It's definitely a little crazy around here but in a good way! The kids have been a little under the weather with all the junk going around. My allergies are beating me up but I'm hanging in there! Bottom line...life is great!
Drew is a true joy to have in our lives. Even when he's fussing because his teeth are bothering him or he's just having a moment, I can't imagine not having him in our lives. He fits right in perfectly. His piece of the puzzle didn't even need any help....it slid right into place. Already people have said he looks so much like me.
Not a lot of time to jot down all that's happening but I wanted to take a moment to update with pictures and a few other notes. I will have lots more once the pictures from TRIP 2 are uploaded from my Dad's camera and emailed to me. I'll have to give him a call and get him on the ball.....
More Soon!
Kimberly
Monday, March 17, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Miracle of Birth
When a child is born, it's truly a miracle.....God's greatest miracle. I will always remember the birth of each of my daughters and hold it close to my heart. It's amazing how you forget the pain of the whole experience and only treasure the moment of your child being placed on your chest and your heartbeats pulsating together. Yes, this is a miracle.
This week I experienced another miracle of life. Watching our son bond with us so quickly is a true miracle. It is testament to his heart, his character, his mind that he has allowed us to be his parents. Do we choose our babies? Certainly not. Even in adoption they most certainly chose you. Drew became our baby when he chose to open his heart to us in the orphanage. He is God sent to us and as miraculous as a birthing event. I feel as if Drew was born this week. He has a family! We have him. He goes to bed with ease and wakes up fully rested. He is content and at peace. We will bring him home in 24 hours and the rest of his life will start. Is this really different from coming home from the hospital? I would argue, not. On Saturday when he meets his sisters along with my parents for the first time he will have experienced a family for the first time. Hard to imagine how much love he has kept inside all of these years. He may have been left behind at the hospital on August 30, 2006 but he wasn't abandoned. He has been waiting for his family for 18 months to bring him home. We will be there soon.......
This week I experienced another miracle of life. Watching our son bond with us so quickly is a true miracle. It is testament to his heart, his character, his mind that he has allowed us to be his parents. Do we choose our babies? Certainly not. Even in adoption they most certainly chose you. Drew became our baby when he chose to open his heart to us in the orphanage. He is God sent to us and as miraculous as a birthing event. I feel as if Drew was born this week. He has a family! We have him. He goes to bed with ease and wakes up fully rested. He is content and at peace. We will bring him home in 24 hours and the rest of his life will start. Is this really different from coming home from the hospital? I would argue, not. On Saturday when he meets his sisters along with my parents for the first time he will have experienced a family for the first time. Hard to imagine how much love he has kept inside all of these years. He may have been left behind at the hospital on August 30, 2006 but he wasn't abandoned. He has been waiting for his family for 18 months to bring him home. We will be there soon.......
The Typical Tourist!
Our day started very early with a visit from the doctor. This is required to complete the requirements to take Drew back home. He arrived at about 6 AM and we had to wake up Drew. he was not pleased with being woken up but he survived. The doctor said he seemed to be in very good health and did mention he's on the little side. Appears to be in the 10-15th percentile for height and the doctor is fairly certain he is off the chart for weight. He's definitely a little one! After the visit, Drew and I spent about an hour resting in the bed until we had to get ready to begin our day. We headed to the hotel where the other couple was staying to meet our agency contact and do all of the paperwork. It really wasn't too bad as our contact, Michael, made it very easy. I completed all paperwork while David ran around with Drew. They had quite a good time and are bonding so nicely. Definitely a cute Daddy and Son team! After we headed back to the apartment for naps. Drew and Mommy rested for about 2 hours and than it was time to sightsee. We were able to walk to the Kremlin and The Red Square from our apartment. It was a nice walk and the weather was rather mild. Drew sat in his stroller and did great. He definitely preferred to be moving! We walked around and toured a church. The Kremlin was closed (on all Thursdays) but we still got to see a lot. We'll probably try to head back to the area tomorrow to do some touring of the closed areas. Tonight we'll go back to the Japanese restaurant for dinner. Drew is doing very well and is enjoying playing with his blocks. He enjoyed his first bath with us today and has been an angel. He is such an easy child...so far! I sure hope this continues. We can't wait to get home and let him meet his sisters. Katelyn is going to fall in love with him. She will definitely spoil him!
More Soon.....
Kimberly
More Soon.....
Kimberly
We Got 'EM!
We spent the day after court sightseeing in St. Petersburg. We headed to The Hermitage and hired a tour guide to give us the 2 hour version. I have to admit that while it is magnificent and something I'm glad I saw....I was done after about an hour. It's just too much for me. I did enjoy (at the very end) standing face to face with some of the most famous paintings of history. All the magnificent painters had works of art on display and it was very nice to see them.
Wednesday was the day we had started planning for almost a year ago. We drove to the orphanage to pick up our son. It was strange arriving there for the last time. We went in and gave them his clothes so they could dress him. He arrived looking cuter than ever! We knew he would be quite a site in the adorable clothes we had purchased for him. We had him dressed in black Oshkosh overalls with a long sleeved button up shirt. His cute little Thomas the Train shoes on his feet. Meredith will want those shoes! We said our goodbyes and his caregivers gave him hugs. It was very sweet. We went in the van and he was completely fine with everything. The other boy (age 4) started screaming when his parents tried to get him in the van. However, he was fine while finally seated and we were driving. We arrived at the airport and all went well. We had too much luggage weight (which we knew) but only paid about $10 for the extra 10 lbs so that wasn't bad! The flight was a little over an hour and went very well. Drew seemed to enjoy himself and ate the food. He really likes apple juice! He is such an easy going kid! We arrived in Moscow and it took about 1 1/2 hours to get to our apartment. We rented an apartment rather than staying at the hotel. It was about 1/2 the price and we have a kitchen and more room. Drew even has a pack n play which we set up in the kitchen so he has his own room to sleep in each night. Perfect! After a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant just downstairs from the apartment we headed to bed. Drew went right to sleep and slept until we had to wake him at 6 AM for the doctor's visit.
I'll start a new post about Thursday.....
Wednesday was the day we had started planning for almost a year ago. We drove to the orphanage to pick up our son. It was strange arriving there for the last time. We went in and gave them his clothes so they could dress him. He arrived looking cuter than ever! We knew he would be quite a site in the adorable clothes we had purchased for him. We had him dressed in black Oshkosh overalls with a long sleeved button up shirt. His cute little Thomas the Train shoes on his feet. Meredith will want those shoes! We said our goodbyes and his caregivers gave him hugs. It was very sweet. We went in the van and he was completely fine with everything. The other boy (age 4) started screaming when his parents tried to get him in the van. However, he was fine while finally seated and we were driving. We arrived at the airport and all went well. We had too much luggage weight (which we knew) but only paid about $10 for the extra 10 lbs so that wasn't bad! The flight was a little over an hour and went very well. Drew seemed to enjoy himself and ate the food. He really likes apple juice! He is such an easy going kid! We arrived in Moscow and it took about 1 1/2 hours to get to our apartment. We rented an apartment rather than staying at the hotel. It was about 1/2 the price and we have a kitchen and more room. Drew even has a pack n play which we set up in the kitchen so he has his own room to sleep in each night. Perfect! After a nice dinner at a Japanese restaurant just downstairs from the apartment we headed to bed. Drew went right to sleep and slept until we had to wake him at 6 AM for the doctor's visit.
I'll start a new post about Thursday.....
We're in Russia and Our Son is With US!
I've been super bad about keeping this updated over the last week. I guess there's a little too much going on....
Before I start....we finally picked a name! It's Andrew "Drew" Wesley. Andrew is David's middle name and Wesley is a family name (his grandfather's middle name and many generations back).
Here's an update on the last week.
We arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday, February 29 after traveling through the night. Of course I didn't sleep a wink! I got a little sick on the plane from Frankfurt to St. Petersburg. This was the first time a plane ride made me sick so perhaps it was the nerves and lack of sleep that helped it along. When we arrived at the airport we had issues with the initial passport control area and the paperwork but finally got it right after 3 tries! We found our luggage easily and our driver was waiting for us. We met another couple in the van who are with the same agency. They adopted a little boy who just turned 4. We checked into the hotel and after a nice dinner got some much needed rest.
On Saturday we headed to the orphanage. When we arrived Drew was taking a nap and at first we weren't sure if we could even see him. We ended up spending about an hour with him so it worked out just fine. Did not get the idea our son remembered us at all but he's still very young. The other couple's son (just turned 4) definitely remembered him and that was neat to see. While waiting for Drew, we were able to see the other couple's son and his music class. It was so sweet to see the young children playing instruments and singing. We continue to be so impressed with the orphanage where our son has spent his entire life. We had a very nice visit and headed back to the hotel. Another nice dinner and off to bed!
On Sunday we went back to the orphanage for one last visit before the court hearing. We had a fun visit and headed back to the hotel.
Monday was a fairly early morning as we had court. I actually had my best night of sleep since arriving in Russia. I slept right through the night for the first time EVER in Russia! I was refreshed and ready to go. We sat outside the courtroom and waited. This was the tough part. The other couple went in first so our wait was even longer. After about an hour, it was our turn. It went really well. David prepared a speech and did most of the talking. I know that it's hard to believe knowing us but I thought it was best I kept my big mouth to a minimum! When it was time the judge made the decision to let us adopt Drew AND bring him right home. The judge had the power to enforce a 10 day wait period but she did not which was great news. She did the same for the other couple. We heard while in court that our son was declared an orphan as a 1 day old baby as the mother left the hospital without him and without telling anyone. He had lived in the same baby home his entire life and it was very obvious he was well taken care of and loved. We feel so grateful for these caretakers. We are so very lucky to have him and he's ours! We are the parents and couldn't be more proud. After court we headed out to do the paperwork which included his new birth certificate. We also visited our son and got to hold him for the first time as his parents. Very similar to that first time in the hospital when you hold your newborn.
I'm going to continue the story in a new post as I think this one is getting rather full.
Thanks for listening!
Love,
Kimberly
Before I start....we finally picked a name! It's Andrew "Drew" Wesley. Andrew is David's middle name and Wesley is a family name (his grandfather's middle name and many generations back).
Here's an update on the last week.
We arrived in St. Petersburg on Friday, February 29 after traveling through the night. Of course I didn't sleep a wink! I got a little sick on the plane from Frankfurt to St. Petersburg. This was the first time a plane ride made me sick so perhaps it was the nerves and lack of sleep that helped it along. When we arrived at the airport we had issues with the initial passport control area and the paperwork but finally got it right after 3 tries! We found our luggage easily and our driver was waiting for us. We met another couple in the van who are with the same agency. They adopted a little boy who just turned 4. We checked into the hotel and after a nice dinner got some much needed rest.
On Saturday we headed to the orphanage. When we arrived Drew was taking a nap and at first we weren't sure if we could even see him. We ended up spending about an hour with him so it worked out just fine. Did not get the idea our son remembered us at all but he's still very young. The other couple's son (just turned 4) definitely remembered him and that was neat to see. While waiting for Drew, we were able to see the other couple's son and his music class. It was so sweet to see the young children playing instruments and singing. We continue to be so impressed with the orphanage where our son has spent his entire life. We had a very nice visit and headed back to the hotel. Another nice dinner and off to bed!
On Sunday we went back to the orphanage for one last visit before the court hearing. We had a fun visit and headed back to the hotel.
Monday was a fairly early morning as we had court. I actually had my best night of sleep since arriving in Russia. I slept right through the night for the first time EVER in Russia! I was refreshed and ready to go. We sat outside the courtroom and waited. This was the tough part. The other couple went in first so our wait was even longer. After about an hour, it was our turn. It went really well. David prepared a speech and did most of the talking. I know that it's hard to believe knowing us but I thought it was best I kept my big mouth to a minimum! When it was time the judge made the decision to let us adopt Drew AND bring him right home. The judge had the power to enforce a 10 day wait period but she did not which was great news. She did the same for the other couple. We heard while in court that our son was declared an orphan as a 1 day old baby as the mother left the hospital without him and without telling anyone. He had lived in the same baby home his entire life and it was very obvious he was well taken care of and loved. We feel so grateful for these caretakers. We are so very lucky to have him and he's ours! We are the parents and couldn't be more proud. After court we headed out to do the paperwork which included his new birth certificate. We also visited our son and got to hold him for the first time as his parents. Very similar to that first time in the hospital when you hold your newborn.
I'm going to continue the story in a new post as I think this one is getting rather full.
Thanks for listening!
Love,
Kimberly
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