A Visit to the Russia House

Zdravstvuite (Hello),

As we wait for the call that will really get things rolling, we decided to join other KidsFirst (our adoption agency) groupies on Saturday night for an annual dinner the agency holds at The Russia House in Indianapolis. We had the opportunity to meet several other couples who have either already adopted or are currently in the process of starting their families.

The dinner was good with lots of stories, pictures and well wishes. We were able to try some Russian food and our dishes were good. But, ordering well will get tougher once the menu is in another language. The people that have already traveled were full of good tips on what to seek out and what to avoid.

We also had the opportunity to visit again with Inna (agency director) about our next steps. Inna is an amazing woman. She grew up in the Ukraine and later moved to Indiana to earn her Masters of Social Work at IU. She started KidsFirst in 1999 and is so great to work with. Inna told us she hopes to hear from an orphanage in Rostov, Russia sometime around the middle of November. She sent our dossier to Rostov last week, so we are anxiously awaiting a response. There is still a chance we will adopt children from another region in Russia, but Rostov seems the most likely destination at this point.

If you are interested in locating Rostov on a map, here is a link to Encarta's web site. You'll find Rostov in the Southwestern corner of the country bordering Ukraine and the Sea of Azov. For those of you familiar with the area, take a left at the Black Sea and go about 400 miles until you see a post office. If you pass the donut shop, you've gone too far.

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761569000

Do svidaniya (Goodbye)

Finding A Few Good Markers

This past Spring, we started our adventure to adopt two kids from Russia. After piles of paperwork, a handful of homestudy meetings, talks with other adoptive couples and lots and lots of reading, we now know just enough to be dangerous.

The initial months were wild, but it was all worth it when we received a modest (albeit important) letter from I.N.S. in July. The letter said we were certified to adopt. Yes, we had passed the parenting test. We celebrated our good news and credited our success largely to the fact that the test did not require any math.

As the months passed, we became filled with a sense of excitment and anticipation. In fact, now whenever the phone rings at home, we wonder if this will be "the call". The next phase of our big adventure will come soon and we are looking forward to sharing our journey with you. One way we plan to do so is by posting entries to this site. We will be sporadic at first, but things will pick up once we travel. If we can figure out the technology, we'll even share pictures along the way.

For now, we'll answer the top three questions. 1) We have no real idea yet regarding when we will travel. We are hoping to have referrals for our future little Markers sometime in the coming days/weeks. Once that happens, it will be somewhere between six t0 eight weeks before everything is completed. 2) We are hoping to adopt a little boy and a little girl. Their ages could range anywhere between six months and two years. 3) Yes, Michelle will be heavily sedated before stepping on the plane to Moscow.

We have been overwhelmed by your support. If keeping tabs of our adventure online appeals to you, come back and see what transpires in the weeks ahead. Thanks and God bless.