Home Sweet Home!

Sorry for the delayed post. We've been busy playing.

We returned home at around 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. After a long flight, all is well with the world and our family is complete. Dima decided that he didn't want to sleep on the 11 hour flight so that was nice. I think he wanted to test the stamina of his new parents. Actually it worked out good because he has adjusted to US time very well. He fell asleep just as we were hearing the pilot announce our decent into Atlanta. Oh well.

Once home, he was introduced to his two sisters and grandma (Teddi's mom). The girls were beside themselves. They could not believe it. They actually had a new baby brother!

After a good nights sleep, we all stayed home on Monday to get aquainted with each other. He is a very good baby. Sleeps good and just has a terrific demeanor. Even did fairly well with Albert (our Bulldog) sniffing his face.

We'll post more photos soon. Thank you all for your support throughout this process. Someday we'll be able to tell Dima about the literally hundreds of people that made this possible. From family, friends, co-workers, to the throngs of people who donated goods for our two massive garage sales last year, we have been blessed beyond belief during this long journey. It is really overwhelming to think about the support we have recieved.

Moscow Zoo

Today we ventured off to the Moscow Zoo. We thought about trying our hand at the subway, but I chickened out. Teddi was disappointed. But really, things were going so well, what good could come out of the two of us venturing off on a train with no english signs loaded with thousands of Russians with our baby who had just recovered from bronchitis? We chose to walk.

The weather was beautiful. Sunny and 70 degrees. We had a great time. The zoo was huge. Not quite up to American standards, but was very good none the less.

Tommorow is the day! We leave at around 1:00 p.m. Moscow time and arrive home at around 8:30 p.m. EST.

Now that's more like it

Good News. Not sure if it was the prune juice or the very long nap, but I feel better, which means Mommy and Daddy feel better too!

Here is a picture of me and Daddy at Red Square.

Slow down Mommy and Daddy

Hey everyone, it's me Dima. I think mommy and daddy need to slow it down with the solid foods that you Americans eat like McDonald's cheeseburgers, french fries, chicken, etc. etc. I was feeling fine until they fed me that garbage. Now my tummy is stopped up like a cork! I sent daddy out to the grocery store to get me some prune juice to loosen me up a little. We'll see how that goes (both he actually figuring out how to find prune juice in a Russian grocery store and whether it will actually help ease the pain in my tummy)! Is it too much for them to continue with my cereal and tea for goodness sake!

No more Pink for our SON!

Although Dima's passport photo was taken in his beautiful purple hand crocheted suit, we can now dress him in anything we like so there will be no more pink, at least until Grace and Tori get ahold of the poor little thing.

Here are some recent photos. He is still small relative to most 1 yr. old babies, but it shouldn't take long to fatten him up the way he has been eating. His progress has been amazing. When Teddi picked him up last week he couldn't sit up on his own. He now does so with little problem and has progressed to eating solid foods as well. He had his first McDonald's cheeseburger today for lunch!

The Russians are Coming!

We recieved his Visa and are officially done. Now we are U.S. tourists and Dima will be a U.S. citizen as soon as we land on U.S. soil!

Today we walked down to Red Square and did some sight seeing. May 9th is called Victory day and is the holiday that celebrates the Russian victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. They are preparing Red Square for the parade and festivities. Each night they have been practicing the parade route, which we were unaware of, but would have been valuable information to have had before heading off to bed last night...continue reading for comic relief.


Let me set up the story by explaining that our hotel room faces the main street in Moscow, which is the parade route. Being unware of the practicing, we awoke last night to loud sounds coming from the street below. So I go over to the window, peel back the curtains, and this is what we see (video below). Now you tell me, if you woke up in the former Soviet Union in the middle of the night and saw this outside your window, what would you do? I nearly wet myself.

Tomorrow is May Day so we are going to a big park in the city for a festival and concert of some kind.

Final Steps

We are beginning the final steps in the process. What a journey it has been. We are now applying for Dima's visa through the US Embassy. We will have it completed on Thursday evening. Today we went to the Embassy in person. It was much less impressive that either of us had envisioned. No big white columns, no american flag??? Oh well, it served it's purpose. While there, we met two other families from Indiana who were adopting and one of them was using our agency so that was pretty cool.

We ate at a KFC today. Fast food chicken never tasted so good!

Shane's on his way

After I got the call this morning, we decided that the best thing would be for me to travel to Russia ASAP. After dealing with the airlines all morning (what a joy), we found out that with the change fees and difference in fares, we won't be able to return home until Sunday. We will be done with all processing of Dima's immigration paperwork on Thursday, but will have to spend a few extra days in Moscow. I'm on my way!

We got it!!!

Teddi called this morning to tell me that we got the passport! She is now in Moscow and will go to the Embassy tomorrow. We are trying to decide now what to do about my travel. We will be done with everything and able to return home on Thursday, but at this point the flights are very expensive so it is not an option for me to do that so....here are our two options that we are weighing:

1. Teddi travels home alone with Dima on Thursday OR
2. I travel over and we all return home on Sunday

We'll keep you posted. Thank you all for your prayers. They have been answered. Dima is healthy and we got the passport so perhaps God was just waiting for Dima to get well before traveling.

Still waiting...

We did not get the passport today (Friday) so we are still in waiting mode. I will not be traveling tomorrow as planned since we have no idea at this point when we will be able to return home. As soon as we get the passport, I will leave for Moscow.

On a more positive note, Dima is beginning to show signs of improvement. The doctors think that they may even be able to reduce his treatments to once per day. Teddi said that believe it or not he actually seems happier than he was. She also said that he was able to sit up for a few seconds on his own today.

Teddi is holding up pretty well given the situation. She's tough.

Update

Teddi and I spoke last night and again this morning. Dima does not appear to have improved at this point so they are continuing the medication and breathing treatments. We are still waiting for the passport, which is at this point the limiting factor on when we can proceed. We have arranged for a doctor to visit our hotel in Moscow to continue treatments if and when we are ever able to re-locate back to Moscow. Again, this all depends on when we get the passport.

I was able to consult with our specialist that we have contracted in Seattle last night as well and she agreed with all of the treatments that he is recieving so this was comforting news.

Teddi seems to be in good spirits. I think she is in "mommy" mode right now and is just doing what mommy's do. Dima is still smiling and laughing through it all. He has figured out how to play the ol' "If I throw my toy out of the crib, mommy will get it and play with me game".

I am still scheduled to leave Saturday morning, but are playing it by ear at this point.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Tough times in Tver

Well, the delayed passport is the least of our worries now. Dima has come down with a bad case of bronchitis that has required medical attention. The doctor at the orphanage examined him today and gave him medicine. Teddi said that he was sleeping and breathing better after the treatment, but that the doctor would re-examine him later in the evening. If his lungs do not sound better by then, he may need to be admitted to the hospital.

Please keep both Teddi and Dima in your prayers right now. At least he has his mommy with him. Teddi said that even being as sick as he is, he is still all smiles. I'll post information as soon as I hear more.

Shane

Introducing Dmitry Shane Barney

This is the video of the very first time we met him.

Here he is in his Sunday best. This has been an on-going joke with us. Every time the caretakers bring him out to us he is either in Pink, Purple, or some other feminine color. Today it was a crocheted purple suit with a hood! Don't worry, he'll be in a Florida Gator jersey before you know it.

This one is a little blurry, but it really shows his personality. This smile is very typical of our "Sunny Boy".

The Glitch

Well, of course things were moving along a little too smoothly. Our translator took our documents to the office where we will obtain Dima's passport. Evidently, TODAY a new policy took effect that the children's passports cannot be issued in two days as we had planned. Actually, at this point, we have no idea how long we are talking here. We are putting together an application that requests them to expedite the process as they did before today because we already have flights booked and as of 6:30 tonight, he will be in my care.

Please pray that they will accept this request. I would have no choice but to stay no matter how long the wait since Dima will no longer be registered in the orphanage, will be in my care, yet will not have a passport to travel anywhere.

Today is the day!!!!

Sorry I haven't updated the blog sooner. I brought my new computer with me, but unfortunately the cord has three prongs and my adapter only takes two prongs. Sheesh! So, I have been limited to say the least. Oh well.

The flights went well on Saturday and Sunday. Thankfully, since I am on my own this week, the person who was supposed to be at the airport to meet me was there. :-) We came straight to Tver (yes, that is the region our little Dima is from). It is apporximately 100 km north of Moscow. All of the snow is gone. The timing of our trips have been pretty cool. When we first came in the beginning of March, it was covered in snow. Our second trip the beginning of April had some snow, and now it is all melted. I would love to see it here in the summer when everything is green. I find Tver to be a beautiful city. It is located on the Volga river, which is a very large river in Russia. Our first trip we saw men ice fishing and the last two trips we have seen people kayaking & canoeing.

I was able to see Dima on Sunday afternoon. He finally has a tooth that has broken through, and several more to follow soon. I was also able to see him Monday morning. However, when it was time for our visit on Monday afternoon they said he had a fever from his teeth. The next time I will see him I will be breaking him out of there! I was torn between taking him this afteroon or waiting until Thursday. I considered waiting simply because once I have him, we will be essentially confined to the hotel room. It is still cold here and since he has never been outside I did not want to risk him getting sick. BUT, I am not waiting to get him! No way. I don't know what I was thinking even considering it. I have waited too long for this day....and it's my birthday. What better way to celebrate?

It was interesting buying food for him yesterday. You take for granted raising a child from birth. You already know their likes and dislikes, what they are allergic too, exactly how much they eat and drink. We mentioned in an earlier post that they gave the babies tea to drink. When shopping for his food, I saw that they even sell baby chai (tea). I can't believe it!

As I mentioned earlier, my computer is not working. I am at the computer in the 'business center' of the hotel. Unfortunately, my pictures of Dima are on my computer, which has no charge left on it. I was really hoping to post pictures (FINALLY) of him today. Perhaps my hubby can do it from home.

Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. Can you believe THE day is finally here? I cannot! I hope to post more soon. I will email Shane to ask that he post pictures. Dmitry is such a little doll. I am sure that you will agree. :-)

~Teddi

It's Official!!!!!!!

Today was one of the greatest days of our lives. After 1 1/2 hours of court, the judge congratulated us on the addition of our son, Dmitry Shane Barney. We must wait the required 10 days before bringing him home so Teddi will return to Russia on the 18th to begin the "out-processing" paper work like getting his passport, visa, etc. She will be in the region for 1 week with him while this paperwork is being completed. We have decided that Shane will wait and come a week later and meet them in Moscow for the remainder of the paper work and trip home. This will trim the time away from the girls at home from 2 weeks to 1, not to mention reduce the time away from work.

Court went very well. The judge asked some tough questions, but she did so in the best interest of the children, which we respect.

Interesting note: Based on the orthodox calendar, today is the day that the angel came to Mary and told her that she would be a mother and bring forth a son.

Day 1 of Court

Had a close call last night when Teddi got some kind of stomach bug. She pulled through and is feeling better, but was feeling absolutely terrible during the night. We think that it may have been something that she ate, but aren't sure. She's been treading lightly today. Lot's of Sprite.

Today was our first of two days in court. This was considered the "pre-trial". The judge reviewed all of our documents and read for the permanent record. She asked some simple questions of us, but most were just to verify our documents accuracy. This was the easy part. Tomorrow is when the real fun begins. We will be questioned for nearly an hour on various aspects of our life, the adoption, etc. We begin at 3:00 p.m. local time, which is 7:00 a.m. EST. We will most likely update the results when we return to Moscow tomorrow evening. We have been told not to worry, but until the judge says those magic words, we aren't taking anything for granted. We have been asked to prepare short statements to present to the court tomorrow stating why we deserve to adopt.

After court, we were able to have another visit with "the little guy" this afternoon. He was his normal happy self, especially when we put him in the Johnny Jumper! Bounce..Bounce..Bounce.. We'll see him again in the morning and very quickly after court before we head back to Moscow. We will then fly back home on Wednesday and get home around 10:00 p.m.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Tommorrow is the big day!

Favorites...

Dobre-dyen (Good afternoon)! We are updating our blog from our new favorite place in the region. We happened upon a groovy little coffee/tea shop that is around the corner from our hotel with yummy desserts and tea and free Wi-Fi. This will make calling home much better.

This morning before our visit with "Little Guy" we explored the flea market which is only open on the weekends. Another great experience that we will not forget. It was very similar to our flea markets at home. There were a LOT of people, and yet our coordinator said that it is nowhere the size that it used to be. They had everything from chickens and kittens to hub caps, underwear and hats (and everything in between). Shane found his own treasure...hand-made woodworking tools. I had to restrain him from hand-planing the furniture in our room with his new toys.

Here is one part of the market that sells various meats, cheeses, fish, etc. Here is Teddi and Tatiana standing by the "farmers cheese" counter.

Caviar anyone? And this was the small section. I've never seen so much caviar in my life.
More farmers cheese!
The outside of the market. Fresh chicken!

After that adventure we went to the orphanage for our one and only visit for the day. Sunday is the day that they do a deep-cleaning of the facility. We were fortunate that they even allowed us one visit today.

We had lunch at our favorite restaurant in the region, Fortuna. So delicious! (I have to say that Russia has the most delicious feta cheese. I can not find anything like it in the U.S.) The experience at the restaurant this time was a little different. We had our coordinator with us to translate, as they only have menus in French and Russian. Our last trip to the region we went on our own thinking that they had a menu in English. They did not, nor did they speak English. Interesting, to say the least. We still loved it and were thrilled to return today. We are planning to have lunch at this restaurant again after our final court on Tuesday. Great way to celebrate! Below is a photo of Teddi's meal and one of the three of us together (Teddi, me, and our coordinator, Tatiana). The food is as good as it looks!

This evening we will prepare for court with our coordinator. We will be in court Monday morning and Tuesday. We have been told that each session will be approximately 1-1/2 hours. We will be happy for this part to be over. So close!

Hope to update again soon...

A little sight seeing

We can't wait to publicly disclose the exact location of our "Region" and of course post pictures of our son, but according to law, we must wait until the process is final.

Today, we did a little sight-seeing on our own around town. Here is a photo of Teddi on a bridge over-looking the Volga river that runs through town.

It is still very cold here, but a little warmer than our first trip. Much of the snow has melted and the sun even came out today!

Shane's second job...

This afternoon we were able to go back to to the orphanage. At the end of our visit, it was dinner time. They showed us how they feed him and what they feed him. Oh my goodness! We could not believe it!

First of all, the little thing cannot even sit up on his own, but they put the children in miniature plastic lawn chairs stacked in sets of 2 so they are high enough to reach the little table. They scoot the chair right up to the table. The caregiver fed him a HUGE bowl of something similar to baby rice cereal/oatmeal. When I asked if that entire bowl was all for him, they laughed and said "DA" (yes). Then they added that he eats plenty and that daddy might need to get a second job.

The next shock was when they gave him a cup to drink out of...a cup, not a bottle or sippy cup...a cup almost the size of his head. Envision this...a baby the size of a 3 month old, sitting (more like propped up) in a mini plastic lawn chair drinking out of a large camping/tin cup. Now, you may be wondering WHAT they were giving him to drink. Was it: A. Milk, B. Juice or C. Tea? Correct answer...C. tea. Nothing like a caffeine fix for a malnourished orphan baby. They also told us he won't drink his juice or tea unless it has enough sugar in it. He will fit right into our household!

Happy B-Day Tori!!

First, we want to wish a very Happy Birthday to our oldest daughter Tori. She turns 14 today and is spending her birthday on spring break in Florida with her best friend, Ava.

This morning we were able to go back to the orphanage to see the little man. Although physically he has not grown much, his demeanor has. I think we laughed the entire time. When we played the music on one of his toys he began to dance. So fun! He certainly loves to entertain. I had brought a few outfits in different sizes to try on him to see just where he was at. I think he is smaller than what they originally told us he was. Although he is about to turn one year, he is in 3 to 6 month clothing. However, we have been told that orphans tend to grow about 5x the normal rate once they come home. The boy has some growing to do once we get him home!

We will be returning to the orphanage after a while to see him again today. We should be able to see him two times on Sunday as well. We are scheduled for court on Monday and Tuesday, but will be able to see him in the afternoon on those days.

Sunny Boy!

This is the first chance we have had to update our blog since leaving Wednesday (April 1st) and arriving Thursday. Our flights went well, although our flight from New York to Moscow provided a LOT of entertainment. Incredibly, while waiting for our flight in Indianapolis on Wednesday morning, I saw the woman responsible for leading us to KidsFirst (our adoption agency). I really don't believe much in coincedences and this whole process of adoption has further cemented my lack of belief. I do believe that God has orchestrated every detail and has continued to confirm this step of faith all along the way. We have story after story like this from the moment we even vaguely considered adoption in the spring of 2007. It has been incredible to see how God has led us here.

Well, we arrived into Moscow on Thursday morning and went straight to the American Medical Center. We never quite figured out why it was called the "American" Medical Center, as there were no Americans. We were there for about 3 hours, and I think we saw a total of 7 doctors during that time. This examination was yet another process we had to complete for court. It was an interesting experience to say the least. But hey, the tea was good. By the time we finished there we went straight to our hotel, ate dinner and crashed. The traffic in Moscow was crazy on Thursday and it took us forever to get from one place to the other.

Friday morning started with a trip back to the "American" Medical Center to pick up our bloodwork results and other paperwork. After more waiting (and tea) we were on our way to the region where our "Little Guy" is. We made several stops once in the city for the purpose of more paperwork required for court. We finally were able to see our little dude late Friday afternoon.

It didn't take long for him to warm right back up to us. Again, he was all smiles and laughs. His teeth have still not broken through, but they are close. He has a little more hair, but not much. His caregivers told us that he has been demanding more attention since we were here last. It must be so hard for him. They all refer to him as "Sunny Boy." When it was time to take him back to his room, he didn't want to go. He latched on to my arm and turn away from his caregiver. It was definitely a bittersweet moment.

Sorry for such a long post, but this serves as a memory for us as well. I hope that everyone is wonderful. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers.


Shane and Teddi

Trip #2

It is hard to believe we are about to leave again already. Of course I say this on the flip side. That was NOT my perspective a few weeks ago. The time seemed to drag on. But here we are, preparing to leave Wednesday morning. The main purpose of this trip is to have medical exams in Moscow (fun!) and head to the region where our little guy is for two days of court. We can't wait to see him again! Assuming all goes well, we should be able to return in about 2 weeks to finally "break him out of there" and begin this new chapter in our lives. It's been a long Preface and we are ready to get on with the rest of the book.

We celebrated Gracie's 6th birthday this past weekend which was lots of fun. She has a tooth barely hanging on and we are hoping that we can call the Tooth Fairy in before we leave. We will see. Tori is ready to celebrate her birthday before we leave as well, but unfortunately I am not quite as prepared as Tori would like me to be. Don't feel too bad for her...she gets to go to Florida with her best friend over Spring Break.

We hope to update you very soon. We truly appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers throughout this process. Thank you!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home safe and sound on Sunday evening. It was bittersweet when our plane touched ground in Indy. While we were so thankful to be home, it was hard to grasp that our baby boy was an ocean away.

We flew over Greenland on our way home, and I was very fascinated by it (perhaps a little more than I should have been). Below, I have posted a picture. You know what they say...Greenland is ice and Iceland is green. Go figure!


Our court dates were scheduled for March 23rd and 24th. We were set to leave next Thursday, March 19th, to go back. Unfortunately, our dates have been pushed out a little further and we are now scheduled to leave April 1st with court scheduled for the 6th and 7th (knock on wood). (Little fact: the expression "knock on wood" is used quite often by the director of our adoption agency. She always (literally) knocks on wood after she says it, too. We love it!)

Although we wish we were returning back next week, it does give us a little more time to plan the girls' birthdays. Grace will celebrate her 6th birthday on March 27th and Tori will celebrate her 14th on April 4th. March and April are busy times in our household. Shane and I just celebrated our anniversary last week on March 10th, my birthday comes close to the end of April and now our little guy will round out the 6-1/2 weeks of 'Barney celebrations' with his birthday which falls on April 26th.

Today I dropped off the LAST of the paperwork (we can only hope) to the agency. Our agency has another family traveling to Russia this weekend and they will be carrying those documents with them to hand off to the coordinator when they arrive in Moscow. Hooray!

Last night in Moscow

We spent today touring inside the walls of the Kremlin. Having grown up during the Soviet era, it was really hard to believe that we were actually walking inside the mysterious Kremlin. Inside the Kremlin is the buildings that house both sides of government (Senate and the Arsenal), the Kremlin Palace, several chuches dating back to the 1300's, and a fantastic museum housing artifacts dating to the early 11th century. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the facilities, but I have posted some shots from the outside.

Here is the Kremlin Palace.

This is the entrance to the Kremlin. Thanks to some young ladies from Siberia in line ahead of us, we were able to maneuver through the ticket line with few problems. They were very kind and translated for us. One girl in particular was facinated with the U.S. and was very excited to be able to use her english skills. She had her picture taken with Teddi and me so that she could show her teacher back home. Her dream is to see the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls.

Here is one of the many cathedrals inside the Kremlin. We went inside a few. They were all painted and guilded with gold on the inside. Truly amazing to think that they still stand and are perfectly preserved for nearly 700 years!

This evening we ventured to Arbat St., which is a pedestrian avenue in Moscow with shops and restaraunts near our hotel. It was cold, but very nice. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Brrrrr....

We went out to do some adventuring around Moscow this morning and it was cold! Not the best weather to be walking around aimlessly in a city of 10 million people. We are back at the hotel now for a break.

Here is Teddi in GUM, an upscale mall in Red Square. This building was built in the late 1800's and has been used primarily as "trading rows" or shops. It was used briefly by the soviet union as office space and was used to display the body of the wife of Stalin after her suicide in 1932.

A closer picture of Teddi at St. Basil's cathedral.

Back to Moscow

Today we woke up and spent the morning stolling around the town in our region, buying souvenirs, and taking some pictures. While leaving a cafe we think that a gypsy woman put some sort of curse on Teddi. Don't know what she was saying, but she was looking into her eyes and rubbing her sleeve. Only time will tell. Here is Teddi with the lady in the souvenir shop. She was very nice and spoke pretty good english. The other is a picture of me with our hotel in the background.

We left for Moscow at 11:00 a.m. local time. After 3 hrs, we arrived safely at our hotel, key word being safely. We cannot believe the traffic here. They take 3 lane roads and fit 5 cars wide. Unbelieveable.

Once back at the hotel, Teddi immediately got on the phone with Wells Fargo in an attempt to get the last remaining piece of documentation that we are waiting on for our court appearance. This has been a real hassle. We have pretty much gotten no response at all from Wells Fargo...that was until Teddi worked her magic. After at least an hour, it looks like we finally found someone in that company who cares enough to help!!!! Amen. Must have been the voodoo magic from the gypsy.

The predominant religion in Russia is Russian Orthodox and there are churches all over the place. Here is one that was directly across the river from our hotel in the region.

There are several American couples who are adopting staying in this hotel so we were finally able speak in english with someone. Yeah!!! We made friends with a couple from Pittsburgh who is here adopting their second child from Russia and had dinner at....wait for it....TGI Friday's! It may have been the best cheeseburger that I have ever had. One can only take so much potatoes and borscht. Some young Russians were at the table next to us and were very friendly. We shared some good laughs with them. Unlike many Russians, they were very supportive of our adoption. Unfortunately, some Russians are strongly opposed to American families coming over here to adopt "their" children. Mostly the older generations, I believe.

Well, its off to bed for now. Tomorrow we will spend sightseeing in Moscow. Stay tuned.

Final Day at Orphanage

Today was hard. We had to say goodbye to our son. We met the judge today and answered some basic questions. It looks like we will be able to return for court on March 23rd, which is great. This is an unordinarily quick turnaround for a court date. We are still waiting on one piece of paperwork required for court so pray that we get this document in time!

Here is a picture of the orphanage. We have been told that there are approximately 100 children, ages 2 months through 3 yrs. You would never know it though. We have been there several times and it is very quiet. We rarely hear or see other children. We have been able to peek in his room where there appears to be around 15-20 other little ones. They are broken out into rooms based upon age. Each room seems to have roughly 3-4 women caretakers. They do a great job and seem to care deeply for these children. They are doing the best with what resources they have, which doesn't appear to be many.

We had two visits at the orphanage today and they were great (except for the fact that we both nearly vomitted upon entering the building due to the smell. Don't quite know how to describe the smell, but it takes some getting used to). He was in a great mood as usual. He smiles at nearly everything and everyone. We must have disrupted his napping schedule because he was very sleepy.

Got in our first car accident of the trip as well. Although, as you will see from pictures of the traffic, it is amazing that we didn't hit another car or pedestrian; instead it was a hand rail.

Tonight is our last night in the region and we will return to Moscow tomorrow morning. We will do some sightseeing and then return home on Sunday. We'll post more pictures tomorrow in Moscow when we have better internet service. Can't wait to see you all.

Shane and Teddi

Day #2 with Little Guy

Our visit with little guy was different today. Instead of seeing him twice, we were able to visit from 12:00 to 5:00. He is very interested in what is going on around him. As soon as we got him to sleep he was awakened by some of the caretakers walking through the room. He does not like to miss anything. He is a happy little thing. We also met with the social worker while we were there. It was harder leaving him today. Tomorrow we will meet with the judge.

The other family we mentioned in our previous post left from the region with their girls today. So exciting! They are headed back to Moscow to process more paperwork.

Now we are off to dinner...possibly back to the mystery cafe. They do have good pastries! Yum!

Meeting #2 with "Little Guy"

This afternoon we were able to go back to the orphanage. There is another family here with our agency on their third trip. We rode with them. They are adopting twin girls who are about 13 months. Our visit with little guy was a little shorter than the morning visit. We played in a different room with the other family and their girls.

He is such a content little thing. We will be off to dinner at the same cafe in our hotel building. We don't really know what we are eating, but it is pretty good. :-)

We meet our son!

We met little guy this morning. It was incredible! He is the happiest little thing! We spent quite some time with him. I rocked him to sleep in my arms just before we had to leave him. It was amazing. We played. He reached for me close to the end of our visit with him. He is beautiful! He is already crawling. He doesn't have any teeth yet...he's a 'gummy' little thing. They told us his name, but Russian law prohibits us putting that information along with pictures of him on the internet until he is officially ours. Shane and I want to honor that. We will not be changing it, though. Leaving him this morning wasn't too hard simply because he had fallen asleep and it was like I had put him down for a nap...and I also knew we would be back this afternoon.

Day 1 in Russia!

We made it! After the scare the night before our flight with the flight change, we flew out of New York with no problems and it looks like we made it out just ahead of the blizzard. Whew! The flight was fairly uneventful. Teddi slept most of the way which should help with the jet lag.

We landed in Moscow and were met prompltly by our coordinator and our driver. That was a relief. After a 1 hour drive from the airport to our hotel in downtown Moscow, we were exhausted, but thankful that we managed through the traffic alive.

Once at our hotel, we ventured out for a bite to eat. We found a little cafe down the street from the hotel. We had no idea what we were ordering and it turns out we think we ordered the lunch special because when we asked for a menu, the waitress replied, "A menu lunch??" To which, I replied, "Yes, Lunch". And the next thing you know, a big Russian waiter is bringing us soup, salad, and a meat and potato dish to eat.

From there we went to Red Square to do some sight seeing. Below is a picture of Teddi in front of Red Square on the marching pad with St. Basil's Cathedral in the distance and the other is a picture of me in front of Lenin's tomb (I think??). Not so good with the cryllic alphabet yet.

Well, we are going to try to stay up for a little while longer in an attempt to get on Russian time so wish us luck. We meet our driver tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. for our ride to the orphanage to meet our son!!!!

Last Minute Paperwork

I have been under the gun this week completing any last minute paperwork that we need for our trip. We have both been to the Doctor...Again... for more blood work and x-rays. We also applied for and recieved our visas. Yeah! We are hoping that by completing all of this paperwork now it makes the rest of our trips go much easier (and faster).

Thank you to everyone at Beck's (Shane's new employer) for all of their support during this process. Everyone there from the Beck family to the other co-workers in the office have bent over backwards to accomodate our family. A special thanks goes out to his cohorts at the front counter for playing back up next week while we are out. Thank you all!!!!!!

We're going to Russia!!!!!

We got "The Call" today from our adoption agent. We will be leaving Sunday, March 1st to meet our son. We will be traveling to Moscow and from there on to the orphanage. Once there, we will be spending 3 days where we will visit the orphanage a couple times a day. We cannot wait! We will then travel back to Moscow on Friday where we will spend the weekend celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary. We will return to Indianapolis on Sunday, March 8th. This will be the first of three trips to Russia for us.

Teddi's mom will be staying with the girls this week while we are gone. Her moving so close has been a real blessing. Thank you to all of our friends who have offered to help in any way during this experience. We will definitely be calling on more of your help in the future. Our dear friends, the Hyde's and the Kettler's will be handling our chauferring to and from the airport on this trip. Thank You!!!

We hope to be able to keep the blog updated while in Russia with photos of our trip so be sure check back often. We will not, however, be able to post any photos of our son until he is officially ours.

Finally some Good News!

After 14 months of basically no news, last week brought a flurry of activity. Our adoption agent called today to let us know that they had targeted a child who would be coming off of the registry very soon and that he looked very good. She told us that she hopes to have us travel to Russia very soon.