When I started this blog, I thought I would update it periodically.  Like weekly.  Or every couple of weeks, but no.  It’s been over a month?  And so much has been going on!  It’s been a little more than 8 months since we made our official decision to adopt, and we’ve come a long way since then.  We still have a long way to go, but we are realizing we are further along in the process than we really had thought.

Our home was finalized at the beginning of December, and from there we were able to submit our application to CIS (Citizenship and Immigration Services), and then sent our application to register with Russia at the end of December.

We registered in the Vladivostok region of Russia.  We had sort of envisioned something closer to Europe.  Vladivostok is on the Sea of Japan!

In mid January we got the email we were waiting for.  (Isn’t e-mail great?)  We received word that there were two boys who met our criteria.  We got to see names, pictures, and a basic medical report.  After much prayer, and discussion with our pediatrician, and more prayer, we chose to pursue those two boys.

We have made our reservations for Russia.  Our trip is less than three weeks away.  On one hand it is incredibly exciting.  It will be the first time since 2003 I will have traveled on a plane with my wife.  As much as I enjoyed my church trips to California, Europe, and Mexico… I would rather travel with her than anyone any day. (Sorry, Mr. Mike!)  I have been learning a little bit of Russian through Rosetta Stone, so if anyone asks me a multiple choice question about apples or “keys in a shoe”, I’m golden.  I’m hoping to get to phrases like, “Don’t touch that”, or “Stop doing that”, or “The street is a bad place to  hang out.”
But as for our trip, while on one hand it is exciting, on the other it is nerve-wracking.  So many questions that we can’t answer yet.  Traveling on an 8+ hour flight from Moscow to Vladivostok without knowing the language.  Waiting for Visa approval.  Paying a lot of money and finding out where it will come from.  Wondering what the boys will really be like.

Adoption is a very emotional process, but I tend to fight emotions, and usually do my bests not to show them.  (Much to the dismay of those giving me Christmas presents!)  I just don’t want to be emotionally attached to these two boys yet, because I can’t put aside the fact that there is a small possibility that we can’t adopt them.  What if there is a medical problem that means we can’t do it?  (I don’t know exactly what that would be, but we have two children already, so there are some things that wouldn’t be best for our family).  So many what ifs.  What if they really aren’t ours?  But I remember that God is good.  God is in control.  God has moved us to do this.  I know it will be okay, and everything will work according to His good purpose.  Even if one or both of these boys is destined for another family.  I know that.  But I still want to distance myself.  I don’t want to get excited yet, because I don’t want to get disappointed.  And I am doing my best.  We have names picked out.  I have shared the photos with my family.  I am really truly excited.

In the meantime, we are trying to prepare our family.  We have several people on the lookout for furniture (if you know anyone that as a toddler bed or a chest of drawers they want to get rid of, send me a message!)  We are considering how we should set up bedrooms.  A master bedroom plus three more bedrooms is easy when there’s four of you, but when there is six, then changes may need to happen.

Erin, our 8 year old was born with a perpetual fear of anything that is not Erin.  Getting her to do anything new is a feat, because her imagination just goes overtime.  She always sleeps with her lights on.  So convincing her that it would be best in our 4 bedroom house that it would be best for her to move to the downstairs bedroom.  Right now it’s the playroom, and painted green and purple with a dark blue ceiling (and glow in the dark starts to boot).  It would mean “being downstairs” when in reality that room is no further than where she is now.  But the realization that down there she would have her own bathroom has finally begun to sink in.  I think she may make the switch.

Sam, who turned 5 this week, has some different views.  He no longer wants to name one “Leo”, and now realizes that when the mailman brings a package, it does not contain the children.  Although last week he insisted that “the children are going to be made” and will “come in cubes.”   So there is some confusion, but he really likes the idea of being a big brother.  There is no confusion about that.