Travel Dates

It's already been a whirlwind week! I can't believe I'm actually going to be leaving in one week to complete ( I love that word), the adoption of my beautiful little Russian Princess that I've been waiting for, for so long.

So here is the schedule so far:
Depart Detroit metro airport on Feb 4th.
Arrive Moscow Feb 5th.
Feb. 6th Medical evaluation in Moscow
Feb 6th evenning fly out to region
Feb 7th arrive in Krasnoyarsk
Feb 9th- my Birthday
Feb 10th Court Date
Ten day wait, then gotcha day ?? not sure of date yet.
Feb 26th leave Kras for Moscow
Feb 27th Childs medical in Moscow and documents submitted to embassy
Mar 2nd interview at the US Embassy
Mar 3rd Leave Moscow for home ( and my sisters birthday)

The past few days have been busy as I stated at the beginning, but productive.
Plane tickets to and from Moscow purchased.
Passports and Visa applications sent off
Bank notified to order new money
Employer notified of depart date.
Babys suitcase packed.
Friends and family called.
Dog, cat and house sitter arranged
Airport ride arranged

Still to go:
My suitcase
Pick up Mom from airport as she's still in Florida and needs to come home for this trip and repack.
Gather copies of all documents for court
Get batteries for camera
Figure out how to use skype
Pick up funds from Bank
Collect Passport and Visa
Turn in leave paperwork to employer
Try to relax.......and breath too, that would be good.

The Best Post Yet!!!

Finally, the post you've all been waiting for, and me too!!! Yes! I have a court date. Wahooooooo.
I got the call yesterday afternoon just before I had to go into work for a short shift. Court is scheduled for February 10th. The day after my birthday. Close enough for me to call it one of the greatest birthday presents yet. I am so excited, not really sure what to do first.

If anyone has traveled to Krasnoyarsk lately for court, please email me privately to let me know as much info as you can about what to expect from the Judges. I am a little nervous about that part. Also, how many different outfits did most of you take for your child? Any helpful packing tips are also always welcome.

I am still waiting for confirmation from my adoption agency about travel dates so I can get the passports and visa information sent out and by the plane tickets. Hopefully I will hear something real soon. As far as I can tell, I think I will be leaving on February 4th for Moscow.

Thanks again to everyone out there praying for me. Just a little longer now and this dream of mine to start a family will soon become true.

Documents in Court

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas here in Michigan. Temperatures have dropped. Snow is on the ground and on the rooftops. Christmas trees are up and lights decorate the outside of many homes. I love this time of year, (except maybe the cold). Brrrrrr. Only one thing could make it even better. Yep, if only I had a date to return to Russia to bring home the Little Russian Princess.

All papers needed for court are complete and in Russia at this time. On November 26th, I was told that Oleg submitted all the documents to the court. Since then I have been waiting both patiently and impatiently for news about a court date. Still no news as of this morning. I was really, really hoping to be in Russia for Christmas this year. Still hoping and praying that news will arrive soon, as Christmas is only 2 weeks away. Also....December 15th will mark the 2 year point since the beginning of the adoption process. I'm thinking 2 years is long enough. Time to bring the Little Russian Princess home.

Hope this time of year is bringing Peace, Love Hope and Joy to all of your homes.
Shannon

Pics of Moscow

Here is a little video of the pictures taken in Moscow from my first trip. Most were taken at the Kremlin, St. Basil's and the Gum mall with a few more of the Holiday Inn and view out my window.

Pics of Krasnoyarsk as promised

Just some pictures that I promised awhile ago. These were taken on our last day in Krasnoyarsk. Our driver, Dasha, was kind enough to give us all a tour of the city.

Time to update the Blog.......

Oh Boy....I've been a bad blogger lately. Sorry for the delay in this post. I know every one is wondering about court. No date as of yet, but I do have all of my documents completed. I think!!! I sent all of the required papers off a couple of weeks ago now, except for the CA police clearance and my extension to the I600 A. The papers (except those two) should be in Russia being translated now, and then off to the court in Krasnoyarsk.

As for the CA police clearance, I did receive my report back a week ago. ( Thank you to everyone who offered their assistance with this one.) Just need to check with my agency to see if I need to do anything else with it before forwarding it to Russia. I also received papers back from Homeland Security yesterday. I think the extension has been granted but want to ask someone at the agency to interpret as the wording is a little unclear. So anyway...everything is just about done from my end. Oh also purchased a couple of small photo albums yesterday and will put together a photo album for the Judge.

What happens next...??? Well, from what I've been told. Now the document preparation starts for my Little Russian Princess. Once her documents are together my agency representative in Krasnoyarsk will hopefully get us a date with the Judge so that I can go back to Russia to complete the adoption and bring my sweet Little Russian Princess home.

Home...that is a beautiful word. Can't wait to bring her home. The wait is starting to drive me crazy. I miss her so much. It has been a little over 5 weeks since I've seen her and it seems like forever. I don't want her to forget me. She wasn't old enough to understand why I had to go after spending three mornings visiting her at the orphanage. It has to be very confusing to her. I know it's been hard on me having to leave her there. I do know that she is being well cared for by her caregivers, so that part is comforting. Still, the missing her and wishing she was here part is hard. And so the waiting continues.......

Almost two weeks home from trip one

Sorry for the delay with the pictures of Russia. It's been a busy (almost) two weeks since my plane landed. I have been trying to get all of the documents needed for court prepared. Not an easy task, but its coming together. I have everything in progress and almost completed except my California State Police Clearance letter. Since I now live in Michigan, this is proving to be very difficult. For any of you that read this blog and live in CA, please feel free to chime in and tell me who to contact to get this done. I should have everything else completed and waiting for apostilles by the beginning of next week.

Aside from recovering from Jet Lag, which seemed to last for a week, and running around with paperwork, I returned to work and had a wonderful baby shower thrown by my church. The folks at Grace United Methodist Church are so loving and giving. I was overwhelmed by their love and generosity this past Sunday.

Just a couple pics to share as my camera battery decided to die before the gift openning began. I need to get the rest of the pics from my sister-in-law. Thank you again Jill, Jane and Candy for such a wonderful party for the Little Princess.

And now to the pics of Krasnoyarsk:

This is the Hotel Sibier where I stayed

and the new Fountain by Hotel Krasnoyarsk

Okay, blogger is taking forever to upload today, so sorry. It could be the computer operator too. I need to figure out how to do a slide show to show you more pics.

Need to get going for now.

Thanks again everyone for all your kind words, thoughts and prayers. Please continue to keep me and the Little Princess in your prayers as we work toward getting back to court and bringing her home. Also pray that I can figure out how to get my CA police clearance.

Bye for now,

Shannon