3/25 6:45 pm Russian Time

Wow, what a whirlwind we’ve been on! Basically, we just ate our first full meal in NN and have gotten to our room, etc. Deana is taking a coveted shower right now as I sit here and wait! It is approximately 36 hours since our plane left Los Angeles.

Getting here wasn’t that bad, it’s just so many things back-to-back. The flight to Moscow was 13 hours, but we were fortunate that the plane was not very full so we could lay down to sleep, etc. Then we got to Moscow and wasted some time in the wrong line, but finally arrived at immigration and met up with Olga #3, our Moscow translator. She was nice enough to take us to an Italian restaurant and we had VERY GOOD pizza!!! Then we got on our overnight train ride to NN. This was a bit humorous because you need to bring your luggage into the compartment with you – since Deana packed the donations and gifts for the orphanages, we had four VERY LARGE pieces of luggage! They almost didn’t fit. But bottom line, we had a private compartment with two “beds” and were able to sleep a good portion of the trip.

Saturday night, or technically Sunday morning, Russia “sprung forward” for daylight savings time. So we are now 11 hours ahead of our friends and family in California.

We arrived in NN at 6:25 am and were met by Sergei, Olga #1 the attorney, and a new translator – Alla (Olga#2 the translator has had her baby, a little girl!). We drove directly to the hotel to drop off our massive luggage and brush our teeth and then we were off to the orphanages post hast. Getting into a car for a 3-4 hour drive after having traveled so much already was not a pleasant idea. However, the idea of seeing Zack and Sophia again was enough to overcome Deana’s tired body.

Oh, there is no (or not very much) snow on the ground here now so the drive was not nearly as cold as when we were here last!

Okay, I am very tired, but I know you all are wondering about the kids. We went to Sophie’s orphanage first and apparently the director didn’t advise the Sunday staff that we were coming. No biggie, just meant we had to wait a bit longer for them to confirm it was cool that we were there. Then, as if it were just yesterday that Deana last saw her, Sophia walked through the door and ran into her arms! She was wearing one of the outfits Deana had brought her last time as well as one hair bow. She is much taller than in December! While her hair is still on the short side, it hasn’t been cut so that was nice. Sophie was very excited to see her Mama, although she was a LITTLE shy at first. This did not last long, in fact, she became way more outgoing than in previous visits and proved to have similar levels of energy we had previously witnessed with Zack. Also, the pictures Deana left seemed to help because Sophie knows she will be seeing her brother again very soon.

Let me just say that SHE IS ADORABLE AND YOU ARE ALL GOING TO LOVE HER!

Due to tiredness I am jumping ahead.

Zack’s orphanage knew we were coming and in fact the Social Worker had arranged to come in on her day off to meet us. They brought Zack in and he seemed much the same size as before. He was much more reserved when he walked in – VERY much like the first time Deana met him. He acted very shy, although he was practically glued to Deana’s side. It did not take very long for him to go through the stages that he went through over the 3 visits Deana shared with him last time, and he ultimately was very happy, playing, growling at me, and otherwise playing. He also took some time to show Deana how his is able to put together “block puzzles” which seemed amazing to me, especially with him being so young. Deana asked him if he wanted to see his sister, and he emphatically said, “NO!” so he sounds like a normal brother!

His hair is still short too but it appears it was not cut since we were last here.

YOU WILL ALSO FIND OUT THAT ZACK IS ADORABLE AS WELL!

Both are very excited to go home with Deana. In fact, Zack was asked if he would cry when he left his home (the orphanage) and he again said “NO!!” Both children referred to Deana as mama and even said my name – Auntie Gina. It was awesome!

Zack’s visit was a bit hard for us because we were both dead tired. I had to start moving around in order to stay awake. Deana and I are about to crash.

Tomorrow at 10am Russia time Deana goes to court. I will remain at the hotel as it is a closed court session. Please pray for her if you are able – I know that is late for most of you.

I am now going to bed, I will try to write more soon.

Hello!

Balance of 3/22:

Deana’s last day at work for the next 7 weeks turned out to be somewhat uneventful. I didn’t interact with her too much as I had my own business to attend to, but I was able to videotape key moments in her day; working at her desk, coming to my desk at lunch, leaving for the day. It was weird and cool at the same time. Deana seemed to be in the “I am not really leaving tomorrow” mode most of the day.

This continued in the evening, where she went on as if today was not a momentous occasion. She will be doing most of the finalization of the packing today as well.

Otherwise, here is the update:

The Visas are in transit as I type – they arrived at the FedEx location in LA about 20 minutes ago and should be at work before 10:30am. Thanks to everyone who prayed for this situation – it has totally been felt and things have really come together.

Okay, I better get my final packing done because I am going to work today for at least 4 hours!

Okay, as I tried to do with the first Russian Trip, I am going to try to document as much as I can for this one ~ especially since this one includes the momentous piece of bringing Zack and Sophia home!!!! I will do my best to capture as much as I can by videotaping to get the emotions, but in the mean time I will try to record my observations in this blog.

Wednesday, 3/21:

Things really seem to be coming together – the court date is scheduled, the passports were received in San Francisco and the visas are on track, the hotels and trains have been scheduled by the agency……it’s almost surreal. Deana has been acting as if things were NOT moving forward, in the sense that it’s just another day. She has been frantically working on a project at work and our discussions have revolved around everyday life, not so much on Zack and Sophia. I even catch myself thoughout the day in surprise, realizing we are leaving Friday night – it seems to unreal.

It is becoming more real for Josh, too. He was counting the number of days before we return and he was exciting to know we would all take Zack and Sophie to Disneyland – the latest craze since Josh and Kenny had just finished their mini-vacation with Steph and Drew. At least Josh is anxious to go on Space Mountain with his Mom! 😉

Thursday, 3/22:

The day is still young, not much to report, but today marks the last day Deana will be going to work. While I will be going in for half of the day tomorrow, Deana will be home getting the last minute details together before we leave for LAX and ultimately Moscow. I will update more later on how the day goes!

I just can’t get out of my mind what I imagine Zack and Sophia’s reactions will be when they first see Deana! I hope I am able to capture the reactions on my camera.

Also, a special shout out to my DAD, who I love very much! Muay muay muay (those are kisses, people!)

Have a wonderful day!

Okay, very tired, very stressed (not even approaching Deana’s stress though!), but alive!

Update on school:

• Research Project/Class – paper in, presentation done, class over. Woohoo!
• Art Appreciation – just now sent my six page paper on the belief system of Ancient Egyptians and an analysis of the Book of the Dead. Yeah, you heard me. Yes, I understand that seems like it has nothing to do with Art Appreciation! But it’s done and the class is over! Yeah!
• Sociology – I was able to finish and turn in all the work that I had over the next two weeks. There are two assignments that were given to me Monday night, but my teacher is very cool and said I could email them to her from Russia or bring them in when I get back. Sweet!
• Astronomy – my next online class, which starts Monday. No worries, I will have online access in Russia!

As for the trip, well, stress all around. But things are good and I downloaded Lost Season 2 onto my iPod for the trip so I am looking forward to having English TV when there! YES!

I will try to write more later! Please keep me and Deana in your prayers because we both get a little catty when stressed, so you can imagine how it’s been the last 24 hours!

Gina Out.

If you haven’t seen Deana’s post, check it out by clicking the link to the right. Basically, she has a conditional court date – 8/22. It is conditional because the official document showing Sophia is able to be adopted has not yet arrived. However, Deana has learned that the Russian courts do not usually set conditional dates unless the odds are very good that the date will be met. So I am happy!

The tentative info is something like this – we leave on 8/18, with the time difference we arrive in Russia 8/19. Based on the first trip, I would imagine we will be very tired and sleep the first day and then do a little site seeing (aka, “free day”). Because there were no flights later, we probably will have another free day 8/20. Then we see Deana’s kids on 8/21 (three hour drive one way, here we come!). Then the court date on 8/22, go back to get the kids, and take an overnight train to Moscow.

I really don’t know the details from that point on, but I know we are scheduled to be in Moscow through 4/1.

Remember, this is still conditional so things might change. Deana is very sensitive to questions right now, but feel free to ask me what you think is appropriate and I will do the best I can to keep you up-to-date. As you can imagine, this has been a trying time for Deana, who was told more than once that she would have the kids by the middle of February. But God is good and has gotten her this far!

Drew bought Steph or Deana a CD-Rom that teaches Russian. Deana also has the language CD. We have been frantically reviewing both in the hopes of being able to communicate with the kids. Deana is so much better at this than me! But I figured I can still have lots of fun getting them hyper and laughing, etc. LOL

I also have been successful in rescheduling or coordinating my school schedule. I will have to drop a class through my Biola program, but can make it up in June or July. Since I am scheduled to graduate in December anyway, this has not caused me any stress. I am very thankful that there is some flexibility there. In fact, when I shared my concerns with my counselor at Biola, she basically said “let me take care of the school stuff, YOU focus on helping Deana!” She also told me she would be praying for us – how cool is that????? God is so good to share these blessings in my life.

Steph is more than ready to take care of my kids when we are gone. She has done a FABULOUS job being Nanny McStephanie so far and I am so blessed by her help! The boys love her to death and she loves them…..in fact, now I have to argue with her as well as Deana, as they both claim the boys are THEIRS! (At this point, Josh would say, “You guys, you need to share.”)

That’s it for now! I pray that anyone who reads this has a blessed day!