Perry Pie Pat and This and That

At the beginning of October, Riley and I took a road trip out to Illinois for my ten year college reunion. I was not looking forward to the long ride until my friend Becky suggested that we ride out together. She was taking her kids out to see her family. Suddenly traveling with a three-year-old didn't seem so daunting. I wish I could say that Riley and Ethan kept each other entertained and we had a peaceful ride, but my little drama queen put on quite a production in the back seat. I still enjoyed chatting with Becky, and luckily Becky knows the location of every McDonald's playland between here and Momence. One of the funnier moments of the trip happened when Ethan composed an original song which Riley quickly picked up on. She still requests that we sing "Perry Pie Pat" at bedtime. Here it is for your listening enjoyment.

I had a great time at my reunion. My three college roommates, Jeni, Karin, and Ruth, were all able to come. These guys are some of the best friends I've ever had, and we rarely get too see each other because we're spread out all over the country. Riley enjoyed spending time with the gang too. She remembered Karin from her visit last year and couldn't wait to see her again.

Riley was thrilled with the "heaven room" in the Billy Graham Center.

I was grateful for the special time Riley and I had together. She kept saying, "You're going to take care of me? Daddy is taking care of Colin back home?" She got to be an only child again for a couple of days.

Riley and Karin hanging out in the New Stupe.

Here are all four roommate: Ruth, Jeni, me, and Karin. We're lined up in height order just like we used to back in the day. This is a pretty awful picture if me but it's the only one I have of all of us together. 

WARNING: The following paragraph contains medical content. If the word "scalpel" makes you queasy, you might just want to skip this information. 

A few days after the reunion, I had a hysterectomy. This is the first time I've had a major surgery so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I knew it needed done and wanted to get it over with and be recovered by Thanksgiving. The surgery went well. My doctor told me the incision had to be enlarged twice because "da big U" was as large as honeydew melon due to all my fibroids. I had to spend five hours in the recovery room while I waited for a room to open up, but I was pretty out of it and didn't really mind. I spent most of the first day drifting in and out of sleep. I spent all of the next day in the hospital. Despite the morphine doing nothing for me, I still managed to enjoy the day. I had nothing to do but lay around, read magazines, and watch TV. That may sound boring to some, but it was like a vacation for a mom with two young kids. I was released from the hospital the following morning. The hardest parts about recovery has been the fatigue and not being able to pick the kids up. Now that I'm six weeks post-surgery, I'm not that tired anymore and I can finally do some lifting. 

This was Colin's first Halloween. I planned ahead for once and bought the kids' costumes before I had my surgery. Riley was a queen. Her only requirement for a costume was that it have a wand. I found a knight costume for Colin that he looked so darn cute in, and it was a nice compliment to Riley's attire. My bother and sister-in-law came over with my nieces on Halloween and we all went trick-or-treating together. Robin and I brought Colin and Maya back after a couple blocks (Maya had a cold, Colin was getting tired, and I was getting sore.) Jeff and Mike took the big girls out for a while longer. Riley and Maria returned victorious with a load of loot. 

Princess Maria, Queen Riley and Sir Colin 

And now a few recent Riley quotes"

Riley: What are you singing, Mommy?

Me: I'm singing about God.

Riley: Why?

Me: Because it makes God happy when we sing songs about how good he is.

Riley: Oh. Does God live in Illinois?

Me: Uh, no. He lives in heaven.

(Jeff latter reminded me that Riley had been in the "heaven room" at Wheaton and must have assumed that heaven was in Illinois.)

After church last Wednesday, I took Riley around to look at the Christmas trees in the halls. She loved the nativity sets under some of the trees and pointed out who everyone was. That night at bedtime, we sang "The Wise Man Built his House Upon the Rock." The next day, Riley asked, "Did the wise man build his house before or after he gave Jesus presents?" I love the way she thinks.

The Fair, the Tail End of Ike, and the First Day of School

It has been way too long since I last updated my blog, but you will see in these next few updates that I have some good excuses. The first good excuse is that my computer died, complete with banshee like wailing.

The first big event to write about is our yearly pilgrimage to the Wayne County Fair. "Why is the county fair a big deal?" you might ask. You are obviously not from Wayne County if you ask such a question. The fair is the single biggest event of the year. Everyone and their third-cousin-once-removed is at the fair. When I taught, I didn't even bother introducing new concepts that week because more than half my class was out the entire week even if they were only showing their steer on Tuesday afternoon. 

This was Colin's first fair, and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. At this age, the fair is all about the animals. We spent the bulk of our time wandering through the barns. Colin did his best to imitate the animal sounds which all resembled his dog sound, "Bouff, bouff." Riley, as the big sister, felt the need to educate him on the finer points of animal mimicking. "No, Colin, the sheep says 'Baaaaa' not 'Woof.'" She eventually gave up and asked to go on the rides. 

This was the first year that Riley got to try out any of the rides. When I was a kid, my brother and I were never allowed to ride any of the rides at the fair. Our parents were convinced we'd be killed when the hastily erected amusements would shed a bolt or two and fling us into oblivion. When we got a little older, our grandparents took us to the fair and permitted us to ride whatever we wanted as well as eat every deep fried delicacy and sugar coated concoction imaginable. It was with these fond memories that I sent my daughter off to ride her first "spin-and-pukes." She had been very enthusiastic about riding the kiddie coaster until she heard some children screaming on it and declared it, "too loud." Instead, she chose the SUVs, the Batman planes, and the Jr. ferris wheel. 

I'm sure this ride will one day be replaced with hybrids.

Colin was pretty excited about the fair fries. So was I for that matter.

You might think that Ohio is a pretty safe place to live when it comes to natural disasters. We have the occasional tornado and flood, but it's not like we live in California where you're just asking for your home to be destroyed by wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, or Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's why I was surprised when the remnants of Hurricane Ike blew through Orrville and turned our front yard from full to partial shade. Our property is surrounded by six maple trees that were probably planted over a hundred years ago when the house was built. Every one of them lost major branches. Jeff and our buddy Mike took care of the clean up. I'm thinking of getting Jeff a chainsaw for Christmas.

Orrville or the jungle?

Two days after the storm, Riley started preschool. She's been talking about this for months. Every time we'd drive past the church, she'd exclaim, "There's my school!" She enjoyed discussing all the activities she was anticipating. On the first day of school, she changed her tune. I had to pry her off my leg at the door. When I picked her up two hours later, she seemed to have recovered and was full of stories about her morning. Painting is definitely one of her favorite activities. I love that her teachers label the paintings so I can say things like, "Wow, I really love this purple cloud you painted!" because at this point, the paintings all look rather similar. I think of this as her Jackson Pollock phase. 

Here's my little baby all ready for her first day of preschool.

Stay tuned for the second installment of "What we've been doing for the past two months."

The Family Circus

Before I had children, I had this idealistic view of what being a stay-at-home-mom would be like. I'd be like June Clever in blue jeans keeping my house neat and orderly while providing my children with fun and educational experiences. That image has been shattered by the reality of raising two kids. Just trying to empty the dishwasher can become a high drama. It usually goes something like this:

Me: Ok kids, I need to put the dishes away. Who wants to watch some educational television.

Riley: Meeeeeeeee

Colin: (does not respond because he is throwing large wooden blocks at the window)

Me: (exchanging blocks for a stuffed animals) Let's watch Elmo. This will just take a few minutes. 

Colin: Auuuuuuugggghhhh (yelling because he suddenly does not have Mommy's attention and following me into the kitchen.)

Me: Colin do not touch the dishwasher.

Riley: Mommy, I have to go potty.

Me: Ok, go potty. Colin do not touch the dishwasher.

Riley: Mommy, the bathroom door is closed. I can't get it open.

Me: (running to bathroom) I'll get it. (returning to kitchen) COLIN, GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF THE DISHWASHER!

Colin: Ha ha ha ha. (I take Colin by the hand and lead him back to the living room.)

Riley: (screaming) MOMMY!!!!!!!

Me: (running to bathroom) What's wrong?

Riley: Is there going to be a splash?

Me: What?

Riley: (very concerned) Is there going to be a big splash?

Me: Uh, no. Just a little thunk.

Riley: OK.

Me: (returning to kitchen to find Colin there) Colin, Hobbes does not like his tail pulled. No tail pulling.

Riley: (entering kitchen naked from the waist down) I'm all done. 

Me: Aren't you forgetting something?

Riley: Oh yea. I'll go wash my hands.

Me: Colin, leave Hobbes alone.

Riley: (returning) I washed my hands.

Me: Go put your pants and underwear on.

Hobbes: Mmmrrow! (translation- "Will someone please help me?")

Colin: Ha ha ha, kitten!

Me: COLIN, DO NOT SIT ON HOBBES!

Riley: (back again) I did it. (underwear is inside out, pants are on backwards)

Me: (removing Colin to the pack-and-play) Let's try this again. Remember, the big pockets go in back.

Riley: (throwing herself on the floor) I can't do it! Aaaauuugghhhh!

Colin: (pulling curtains off the wall from the pack-and-play) Aaauuugggghhhh!

Me: (giving up after putting away two plates and a fork) Aaaauuuuggghhhhh!

And now I will leave you with some cute pictures of the kids.

The Scarlet Letter

Well, it finally happened. I knew it was bound to occur sooner or later, and it finally did. I was in Buehler's pharmacy with both kids getting a prescription filled for Colin. Riley was standing beside me holding my hand and Colin was in the stroller. A woman in line behind me struck up a conversation by commenting on my daughter's lovely hair. 

"I can see she looks just like her mother," she said. 

I smiled and thanked her. Then she took a little peak around the stroller at Colin.

"Oh, your husband must have dark coloring," was her next remark.

"No," I said, "He has blond hair and blue eyes too." 

I think this woman dislocated her eyebrows they shot up so fast. She looked as if she was dying to ask more questions but thought better of it. Jeff believes I shouldn't take such wicked delight in someone's false assumptions about my virtue or lack thereof, but I found it rather humorous. Perhaps I should have informed her that the big "A" she was imagining on my chest really stood for adoption.

The Cat's Out of the Bag (or box)

At Christmas time, Walmart had some cats in the toy department that meowed, blinked their eyes, twitched their ears, and did nearly everything else but cough up a hairball.  They're a little bit freaky, kind of like Pet of Chucky. Riley loved these cats so we had to go see them every time we stopped by the store. They were rather pricey so there wasn't one under the Christmas tree, but there were a few left in January that went on sale. I bought one for Riley in the hopes that I could persuade her to use the potty. We named the cat Mr. Tinkles and left him in his box in a conspicuous place with the promise that he could come out and play when Riley was potty trained. Poor Mr. Tinkles sat in his box for six months until this week when he was finally liberated by a proud little three year old. 

I've decided that most of the potty training experts are idiots. I tried everything I could find to potty train Riley (except the "let your child run around naked" method which is only practical if every surface in your home is covered in linoleum.) While the articles I read said not to push the reluctant (or willful) potty trainee, after a year of attempts I decided to employ my own method. I call it the "You will pee in the potty because Mommy said so" method. This involved a lot of of screaming (Riley, not me) and cleaning up bodily fluids for five days. On the sixth day, Riley realized that the diapers were really gone for good and started using the potty. On the seventh day, Mommy rested - OK, Mommy never really gets a rest.

 

Riley has done great. She's only had two accidents in the last week. I still have her in pull-ups at night, but she seems to think these are underwear. When I got her up the other morning, she saw some of Colin's diapers sitting close by and got concerned. She said, "Don't put a diaper on me. I'm a big girl. Diapers are for babies." Music to my ears, especially since I'd repeatedly told her the week before, "You don't wear diapers anymore. You're a big girl. Diapers are for babies." I have successfully brainwashed my child. 

Colin has had a really good week. He's still just as ornery as ever but he's doing better at accepting the boundaries in the house. There is a side table in the living room that is off limits to him. It has a lamp, the baby monitors, and some of Riley's book on it. He likes to try to get his hands on these things when my back is turned. On Friday, Colin and I came downstairs after nap time while Riley remained in her room for a few minutes for disobedience. Colin immediately went for the forbidden table. I gave him a raised eyebrow, and he smiled his devilish grin and retreated. I headed for the kitchen, and he went for the table again. Just as his little fingers brushed Riley's monitor, Riley was overcome with the injustice of her punishment and let out a gut-wrenching scream that scared Colin right off his feet. For the next fifteen minutes he clung to my neck. He hasn't tried to touch the monitors since. Perhaps this week I should put the monitor in one of the kitchen cupboards and get Riley to yell again. 

Colin really loves doing high fives and "knock the rock." Today, Hobbes, the cat, was sitting on the back of a chair when Colin walked by and gave him a little poke. For once, Hobbes responded and took a swipe at his hand. Colin interpreted this a high five and squealed with delight. He went on to give the cat alternating high fives and fist bumps which were returned with more swipes from an increasingly irritated Hobbes. I wish I would have had a video camera rolling.

And now I'll leave you with a couple Riley quotes. 

Me: Hey, there's a great big tree trunk sitting in Buehlers' parking lot. Where did that come from?

Riley: It came from a tree, Mom.

Jeff (at a restaurant): Riley, Let me know if you need to go potty. They have a potty here.

Riley (wide-eyed):There's potties EVERYWHERE!

Presenting Colin Patrick

I know I'm way overdue for this post, so here it is. Here is my new son, Colin. We arrived home three weeks ago but things have been crazy around here so this will be fairly brief. My dad and I left on Saturday. We had a ten hour layover in Chicago so we took the train downtown and spent the day there. We arrived in Russia on Sunday and immediately drove out to Tver. On Monday we go to pick Colin up and had him with us the rest of the week.

It was a rather rough week. Colin had a hard time transitioning and would not eat or drink much. I tried a lot of different foods and used a bottle, sippy cup, and regular cup, but it was a struggle to get enough in him. I don't know if he was just so upset by all the change, his food intake was the only thing he felt he could control, or if he just wasn't used to having much food and liquids. He also had some terrible tantrums that lasted up to an hour and a half. I wish I could say I will look back fondly on this special time, but really we all just tried to survive the week. I am so thankful that Dad was with me. He was such an encouragement. 

We arrived home the following Saturday.  Colin got sick on the way home and couldn't keep anything down. We spent Sunday, our first day together as a family, in the emergency room trying to get him rehydrated. What a welcome home! The IV and medicine helped Colin recover quickly and once we added Nesquick to his formula, we didn't have any problems getting him to take liquids. He also started eating better. The tantrums continued (and still show up occasionally) but got shorter and less intense each day. Little by little, Colin started opening up and trusting us more.

Last week, Jeff's folks came out to meet Colin, and we had a really nice visit. They were a great help as I was adjusting to caring for two kids.  Riley was happy to have some extra attention from her grandparents as well. Speaking of Riley. She seems to be adjusting well to her brother. She loves pushing him around in the stroller and introducing him to anyone who come within 20 feet. She has noticed she doesn't get all of mommy's attention now, but she doesn't seem to blame her brother. Colin is crazy for his big sister. He loves to copy all her behaviors and will randomly come up to her to give her hugs and zerberts.

I have so much more to tell but not much time so I will leave you will some pictures and prayer requests. 

- Please pray that the doctors figure out what is causing problems with Colin's digestive tract. He is still spitting up food frequently, although this seems to be improving, and he's had daily problems at the other end. I suspect a parasite. We have done repeated testing for this but so far nothing has shown up.

- Please pray for significant growth for Colin. He is barely on the growth charts for height and weight. He only weighed 19 lbs. when we came home, but he has developed a healthy appetite and has probably gained at least two pounds since then.

- Please pray for Colin's continued attachment to us. Every day we see new evidence that he is figuring out what it means to have a mommy and daddy. When he first came home, he could run into something and seriously bang his head and have no reaction to his injury. He had no need for the comfort we offered. Now, if he trips as he's chasing a cat through the house, he immediately whimpers and reaches for me. He is also seeking us out for hugs now, which is a huge step.

This is Colin and I together on the second trip.

Colin and his Pop-pop.

This smile didn't last long. Right after this picture was taken, I gave him his first bath. I don't have any pictures of that since I needed both hands to pin him down. I can only imagine what other hotel guests thought of the screams coming from our room.

"Hold my other calls, I've got my agent on the line."

Colin is completely fascinated by phones. His caregivers must have used cell phones in front of him because he knew what to do with one from the first day we had him. 

Quotable Riley

I've meant to do some more updates since we got back from Russia, but I just haven't had the time. I'm leaving tonight for the final trip. We have an early flight out of Cleveland tomorrow morning and then a 10 hour layover in Chicago, so Dad and I are going to stay in Cleveland tonight. Please pray for Riley as she's definitely showing some distress over Mommy's impending departure. 

I wanted to share a cute comment Riley made a few days ago. On our way out of Wal-mart, she wanted to  put a coin in the donation container, the kind that you put money in and it spins around before falling through various contraptions. I searched through my purse but couldn't find any change. I told her, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any coins." 

"Well, do they take credit cards?" she replied.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

May 28

Let's start with the good. We left early yesterday morning for the airport in Moscow. Jeff had to spend his birthday traveling, but he got a nice present from the airline. Jeff and I had discussed how lucky we were to have an exit row on the flight to Moscow. We thought we had been spoiled by all the extra leg room. Our seats in the way home were going to be a little more cramped. We were surprised then when we checked in and instead of seats in the middle of the plane, we were assigned to row six. We had been bumped up to business class. Happy birthday, Jeff!

Being a seasoned transatlantic traveler, I'd often looked enviously at those big comfy seats on my way back to the cattle compartment. I wondered about those people who spent huge amounts of money to travel in style. Now I know that occasionally those people are lucky schmucks who are given a free upgrade. Let me tell you what happens on the other side of the curtain. 

After getting preferential boarding, we were offered orange juice or champaign while we waited for the plebeians to board. We also checked out our complimentary travel bags filled with all sorts of goodies. The toothbrush and toothpaste would come in handy later. I'm sure the regulars up in business class were amused at our delight over the fully adjustable seats. Lunch was served an hour or so after take-off. White tablecloths were draped across our tray tables and we had real silverware and china (as opposed to the Barbie cutlery you get in economy.) Our first course was roasted cauliflower soup, hummus with caramelized onions, tomato and mozzarella salad, smoked ham and a dinner roll. By the time we finished this course, I was pretty sure we'd eaten twice as much food as the meal everyone else was getting in economy. For the main course, I selected chicken marsala with gnocchi and steamed vegetables. Dessert was an ice cream sundae. We were also offered a cheese and fruit plate but we had so much to eat, we couldn't possibly eat any more.

After lunch, I put my footrest up, pulled up my personal video screen, popped on my noise-canceling headphones and selected a movie. I watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets followed by Enchanted. About halfway through my second movie, the stewardess brought warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. It was at this point that I decided that if the plane had to circle the airport for several additional hours, I'd be OK with that.

When the movie ended, I reclined my seat, fluffed my pillow and cuddled up with my quilted blanket with the intention of taking a nap. I was so stoked about riding in business class though that I couldn't fall asleep for fear of missing some other amenity. Jeff, however had no such problem and slept soundly for three hours. Oh what an experience traveling international business class! I shall treasure it forever and recall it fondly in a few weeks when I'm crammed into the cheap seats (relatively speaking) for 10 hours with Colin on my lap praying he doesn't have a blowout diaper from the change in his diet. 

When we arrived in NY we grabbed a bite to eat and hung out in the business lounge before heading to the gate for our short flight to Cleveland. I was so excited to be just two hours away from seeing Riley. This is when things got bad. Our flight had been canceled. The ticket rep. assisting us said that it was due to severe thunderstorms. I can say with 99% certainty that that was a load of bovine excrement. There was no rain in Cleveland and only a light drizzle in New York. We had to get a hotel room because there were no other flights to Cleveland that day. Of course, Delta would not pay for the  room because the cancelation was "weather related." I was so mad and tired, I was ready to cry. 

Now comes the ugly part. Our baggage was checked through to Cleveland so we had very little but the clothes on our back. Jeff did have his toiletry kit in his carry-on and I had my toothbrush from my business class bag so at least I have fresh breath today. I have no make-up, no anti-frizz hair products, and my face is erupting with zits after two days of air travel. I smell like Jeff's Old Spice deodorant which I suppose is better than no deodorant at all, and I've worn these jeans so much on this trip, they can walk themselves off the plane. By the time we walk through the door we will have spent 39 hours trying to get home. I just want to hug my daughter, change into some fresh clothes, and take a nap. 

I don't mean to end the posts on our trip on such a sour note. God has been so good to us. He has taken us to the other side of the world to add to our family. By the time Colin is old enough to understand, he will laugh as we tell him the story about our flight home. 

We're Official

May 26

We had court this afternoon, and we are now officially the parents of Colin Patrick. The major hearing lasted somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half. We lost track of the time. Both the judge and the prosecutor asked a lot of questions, most of which were directed at Jeff. The majority of the questions I was asked were about Riley and Colin and my job at the church. It seems there was some confusion as to what exactly a nursery coordinator does. One person was under the impression that it was similar to the director of an orphanage, so I had to explain that we went to a large church and that coordinating workers and caring for the kids just during services was a big enough job to warrant a paycheck. 

We brought a photo album with pictures of Riley, our families, and our home to show to the judge. Everyone seemed interested in the photos of our cats. They seem to be the favored pet in Russia. I was even asked how I thought the cats would adjust to another child in the house. I replied that the two younger ones would be just fine and that the older cat would continue to hide under the bed as always. This brought a chuckle from everyone. 

There were several people in the courtroom to testify on behalf of Colin including the social worker from the orphanage who also testified at Riley's proceedings and a representative from the Ministry of Education. The judge left the courtroom to deliberate after all the testimony was given, and then came back to pronounce our adoption "granted on the grounds that it is in the best interest of the child." It was a relief to hear the verdict even though we had little doubt of the outcome given out previous adoption. We have been told that I can return around the 16th of June to bring Colin home. There is a mandatory 10 day wait period (that's ten business days) after Russian court decrees so we will go home to be with Riley during this time. We leave for home tomorrow.  

Oh, the Boredom

May 25

We have been holed up in this little closet of a hotel room for two days now. It has been raining the whole weekend. We did manage to get out for two brief excursions. There is a pedestrian street a few blocks from our hotel. It is a very nice bricked street with lots of shops. It kind of reminds me of some of the streets in Galway only no one looks and you or smiles. There is a souvenir store there in the basement of a building which we knew about from Riley's adoption. We probably never would have found it on our own, but it seems to be a little secret that gets passed from one adoptive family to another. We went there yesterday and bought a lacquer box for Colin and cheap matroishkas (nesting dolls) for both the Lee and Stewart kids to play with. Today we went back to the store for a magnet and then walked down to the mall. There is a grocery store on lower level so we loaded up on some snacks and get a bottle of vodka - as a gift for someone. The store was not terribly large but there was an entire aisle dedicated to vodka. We had a little sticky note with the name of a vodka that was recommended by a native, and we wandered up and down trying to read all the labels to find it. 

Other than those two trips out of the hotel, the highlight our day has been eating dinner in the hotel restaurant. I know almost the entire staff by name. Tonight the server didn't even ask what I wanted to drink. She just confirmed my usual "Coke Lite" 

This trip had been passing very quickly up until this weekend. Now I'm bored . . . really, really bored. I've read all my magazines and my book and played the DS until it feels like my eyes will fall out. I'm pretty sure I've set a world record of 383 consecutive rounds on one of the Mario mini games. 

I miss Riley horribly. We have been fortunate to be able to speak with her almost every night. She has been very talkative, telling us about playing with Ethan or helping Memaw feed the horses and dog. Mom told me she and Dad bought her a bike helmet yesterday, and she was so thrilled with it, she insisted on wearing it the entire day. I can just picture her sitting down for lunch with the bright red plastic helmet still on her head. 

Tomorrow is out final day of court. I am relieved that this leg of our journey is almost over. I am sad to think that going home to see my daughter means leaving my son behind in Russia, but the end is in sight. I know I will be back in a couple of weeks to bring him home.

The Judge and the Minister

May 23

We started our day with a trip to the courthouse for our preliminary hearing. We were surprised to find out just before we entered the courtroom that our translator, Olga, was not permitted to go with us. Apparently, we must have an independent translator who has no interest in the outcome of the case. If we have leaned anything from this process, it is to expect the unexpected, so while we were surprised, we were not unsettled. I was just hoping that whoever it was would be good because it can be difficult to look attentively at someone speaking another language to you while listening to the person sitting next to you give the translation. Our translator turned out to be excellent. She is an English professor at the local university. She was very  fluent , and she was very careful to ensure we understood all the proceedings. 

When we adopted Riley, we only had one day in court so we didn't know what to expect with a two day hearing. Today the judge established the basic facts of the case and reviewed each of our documents. That's right, each and every document I spent years compiling (well, not really that long but it sure felt like it.) At one point, the judge wanted to clarify the age of our house. She thought perhaps it was built in 1995 rather than the 1895 that was recorded on our documents. We confirmed that indeed our house is 113 years old. She replied that it did not appear to be that old. I'll take that as a compliment. Our major hearing has been set for Monday. 

We returned to our hotel in the late morning to settle in for a long weekend of absolutely nothing to do. We had a bountiful lunch of pop-tarts and beef jerky, took a little nap, and were just settling down with some reading material and the Nintendo DS when the front desk called. We were being displaced by the Minister of Culture who had unexpectedly arrived a day early. So long large comfy room. We hastily packed our belongings and transfered to our new room which is smaller than some people's walk-in closets. It is slightly wider than the bed and a little more than twice the bed's length. The bathroom is so tiny there is only one faucet for both the sink and the tub. It has a long handle on it that swivels between the two. I was certainly spoiled by our last room. It look like things will be cozy for the long weekend.

Here is our new room. I wish I would have taken pictures of the old one for comparison. Notice the amount of space between the extra chair and the desk chair in the foreground. 

This is the spacious bathroom. Notice the duel purpose faucet.

A Visit with Colin

May 22

This is the one day of the trip I have been looking forward to. We were driven out to Vishny Volochyok this morning to see our little guy. It is a two hour drive from the hotel to the orphanage over some pretty interesting roads. I spent the entire ride wondering how much he had changed in the two months since we last saw him. We he bigger? Talking? Does he have any teeth now? Would he remember us? Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long to find out. 

When we arrived, one of Colin's caregivers brought him into the playroom and was eager to show us how well he is walking now. He was taking a few steps between us the last time we were there. He started to whimper when his caregiver turned to leave, but allowed me to comfort him. He warmed up to us very quickly again. It's difficult to tell if he remembers us or if it's just in his nature to be happy and easy-going. Several staff members at the baby home have described him as happy and quick to smile. He seems to have grown a little in the time we were gone. His hair is longer and thicker, and he has six teeth with two more on the way. He is a very handsome kid in my not-so-humble motherly opinion. 

We had two hours to play with Colin. His favorite toys seem to be a ride-on truck and the frog teether that Riley picked out for him. I have some great pictures of him, but I can't post any until we get him on the third trip. Colin has great eye contact and responds to our smiles with smiles of his own. He loves to be tickled and has an adorable little giggle. Toward the end of our time together, he was getting pretty tired. He wrapped his arms around my neck and put his head down on my shoulder. What a precious feeling. 

This is the outside of Colin's baby house. It has children from birth up to three years old.

This is a playground area at the orphanage.

The Lord has been so good to us. We feel so blessed that God has taken us halfway around the world twice now to become parents. While Colin won't officially be ours until the judge says so, he has been our son, according to the Lord's plan, since the creation of the Earth. We are so thankful. 

"Do not fear for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." Isaiah 43:5

Marathon Medicals

May 21

We began our day with a trip to a Moscow hospital for our eight doctor medical visit. We already had extensive exams and lab work done back home with our doctor, but we have to have additional doctors here verify our health. I had been been a bit apprehensive about these exams, not really knowing what to expect. It turned out to be relatively painless. Some of the doctors were seen separately, but we saw four of the doctors simultaneously. It was a bit surreal to be standing there with Jeff as the four doctors circled us poking, prodding, and giving instructions in Russian as our translator sat behind a screen and relayed them in English. At times I was uncertain who was supposed to be sticking out their tongue and who should be taking a deep breath. At any rate, they finally pronounced us healthy. 

Once our medicals were completed, we were driven out to our region. We are staying in the city of Tver, which is the capital of the Tver region. It is about two hours northwest of Moscow. We are back at the Hotel Osnabruck, which after four visits is starting to feel like our home away from home. We currently have the nicest room to date. It is very large with a separate sitting area and balcony. The bathroom is also quite spacious. I could get used to this. 

Tonight we dined at the restaurant in the hotel. We will probably eat here every night as it is the only restaurant we have been able to find. Before we left, I searched the web for dining possibilities and found this place described as the finest restaurant in the city. Given that description and the fact that the food here is "not too bad," we aren't very motivated to search out the lesser establishments in town. My usual meal here is the chicken schnitzel although I will probably branch out and try some new items, just not the enigmatic "Salmon in a Mysterious Way." Perhaps that dish would do well paired with the "Refueling Spicy Greens" from the hotel in Moscow. 

We have seem many familiar faces at our hotel. Many of these people worked here 2 1/2 years ago when we adopted Riley. One of the most beloved is the keyboard player at the restaurant. He begins his performance each night promptly at 7:00. As best as we tell, this man has not changed his repertoire since Gorbechev was in power. Every evening we are serenaded by the synthesized strains of " The Girl from Ipanini." Another favorite is "Let it Be," which he plays using the human voice setting on his keyboard. Even though we find his performance a little quirky, there is some comfort in the familiarity of it. 

Tomorrow we see Colin!

Eating a lot and Getting Confused

I wrote out my blog entries the old fashioned way while in Russia because I didn't feel like trying to type them on a Blackberry or paying to use the hotel's "business center" which is really just a particle board desk with a computer on it sitting in a back hallway. So, I will just write the actual date of the entry at the beginning of my posts. Here goes . . . 

May 19/20

We're here again in Russia. We arrived safely after some minor delays. The flight over here always leaves me feeling exhausted and rather confused. I know it's Tuesday, but thanks to sleep deprivation and an eight hour time difference, it still feels like Monday. 

Mom and Riley dropped us off at the airport yesterday morning. This is when the eating started. The last time we made this trip, we were starving by the time we arrived, so we decided to avoid that unpleasantness this time around by grabbing a quick bite to eat before catching our plane to NY.  I ordered a Dr. Pepper and a hamburger satisfying both my desire for caffeine  and my doctor's order to eat a hunk of meat the size of my hand every day. On our flight to NY, we were given a light snack of cookies, crackers and pop. Upon our arrival at JFK, Jeff and I took advantage of his new company credit card to gain access to the business class lounge. While relaxing there with its quiet atmosphere, comfortable chairs and people generally dressed better than we were, we decided to take full advantage of the complimentary snacks and beverages. We munched on goldfish and pretzels and had another glass of pop. We were preparing to head for our gate when they set out a spread of warm appetizers, cheeses and sweets. We naturally felt it would be a good idea to fill up our plates since it was already 3:30 and the horror of Polish Airway's meals was still fresh in our minds from the last trip. 

We checked in at the ticket counter and were informed that the plane would begin boarding in fifteen minutes. My hubby looked at me and prophetically smirked, not believing we would actually board on time. An hour and a half later, we were listening to the tenth announcement that the maintenance crew was working real hard to solve the problem (they wouldn't tell us what that problem was) and that the plane was now delayed until 7:00. 

With nothing better to do, we decided to go get some supper. We found a nice sit-down restaurant and ordered. I wish I could remember the name of the place because it turned out to be the classiest airport joint I've even been to. Jeff laughed at me when I ordered the Kobe beef corn dogs, but they were really fantastic. The presentation alone would have made any Iron Chef proud. 

We returned to the gate after dinner and found Delta employees trying to appease angry travelers with beverages and snacks. Not being one to turn down anything free, I grabbed a Coke. If you're counting, that's my 4th carbonated beverage of the day. They finally began boarding the plane three hours later than planned. Jeff had scored us some awesome exit row seats. When the flight attendant asked if we were willing to perform all the duties required of us in the event of an emergency, Jeff answered something along the lines of, "Heck yes!" The extra leg room was wonderful and we were able to catch a few winks. Supper was served at around 9:30. It wasn't too bad - not Kobe beef corn dogs, mind you, but not Polish mystery meat either. I was beginning to feel like a Hobbit with all these extra meals worked into the day.

The rest of the flight was long but relatively uneventful. I watched some old sitcoms and did some reading. (Thanks for the magazines, Becky!) We breezed through Moscow customs, being seasoned veterans of the process and were taken to our hotel in the mid afternoon. We crashed for a while, and now I've got nothing better to do than sit around recording everything I ate yesterday. 

I miss Riley terribly. Right now she is probably playing at the park with her favorite cousin, Maria. I am so thankful for everyone back home who is taking such good care of her while we are gone. Soon our family will be complete and all this separation will be over. 

Roo at the Zoo

My friend Becky had the brilliant idea to take the kids to the zoo on Friday. I was all over this idea because (1) I'm all over any idea that gets us out of the house and (2) I love zoos. I get just as excited about going to the zoo now as I did when I was a kid. I get the biggest kick out of watching the animals. We took the kids to the Akron Zoo. My dad informs me that I've been there before, sometime way back in my youth, but I have no recollection of it. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I thought it was very nice. It wasn't the Cleveland Zoo but what do you expect from a city whose claim to fame is tires and sauerkraut balls. 

Riley loved the zoo. I was afraid the day was going to be a wash when Riley spent most of lunch either throwing herself on the floor or standing in time-out, but her mood greatly improved when we started walking around looking at animals. The sun bears provided a lot of entertainment. The male was pacing back and forth in his enclosure, and Riley thought he was chasing her from window to window. Meanwhile, the female bear was laying stretched out on her back in her artificial cave with one enormous paw thrown dramatically across her eyes. Becky and I speculated about her thoughts, probably something along the lines of, "Will you stop pacing and get a real job?" 

The zoo had several play areas for the kids so they were able to run off some additional energy. They seemed to prefer the monster truck and pirate ship play sets that are identical to the ones we have three blocks away at the local park except these didn't have nasty comments about high school girls written on them. The highlight of Riley's day was riding the train. She is completely fascinated with trains so the chance to ride one - even if it was only two times around a tiny loop on the slow-poke express- was a big thrill. 

Here's Riley and Ethan checking out a gibbon.

Dang, these guys are cute.

Miss Maddie is just along for the ride.

I asked Riley to pose for a photo with the tulips. I'm not sure how she came up with this interpretation but it's not exactly what I had in mind. Has she been been reading fashion magazines without my knowledge?

Hang on to you hats kids. It's a wild ride. . . Ok maybe not. 

The Crazy Lady at the Library

Riley and I were at the library yesterday making more copies of paperwork for Colin's adoption. I was letting Riley put the money in the machine and press the buttons when one of the librarians came over and asked if I needed any help. She had an odd expression on her face, and I thought, "What's up with that? Do I look like I don't know how to operate a copy machine?" She proceeded to walk around half wall we were standing behind and approach the copier. Now I'm feeling really insulted because it seems she doesn't believe me. She then looked down at Riley and started laughing. She explained that she didn't see that I had a little person with me, and she thought I was talking to myself. No wonder she thought I was crazy. I was saying things like, "Now let's put a quarter in. Good! Here's another quarter. Let's put a dime in. These little ones are dimes. They're worth ten pennies. Let's make a copy. Woohooo, here comes the paper."

The Watch Game

Riley has a new favorite game thanks to her Uncle Mike. She calls it, "hide da watch." She learned this game recently at my folks' house when we were celebrating my niece Maria's second birthday. Mike plays this game with Maria. He hides an object, usually his watch, and lets her search for it. Here's a video of Riley and Maria playing the game. They're looking for a treat that Memaw (my mom) got them.

The Adventures of Riley and Lil' Worm

Easter was a very quiet affair at our house this year, having just returned the day before from Russia. I did want to post a couple pictures of Riley's egg decorating. We sponge painted a couple of eggs before Jeff and I left. Riley was so proud of her work she actually ate one of the eggs. 
The other day Riley spotted a pint size shovel while we were grocery shopping. She loves digging in the dirt with her trowel and I'm happy to have the "help" while I'm pulling weeds so when she said, "Mommy, may I have da shuble please?" I splurged and spend a whole $2.50. That afternoon, she was very eager to try her new tool. I offered to show her how it was done but she insisted, "I do it mine own myself." She soon discovered a worm in the dirt and declared it was yucky. Now if you know me well, you know I take great pride in having no fear of little creepy crawly things. I once squashed a cockroach with my bare hand in front of a guy who mistakenly thought I needed to be protected from it just to prove a point. I can't have any daughter of mine afraid of a worm, so I picked him up and told her how cute he was and that he tickled my hand. Well that was it, she wanted that worm. I placed him in her hand and she giggled. She then took the worm on a tour of the yard before settling down on a rock. I heard her talking and asked what she had said. "I not talking to you. I talking to Lil' Worm," was her reply. She told the worm she loved him and then gave him a kiss. That's my girl. When it was time to go in, the trouble started. 

I had explained to Riley that worms live in the dirt and that they are very happy there. Despite this, she kept insisting that Lil' Worm wanted to come live in the house with her. I said he would be sad in the house but we could make a nice blanket out of leaves to keep him warm while he crawled back into the dirt. She gave in but sobbed as she covered him with leaves. She continued to sob for another ten minutes after we came back in the house. Only a promise to look for him later calmed her down. 

Wednesday we were out in the yard again. The first thing Riley wanted to do was look for Lil' Worm. We soon dug one up. I think Riley assumed this was the same one. Unfortunately this worm was not a hearty as the last one. After a few trips down the slide with Riley, she came to tell me, "Lil' Worm not wiggling any more. I think he sleeping." I agreed that he was (may he rest in peace) and we put him back in the dirt for a little nap. 

Update

I'm finally getting around to posting about the end of our trip. In my last post, I mentioned that we would get to see Colin again the following day. Jeff was able to go see him, but I spent the day sick in out hotel room. I had been feeling a little crummy on Wednesday evening and then was awake all night with an upset stomach. By morning I knew I wasn't going to be able to make the two hour ride out to our son's baby home. Jeff went by himself while I tried to get some sleep and recover. When Jeff returned, he reported that Colin was still covered in chicken pox. He was not feeling well and just wanted Jeff to walk around the room holding him. I was so disappointed that I was not able to go that day. 

I was feeling better by the afternoon thanks to some medicine another adoptive mom sent with Jeff when she heard I wasn't feeling well (God bless Emily!) Jeff and I had dinner that night with Emily and her sister and another adoptive family, Michael and Carrie. These were the first Americans we had run into on our trip. This is quite a change from two years ago when there were so many more Americans adopting from Russia. It was such a blessing to have the opportunity to hang out with these guys. There is a special kind of fellowship among adoptive parents. 

We left the following day for home. Actually, it is probably more accurate to say we left that night. We had an early flight out of Moscow so we had to leave the hotel at 2:00AM. I didn't sleep again that night. There wasn't much point when we had to get up at 1:00AM. I didn't feel the greatest again when we left for the airport and deteriorated from there. Our flight to Frankfurt was uneventful. When we arrived in Frankfurt, we discovered our plane was delayed so our three hour layover turned into a five hour layover. That's when I went from feeling crummy to outright sick. I actually had a conversation (silently) with myself that went something like this: "Come on, just throw up. You'll feel better. - Oh no! I hate throwing up. - But you're already in the restroom. Better in here than out there in front of hundreds of people. - There's people in here too. Besides, who wants to throw up in a public toilet? That's just sick. - You are sick. - That's beside the point. - Hey, I think the restroom just cleared out now's your chance. - Oh alright. Here I go. One, two . . . nope, not gonna do it." Did I mention I was running a fever too. I managed to make it home without embarrassing myself in front of hundreds of other travels who probably would have just assumed that since we were in Germany, I had just had a few too many of the local beers. 

Because of the delay in Frankfurt, we missed our flight from D.C. to Cleveland but were fortunate enough to get another flight three hours later. There were many others on our transatlantic flight who could not get connecting flights until the following day. In all, it took us about 29 hours to get home. I slept perhaps an hour or  two in a 60 hour period. I think that and the irregular meals contributed to my getting sick. Right now, we are anxiously awaiting our court date so we can return for trip two. Please pray that all our paperwork would be in place and that the judge would find everything acceptable. We have discovered that they are extremely particular about every piece of paperwork being perfect. Our agency even had us redo some paperwork because it had an extra staple hole in it. We're hoping to get our little guy home soon. 

Seeing Spots

March 19

Yesterday we signed the papers to petition to adopt. We also registered our son's new name. And the name is  . . . (drum roll please) . . . Colin Patrick. After months of deliberation we finally agreed on a name. Even though he will not officially become Colin until our court date, I will refer to him as such from here on out. 

We visited Colin yesterday and again today. He had a few more spots from the chicken pox yesterday. Today is another story. Our poor little guys is covered head to toe with spots. They have put more of that green medicine on him, and it looks like he's been attacked by a three year old with a Crayola marker. I could tell he wasn't feeling well. His eyes were red and he didn't have the energy he had the past few days. He was still in a good mood and smiled frequently. He fell asleep in my arms for a while so we didn't play as much, but I enjoyed just holding him. I cried when it was time to leave, thinking this would be the last time we got to see him on this trip, but we were informed later that we will be able to see him again tomorrow. 

We are able to visit Colin again because our meeting with the judge was moved up to today. We were informed of this on the way to see the judge. I'm not sure we made a good impression as we were saving our good clothes for our meeting tomorrow. We felt rather rushed and the translator was a bit awkward so I'm not sure our answers came across clearly. We are praying for a court date to be assigned quickly.

Meeting Our Boy

March 17 continued

We got to meet our little guy today. Seeing him has laid all my fears to rest. When he was first brought into the room, I thought he was going to cry, but he must have decided that we didn't seem too bad because he settled down quickly and grinned at us. He was quick to smile and laugh. We brought a toy and book with family photos in it. He enjoyed chewing on each of these. I'd love to post some pictures of him but can't until he's officially ours. I will say though that he has thick, dark hair and large brown eyes with long lashes that are going to melt the hearts of the ladies. He's terribly small but we'll bulk him up when he gets home. We have been told that there is an outbreak of chicken pox in his groupa, and he has a spot on his forehead that has been treated with some kind of green medicine that makes it look as if someone took a marker to his head. Despite this, he seems to be in good spirits. He is a sweet little guy and I am throughly in love with him. 

Our boy is in the same orphanage that Riley lived in. We were happy to see many familiar faces there including two doctors, the social worker, and several caregivers. They were all enthusiastic about the photos we brought of Riley and remarked about how much she's grown and how beautiful she is. Speaking of my little munchkin, I am so homesick for her.  My friend Becky is watching her during the day and my parents are taking care of her in the evenings. Jeff and I talked to Riley briefly today while she was at the Lee's. She said something along the lines of, "Hi, I pwaying wiff Effan. Bye." Oh well, at least she's keeping busy. Thanks, Becky!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

These next few posts I wrote while we were in Russia. I didn't have the patience to try to post from the tiny little keyboard on Jeff's Blackberry so I wrote them out the old fashioned way to type later. 

March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day. It's 2:30 in the morning? Can you guess what I'm doing (besides journaling)? If you said sitting in the bathtub at the Moscow Raddison playing Sodoku, you're right. In the last 36 hours I've had about 5 hours of sleep. I was going to take a Sominex when we got to the hotel, but I thought surely, after 19 hours of travel, I wouldn't need any help falling asleep. Well I was right. I just forgot about the staying asleep part. When I woke up, I started thinking about seeing our son for the first time today, and that was the end of sleep. 

We were blessed with smooth travel. I was nervous about making all the connecting flights, especially our last one as we only had an hour and a half layover in Poland, and our plane left Chicago an hour and a half late. By the grace of God, they were just starting to board the plane for Moscow as we got through the last security check. 

I have decided that transatlantic travel does not hold the same joy for me that it used to. I thought I would go crazy on flight from Chicago to Warsaw. I had the middle seat (Why does that always happen to me?) that seemed to grow smaller as the flight wore on. It didn't help when the large man in the seat next to me fell asleep and started spilling over the arm rest. Now I know it's common for travelers to complain about airplane food, but I'm convinced that no one has earned the right to complain until they have flown Polish Airways. What little food there was, was horrible. We were starving by the time we reached Moscow in the evening. We hadn't eaten a real meal since lunch the day before. We might have perished if not for the candy bars the Lees sent with us. We we too tired to go forage for food so we splurged and ordered room service. It is no exaggeration to call it a splurge. Moscow is considered the most expensive city in the world and the falling value of the dollar does little to help matters. It was $52 for two cheeseburgers and french fries. I wanted a milkshake too but that would have been another $16. I don't know if it was our extreme hunger or the cost of the meal, but that was one of the best burgers I've had in a long time. We are heading out to our region today, so that should bring some relief from cost of staying here. 

We were expecting to see our son on Tuesday, but when we arrived, we were informed that we would see him today. I am so excited and nervous. There are so many uncertainties like how will he react to us, what will his personality be like, and the dreaded question - will there be anything that would prevent us from proceeding? We just need to leave things to God's plan. He has caused so many doors to miraculously open so that we would not miss this opportunity. I suppose the lyrics of a Caedmon's Call song are appropriate now.

"And I know the plans that you have for me

And you can't plan the end and not plan the means

And so I suppose I just need some peace

Just to get me to sleep."

Insomnia

It's now 40 minutes into Thursday morning and I'm still up. We are T minus 2 days before our first trip to Russia. Just when I'm ready to settle down for the night, I start thinking about all the things I don't want to forget to do before we leave. Then when I've exhausted that list, I start to worry about all the things that are completely out of my control like theoretical flight delays that could make us miss our connecting flight in Warsaw or the ever dropping value of the dollar. This reminds me of Riley's adoption a little over two years ago. I don't think I slept more than a few hours each night we were in Russia. I frequently ended up doing Sodoku puzzles in the bathtub of our hotel room at 3:00 am -I didn't want to disturb Jeff. Phillipians 4:6 says to "be anxious for nothing." I'm usually better at that. I know that God has everything planned. I just need to remember that it's not my job to make sure those plans are carried out. He only asks me to trust. 

On a lighter note, I offered Riley a little spoonful of marshmallow cream while we were making a cake. She was a little suspicious of the thick, white substance at first, but after taking a taste she declared, "Mmmmmm, dats a good spoon licker!" 

Flirting with the bag boy

While at the grocery store today, Riley leaned out of the cart, smiled at the bag boy, and said, "You a silly goose." He replied, " No I'm not. You're a silly goose." She came right back at him with a, "Noooooo, you a silly silly goose." This continued on for about a minute before Riley collapsed into giggles. She smiled and waved at him the whole way out the door. I don't know which is worse - that she's trying to flirt with the bag boys at Buehlers already, or that she's better at it at 3 than I was at 17. 

Here's a picture of Riley from last week. She was very proud of her snowman. I thought we had finished him nicely but Riley saw fit to embellish him with a few additional ears on the back of his head.

I finally did it!

OK, I finally started a blog. I've been  been meaning to do this for quite some time but just never got around to it. I enjoy reading my friends blogs a great deal, especially those friends who live far away. It helps me feel more connected to them in an every day sort of way. So here I am. I make no promises about the frequency of my posts, and anyone who knows me should know better than to expect anything beyond random ramblings. My hope is that this blog gives you an enjoyable glimpse into my family's little world.

And now an explanation about the name of my blog . . . A dacha is a Russian summer house. It is a home away from home. Thats how I think of my house. It is temporary dwelling as I await my permanent home in heaven. Dóchas is the Irish word for hope. The Lord fills my days with hope for myself and my family- hope for my children's futures, hope that present adversity will pass, hope that He will make me into someone greater than I am now, and hope for the life to come.