update

Well, we fixed one paperwork glitch, then the Russian Department of Education (which runs the orphanage system) found another. We have hopefully fixed it today and the document is in the mail. It involved Rob taking the day off to drive to Tallahassee, so we sure hope this will be the last of the re-doing paperwork for our initial application in the region.

Unfortunately, this may mean we need to wait one more week before we travel -- so we'd leave around May 16 instead of May 9. This is disappointing, but buying tickets this late would also be really expensive so maybe there is some advantage to waiting a week. (I'm just trying to convince myself - you know we would leave TOMORROW if we could!).

Meanwhile, we are finalizing the last few documents for bringing on our trip. The travel process will roughly go like this:

day 1: travel all day, including a 4-5 hour car ride from Moscow after we fly in
day 2: sleep/recover all day
day 3: meet our baby boy!!
day 4: visit him again!
day 5: hopefully visit him again and "sign on the dotted line" to request his name to be removed from the list of available children for adoption
day 6: travel back to Moscow (without our boy) and get our medical exam there
day 7: head home

There may be another day of buffer in there, but that is basically what the trip will look like.

I have heard the time after we get home is the worst - we will know our son and yet we will not be able to get him until we have a court date in Russia. Heart-wrenching! The wait is usually 1-2 months, so we hope to return in mid-late summer. However, you may remember that Russians take long summer vacations, so it will depend on what the judge's vacation schedule looks like. Friends of ours traveled on their first trip in late May last year and didn't get to go back until early August. We hope ours will go faster, but there are no guarantees.

I'll update the blog when our travel dates are finalized or when there is any news!

GOD IS GOOD!

We finally have some good news to share - it is REALLY good news. Brace yourself!!

The last-ditch effort in Russia has been successful! On Friday we were told that we will be invited to travel in May to meet a baby boy. He is 10 months old right now!! In fact, we were told to plan to leave on May 9! We will provide you more details as we finalize the trip, but for now just REJOICE with us!!!

However, this is Russian adoption, so there has already been one glitch - one form that needs updating - so we may be delayed by a week or so if we're not able to get it in time (yes, it's from the old home study agency - argh!). Please pray for that to work out easily this week. I have sent them a pleading email and will call tomorrow :) Please also pray for all the documents to work out that we need to bring with us.

We will post all kinds of details soon. Thanks for your prayers! God is faithful and he is opening a door for us!

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:18

moving along

We are feeling optimistic these days that something is going to work out for us. There may be more waiting involved, but we are gradually getting used to the idea.

There is a small chance that one last-ditch effort in Russia could work out. It is in a different region (one that allows adoption of children with minor/no health issues) and our paperwork has been moved there. We should know in about a week whether our case might move forward there.

The more likely scenario is that we will switch gears and seek a domestic adoption. We have been investigating many different options, and have found one very positive thing: we can get on waiting lists at several different attorney's offices and agencies at the same time. We have selected a few attorney's offices in Florida (all specializing in adoptions) and have also narrowed down to a couple of agencies (which have higher up-front fees, so we will probably just pick one). Getting on these waiting lists is very simple compared to the Russian paperwork, so we will be able to be set up within a matter of a couple of weeks.

How long of a wait will we be talking about? Well, in domestic adoption there is not really a "line" that we stand in. Instead, when a prospective birthmother meets with an adoption attorney/agency, she tells them what she prioritizes in an adoptive family and the attorney/agency gives her information about several families that might interest her. Then she can choose who she would like. Our hope is that we will be an appealing family so that we don't have to wait much more than a year or so. It can happen faster, but typical estimates are 12-18 months. We would probably be matched to the birthmother during her pregnancy and then bring home the baby from the hospital once she has signed her relinquishment (if she decides for sure to do it). Florida law is strong on making sure no adoptive family takes home a baby until it is certain that they will be allowed to keep him/her, so we have some comfort in that.

We'd appreciate your prayers on a few fronts:

* We need sound sleep. Both of us have had some trouble in the last couple of weeks as we've had to think about so many things as well as the regular daily commitments of life.

* We need a final answer on Russia within a week, and we need the strength to fully cut ties if this last effort does not succeed.

* We need wisdom in choosing a domestic adoption agency. We have met with one that we really like, but we're concerned because they are very new. There is a more established one that we could use, but we don't have a really great feeling about them.

* I need energy for these last 2 weeks of teaching/writing exams/grading exams/grading projects. Making decisions about the adoption takes a lot of energy and time, and I want to be sure to serve my students well. Similarly with research - I need to be keeping up better with coauthors on some projects that aren't moving forward at the pace I'd like.

Thanks so much for your encouragement and prayers! We will let you know when we take our next steps.

in case you're waiting for an update...

...we don't have too much to say. We have been exploring some possible open doors, but I don't want to give details here since nothing is set in stone. Suffice it to say, it looks like we are changing directions, and in some ways this is a big relief!

I'll post here when we have made any official decisions...for now, we are researching options while letting our current process sit where it is. Our alternatives look better than we expected, I think, and it is encouraging for us to know that there is still a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for keeping up with us on our slooooowwwwwww journey.