This Date In History 6/17/07 - Our Adoption Story

David spent his 1st Father's Day (6/17/2007) in Russia. Here was the update I emailed home that day...

Sunday, June 17, 2007

First off…..Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there. Secondly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my OLDER friend Tracy (okay, she’s only older by 6 days, but she’s still older!)

Also….welcome to the Adoption Update email, Jim H, my .cousin and Jim and Jennifer S. (my friend Tammy’s brother and sister-in-law)

Two visits again today and they both went very well. At the first visit, David got a nice Father’s Day present from Madeline. David was holding her and he heard her stomach rumble. 10 seconds later he got his present on his arm and onto the floor……he was the first of us to get initiated. Madeline was “sharing the love”. But in between the two visits I gave him (from Madeline) the Tim Russert book, “Wisdom of Our Fathers”

The afternoon visit was also very good. We got Madeline to bang on the tambourine and the piano. She really likes the musical toys. She thought it was amazing that she learned how to clap her hands and stamp her feet and bang toys around. I really don’t think the children are allowed to make much noise while playing but we feel that she is “discovering”. I also don’t think that the children are taught to do these simple things that many kids learn at a much earlier age.

Another thing we noticed is that I think the children are only allowed to play with one toy at a time because Madeline would almost always give us her toy before getting another one. She also likes to pick up after herself. I know, I know this is a good thing but it is amazing. I guess it is a matter of necessity to teach approx. 75 children to pick up after themselves.

We are feeling that some good bonding is going on. Madeline looks us in the eyes more often while we hold her. She is also more comfortable to explore us by touching our faces. Things seem to be moving nicely but unfortunately we will be back down to only one visit a day for the next few days.

This morning we got a little nervous because the electricity in the hotel went out…..which of course means no window air conditioner. Luckily it came on right before we returned from our a.m. visit with Madeline so we escaped the possibility of a torturous hotel room once again. We do, however encounter extreme heat in the infants home as there is no air conditioning there. I looked at the thermostat and finally decided to convert the temperature of 34 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit. Yep, that would equate to approx. 93 degrees in the visiting room. No wonder Madeline is dripping sweat after she runs around like a little animal.

Tonight we went out to dinner to a Tex-Mex Restaurant…….funny, in Russia but it was just like one you would find in the U.S. We ordered Fajitas and the meal was the closest to what we would eat at home. In fact, the Fajitas were better than most because in addition to salsa, sour cream, jalapeño and avocado, they also served a side of Molé.

On the walk back to the hotel I decided that I wanted to dip my toes into the Volga River. Keep in mind that this is not unusual behavior as the River area around our hotel seems to be *the* place to be during the summer. In fact, right across from the parking lot of our hotel there is a sea wall that people jump into the river all day long to swim. I decided to walk down the steps of the sea wall and kick off my flip flops to dip my toes in the River. I guess I kicked a little too hard as one of them fell into the River and started to float away. Luckily, I moved quickly enough to catch it and I am still in possession of a *pair* of flip flops.

Last night, we met another couple from Des Moines, Iowa that is here for their court date and tonight we met yet another couple from St. Louis. Like I said previously, this hotel is a revolving door for adoptive couples. Before you go to bed tonight, please say an extra prayer for Greg and Rebekah from Lancaster, PA. They are the ones that I previously told you about that are getting the run around from the court here. They have yet another court date tomorrow at 9am. This court date is either “do or die” for their adoption here in Russia. And quite frankly, according to our coordinator, it is looking like the only possibility for the twin boys to be adopted out of this system here.

And, while you are praying……please add a prayer that my co-workers, Sr. Jeanette and Jen E. so they SURVIVE our school’s annual Field Day!!!!! From what I hear, it’ll be a hot one too!

By the way, FYI…..During dinner, David and I figured something out that we are proud of. We know how to say “Two beers” in SIX LANGUAGES!!!! However……we know how to ask “Where’s the bathroom” in only *four* languages! We’ll teach the nieces and nephews at the next Campout!

Good night!

David and Amy