Seeing Sasha Again

After our first night in Hotel Hell (as we foundly refer to Hotel Belgrade), where I got no sleep due to the amazing heat and lack of air con or window fans. There wasn't even a breeze ... it was horrible. Nathan slept just fine. It's quite a gift really. And, as if the oppressive heat weren't enough, Moscow only gets two hours of darkness right now so with the windows open for a chance gust of fresh air it seemed like 'time to get up' all the time.

Our medicals were completed yesterday and were, I am delighted to report, a non-event.

We had time to swing by an Novodevichy Convent after our medicals. Yes, it's on the list (if you don't know about the list remind me to tell you). We ate lunch al fresco (there is no way you could get us to sit inside another stuffy, hot building) and braved the Moscow Metro to get us home. We sat in the lobby for as long as we thought they would allow us before returning to our blazing rooms. And, just when I thought I was going to have a meltdown (in more ways than one), a thunderstorm came through. Wow .. it was fresh and cool and I got a few hours sleep. I know it's quite spoiled, but I don't operate without any sleep. A couple hours are fine but no sleep is just not something I can handle. Yes, surely a sign of old age.

Today we said a tearful farewell to Hotel Hell and traveled by car to Kaluga. We checked into our hotel (oh, so much nicer than Hotel Belgrade) and finally got picked up to travel to see Sasha again. So .. the answers to your questions ...

He does have more hair .. not much in the front but long in the back.
Svetlana thought he remembered us although I'm not completely sure.
He has grown. My arm muscles will be extraordinary after a few more days of lugging him about.

This photo is Sasha getting his first kiss from his classmate, Irina.


And, here is a photo of Toni G. aka the Babushka with her grandson.

We Made it!

We flew Polish airlines today. It was a very nice airline for all of you that were skeptical. We were able to experience first hand how people in this region believe that good health is acquired by being as warm as possible. Our flight from Chicago to Warsaw was quite hot but Nathan had no challenges. I think Mom and I have lost 5 pounds so far ... great for the diet angle.

We had only thought that our flight was warm. We really had no idea.

In Warsaw, we were hustled on to a tram which had closed doors, wasn't on and sitting on a dark runway on a very hot, humid Polish day. My lesson learned was that Poland might not be a good summertime vacation destination for me.
Mom and I nearly cheered when the tram motor started.

We made our way across the tarmak towards our Aeroflot plane. We climbed the stairwell to finally sit in our business class seats to discover that the little spickets where cold air usually dispenses didn't seem to hold the same purpose on our plane. We quickly found that the emergency card serves as the best fan. Picture this ... sweat rolling down our faces, non-cotton clothing sticking to the leather seats, fanning ourselves briskly, tapping the spickets hoping that we didn't really understand how they worked and wondering if this plane had seat warmers. Wow ... hot. Did I mention before ... air conditioning ... good.

We drove into Moscow during rush hour and experienced, once again, the thrill of Moscow traffic jams. I looked longingly at the Marriot Tsverskaya as we passed it first. I looked longingly at the Marriot Grande as we passed it by second. Finally, 20 more minutes passed the Grande our hotel loomed in the distance. No air conditioning ... and, when you're stopped in traffic, no breeze either.

We are now sitting in the Executive Floor lounge, sipping champagne, eating appetizers and waiting for our room to deep chill. We will move tomorrow to a different hotel, the Hotel Belgrade which looks even more 'rustic' than the Hotel Ukraina. We found out today that the staff in Moscow didn't get our medicals waived so we have to face 8 different specialists on Thursday. Nothing appeals to me less. Pray that it will be easy, painless and just another amuzing entry on our blog.

Our Last Friday at Home Before Sasha

So you may be wondering ... how did Nathan and I spend our last Friday at home as a childless couple. Romantic dinner? Bonding with the boxers one last night before the competition arrives? Using the hot tub.

Well ... in a word - no.

Today I finished Sasha's chair and table (except for spraying it with a sealant) and continued painting our upstairs bathroom. (No, that wasn't originally on my list for pre-departure activities.)

It all started when Nathan put up the light fixture in the guest bath (that was on the list. Yes, there is a list and yes, Nathan does know about it) that we purchased about a year ago. Unfortunately, the old fixture was larger and taking it down left a large white rectangle in our yellow bathroom. We thought we had extra cans of the paint but a quick test patch proved that we didn't. SO ... I grabbed a can of green and started painting last night.

Now ... in hindsight, I didn't really need to worry about this patch of white four days before I departed to Russia. Sasha is after all only a couple feet high so he probably wouldn't have noticed the white patch until kindergarten and surely by then we would've had time to embark on a proper painting project. And, even if he had noticed would he have thought, "Lord, look at that bad paint job! What kind of a family have I gotten myself into?" I'm pretty sure not.

Lest you think that we're totally missing out on our last night alone as a childless couple, I will admit that I have a couple bottles of inexpensive bubbly in the fridge awaiting Nathan's return from the bank. I also purchased some fondue and I'm sure both will go well with the vacuuming, packing and painting that is on our agenda for this evening.

Sasha's Room

We've been putting the finishing touches on Sasha's room and thought we'd share. The top photo is the butterfly I created. It hangs by clear thread in the corner. It's part of my effort to make the jungle more three-dimensional.

I found the cool Serengeti tours start here poster at Burlington Coat Factory. The two masks on the wall are from our mask collection. The elephant came from Africa. The toy chest is the one from Moscow that we hand carried back during our last trip.

His crib has so many friends there may not be room for him. We're planning on hanging the colorful snake and green dragon - they are both from Ikea.


We found the monkeys at a couple of different stores. Nathan found the safari hat at one of our many trips to Michael's.

The animals on the shelf came from Mexico, the Singapore Zoo and Africa.

The dresser was used by Nathan's mom to change her son. It is a perfect changing table for a todder. Our diaper genie is hidden in the cabinet on the right. The animals on top of the cabinet were purchased in London.

Next to the dresser is the lion that we think will be a favorite of Sasha's. It roars when you press his ear. Blake is sure that this toy is meant for him. I just finished painting the jungle-themed SASHA on the wall. I think it turned out cute.



Sasha's bag is packed and ready to go! I think he has more clothes than me for this trip!

Our Trip to Bring Home Our Son!

I thought I would post some information about our upcoming journey to Russia. We have the tickets and the 'newish' money is awaiting our pickup - so we must be going!

We are flying Polish LOT airlines. They have an affordable rate and this will allow us to come straight from Europe to Chicago so Sasha will become a U.S. citizen when we touch down at O'Hare. (I promise we WILL cheer, clap and drink bubbly stuff if it's available!)

Our first night will be in the Marriot Royal. I always find that I'm better able to handle whatever might be headed my way if I've had some rest.

Ah, it looks so comfy. Yes, that's the lounge bar in the background where Toni G., Nathan and I will lift a glass on Tuesday to celebrate our arrival. Toni G. has never tasted Russia champagne. She too didn't know that Russia had a champagne region. Ah, she will learn so much on this trip. Too bad she won't witness the little snow brooms ... but, I'm sure there will be other cultural marvels to take in during this trip.

The second night, if we have to do our medicals in Moscow (a big boo hiss for that), we'll stay at the Hotel Ukraina to get the special 'hotel / associated clinic rate'.

It is a much older hotel and situated on the banks of the River Moskva. The website talks about how the hotel exemplifies Soviet Classicism Architecture. Hmmm ... I'm not sure about that but I've heard it doesn't have air conditioning. Air conditioning in summer ... good. This is especially true when you discover that no windows in Russia have screens and they have a horrendous mosquito popluation. If we have to do our medicals in Russia, we'll do them on June 29th.

On July 1st we'll all head to Kaluga. They have a series of questions that many judges ask and will help get us prepared. We'll also get a chance to visit with Sasha. We left two disposable cameras with the staff so we hope they have taken some good photos. I will make sure that we get plenty of photos of the babushka (grandmother) seeing her grandson for the first time. 'Babs' will be so excited! It'll be fun.

While in region, we'll take Babs to all the happenin' Kaluga spots and we'll stay at the Hotel Prioskaya again (see previous post for a photo).

We will have our court date on July 4th (very cool!). If the judge waives the ten days (highly unlikely), we'll go to the orphanage, dress Sasha in one of his new, fancy U.S. outfits with light shoes (as opposed to the five pound versions that he wears in the orphanage) and be on our way to Moscow. If not, we'll be on our way to Moscow for our 10 days of sightseeing. For our Moscow wait, we have rented an apartment. It's so much cheaper to do this and will allow us to make our own meals - another cost safer.

Nathan will return on July 13th to avoid using all his vacation and to, I'm sure, prepare a fabulous 'welcome home' banner for Sasha, clean the house, tidy our basement, prepare a feast for our return and cut down all the buckthorn in our woods (I had you going until I got to the buckthorn didn't I). Just kidding. He'll be just about over the jetlag by the time he comes to pick us up at the airport. Grandma and Grandpa C. will also come to the airport to welcome home Sasha. We'll have to take photos of this homecoming to put in Sasha's lifebook. I've instructed Nathan to make friends with other waiting families to get a photo that looks like we have a throng there for his arrival.

Mom, Sasha and I will return home on July 20th. And, I promise, I will be SO done with Russia by the time we get on that plane. Hopefully Sasha will enjoy all the attention, the cool new toys we'll have for him, the Baby Einstein DVDs we'll show, etc. and not be so traumatized that he screams from Moscow to Chicago. Yes, this is what I'm expecting, but wouldn't it be nice if he pleasantly surprised me? Babs has delusions of this angelic child cooing and being sweet all the way home. Silly her ... If you're at the airport and I immediately thrust a cranky child Nathan's way - you'll know what happened. And, if you see people glaring at us as they retrieve their luggage, you will really know!

And the wild scavenger hunt continues!

So ... you'd think that the ride would be over now that we have a court date but .. NOoooooOO. On Friday, after looking at my doctor's faxed over blood tests, I noticed that the tests were older than three months old which makes them invalid for Russia.

On Monday, I made a call to our doctor's office and Nathan and I went it for a quick 'draw'. We're pretty sure that our insurance company must wonder about our lifestyles with us needing venereal disease, HIV, Hepatitus and TB tests every three months.

We were asked this morning to get a signed letter from our pediatrician and were given a template to use. One of things that was mentioned on the letter that came as a shock is that apparently Sasha is wearing leg braces now for his 'hip displaysia'. This poor little boy. I'm sure he'll be forever wary of doctors after all the things he's been through.

Hang on Sasha - we're on our way!

P.S. I've finished the table top's final square - a zebra. It's pretty cool. I still need to finish the base and the two chairs. Here is the table top. I'm still working on the chairs and table legs. I've also started his name SASHA which will be various jungle prints and hang on his wall. So much to do before we leave on Monday!

We have a Court Date!

Our court date is set for July 4th. We're currently planning on departing on June 26th. We're really surprised that we received our date so quickly.

More later!

WOW ... the bald baby is coming home!

Another Step on the Path to Sasha

This week has been another step in our seemingly never ending scavenger hunt for items for Sasha's adoption.

We found out from adoption boards last week that the requirement for proof of a doctor's ability to make assessments of general health has been in effect for at least a year in Kaluga. Unfortunately, we didn't know that. The letter from our agency requesting our court date and stating that we'd do our medicals in Moscow was not given to the judge last week as we had been told. Friday we asked that the letter be updated stating that we'd like our court date, that the needed documents were forthcoming and that, if the judge wasn't satisfied with the additional documents that we'll be supplying, we'd do our medicals in Moscow. We have been told that this letter would be delivered to the judge today. I haven't received confirmation that this occured yet.

Due to the heroic efforts of one of my oldest friends (no, not that he's OLD but that I've been good friends with him since 6th grade), Bryan was able to identify a friend of his in Springfield to gather these last (or at least I hope these are the last!) documents for us. Through the amazing efforts of Elizabeth, Melissa and Mike I received these documents this morning and Nathan will drop them off tomorrow at our adoption agency.

We're just worn out from all the waiting. At times I think that the bald baby will never come to live with us. It's sad to think of him eating that horrible gruel and being one of 16 kids in a class when he has so much love waiting here for him.

I know it shouldn't seem stressful, after all, we're just waiting but each time I go to the computer I find myself holding my breath, hoping that an email will be waiting with news of our adoption. And, each time, there's nothing. It's been 11 weeks of waiting. It's excruitiating. At times I just can't help but wonder if this is actually going to happen.

I know y'all have us in your prayers. I just know that God is thinking, "I don't understand their issue, I am making their adoption happen soon." But my thought is that it's all in the definition of 'soon'. It's obvious to me that God's definition of 'soon' is definitely not the same as 'soon' in Tamara time! Let's all hope that my definition and God's definition of 'soon' become closer together. Let's bring the bald baby home in 'Tamara soon'!

Musings on a Fairy Tale

Okay .. the wait for our court date is excruiating! We read a Moscow Times article that listed our agency as one that is 'blacklisted' by the Russian prosecutor general. We received a response to our question for more information on this from our agency and they have indicated that they have no reason to be on this list-they are current on all their paperwork. Adoptions are handled by the Ministry of Education in Russia so until they communicate a problem, perhaps things will continue on. Please pray that Sasha comes home soon.

So ... in my spare time as I await 'the call', we're busy with a myriad of projects - putting in new landscape beds, refinishing our deck, installing new light fixtures, baby proofing outlets, getting our carpets deep cleaned, etc.

I have often believed that fairy tales were meant to teach valuable lessons to younger generations. As I was perusing our fairy tale book given to us by the Gardenias, I happened across Humpty Dumpty. I re-read the story hoping to glean the true meaning of this fairy tale. Surely it was not about just an egg that happened on some bad luck and fell off to never be himself again. Here's my take .... Humpty Dumpty was metabolically challenged (I'm guessing hypothyroidism). He held his weight mostly in his mid-section (can't we all relate to that?). He was I'm sure self-concious of his weight and didn't feel like he could participate in athletics thus adding to his growing waist line and perhaps the reason he was sitting on that wall (possibly watching the other eggs play sports). As heavier people worry so did Humpty. Worried that he'd break the wall, worried that he'd be laughed at, that he wouldn't fit in the airline seat belts, worried that if he fell he wouldn't be able to get back up on his own. And then it happened. He fell off the wall. Adding to his humilation, all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. It's a sad tale ... eat right and exercise, consult your doctor if you have the symptoms of hypo or hyperthyrodism. Don't be a humpty.

Another Delay :(

Yesterday was THE day. It was two weeks from the day that our documents were submitted to court. It was THE day we were supposed to finally get our court date but alas ....

After corresponding with our contact, the judge has our case on hold because 'the medical reports do not comply with the rules established by the RF Health Ministry's Order # 332 (effective on Sep. 10, 1996) "Procedure of Medical Evaluation of Prospective Adoptive Parents/Guardians". The Determination further states the doctor's licence to act as a physician and surgeon does not state his authority and qualification to conduct evaluations of and give reports on general health condition of a patient and that the verification of such authority and qualification was not submitted.' It's ironic that our doctor is not only a licensed physician here but he originally trained in Belarus which was a part of the former Soviet Union at the time of his licensing. One would think he was beyond qualified. Ugh.

Our agency is presenting a letter today stating that if they'll give us a court date, we'll have our medicals completed in Moscow. Not my idea of a good time but if that's what it takes. The exam is a bit intimidating even in the best of circumstances but to have this done in Russia at a clinic (wow, we saw one of their clinics and it definitely looked very 'developing nation-ish'. We will definitely bring our own needles in case we need any bloodwork).

The Eight Part Medical Evaluation and Russian Adoption
The tests for evaluation include: testing for TB, infectious diseases (Hep B, HIV, VRDL), diseases of internal organs, diseases of muscular-skeletal system, history of substance abuse, mental illness which leaves you incompetent, diseases of central and peripheral nervous system, Malignant oncological diseases, and any diseases or trauma leading to disability. As I've been lurking on lots of adoption boards, many regions are requiring this to be done in Russia.

Interestingly, the Russian medical system revolves around specialists (as opposed to our system where people typically start with someone who cares for their general health and if there are problems, they send them to a specialist for further treatment). What I was told by a doctor in Russia is that people see a variety of doctors each year including an oncologist, psychiatrist, etc. Can you imagine? I can barely get Nathan to see one doctor each year!

The thought is that, with all the deaths of Russian children in the U.S. (5 murders, 19 accidental deaths and 199 children returned to Russia), that the Russian government is trying to use additional screening to make sure that their children are going to good families. Unfortunately, the statistics for their own adoptions is a more statistically significant (1,220 Russian children adopted by Russians have died since 1991, including 12 killed by their foster-parents). Current laws are being put forward to eliminate foreign independent adoption and to make adoption by Russian families easier.

We want this part of the journey to be completed. It's such a roller coaster ride keeping up with all the news and being scared that something might change that would prevent us from bringing Sasha home. He just needs to be home.

Focusing on Other Things
So, we continue on a myriad of projects. We finished staining our deck last weekend and moved out the 'Plants of the Tropics' collection that my folks drove up for me last year in a UHaul (yes, they are wonderful parents). They will be happy to know that their efforts weren't in vain as we only had a few casualties from their indoor stay. The deck once again looks full of life. We finished a new back landscaping bed that holds vegetables, herbs and perennials. It also has some cute children's objects in it. I've decided to make it more of a children's garden to spark Sasha's interest in plants (obviously with two Master Gardener Grandmothers and a Master Gardener mother - his fate is sealed :) I planted some plants in little plastic pails and have four birdhouses that I'm in the process of painting. I've finished a European church and have plans for a Texas log cabin (yes, Texas is it's own country - just ask them), an Asian house and I have one more to design.

We added a side bed with roses and trees that should provide a nice vegetative fence in future years. Our yard was fully landscaped when we moved in so there was no room for me to play in the dirt. We're definitely in the process of fixing that. Nathan gets scared of my 'big plans' for the yard which includes eradicating all the buckthorn out of the woods, putting in wood chipped trails and adding an annual bed with a mini-patio for us to watch Sasha when he's playing in the front yard.

I'm continuing my artistic endeavors and have nearly completed the top of Sasha's table. This photo gives you a general idea. I got the idea at the Night of Promise when Nathan and I were outbid for a lovely childrens table. At some point, after viewing it for the 50th time I thought "I can do that". The table and two chairs are from Ikea and cost $30. Even if I mess them up, I can't go wrong. I decided that using primary colors and using jungle themed squares would work perfectly in his room. As I was working on it, I thought about the advice my Aunt Karent had given me. She said that if you pick things that have lots of pictures and colors, it will provide hours of things to do with your child. Well, this table should keep him busy for a while! I'm designing the underneath side (since you know at some point this table will double as a fort or cave). I plan on painting some special things that only cave or fort dwellers might see. I have another table and four little chairs to work on next. I haven't decided how I want to do the chairs. I may put critters crawling on the legs and use primary colors for the seat and back. I must admit that I'm having a blast working on these projects. I think creativity is like any other muscle, if you don't use it, it shrinks up but once flexed it just gets stronger and becomes easier to use.

I decided that his room would be more fun with three dimensional jungle items so I created this butterfly using nylons, fabric paint, glitter glue and electrical tape. It was a fun project and has given me the idea that I should create some fairy wings for some of the special little girls that I know. (Yes, Nathan does cringe when I talk about needing to go to Michael's and there's a reason I have an entire room for all my 'stuff'. But isn't it nice that no matter what medium a project might be in, I probably have most of the materials in my closet. I think it's really quite smart to have everything ready to go ... but there's always one more thing I need at Michael's :)

As you might recall, Sasha's current favorite toy in the orphanage is a plastic pink elephant rocker. He uses this toy to self sooth and could rock for hours. We've been looking for a rocker for him since returning to the States. There just aren't any like the one that he has. However, we finally found this plush rocker. There are a variety made by the same company but we really loved this lion. When you press his ear, he roars. Very cute. In the picture below, you can also see the head of a little wooden horse. Grandma Jan brought this for Sasha out of the 'archives' that are her basement (you really wouldn't believe the stuff that they've managed to preserve over the years -Scout stuff, OA outfits, refrigerator box full of Fisher-Price toys, walnut half-rounds, an alarm created by Nathan using a commodore, etc. ) This little horse was given to Nathan by Grandma Zimmerman for his first Christmas. I know Sasha will enjoy both of his rockers.

We purchased a special handpainted wooden chest in Moscow on our first trip. This will be Sasha's first "Gotcha Day" gift. It is quite lovely and will be used for keeping all his special treasures (well, the ones that aren't covered in mud and alive at least. He is a little boy after all. Yes, I will have a special place for those kind of treasures as well ;)

I'm trying not to be disheartened by all the waiting and the constant additional / changing stuff that seems to be needed. It is hard. I keep joking that if Sasha doesn't come home soon, I'm liable to start painting a mural on his wall to pass the time.

I hope it doesn't come to that!