Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Paper work Round 2

Well ... there has been so much going on lately and I haven't found a few minutes to update on all that has been happening ... NY shower... Stephen's 30th birthday and a new furbaby addition .. HAPPY ... that will come later .. I promise but the news for today is ... WE GOT THE LIST FOR ROUND 2 PAPERWORK ... this brings us one step closer to a court date and bringing our boys home!

We only need to update 8 or so documents:

1) Guardian Letter
2) Employment Letters for both
3) Updated FBI fingerprint letter for both (this came yesterday)
4) Updated Bank of America Letters
5) Updated letter from Town of Newburgh
6) Updated Medical forms
7) Updated state verification letters for physicians
8) State verification letter for Social Workers

The good news is the judge wants all of this by September 18th so we have to get as much done by the end of next week as possible. Once we get everything done it will be sent to Russia for translation and then it will go to the judge in Ekaterinburgh ... then we should get a court date ... if we don't get it sooner!!

Keep your fingers crossed we are able to pull all of this together quickly .. oh and did I mention that the beginning of the semester starts with freshman move in on Saturday and classes on Monday ... Yikes .... it will be hectic!!!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Our furbaby Tyson....



This is Tyson ... with Lucy just lovin him ...we are coming to the end of our chapter with Tyson ... he's very sick and is losing his battle to continue fighting, so I feel we need to give a post to Tyson so Roman and Max know who he was and how special he was to our family!

When I first started dating Stephen back in 2003 I met Tyson also. What a dog he was ... always excited to see me and loyal to both of us and as many of you know if Tyson like you he'd sit on your feet! The day I finally moved to NY .. Tyson showed my mother how much he loved her when he actually peed on her feet ... well then he sat down!

I've always grown up with dogs ... black labs mostly but Tyson was Stephen's first dog EVER ... he picked him at a shelter in NJ and as Stephen said ... Tyson taught him alot about life ... Loyalty, Patience and plain old unconidtional love.

Tyson has taught me a thing or two as well ... first it's called FURniture for a reason ... it's meant to have fur on it so I gave up the fight along time ago and just let Tyson sit where he wants ... that's why we have a vacuum after all! He's also taught me that dogs have a voice ... most of you have heard Tyson's ... and if given the chance they have A LOT to say! My most unforgettable moment with Tyson was in October 2006 when we miscarried ... I was crying and upset on the bed and Tyson just jumped up and put his head on my chest and said "it's okay LADY... I'm here with you"... for that I will always love this dog!!!

We will miss him and all he was in our family ... here's some "unforgettable" Tyson moments.






Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Yes ... we are still adopting.....

It's funny how much you get asked this question when people know you are adopting ... a few months ago I even bought a t-shirt I wear often that says

Yes, I am still adopting
No, I haven't heard anything
but each day brings me closer to my child!


If you like the saying ... check out this website ... they have SO many cute shirts about adopting ... http://shop.cafepress.com/adoption-russia

Anyway... I guess I'm posting this subject because I know so many people will be asking this question over the next few weeks because everyone knew we were at a stand still until the Russia judge returned on August 3rd and now that he's back to work everyone will want to know what we've heard.... us too!!!

We did talk with Vica, our Case Manager at WHFC today and she was able to tell us that our paperwork was given to the judge TODAY ... August 5th and it usually takes 4 - 6 weeks for him to review and make his request for updated information and court date informaton. She is still thinking we will get a court date some time in October and that works for us because that's what we've been hoping for since we left Russia on April 3rd!!! Fingers crossed the 4-6 week gauge is less maybe 2-4 but in the meantime we will continue to get ready for the boys and I'll continue to wear my shirt weekly so people know our status!!!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Month 4 Letter

Dear Roman and Maxim:

Today is August 3rd and that means that Papa and I have been home from Russia and our first meeting with you for 4 months!!! It's hard to believe how much has been going on since we left Yekaterinburgh on April 3rd and came back to New York. The most exciting thing about today is that OUR JUDGE HAS RETURNED FROM VACATION!!! Papa and I are hoping he comes back well rested and in a great mood and we hear something soon about our paperwork for a court day ... this is the next step in bringing you home!!!! We spoke with Vica last week and she said that one of three things may happen ... 1) the judge asks for updated paperwork ... 2) he asks for updated paperwork and assigns a court date ... or 3) he assigns a court date .... we'd really like to hear number 3 but we are prepared for another round of paperwork ... we've gotten really good at it so we will do it as quickly as possible and hopefully we will soon be on our way back to Russia to see your cutie patootie faces and bring you home!!

Your room is just about done ... we hung pictures on the walls this weekend and both Papa and I go into your room every so often and think about you being there one day soon! Lucy and Tyson are also going in and out of your room so they are getting ready for you too! Grammy finished your new curtains and brought them this weekend and hung them up for us... they look awesome!!!

Max ... your friend Nicholas from your first baby home came home with his parents in July and he is doing well ... he doesn't live to far away so once you are here we will get together with him so you can play!

Roman ... your cousins Billy and Nikolas are very excited for you to arrive and can't wait to meet you ... they ask about you all the time!!! I hope you like to play soccer because they do and I know they will want to teach you!!!

Each day is bringing us closer to having you home ... we hope "the" phone call to return to Russia is not to far away ... we miss you so much!!

Love, Mama and Papa