Patiently Waiting

Okay! We're home and getting back to a normal routine. The waiting is only slightly irritating right now, but can imagine the "slightly" quickly becoming something more as time goes by. There's not much to report, as our lives are typically uneventful. Caleb is excited about his new sister. He has pictures of her in his new picture frame and in his wallet so he can show his friends. Now the dilema is what to do in preparation for her arrival home. We know that nothing in this life is a guarantee, except the fact that we will all die someday. We pray for the call announcing our court date. Until then, we have a few papers to get ready, a trip to prepare for, and a son to keep us occupied. And there's always . . . the BLOG, or "sickness" as Jonah refers to it!

Home Again!

Moscow airport has a “special” line for wandering Americans (and Russians who will be doing the same in New York). Only 4.5 hours to New York, 3 hour layover, & 2 hrs to San Louey! After living on snickers, chips, and water for a week, guacamole, Qdoba, fruits & veggies, FRESH bread, cold mile & cereal make our mouths water.

Jonah took Dramamine and is conked out. He might even be drooling . . . I hope he wakes up eventually. He was aware of the possibility of being left wherever he fell. I have played one-too-many games of “jawbreaker” on the pocket pc and am going cross-eyed. I keep looking at the pictures of Lilia on the camera, completely amazed by this whole ordeal. When we married 9 years ago, neither of us would have ever believed we’d be doing this!

As this may be the last blog for a while, we want you all to know how much we looked forward to checking your comments on the blog every morning. Thanks for your prayers and support. The fun has just begun! We’ll update you all when we travel again.

Last Day

The last day in Astrakhan and our pants are finally appropriate for the weather. We finally were able to get to explore Astrakhan a little before leaving. It’s amazing how busy we were . . . waiting for info, rides, visits, etc.

We had our last visits with Lilia yesterday. She was lively and smiley. She grew tired toward the end of the afternoon visit, and the caregiver carried her off to a room at the end of the hall. We were able to leave the blanket and photo album with the caregiver. The rep told us to expect to return sometime at the end of August to appear in court. Now it’s back to Moscow. We leave for home Sat around 12:00! Caleb, we’re coming home. Enjoy your last day of royal treatment! We’re ready to see Caleb, eat our regular food, and speak in complete sentences again. We can’t wait to show you all pictures of Lilia! Now we pray for smooth sailing for court.

Yes! We leave Lil-ee-ah and return in 2-3 months (hopefully) to pick her up . . after our court appearance, after a 10-day wait, after 7 days for passport process, after American Embassy in Moscow, after 18 hours of travel. Then home finally. And all this is subject to Russian government and any existing family members of Lilia. Thanks for the comments. We had some good laughs!

Got Smiles?

We had a more relaxed visit with Lilia this afternoon. Yes, we said Lilia! That's her Russian name . . . and possibly American as well. She warmed up to us and smiled a lot. She is easily distracted by things "over there". We spent much of the visit snapping our fingers and trying to keep her attention on US! We are demanding parents, aren't we? It is not easy to jump into her life. Everyone is a little uncomfortable, but each visit should get better. We're waiting to hear from the doctor and will make our decision tomorrow morning. It's only just begun! The Copes.

Meeting Little Solnishka

We actually met her today! We learned medical information, habits, and personality. She was unsure about us, but didn't cry. Since she's never been around men, Jonah gets an extra serious face. This afternoon we will receive a translation of medical records, and send medical information to our doctor and wait to hear back. We feel extremely confident that she is healthy, though. We get to visit again at 4:00 here. Linda and Marie, call us after 12:00 your time, and we should be in our room.

Another Day in Astrakhan

The Day,

This day was a normal day, that is until we were told "we leave at 5:30 for the Ministry of Education."! We said, "OK!"

What were not told was that at 5:30 we would be questioned about anything and everything about ourselves and, most importantly, we were going to see a picture of our daughter. The Taxi came, we got in. We parked, walked to the seond floor and sat in over- stuffed green couches in an unairconditioned room. The questioning was brief, but still caused at least 25 gallons of sweat to pour from our bodies. Then, for a long time a woman, who held our future child in her database, looked at pictures. She printed a sheet off and handed it to us. Our translator went through the specifics.
"Would you like to see a picture?"
And then, turning the screen, we saw a cute baby girl . . . brown eyes, brown hair, we ooooed and coooooed.

Joy, nervousness, mystery, more joy, and hunger (just for me, Andi has chocolate) We don't feel comfortable sharing specifics until we meet with the orphanage doctor and social worker tomorrow at 10:00am! Then we will meet her! Pray for us! More tomorrow!!!!