Official

Well we are back state side for the week before we head back over to PICK ALEKS UP and bring him home. Our second trip went very well and was relatively uneventful. As for our court hearing, it was really good! Kate, our interpreter, and German, our facilitator, did an exceptional job of preparing us for the hearing. Never having been in a court room in the states to compare it to, the Russian court room was pretty intimidating but at the same time it wasn't.

It was difficult leaving Aleks one more time but this time seemed a little easier because we knew we would be back in 10 days. Aleks is growing and seems to be picking up Russian words very quickly. When we would speak English he would be a little more apprehensive but then we would say a few words in Russian and he would warm up pretty quickly. We can't wait to have him with us all the time.

There is so much that I think we can't even start to describe - we have nothing here to compare it to, from the traffic, the driving, the grocery stores... they are all so different. With that said, my hat goes off to German, his family and Kate for the work they do to make this process so much easier.

We will leave for our last trip over to pick Aleks up on the 4th so between now and then we will be packing and putting the finishing touches on the house. Please keep the prayers up, He is listening.

Well it is 5:30am on Thursday morning and we are up and getting ready to depart to Kaluga. Yesterday was pretty laid back day. We needed to pick up our medical paperwork at the American Medical Center as well as our registration paperwork so we left a little before 11:00am and got down town to the medical center some time around 1:00pm - ah Moscow triafic! We then went to the registration office which is a stones throw from Old Arabat street which is a very nice version of Vinice Beach without the beach. It is the "arts" district with many musuems, street artists, sculptures and statues. It has many "tourist trap" stores and one trapped me, I found a nesting doll for Baylor and had to purchase it - now we have a matching Baylor/TTU set.

Well it is my turn to get ready. We are suppose to see Aleks today and get ready for court so we will blog again tonight.

Love all, keep the prayers coming!

Day two at the American Medical Center

What an adventure! It was one of the most sureal experiences of our lives. We visited with an oncologist, neurologist, internist, radiologist (looking for TB), psychiatrist, psychologist (looking for "addictions"), infectious disease specialist and finally a we had our dermatologist yesterday so we rounded out the circus with a total of 8 doctors.

If you want details... well you aren't going to get them. Not for the reason you think but really there was nothing to tell. I would say that we passed but we will get the official word tomorrow.

We will update tomorrow evening.

Today was our first day of the two-day medicals. We did a Chest X-Ray, gave blood and urine specimen and lastly had our hands and feet checked out by a dermatologist. We met about 5 other couples from across the USA that were doing the same thing as us. Needless to say, we were all wondering what this had to do with adoption, but one more hoop has been jumped through and tomorrow we will complete our last hoop for medicals. We will go back to the same American Medical Center that we were at today, but tomorrow will be meeting with 8 different specialists and we aren't really sure what they will be all about, but we are ready.

We have gotten some good sleep today and have enjoyed a nap too! We will get to see some more of Moscow tomorrow since we don't have our appt. until late in the afternoon. We hope everyone is doing well back home and will report again tomorrow.

One day closer to Aleks!

Back in the ... well you know

We the flight from Atlanta to Moscow was good, Connie got some sleep and I am sleep deprived already.

The flight was not full so we actually got to have an empty seat between us. We arrived without incident, except our luggage was soaked all the way through - evidently our luggage got to sit out in the rain in Atlanta from 9am to 4pm - GREAT job Delta. We went right through customs and passport check and are now at German & Marianna's house.

My body feels like it will never sleep again but we are going to try to get a nap. I will blog some more when I can function again. Love you all.

Taking off again!

So we are in Atlanta getting ready to board. Keep the prayers up we will need them.


-- Posted from my iPhone

Waiting

Paperwork is almost done and the real waiting begins. We are going to try to fill our time with distractions but the reality is that when I have any "down" time I rhink about things like... "What is Aleks doing? Is he having a good day? Does he remember us? Who us he seeing today?..."

It is maddening sometimes. We watch his videos and tell his story over and over but my arms ache for him. I never thought of myself as the type that would feel this way but I guess we all grow at different rates. The dear Lord above has given us Aleks, I believe, to help me grow in my faith as well as in my personal deveolpment. In many respects I need Aleks more than he needs me.

He makes me see life through a different lens. Opportunities seem more evident now. Watching others, listening to others, thinking about others, helping others, teaching others... everything is about others! Not about me! It took a little boy from Russia to teach me what the greatest leaders of our time have known and lived... "there are more important things in life than youself."

So I guess the best thing I can do during this time is to prepare myself internally for the joys and glorious adventures to come.

--
Aleks,

Thank you for coming into our lives, I promise to do my best to be the best dad possible. I promise to teach you to "fish" not just give you the "fish". I promise to have fun and explore this wonderful world together. I promise to be an example of what God can do in a man's life. And most of all I promise to love you with all my heart and soul - "Nothing you do, say or become can ever make me love you less!"

Love,
Dad

-- Post From My iPhone