Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Sam. He is doing so much better! His fever finally broke on Wednesday night, and he is back to his happy, cheerful self. We are happy to have our healthy little guy back to normal for now.
A few medical updates for those of you who have been wondering:
*We saw the cardiologist today. He listened to Sam's heart and did an EKG. He said his heart is completely normal and he doesn't see anything to be concerned about! Thank you Jesus for taking care of this part of our son's medical journey. We learned today that murmur just means "noise" so a heart murmur is just a noise the heart makes when the blood flows through it. It's not a bad thing (at least in Sam's case). We're going to do a follow-up appointment when he's two and might do an echo cardiogram at that time just to be thorough, but the doc said there was no reason to do it now. I'm sure Sam's glad about that!
*We have an appointment scheduled with our doc in Jax for next Wednesday. We'll bring the test results from Tuesday with us, and hopefully he'll be able to clearly explain to us what's wrong and the next steps ahead. It will be so helpful to have the complete picture.
*In my last post, I was wrong about one of the tests Sam is getting next week. He is getting an ultrasound and a DMSA (not an RNC). This is basically a renal scan. The bummer is that he'll need to be still for 40 minutes to an hours. A one year old? Are they kidding? I'm going to call and see if they have any sedation options or anything. It seems highly unlikely that he could do that on his own.
I promise to post more pics in my next post. Sam and Daddy were going to go swimming today, but it just started raining. Hopefully tomorrow. Woo-hoo!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Update on Sam's medical condition
I have so much that I want to update you all on since we got home with Sam--including posting many more pictures. But by the time he's asleep for the night, I barely have enough energy to get to bed myself! Hopefully I'll be able to get more pics up during his nap one of these days.
I know many of you have been praying for Sam's medical condition, and so I wanted to give you an update so you could join us in prayer for his little body. We saw a pediatrician here in Gainesville the Monday after we got home (last week). She was wonderful and so encouraging and helpful as we were trying to figure things out. She agreed that we needed to see a urologist, as well as a kidney doc and a cardiologist (He has a small heart murmur--no big deal at all, but we just want to be sure it's OK. We see that doc this Friday.).
So, I called the pediatric urologist at the clinic in Jacksonville (there are none in Gainesville) and was told their first available appointment was July 29. What?! I explained that this poor child has been catheterized for almost a year and desperately needs surgery. We could not wait that long. She was, unfortunately, not helpful. I called our pediatrician back, and she agreed to call the clinic. Friday night, I got a phone call from the triage nurse in Jax (That's short for Jacksonville for you non-Floridians :-)). She was so understanding and empathetic and said she had personally asked the doc for a favor and he was going to squeeze us between appointments on Monday! Praise God for such a quick answer to prayer.
So, we drove to Jax yesterday and found the doctor to be so kind, understanding, and helpful. He's the head of the pediatric urology department, which was wonderful. We gave him the translations of the medical info from Russia, as well as the x-rays they'd given us. He said based on this info, he agreed with their diagnosis. The short explanation is that he has a reflux of urine going back up from his bladder into his kidneys. He has something called VUR, which you can read more about here if you'd like to. He is still able to urinate, but some of the urine goes back up into the kidneys, then eventually comes back down into the bladder, and so on. I can understand how he had so many kidney and bladder infections now.
He said the info from Russia was helpful, but he'd like more recent test results. Because Sam was already catheterized, he thought he could pull a favor and get him in that same afternoon for one of the tests, called a VCUG. So amazing! I was with Sam during the test, and it was so hard. He was crying and screaming the WHOLE time. :-( They injected dye into his bladder through the catheter and then took x-rays of it as it got full. Then they removed the catheter and took pictures once he started to urinate. That was a great sight for this mommy! There are five grades of VUR, and the test showed that he appears to be grade four and/or five on both sides. So, this will require surgery to fix. (We were expecting that, but I think he was worried about how we'd react to the news.)
The doctor told us that they never catheterize infants for this condition at their clinic. They use other methods to control the symptoms, and then eventually do surgery if needed (which we know we will). So, he warned us that since the catheter had been removed, there was a good chance some bacteria would be "stirred up" and he'd get a fever. He wasn't kidding. It was up to 103 last night, and was just at 104 before I put him to bed tonight. Please pray that God will heal him and break this fever tonight. Otherwise, we're heading to the pediatrician tomorrow. He is sleeping fine and still happy, but obviously a little more chill and quiet than usual. He's a trooper. The doc said this is probably why they kept the catheter in in Russia--to avoid these continual infections. Makes sense to me--I'd love to be avoiding this one right now!
There are two more tests he needs that can be done here in Gainesville. One is similar to the VCUG he already had, but a different fluid is used. It's called an RNC. The other one is a renal (kidney) ultrasound. We were expecting to have to drive to Jax for all of the tests, so this is a huge blessing. Once we have those results (hopefully within a week), we'll bring them with us to Jax and meet with the doc there to discuss them and talk about surgery. We're hopeful that will be relatively soon.
So, that's the update. A summary of prayer requests: for this current fever to break, for the other two tests to be scheduled quickly, for clear steps to take next when discussing with the urologist, and for a quick surgery date. Thank you for walking beside us on behalf of our precious son!
I know many of you have been praying for Sam's medical condition, and so I wanted to give you an update so you could join us in prayer for his little body. We saw a pediatrician here in Gainesville the Monday after we got home (last week). She was wonderful and so encouraging and helpful as we were trying to figure things out. She agreed that we needed to see a urologist, as well as a kidney doc and a cardiologist (He has a small heart murmur--no big deal at all, but we just want to be sure it's OK. We see that doc this Friday.).
So, I called the pediatric urologist at the clinic in Jacksonville (there are none in Gainesville) and was told their first available appointment was July 29. What?! I explained that this poor child has been catheterized for almost a year and desperately needs surgery. We could not wait that long. She was, unfortunately, not helpful. I called our pediatrician back, and she agreed to call the clinic. Friday night, I got a phone call from the triage nurse in Jax (That's short for Jacksonville for you non-Floridians :-)). She was so understanding and empathetic and said she had personally asked the doc for a favor and he was going to squeeze us between appointments on Monday! Praise God for such a quick answer to prayer.
So, we drove to Jax yesterday and found the doctor to be so kind, understanding, and helpful. He's the head of the pediatric urology department, which was wonderful. We gave him the translations of the medical info from Russia, as well as the x-rays they'd given us. He said based on this info, he agreed with their diagnosis. The short explanation is that he has a reflux of urine going back up from his bladder into his kidneys. He has something called VUR, which you can read more about here if you'd like to. He is still able to urinate, but some of the urine goes back up into the kidneys, then eventually comes back down into the bladder, and so on. I can understand how he had so many kidney and bladder infections now.
He said the info from Russia was helpful, but he'd like more recent test results. Because Sam was already catheterized, he thought he could pull a favor and get him in that same afternoon for one of the tests, called a VCUG. So amazing! I was with Sam during the test, and it was so hard. He was crying and screaming the WHOLE time. :-( They injected dye into his bladder through the catheter and then took x-rays of it as it got full. Then they removed the catheter and took pictures once he started to urinate. That was a great sight for this mommy! There are five grades of VUR, and the test showed that he appears to be grade four and/or five on both sides. So, this will require surgery to fix. (We were expecting that, but I think he was worried about how we'd react to the news.)
The doctor told us that they never catheterize infants for this condition at their clinic. They use other methods to control the symptoms, and then eventually do surgery if needed (which we know we will). So, he warned us that since the catheter had been removed, there was a good chance some bacteria would be "stirred up" and he'd get a fever. He wasn't kidding. It was up to 103 last night, and was just at 104 before I put him to bed tonight. Please pray that God will heal him and break this fever tonight. Otherwise, we're heading to the pediatrician tomorrow. He is sleeping fine and still happy, but obviously a little more chill and quiet than usual. He's a trooper. The doc said this is probably why they kept the catheter in in Russia--to avoid these continual infections. Makes sense to me--I'd love to be avoiding this one right now!
There are two more tests he needs that can be done here in Gainesville. One is similar to the VCUG he already had, but a different fluid is used. It's called an RNC. The other one is a renal (kidney) ultrasound. We were expecting to have to drive to Jax for all of the tests, so this is a huge blessing. Once we have those results (hopefully within a week), we'll bring them with us to Jax and meet with the doc there to discuss them and talk about surgery. We're hopeful that will be relatively soon.
So, that's the update. A summary of prayer requests: for this current fever to break, for the other two tests to be scheduled quickly, for clear steps to take next when discussing with the urologist, and for a quick surgery date. Thank you for walking beside us on behalf of our precious son!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Finally....pictures!
I decided to add a few pictures today, since I know you've been waiting to see them. I also posted below about our travels yesterday. Enjoy!
Visiting him again in the hospital the day before court. He had grown so much!
He loved playing with the stacking blocks we brought him.
Right after our successful court hearing: Ben with Julia (facilitator), Dmitri (translator), and the social worker from the hospital
Happy first birthday, Sam!
Gotcha Day! June 9, 2008. This is just after leaving the hospital.
At the hotel in Nizhny--he LOVES mirrors!
Chilling with Daddy in the hotel.
Family pictures at St. Basil's. Little did we know that Red Square would be closed on their Independence Day--we had to walk all the way around the back way to get this picture!
Sam's a U.S. citizen! I'm holding his Russian passport with his American visa stamped. This is the equivalent of a green card until we get his U.S. passport issued.
Eating breakfast with Daddy this morning.
Can't wait for Sam to meet you all!
Visiting him again in the hospital the day before court. He had grown so much!
He loved playing with the stacking blocks we brought him.
Right after our successful court hearing: Ben with Julia (facilitator), Dmitri (translator), and the social worker from the hospital
Happy first birthday, Sam!
Gotcha Day! June 9, 2008. This is just after leaving the hospital.
At the hotel in Nizhny--he LOVES mirrors!
Chilling with Daddy in the hotel.
Family pictures at St. Basil's. Little did we know that Red Square would be closed on their Independence Day--we had to walk all the way around the back way to get this picture!
Sam's a U.S. citizen! I'm holding his Russian passport with his American visa stamped. This is the equivalent of a green card until we get his U.S. passport issued.
Eating breakfast with Daddy this morning.
Can't wait for Sam to meet you all!
Home Sweet Home!
We are home! It felt amazing to sleep in our own bed last night, and it was an unexplainable joy to put Sam to sleep in his own room! Since Monday, he's slept in a train, two different hotels, and an airplane bassinet. I'd say it's time for some stability.
Sam did great on the plane ride home. He only slept for about 3 hours of the almost-11-hour flight from Moscow, but he was a good passenger. He and I walked the aisles in the Ergo carrier (future adoptive parents take note: I could NOT have made it without that thing!). I'd love to know how many miles I walked in that plane. As long as I was moving, he was content to watch people and eventually fell asleep twice that way. I was able to transfer him to the bassinet in the bulkhead, and it worked great. We had the three middle seats, and it was easy to keep him playing on the floor or seat between us.
As soon as we touched down in Atlanta, Sam became an American citizen. Wahoo! Going through the immigration process was a breeze, and he did well, even though it was 12:30am Moscow time when we landed. By the time we got on the plane to Gainesville two hours later, he was starting to melt down. He survived the 45-minute flight, but was very antsy and super tired. He pretty much went right to bed when we got home.
We were greeted by wonderful "It's a boy" and "Welcome Home" banners and balloons when we got home. There was food for both us and Sam, and great cards from friends and family. What a blessing to not need to run to the store after such a long travel day.
Today has been good. Sam woke up several times during the night, but it's not surprising. While we are relieved to be home, it's just another new place to him. We're hoping it will feel comfortable to him very soon, and are working to get him on a schedule to help as well. He's down for his third nap of the day as I type.
Ben is doing well with the time change, but I'm exhausted. I'm hoping to sleep early tonight when Sam goes to bed, while Ben watches golf! Thanks for praying us home.
Sam did great on the plane ride home. He only slept for about 3 hours of the almost-11-hour flight from Moscow, but he was a good passenger. He and I walked the aisles in the Ergo carrier (future adoptive parents take note: I could NOT have made it without that thing!). I'd love to know how many miles I walked in that plane. As long as I was moving, he was content to watch people and eventually fell asleep twice that way. I was able to transfer him to the bassinet in the bulkhead, and it worked great. We had the three middle seats, and it was easy to keep him playing on the floor or seat between us.
As soon as we touched down in Atlanta, Sam became an American citizen. Wahoo! Going through the immigration process was a breeze, and he did well, even though it was 12:30am Moscow time when we landed. By the time we got on the plane to Gainesville two hours later, he was starting to melt down. He survived the 45-minute flight, but was very antsy and super tired. He pretty much went right to bed when we got home.
We were greeted by wonderful "It's a boy" and "Welcome Home" banners and balloons when we got home. There was food for both us and Sam, and great cards from friends and family. What a blessing to not need to run to the store after such a long travel day.
Today has been good. Sam woke up several times during the night, but it's not surprising. While we are relieved to be home, it's just another new place to him. We're hoping it will feel comfortable to him very soon, and are working to get him on a schedule to help as well. He's down for his third nap of the day as I type.
Ben is doing well with the time change, but I'm exhausted. I'm hoping to sleep early tonight when Sam goes to bed, while Ben watches golf! Thanks for praying us home.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Gotcha Day and beyond
This afternoon I finally have a little time and the emotional capacity to type a brief update. Whew! We just got back from the American Embassy, where Sam's visa to enter the US was granted. It's printed and in his Russian passport, waiting to be stamped when we land in Atlanta. That's the last piece of paperwork we were waiting for--it's over! Now we'll see some Russian friends here tonight and tomorrow, and then get on the plane Friday morning.
On Monday morning (was that only two days ago?) we went to the hospital at 10am to pick Sam up. Of course, I barely slept at all the night before because I couldn't stop thinking and imagining. The previous Friday, I had asked to take a picture of Sam's room, and the head of the hospital said it wasn't a good idea. After we left, she felt bad, so they took some pictures of Sam with his doctors and nurses, and gave us the CD. I can't wait to see them and show them to him someday.
We had to sign a paper at the hospital saying that we understood his medical conditions, and that we were taking him home. And then, his doctor brought out a huge bag of things (one of those big Ikea bags, if you can picture it). In it was some clothing, a huge bag of diapers, diaper cream, baby food jars, a bottle, two boxes of cereal, a can of formula, and some medical supplies. Julia, our facilitator was shocked. She told us that in five years, she's never picked up a baby that got any supplies. They are always brought out naked and the parents are expected to dress the child in new clothes. Instead, we got to keep his Russian clothes and got all of these extra supplies. What a blessing. We think the doctors may have purchased some of it with their own money. You could tell they were super sad to see him go. We got the hospital email address, and promised to send some pictures and news of the surgery. So, that will be a good way to keep in touch.
And before we knew it, we were saying goodbye and walking out the door! Ben captured it on video, so we'll be able to show you leaving the hospital and entering the world as a family of three. After we got back to the hotel room, we fed him lunch and then went on a walk. We bundled him in our baby carrier (thanks Jenn!) and walked around to take pictures. Of course, he fell asleep, so he's sleeping in the pictures! The afternoon and evening got pretty long--just playing in the small hotel room. He finally fell asleep on the bed a little after 9. Then, at 10, we checked out of the hotel and left for the train station.
The train left at 10:45, but it was very noisy. The people in the car next to us were drinking, singing loudly, and smoking. Thankfully, once we turned out the lights and got him ready for bed, Sam pretty much went back to sleep quicky. But Ben and I didn't get much. :-( We arrived in Moscow a little after 6 am and checked into the hotel.
Our room wasn't ready, but they put us in a larger room for a few hours because of Sam. So he was able to sleep for about 3 hours. We wanted to nap, but couldn't use the bed, so we watched Heroes on their DVD player while he slept. We finally got into our room in the afternoon and played together. I was wiped out physically and emotionally by bedtime, so Ben put him to bed. He fell asleep at 8:30, and we were sleeping by 9! He woke up at 4:30, took some formula, and then slept until 10am! And that was after we turned on the lights and tried to get him up. He was so, so tired. It was a great night of sleep for all three of us.
Today the weather is a lot warmer, and it's been nice to be outside. We're hoping tomorrow will be too. He's been so good riding in cars, and waiting on our laps quietly, so we're hoping that is a good sign for the 11 hour plane ride coming up! I'll update again before we leave. Can't wait to get home soon!
On Monday morning (was that only two days ago?) we went to the hospital at 10am to pick Sam up. Of course, I barely slept at all the night before because I couldn't stop thinking and imagining. The previous Friday, I had asked to take a picture of Sam's room, and the head of the hospital said it wasn't a good idea. After we left, she felt bad, so they took some pictures of Sam with his doctors and nurses, and gave us the CD. I can't wait to see them and show them to him someday.
We had to sign a paper at the hospital saying that we understood his medical conditions, and that we were taking him home. And then, his doctor brought out a huge bag of things (one of those big Ikea bags, if you can picture it). In it was some clothing, a huge bag of diapers, diaper cream, baby food jars, a bottle, two boxes of cereal, a can of formula, and some medical supplies. Julia, our facilitator was shocked. She told us that in five years, she's never picked up a baby that got any supplies. They are always brought out naked and the parents are expected to dress the child in new clothes. Instead, we got to keep his Russian clothes and got all of these extra supplies. What a blessing. We think the doctors may have purchased some of it with their own money. You could tell they were super sad to see him go. We got the hospital email address, and promised to send some pictures and news of the surgery. So, that will be a good way to keep in touch.
And before we knew it, we were saying goodbye and walking out the door! Ben captured it on video, so we'll be able to show you leaving the hospital and entering the world as a family of three. After we got back to the hotel room, we fed him lunch and then went on a walk. We bundled him in our baby carrier (thanks Jenn!) and walked around to take pictures. Of course, he fell asleep, so he's sleeping in the pictures! The afternoon and evening got pretty long--just playing in the small hotel room. He finally fell asleep on the bed a little after 9. Then, at 10, we checked out of the hotel and left for the train station.
The train left at 10:45, but it was very noisy. The people in the car next to us were drinking, singing loudly, and smoking. Thankfully, once we turned out the lights and got him ready for bed, Sam pretty much went back to sleep quicky. But Ben and I didn't get much. :-( We arrived in Moscow a little after 6 am and checked into the hotel.
Our room wasn't ready, but they put us in a larger room for a few hours because of Sam. So he was able to sleep for about 3 hours. We wanted to nap, but couldn't use the bed, so we watched Heroes on their DVD player while he slept. We finally got into our room in the afternoon and played together. I was wiped out physically and emotionally by bedtime, so Ben put him to bed. He fell asleep at 8:30, and we were sleeping by 9! He woke up at 4:30, took some formula, and then slept until 10am! And that was after we turned on the lights and tried to get him up. He was so, so tired. It was a great night of sleep for all three of us.
Today the weather is a lot warmer, and it's been nice to be outside. We're hoping tomorrow will be too. He's been so good riding in cars, and waiting on our laps quietly, so we're hoping that is a good sign for the 11 hour plane ride coming up! I'll update again before we leave. Can't wait to get home soon!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Coming home Friday!
Over the weekend, our travel plans changed...we now get to come home on Friday! Julia called us on Saturday night to let us know that the agency had decided we could register Sam at the Russian consulate in the US, instead of doing it in Moscow. That means that we just have to get his visa in Moscow, which will be done on Wednesday. We're meeting some friends from Tver in Moscow on Thursday, and then we'll fly out Friday. I think this happened because Sam's doctors were worried about him being out of a doctor's care for so long. And because Thursday and Friday are holidays here, we'd have to wait over a long weekend just to go to the consulate on Monday. We'll save a ton of money on the hotel room and meals, and we are so excited to get home quickly and start adjusting to life together there.
We leave for the hosptial in just 30 minutes, and we're more excited and anxious than you can imagine! Thanks for your prayers for us. One specific request: We leave for our overnight train ride to Moscow tonight at 10:45pm (2:45pm Eastern). We have no idea what he'll think of it, or if he'll sleep at all. Please pray for a restful night for us and those in the cars next to us. Pray that he'll sleep well, and that we'll be able to help him calm down if needed. Can't wait to tell you all about Gotcha Day!
We leave for the hosptial in just 30 minutes, and we're more excited and anxious than you can imagine! Thanks for your prayers for us. One specific request: We leave for our overnight train ride to Moscow tonight at 10:45pm (2:45pm Eastern). We have no idea what he'll think of it, or if he'll sleep at all. Please pray for a restful night for us and those in the cars next to us. Pray that he'll sleep well, and that we'll be able to help him calm down if needed. Can't wait to tell you all about Gotcha Day!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Happy birthday Sam!
It was fun to get to celebrate Sam's birthday with him at the hospital today! We had prayed from the time of our first visit with him that we'd get to be with him on his birthday, and God answered that prayer today. The head doctor at the hospital said they had a big party with the staff in his honor this morning, but they didn't let him have any cake. They aren't big on sweets for kids. :-)
We brought him a gift--a soft book and four soft Baby Einstein blocks. He enjoyed them, but it was even a little too much. He didn't really know how to play with them all. So I think we'll be brining out just one toy at a time from now on. And of course, he loved the gift bag and tissue paper just as much as the gifts!
I got to talk to his doctor and ask lots of questions about his routine, care, and other details. It was good to get this information. We found out that they are pretty worried about his long stay in Moscow with no doctor, and so we have the cell number of his doctor's daughter who lives in Moscow and speaks English. If we have any problems, we can call her and she can get in touch with her mom. That will be a comfort. Also found out today that I'm going to have to give him an antibiotic injection in his bottom each day while Ben holds him down. No fun, but the only other option was to pay a nurse to come to our hotel each day, and that didn't sound good either. So, when we pick him up on Monday, they'll show us what to do.
After our celebration, Julia took us to the store to get diapers, formula, cereal, and baby food. We also went to several drug stores, looking for all the medicines they want him to have. The only store that has our antibiotic is across town, so they are actually going to deliver it to our hotel later today. I'm impressed!
So, now we wait for two days until we can return to bring him home for good. We will enjoy the rest and some time to ourselves. Our DVD player is broken, so no movies for us. :-( But we may venture out and watch Indiana Jones on the big screen. Ben saw it in Colorado, so he can translate for me!
More updates once we get to Moscow--thanks for your prayers and congratulations!
We brought him a gift--a soft book and four soft Baby Einstein blocks. He enjoyed them, but it was even a little too much. He didn't really know how to play with them all. So I think we'll be brining out just one toy at a time from now on. And of course, he loved the gift bag and tissue paper just as much as the gifts!
I got to talk to his doctor and ask lots of questions about his routine, care, and other details. It was good to get this information. We found out that they are pretty worried about his long stay in Moscow with no doctor, and so we have the cell number of his doctor's daughter who lives in Moscow and speaks English. If we have any problems, we can call her and she can get in touch with her mom. That will be a comfort. Also found out today that I'm going to have to give him an antibiotic injection in his bottom each day while Ben holds him down. No fun, but the only other option was to pay a nurse to come to our hotel each day, and that didn't sound good either. So, when we pick him up on Monday, they'll show us what to do.
After our celebration, Julia took us to the store to get diapers, formula, cereal, and baby food. We also went to several drug stores, looking for all the medicines they want him to have. The only store that has our antibiotic is across town, so they are actually going to deliver it to our hotel later today. I'm impressed!
So, now we wait for two days until we can return to bring him home for good. We will enjoy the rest and some time to ourselves. Our DVD player is broken, so no movies for us. :-( But we may venture out and watch Indiana Jones on the big screen. Ben saw it in Colorado, so he can translate for me!
More updates once we get to Moscow--thanks for your prayers and congratulations!
Thursday, June 5, 2008
It's official...he's our son forever!
We just returned from our court hearing, where the judge gave us a favorable pronouncement and also waived the 10-day waiting period. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! The morning started with some stress, however...
We arrived at the courthouse about an hour early to practice our speeches with our translator and get prepared for court. We went into the courtroom about 15 minutes early. A few minutes later, the judge came in from her office with her binder of our paperwork and called Julia (our faciliator) and Dimitry (our translator) over. She was pointing to several pages she had bookmarked, and it was clear she was upset. Julia looked worried, and she and Dimitry tried to explain something. But they didn't get much time to say anything before the judge left. They talked to each other for a moment, and then came over and told us there was a problem with our paperwork. On some of our forms, it said "America World Adoption Agency" and some of them said "Association" instead of Agency at the end. The judge said she couldn't be sure this was the same business. Julia said she had noticed this problem, but had been told it was just a formality and wouldn't be a big deal. Of course, we were super nervous. Both of us started praying like crazy, and I actually asked God to wake some of you up to pray. So, if anyone woke up in the middle of the night and prayed for us, you can blame me! :-) It was seriously the longest 15 minutes of my life, wondering if the judge would return and what she would say.
But, at 10:00, she came back in as if nothing had happened. And all went fine. The hearing lasted a little over an hour. Ben and I both had to introduce ourselves and tell our stories. This consisted of short answers to questions Julia had given us ahead of time. It really wasn't hard, and we were able to look down at our notes. After each of us spoke, the judge asked some follow-up questions. Sometimes they were the same as things we had already said. But, we answered every one. I got asked if my parents would love our son the same as their biological grandson, which I thought was interesting. I told them in their hearts they already had two grandsons and they loved them equally. Good job, Mom and Dad!
The social worker from the hospital also presented testimony about Samuel, and her observations of our time together during our first visit. She said very nice things about us as parents. Before we knew it, the judge left to make her decision, and then came in and changed our lives forever. She declared us the parents of Samuel, and waived the waiting period. We are officially parents forever!
Tomorrow we'll visit him for his birthday, and then we'll pick him up for good on Monday. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. God is clearly answering them. We only made it through today by knowing that your prayers were giving us strength. I'll let you know how the birthday party goes tomorrow. :-)
We arrived at the courthouse about an hour early to practice our speeches with our translator and get prepared for court. We went into the courtroom about 15 minutes early. A few minutes later, the judge came in from her office with her binder of our paperwork and called Julia (our faciliator) and Dimitry (our translator) over. She was pointing to several pages she had bookmarked, and it was clear she was upset. Julia looked worried, and she and Dimitry tried to explain something. But they didn't get much time to say anything before the judge left. They talked to each other for a moment, and then came over and told us there was a problem with our paperwork. On some of our forms, it said "America World Adoption Agency" and some of them said "Association" instead of Agency at the end. The judge said she couldn't be sure this was the same business. Julia said she had noticed this problem, but had been told it was just a formality and wouldn't be a big deal. Of course, we were super nervous. Both of us started praying like crazy, and I actually asked God to wake some of you up to pray. So, if anyone woke up in the middle of the night and prayed for us, you can blame me! :-) It was seriously the longest 15 minutes of my life, wondering if the judge would return and what she would say.
But, at 10:00, she came back in as if nothing had happened. And all went fine. The hearing lasted a little over an hour. Ben and I both had to introduce ourselves and tell our stories. This consisted of short answers to questions Julia had given us ahead of time. It really wasn't hard, and we were able to look down at our notes. After each of us spoke, the judge asked some follow-up questions. Sometimes they were the same as things we had already said. But, we answered every one. I got asked if my parents would love our son the same as their biological grandson, which I thought was interesting. I told them in their hearts they already had two grandsons and they loved them equally. Good job, Mom and Dad!
The social worker from the hospital also presented testimony about Samuel, and her observations of our time together during our first visit. She said very nice things about us as parents. Before we knew it, the judge left to make her decision, and then came in and changed our lives forever. She declared us the parents of Samuel, and waived the waiting period. We are officially parents forever!
Tomorrow we'll visit him for his birthday, and then we'll pick him up for good on Monday. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. God is clearly answering them. We only made it through today by knowing that your prayers were giving us strength. I'll let you know how the birthday party goes tomorrow. :-)
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
We made it!
Thank you to all of you who are so faithfully following our journey and praying with us. I am happy to finally have time to update you on our trip! Our flight to Moscow was fine and we had no major troubles. There was a brief scare at the airport, where they couldn't get my tickets figured out, and told me we had to buy a roundtrip ticket for Sam (what?!), but it all got sorted out before we had to board the plane. On the long leg to Moscow, there was another adopting couple sitting behind us, as well as another family from our agency just a few rows back. So it was great to share stories and pictures with them.
We arrived in Moscow 12 hours before our train left for Nizhny. Our Moscow coordinator said the only hotel rooms that were available were $600 a night, so he arranged for us to stay with a host family. It worked out great! They had a room just for us, and we were able to take a good nap to make it until the train. The husband fixed us a delicious lunch and dinner, and we enjoyed talking with him. It was a great arrangement.
The train ride to Nizhny was great, and we were able to sleep most of the way. Before we knew it, we were back in our son's birthtown! We had time to shower, rest up and eat breakfast before meeting Julia for our trip to the hospital to see Sam. Once he came into the room, it felt like we had never left--except that he's grown and has more hair! We got to take him on a car ride with one of his nurses to go get his picture taken for his passport and visa. He did great in the car (sitting on my lap--no car seats here), and was mesmerized by everything around him. No car sickness, which was a nice surprise. :-) All in all, we got to spend over two hours playing and interacting with him. It was incredible. He warmed up after about 20 minutes, and he was making a lot of sounds this time. They told us he is saying "Baba" (grandma) "ma" and "pa" but we didn't hear any of those. He still has his bear, and plays our voices all the time. And he still has the photo album too. We are grateful!
We found out that his doctors want him to stay in the hospital as long as possible before we bring him home. So, Gotcha Day will be on Monday. We'll get to go see him on Friday for his birthday and celebrate with him there. But no visits all weekend. You can pray for our hearts, as we're sad about that. We took some video today, so that will have to get us through when we can't see him.
Our court hearing is Thursday at 10am (2am Eastern time). We'd appreciate your prayers before you go to bed on Wednesday night. Please pray for favor with the judge, and that she would waive the 10-day wait. Please also pray for us, as we prepare our speeches tonight--that we would remember everything we need to say, and that we answer questions well. We aren't nervous yet, but we know this is a very important hearing, and we want to be as prepared as possible.
I'll post when we get home from court and tell you how it went. And we look forward to posting some video when we get back to the States. Thanks for all of your prayers and for posting your comments--you are getting us through! We love you all.
We arrived in Moscow 12 hours before our train left for Nizhny. Our Moscow coordinator said the only hotel rooms that were available were $600 a night, so he arranged for us to stay with a host family. It worked out great! They had a room just for us, and we were able to take a good nap to make it until the train. The husband fixed us a delicious lunch and dinner, and we enjoyed talking with him. It was a great arrangement.
The train ride to Nizhny was great, and we were able to sleep most of the way. Before we knew it, we were back in our son's birthtown! We had time to shower, rest up and eat breakfast before meeting Julia for our trip to the hospital to see Sam. Once he came into the room, it felt like we had never left--except that he's grown and has more hair! We got to take him on a car ride with one of his nurses to go get his picture taken for his passport and visa. He did great in the car (sitting on my lap--no car seats here), and was mesmerized by everything around him. No car sickness, which was a nice surprise. :-) All in all, we got to spend over two hours playing and interacting with him. It was incredible. He warmed up after about 20 minutes, and he was making a lot of sounds this time. They told us he is saying "Baba" (grandma) "ma" and "pa" but we didn't hear any of those. He still has his bear, and plays our voices all the time. And he still has the photo album too. We are grateful!
We found out that his doctors want him to stay in the hospital as long as possible before we bring him home. So, Gotcha Day will be on Monday. We'll get to go see him on Friday for his birthday and celebrate with him there. But no visits all weekend. You can pray for our hearts, as we're sad about that. We took some video today, so that will have to get us through when we can't see him.
Our court hearing is Thursday at 10am (2am Eastern time). We'd appreciate your prayers before you go to bed on Wednesday night. Please pray for favor with the judge, and that she would waive the 10-day wait. Please also pray for us, as we prepare our speeches tonight--that we would remember everything we need to say, and that we answer questions well. We aren't nervous yet, but we know this is a very important hearing, and we want to be as prepared as possible.
I'll post when we get home from court and tell you how it went. And we look forward to posting some video when we get back to the States. Thanks for all of your prayers and for posting your comments--you are getting us through! We love you all.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Last night at home as a family of two
It's been a crazy weekend. Yesterday we ran a bunch of errands, and today has been mostly packing and trying to rest at home. But of course, we ended up with a few errands today as well. Tonight we've been watching some TV and trying to enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet. We feel prepared for the trip tomorrow, and can't think of anything else we need to do. It's a great feeling.
I recently got an email from a friend that said it's a strange feeling to leave your house, knowing that the next time you come home your family will be different. That really struck me as true. I can't imagine how I will feel when we leave the house tomorrow morning, but I am really trying to remember how I'm feeling. The next time we walk into our house, we'll be a family of three.
This month, Ben and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. We are so thankful for God's blessings in our lives, and for all of the amazing memories we have together. Now we are ready to add another member to our family, and to begin making new memories together. We know it will be a huge adjustment, and there will be plenty of hard times, but this is something we have asked God for for years. So we are ready for the change (as ready as we can be)!
We would greatly appreciate your prayers during the next couple weeks: for safe travels by plane, train, and taxi, for great visits with Sam this week, for a smooth and easy court date, for a quick turnaround on his paperwork and Gotcha Day on Friday, and for a fun week in Moscow together. We'll try to update the blog as we are able. Thank you all for standing with us here in the States. We love you!
I recently got an email from a friend that said it's a strange feeling to leave your house, knowing that the next time you come home your family will be different. That really struck me as true. I can't imagine how I will feel when we leave the house tomorrow morning, but I am really trying to remember how I'm feeling. The next time we walk into our house, we'll be a family of three.
This month, Ben and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage. We are so thankful for God's blessings in our lives, and for all of the amazing memories we have together. Now we are ready to add another member to our family, and to begin making new memories together. We know it will be a huge adjustment, and there will be plenty of hard times, but this is something we have asked God for for years. So we are ready for the change (as ready as we can be)!
We would greatly appreciate your prayers during the next couple weeks: for safe travels by plane, train, and taxi, for great visits with Sam this week, for a smooth and easy court date, for a quick turnaround on his paperwork and Gotcha Day on Friday, and for a fun week in Moscow together. We'll try to update the blog as we are able. Thank you all for standing with us here in the States. We love you!
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