We had only a VERY brief visit with Olga--three hours one afternoon--during our first trip in July. Fortunately, we got to spend the previous day with Nina!
Tuesday, July 30, 2002
Getting Acquainted During Our First Trip ~ July 2002
We had only a VERY brief visit with Olga--three hours one afternoon--during our first trip in July. Fortunately, we got to spend the previous day with Nina!
Wednesday, July 17, 2002
Pictures - Meeting Our Girls
This picture was taken during our first trip to Russia in one of the govt. offices while we were signing the necessary documents declaring our intent to adopt Olga and Nina. Olga is 12 and Nina is 8.5 I'm certain that behind those beautiful smiles there are lots of questions and fears.
Sunday, July 14, 2002
First Trip - Day Three: Moscow!
July 14, 2002 - We arrived in Moscow at the Sheremetyevo airport. I've got to tell you, looking out the airplane window at the landscape of RUSSIA was surreal, then arriving at the airport was like stepping back in time!
It's late right now (real time!!), so I'll add "the rest of the story" tomorrow!
Saturday, July 13, 2002
First Trip - Day Two: JFK to Frankfurt, to Moscow
July 13, 2002 (Saturday)- After spending a restless night in NYC, this morning we were up early and on our way to the JFK airport where we would board a Lufthansa flight arriving in Frankfurt, Germany the next day, Sunday. From there, we'd catch a flight to Moscow!
Having flown large and small U.S. airlines the Germany Lufthansa plane and service were beyond our expectations--really nice for the 8+ hrs. to Frankfurt.
We arrived at the Frankfurt airport VERY early in the a.m. and waited for our flight to Moscow. The airport was nice and clean and soooooo quiet that early in the morning. As we sat in a waiting area, I noticed a "beer house" not far down the corridor. I commented to John that we'd see how serious Germans are about their beer if they opened the beer house early that morning--and on a Sunday (I was raised in the Bible Belt, you know!!). Sure enough, around 7:30 or 8:00 they were open for business--what a hoot! We decided that we'd pass on the opportunity to taste real Germany beer that early in the morning!
When we boarded our flight to Moscow the plane was not nearly as luxurious or large--understandable--and we quickly noticed that we were apparently the only native English speakers on the flight! Even though we both have traveled outside of the U.S. and have been around foreign languages, this was the beginning of "culture shock" for us, and the beginning of our "reality check" as we neared our much anticipated destination.
Friday, July 12, 2002
First Trip - Leavin' for Russia!
July 12, 2002 (Friday) Here we are in front of our local airport just four days after receiving "the call" telling us that we could go meet our girls! We departed in the afternoon, had a short lay-over in St. Louis, then spent the night in New York City at the cheapest (and safest) place we could find near the airport, a Comfort Inn! The flight for both of us from home to NYC was a 'gift' from dear friends who wanted to help us with our travel expenses and GAVE us their frequent flyer miles--God's amazing grace and provision!
Monday, July 08, 2002
"THE" phone call!
July 8, 2002 (Monday) It was like any other Monday--until about 8:30 a.m. John and I drove in to work together, I arrived early, greeted coworkers and chatted briefly about their weekend adventures, and then got busy in my office.
Around 8:30 I answered my phone, on the other end of the line was Jodi S. from our adoption agency. Her first words were, "Connie, are you sitting down?" When I told her that I was sitting down, she replied, "Seriously, are you sitting down?" I assured her that I was in fact sitting down. Jodi proceeded by saying, "You both will need to be in Moscow on the 14th, on the 15th you'll fly from Moscow to Yekaterinburg where you'll meet the girls and sign the necessary paperwork. You'll spend the night in Yekaterinburg and return to Moscow on the 16th. You'll leave Moscow on the 17th and return to the U.S."
After hearing this little itinerary I casually commented, "In August, right?" Jodi then said, "No, July!", to which I responded, "THAT'S THIS WEEKEND!!!!!" Once the reality of this timetable sank into my brain I asked Jodi to repeat everything she'd already told me! We discussed various details, instructions regarding obtaining our visas, suggested flight plans, details about our host families in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, and various other matters.
I got off the phone and immediately called John at his office! He was just like me--in a state of shock and disbelief! We had known things could--and most likely would--move rather quickly at some point, but up until now we'd understood that our turn would most likely not come until August or September!
After telling John, I eagerly told my boss and coworkers--all of whom were very excited for us. My boss suggested that I take the rest of the day off, and I didn't argue. I tied up as many loose ends as possible in my office that morning and decided to have lunch with John--which normally was working out together at the YMCA nearby.
After our "working lunch" together, I headed for home and began to operate what I lovingly began to call "command central" because not only was I emailing and phoning friends and family to share our news, I was working the phone and internet trying to arrange flights for halfway around the world in less than a week!
Around 8:30 I answered my phone, on the other end of the line was Jodi S. from our adoption agency. Her first words were, "Connie, are you sitting down?" When I told her that I was sitting down, she replied, "Seriously, are you sitting down?" I assured her that I was in fact sitting down. Jodi proceeded by saying, "You both will need to be in Moscow on the 14th, on the 15th you'll fly from Moscow to Yekaterinburg where you'll meet the girls and sign the necessary paperwork. You'll spend the night in Yekaterinburg and return to Moscow on the 16th. You'll leave Moscow on the 17th and return to the U.S."
After hearing this little itinerary I casually commented, "In August, right?" Jodi then said, "No, July!", to which I responded, "THAT'S THIS WEEKEND!!!!!" Once the reality of this timetable sank into my brain I asked Jodi to repeat everything she'd already told me! We discussed various details, instructions regarding obtaining our visas, suggested flight plans, details about our host families in Moscow and Yekaterinburg, and various other matters.
I got off the phone and immediately called John at his office! He was just like me--in a state of shock and disbelief! We had known things could--and most likely would--move rather quickly at some point, but up until now we'd understood that our turn would most likely not come until August or September!
After telling John, I eagerly told my boss and coworkers--all of whom were very excited for us. My boss suggested that I take the rest of the day off, and I didn't argue. I tied up as many loose ends as possible in my office that morning and decided to have lunch with John--which normally was working out together at the YMCA nearby.
After our "working lunch" together, I headed for home and began to operate what I lovingly began to call "command central" because not only was I emailing and phoning friends and family to share our news, I was working the phone and internet trying to arrange flights for halfway around the world in less than a week!
Adoption Update - July 8, 2002
I tried to email some of you from work today, but am not sure the message actually reached its many destinations!
I (we) received "the call" this a.m. telling us that we travel on our first trip THIS SATURDAY!
Of course we're busy getting things together and trying to work out the last minute flight details. We are beyond happy and excited, as I'm sure you can imagine. Please remember us in your prayers! ---Connie & John
I (we) received "the call" this a.m. telling us that we travel on our first trip THIS SATURDAY!
Of course we're busy getting things together and trying to work out the last minute flight details. We are beyond happy and excited, as I'm sure you can imagine. Please remember us in your prayers! ---Connie & John
Sunday, June 09, 2002
Adoption update - June 2002
Dear Friends,
We thought this would be a good time to send out an adoption update since our dossier (the required paperwork that introduces us to the Russian officials) is now in the hands of our agency, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, we have found another young girl we hope to adopt!
Our dossier arrived at our agency last Monday (06/03). After they review it, it will be forwarded to Russia (possibly next week) and eventually delivered to the officials in the region from which we hope/plan to adopt Olga and Nina!
Here’s what we know about Nina: she is 8 yrs. old, she likes to draw and color, she likes to dance, her favorite subject in school is math, she makes all A's in math, as a matter of fact, she is proud of the fact that she makes all A's in all her subjects at school, she likes "to make hairdos" on dolls, and she has been described as being very responsible and a leader, even among the boys!
The children at the orphanage are all at summer camp now and will be till late August. We understand that this will not necessarily delay or hinder our adoption process, but only time will tell. Once the regional officials review our dossier and determine exactly when both girls are officially available for adoption they will let us know when our first trip will be. It is very unlikely that we will receive more than a 10-day notice to travel. Wow! Won’t that be a hoot! We are still anticipating that our first trip will be in August which will last only about a week. We will go back and officially adopt the girls three to eight weeks later, that trip will last about three weeks.
Our hearts continue to bind to Olga, she is reportedly scared, as any 12 yr. old would be, but she is looking forward to her parents (us!) coming to get her! Here’s what we know about Olga: she just turned 12, she likes to read, she likes to crochet/knit and sew, she doesn’t like to ride a bicycle because she doesn’t know how (we’re looking forward to helping her learn!), she has a sweet, quiet, personality and tends to ponder things before acting, and she likes to take long walks.
Now that the major paperwork phase has past (there will be MORE paperwork later), we are focusing on getting things here at home ready for the girls. We’re clearing out our spare bedroom so we can paint the walls and make room in the closet for all the"girl stuff" for TWO girls! We’ve already received some very kind donations for our girls, a set of twin head and foot boards for their beds (we have located one inexpensive used twin mattress set, please let us know if you know of anyone wanting to sell a gently used set), and clothing for Olga! We continue to work on our Russian (we’re actually enjoying that!), we’re planning our approach to homeschool the girls, and we pray daily that the Lord will protect our girls till we can bring them home!
Oh, here’s a bit of trivia (that only an adoptive mother would mention!), Olga’s b-day is 6 days from Connie's b-day, and Nina's is 6 days from John's! Isn't that a hoot? As always, we appreciate your continued prayers on our behalf and our girls. Please pray specifically for their well-being physically and emotionally, pray for their spiritual condition that the Lord would even now prepare their hearts for the true gospel, that the Lord would be pleased to continue building in them a desire for a family, and that He would bind us together as a family as only He can do. Much love, John & Connie
We thought this would be a good time to send out an adoption update since our dossier (the required paperwork that introduces us to the Russian officials) is now in the hands of our agency, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, we have found another young girl we hope to adopt!
Our dossier arrived at our agency last Monday (06/03). After they review it, it will be forwarded to Russia (possibly next week) and eventually delivered to the officials in the region from which we hope/plan to adopt Olga and Nina!
Here’s what we know about Nina: she is 8 yrs. old, she likes to draw and color, she likes to dance, her favorite subject in school is math, she makes all A's in math, as a matter of fact, she is proud of the fact that she makes all A's in all her subjects at school, she likes "to make hairdos" on dolls, and she has been described as being very responsible and a leader, even among the boys!
The children at the orphanage are all at summer camp now and will be till late August. We understand that this will not necessarily delay or hinder our adoption process, but only time will tell. Once the regional officials review our dossier and determine exactly when both girls are officially available for adoption they will let us know when our first trip will be. It is very unlikely that we will receive more than a 10-day notice to travel. Wow! Won’t that be a hoot! We are still anticipating that our first trip will be in August which will last only about a week. We will go back and officially adopt the girls three to eight weeks later, that trip will last about three weeks.
Our hearts continue to bind to Olga, she is reportedly scared, as any 12 yr. old would be, but she is looking forward to her parents (us!) coming to get her! Here’s what we know about Olga: she just turned 12, she likes to read, she likes to crochet/knit and sew, she doesn’t like to ride a bicycle because she doesn’t know how (we’re looking forward to helping her learn!), she has a sweet, quiet, personality and tends to ponder things before acting, and she likes to take long walks.
Now that the major paperwork phase has past (there will be MORE paperwork later), we are focusing on getting things here at home ready for the girls. We’re clearing out our spare bedroom so we can paint the walls and make room in the closet for all the"girl stuff" for TWO girls! We’ve already received some very kind donations for our girls, a set of twin head and foot boards for their beds (we have located one inexpensive used twin mattress set, please let us know if you know of anyone wanting to sell a gently used set), and clothing for Olga! We continue to work on our Russian (we’re actually enjoying that!), we’re planning our approach to homeschool the girls, and we pray daily that the Lord will protect our girls till we can bring them home!
Oh, here’s a bit of trivia (that only an adoptive mother would mention!), Olga’s b-day is 6 days from Connie's b-day, and Nina's is 6 days from John's! Isn't that a hoot? As always, we appreciate your continued prayers on our behalf and our girls. Please pray specifically for their well-being physically and emotionally, pray for their spiritual condition that the Lord would even now prepare their hearts for the true gospel, that the Lord would be pleased to continue building in them a desire for a family, and that He would bind us together as a family as only He can do. Much love, John & Connie
Saturday, May 11, 2002
Finding Nina
Like our oldest daughter, Olga, we were first "introduced" to our youngest daughter, Nina, through email! An American couple was in the region adopting children from a different town, but kindly offered to visit our Olga at her orphanage.
While there, they videoed some of the girls--one in particular (Nina) who had been personally recommended to us by the orphanage director:
May 2002 - email from the Director (translated through an online translator):
"I advise to adopt Nina. To it(her) of 8 years. She(it) very well goes to school. Helps adults. She(it) very careful girl. The leader! Likes to play dolls and to sew him(it) clothes."
May 11, 2002 - email from the American couple:
"(Director) was also very happy that you are considering another girl. Her first choice for you was a cute little girl (I believe 7) named Nina. She has short brown hair cut into a bob with bangs. She wears glasses and is very proud of herself because she gets all 5's, or straight A's. She said her favorite subject is mathematics. She also likes to draw. You will see her in the video. There are some really great kids there...They each were rewarded a banana for doing the interview. It was so great!"
We quickly informed the orphanage director that Nina was our choice for daughter #2! For a week or more these two brief email messages provided ALL that we knew about "our" Nina, but we still knew that she was OURS!
After the American couple returned home to the States they sent us a copy of the video, and our Nina was the first one interviewed! In the video she was soft spoken and seemed very shy--my how that has changed over time! She recited a Russian poem, "Nasha Tanya" (which she still can recite!) and was very helpful with a younger girl who was later interviewed on the video.
This first "glimpse" of Nina has provided our family lots of cute ways and opportunities to laugh and smile together. For instance, in the video when asked about school Nina boasts that she gets "5's" (A's) "su-vrah-mah", which means "all the time". We quote her often when the occasion arises and she just smiles! We also like to prompt her a bit to get her to recite, "Nasha Tanya"--it's so cute to hear her speaking in Russian!
While there, they videoed some of the girls--one in particular (Nina) who had been personally recommended to us by the orphanage director:
May 2002 - email from the Director (translated through an online translator):
"I advise to adopt Nina. To it(her) of 8 years. She(it) very well goes to school. Helps adults. She(it) very careful girl. The leader! Likes to play dolls and to sew him(it) clothes."
May 11, 2002 - email from the American couple:
"(Director) was also very happy that you are considering another girl. Her first choice for you was a cute little girl (I believe 7) named Nina. She has short brown hair cut into a bob with bangs. She wears glasses and is very proud of herself because she gets all 5's, or straight A's. She said her favorite subject is mathematics. She also likes to draw. You will see her in the video. There are some really great kids there...They each were rewarded a banana for doing the interview. It was so great!"
We quickly informed the orphanage director that Nina was our choice for daughter #2! For a week or more these two brief email messages provided ALL that we knew about "our" Nina, but we still knew that she was OURS!
After the American couple returned home to the States they sent us a copy of the video, and our Nina was the first one interviewed! In the video she was soft spoken and seemed very shy--my how that has changed over time! She recited a Russian poem, "Nasha Tanya" (which she still can recite!) and was very helpful with a younger girl who was later interviewed on the video.
This first "glimpse" of Nina has provided our family lots of cute ways and opportunities to laugh and smile together. For instance, in the video when asked about school Nina boasts that she gets "5's" (A's) "su-vrah-mah", which means "all the time". We quote her often when the occasion arises and she just smiles! We also like to prompt her a bit to get her to recite, "Nasha Tanya"--it's so cute to hear her speaking in Russian!
Friday, May 10, 2002
"Olga is in the hospital!" (little did we know that it was an attempted suicide)
Another adoptive mom who was in regular contact with Olga's orphanage director sent me this email in early May 2002:
"Olga is in the hospital!" She went on to explain that she'd been told that Olga ate some cake from a recent celebration (probably "Victory Day" on May 9th) that had been left out and gone bad.
Then, the next day we received this in an email from an American couple adopting in the same region--they'd offered to go by our orphanage to meet our Olga and take some birthday gifts we sent and make some videos for us:
"We went to the orphanage again today. We could not see Olga as she was in the hospital with a stomach flu. (Director) said she will be fine."
We never questioned these explanations, we had no reason to do so at the time. However, you can imagine our surprise when Olga told us the real story just 5 or 6 months after becoming our daughter--this had been her second suicide attempt in just a few weeks. We can only assume that the Director did not want to alarm us or cause us to have any reservations about adopting Olga.
"Olga is in the hospital!" She went on to explain that she'd been told that Olga ate some cake from a recent celebration (probably "Victory Day" on May 9th) that had been left out and gone bad.
Then, the next day we received this in an email from an American couple adopting in the same region--they'd offered to go by our orphanage to meet our Olga and take some birthday gifts we sent and make some videos for us:
"We went to the orphanage again today. We could not see Olga as she was in the hospital with a stomach flu. (Director) said she will be fine."
We never questioned these explanations, we had no reason to do so at the time. However, you can imagine our surprise when Olga told us the real story just 5 or 6 months after becoming our daughter--this had been her second suicide attempt in just a few weeks. We can only assume that the Director did not want to alarm us or cause us to have any reservations about adopting Olga.
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