We noticed an evergreen decorated with ornaments and twinkle lights near the snow-covered playsets out front. As our driver manually entered the code allowing us to enter the baby home, I felt my heart begin to beat faster. We set down our bags, put on our flimsy blue plastic booties and took off our coats. Was I sweating because I was so anxious, or because it was 80 degrees inside? Probably both. We walked the three flights of stairs to her group’s playroom, where we waited for our C…

Once the caregivers saw us, their voices went up an octave and I could make out “Oh! N____!” (her current name) “Mama!” and “Papa!” as they were hurrying back to get our baby. And then they brought her. My first thought? There’s my beautiful baby girl! I’ve missed her so much! My second thought? She’s grown so much! Her face has matured in just the few weeks since we’ve last seen her. Her outfit was familiar to us. It was one she wore as a dress during our visit in October, which now looked more like a long sweater. It was so good to have her back in my arms. Indescribable, really. I’m not completely sure if she remembered us, but she warmed up to us so quickly that I think she might. One of her favorite “toys” is still the black camera lens cap. She put just about everything in her mouth—which has at least three more teeth since we last saw her!—except the teething toy we bought her. So much for good intentions! There was another couple in our room for several minutes with the boy they plan to adopt with the help of our AMAZING agency. I was chatting with them, getting to know them, when I felt something being moved about on my hand. C kept trying to hand me her stacking cups to get my attention so that I was focused 100% on her. What a princess! I was happy to oblige of course!

Then we were off to see B! A short 20 minute drive later and we were at his baby home. We couldn’t go in through the door we usually use, which takes us to practically directly to his group’s room due to renovations. Our driver took us in through the main door, so we stopped in to see the baby home director and pediatrician. She called to have B’s caregivers get him ready and bring him down to us. While we waited, she educated us a little on what the judge has been asking adoptive families in court. “What makes you qualified to be parents to two children?” (being a teacher would help me there, hopefully saying that I teach a weekly class to two-year-olds will be something…) “How have you interacted with them?” (I think the baby home directors will have good things to testify for us on that one) “Will you discipline your children?” “What are you plans regarding work and taking care of the children?” “Are you financially able take care of two children?” etc…

The doctor also informed us that after our first visit with B every one of his immediate caregivers and his physical therapists said that our visits with him made a very positive impact on him. He has thrived so much more since our encounter that short week. Due to the one-on-one attention we were able to give him, he has become more outgoing and confident and has been more interested in trying more “excelled” tasks. Yay! That is such great news for a Mommy to hear!

And then the door opened…

Quite frankly, I was expecting tears. What we got was a timid (I wouldn’t even use the word scared) little boy. Our B! He had a haircut since we last saw him, though his beautiful, shiny black hair was as thick as ever—just like his Papa! He took his stacking cups from our bag in one hand and Papa’s hand in the other and we headed off to the playroom. He wasn’t as rambunctious as he was when we left him more than a month ago, but we did get to see an equally wonderful side to him—his cuddly side. B just leaned up against Papa or lay on Papa’s stomach for most of the time, his cute little hands so close to Derek’s face. B did much on some Gerber puffs (big surprise!) and even played his “Give one to Mama!/Give one to Papa!” game. Gosh, I love that boy! What produced the biggest smiles was when I tickled his belly or gave his belly loud kisses. He loved that and I, in turn, loved making him happy like that.

After our morning meetings with our children, we visited St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the third largest domed cathedral in the world. It was a beautiful house of God with breathtaking mosaics, painting, columns and more.

That's Derek and our translator in the foreground.

For lunch we went to a great place we had visited on our first trip, though this time we were joined with the other couple (on their own first trip) and our driver/translator’s wife, who we had the pleasure of working with during the last two days of our first trip while her husband had to take a quick trip to Moscow. It was just a great group of people! After lunch (and our driver being pulled over by the Russian police for a traffic violation! Eek!), we were able to make one visit each to see our babies again. I can’t get enough of those kiddos!

We got back to the hotel around 6:30, stopped to chat with the couple who are on their first trip who incidentally are staying at the same hotel, and Skyped my parents to fill them in on the day’s events (who will then fill in Derek’s parents, since they don’t have access to Skype this week). After that we braved the cold and walked to one of our favorite Russian eateries, Stolle, where we had our “usual,” meat pies and tea. Mmmm…

Tomorrow it will be more of the same and I can’t wait. At some point tomorrow, we will meet with another of our agency’s employees to prepare for court. The woman who will educate us on what’s to come was actually the one who began the agency more than 20 years ago with the help of the main director who lives and works in the Sates. We’re definitely in good hands. The best, in our opinion, when it comes to adoption agencies. But… I’m still nervous. I wonder what would happen if EVERYONE had to go before a judge and prosecutor before becoming parents…

Love you all! For those who requested, no, demanded that I blog each day while we’re gone, I hope you approve!



Back in the Homeland

We made it! This trip seemed much more difficult for whatever reason. I'm completely spent from hours upon hours of flying and layovers. I'm hoping the headache I've had for the last several hours (or has it been a day...?) goes away before tomorrow morning. Nevertheless, nothing is going to stop me from showing my excitement to see our kiddos tomorrow!

Our driver/translator was waiting for us just outside of the St. Petersburg airport's customs area with a huge hug and a "So glad to have you back!" We just love him. He hustled us outside into the bitter cold Russian air and into his compact car. He drives just as wild well in a foot of snow as he did back in October.

St. Petersburg is absolutely beautiful during this time of year! I'm afraid I'm too tired and out of it to do the city justice in my description at the moment, but believe me—it's magical. Of course, the fact that B and C currently live here add to the "magic!" What we Americans would consider Christmas decorations are up: decorated pine trees, tall fake trees waiting for the finishing touches before being lit, icicle lights twinkling on the sides of buildings. However, all of this is done in celebration of the "New Year," according to our driver. I can’t wait to better appreciate it when I’m more awake!

Our driver will pick us up just after 9:00 a.m. tomorrow to take us to see our babies (first one, then the other). It would be fantastic if they remember us, but even if they don’t it will be such a blessed reunion! Possible happy or frightened tears and all!

Good night friends! (Or, good afternoon to you in the states!)

ADOPT T-Shirts

принять
"Pree-nyet"

I designed T-shirts and—with the help of a good friend who is much more talented with computer graphics than I am—had them printed. I started with an order of 50 and have sold almost 15 already! We still have sizes small, medium and large available. Please let me know if you would like to purchase one for $15.

The Cyrillic word shown below the matryoshka dolls is Russian for "Adopt." Below that is Matthew 18:5 - And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Thank you for considering to support our adoption in this way.

Photo Albums

While we won't get to leave a lot of things for our kiddos as we return from this first trip (not that they would get to keep and use for themselves, anyways), we have been told that if we leave a photo album the caregivers will look through it with them. The thought of our kiddos getting to see the faces of their family every day—if only in a photograph—and be reminded that we love them and are coming for them makes this mom-to-be so grateful.

Thanks to the recommendation of a dear friend, we bought two photo albums made particularly for babies and toddlers. How wonderful would it be if, when we are united with them at the beginning of trip #2, they recognize our faces as Mommy and Daddy?! Or, I guess I should say, "Mama" and "Papa."

Here's a peek at two of the photos with Cyrillic explanations of who we are:

"Papa" & "Mama"

"sobaka 'Bella'" & "sobaka 'Lexie'"

The pre-travel To Do List is still rather long. Time to sign off!

ga-to-vit

готовить
"ga-to-vit"

The verb "to cook" is one of the first words we've learned in Russian, and how suiting! Derek and I are aspiring foodies. Big emphasis on aspiring.

I recently tried my first Russian dish. Granted, it was one of the easiest recipes I've ever had to follow. But I made it, and it was darn good!

I think it's so wonderful how God prepares our hearts for what's to come. Many times it happens while we're unaware, but when we can see it working... it's an exciting blessing. God has really planted great interest in both mine and Derek's heart for all things Russian. It started with setting the DVR to record anything with the keyword "Russia" (which has exposed us to everything from the the history of the Bolshevik Revolution, to a televised performance of Rihanna's "Russian Roulette"!) to now cooking Russian cuisine. Well, that's if you can even consider my 20-minute UBER easy Beef Stroganoff "cuisine."




1 12-16 oz package of frozen cooked all-beef meatballs
1 cup beef broth
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 oz. can sliced mushrooms (drained)
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (I add a little bit more)
4 cups egg noodles

1. Combine meatballs, broth and mushrooms. Bring to boil. Cover and simmer 15 minutes
2. In a bowl, stir the sour cream and flour. Whisk in milk and mustard. Stir into skillet. Cook and stir until thickened.
3. Serve over hot egg noodles.
Makes 6-8 servings.