August 25-27th what an eventful week. Our boys turned 20 months old in Ekaterinburg on August 26th, and Joe turned 45 on August 28th ! Happy Birthday Joe !
Beth Hurley and Mattie and Jake visited for a few days and we had an absolut blast. It was wonderful to meet Mattie, Beth's son she adopted from China 3 years ago. He is full of smarts and cuteness. He was deputized by Steve Cardi the K9 Office from the Sheriff's Department. They got to meet Tess, the narcotics Chocolate Lab and Officer Steve gave Mattie and Jake badges. Mattie wore his every minute of every day ! and what can we say about Jake.... What a character ! Jake was being adopted in March by Beth while Joe and I were visiting and meeting our boys. We met at the Park Inn; what a story to tell people, " where did you meet?".... " Russia".
Jake has been home about 5 months now from the same baby home that Jack and Noah are in. He will be three in September and he is doing great. You can see how much he loves life and his new home and family in the USA. Jake fell in love with my dogs, Beau and Tara, but BoBo (as Jake calls him) is always special to kids. He loves kids and kids love him ! He is 115 lbs of pure black lab love.
We went to the beach and the pool and the boardwalk...what a sensory overload! It was again bittersweet as I watched Jake laughing and playing and having such a great time, I mentally cursed out the judge in Russia and wanted to grab her and say "why are you making this take so long !! look how much fun these kids are having you B !!" It was a good release to do that in my head.
When you see how much these children enjoy life, it is sad to think about your own children waiting for you to pick them up and bring them to a life that a child should have. One where they can play, fall, get loved, experience life outside of four walls and a metal fence.
Beth and Joe and I developed a new name for cursing around children...whenever someone is difficult, irrartional, stubborn, or just a plain a**hole; we say "what a Russian Judge you are !" HA ! It was great !
What a release !
Beth, Mattie, and Jake had dinner with us at Luna, our family restaurant. My cousins came to join us with my parents as well. It was Maria, Randy and their two children Ally and Jack. Jack and Mattie had a blast ! Jack is 8 years old and he is great with kids and adults of all ages. What a great character. Ally, who is 11 going on 18, also had a blast while cousin Sandy let her behind the bar to mix drinks. All those years of private school and I teach her to bartend !
Jake especially loved the Moscato Sweet Dessert Wine we had after dinner. He helped his mom Beth lick that glass clean. Of course, we got pictures of it and we considered sending those to the judge in Russia ! haha !
Well, all in all, it was a great week. I start school again on Monday to keep my mind busy while we wait for a court date. I miss Jack and Noah very much and I get angry when I think about all the things that we could be doing together right now. The trip to Disney in October that I planned over a year ago, will be postponed. We planned it thinking we would certainly have the boys by Oct 2010. HA ! Should have known better !
Some day, when this is all over I will self publish a little book about the reality of Russian Adoption from Ekaterinburg. There are a lot of books out there, none are region specific (which they should be) and none that I read really tell you the reality of how ridiculous some of this is.
1) Why do we need to go to Moscow when there is an American Embassy in Yekateriburg?!
2) Even the FBI Customer Service Agent I spoke to thought the re-do of fingerprints every 3 months is absurd
3) There are still people being paid off in Russia...no matter what any agency tells you !
4) NONE of this is about the kids....it is ALL about the Russians and their pride.
I want my boys to appreciate their homeland and know about it and know their heritage, but I also want them to know the good and the bad. I am not one who sugar coats anything. What they do to adoptive parents in this region is borderline criminal.
Beth and I compared people at home and the general ignorance about international vs domestic adoption. There needs to be more publicity on how adoptions work. People just don't understand the procedures and how every region and country is so vastly different. These processes need to be more transparent.
No country is better or worse, no region is better or worse, they are all just VERY DIFFERENT; and this is something that I was not educated on when entering into the realm of international adoption.
Yes, I read the books...but they don't tell you how vastly different the lies that are printed are. For instance; telling parents the average wait for Ekaterinburg is 6-8 months.....REALLY ! I ahve not met one adoptive parent yet that did an Ekat adoption in 6-8 months. Believe me I am like a speed demon with paperwork, but you are still helpless at the whim of the courts and the translators.
Someday soon, Joe and I will have our family complete. In the meantime, we trudge through the hurdles the Russian system places before us. We listen to the vague stories the agency associates tell families that are waiting for court, and we redo documents over and over again, mounting the expense for nothing.
Jack and Noah....we will be there soon. Mama and Papa love you !
