See the good

After finding out that Becky and I would be here in Russia for at least 3 more weeks before being able to travel home with our kids, I decided I needed to change my attitude a bit to get me through the
waiting period. Though part of me wanted to crawl into bed and stay there until it was time to come home, I knew that would only make the time pass slowly and I would be miserable. So I decided I would look for the good each day and focus on the opportunities that I would have missed out on had everything gone the way we had hoped it would.

- I have had three wonderful visits with Jaymi and with each visit we are getting more and more attached. She is always giving me loves, just because she wants to, not because she is asked to. It really is so tender and brings so much peace to my heart that things will be okay once we leave the children's home together. Throughout this whole process one of my greatest fears has been that week after we take her from the children's home and we are finishing up paperwork in order to come home. I just didn't know how hard it would be to take her from the only life she has ever known. After these past couple weeks I feel more confident that she will be okay during the transition because of the bond we are beginning to form. Instead of fear, I now feel great anticipation and excitement for that day and week I will get to have her all to myself. I get to be the person that shows her this beautiful city she has lived in her whole life. I get to be her window to the great big beautiful world that is waiting for her. Such an honor and a privilege.

She was thrilled when I pulled out the flower clips to put in her hair.

Her favorite thing in the magic backpack today was the notepad from the hotel.  She is pretty easy to please.

- Becky and I were able to spent Saturday with our friend Yulia. She is the one that took us to the ballet last week. She was born and raised here in Moscow. Oh what a beautiful person she is, both inside and
out. She has been so hospitable to us and even sent me away with the most beautiful hat. I loved talking with her about religion and her experiences volunteering in an older children's home here in the city. I want to be a better person after being with her, I want to do more to help those around me. I will never forget her kindness and humility.

The beautiful tree in front of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.  I love the angels.

A wedding party outside the cathedral.

Love this blue building across the street from the Pushkin Museum

Pushkin museum

The Cathedral of Christ the Savior.  It was much bigger than I imagined and very beautiful and spacious inside

-Sunday we had the opportunity to attend the international ward with our new dear friends the Murray's. the talks in sacrament meeting were about the importance of family and they were just what I needed to hear. Although I miss my little family at home so badly, my heart is at peace because I know the sacrifice of this time away will be worth it for all of us. I can't wait for my little girls to finally get to
play together, I just get so excited when I think of all the adventures we will have together. From lazy days where we stay in our pajamas and play, to trips back east and to the west coast to visit
friends and play on the beach.

Wayne has been good to send me pictures and videos of my silly girls at home. They make me laugh and smile even when I'm thousands of miles away.

Kaelyn still loves her piano and played me some songs on skype last night.

Yep, every toy they own is scattered throughout the house.  Gotta love it.

Apparently Bryn is all grown up and lounging about on the couch.

CHEESE!

-Staying with the Murray's is quite the treat. When I told a friend that knows Sally that we were staying with her, he replied "it's a good thing Wayne has your girls as collateral or you might not have
returned home". Ha ha, yes he knew how good she would be treating us here. She is like a long lost mother to Becky and I while we are so far from home. Some day I hope Becky and I can get together with our moms and our "Moscow mom", I know they would love Sally as much as we do and be so grateful to her for watching out for their baby girls. I just hope Sally's house is still standing by the time we leave. Yesterday Becky and I blew the circuit in her garage due to our exercise regimen using the elliptical, treadmill, television and two heaters. Then at lunch I burned Becky's grilled cheese sandwich. We will see what I manage to destroy today. Ha ha. Anyone that knows me well knows I tend to be a bit on the accident prone side of things.

Sally and Steve took us to the Moscow equivalent of a super target.  It was pretty impressive,  its inside a nice mall too.  We will be hanging out there tomorrow, yes we feel like teenagers again asking Sally to drop us off at the mall.

Becky and I were working out in Sally's garage until we blew the circuit and had to head over  to the community center.

Sally trying to make a snowball to throw at me.  Luckily the snow is just powder so she did not succeed!

Sally showing of her mad skills on the lanes.  They were so kind to invite Becky and I to the Tuesday night bowling extravaganza!

Becky bowling away, check out that follow through!

Thats me whipping that ball down the lane, check out my hair blowing in the wind.

-We have been able to have some great talks with our facilitator Alla and I respect and admire her so much. She is a hero in every sense of the word and I plan to keep in touch with her forever. I wish we could bring her and her family back to the states with us. I really hope she will be able to come visit us and we can show her our part of the United States. Very different from her visit to New York City.


-On our previous trips to Russia we weren't able to sight see very much. It's been amazing to spend more time out and about. Yes I wish it was a bit warmer, but everything is so beautiful with a blanket of
snow. I wish Wayne could be here to enjoy all the sights and especially to see the small town girl he married brave the Moscow metro. I really am a different person after this past year. I joke that before all this I didn't dare call the neighbor to see if I could borrow and egg, and look at me now. Doing news stories and confronting governmental officials. This mammas heart of mine has proven much more brave than I could have ever imagined. It all started 3 1/2 years ago when our little 1 pound miracle joined our family. I was changed forever. Any way, I digress. This country has so much history and I
just thirst to learn more about it. I want to be able to teach my girls about the place their sister came from.

We saw a number of people rubbing this statue of this dog.  Found out later that it was for good luck.

I decided to join the club, but I don't know if my luck has kicked in yet.

We did some window shopping in the Bosco store at the Gum mall on Red Square.  I saw a coat I liked and we checked out the price tag...$1,200!!!!  Yikes, no wonder we were the only ones in the store.

This is me inside the Gum Mall, its HUGE!  There are 3-4 big hallways like this.

Friday - Week 2

Three weeks, I will be here in Russia for at least another three weeks. That means that I will have been in Russia approximately two months total in the past year by the time I get my little girl home. Pretty crazy, but it will all be worth it. If you want to read why we have to be here so long check out Becky's post.

http://preecefamilyadoption.blogspot.ru/2013/01/patience.html?m=1

So what do we do for then next two weeks before we can get our little ones from the orphanage? We are going to stay with our sweet friends the Murray's in their nice place just outside the city. That will save us lots of money and help us not feel so isolated while we are here. We are also considering hoping on the train to St. Petersburg to check it out for a day or two. Hopefully we can stay busy and the time will pass quickly for us and our families at home. We both miss our kids so much and can't wait to give them big squeezes when we get home.

So I have a few funny stories to share, we are always laughing at ourselves as we try to get around and fit in here in Moscow. I just don't know what it is, but everyone can tell we are not locals and just stare at us when we are out and about. Like this evening we walked over to Red Square for a bit of retail therapy and dinner. (Btw, great time of year to buy warm clothes for good prices). So we are sitting at our table eating our Russian style crepes and I look up at this group of older men carrying on and catch a glimpse of one of them just staring us down. I thought maybe was dreaming it up, but Becky confirmed, he was giving us quite the crusty face. If looks could kill sorta thing. It went on the whole time we were there. Just kinda crazy, we were just minding our own business. But whatever, I guess some things we will never understand.

Then in one of the stores we were shopping at a young girl working there gave me this crazy look and then rolled her eyes at me. I wondered what that was all about until I was I the dressing room trying something on and saw that my coat pockets were so stuffed to the max with my scarf, hat and gloves that I looked like a pack mule. I just burst out laughing, she probably thought I was trying to steal merchandise or something.

The sun was shining today, it was so nice, even though its still really cold, it just seems better with the sun hitting your face. We walked around Red Square taking some pictures and I decided to do a snow angel outside the Kremlin. I'm sure it's something that may be frowned upon, but we needed a good laugh. Okay now I'm sure you are thinking, "and you wonder why you stick out and everyone is staring at you"?, but usually we are pretty well behaved :)

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. 

Monday and Tuesday

Yesterday we were able to attend an event at the U.S. ambassador to Russia's private residence and were able to discuss with him our specific case. He was able to share some information with us on their efforts to get information from Russia. It was very nice to know that they really are working hard for the hundreds of families caught in the middle of this.

Becky wrote a very detailed post about the evening if you would like to read it here http://preecefamilyadoption.blogspot.ru/2013/01/spaso-house_22.html

Today was a pretty laid back day. This morning I did an interview with a Russian television station that have been working with us to try and educate the Russia people about the families adopting their children and in our case a child with special needs. It was a great experience to be able to share our story with these two young girls and to see their desire to harbor change in their own country.

This evening we were absolutely honored to attend the Russian ballet at the Kremlin, with a local friend of Becky's. It was truly magical, everything I hoped and dreamed it would be. Everything about the performance from the venue, costumes, back drops, the orchestra, dancers, oh the dancers, was truly majestic. I can't imagine the hours and hours of practice and dedication that is put into it. This evening was just what we needed to take our minds off the frustrations our circumstance. it was so fun to be able to experience it with a local. Yulia was so kind to spend the evening with us, we have met some remarkable people here that have left such sweet imprints on my heart.

Pretty sure this is the world's largest coat closet!  Its amazing how most building have rooms just for hanging up your coats, its quite the system.

Becky and Julia holding on to each other to keep from slipping and falling down.

The inside of the Kremlin theatre where the ballet was held.

The stage was huge, bigger than any stage I have ever seen before.

The women next to Becky is Yulia, such a kind lady.

Loved the "concession" stands during intermission.  Very different from the popcorn and candy usually found in America.  Meats, Cheeses, Mushroom soup, pastries, sandwiches, wine, tea and juice.  Becky and I opted for an apple juice.  Cracked Yulia up that we ordered the same thing.

Becky's poor feet, once again we didn't choose wisely in the footwear department for the evening.   We were hobbling around by the end of the evening in our fancy heeled shoes. 

Final curtain call

Orchestra pit

Becky and Yulia

The first building of Moscow University.

Minutes before we left for the ballet we got a call from one of our helpers here informing us that the top story on the news is that the Supreme Court here in Russia sent a letter of direction to all the lower courts instructing them that anyone with a court decision made before January 1st are able to leave home with their adopted children. This is exactly the instruction our judge was waiting on. Praying that tomorrow will come with the news that we can pick up our decrees as soon as possible and that we can begin the process of bringing our kids home. We go to bed feeling very optimistic and encouraged by today's news, I will be sure to update you on what we hear tomorrow.

Thanks again for your prayers, they have carried me through this time and brought me more peace and comfort through this time of uncertainty than I could have ever imagined possible.

To close, some words from my husband Wayne, hope he doesn't mind me sharing.

"I truly believe and know that Jaymi is our daughter and will be in our home with us soon. If the Lord wanted it NOW, it would happen NOW. For this reason, I feel that we are a part of a bigger plan. I just hope that a few years from now, we will understand what that plan is. "

As Becky and I watched as all the other families we knew here specifically, in similar situations went home with their children in hand, it was hard not to feel a bit defeated and abandoned. Thankfully in those moments of weakness and sorrow, Heavenly Father wrapped his arms tightly around us by putting someone in our path to lift our spirits and strengthen our resolve to press forward. I have not for one second felt alone on this journey, a tender mercy indeed. I like Wayne, believe that our struggle in the final hours of this adoption are part of a greater plan, one that I may not understand in the near future, but one that I'm honored to be a part of.

Sunday Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Well the week has been put to rest and now we are doing our best to get geared up for the coming week.  I'm here with my sweet friend Becky Preece and we are two mamas on a mission.  I feel like we have been friends forever although we have only met in person just a week ago.  I can't help but think we were meant to be on this escapade together, because I know I couldn't be here doing what I'm doing alone.  Her husband went home to attend to their children and family business yesterday so now the real adventure begins.  We are trying our best to stay busy and have laughed so many times this week.  The quote by Marjorie Hinkley keeps running through my head, “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”  We are seriously considering writing a travel guide with all our helpful hints that we are learning each day.  

Becky is a really great writer and is keeping a very good record of all the legal business and happenings that we are going through over here, so rather than trying to hash it out myself I'm going to refer you to her blog.  

http://preecefamilyadoption.blogspot.com

Thursday morning I was able to go see my girl!  We had a wonderful, fun visit together.  She walked in with her big cute smile, I help out my arms and gave her a great big hug!  She loved all the toys I brought to play with and like always her favorite things were my running magazine and boarding tickets from my flight.  She loved dressing up in all my gear and was heading outside to play.  Its way to cold to play outside these days, she was a little bummed about that.  At one point she was holding my phone up to her ear listening to Jordan Sparks song, One Step at a Time and she just walked over to me and gave me a hug.  It melted my heart.  She is such a special little girl and I can't wait until I can finally bring her home and everyone can meet her.  

We walked down to Red Square one night and I just about froze to death.  As the gentleman in the picture below told me, "Russia, Cold"  Yep, Russia is C.O.L.D and the "pretend boots" I brought are NOT cutting it.  I've had more than one experience where I was sure I'd be leaving my toes in Russia due to frost bite.  Yesterday I marched into the mall on Red Square and bought a pair of REAL boots!  I also bought a pair of wool socks and liner gloves, a scarf and some thick tights.  My next purchase will be a decent coat.  On our other trips we hardly spent any time out side so I packed really light for myself this time around.  So don't be surprised if I return wearing a knee length full fur coat :)  Jk, those are VERY expensive, but everyone has them.

St. Basils Cathedral on Red Square

Thank goodness for the fitness room at our hotel, its been a great place to workout and keep the stress from building up.  We even took our some frustrations on the punching bag!

Yesterday Becky and I decided to REALLY be adventurous and try our hand at the Metro.  This being my fourth trip here, I hadn't even laid eyes on the metro, but we knew we didn't want to sit around all weekend and feel sad and lonely.  We left the hotel feeling all sorts of brave until we ended up about 6 levels underground at a dead end.  I felt frozen, I couldn't move my body, my brain wouldn't process what to do and I could barely talk.  After doing a few circles and getting plenty of strange looks we made it to where we needed to go.  We were so proud of ourselves!  We even rode the metro to church again today and now we feel like a whole new world has opened up to us :)

Me looking like a deer in headlights once we got on the train

Becky looking very calm and collected after boarding our train

The escalators down to the metro are unREAL!  They are like a 1/4 mile long and almost straight up and down.

Our adventure took us to the Ismylavo (sp) market.  Its where you buy all sorts of things for good prices.  If we weren't so cold we would have stayed much longer.  The dolls were about 1/4 the price we have been paying on our previous trips.

Entering the market

 At one point my toes were so cold I thought I wasn't going to be able to walk anymore.  They were soaking wet so we searched high and low for some respit inside.  Also the pinky on my right hand was STARK WHITE! We ordered some meat-sticks and went upstairs to try and warm up.  We sat across from the group of gentleman below and they kept motioning for us to come sit by them and speaking in Russian.  It was kind of creeping us out but then the waitress came in and we figured out what they were saying.  They saw my wet freezing toes and were telling me to come sit there because there was a hot pipe I could put my hands and toes on to warm up.  Then the lady brought over a seat cushion for us to put on our laps.  I'm sure they were having a good time joking about what fools I was for coming to Russia dressed like that.  They were really nice though and even brought us a shot of Vodka, thankfully they didn't seem too offended that we didn't drink it.

Thanks to them I still have my toes and my right pinky

Today we were able to get a hold of some missionaries that took us to church with them and then our sweet friend Sally, who Wayne and I met last trip, picked us up and is letting us do our laundry and feeding us dinner.  Its a small world when you are a member of the LDS church and we are so grateful for the wonderful people we have met over here and how they have wrapped their arms around us.  

Well I'll try to do better about blogging, last week was such a whirlwind I just couldn't keep up with what day it was and what we had going.  Thank your for all the prayers, I know they are providing me with some much strength.  Becky and I joke about all the angels that had to be called in to watch over us while we are here without our husbands.  Hopefully they are getting a good laugh at all our blunders, we sure are.  

Keep the faith!  We will get our little one home :)

Wednesday's Update

Dear Jaymi Viktoria,

I'm here in your country, not far from your orphanage.  I'm hoping that I will be able to come and visit you this afternoon.  I can't to see you and give you the biggest hug!  We were not able to collect the needed document from our judge yesterday.  We are running into some issues getting our paperwork to start the process of bringing you home.  We have learned a few things.  First, according to our court ruling, we ARE your legal guardians.  The issue is with the different agencies that provide the necessary items to take you out of the country.  They do not have any legal direction on how to process the cases of the families like us here, that have our official court ruling, so they are waiting on direction from the Supreme Court on how to continue.

I am here with another family who are adopting a cute little guy with Down syndrome too.  It is simply amazing to have each other to draw support from during these uncertain times.  His mama and I plan to stay here as long as needed in order to get our kids home.  We are trying our best to stay optimistic and hopeful.  We have done a few interviews with the media to help bring attention to the number of families here in the country in the same situation as us.  Also to share our story of love for our children here and the value of children with special needs.  We have spoken with the New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters and CNN.  The reporters have been very kind and sympathetic of our situation and want to do anything they can to help us.

Love you little girl, can't wait to see you soon!

Love Mommy

Made it

Dear Jaymi Viktoria,

I made it safely to your city, the flights went great.  I've had a wonderful visit hanging out with another family in our same situation, feel so good knowing we have each other to support one another.  We will  both meet with the judge in the morning in hopes that she will give us our court decrees so that we can begin the necessary paperwork to bring you home.  That is what we are hoping for, that is what we are praying for.  See you soon little one, see you soon.

Love Mommy