Furniture is ordered - thanks Dad and Chari!!

We picked out the furniture for Baby T. I am so excited - even though it will be eight weeks before it gets here! We went with a twin bed, since he will probably be 2 1/2 when we get him home. We will have a crib as well, so we are covered on all fronts!

My dad and stepmom were so thoughtful and offered to get the furniture for us as a gift to their grandchild. How could we say no to that!!! :)

So, even though the bed may be empty for a while (save the black lab making it her own), it gets us one step closer to being ready for him!

Happy Birthday to you!

My 12 year old is now a teenager. Kel turned 13 on Saturday. We had a family party and watched a DVD slideshow of his first 13 years. For those of you just embarking on parenthood...it goes so incredibly fast. As I looked through the pictures for the slideshow, it amazed me that he has been on this earth for 4,745 days. I have to admit, some of those days have been very long, but for the most part they have flown.

I've been tagged

Suz

has tagged me, so here is what is in my purse:

Wallet full of old receipts and expired 20% off Limited Too cards!
My notebook with my to do list and Baby T's picture in the front cover
Excedrin
old grocery list
under eye concealer
Chapstick - 3 of them (I'm addicted)
4 pencils
soduko puzzle book (I spend a lot of time at baseball practices and gymnastics)
Purell hand cleaner
dramamine - have no idea why, or how it got there
albuterol inhaler - 13 year old has asthma
missing....keys and cellphone....never where they are supposed to be!

Becky

- you are it! What's in that purse in San Antonio?

We are the perfect parents....

We had an adoption filled weekend - attending two events. The first was the annual Thanksgiving pot luck hosted by our agency. We always enjoy the events at our agency where the kids are involved. It is so neat - and reassuring - to see families go through the process and bring their children home. We've been attending these events for 18 months, so we've been able to see kids flourish during that time. The second event was at a local church that has a great adoption ministry. We had some great international food and listened to two families talk about their experiences. It was during one of these talks that the future dad to a Russian 8 year old said "I am the best dad in the world for my new daughter. I know that because God picked me to be her dad". That statement brought the welling tears that I had been holding back streaming down my face. What an incredible thought. We are the perfect parents for baby T because we have been hand picked by God. And what an awesome responsiblity to have to live up to as well. I pray that we will fulfill this responsibility well....and soon!

More about 268

We now know a bit more about the new decree that legislates how agencies are able to do work in Russia. 268 was officially replaced by Government Decision 654. Thanks to helpful poster, Jim, on FRUA( http://www.frua.org ), we all have a clearer understanding of the process It, thankfully, extends the accreditation period for an agency to 5 years, vs. annual renewal. This should be a sigh of relief for those just starting the process. It also outlines the documents that the agencies need to submit, and states that the MoE will approve or deny accreditation within 3 months of receipt of an agencies. The three month statement is a blessing and a disappointment. It is nice to know that the govt has a finite time to review the documents, but 3 months is a looong time. Here is my best guess at a timeline:

• Buckner submits documents to MoE by Dec. 1st (that allows time for gathering, notarizing, apostilling and translating).
• MoE has 3 months to review - but let's go crazy and say it only takes 2. Buckner has their accreditation by Feb. 1st.
• We receive our invitation to travel in February. We're spending Sean's 44th birthday (2/21) in chilly Moscow. (Average high temp in February is a 25°)
• Back for court in March and have our then 2 ½ year old by April.

It seems so long away, but at least there will be an end in sight. And, there is always the possibility that things could move more quickly….right?

Bibbidi Bobbidi Blue

Baby T's room is starting to look like a little boy's room. We painted it, and a bit of our black lab, Maci, this weekend. Actually, Maci painted herself by slouching against the wall...

We love the look of the room now, even though we don't yet have furniture. Sean and I laid on the floor Friday night, paint fumes still fresh, and talking about our little boy and whether he would like the color. Though we know he will probably never give it a second thought, we think it is perfect for him. Next week.....on to ordering furniture! This is the fun stuff!

268 Signed...another hurdle crossed!

It has been officially posted on the Russian governmental website that Rule 268 is signed.
So, that means we can travel, right??? Not exactly. Although it was a big and necessary hurdle, it doesn't really give us any more information than we had before the signing.

Rule 268 gives the green light for the Russian Ministry to start reaccrediting agencies. Our agency is hopeful to have the paperwork criteria "quickly" so that they can submit their paperwork. Some agencies are claiming to have already submitted paperwork. Now it is just a wait and see on when the first agency gets its license, and how quickly the MoE moves through the applications. My estimate is that there are about 30 agencies that will be vying for a spot in line. Selfishly, we hope that Buckner is at the top of the list...but as I step outside of myself I pray that the process goes quickly and smoothly for all the agencies, so that those of us on the Rollercoaster Ride can get our babies home.

Hoping the rumors are true!!

Every morning, after the school bus is gone, I take my cup of coffee and "check the boards". There are several bulletin boards for adoption where pre adoptive (PAPS) and adoptive parents (APs) can post information and get questions answered. Well today - the boards are busy - two agencies are stating that RULE 268 HAS BEEN SIGNED!!!!!!!

We have not received official word from our agency - but at times this is slow coming because they like to dot all the i's and cross all the t's. Nor is it posted on the Russian Governmental Website that lists new laws. But, that website is a bit behind.

The two agencies that are claiming this - COH and CHI - are both reputable and seem to be fairly accurate in their announcements. (they didn't announce this to the public, but their clients quoted their emails)

If this is true, and we pray that it is, then the next step is reaccreditation. Rule 268 in place, the Ministry of Education now has the green light to start issuing licenses to the agencies. We have no idea how long this will take, nor in what order, but that is ok. Hopefully we are one step closer to bringing baby T home.

I owe my kids an apology

I posted about their lack of enthusiasm yesterday. If I had only waited a couple of hours to post, it would have turned out much differently. The idea/reality of a baby brother was the topic Sunday morning. At breakfast, K, the 12 year old said the blessing. He said "Thank You for this food and for Baby T. God please keep him safe, let everything be ok and let him be the one that becomes our brother. Please let us travel quickly to bring him home. Amen"

Can you beat that? Then, the two kids played together (a small feat in itself) pretending that baby T was with us and what they would be doing with him.

Sean was right (yes, I repeat, my husband was right)....they just needed time for the reality to hit. What great kids I have!

The secret is out

We waited as long as we could to tell the kids about our referral ... maybe even a bit too long! I think I had built up in my mind ths incredible, bonding moment when we made the announcement. Not quite....though, as Sean pointed out, what am I to expect from 12 and 11 year olds!!! Our daughter (M) was mainly interested in going to hang out at her aunt's house while we travel and the ever-cool 12 year old (K) did manage to say "awesome". Then they looked at the pictures, said he was cute and both went back to their business (fighting over who's turn it was on the computer). It was definitely anti-climatic! It sunk in though, and soon K had the baby's picture loaded on his my space and M was asking for a picture for her locker. We had a nice celebratory dinner at the local hibachi place with both kids and C, the 17 year old. We even managed a picture with all 5 of us - not a feat we accomplish too much. We topped off the night with a big trip to Target. Baby T now has a jumping tigger and a light bright to add to his room. The light bright has already been christened by the 11 year old - I can see where having our toddler will bring out the kid in all of us again.