Oh yeah, we got a new car!

I forgot to mention that we have a new car! Kind of a big detail to miss! This is our third Volkswagen Jetta (C'mon what else would we get?) It is a brand new 2008 and it is silver. We have never had a new car so it feels really neat! THe kids love it and Joey is letting it be my car I think. WooHoo! It is a base model so it's not all decked out but it has everything we need including awesome gas mileage (1/2 the reason why we got it!) There is one catch....we didn't buy it...we are leasing it. I am not a fan of leasing and don't feel that it is usually the most responsible decision but in our case and with Joey being an employee it ended up being our most economical choice for us. It is such a contradiction though! It's funny! Poor people (well financially anyway) in a brand new car! Crazy but true! Check it out!

Hard Habit To Start.

Who knew I would have such a hard time blogging? My goodness, I thought this would be so easy for me as I constantly have thoughts in my head and I enjoy getting it down in writing. I think time sometimes passes too quickly and we are on to the next thought or venture. So, what's been up with me lately...hmmmm.....well I went on our annual camping trip to Beverly Beach. It is usually so fun. We stay in yurts and have campfires with friends and I was soooo excited because it was our first year bringing our kiddos. Well, I became really really sick and pretty much felt like I missed it all and poor Joey had to work extra hard to make up for my slack. But overall, the kids still had a good first experience and LOVED being with their friends everyday and I had one good day in there that made up for all the sickness. I was literally sick from head to toe, well my toes were okay, maybe head to knee?

One night Joey, the kids and I played "catch" with glow sticks. That was my best moment of the trip. It was pitch black and all we could see were the glow necklaces we were wearing and the glow sticks we were throwing. We were all cracking up! I am thankful to have that moment for the memory books. I also did enjoy some good talks with friends around the campfire so it wasn't totally a bust. I just wish I could have been out and more involved. God gave me strength and we packed up on the last day and headed home. We unloaded everything into the house and then...........

......it all fell apart! Joey and I were both throwing up and we could not do much of anything. I was more sick that night then I can ever remember in my whole life. It was amazing the timing, every 20 minutes from 8pm-8am, literally, almost on the dot, I was up puking and other stuff and unlike other sicknesses I have had, there was no relief in between. What in the world? It was horrible. I am sorry. I should have spared the details (really I am, if you only knew...) but the whole reason I am even taking the time to blog is it was a huge part of my life for the last two weeks. In the days following I became a little better each day but I couldn't eat, and still had icky stuff, and needed to sleep. My mom came over and stayed the day with the kids and I which was sooooooo helpful. The next day we were on our own and did okay but the mentally I got sick as well. You know when you physically can't do anything and feel awful then your mind starts to be upset too? But gradually things got better with each day and today I have strength and I can eat (not normally of course because ALMOST EVERYTHING totally grosses me out!) I can care for my kids and start to do stuff around the house. It feels great. It really makes you appreciate being well and really brings me to a new level of prayer for those who deal with chronic illnesses.

Well, that has been my life since my last blog. Now I am in a much better place and just trying to figure out my life and figure out where my "no's" need to go (referring to my old blog- "He Amazes Me".) I had a great talk with an old friend last night and a long one with my sis the day before and I can't tell you how good it feels to share each other's load and burdens. Friends are so important. And it is so good to talk with people who know you and carry a Godly perspective that always points you to Him.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I met little Aiden Lewis Hosszu! What a pleasure! He is such a sweet little man. I was able to meet him in the hospital! Someday I will just have to tell him that I did meet him in the hospital, the catch is it was more than a week after he was born! That will be a funny story! Poor Caleb (Aiden's older brother) broke his little arm pretty bad which is what brought me to the hospital. It was a pleasure to see them both and their parents unfortunately crummy circumstance! Thank you Ang for watching my kiddos! They love your house!

Well that is pretty much me lately. I have been a really deep thinker lately and wrestling with so many thoughts and decisions so I may have some deep thoughts posts coming...

My little loves <3

This is what my Saturday mornings look like....

On Saturdays I have the honor of watching my niece and nephew. We love our time together! (I am being vulnerable by showing a pic with no make-up! I hope you appreciate it!)

The Gift of Friendship

Here is an little portion of "Captivating" by John & Stasi Eldredge that I read today and it reminded me of my best friends. I love you girls. These are a few of the greatest gifts God has ever given to me-Stephanie, Anggi, Tami, and Molly.



"Friendship is a great gift. One to be prayed for and not taken for granted. If you do not have the kind of friendship you long for, ask God to bring it into your life, to give you eyes to recognize it when he does. When God gives a friend, he is entrusting us with the care of another's heart. It is a chance to mother and to sister, to be a Life giver, to help someone else become the woman she was created to be, to walk alongside her and call her deep heart forth.

Friendships need to be nurtured and guarded and fought for. We need to call one another without waiting to be called first. We need to ask how our friends are doing and really listen to their answers. Listen between the lines. We love our friends by pursuing them- calls, little presents, cards, invitations to play, to go for a walk, to go to a movie. We offer our hearts."

The Amish would be so disappointed in me...

So I always make friendship bread when I am given a starter but the last time I actually just threw it out! I felt horrible. Now I have another I have been given, a second chance mind you and what do you know? It is still sitting on my counter! I really want to make it and I have people who want the starters but my question to all you pros out there........is there any way of saving it? It is dated May 3rd. I added the first one cup of sugar, flour, and milk but haven't done anything else and we are on day 16. Can I still make it? Please give me your advice!!! Oh, and for those of you that love it, my cousin puts her starters in the freezer and they work just as well! I wish I would have done that!

He amazes me.

I am so thankful for a God that loves us so much that he takes the time to PROVE to our hearts even when we are showing little faith that He is listening. I have been very overwhelmed and stressed lately. I feel like there is just too much to deal with on a daily basis and keep track of in my mind. Mostly in the areas of work and ministry. There are a lot of opportunities and responsibilities and I have been praying and praying and begging and begging for clear direction.

Well last Thursday after an awesome Bible study time an older woman that I admire came to me and told me that I had been on her heart and in her mind. She said my face continued to appear to her and that God had even drawn her from her sleep to pray for me. At first I was fearful like "What in the world? Am I going to face a horrible tragedy or something? Why in the world is she having to fight so hard for me? Then she calmed my fears and brought me to tears and peace. She said that God had revealed to her that I am stressed and stretched. That I have a hard time saying "No" to people and things when asked of me. She was so right on. She said that God wants me to know... "It is okay to say no. I need to say no to somethings. The time is not right. Right now is not the time for some things." She said to continue to be in prayer and be listening, that God would be bringing clear direction for me.

I can't tell you how grateful I am. To know that He hears me and He really really knows me. I know he knows me but it helps my heart feel and remember that He knows each thought and sees each tear. He makes it His personal mission to be there for us at all times and in all things. No one compares. And I am so thankful for this dear woman to have the boldness in what she heard and saw to come to me and share the love he has for me. Sometimes it actually is more convincing when it comes from another believer other than yourself because Satan can't attack you with thoughts that you made it up or aren't thinking clearly.

I have not received that clear direction yet but I am willing to be patient and to wait. I feel so much more at peace knowing in a deeper way that he is "on" this situation. Thank you my sweet Jesus, my confidant, my best friend.

OOps! A day late blogging!

11 Years! Wow! Joey and I have been married for 11 years! This last one was a big one for us- becoming parents, 10 year anniversary, 30th b-days, and traveling Germany & Russia! We had a wonderful exciting year but we would be happy to have a more laid back 2008 into 2009! We are excited to enjoy our family and define who we are AS a family.

Well, I have to say I have been blessed so greatly by the man God gave to me. He is incredible. He always accepts me the way that I am....sweats, dressed-up, when I am busy, when I am lazy, with short hair, long hair, etc... He is patient and has a sweet forgiving heart. He is a man that allows me to step out in my dreams and ministry and supports me all the way. He cooks! Yes, I caught me a man who cooks! I have been so blessed by this creative man. He is faithful and loyal and true. He is such a hard worker and I respect him greatly. And now the pleasure I have received as I have watched him step immediately into Daddy. He blows me away with his patience, compassion, and playfulness. I could not ask for anything greater for my children. Jesus gave him to me to be my strength and I am so blessed. I hope I can be as much of a gift to him as he is to me.

I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together. <3

P.S. The one thing Joey can't stand is those glasses on me! Ha! Just ignore how silly they are and how my cheeks push them up when I smile!

SAHM, Full- time Job. HA!

Much more than a full-time job! So today and a few times last week I just happened to glance at the clock around 2:30 and realized I was just sitting down for the first time all day. You see by 2:30 I have already been working for 7 hours without a lunch break and have many more hours to go! I am not complaining I love being a mom but my goodness, it is so much work!

I want to pour into my children as much as I can but those days when I am ONLY focused on them- pre-kindergarten studies with Jones, reading with Mollie, meals, song time, pretend to be an animal time, let's decorate Mother's Day cards time, etc... I would never ever get anything done! I am trying to find balance but right now it is more like they get this full day of me and the next is errands or Bible study or something. I am hoping to give them a little more of me on the running around days and I guess a little less on the others.

Just a thought for the journey... today.

Haircut is done, on to color.......

10 inches off!!! Woah!!! Freaking me out a bit! Can't put it in a pony tail really.

Need Opinions Fast!

Short & Bright?

The original plan.

The original plan with highlights.

I think I love this.....but .....sooooo bold!

Fun Color?


A shade lighter than my own?


So.....I have a long awaited haircut tomorrow. What should I do? I need opinions cut and color wise!

Writers Block Already

Well, I have thought about writing so many times but just can't get to it! So with all of those topics long gone......hmmmmmmmmmm. I guess I will just update my week. We had a very busy weekend....

** The boys (my hubby, brothers, brother-in-law, friends) won the GRACE GSPN Football Championship again!!! I am so proud of them. That was a lot of fun!

**Mollie is talking up a storm and is so cute and funny!

** I am getting a haircut tomorrow FINALLY and color soon! (Pics for advice soon.)

**Joey's car broke down this morning so I had to get the kiddos up and go rescue him!

**Jones has a fever AGAIN!!!

** I am keeping very busy as usual.

**This weekend should be fun! It is our 11th Anniversary on Sat., Mother's Day on Sunday, and Friday is Married Life Live! I am excited!

Sorry this is boring. Next time I have a burst of writing energy and inspiration I will RUN to the computer before my mommy brain forgets!

Praises in the early morn

Thank you Jesus for meeting with me this morning.

Well, as you can see it's 4:30 in the morning and I am....up. I visited my poor little nephew Jack and my sick sissi Britt tonight. Both were throwing up constantly, part of a weird flu virus going around. It starts and then goes away believing you are fine and then comes back with no warning at all. I came home and went to bed but received a call a couple hours ago that my brother-in-law was going to take Jack into the hospital to have him checked out. My sis couldn't go cause she was too sick. We prayed together and then of course me, I can't sleep because I am concerned and praying. It was my request that she call me. My Dad went to be with Jeremy and my Mom went to be with Britt. Dad called quite awhile ago and let me know that they think Jack just has a virus and they are hydrating him with an IV. Praise the Lord. And also praise to the the Lord for allowing my niece Olivia to sleep through it all. So all is well (pretty much) and I can't sleep.

Well , I decided to watch Wife Swap to numb my mind to sleep but.....still awake. So I decided to watch the Dove Awards I had on my DVR. I was really enjoying it. It is always fun to watch as that was once a dream of mine to be singing contemporary Christian or Worship professionally. Next up was Casting Crowns singing East to West. Okay so I have heard this song a million times and I really enjoy the Melody but it seems I have only really heard the chorus. As I listened and grasped on to every little word I was able to fully understand the song and relate to it in this moment. In my Beth Moore Bible study we are studying the Psalms of Ascent. These were the psalms that the pilgrims (those coming out of exile, those traveling for the feasts, etc.) would sing as they traveled to reach their destination. We are learning how powerful song is for memorization, for feeling, for getting us by. We are learning that we too are pilgrims on this journey to a destination also (our heavenly home.) And we need songs for the road too. East to West will be a new one of mine.

I have been really thinking about a lot of things lately and really seeking to divide my time in a way that would honor God and really make sure my motives are to serve Him alone. There are many decisions to be made on my part regarding my working life, home life, church life, family life. The weight of responsibility can be so heavy at times. I add much of it myself. I have also been experiencing so much stress and guilt and all the things that seek to steal a woman's joy. We have many hats to wear. I have also been reading the book Captivating which is really explaining to me more and more about our womanhood and why we have the desires we have to be cherished and loved and adored. I know this might not make a lot of sense but it all blends together very well for me. It talks about as women how we are sometimes made to feel (either by ourselves or others) that we are not good enough or too much.

I have decided that guilt and insecurity is a very sneaky way that Satan attacks me and I am assuming most women feel some sense of this and I am fired up and angry about it. It is such an easy one to miss because it really does seem to come from us. Why do I always feel that I am not good enough and at the same time too much. Because Satan likes to creep in and remind us of this even though it is NOT true! I never recognize him in those feelings because they seem to be just my own insecurities and self doubt. What I don't catch on to quick enough is often times he is whispering those thoughts! I am constantly trying to please somebody, constantly trying to be "enough", questioning myself after I leave a conversation, and of course trying to please God (this I will continue to do but I do know my salvation does not depend on it.) I also feel so much guilt. It is crazy, if I am playing with my kids, I feel guilty for not getting things done, if I am getting things done, I feel guilty for ignoring my kids, if I am working at the church, I feel I should be working to earn money to help with finances at home, if I am working, I would rather be serving, on and on and on... such a cycle. And then there are the struggles that continue that seem so hard to defeat... being content with what we have, losing my patience with the kiddos,etc. When you make the same mistake over and over it is very easy to feel like there will never be victory. I guess in this moment I am just feeling rugged right now. There are definitely strong days, hours, and minutes and weak ones. There always will be as long as we are on this journey.

Anyway....... so the lyrics really went deep into my soul this morning and I found myself on my face before my God and I wept. I wept for not recognizing the thwarts of the enemy, for being a woman so concerned with herself that her mind was filled with guilt and insecurity, for not seeing the beauty (inside of and out) of what he created me to be, for making the same mistakes over and over, for not grasping his rest and mercy. And He held me, loved on me.......and met me there. It really feels so wonderful to be in complete surrender to him. I try to do this often but at times I am so distracted or so concerned with time. But tonight....he kept me up for a reason, and I am so glad He did. Just pouring my heart out to Him was so refreshing and then praising Him and giving him the love and adoration he deserves was so satisfying. It is so amazing how praising him changes us. How he is so generous a God to allow us to receive out of the praises we give to him. We receive because we surrender and we release the responsibility of trying to do it all on our own. We recognize our need for a Savior and we can rest in knowing he's "got our back." I copied the lyrics below and placed the lyrics that stood out to me in bold faced print. I encourage you to add this song to your mix tape for the road trip of your life too!

"East To West"

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west
I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
One scarred hand to the other
From one scarred hand to the other

Up above the world so high.....Up above the world so high.... Up above....

Twinkwle, twinkwle wittle sthar....what you are...up above the world so high, up above the world so high, up above the world so high, up above the world so high.....On and on is what I heard as I was jolted from sleep two hours earlier than normal! Oh it was so adorable but hearing it through my baby monitor morning alarm so early this morning was just too much.

Oh, and she drank her first V-8 today! She loved it! Go veggies go!!!

If you just believe............

I have been going though the Beth Moore Bible study at church recently called Stepping Up. As I was doing my homework this week it really confirmed to me a thought I had just previous to starting the study. Do I REALLY believe that God can help me to completely overcome my struggles. I mean the day to day things that I feel I continually fight. Up until now, I don't know if I was really truly "beyond a shadow of a doubt" was believing. It is weird. I fully believe it in my head but this one concept on this one subject I realized had never truly made it to my heart. I feel like the windows have been washed and I can see clearly now! There is hope! Just cause I have never truly experience overcoming these things doesn't mean it can't happen! Of course there have been small victories but I mean I want to win the war if you know what I mean! He WILL bring me through! I am so excited to see this all come to fruition. If you have day to day struggles that you continually deal with, I encourage you to really think about it, and pray for help with your belief and then let your imagination go wild with a vision of triumph. I keep imagining myself doing the right thing, making the right choice and I now have a visual of what the outcome could be!

Mollie Likes Spaces Her Size

My Babe and My Baby

Angry Dream

Have you ever woke up from a dream angry? It made me even more angry that I woke up from a dream being angry! But...... it has been a little while now and I am feeling more humorous than angry. Some of you will get a kick out of this one............

So, for some reason my parents were living in an apartment (I think) and it was pretty dim with just pockets of sunshine coming through. At some point in my dream the apartment also seemed to be my Grandpa and Grandma Lovelace's house (probably because I really need to call them :) but it was a long time ago because they still had their blue shag carpet. We were having a party of some sort and for some reason there were a lot of toys and clothes (A LOT!) all throughout the place. (That last part probably comes from me having PILES of clean laundry on the floor in my room that I have been MEANING to fold for about 5 days.)

It was getting late and it was my mom, me, Anggi, and Steph. I am not sure where all of the other key players were. I do however know where my Dad was. In the dream my mom was working on contacting him through British Airways so I am assuming he was traveling to London on business. In my dream it is now 12:45am and I am exhausted beyond belief (this may come from my lack of sleep because of a stinkin' pinched nerve & one sick child in real life.) We are attempting to clean up this mess that is strewn across the floor in every room and turn it into organized groups stored in an assortment of laundry baskets. It is taking FOREVER! Finally the job is complete and I then make the mistake of excusing myself to the ladies room.

To my horror I return and the contents of each and every basket are very neatly aligned in rows and patterns covering every inch of floor throughout the living room, dining room, family room and kitchen! "What the????????" (Yes I did end that sentence with "the" as swearing is not a common language I use.) "Whoooooooo did this?" I say in my most evil voice. And the response I receive is giggling (my mom is off somewhere in a bedroom still trying to get through to the airline.) Well, out of my total exhaustion and speaking through angry hot tears streaming down my face I say "Cleannnnn iiiiiittt uuuuup" in more of a growl than a recognizable tone of voice.

I start frantically trying to clean things up so we can just get home and go to sleep and what do you know? The laundry baskets are missing! So now we are on a hunt to find where Anggi hid them (who can't remember either because she is exhausted as well!) Did I mention it is light outside at 12:45am? (This must come from those unpleasant "white nights" we experienced in Russia!) So we are roaming outside the apartment complex looking for baskets and seeing each passerby as a suspect of basket burglary. Finally we find them and the girls are roaring with laughter and this is when I am so LIVID that I ................wake up.

Sorry girls! I am not mad at you in real life and no it is not some suppressed anger either! Just an off the wall crazy dream. Ever have those? I know sometimes they are painstaking to listen to so I am sorry to pour this one out on your early morning possibly not fully caffeinated brains but I just had to share for those who might share in my.....laughter! (You thought I was going say anger didn't you?)

Check it out........

So.............did you notice? Stephanie totally rocked my blog! Thank you Girl! I had the pleasure of sitting with her today and we had so much fun designing my new blog! She is quite the talent isn't she? I am pretty lucky to have her for a best friend. And now to make her happy, I am blogging again! I am teasing you Steph. Stayed tuned.....more blogs to come.......

Pity Party

Okay, so have you ever had one of those days when you feel like a disappointment to everyone? Maybe even a little Mommy guilt mixed in? Yuck! That is my day today but I'm working and praying my way out. And actually if I look at each situation I faced today, it is not a really big deal and it was probably more internal doubt in myself than another's feelings "about" me. It just started off icky. Emails and phone calls reminding me of responsibilities and such. I don't know, maybe it is more an overwhelmed feeling. My sweet hubby reminded me that he isn't disappointed in me so that was nice. Just feel like escaping for awhile. Retreat kept me so busy and now it is back to regular life and I am just not ready to face the music you know? Things I put off when I was working on retreat. I think that is all it is. And needing motivation. I am praying for that.

So this is a weird post coming back to blogging but this is the honest truth today.

Weeee'rrreee baaaaccccccckkkk!

Hey, guess what? We're back! I haven't posted for several months and figured it might be time to "get back in the saddle" especially since the rise in blog popularity! I certainly would not want to be left out of the blogging community! So pretty soon you will see more posts from me and hopefully a more beautiful blog page! Come back soon!

Friends

and family

home

Going Good

So it is going pretty good around here. THe kids are adjusting really well and seem to be really happy and attaching well. We have begun to do many things out of the house. We went to Target with Auntie Britty and the kids and Walmart by ourselves!!! The first day home Joey took Jones to the grocery store and cooked breakfast before Mollie and I even woke up. It was great! Things are really fitting into a routine now. We have seen a few behaviour problems in the evening but we are working through them. I think Jones just gets too excited playing racing video games when Dad gets off work.

Today we went to Chuck E Cheese with Auntie Britty, & Emily and all the kids. We had a good time. Pretty crazy though with all the little ones to keep track of. We are having a family movie night watching Happy Feet. Jones and I are falling asleep and I put Mollie to bed a bit ago. Weird that there is a character Lovelace since that's my maiden name.

Jones and Mollie are both answering to their American names and Jones is finally trying English. He speaks new words every day and can count to 6 in English and sing half his ABC's. He is a smart kid. He knows his name but he loves to joke with my mom and call her Babooshka Jones. It is funny. Dad brought his Harley over yesterday and Jones loved that. We told him that Grandpa had one when Joey was looking through his magazine on the plane. I love when we can show him things and follow through with things we tell him and make it a reality. I feel like it clicks in his mind. Both kids are very smart. They both love to play tricks though too. We could be in trouble in the future! Ha!

We have had lots of visitors and a few play dates and it has all been great. Mollie gets a little overwhelmed at times but Jones really thrives. It is great for him to be with other kids too. I have made good cartoons available as well to help with the language. He hasn't asked to watch a Russian DVD in days. I still need to find a tutor or teacher for a few times during the week to assist with the language. Both kids are very smart and catch on to things very quickly. Mollie likes to fit thing into other things and she is very good with her hand eye coordination. Jones likes to figure out how things work and he always finds the on/off and the place for batteries. He is obsessed with batteries because he knows you need them for toys.

Well, I am seriously ready to fall asleep right now at 9:10pm so I better go. Pathetic I know. More updates later!

Are you ready for this

Last Day- Can you believe it

Today is our last day here! In fact we leave in less than 12 hours! Amazing! Today I am off and on emotions wise. Today I realized that it may not be all nerves but I think my trembling might also be excitement! The only other time I wanted to come home so bad was moving home from Virginia. Actually no,I have never wanted to come home more and have never been so excited to see your faces. I am trying to take the attitude of whatever happens, happens. There is only so much in my control. The Lord has to take care of the rest and if that is to let both my kids scream or something, then I will probably cry but have to endure. Please be praying very hard that we can get seats together. Right now we do not. I am a little concerned about that but I know the Lord has us in His capable hands. Please also pray for sleep for the kids. Neither of them sleep unless they are actually in bed so I am hoping that they will regardless. And lastly - just for smooth flights and transitions. We only have an hour and a 1/2 in Frankfurt to switch planes so we are in need of His guidance in that circumstance as well. I of course am nervous being my nature but I think God is working on strengthening me. I have had times of calm today though. It hasn't helped having so much cooped up time to think.

Today we stayed in the hotel until we had to be ready at 1:15. I worked on organzing the suitcases and carry-ons. We only have 2 big and 1 small suitcase to check and two smaller bags, stroller, and a purse to carry-on! Not so bad huh? The big suitcases are not full either! At 1:15pm we met Alex downstairs and he drove us to the Embassy. We and about 12 other adoptive families waited to swear some stuff and get our children's American visas in their Russian Passports. They told us we should be fine in Germany but if not to keep our adoption certificates near by. The kids will be US citizens as soon as the plane touches down in Portland! They will have dual citizenship until they are 18 and then must re-apply for their Russian status if they would like. We need to get them passports in America to give them extra validity and then also apply for American birth certificates. There is still a lot of paperwork, registration, and post placement reports to do after we are home. It was so nice to meet other families in the same boat. Most of them are all flying home tomorrow and some of their kids were acting up for the couple hours we were there so I didn't feel so bad. It feels good to know you are not alone and this is not the first time someone has done this. I think I will take my mom's advice and talk to the stewardess' when we arrive on the plane and make them aware of the situation. There is only one other couple taking our route that was at the embassy today. They are on the same flight to Frankfurt but then they are headed somewhere else. They adopted a much older son. I am thinking maybe 11. He just loved Mollie. He just watched her and patted her head and they made faces back and forth. She was taken with him also. She is a little flirt and he was winking at her! We all got our paperwork and then wished each other good flights and went our separate ways. I wish we could all fly together. Too bad. They need an adoption plane or something! That would be AWESOME! We were given a sealed envelope that we have to give to passport control in Portland for the kids stating their citizenship. We are not allowed to open it. Wow, TOP SECRET. So weird. These are not the first documents we have had to deliver sealed. It is really so we won't tamper with them but still feels odd.

Then we went to Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. It went alright. The kids were as good as they could be. Jones is getting pretty spoiled right now and that makes it hard but it won't last long! He will be blessed at home but will also not get everything he wishes. Mollie just goes with the flow except she was terrified of the restroom there for some reason. She is also terrified of this tub in this hotel. Hopefully she won't mind the one at home. She sure loved that big blue one. She is singing along with Blue's Clues right now and shoving her thumb to the back of her mouth where she is teething and chewing it to death. It is like she is getting all her teeth at once. Another adoptive family has been experiencing the same thing with her daughter. ANyway, we stopped at the grocery store and purchased some airplane snacks and came back to the hotel. I am just waiting for the hour when you guys wake up so i can talk to my family on the phone. This will be my last blog for awhile although I will probably continue to update it through the year and will try to update after just a couple days and letting you know when we are ready for visitors and such. Thank you again for all your support, love, and prayers. It has really been incredible. Keep it up if you think of us, we can still really really use them. Especially tomorrow. I will talk to you all soon.

Moscow

Here in Moscow we sit. Last night was rough. We didn't sleep until atleast 1am and then the sun was up at 3:30 or 4 when I first got up. It didn't go down until 11 or 12 last night! This makes it difficult to sleep. The kids are doing alright here in this hotel room even though Mommy & Daddy are feeling claustrophobic. We had the Doctor come at 7am and examine the kids. He found a few things to have us mildly concerned due to their malnutrician. He said most are reversable. We will work on that although at times I think Jones is using eating as a control issue. He did finally eat tonight though after two hours of trying. Today he had a bagel, french fries, banana, apple, 2 pieces of bread, a chocolate egg, and 2 tomato slices. I guess it's not as bad as I thought. Mollie eats anything and everything. A few more power struggles with Jones today although he is most likely going to get whatever he wants for the next two days as we are waiting until we get home to really deal with this issue. He is excited to meet everyone but nervous also I think. Tomorrow I will ask Alex (our contact in Moscow) to explain the next days situation. We have to leave her at 4:30 am on Sat. Little nervous about that. No sleep and such. Will try to go to be early. We visited a McDonalds today. HUGE! They had a guy constantly mopping the floor the whole time, the same spot. Weird. And people just kept stepping on it. It was hard to order because there wasn't English. We walked along Arbat Street (tourist area) and it was alright. Gave us something to do but I think we are done with souveniers. We might try to walk to Red Square tomorrow. Would love to have a pic in front of the Kremlin for the kids but really don't know if we will make it. Jones is very weak and can't walk far. We may try Hard Rock and may not. I hate to say this but I really don't care at this point. We are tired and ready to get out of here. May take it easy. Have a big day - flying day coming up. We also went to a super nice grocery store today. It was beautiful. THen we just stayed here and ordered room service. I ate the best thing I have had in Russia so far. It was a bowl of chocolate ice cream (cold!) with chocolate shavings. It tasted like french silk ice cream. Everything else is kind of a blur. We are so tired and I am still having emotional difficulty which is hard to admit but of course I am an open book about it. Thank you so much for all your supportive emails. I will try to write each one back individually when I can. And Mom and Dad, thank you for your everloving support and phone calls and prayers. It does a world of good for me although I am soooooo sorry that you have to hear me like that and I am sure it is hard to hear your child like that a world away. And Ang you are right. I need to dig down deep inside and pull out every bit of strength that God has given and trust trust trust. And Steph and Em - thank you for telling me I am normal and for the advice. We will make it through, we are almost done. May have to medicate myself through the rest but we will do it.

Lord Jesus,
Be with us. I trust you I do. This situation at times especially like now has actually caused me to doubt my faith and trust in you. I will not let Satan influence me in this way. Please know my love for you and that I will choose to rest in you. Please bless my family in a special way Lord. Please comfort my children supernaturally where I can't. Please be my words when I can't communicate. Thank you for my children, and my incredible husband who has carried so much weight literally and figuratively this trip. And thank you for my friends and family who have showed incredible loyalty and committment. Please bless them ten fold in their lives and let our family be to them what they are to us. And Lord thank you for you. For the hope we have in you.
Erin

Happy 4th Everyone

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO EACH OF YOU! I wish I were home in the USA. Today was the hardest yet. First of all, the luggage is exhausting and as so many of you know, with kids it's doubly as hard! But we got to the airport and the kids went crazy waiting. We had already been in the car and hour before that. Then we boarded and were delayed. I am not sure but I think we arrived an hour late. The plane ride was fine at first. Neither kid was scared and we had all the snacks and toys ready to go. We weren't sitting together but then someone traded. Thank Goodness. Well when it was time to land-Jones would not put his seatbelt on. He always has to have the last whatever. If we buckle, he unbuckles. If we tell him not to pretend hit, he has to do it again. If we tell him to be quiet, he has to say it one more time. Actually both kids are a lot like that and I am telling you when we get home that is one of the FIRST things we are working on. They feel that they are in control. Truth is, right now, they kind of are and it SUCKS as the parent! Anyway, he would not put it on so we held it on. Then he started hitting Joey which is does in frustration, not usually hard but definately with anger so I held his hands so he couldn't do anything. He got really frustrated and I would not give up. Then we stopped and he did it again. Well, at this point honestly I am sick and tired of being the disciplinarian. Joey is like the play guy and he disciplines but in a soft way and not a lot of follow through. I am much more strict. But Joey does have a point and I am respecting that. Both kids have only dealt with female caregivers and discipline. I am so exhausted with it though and feel like a big meany. I am going to stick with Joey's advice from now on though especially after today.

So I told Joey he had to hold his hands because I couldn't do it anymore. Well, Jones freaked out even more and he cried and cried and wouldn't let Joey near him the whole way down. I mean FREAKED! He was crying so loudly. I thought I would die. I kept praying Lord- this is my breaking point, THIS IS MY BREAKING POINT! ANd of all the comforting and bribes, nothing could stop him. So 30 minutes later we touched down still crying, passengers irritated. I feel awful. We had an angel of a man (I really think he was an angel, we didn't see him after!) in front of us. He helped Joey find the seats and talked to the kids and tried to calm Jones down. He even offered to help with our carry ons! He spoke both languages. So nice. I wonder...who could he be. THen we had to wait forever until they open this gate when the baggage arrives and you are herded in like cattle to collect. We went to the wrong area of course. When we saw another adopting couple we met on the plane get their luggage we found the right place. Poor couple. In Kaliningrad they took their ticket coupon for their Moscow to Atlanta flight and they might have to buy new tickets. I am praying for them. That would be terrible. Hoping to run into them at the embassy on Friday to see how that situation will play out.

So we are here at our hotel now. It is 1:30 am yes and JOnes is just going to sleep. We have a pack and play here for Mollie so that is very nice. She went right to sleep around midnight the first chance she had. Poor kids. And we need to go to bed. We have a Dr. coming at 7am and Alex at 8:30 to complete our embassy paperwork and then we have a free day. We are going to go back to sleep after that hopefully and then have a great day together I am hoping. THe hotel is near many things. Hopefully we will have exciting news tomorrow. Then on Friday we just go to the embassy at 2pm and we are done. Then we fly out sooooo early on Sat. 7am. We are going to have to be up so early. Please pray for our rest. We really need it. All of us. And please pray for the flights. I am TERRIFIED now! I really don't know how I will do it.

On a good note. Moscow is cool. The city is GIGANTIC and puts Vegas to shame. No offense to those that just got back and those heading there. I love Vegas. But the lights here are amazing. Okay, not to shame really. But this city is HUGE too! Huge, huge huge! Excited to see more of it tomorrow. We just ate room service. It tasted pretty good. More American like. Gotta go. I love you all. Mom & Dad- I will try to call tomorrow if I do not hear from you. Love you all. Keep praying please! Never knew how much we would need it!

Confined Spaces

Today started off boring, rough, and stressful. We had three adoption appointments. We had to go to the marriage palace to sign for the kids adoption and birth certificates. That took awhile. Then we made a lot of other stops (not sure what for)and then we went to the Ministry of Education to say thank you and let them see the kids. The man in charge there is so nice. I wish I would have got a picture. And the lady is so sweet. She was just adoring the kids. But we were in the car for 3.5 hours! Well except for about a 1/2 hour when we were inside. It was very hard. The kids honestly did pretty well given the situation but Mollie really wasn't havin' it after awhile. I don't blame her. I could barely sit still myself. Thank goodness that is over! Just concerns me a bit for the upcoming plane rides! We fly to Moscow tomorrow! Our independance from Kaliningrad (thanks Aunt Lisa for the reminder) and America's Independance! Woo Hoo! Wish we could be home to celebrate. We hope you all have a great day with tons and tons of fireworks!

The rest of the day went pretty good. The kids had lunch and went down for a nap. Schedules have been messed up for a few days so it's been a little harder, but... schedules will be messed up for quite a few days more anyway with all the transition. I am so excited for Moscow but actually a little anxious inside for the big change, mostly for the kid's sake. We played a lot and Joey gave Jones a toy motorcycle he had been saving for him. We also got (is got in the dictionary yet? I have been waiting because I sure use that word a lot :)out a magnetic fishing set and he loved it! He used it in the bath and then we talked him into watching Finding Nemo (Russian version) for the first time. He was so hesitant but then once he was into it, he literally did not move until the end. He started breathing really funny though near the end. He raises his shoulders and takes in a big breath. He acts like nothing is wrong but I am pretty concerned. It is not normal. It seems like asthma or something. Anyway the evening was very good and the kids behaved and had fun! It is so funny to watch Joey. He thinks the kids are so funny and just adores them. I think that is great except he laughs and thinks they are so cute when they misbehave as well. Mollie is such a little definant stinker sometimes but I love her. Jones and Joey walked to the store and bought some of the last few things we need. Unfortunately we are going to have many groceries left over. Oh, well, we will see if Tatiana wants it. I can't believe we are actually flying tomorrow!

So not too much exciting to talk about today but the kids are continuing to grow and change everyday. We do have a few prayer needs if anyone has the time to continue praying. It feels so much safer in any situation even little ones to be covered with prayer especially when you are in a foreign place. Our prayer requests are: Mollie's cold & rash, Jones' breathing, the plane ride, ease of Moscow transition, and that we have a great time there! Thank you so much. We are so thankful. Talk to you tomorrow night my time from Moscow!

P.S. I don't know how many internet minutes I have left so I will just keep writing you as long as I have them but don't know how to get more in Moscow so if I stop writing or something that is probably why. Mom & Dad - you have our contact info right? We will be at the Belgrad or Belgrade Hotel in Moscow. We fly out of here at 6:20pm tomorrow on Aeroflot. In case of an emergency call Tatiana 89114627700. Britt, I know you keep trying to call and the stupid phone card isn't working but I love you and I miss you. I hope you guys have a safe flight home on Thurs and I can't wait to see you on Saturday! Not long now. If more calls don't work. Just call me from home on Thurs. I am glad I got to hear your voice for a minute.

Za Park

THat is how you say the Zoo in Russian. I think. That is where we went this morning. We woke up and got all four of us ready and headed out the door at 10. We had to go get the kids passport pictures taken first. They both did really good and at the picture place we were finally able to pick up a battery for Jones' remote control car I brought. He loves it and now it doesn't work. Great. Money well spent. Funny thing is I actually brought the batteries. It said 3 triple A's so I that's what I brought, well it didn't tell me that the remote required a 9 volt! So it has taken this whole trip to finally find one and guess what? It was right down the street! But of course we would have never known. We also bought the kids each a play camera which ended up being a great move!!!

We arrived at the zoo and started taking pictures immediately. Jones had to be just in the right spot to take pictures with his "camera." He loved it until he didn't listen at one point and accidentally dropped the batteries into the rhino cage! Oops! He learned that lesson. Listen to Papa! He reinacted the entire scene later for Joey to try to explain that he wanted to play with the camera again. The zoo went pretty well. I don't know how much fun Mollie had but Jones sure had a good time. It was a decent size zoo and very cheap. All of us were admitted for 180 rubles which is about $8. Crazy! After that we went to the restaurant next door which was really nice and really good. The bathroom was not really good. It was clean and nice and I went to go the toilet and it was on the floor! Literally a recessed pink toilet! It was installed one step up from the floor! Is is for squaters or what! I said forget it! I am holding it. I painfully did. Then we had about 45min to kill while we waited for our ride. The kids were good but that was not very fun. We knew what time he was coming but we just got done early.

We came home and tried to give the kids a nap but it wasn't really working. One of us needed to go to the store to get baby wipes which was soooooooo hard to describe to Tatiana. She didn't know what I was talking about. Finally the successful translation was "toilet paper for babies that is wet to clean their bottoms when changing their diapers." She said "Oh, we can get you those!" So Joey watched the kids and I got to go out this time! I was really nervous both to go out on my own with just our driver and also to leave the kids. But Joey told me to so I did. We went to the grocery store and I checked the diaper aisle and couldn't find anything! So we went out to the car and he called Tatiana. She talked to me and said for sure they have it. She said her father would ask. So we went back and of course they were on the other side of the aisle on an end cap. Duh, Erin! I was in too big of a hurry. But yeah! We got them! My next step was going to have to be wet paper towells. I called Joey to see how things were going and he said good, couldn't really get MOllie to sleep though. She has been sick with a cold and really struggling. (Please pray that she is better before our flights!) Anyway, then Alexander took me to purchase some amber jewelry. 99% of the worlds amber comes from Kaliningrad so that is definately the souvenier to take plus I hear it's value is going up and it really is pretty. I picked some pieces for me, some special people back home, and some for the kids future. It was on a boardwalk type area with about 20 amber vendors, handmade jewelry. I am pretty proud of myself for being bold and communicating and such. I did well until the last lady tried to rip me off. I stood strong (and only let her rip me off a little-ha!)

I got home and everyone was awake and happy. We fed the kids an early dinner and started bath time. Put Mollie down at 7:30. She should sleep a very good night. Poor girl was so tired she was practically falling over and would not stop crying. She is really a pleaser. YOu have to smile at her and give your approval after saying No, no so she knows everything is okay before she can go to sleep. I kept saying no, no pointing to her mouth to try to tell her to quit whining. I think she just doesn't feel well. So I rocked her a bit. Yes! I did! She actually let me for about 5 minutes! And then she peacefully went to sleep. Jones on the other hand is pretty hyper tonight. He keeps going through the picture book and memorizing all the family and our house. So I showed him more pics on the computer of family and friends. He loved it and started cracking up laughing at some of the silly pics of Mollie. He was pretty cute tonight. He is growing and changing more everyday. He really is a sweetheart. A TALKATIVE sweetheart! I think he may finally be asleep. Joey and I are hanging out in the kitchen. Woop! Woop! Yeah, I know. Lots of fun. I am blogging and emailing and Joey is playing Suduko on his DS. We are going to be early. We are so tired.

We thought we would take it easy tomorrow because the kids have had some overwhelming days with many more to come soon........can you say........MOSCOW! But Tatiana called and said we have 3 appointments in the morning that we all have to go to and it will take about 2 hours. Oh. That will be difficult with two kids (one little one especially) who does NOT like the car! That's it. I am bringing the DVD player this time! I hope it works. Pray for us if you get a chance. Also for the upcoming plane rides. We need an immense amount of God's grace and mercy for that.
Well, we are going to hit the sack. Talk to you tomorrow. Love each of you so much.

Busy busy day

Can you believe it? It tis true. We had a busy day. Morning was usual but in the afternoon we decided to take a long walk far far to the park with the black gate. It was pretty cool. It had all kind of amusements and kiddie rides including pony rides. They had all kinds of food vendors and balloons, etc. It was really cool and a really big pretty park too. Jones did not want to do anything, too shy I think so we just bought him an ice cream cone (which it took him FOREVER to eat like everything) and bought him a balloon. Spiderman in a heart was his choice. The lady knew we didn't speak Russian but I think it confused her when he did she just kept talking and talking to us. The kids had a good time but it was a long walk back and I think a bit too much stimulation maybe. I don't know. We had company this evening too. The other American couple- the Johnson's arrived today and they came over and had pizza for a few hours. That was nice to speak English with someone. Bob knew Russian so he also talked to Jones. Jones was a little too hyper but it was a very big day. Mollie is having one heck of a time sleeping. WE put her down an hour and 15 minutes ago and we have been taking turns. She can't really breathe because of her cold and she has been crying so I finally am just typing this blog next to her waiting for her to fall asleep because I can't just lay here anymore. I am going to see if it works. It is not like this page is really exciting to her or anything and who knows maybe the sound of my typing will soothe her. It is a late crazy night for us. I think Jones will have a hard time falling asleep too. Joey and I are going to try to calm ourselves down with talking in the kitchen (where we are now limited to), taking our showers, and maybe watching a short bit of a movie. The Shrek 2 we bought for Jones in Russian also comes in English- WooHOO BONUS for Mommy & Daddy! An extra movie for us!

Tomorrow morning we are supposed to be picked up at 10am to go to the zoo. I hope the morning goes smoothly after such a rough night. It was very cute tonight though. We were visiting with our guests and I peeked to see what the kids were doing and they were playing together in the bedroom and reading together. It was sweet. I haven't seen much of that togetherness yet except after their nap. You will never believe it. I had to crack up. Hope you find it funny too although it is a bit disgusting. Joey and I were in the living room with the door shut trying to be quiet while the kids napped. Well, at 3 I went in to wake them up and I noticed they were not in their beds. I went in the bathroom and there is Jones peeing and there is Mollie with her hands on the seat just observing how it's done! Okay, pretty gross, I washed her hands in VERY warm water and said "NO NO" but inside I had to smile just a teeny bit because it was one of their first togetherness moments.

Oh, one other moment I forgot to mention last night. Tatiana called to check on things and we let her talk to Vadim (who was previously afraid of phones and cameras) and he actually had a long conversation with her. Then she said he said "Everything is wonderful, I am happy. I watched a movie and I am eating dinner, etc...." We were so happy. We thought he would talk about his time out and how frustrating it is to have parents who don't understand! We were very pleased and it was confirmation that we are handling things just fine. Our guest Bob tonight said he is a clown and will surely be the class clown. I don't know what we have gotten ourselves into. It seems we have 2 huge personalities. We are excited to watch them grow and we will be sure to train them in the way they should go. Of course with help from the ONE and only who planned it all!

Family Dinner

Jones really does smile a lot I promise

Just another laundry day

Bathtub update

My PJs are too small

By this time next week we will be home

This morning was rough. Really rough emotionally. Having Jones here really brought up many feelings I felt when Mollie first got here. It is difficult to have a child that is yours but doesn't feel like it yet, speaks another language, and is already almost 5! I can't explain it. It was just hard plus I wasn't feeling well and he wasn't really listening. He had a time out this morning which was almost impossible to explain.

I have to say though that this afternoon and evening was completely different. He is changing every hour. He is starting to listen and feel comfortable. I think he see Joey more as a playmate and me as a caregiver but he is starting to get it. We are already Momma and Papa. He did call Mollie Mollie today also! He doesn't yet know his name is Jones though. We bought him these tiny hot wheels and this thing that shoots them out and we bought batteries this afternoon at the grocery store and he loves it! Problem is it is sooooooooo loud-like louder than a vacuum! And he likes to keep it running! We did let him pick out a few treats at the grocery store. He chose chips, a yogurt drink, and and ice cream thingy-not to have all today of course!!! He is a pretty good kid and finally started attempting a little english today under his breath like chicken, out, up. Tonight before bed he wanted us to go through the family picture book and pictures of home. He is memorizing who everyone is. Can't remember all the first names yet but knows the titles in Russian. Dyedooshka- Grandpa, Babooshka- Grandma, Momma, Papa, Dye dye- uncle, Tye tye-Aunt, and Coozena- Cousin. Very sweet.

Mollie just kind of goes with the flow now. She is just really suffering with teething, a cold, and now a bit of a rash so she isn't always a happy camper lately. She is sleeping and eating good though. She has been busy observing her brother and messing up his stuff! Ha! That's what little sisters are for. He is learning how to deal with it appropriately.

And Joey and I , well we just can't wait to come home. By this time next week we will be! Praise God! We cannot wait to be near family and friends. For those of you still praying, please pray that the transition to Moscow and then home goes smoothly. I feel bad for the kids that they have to try to figure out "home" two more times. Jones is excited for the airplane but I don't think he realizes we have to take 3 and over 15 hours of flying! Pray for the plane ride. We are going to need it! We are actually kind of excited for Moscow. Lots to do there. We leave Kaliningrad on Wednesday at 6pm. Tomorrow another American couple is flying in for their first trip and we are supposed to get together. That should be nice.

Well we miss you all. Can't blog quite as long any more but appreciate your loyalty and committment to us in staying in touch. We feel so completely blessed.

Gotcha Day

Joey hates that term but what else do you say? That is what it is called in the world of adoption. The children are both officially ours. The 10 day waiting period is over. I wish that meant we didn't have to WAIT anymore to leave! We signed off papers at Mollie's orphanage this morning. Today is the 29th exactly 9 months from the day God placed this in our hearts. He is amazing with timing huh? Then we got back in the car and the clock said 11:11. I quoted Bruce Almighty( one of the only movies we brought) in saying "Now, you're just showing off." If you are wondering the signifigance you can check back to one of our beginning blogs. It is a long story but it has to do with prayer for our family. So everything is signed, sealed, and soon to be delivered!

Joey went with Tatiana to go to the grocery store, buy our plane tickets to Moscow, and pick up Jones who at the moment is still Vadim. That will be a tricky transition. He is doing well. He went potty, ate dinner, took a bath, watched a movie, and went to sleep- all no problems. He tests us here and there but we stick to it. The language is very difficult and had me almost immediately questioning what am I doing? Not that it has anything to do with him but just the whole situation. I just have to continue to look back to God's direction and how clear it was to me on September 29th and follow through. Some of the feelings I had when we first brought Mollie home are here again but because I have been through it with her I know that they will fade and I know that genuine love and bonding will grow day by day. He wanted to sleep in his own room (such a big boy! good though because he has his own room at home) and so he is in the living room on a pull out bed, fast asleep. He did not come out one time! Amazing!

Well, I need to get some sleep while I can! 8 days and we are home! Praise the Lord! Oh, I wanted to say, Tatiana was a huge help today. :)

Home sweet NO

Ready to go

Single Digits Baby

Oh yeah! It's my birthday! Go Erin it's your birthday! Not really but there is a celebration going on here! 9 days left until we are HOME!!!!!! Also today we actually WENT SHOPPING! And tomorrow we get our SON!!! We couldn't be more excited! Joey still has his cold but we have no medicine so he is living through it! His head and chest hurt a lot. We are going to try to get some aspirin tomorrow because all they have given us is teas like thera flu type that aren't working. And Mollie definately has a cold so keep praying if you can.

Today went by quick because at 3:30 we were able to go to a mall! They don't call them malls, it is a super market to them and it does have a grocery section. Our driver Sacha is so great. We bought him a gift at the adidas store. Not too many stores we were really interested. Pretty different from home but we did get Jones a bunch of Russian DVD's like Cars, Toy Story, Bugs Life, etc.. sooooo cheap! They are dubbed over. The Cars one has only Russian and we brought our English Cars movie so that should be good for him. The rest are dubbed over so you can hear the english behind it, kind of annoying but I don't think he will care. These will be good for the plane and good until he gets to know english which I hear shouldn't take long. He will probably be catching on in 4-6 weeks. It is going to be a couple challenging months. We also bought Mollie some long pants and sleeves pajamas because it has been so cold. The looked too big for her but was only a 9 months so we bought them. Well, they are too short so we had to cut the feet out. Oh, well she can wear socks and her legs and arms will be warm. It came with a cute little cap too. She did pretty good shopping though. We were so happy. Although she was seriously not happy at Adidas. Probably because we were taking too long to pick out stuff. She is a little scared of the car when we first get in and cries really loud. Hope she does okay with the plane. We also bought gifts for Tatiana and the Director of Jones' Orphanage. This is how it works in Russian culture.

Not long now and are family will be complete(for now!) We are excited to have both kids here and together. These next few days will be challenging with the language barrier and building trust and security in Jones. Pray for us if you get a chance that the bond is quick and he is interested in english. Thank you so much. I think he is looking forward to us picking him up. Just 6 days left here and then off to Moscow.

Well, that is pretty much it for today. Mollie is quite a funny girl with tons of personality and we are really becoming a family. Love you all. Talk to you tomorrow! I will try to post more pics!

Your prayers rock

Thank you so much for your prayers! Joey is better! He is just struggling with the cold now. Mollie may be coming down with a cold now too which would not be good so go ahead and lift up some more of those rockin' prayers!!! They are heaven quakin' makes the Devil shakin'! Whatever. I am crazy.

Today went pretty well. We went to the grocery store, woo! It's so exciting I know. It wasn't even the big good one, it is our little one down the street the size of plaid pantry. We didn't get out much because all of a sudden it is soooo cold and windy. Too cold for Mollie I think. Well it took forever to get her to sleep last night and I had to get up twice in the night and move her back to her bed because I found her in the hallway! So Joey feeling so much better got up with her and fed her and let me sleep in!!! How awesome is that! He just loves her so much and is such a good Dad. He thinks she is hilarious! Boy she loves to defy her momma though. I thought "Oh, no, not this kind of mother daughter relationship! Not in my house!" but then she always wants me for everything.I don't understand. We are working it out her and me. We are starting to really develop a great bond together.

Okay, so keep your prayers coming! Tomorrow we have our 3rd opportunity to go to the mall! We have a ride. The other two we couldn't do because I was sick and then Joey so I am hoping this one takes! We just want to get the kids some stuff and want to do it before Jones comes on Friday. We are getting so excited to bring him here. Then Sunday we might meet with Bob and Lesa who I mentioned yesterday and Monday go to the zoo. Tuesday prepare to leave and Wednesday get the heck out of here!

That is pretty much the excitement for the day. Here is a list of the things Mollie has progressed and understands: lay down, time to go to sleep, bedtime, bathtime, eat, more, bite, Blue's Clues, Daddy, Mollie, no no, and she learned how to kiss! Amazing huh? Not bad for 10 days! I think we had a record tonight folks! She was down by 9:15. Wow!

Alright, well hope you are all doing well today and love your emails. Keep 'em coming! We are in the home stretch now. 10 days!

Today well, you know.

Thank you for your prayers! I think they are working! He is feeling better. His cold is still very bad but he is not quite as dizzy and vomity. Let's hope it stays that way. He can atleast talk to me now. In the car his hands and mouth went numb and he could barely come up the stairs and he was so pale it scared me but he is looking much better now and moving around good. Well Tatiana visited with another tea medicine (they don't have pills for this kind of sickness.) He couldn't take that either. He is going to take nyquil before bed. That is the last medicine I have for him. Of course he is not tired now though cause he slept all day. Tatiana and I had a nice talk and I was able to tell her all the progress Mollie had made.

Mollie has been whiny and kind of freaked out in the car a little. She cries loud! We are still figuring out her favorite comfort techniques so it makes me a little nervous to be out but Joey was sick anyway so no shopping for us. That was crappy but hopefully we will have another opportunity soon. Looks like we won't be picking Jones up until Friday. That is the legal day he is ours anyway so maybe that's for the best as long as he is okay. Tatiana just didn't think it was a good idea to get him tomorrow with Joey being sick.

There is another family here that we have not had the chance to meet. We would like to but they leave on Friday already and they are not staying near us and it is just not working out however there is yet another family on their way. My AAI consultant told me they had some questions. I emailed them. I hope we can meet up. They will be here Sunday. It was nice to meet them- Hi Bob & Lesa!

Mollie was very hard to get to bed tonight. I was with her for an hour, then Joey a 1/2 hour then I tried some techniques for 15 minutes and then Joey took the last 15 and she finally fell asleep. Wow, that was rough. She will probably sleep in now and we will need the sleep but I wonder if I should let her? Maybe just a shorter nap tomorrow. She is so well adjusted to us already I think that it is hard to remember she is still adjusting. So we are still finding out where the line is with comforting or encouraging behavior issues and when to say "No no" and such. She is already a member of the family. The bonding is going well. Some resistance here and there from her. She is quite a stinker! But we sure love her and can't wait to show her off!

Keep praying if you have the time. We appreciate each and every one.

An immediate call for prayer

Joey is very sick. I have never seen him this sick and I am very worried. We could not go shopping today. We left and drove and he was trying not to throw up the whole time and was very pale. We had to call Tatiana and tell her to tell the driver to turn around. Joey barely made it up the stairs. He has been puking since we got back. He is trying to sleep. Please pray. WE NEED his immediate healing! I don't think we are going to be able to bring Jones home tomorrow. This has me so full of fear and hard to focus on Mollie but I am trusting in the Lord's healing and I know this is simply an attack from Satan to shake us. Please pray with me. We would really appreciate it. He just threw up a bunch and he says he feels a little better. He does not want to see a doctor. He said he feels okay except the dizziness and puking.

Food in Russia

I don't think I have yet talked about the food in Russia. It is very different then home. I think we are finally getting a grip on what is what but it sure took a long time. There are not a lot of ethnics foods here although Tatiana did say they have a Japanese restaurant she likes a lot. I miss the melting pot of America. In fact I would like to go to The Melting Pot fondue restaurant when I get back. I haven't been there yet and it sounds so good.

Everything grocery shopping is different. Tatiana had to find stuff for us because it is packaged all different. For example: milk comes in a plastic bag, cream comes in a sour cream like package, cottage cheese comes squished together without the liquid in a little round plastic package. Crackers are thick and hard. We look for labels for familiar brands and those things are usually not disappointing such as M 'n' M's, sprite, potato chips, ketchup- you know all the stuff that is good for you. However coca cola lite which looks like diet coke and you expect to be diet coke is not, it is much sweeter and tastes flat to me. I cannot wait to have a REAL diet coke when I get back.

They also drink coffee or tea after every meal and even the kids drink tea with their cookies as an evening snack. The coffee is too strong. I miss starbucks! We have to drink bottled water because the water is not good for us. The yogurt is very creamy and so is the ice cream, it is not cold or hard enough. They do have these yummy bars we found though. There are all kinds and they are in the freezer department. They taste like chocolate covered cheesecake squares to us (that is the texture) but they are actually made from yogurt. The other night we made pasta with chicken. We bought a red sauce with peppers. It was so sweet. It was like pasta with ketchup! Yuck so we bought a different sauce that looked spicy like salsa and mixed it. Better.

The restaurants are decent, the ones we have been able to visit but the food is usually much more bland than you would expect. If it is seasoned it is usually with dill. They don't eat a lot of chicken here but we always strive to find it on the menu. Today we are supposed to go shopping and there is a Sbarro. I hope we get to eat there. It is the only American place in town. Sometimes we order pizza from a place over here. It is a treat but tastes very different from any of our pizzas that we know.

Anyway, we have figured out what we can survive on for the next 11 days so we will be okay. We ate our last packet of top ramen that we brought from home today. Oh, they do have good sausages. We mixed that in. Like Salami types- tons of selections and tons of white cheeses- no cheddar!

When we get to Moscow there is a Hard Rock Cafe and a McDonalds and all the adoptive familes are so excited to go have an American meal. WE are no exception! And we can't wait to arrive in America and have a REAL American meal!

Just us Girls

Cutie Pie

quick note

Sorry. I have to be super quick today. Today was super boring but I love my daughter more and more and that is good. Joey is super sick. Please pray for him. He came down with a cold/flu really bad. We don't want to catch it and we really want him healthy. He is miserable. I am praying and claiming immediate healing! Tonight was great. Lots of wonderful emails. Thanks girls! And calls from Mom and Britt. Thank you!!! We are closer to coming home so that makes me happy. I love you all. Will write more tomorrow. We HAVE to get to bed. Joey already took his nyquil and I don't like to go to bed alone. I can hardly sleep here as it is! Talk to you all tomorrow.

I am buying my daughter a HELMET!!!

Mollie is a crazy little girl! She throws her head around sometimes without caution or jumps of things that are dangerous! I am constantly trying to catch her flailing head! So today I said- "Joey I am going to make her wear a helmet! She worries me! She is going to cause herself brain damage!" He said "No, it will only encourage her." Ha! Well, then she fell off the bed and bonked her head. It sounded horrible! But I think it scared her more than it hurt. The bed is only about 9" off the ground. She did scratch her nose and lip though. Oh, pray that she is more careful with her precious little head.

She is also a very funny girl. I think she feels more and more safe and comfortable everyday. Today was probably the best the connection has been so far. She was just singing, laughing, and talking all day until the fussiness started at night which I think is related to the teething. One funny very tricky little thing that happened was we were pretending to stir food in a bowl and eat it. We were feeding each other then she kept trying to feed me and then would get mad at me and run away crying/whining or throw herself down. This happened about 5 or 6 times and I tried all different ways- opening my mouth, taking the spoon, keeping my mouth closed, etc. I said " I don't know what I am doing wrong!!!" Joey said "Are you kidding me? She is tricking you!" as he laughed at me hysterically. She was whining because I would try to cheer her up by tickling her which she loves. So there she was over in the corner whining with a grin on her face. I had to giggle a little but realized we won't be encouraging that game, that's for sure! We took a short walk today and she took a good nap. Joey put her to sleep for me tonight which was nice. She rocks herself but it takes a good hour and it is heart breaking for me to watch her. I wasn't sure if she would let him but she did after a little crying. They are bonding closer and closer too. Joey is so great with her. He adores her.

Joey's Dad called today, they are on their way to the beach to celebrate their anniversary. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad Waller! Guess what we are getting you this year? Two grandchildren! My parents are on their way to Vegas with Brandon for convention. It is so hot there right now! I love family vacation but do not envy the heat! My Aunt & Uncle and cousin (s?) will be there too. I went one year and it was so much fun. I miss being with you guys! My sis should be calling me tonight which is your morning. I am looking forward to that!

Oh,I forgot to tell you something funny. When we first arrived in this apartment our bedding was folded on the bed. We pulled it out and had no idea what to do with it so we just kind of made it up. There was a big fuzzy blanket laid out on the bed and we left it there. So there were about 4 duvet covers, 2 of them pure white. THey do not open like ours at home. THey just have a diamond cut out of the middle of one side. We were like "How do we do this?" So we just fished around in there until we matched up corners with the blankets. The blankets are terry cloth like queen size towels! So weird! For those of you that are familiar with this European way, please excuse our being naive. So we used one as a bottom sheet, two for blankets, and the fourth we laid down for Mollie. And the bath towels here are the size of hand towels at home! Cracks me up. It was not that way in the hotel though.

I just want to thank everyone again for all your emails and our families calls. It is really amazing and so many of my relationships are growing simply by emailing everyday. It is amazing how God works. I see such a bigger picture. It keeps me going. This has been such a difficult thing, the emotions of adoption are sometimes overwhelming and unexpected. It has been wonderful to not travel this road alone. Today is our half way point- day 13. Just 13 to go. Woo Hoo! We are closer to coming home now. Thank goodness! If you are praying, our current prayer requests are: emotions, homesickness, bonding with the kids, picking up Jones on Wednesday and finding things to do. If you would like us to pray for anything, just email us at missnloveyou@yahoo.com. We would love to do that.

Just a quick note: we are having problems posting pictures on our blog so unfortunately we may have to wait and show you when we get home. Sorry.
We love you. Goodnight from the Waller family.