Wednesday

Oh dear, here we go again. Although the news from the Supreme Court yesterday was indeed good, we have hit yet another obstacle. Our coordinator called our judge first thing this morning to see when she can come get our decrees and the judge said that because of the ruling she made last week of not giving us our decree, we now have to wait until next Wednesday for it to be reviewed and another hearing set before we can get it. Does that make sense, NO? well it doesn't make sense to us either. 

The Supreme Court came out with its statement yesterday in response to an inquiry from our attorney about our cases specifically and yet we are still at a stand still. Although very discouraged, it is a step in the right direction. We will bring our children home, its a matter of when. Now Becky and I are once again not knowing the timeline and if we should stay here while things get sorted out, or if we should return home and come back. Both options require difficult decisions, emotionally, physically and financially, for us and our little families back home. 

I'm trying my best to look for the good and trust that there may be more work we are needed to do to further Gods plan. We will continue to press forward and invite opportunities to advocate for change and increase understanding in behalf of the precious children throughout the world, especially here in Russia. 

I did have a wonderful visit with Jaymi today. I just fall more and more in love with her each day and I know this time we have to spend together is precious. To be able to hold her and spin in circles with our cheeks smashed together is priceless. She is learning to trust me and I am learning I can be everything she needs. I know this is part of the process and preparation for us to spend eternity together, and for that I'm so grateful. When I'm with her it's a feeling of pure joy and clarity of why I'm here doing what I'm doing. She will fit perfectly into our family, like she was always with us, I have no doubt. She's our girl.

She is so cute when she eats her snacks that I bring.  She goes across the room, sits down and eats it quietly.  That is just what Bryn does because she knows that if she sticks around by me I'll help her eat it and she's not okay with that :)

The lady next to her is Alla, our coordinator.  This woman is moving mountains, she is  the most loving and humble person I have ever met.  She is no longer allowed to be employed by our agency because of the new law so she is working day and night for us out o the kindess of her heart.  She is a hero in every sense of the word.  So many children are home with families because of her tireless efforts.  We keep assuring her that some day soon we will have a BIG party in the States and invite all the families she has helped over the past 20 years so she can see the lives she has changed.

She LOVED her new boots!  She marched around in them our whole visit.

She walked around to everyone in the room to show off her boots!  This girl is going to LOVE all the goodies we have for her at home.  

This evening Becky and I were able to meet up with a friend of a friend, that is now our new friend Sarah :)  She was so nice to have us to her house for some delicious comfort food and great conversation.  She is also from the states, Texas in fact, my dad would be glad to know that!  She is also a volleyball player so thats pretty awesome.  Her husband is over here working and she is busy doing volunteer work.  We made it to her house just fine via the metro but got a little disoriented on the way back and ended up trapped in the middle of this park surrounded by heavy traffic.  We thought we were not going to be able to cross over again but thankfully we found a break in traffic.  My goodness its just one adventure after another.  We would have been fine except for the Red "M" that is found on the outside of the Metro stations.  I spotted one a bit up the road from where we were and when we got to it we saw that it was a sign for the Metro Diner!!  Seriously?  We are definitely getting our exercise walking around this city, thats for sure.

Matching Russian dresses for the girls.  When I asked the lady at the market if she sewed them, she told me her sister did.  We are now a little skeptical of that since we have seen identical dresses in shops all over the city.  ha ha, or maybe her sister is just very busy

We were a little creeped out when we saw these things sitting above the fur coats in one of the stores we were in.