Last Day.. YAHOOO!!!

Well it is our last day in Moscow and we are justing trying to pass the time and wear the boys out before they wear us out. Not sure who is winning right now. Our driver will be here at 4:15 am to take us to the airport and we are off on a really long day. That is 8:15 pm your time (thursday night) and we land in Washington at 3pm your time(fridy afternoon) then drive in Friday rush hour traffic. Yikes. Will certainly be a long day but we are so anxious to get home. WE can't wait to hug our girls and show the boys where we really live. I will post some new pictures and can't wait to talk to everyone when we get home. See ya soon, J&J

Yeah were done!!!!

We have just gotten back from the Embassy and all went well and we are done the Russia Paperwork!!!! Now just more when we get home but at least we will be HOME!!! I don't care what anyone says Bridgeville DE is one of the greatest places to LIVE!!!

Okay now that we have fixed the problem we can share. We have had one heck of a time getting batteries for the camera. We have bought several but we can't speak Russian let alone read it so buying batteries is a challenge.

Between being in Russia and having the boys Jodi and I challenge anyone to a game of Sherraid's.

Boys are doing extremely well. They are picking up English already. Picture books are great. Travis is really into it and picks up the books all the time.

We have gotten through this step realy fast and now we have a day to spare. Tried to get a flight home earlier but they are all sold out.

You know its a bad haircut whenn I encourage Jodi to cut Travis's hair. It looks better than it did and the long bangs where bugging him.

The boys are taking a nap as well as Jodi (I hope). I came down to the bar for my most expensie Jack and Coke, $35 bucks!!! One is my limit today, but it is the first one in a while and wow it tastes good.

I cannot wait to get home to see my girls!! I know everyone wants to come and see us and the boys and we love you for it. I do ask that you give us a couple of days and call before coming. Not trying to be Bucky Bad but each situation is a new one and we have to figure out one step at a time.

We think the boys are going to adapt easy but we will not know until we are there. Travis is going to go crazy when he sees Pop Pop s farm. Everything is "machina" to him and Blake it is "Beep Beep". Jodi brought picture books and they always go to the tractors. Watch out Pop Pop you have riders on the Rogator.

The boys are fun to watch as they are figuring out everything. They know who Momma is. The just sing and smile in the stroller.

Now for all you hospital folks, who needs Mediafast. Just walk 20 miles a day with your 2 boys. Yeap thats all the boys want to do is walk or stroll. I believe Jodi has lost another ?x? lbs.

What is amazing is the indepence the boys have been taught at such a young age. They dress, brush teeth, go to the bathroom, make beds, and they will walk 5 city blocks and much more. Watch out Allen Household girls, the boys are in the house. But you can have Scotty on your side, lol.

Okay to end my rambling blog. I thank God for my five children and a wonderful wife and great family. I want to get out of a city with 500 million people, yes 500 million people!!! I want be a country boy.

Love all of you and thanks for your support, love and prayers.

JWA

Two days and counting..

It is now Wednesday in Moscow and about 75F at 10 am. When we arrived it was 20F. Needless to say we are somewhat wardrobe challenged. Jeff filled you all in on the medical exam and paperwork yesterday. We have to go to the Embassy today and that should be the end of the formalities here. We tried to get a flight home on Thursday but everything was sold out so we will have to try to entertain two toddlers in a small hotel room for another day. There is a park and a huge mall with in walking distance so we have tried to make the best of it.

We sat down to read books last night and both boys were repeating words in english just as clear as possible (for 2 and 3). They are active and curious little boys. There is definitly no fear left in Blake for Jeff for anything else it seems. He takes off at 100 miles an hour. They are both testing us but nothing unusual for thier age and circumstance. The doctor told us they would both win academy awards someday for their performances. He was great and had quite the personablity to boot. He encouraged us to be firm with the boys.

We will update again tomorrow. We have run out of batteries for the camera and cannot find one as it is a strange size. We will try to get more pictures on asap. We are so anxious to get home and would like to throw these suitcases in the River. Love to all and we will see you soon. J&J

Jeff's Pre daily Blog

Okay it is rare that I do a posting but Jodi is trying to keep me occuiped while the boys nap. Jodi and I have opened two new offices in Moscow. The first is in the hotel, yes the bathroom floor is the best place for us to use the computer while the boys sleep. The other office comes with staff. Jodi is the boss with all her paperwork and has three assistants Blake, Travis and me. This office is located in the back seat of a small Nissan which bearly has room for the four of us let alone the paperwork and the stacks of papers they are giving Jodi to fill out. Since Jodi is so organized it went smoothly as she already had many of the forms filled out from home but there was still about 25 new pages. Yeap there went another forest. Bottomline the Embassy paperwork is filled out and submitted. We have an appointment for 2 hours on Wed and when this meeting is done we should be able to get the boys Visa's, Yeah one step closier to home.

Medical exams went well this morning. Both boys checked out healthy. Travis weights 25 lbs and Blake is 22 lbs. Doc said Travis would proably never be the Sumai wrestler and they both need more vit D or sun so take them to a nudist beach in Maimi. Gonna try to get the same effect in Bridgeville, so watch out for the stud muffins.

Jodi forgot to add a couple of funnies. One to our large travel collection we have added, two toliet seats. One is a Large Pot and of course the one the boys like. The other is a smaller that they are starting to like. All must be carried in a plasitc bag through the airport. Next funny, while walking the boys in the park one woman asked Jodi if she was thier Grand Ma. Thought Jodi was gonna take her out. But when you think about it thier Grand Ma is Jodi's age.

Well I have rambled enough. It has been an adventure and it has been very exhausting and trying. I am fortunate to have done this with Jodi as our relationship is great. I cannot wait to get home and I never want to wait in a car for hours on end again and nothing to eat for hours. Plus be in BFE parts of Russia. Glad Jodi's got the big purse with all the snacks.

Love all of you and thanks for the support

JWA

p.s. Jodi will post a better blog later.

Moscow!!

Well, we made it to Moscow. We flew from St. Petersburg this afternoon. The flight was only about an hour long and it was a great test flight with the boys. They did great. It did not seem to phase them at all. The ride from the airport to our Hotel was about 1.5 hours with traffic and that was a little more difficult. They were both off schedule and missed naps so it was a little trying today but hopefully tomorrow will be better. We are scheduled for thier medical exams tomorrow morning at 8:30 am and then go to the Embassy on WEdnesday. Can't wait to get home, we miss everyone so much (and really miss our own bed). Love to all, J&J

Day 3

Hello all, Not much to report today. The boys are napping right now. We vowed to wear them out today and so far we have done a good job. They slept great last night and it is warmer here today (not 94 mind you). We went for a long walk and found a toy store to get some new toys (the ones I brought are getting old already). They ate great today and seem to be bonding to each other little by little. Blake still stresses when strangers come by but is fascinated with all men (as long as they do not come too close. ) We are off to Moscow in the am and will post tomorrow from there. This hotel does not have Wi-Fi so I have to use the lobby computer so no pictures. (sorry). Lots of Love J&J

day 2 with the boys

Hello all,
Day 2 with the boys went pretty smoothly. They slept until about 8 am. Then we all got dressed and went down to breakfast. They actually have better table manners then Devon. (which does not say much, I realize). We all went for a walk and then had lunch. We had to change Hotels because the one we have been staying at was overbooked. They sent us to another hotel owned by the same company. It is brand new and is a Holiday Inn. They upgraded us to a Suite which has two rooms and two bathrooms, living room with table and chairs. Other then being away from any activity, the room is great. There is a grocery store next door so we are now versed in Russian grocery shopping. This is really a challenge when you not only can't speak but can't read the language either. I have twice bought milk that I have no idea what it was and the boys spit it out. We will stick with Juice and water for now. Boys took a good nap, a big long walk out side, ate a great dinner, bath and then to bed just like champs. They are doing better then Jeff and I. I keep getting up to check on them and jump at every squeak. Tomorrow is another day of passing time. We are trying to just enjoy this time and getting to know the boys better. Love to all, J&J

GOTCH DAY!!!!

At Last, we have our boys. We are so excited. They did really great on the ride to the hotel. They were so amazed by all they saw and sqealed and pointed. It was priceless. They played in the room and then we took a walk in the stroller (Warm weather at last). We fed them dinner in the room and they ate like crazy. Then we gave them a bath and played and it was bed time. They both were champs and got right in bed and stayed there. It took Blake about an hour to fall asleep and travis was still fighting it when I came downstairs for a break. They are both doing great and we are so blessed. Now we are ready to come home. Unfortunately, the passports are not ready until Monday so we will hang out in St. Petersburg for the weekend. We fly to Moscow on Monday. They have Medical exams at the US Embassy on Wednesday. We get thier US Visa's on Thursday and fly out at O'dark thirty on Friday. Keep praying that we meet each challenge with Humor and love and we will be home next friday. Love to all J&J

Hello All!

Not much to report from St. Petersburg today. We had a rest day today and actually got to do some tourist stuff. What a beautiful city this is. We just walk around with our mouths open (a pretty picture). We took lots of photos. We are still having trouble sleeping through the night mostly due to worrying about what the next week will hold. We both agree that this is the scariest part of this whole adventure. The other couple that is here with thier new son have finally gotton him to sleep but they walk and walk and walk. Finally was able to post some new photos. Tomorrow is "Gotcha Day" . We will update then. Thanks for all the support and kind words. Keep them coming we love to read all the posts. J&J

OMG!!!! What a day...

What a wild and crazy day we have had. We road all over parts of Russia that the Russian's haven't ever seen. After all that, we still did not get all the paperwork we needed. Our translator/coordinator is awesome and she found a way to get it done. We get to rest tomorrow and will pick up the boys on Friday afternoon at 3pm (That is 7am your time). We are really excited. All we have to do now is wait for the passports to be ready. Hopefully Monday and we will head to Moscow on Monday or Tuesday. We have met several other couples in various stages of adoption. Some had picked up thier kids already. One couple was up all night with thier son. Pray that this does not happen to us. Not much else for now. We will keep you posted as events unfold. J&J

Our Apologies...

Hello all, just wanted to tell everyone that we have tried to upload new photos and we are having technical difficulties either with the website or our connection. We will try again tomorrow. Sorry and hang in there proud grandmothers.... J&J

We survived another day in St. Petersburg. We now have the paperwork for Travis's passport. We spent much of the day riding in the van only to arrive at another office to wait in the van for the paperwork to be completed. However we were surprised by being able to visit with the boys for 1 1/2 hours. We had to wait two hours as they were napping but it was worth the wait. It amazes us how each time thier personalities change. Travis was very "active" today. We go to Lomonsov tomorrow and hope to complete the paperwork there but it may take two days. We will not see the boys again until Friday when we get to pick them up!!!! Then we will travel to Moscow Monday or Tuesday. Bad news is we cannot get reservations for the weekend at the Petro but Irina has taken care of us once again. She got us a hotel with a kitchen which will be nice for the boys.

Micki as for comment 5 suitcases and a double stoller, yeah we brought enough. Between the paperwork and half of Toys R Us we have it all.


Love to all and thanks for the prayers and support.

J & J

Trip #3

Well, here we are again. We arrived without incident with our 7000 pounds (oh sorry this is Europe)Kilos of Luggage. It is safe to say that we are over being world travelers. The Flight from Dullus was United and was tolerable at best. We definetly like KLM better. We are to start out first thing tomorrow morning in search of paperwork. It is really really cold here again and I am so wishing I had packed my Cabela's down coat. Not much else to report today and we are exhausted. We will update again tomorrow evening. Love to all and thanks for all the warm wishes. (XXOO to our girlies) J&J

I am finally allowed to do a post!!! Probably because Jodi is scrambling and to keep me quiet, the password was easier to give out. Okay the laundry from the last trip is done, only to go back in the suitcase. Yep we are leaving again on Sunday, April 19 and returning on May 1st, WITH OUR BOYS!!!! A Russian Holiday can really throw a loop in things making our trip 14 days. Right now we are accepting donations for airfare difference, hotel or better yet shocks for the van in Russia. For two days we get to ride all over Russia Countryside getting documents only to return to the city and submit them for the next four days. I think Jodi may have a calling for Adoption Agent in the future. The paper work file is over 14 inches thick!!!

Better get back to work. Words cannot say what we feel with all the love, prayers and support we have gotten.

Love YA

J & J

COURT DAY....

Court is all over. The boys are officially ours!!!! After two nerve wracking hours of court, it is all over. Jeff did most of the talking (thank goodness) and he did an excellenct job. Lots of Questions but nothing unfortold happened. I think the judge really wanted to ask " Why on God's green earth do you want 5 kids". But she just smiled and wished us luck. We are so relieved. Looks like travel date are slightly different from what we were originally quoted. We will leave again on 4/25 and return home with the boys on May 6 if all goes well. Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers, we felt them all. We do not leave St. Petersburg until tomorrow evening so we will have some time to explore the city tomorrow. See you all on Sunday and love you tons. J&J

Day 2, Trip 2....

We had a great visit with both boys together. Blake had very little fear of Jeff and let him pick him up and sat on his lap. The boys did not pay too much attention to each other but we are not sure they really grasp that they will be brothers. We could not believe the difference in Blake. He looked so much healthier and even acted more alert and curious. We got to spend about 1 1/2 hours with the boys. It was so hard to leave them again but we told them we will be back in two weeks to pick them up for good. Travis told the translator that he wanted to go home with us. Talk about melt your heart.... Tomorrow is the big court date. It is a HUGE deal here and everyone seems a little on edge about it. I just keep reminding us that others have been successful in court and so will we. Jeff is fighting a wicked sinus attack but is hiding it well. I will attempt to upload some new pictures. Best wishes to all and thanks for all the prayers. Keep them coming.. J&J

Arrived in St. Petersbug

Hello all,
We have arrived safe and sound in St. Petersburg. We are stuggling to stay awake until a reasonable hour to go to bed local time. We have to go to the Minister of Education for Leningrad region tomorrow morning to get permission to visit the boys again. Then we will visit the orphanage in the afternoon. We are so glad they are now in the same orphanage as this will probably be the first time that have met each other. We will video tape as much as we can( and not let Devon erase it this time). Hope all is well in the states. We are able to get to our email without a problem so feel free. A big thanks to our pal CJ for loaning us this mini dell laptop. It fit in my purse and was a breeze through security and linked right onto the free wifi in the hotel lobby. We will update again (hopefully with new pictures) tomorrow after our visit. Happy holy week to all and never forget the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. All our love, J&J

Off We Go (again)....

We are off again tomorrow to St. Petersburg. We will arrive in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. We will get to visit the boys on Thursday and then we go to Court on Friday 4/10/09. Please keep us in your prayers. We are already nervous. Then we hop back on a plane on Saturday and have to overnight in Amersterdam and will be home on Easter Sunday. We will update the blog faithfully so stay tuned. I will try and post new pictures of the boys as well. Thanks again, all our love, J&J