"This is the most fun I’ve every had!!!"

/ Gina Marie / 1 Comment

Thus said my 6-year-old son excitedly over the phone yesterday. You see, Deana and I had arranged for Nanny McStephanie to take a little mini vacation with the boys because we would be in Russia. Well, the Russian part fell through but not the vacation! So Steph, Drew, Kenny, Josh, and Kenny’s friend Guy headed for Disneyland for a three day, two night adventure!

In the past, Josh had pretty much focused on the kid rides, partly due to his size and partly due to his disinterest with scary things he didn’t understand. However, he has been experiencing quite a growth spurt as of late and, apparently, has conquered some of his fears. I first heard of this through Deana, who had called to check on everyone just as they finished riding Big Thunder Mountain, which turned out to be Josh’s first attempt at riding a “big ride”. Not only did he scream “this is AWESOME!” throughout the ride, he was Mr. Chatterbox to D, saying “This is the most fun I’ve ever had!!!!!”

Not to be outdone, I called shortly after hearing and he got me up to speed – told me all about Thunder Mountain, told me how he “freaked out” on the Haunted Mansion but then laughed at the ghosts in the mirrors, and that he was going to the Matterhorn. He also went on the Pirates of the Carribean and so many more things! He was like, “This is the best day EVER!!!!” Those of you who don’t know Josh, he is a little more reserved than I am so his excitement was quite fun! He shortly cut me off and said he had to go.

He did call me right after the Matterhorn so I got to experience the excitement exactly how Deana did (booya!) but then he said he needed to go get his driver’s license at the cars so, well, I guess I wasn’t the center of his life at that moment! LOL

Kenny was a little too cool to get all excited but he was nice to me on the phone.

I am very glad that they are having such a great time. I also am very thankful for Steph and Drew who are taking such good care of the kids. We get to meet them for dinner tonight at Goofy’s Kitchen – I love Goofy so I am very excited!!!!! Oh, and it will be nice to see the kids too! 😉

Surviving!

/ Gina Marie / Leave a comment

This picture was taken a few weeks ago when Deana and I went to the Getty Center. It was a beautiful day that day, very warm, clear skies (which is sometimes amazing so close to downtown LA!). The next day it rained almost all day and we were so suprised the weather could change so drastically from one day to the next.That is how the last few days have been. Extreme joy with Deana receiving “the call” about her court date, shock and anxiety to hear about last minute, unplanned charges, excitement knowing it would be just days until Deana held her children again, to finding out the trip would be delayed and having a broken heart. It’s been very, very difficult at times. But I can tell you that right now, Deana is relying on the Lord and, although she is definitely saddened by the delay, she is holding onto the joy that only the Lord can provide. This is an amazing testament to how God works in crazy circumstances.

Update – we were able to get a full refund on the original tickets – a real miracle as they are not changeable, but our flight from LAX to JFK had been cancelled during the hour I was on holding waiting for customer service. Because of that, the entire itinerary could be cancelled with no penalties. This was a direct answer to prayer.

Next hurdle – finding a new flight as Delta was totally booked on 3/23 and 3/24 due to the weather delays, and the best cost was $2600 PER PERSON. Deana called the agency and they were not prepared to make up that much for our changes. They asked Deana to wait until Monday to see what they could do about better prices for tickets. However, if you know Deana, her mind was spinning and turning. So she found a NON-STOP flight from LAX to Moscow leaving 3/24 and returning 4/6 for only about $120 more per person then the original tickets. (A real blessing not only for cost, but our original flights had some pretty ugly lay overs both ways – 10 hours going, 17 hours coming back). D called the agency and they said to book it and they would pay the difference. They also said that we might be able to leave earlier – they were trying everything they could to get her out asap.

I must note that Deana’s attitude with the agency has been awesome and the agency has done an amazing job to get this going. Several people, including Deana’s direct contact, had been stranded themselves in the weather and were not able to get to the office, etc. So the fact that they made the effort to contact us today (Saturday) and work with us is great.

Final hurdle – getting the visas re-established quickly as well as getting a quick rescheduled court date.

So keep your prayers going and picture Deana with a big smile on her face.

Urgent Notice

/ Gina Marie / Leave a comment

Hello Everyone,

I would appreciate you lifting Deana up in prayer as it seems “things” are in place to discourage her and the adoption process.

Bottom line – there was a paperwork mishap and our Russian Visas are due to expire early next week. Because of that, the trip has been delayed a week and a new court date must be obtained. I am currently on the phone trying to reschedule our flight tickets hoping to get the same or close to the same fares. Fortunately, the adoption agency has offered to supplement some of these costs for this but it is still very stressful. Further, Deana seeing and holding her children has again been delayed which is heartbreaking for her.

Also pray that the process of obtaining new visas can be expedited to meet the week timeframe and that a new court date is easily obtained.

If/when you see Deana at work next week, please be gentle. Any questions, please ask me or Wanda.

Update……sigh

/ Gina Marie / Leave a comment

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.

Interesting Monday

/ Gina Marie / Leave a comment

Forgive me, I failed to post about a very interesting Monday that happened this week!

First, a little background info. I have lived in SoCal my entire life. My Dad’s family was in Michigan most of my life, but I was fortunate to forge close relationships with many of them as I grew. One such relationship was with my Grandma.

I lived for my Grandma – she tried to come out each summer of my life (at least, it seems that way) and I was always very close to her. She and I wrote letters to each other for years and years although admittedly, she was much more reliable at this than I! Back when I was a kid, before all the present security at airports, you could wait for a person right at the gate. Some of my fondest memories are of first seeing her face coming down the hall from the plane and the excitement I felt that SHE WAS HERE!!!! I loved her.

Except for one year – I really blew it. Grandma had come to my high school graduation and yes, I was thrilled that she would make the long flight to share this momentous occasion in my life. But I also was finding out how selfish I could be. You see, the day after graduation I had to go back to the high school to pick up something important. When there I ran into some friends and we thought it’d be fun to hold onto our high school fun by going to the movies together. I went to the pay phone (yes, this was pre-cell phones) and called home to ask my Grandma if that was cool (which is also funny since I was 18 1/2 years old!). She said that I could do whatever I wanted but she was disappointed that I wasn’t spending time with her.

Remember, prior to this I lived for my Grandma.

Anyway, being the good girl that I was, I went home. But let me tell you, I was not happy. I would say that I was even a little ticked! When I got home, something extraordinary happened – I witnessed, I believe for the first time, my Grandma crying. You have to understand, my Grandma always seemed so strong, self-efficient…..not really one to cry. So I was shocked to see her in such a state! She told me that she was very hurt that I would even ask to go with my friends when she was there for such a short time and that she always wouldn’t be there. She went on to say that she was getting older and this might be the last visit she would be able to make or that she might die (my Grandpa had passed away six months before). Please know that this was NOT a guilt thing…..these were her feelings.

Also know, at the time her actions (once I got thru the shock) ticked me off some more. I mean seriously, I just wanted to go to the movies for a couple of hours! I kept it inside, but it really pissed me off. I stayed, but my heart was not in it even though I had seen the real tears my Grandma had sent.

After she went home, I remember falling apart – missing her and realizing how true her words were. I sobbed uncontrollably in my room – so much so that my brother came in to see if I was okay. It was so hard for me to really acknowledge how crappy I had treated my Gradma whom I loved very much.

On a side note, my Grandma was able to visit more – she came for my wedding and I think at least one more time with my Cousin Lori….maybe another time. I also was able to visit her several times, including for her 80th Birthday – less than a year later she would pass away, in 1999.

So anyway, for some reason I woke up Monday morning missing her terribly. I am not sure if I had a dream (which I sometimes do, she is alive and I am so happy). I felt melancholy and thought how much I wished I could take back what I had done in my youth, but more importantly tell her that I really miss her. That she was right, I should have held onto our limited times together because they are so finite. That I was blessed to be so close to her despite the distance between us…..so much!

I went about my Monday morning, getting ready for work and such. Driving to work, I stopped for gas and, as I stepped out of the car, there was a bright and shiny new penny with the head up. I have no idea why (did Grandma mention it once?), but I totally felt like this was a sign from my Grandma, telling me she understood and she loved me. I know it sounds crazy, but the feeling was so strong. And I am not one to act all woo woo like so please understand that. So from that moment on, I felt so much better and smiled because my life was so filled with my Grandma and the blood that is flowing through my veins.

So, there is my interesting Monday.

Today has GOT to be a better day!

/ Gina Marie / 2 Comments

Don’t get me wrong, yesterday overall was a pretty good day! However, I had a few problems at school. I will also remind readers such as DEANA not to crack up laughing when they hear about my ordeal!

First of all, walking to my class. Due to daylight savings, it was very light and, in fact, the sun was very much in my eyes. I was crossing the street to get to class and, because of the sun, did not see that the recent construction on the street created a 4-5″ different between the concrete gutter and the asphalt on the corner. Because of that, my right ankle twisted as I stepped off the curb. No big deal, except my right hand was holding my purse so when I continued to fall, I lost more balance. My concern at this point was my new pants, as my left knee hit the asphalt prett hard. It doesn’t stop there – my MASSIVE backpack felt it was now the appropriate time to flip up, basically throwing my entire upper body face first into the asphalt. Fortunately for me, there was a 20 pound, just out of high school, young girl that helped me out. Oh, and I was also fortunate enough to have rush hour traffic witness the entire ordeal!

To sum it up – pants are okay, left knee bruised and cut, right hand cut, no damage to face, back seems to be okay, right ankle a little sore.

The fun doesn’t stop there. LEAVING school, 9:30 pm so the sun was no longer trying to undermine me. I begin to cross the street – I always look over my left shoulder to make sure no cars turning right are about to kill me. No cars, cool. But when I was about 10 feet out, here came a beautiful BMW! I didn’t have any time to avoid hitting the stupid car! I totally hit his car (or did he hit me????). Damn driver didn’t even freaking stop and I hope I scratched his car! But I am okay.

So today it has to be better, right?????

Schedule Progress

/ Gina Marie / 1 Comment
  • Art Class, Week 8 – done
  • Sociology Homework, due 3/12 – done
  • Sociology Homework, due 3/19 – done
  • Eating bologna sandwhich yet again on stale bread and two hours after I thought I would eat – done
  • Sociology Homework, due 3/26 – done
  • Six page final paper for Arts class, pending
  • Final copy of Biola Research Paper, pending

Deana shared so now I can post! :)

/ Gina Marie / 1 Comment

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!

Progress is such a cool word!

/ Gina Marie / 1 Comment

I know most of the 2.74 people who read this blog really don’t care about how I am doing on my research paper. However, I like to rambling about nothing so there you go!

The unedited version of the paper has been completed and I feel pretty good about it. I finalized the PowerPoint yesterday for my presentation tonight, which I had rescheduled because I thought I might be in Russia next week. Now I wish I hadn’t done that but I think I can pull it off. I still need to get my notes together to go with the PP, but I really have no aversion to public speaking so I think I will also be able to throw that together at lunch today.

Yesterday was an interesting day. I was very surprised by some info and planning that was shared with me at work. It was very encouraging for sure, but I am still a bit amazed about what I had learned. Let’s just say that sometimes you see yourself a certain way and it surprises you when others see potential in you. I really believed that hard work or attitudes didn’t always make a difference, but I guess they do. All in all, I thank the Lord for the encouragement I received yesterday as it gave me a shot of endurance for my busy week!

No major news regarding Deana. Please continue to lift her up in your prayers during these tough days of wondering for sure when she will be getting her kids. Russia is closed today and tomorrow so she will not hear anything before Monday.

Have a great day!

Woohoo, I can’t believe it!!

/ Gina Marie / Leave a comment

Sorry, nothing way exciting like THE CALL…..but I finished the bulk of my Research Paper!!!!! I will probably have tons of edits that I will need to do and I still have to finish my presentation that is scheduled for Thursday, but I FEEL SO RELIEVED!!!!

Seriously, thanks to Rona who allowed me to observe and interview her. This is NOT sarcastic nor am I blaming you for all the work I had to do! And the research has proven that you are a pretty darn effective manager!

Oh, and sorry that the pic I uploaded last time was blurry. Guess I didn’t have my glasses on when I did it.

That’s it for me now. I am going to bed because I am tiwud.