Decision (the second try)

So the blog is back up and at least one of the blogs I had written was saved, here you go and once again we appreciated all the support and love you all have provided.

-- Written in the car on the way back from Kaluga - 06/26/2009 --

Well with happy hearts we would like to let the world know that we have a son! With sad hearts we had to leave him here for a little longer.

But I am getting a little ahead of myself; let me tell the entire story.

So the drive from Moscow was supposed to be a "short 2 hour" car ride. Well let's just say that we weren't that lucky. Five hours of traffic (about 3 hours of the 5) and speed racer like driving will ware on your nerves. I am very impressed with German's driving but I must be very confident that the dear Lord is riding with is on this trip. If He wasn't we would probably be dead. Doing 90+ mph on a wet highway that has hills and curves that reminded me of highway 12 in Idaho - scariest stretch of road I know - is probably the closest I have been to God in a long time. My pucker string has still not relaxed! But the bottom line is we made it to Kaluga.

Once in Kaluga we met our official interpreter, Kate and she us GREAT! She is a young English professor at the local university. She was born in Kaluga and went to school at the university where she now teaches but has studied in the US (Washington state and Colorado). She joined us for our meeting with the regional inspector for the ministry of education, who is responsible for representing the child's interest during the adoption process. She was a very nice lady that was very anxious for us to meet Aleks. She told us some information about Aleks and then gave us the official referral document that gave us permission to visit Aleks and have access to all of his records.

So then it was off to the orphanage. We arrived and had to wait for a few minutes in a large play room and then they brought Aleks in from his map and he was a little shy and confused at first but warmed up to us after a while. During the play time Connie got to speak with the social worker about his mother and the conditions that resulted in him being available fir adoption - not much is known but you can imagine that is known isn't good.

We played with him for about an hour, he can walk on his own and plays with toys and eventually engaged us in his play. After the hour was up it was time for his nap and we went in to speak with the doctor about his medical records. They have taken excellent care of Aleks and were very open with his current and past medical issues. We asked all the questions Dr. Heidi had given us and got good information from the doctor as well as observing Aleks during our play time.

Then it was off to our hotel and dinner at the local German restaurant the Oberswine which was good. Before dinner we were able to get online at our hotel and send Dr. Heidi out photos, medical reports and even some video. We then waited for her response and it was quick - she called us to discuss her overall impressions and her concerns. As you can imagine there are some major concerns about FAS given his mother's history but his physical development and facial features indicated low risk so it was a wash - negative information about mother cancels out the positive physical indicators so we were back at square one.

We were up almost all night looking at pictures and talking about everything you could imagine - very emotional to say the least. In many respects this is the very first truly faith based decision that Connie and I have ever made as a couple and I for one can say that it was easy and tough all at the same time.

When German arrived at our door to take us to breakfast we let him know that we had decided to proceed with the adoption - he was very happy for us and because he wanted to get the ball rolling our plans for the morning changed a little. We were suppose to visit Aleks at 9 to observe him with his caregivers but instead we went to the notary office get our paperwork in order and then we went to the orphanage to visit Aleks for 30 minutes and then back to the notary office to sign the official documents and officially apply to adopt Aleks. Then we had a few errands to run a quick bite to eat and then back to visit Aleks one last time before heading to Moscow. We were blessed to arrive just as he was waking up from his nap and was getting ready to eat lunch. When they asked if we wanted to feed him we jumped at the offer.

So Connie got down and they brought in a lunch big enough for me and set it down in front of her and then left the room. He is a great eater and you will have to see the pictures to believe how much he ate. We have plenty of pictures, I guess I went a little "proud papa" with the two cameras and took over 259 pictures and almost 15min of video during lunch. It was a really special time for us.

We then changed him into our "Baylor outfit" to see what size we were going to need to start getting once we get home - 18+ mo for those of you looking at home for something to get him (he will probably be in 2Ts before we see him again..

Then came the hardest thing we have ever had to endure in our lives - we had to leave without him. As you can imagine it was emotional to say the least but we were able to keep it together long enough to get in the car and focus on the drive back to Moscow.

So here we sit on the outer loop of Moscow in TRAFFIC again. We will be getting up early in the morning to head to the airport for what I expect will be the longest and saddest flight of our lives. We have been told to anticipate our next trip in late August or early September and we will be over here for an extended stay - 4 days before court date then 10 days in Moscow waiting to pick him up and then 5 more days in Moscow with him and finally back home.

Well that is all for now, thanks to everyone for the prayers and support during this time it has been appreciated and felt! But we are going to need more for the wait and for the next trip. Get ready out little one is coming home soon.

CKL


-- Post From My iPhone