Medical Exams & Such

Day two and we were off to get our medical exams done.  As part of the new adoption treaty with the U.S., Gabe's country is requiring all adoptive parents to complete and 8-point medical exam here to ensure we're healthy both physically and mentally to adopt.  We went to the medical clinic at 10:00 this morning and didn't finish until 3:00 this afternoon.  Whew!

The medical exams take place in this combined hospital/clinic.  We started out here, in the lobby, while our facilitator registered us.  From there, we hopped from floor to floor, office to office to see: lab tech (for bloodwork), x-ray (for chest x-ray), cardiologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, pulmonologist, dermatologist, general surgeon, and two others I can't remember because I am only half awake right now.

The clinic was a busy place, with many parts under construction, and patients waiting outside the doctor's offices.  It is set up differently than here  in the states.  There are no receptionists or nurses, per say.  You wait right outside the doctor's exam rooms, which are also their offices, and when their green light above the door turns on, you enter.

Here I am half awake waiting to see the psychiatrist.  He didn't think I was crazy, which is always good. :)  

Brian waiting to see the psychiatrist.  He wondered why Brian never takes vacations. He didn't think it was normal! Tell me about it!

This is what most of the hallways looked like.  Pretty similar to hospital offices in the U.S.

 The good news is we seemed to pass the exams with flying colors!  Finally, we were free to go.  

Dear Olga met us in the lobby and we had plans to visit the Kremlin, specifically the armory.  It was amazing.  If you ever make it to this part of the world, you MUST visit the Kremlin.  There are so many artifacts it is mind-boggling.  I particularly loved the dresses from the likes of Catherine the Great.  The waists on some of these dresses were impossibly small.  Some of the coronation dresses had beautiful long trains.    

The outside of the armory inside the Kremlin walls.

There was also a room full of carriages (think Cinderella on steroids).  Oh my, would Kennedy and Leah LOVE it here.  Olga and I picked out perfect carriages for Gabe, Jake & the girls.  The details on everything were incredible.  It was such a surreal feeling to be standing in the same room as the Faberge Eggs-how many James Bond type movies have been made about stealing the Faberge eggs?!  

Pictures are not allowed in the armory, unfortunately.  I bought a bunch of post cards though so I could share them with my kids.  I will leave you with some photos because, frankly, I am about to pass out from tiredness right here in the lobby of our hotel, so I am going to go sleep!  Good night!  In the morning we get to see Gabe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're Here!

You would think that after doing this once, I wouldn't be staying up until 1:00 a.m. getting ready to leave again, but that's just what we did.  Why do I think I can clean the house, pack up the kids, buy groceries, and pack ourselves all in a matter of hours?  I was actually doing really good Saturday morning and got a lot done.  I remember thinking, "ha, there's no way I'll be up until 1:00 this time!  This will be great!  I'll get to bed by 9:00, feel super rested and ready to travel in the morning."  Well, as I crawled into bed at 1:00 a.m. I laughed at myself and my naivete and then crashed for a whopping three and a half hours until the alarm started screaming.  Ugh.  

So, first flight was from Boise to Salt Lake City.  I fell asleep almost immediately, but woke to the most beautiful sunrise over the Wasatch Mountains.  The sky behind the mountains was pink, the mountains themselves dusted on top with snow, the lake glowing pink from the sunrise-lit sky.  Utah is my first home, and the longer I live the more I realize how lucky I was to grow up in such a beautiful place.  

From Salt Lake we flew to Houston, where we were greeted with 70 humid degrees and sunshine.  Coming in for landing I thought I was going to suffocate from the heat on the small commuter plane we were on.  Note to self, next time check the size of the plane before booking.  The plane in the photo below was huge (not ours).  The Houston airport is busy and great for people watching.

Speaking of people watching, get a load of the cutest little girl ever, who was waiting for our flight on Singpore Air.  If I could have brought her home with me, I would have in a second.  Her parents may have had a problem with this, however :)   She was so cute watching the planes and laughing at Brian's goofy faces.  But I digress...

This is what we were greeted with when we arrive in Gabe's city:

Beautiful, snowy winter.  Big snowflakes falling down, people in their traditional fur hats, and scenery we have seen before completely transformed with a dusting of white.  

Why, thank you for welcoming me back with your chocolate  hazlenut goodness! 

I think Red Square may be more beautiful in winter than it was in fall.  Or just a different kind of beautiful.  We are really hoping to get to go inside this trip.  I was reading our tourist book on the way over, and am so excited to get to see places and things that are as old as the 1200's.  I read about Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, the Romanov's, and St. Basil's cathedral.  This city has so much history, we could spend the entire week sightseeing and not even scratch the surface.  That building on the left is the home of the President.  

This is the view from our hotel room.  The spires in the distance are Red Square.  It is a beautiful view!

I need to find out more about this church out our window.  Isn't is pretty?  The snow just seems to add charm to everything.

We decided to try a hotel this trip to see which would be best for our final trip, an apartment or a hotel, when Gabriel is with us for several days before we come home.  Let's just say that when I saw this big, clean, comfy bed, I crashed hard.  Our room is just lovely, very, very nice.  We feel very spoiled. 

This is the view we woke up to after our nap.  Red Square is lit up in the distance.  I think it will be worth an evening stroll to see it at night.  

This is the view from where I am sitting now, in the lobby of our hotel.  It is gorgeous!  

And there's Brian, in the lobby.  It's very modern and comfortable.  I can't wait to try the breakfast buffet in the morning! 

So here is our schedule for the week:

Tuesday: our medical exams.  We get to be examined by no less than eight doctors to check everything from our neurological health, to x-rays of our lungs, to the condition of our heart.  Should be interesting!

Wednesday: We get to see our boy!!!

Thursday: In the morning we get to visit Gabe again (yay!  We were originally told we would only have one visit this trip, so this was a great surprise for us to hear!) In the afternoon is our court hearing.  We are excited, nervous, anxious, an everything in between.  If you think of it, will you pray for us?  We believe that even good thoughts are prayers of the heart, and would appreciate any that you could send our way Thursday.  

Friday: go home.  

Quick trip this time around, with lots to do and see.

Time to go find something to eat!  Paka!

Tonight

I packed my bags, methodically, my thoughts drifting back to trip one, what was needed, what could have been left behind.  I throw in my travel pillow, chocolate bar, gum and magazines.  I leave out the novel I'd hoped to read on the plane last time, knowing my thoughts will be too scattered to focus on a novel.  I smile as I pack new things: a size 2T shirt, two small hats, the most adorable little boy shoes.  This trip I get to dress him, see what size of clothes I get to come home and hang in his closet.  This trip, he will officially become a brother, a son.  

I procrastinate cleaning my home, getting it ready for the incredibly nice man who will stay here and run our small business while we're gone.  I load the dishwasher, scrub the floors, clean the toilets.  I pack my kids' clothes and toothbrushes and try not to think about how much my heart will miss them. The past two weeks I've talked to them about leaving again, answering their questions and giving extra hugs and playtime.  I want to tell them that soon, mom won't always be thinking about paperwork, judges, timelines, and emails.  Soon, we will be focusing on our new family.

I remember driving to the hospital with the impending births of all three of my children.  I anticipated the relief associated with giving birth, feeling my body breathe for the first time in months with all that new space.  I remember the moment I laid eyes on them.  I remember being amazed that my heart could immediately love such a tiny, noisy little being I had never seen before.

I think about the miracle of adoption.  A mother's love for and bond with her child has been well documented for centuries, from the way a mother's scent is immediately known to the newborn, to the way a child's cry can let the mother's milk down.  There are physiological designs in our bodies that make us care for our children, and that make them love us just as much.  Adoption has none of these physiological designs.  A stranger's child, someone else's mother, are suddenly put together and called "family."  By all accounts, this new bond should never become as strong as a biological mother and child.  And yet, here I sit, my heart aching to hold my son.  When I think of his face, his smile, I feel that same burning inside that I felt when I'd think of my newborn children.  I feel the bonding taking place in my heart, in my soul, and it is miraculous.  How does one explain this?  It is easy to explain biological bonding, but adoption-bonding, that is a miracle.  I believe in miracles.

Tonight I think about our big court day.  We will stand in front of a judge who will question us about so many things: what is our income?  Why are we adopting when we can have children of our own?  Why adopt a child from Russia?  Why a child with Down syndrome?  Are we sure we don't want another child, one without a disability?  What if we don't like him, will we send him back (it hurts to know that this is a standard question)?  I think about our answers for such questions.  Six years ago our lives were set on a path we didn't choose, but a path we are so grateful to have traveled.  It has not always been an easy path.  Like anything that fundamentally changes us, it has been first a source of deep pain and then indescribable joy.  Our eyes have been opened to the needs of others.  Our focus has shifted from ourselves to that of all disadvantaged people. We see the importance of the right of all to live their lives to the fullest.  So when the judge asks us, "why?" we will tell him/her, "because every child deserves to live in a family.  Every child is worthy of love.  We can give that to this child.  We can provide for him, not only financially, but emotionally.  We will provide all that he needs to live up to his greatest potential."

Tonight I am happy to think about  holding a boy who has so much love to give.  I am happy to think about telling the judge and the world that this child is worthy of all of the same love and affection as my other children.  I am happy.  I am grateful.

See you on the other side of the world.

First Trip Video

I've been wanting to make a video montage of our first trip ever since we returned, but it's been a little crazy around here!  I finally put one together last night.  Yes, the song repeats itself, but I didn't have time to go search for a new one.  Ah, such is life!  I hope you enjoy it.

Video Montage

I've been wanting to make a video of our first trip, but with everything going on, it just hasn't happened...until now.  Yes, I had to repeat the same song twice, but I'm running out of time!  We're heading to be with family for Thanksgiving, and as soon as we return we are on our way to our boy!  I hope you enjoy this video as much as I do.  I miss him so much.

A couple thoughts.

I wrote this several weeks ago but never published it, as I was planning on writing more, but that never happened, so here it is :)  There is a new post from today below this one, so read on!  Sorry I have been MIA lately, but you'll soon read why...

I am not feeling great today.  It's been coming on for a couple of days.  A scratchy throat, a dull headache that came to a head today after church.  As I sit on my couch, forced to slow down my body and hence my mind, I am enjoying a moment to think about the many incredible things I have been a part of since this adoption began.

When I originally posted on this blog about our yard sale fundraiser, I received an email from a woman named Aubrey, who told me she knew all about Reece's Rainbow and wanted to drop off some clothes for us to sell and to say hello.  As we emailed back and forth about a good time to meet up, I thought she had a cute personality and seemed so nice and friendly.  When we actually met, we discovered that we had a lot in common, including some mutual friends.  Of course, Aubrey ended up being one of the consipirators who helped make the "miracle playhouse" a reality, forever changing our lives in so many ways.  Not only would that playhouse signal the end of worrying so much about the financial aspects of the adoption, but it changed how I see people in general.  Here were two complete strangers (Christy & Aubrey), two very busy mothers of young children, making huge sacrifices for a family they didn't even know, for a child who they had never even met.  Christy and Aubrey spent every weekend for a month at that playhouse, being rejected over and over for donations.  They told me it was so interesting to see that those who obviously had plenty of money were the most likely to reject them.  One man, who they say looked like he had very little to call his own, actually went over to an ATM to get money out of his bank account to donate.  Wow.  Would I have been like that man before this experience?  I hope I would.  I know I would now.

 I know I can make a difference with $5.00, with one blanket, with a tube of diaper rash cream.  Things that we see as nothing really, are really something.  If you didn't go read my friend Amy's post about how the little things can profoundly change a life,please go read it now.  You won't regret it.  In fact, it might make you look at the world with new eyes.  One of my sweet nieces has been wanting to help with our adoption.  She's read and heard about all of the huge, dramatic events that have happened throughout our adoption process, and was feeling overwhelmed about how she could do something like that.  Her mom read Amy's post and said, "I want to share this with her, to show her that something as small as a blanket can change the life of a child."  What a neat thing to show a child, that they can change the world.

We may not be able to do everything, but we can all do something.

We are still here & a court date!!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated.  The time has been flying by and we've been keeping incredibly busy gathering our final paperwork for court!  We leave very soon, and because of the new adoption treaty there have been numerous changes in the requirements for our adoption.  We have had to get new physical exams, and complete 70 HOURS of additional parent training, among other things.  As you can imagine, that has been our new life the past few weeks, lots and lots of reading and test-taking.  It has all been very good though, albeit daunting to think of all the possible challenges Gabriel might face.  But when I stop to think about it, I'm sure I would be just as daunted reading the life story of my biological children at their birth!  Honestly, every child comes with challenges, some completely overwhelming, and if we knew about them ahead of time no one would ever have children!  I am grateful for the additional training I've had because it makes me feel much more confident about bringing Gabriel into our home and lives.  I have tools and skills to take what comes, and we will learn about each other as we go and develop a new rhythm in our home.

What other things have we been up to lately?    Hmmm...let me think about that...

We asked Leah if she wanted to try riding Kennedy's old pedal bike.  She had been riding Jake's balance bike (pictured here) for a while and could balance really well for long distances.  So she took the challenge without ever thinking twice about it.

And just like that, she took off!  My big 3-year-old knows how to ride a bike.  She must have rode around our culdesac fifty times or more.  She, Jake & our neighbor boy rode from our driveway across the culdesac to a friend's house over and over and over.  It was the best thing ever to watch Leah's face as she became more and more confident.  I love being a mom in those moments!

Kennedy finished up her soccer season.  This was Brian's first year as her coach and he loved it!  It has always been a wish of his to coach his kids' soccer teams.  Next season I think we'll sign Leah up because she seems really interested in it.  We've asked Jake if he wants to and he's still on the fence about it.  We'll probably sign him up for some kind of sport because he likes to run and be active too.  We've heard about a great baseball program for kids with special needs that we're going to look into.  I love that we live in a community that has all kinds of options for all kinds of kids.

  

The fall days are beginning to come to a close, but not before some spectacular light and shadow shows from mother nature.  I have to admit that Idaho has some beautiful skies.

Of course there was Halloween, one of the kids' favorite holidays.  This was at our church's "Trunk-or-Treat", where they scored their first big cache of candy.  Brian and two other dads & their kids took all the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood later that night.  Needless to say, they had a great time, and I am STILL eating their candy.  I mean, ahem, they are still eating their candy.

I sure love these kids.  I can't imagine my life without them.  They are my greatest joy, and these days, my source of the best entertainment as well.  You should hear the conversations between Jake and Leah.  Leah calls Jake "Jakie buddy" now, it is so cute.  As soon as Jake gets home from school they pick up right where they left off the day before, playing pretend.  I think Leah will love having Gabriel here with her during the day.  I am betting they become quite the little buddies themselves.