Last Day....

Okay, we are either really old or the jet lag has just kicked our butts. We have a reading party together everynight starting around midnight and lasting several hours. We go right to sleep but then wake up and it is hopeless. We generally go back to sleep but then the wake up call seems really rude. Anyway, we are anxious to get back on East Coase time.

We had our Medical exam this morning and it was not bad at all. Lots of questions and few exams. They even served us tea and cakes. (would not find this hospiatality in the US). Overall, basically painless. The worst part was the bill.....OUCH!

We then went to the notary and signed our official request with the court to adopt both boys. Last official business of the trip. With all the paperwork here and the paperwork at home we have personally killed a large forrest. We have this afternoon to relax and head home bright and early tomorrow morning(4:15 am to be exact). We have lots of video and pictures to share and can't wait to see you all. Lot of Love, J&J

Day Three

Ok first of all, we would really like it if someone posted a comment. WE also have access to email so let us know you are out there please. (never new mommom marge to be so reserved)
WE had a great day today. We got to visit both boys again. Th e younger boy did alot better. He was still fixated on cookies but did alot better with Jeff. He is very shy and fearful of men as they are not a part of his daily life. He is the tiniest little peanut and needs some good old Sussex County Cooking (all donations excepted). The older boy had a fever when arrived so he was not quite as animated as yesterday. He still went to both of us and seems to understand that we will be back to pick him up soon. Both boys were interested in their new sisters and the farm. It broke our hearts to say good bye.

Guess what?? It snowed this morning and early afternoon. Then the sun actually came out. Shocker!! We had a traditional Russian lunch of Blini (crepe like pancake with filling) and Borsch(Russian soup). It was really good(and beats the heck out of McD's).

TOmorrow we have our Medical exams with 9 doctors starting at 0730. Yes, we know we have already done this in the States. Appearently, that doesn't matter. Then we leave first thing on Friday am and should be home sometime on Friday evening. Please let us know if you are seeing these. We sure hope so but find it strange that noone has responed. We will update again tomorrow before heading home. All our Love, J&J

Day Two

Wow what a day. We got to meet both the boys today and they are even more cute then the photos. The youngest is very quite and deathly afraid of men. They tell us there are no men working in the ophanage and he has been there for a while. We found some tickle spots that elicited some gigles. He was feeling more comfortable by the time we left and we are looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow. The older boy is quite the heartbreaker. Long long eyelashes and dimples galore. He took well to both of us and speaks quite well. Unfortunately, he speaks Russian. We took lots of pictures and will try to download them later to post some.

It snowed all day but that does not seem to slow anyone down here. Tomorrow we will visit both boys again. We hope all is well at home, thanks for the prayers and support. We are off to find some dinner. Love to all.....J&J

We Made it....

Hello Everyone, we are writing this post from the lobby of our Hotel in St. Petersburg, Russia and frankly we are FREEZING....... We arrived about 5pm Russian time on Monday 2/23(about 9am Monday morning your time). We had no difficulties with travel and the flights were not bad at all. (no meds required). We met our translator and driver at the airport. They seem really nice and were helpful getting us checked into the hotel as well. We are to meet them at 9:30 am tomorrow and have a full day planned. We need to go to the Ministry of Education in the morning and then off to both orphanages. One is about 1 hour from St. Petersburg and the other is 1.5 hours away. Unfortunately, in oposite directions it seems. Jeff says he will never complain about Jodi's van again after riding in the one here. The Midas muffler shop would do well here.

Well we are exhausted and ready for bed. We just wanted to let everyone know we are safe and sound. Thanks girls for the kind messages. We love you all...

Will update tomorrow again as we have the wirless figured out now. J&J

2 days...

Wow!! I can't believe we leave in 2 days. My head is swimming with everything left to do. I did want to take a minute to thank everyone who has reached out and offered their prayers and support to us. We appreciate every one's kind thoughts as we venture into the unknown. Thanks especially to all those who have gone before us and offered their whit and knowledge to reassure us that all will work out fine.

Last of the papers went out on Tuesday. I ran like crazy to day to get all the things we need and stock the fridge for Mom and the girls while we are gone. (Although I am certain that no one will starve). Mom and Marge like to remind us that they raised children too. Try to check in next week and I will try to update this as often as possible. Tomorrow will be busy with cleaning and packing and running kids (the normal weekend stuff). Next time I write will be from Russia. I placed a link on the bottom of the page so you can check the weather in St. Petersburg and feel really bad for us. Love to all....

7 days and counting.......YIKES!!!
Yea we are in the final countdown. We are stuck somewhere between really excited and scared Sh**less. We are so excited to meet the boys but so scared of all the unknowns. We are reassured that people actually do return alive from their first trip and return several more times to bring the kids home. So I am assuming we too will survive. Did not get the final paperwork off this week as we had hoped but that is OK. I will get it out this week. Our FBI clearance came back already so that is reassuring (you never really know what lurks in peoples closets). The girls had a good week this week and we are hopeful that Syd is back on a good path. (She had the impression that homework was optional, needless to say that is no longer the case). B had a great report card so we are tickled with her. SHe has had a lot of "chaos" in her classroom this year but all seems to be settling down now. Devon, is truely acting like a 2 year old. I keep reminding Jeff that this is why God makes babies sooo cute. I will update again before we leave next Sunday. Have a great Valentine's Day (ugggg)!

14 days and counting...

Thanks to those of you who have logged in to follow our family. We have made some progress with paper work and were able to get the FBI fingerprints on the way. Our passports with Visa's intact are back in our hands. We are gathering the last of the documents that need to be notarized and apostilled before we leave. With that accomplished this week, we can turn our attention to simpler details like what to pack and how much to take. I will let you know how things are progressing toward the end of the week. God Bless you all and have a safe and happy Monday. Jodi

Let's get started....

I have been toying with the idea of starting a family blog eversince we started the adoption process. I decided to take the plunge as our first trip to St. Petersburg draws near. I think this will be a great way to keep everyone up to date (especially with time changes). I will try to upload some picutures of the girls later. I cannot publish phots of the boys right now but will after our trip.

As we count down to trip one (17 days), we just got 5 more documents we need to complete including FBI fingerprints. I am getting pretty good at the rush, rush and wait. Rush and get this, rush and get it notarized, rush and get it apostilled, rush and send it Fedex and then wait for the next assignment. We are so excited to meet the boys. God has blessed our family over and over and we can't wait to see what is around the next corner.