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