Second Post in One Day!

If you haven't read the post below this one, you definitely should. I wrote it this morning, and then realized I needed to post another update. So, it's two-for-one day, I guess. :-)

Because it's the prerogative of women (and mommies) to change their minds, I have completely re-done our nursery theme. I know I was really excited about it when I posted pictures before, but the longer it sat in the closet, the less I liked it. Maybe I just got caught up in the Ikea excitement while I was there, but it looked much cuter in the store than in my house. And then a couple of weeks ago, I found some stuff at Target that I totally fell in love with. For a few weeks, I went back and forth. I'd look at the new stuff online and in the store, and then look at my Ikea stuff. This week, I finally admitted to myself that I just needed to return the old bedding. (Ben, in his wisdom, said he knew this would happen from the moment I found the new bedding!)

So, now our nursery will be decorated in light blue, tan, and white instead of bright colors. (Much like the rest of my house. Guess I should stick with what I like.) I still like the zoo animals, and my friend has some great painting ideas. I know I'll like this better in the long run, and it will be easier to transition him into a "big boy" room someday if the walls are blue, as opposed to lime green. :-) So, sorry if I messed up any potential gifts out there. But I thought I'd post a picture of the new and improved nursery bedding:
It's called DwellStudio Zoo if you want to check out more pictures on the Target website. Thanks for putting up with my ever-changing mind as I wait for our son to come home!

Three updates

First, a praise: our documents arrived in Nizhny on Tuesday! Now they are in the process of being translated and eventually submitted to the court. Please pray that this process is efficient and smooth. We are specifically praying that everything will be submitted by the end of April, so that we can schedule a court date for sometime in June.

Second, a minor update: While in Russia, we decided to change the spelling of Sam's Russian middle name to better represent how it's pronounced. So now it's Yevgeniy with a "y" on the front of it. Just thought those of you interested in details would appreciate knowing that!

The third update is more serious and a big call for prayer. Beginning on May 1, Nizhny Novgord will no longer be allowing adoptive families to travel on business visas (I posted earlier today that it was all of Russia--I was mistaken!). You may remember that earlier this winter, the office processing adoption visas closed, which halted travel plans for families until an alternative was found. That alternative was business visas, which will also no longer work in a few weeks. Some regions are accepting tourist visas, so we are praying that the decision-makers in Nizhny would see this as an acceptable way for adoptive families to travel.

While this seems like a huge hurdle to me, it is a comfort to know that God is not at all surprised or worried. I am sure that an alternative will be found at some point in the future; it's just unclear how long it could take for a decision to be made. This will affect many families waiting to get their children in Nizhny. Of course, it's clearly within their rights to do this, and I'm sure there are reasons behind their actions that we are unaware of. I know they have these kids' best interests in mind. Please join us in praying that our contact in Russia will be successful in speaking to the right people to help solve this problem in a quick and easy way. And please pray that it will not delay our travel plans to bring Sam home!

The waiting is still not over

Even though we have been so blessed to meet our son, the waiting portion of our journey to become a family of three is still not over. Hopefully, it will only last for a couple more months!

Right now, we are waiting for our final documents to arrive in Russia. Last Monday, we were able to schedule an appointment with our doctor. He is excited about our adoption, and was willing to take care of our paperwork very quickly. He walked across the street with us to get everything notarized by his secretary, and she said she'd be willing to help with any other paperwork we might need. It was a huge blessing! Our state police clearances arrived in the mail last Wednesday. We were so glad to see that envelope arrive.

On Thursday morning, I decided to make one final trek to Tallahassee for more apostilles. We had six documents that needed to be certified. Because we are under a time crunch to get everything turned in to the judge before her vacation, we knew that every day might be precious. So I got it all processed and on the way to Russia by Thursday afternoon. We're hoping our facilitator there will receive it by the middle of this week and be able to get started translating and preparing to turn it in to the judge. Then we should be able to get scheduled for a court date. Can't wait to receive that news!

Yesterday some dear sisters threw me a beautiful baby shower. After years of not knowing if I would ever get to have one of these, I was so honored to be celebrated in this way. I should have pictures back soon, and will post more about the day when I have them. I am thankful for so many friends that already love Sam before they've even met him!