Guest Blogger Fred - More Paperwork

Sheila left me a message today and said they had all Katya's required paperwork and they had made the application for her US visa. We know that that is a 2 day process and with the holiday on Monday she will return on Tuesday to have an interview and get the visa.
Then they will travel on Wednesday 5 SEP on DELTA 1019 arriving from Atlanta at Dulles at 8:43PM. You are all invited to be there to welcome them home. We will stay and visit for a little while but they will have been up for about 24 hours so I will need to get them home to sleep.

Guest Blogger Fred - More Paperwork

I talked to Sheila and they are gearing up for another day of paperwork. They have moved in with Eugene and his family, he runs the adoption agency in Moscow. Tomorrow they go and pickup Katya's new Russian passport with her new name, Katerina Grace Buoni. Then they go straight to the US consulate to apply for her entry visa. The visa will be picked up on Friday. They also squeeze in an appointment with a doctor for Katya, for the visa. We are still on schedule for them to arrive here the night of Wednesday, 5 Sept at Dulles, you are all invited. I will post the flight and time as it gets closer.
Fred

Guest Blogger Fred - The Traffic Day

I talked to Sheila earlier and they spent 12 hours today running from office to office doing paperwork. The traffic was awful, but they got done all that was planned. Now they are waiting for Katya's passport from the Russian Government. When they get that (hopefully Thursday), then it is off to the US embassy to get her visa. Sheila and Katya will move into Moscow with Eugene's family to make travelling around Moscow easier.

edited by Katie :)

It's a good day today!

Today is a good day, for many reasons! First, I had a spectacular time last night with Katya and Alexi, Svetlana's grandson. We walked to the local sushi bar and had a great dinner. It was wonderful to talk to someone who speaks perfect English and who is fun to be with. Last Friday night Katya and I went out to dinner with Ksenia, Svetlana's granddaughter and had an equally great time. We went to an Italian restaurant, the Trattoria Pompodoro and I got that glass of red wine I was craving! I also enjoyed a few glasses of red wine last night which was fun. Katya had a great English lesson today too, writing all her letters perfectly and remembering their sounds. In addition to the great company and great English lesson we've enjoyed, the weather is now wonderful! It must be in the low 60's! FINALLY! I slept so well last night, with the cool wind blowing into the room. I took the sofa cushion off the couch and put it on the mattress which made it so much more comfortable. Ten hours of restful sleep, cool weather, great company and a happy daughter add up to a great day!

Tomorrow we go to Moscow for the day to take care of some paperwork. It will be nice to get to the city for the day.

Dosvidonya

Sunday afternoon in Podolsk

It's finally cooled down a little - not as much as I had hoped but there is a great breeze from the north coming into our room and it's a welcome change.

Katya rode a horse yesterday for 90 minutes and had a great time. She learned quickly how to post...heal, toe... heal, toe... After riding she helped the stable workers feed the horses in their stalls. She didn't want to leave but I didn't want to miss our ride back to the orphanage. She loves animals, especially cats and horses. A cat I would consider, a horse is impossible!

This morning I took her to a small amusement park to drive the bumper cars, again. We did that the other day and she's wanted to go back every day since.

We go to Moscow on Tuesday to complete some paperwork. I'm looking forward to the change of pace. Only 10 more days and we come home, I HOPE!

Dosvidonya

TGIF

Hello from Podolsk! It's still hot, in fact a record has been set for the hottest temperatures since they started keeping records. I hear it will cool down on Sunday, thank goodness.
Katya continues to learn her letters and pronunciations. She wrote a sentence today: Dogs love cats. She is learning quickly and is starting to answer my questions in English. The words she knows well are: Mama, Papa, hello, goodbye, good morning, good evening, come on, I love you, sorry and NO! She's got the word NO perfected!

I am taking Katya to ride horses tomorrow afternoon. She loves horses so we are taking the bus to the stables. I am so afraid she's going to want a horse!

I continue to feel better which means I am sleeping better. Things will get a lot better once it cools down this weekend. I am missing cool weather at home....bummer!

More later...

If I had ten wishes...

IF I could have ten wishes right now, they would be:

To see Fred, Katie and Steven
To speak to Katya and have her understand
To have September 5th come quickly
To have my mattress
To have air conditioning
To have grilled chicken and veggies
To have a good glass of red wine
To have a good night's sleep
To have September 5th be tomorrow
To have a warm bath

Tuesday in Podolsk

Hi Everyone-
I snuck out of the orphanage to post on my blog - yesterday I had an escort and I felt badly making her wait so I didn't blog. I think Svetlana thinks I'll get lost if I venture out by myself! I saw the doctor this morning, because this illness has gone to my chest and I'm hacking like a sick dog! She looked at my throat and murmured something that sounded bad and she shook her head from side to side so I think I'm sicker than I thought. God knows what I am taking, I hope it is antibiotics. Katya is sitting beside me now doing a puzzle book so she's content. She has been wonderful while I've felt badly; she's been mothering me! I was told this morning that Moscow is in a heatwave. NO KIDDING! It is unbearably hot, and most of the windows at Podolsk aren't or don't open so I'm sweating buckets. I had to open my bedroom window last night but the 10 pound mosquitos and biting flies made a meal of me. When Katya first saw me this morning she said, "OH MAMA!!" I have four huge bites on my face plus numerous other welts that look horrible.
The construction occurring at Podolsk is transforming the place! They are making the huge rooms that sleep 20 into smaller rooms that sleep three. A great improvement! I will take photos for all of you who have been here so you can see the difference.

This evening we are going to a park by the river where there will be a breeze, hopefully. Tomorrow we are going out to the camp where some of Katya's friends are so she can visit and play with them. We are having English lessons everyday and she now knows the alphabet! Today we worked on letter sounds. T-H-R-E-E is proving to be very hard. The TH sound is not in the Russian language.

I still don't know if we are returning on Sept. 5th, but when I find out for sure I'll post it here on the blog.

Dosvidonya

Guest Blogger Fred

I talked to Sheila today, her fever is gone and she feels much better. She found the internet cafe but it was so slow and she had an escort from the orphanage so she did not have much time. Katya is fine-keeping herself busy, plus Sheila has been giving her homework.

Sick in Podolsk - Guest Blogger Fred

I talked to Sheila and she is not feeling well. She has a sore throat and fever, Svetlana would not let her go to the hotel so they fixed up a room, so the girls are staying at the orphanage. There are no children there right now, they use the summer to repair and refurbish. Therefor Katya is a little bored but there is a TV.

Guest Blogger Fred, just back from Moscow.

(Katie is editing for Dad-- he is as tired now as he was on Monday)

This was a very busy week for us, I will try to fill you in on the details. We arrived in Russia around 1030 am on Monday and drove to a summer camp near Podolsk to visit with Katya. We also had an official from the Ministry with us to observe our interactions with Katya; as she would have to testify in court that we were appropriately matched. Katya also had to fill out some paperwork for the inspector. Katya was very excited to see us and we got lots of hugs and kisses. We also spent time with Sasha, a boy from the orphanage. We also went to a medical clinic for X-rays and blood work (I might have the order wrong). On Tuesday we went back to the summer camp and spent more time with Katya and several more children. We had a good time but had to return to Moscow to have our medical appointments. That all went well but took about 3 hours to see the 8 specialists that we needed.

Wednesday was court and we were nervous, one driver went to Podolsk to get Katya, Svetlana the orphanage director, and the inspector. The other driver picked us up and we met just outside the courtroom. We had been told most of what to expect but it was still nerve wracking. The judge turned out to be a very nice man who made us feel comfortable and after an hour sweating in our good clothes it was over. We all went back to Moscow and had a celebration luncheon. Then everyone left and Sheila, Katya and I returned to the hotel. We just wanted to relax and we did except for one small item, the Russian-English language issue. We bought an electronic translator but it only works about 50% of the time.

The next morning we got a delivery of Katya's clothes and most importantly her bathing suit. The child has gills, I swear! We did some shopping with her but we watched her in the water a bunch too. On Friday we had some paperwork to do so "Uncle Eugene", the head of the adoption agency in Moscow picked us up and then helped us with some shopping. Part of the help involved translating for us that we were there to buy sneakers not 6 inch platform sandals :-) We completed the paperwork and then Katya and I spent about 4 hours in the pool. She wore me out!

This morning I was picked up to go to the airport and Sheila and Katya went to Podolsk. We had scouted out a modest hotel near the orphanage on our last trip and with the costs in Moscow they needed to get out to the suburbs.

We apologize for not posting more, we were on the run a lot more and at a different hotel that was not close to an internet cafe. There is supposed to be one in Podolsk but the Cyrillic keyboards can be an adventure.

I'm sure Sheila will edit this and make it "english" for me, talk to you soon.

A proud Papa

P.S. A special thanks to Cheryl for her kind help!

Guest post from Katie

Hi everyone--

This is Katie, guest blogging for today. I just got off the phone with my mom! Mom, Dad, and Katya are set up in Moscow at the moment and doing well. Apparently Katya loves swimming, which is fortunate since the hotel has a pool. Mom says that if they would let her, Katya would swim all day every day. I was able to speak to Katya, and she could say a few English words (the only ones I understood, however, were "I love you" - not bad!). Mom reports that the hotel has no access to the internet, which is why they have not been posting. My dad comes back to the US tomorrow, and Katya and mom (Sheila) are moving to a hotel in Podolsk (a suburb of Moscow where the orphanage is). It is still looking like the 5th of September is the return date for mom and Katya. Mom says that there are rumours of an internet cafe in Podolsk, so if those umours hold true, mom will be able to blog. If not, she said she would 'call in' her blogs!

Lots of love to everyone and thank you for ALL the support you have given my family on this incredible journey!

Katie

It's official, she's ours!!

Moscow - Wednesday, August 15th 7:15 PM Moscow time

Katerina Grace Buoni!! It's official!! After a very nervous morning in front of the judge and prosecutor, the decision was announced that the adoption was approved and she is officially ours! O HAPPY DAY! We never had an opportunity to ask for a waiver of the waiting period so Katya and I will be here until at least September 5th. Katya is now with Fred and me in Moscow, and on Saturday Fred flies home and Katya and I move to a hotel in Podolsk. We cannot stay at the orphanage because it is under renovations and no one is living there at the present time. There is a chance that we will move to the orphanage if it is ready in time, but how often do renovations stay on schedule?
Congratulations to Katie and Steven on their new sister!

More tomorrow from Moscow!
O Happy Day!!

Sad....and happy...all at once!

A myraid of emotions overwhelmed me today! I was extremely sad to say goodbye to my sister, but extremely excited to be on our way to Katya. We are all packed and ready to go, and will be leaving in the morning at 8:30 AM. We have a flight to JFK, a four-hour layover, then a 10 1/2 hour flight to Moscow.
Hopefully, Katya will be driven into Moscow on Monday or Tuesday to stay with us at our hotel, then we all go to court on Wednesday. After court the waiting period begins!

We'll blog from Moscow on Monday! Until then, please keep us in your prayers for safe travels and happy outcomes!!

P.S. A special thank you to my WONDERFUL sister for helping me get ready for Katya this week. I could not have done it without you! I love you very much.

Getting ready to go!

Anne and I spent the day finishing Katya's room and running errands for our trip to Russia. We were able to get our visas by 1 PM today, having only turned in the applications last evening at 5:15 PM! We also celebrated Katie's 24th birthday tonight, because we will be in Russia on August 14th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE! WE LOVE YOU!

Sadly, Anne leaves tomorrow so it will be hard to say goodbye. She has been such a help and has made this stressful and busy time fun and easy to get through. Fred and I fly to Moscow Sunday morning so I will spend tomorrow packing and getting ready to be gone until September 5th. The thought of being away that long is hard, so please pray that the judge waives the waiting period and we can come home next week. The judge has the authority to waive the waiting period but I'm not counting on it!

Thanks for all your well wishes- I'll blog in Russia at the internet cafe as often as I can.

Here we go!

WE HAVE A COURT DATE...WE'RE GOING TO RUSSIA!!

We received "the call" today! Our court date is next Wednesday, August 15th! We leave this Sunday, arrive Monday, have our final medical examinations on Tuesday and go to court on Wednesday. After court, we have about a two-week waiting period. I will remain in Russia with Katya, and Fred will return home next weekend. Katya and I will come home around September 5th.

To say we are excited is the understatement of the year. We were not expecting the date to come so quickly, and we were hoping for some more lead-time for better airfares but we are just grateful it is all happening so quickly!

I am so thankful my sister came to help prepare for Katya's arrival! Her room is 99% finished, and we will buy the remaining items tomorrow. It is also wonderful that Anne was here when "the call" came in, so she could share in our excitement.

Katya's almost home...keep us in your prayers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!!

Today is my sister's 50th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE! We spent the day at the bookstore, Target, the library, etc., etc., etc. Anne has great insight about what I should get Katya and what she would like. I, on the other hand, just wanted to buy what I like, creating what Anne called a "mini-me"!! Anne also saved Katya from everything pink...pink clothes, pink sheets, pink everything! (Is there another color?) We made fish tacos tonight, one of Anne's favorite dinners. They were delicious. Not exactly gourmet, but they were really tasty! We are going out tomorrow night to a great Italian restaurant with my close friends, so it will be a girl’s night out.

We have a meeting with the principal of Katya's school tomorrow, so I will have a clearer understanding of her assimilation into elementary school. Anne and I will continue building Katya’s library and wardrobe. More tomorrow…

Anne arrives today!

Today's the big day! My sister arrives this evening from sunny California! I know she will hit the ground running, she's already warned me she's made lists of items we need to buy for Katya. I took this Tuesday through Friday off from work, so we can devote all of our time to getting her room ready, and having fun! I emptied the closet and drawers, so they are just waiting to be filled! Fred finally decided to part with most of his Navy uniforms which helped a lot!

If you have suggestions for what we need to get this week, please send them my way! Wish us luck...

Missed Opportunities

It makes me so sad to think I was looking into the eyes of my future daughter and I didn't even know it! It makes me sad that I have missed twelve birthdays, twelve Christmases, and many opportunities to dry tears and provide a shoulder and countless hugs and kisses. I know there is nothing I can do about the past, but I still mourn the missed opportunities. Fred, Katie, Steven and I will spend the rest of our lives trying to provide the experiences that Katya has missed, and we will try to make her future so bright that maybe the memories of her lonely years will dim over time. What does bring me great comfort is that Katya has been loved at Podolsk, and her best interests have been Svetlana's priority. I often think of one of my favorite poems when I see the children in orphanages happily singing and performing for us visitors. It is "Sympathy" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Here is a verse:

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, 
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, 
When he beats his bars and he would be free; 
It is not a carol of joy or glee, 
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
but a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings
I know why the caged bird sings!

Photo: Katya in 2004

Podolsk Orphanage

There are an estimated 800,000 children in institutional care in Russia. Two classifications exist to identify these children. The first is "social orphan." A social orphan is a child who has an identified family member, but for whatever reason that family member cannot or will not take care of the child. It could be due to financial difficulties, alcoholism, abuse, neglect, or lack of proper housing. In addition, children born with disabilities are disproportionately abandoned in Russia. In most cases, a social orphan is not available for adoption and is forced to live their life in an institution.
A “true” orphan is a child with no known relatives. A true orphan is available for adoption by American couples once he/she has been placed on the Russian Federal Registry for a minimum of six months and not adopted by Russian families. Healthy babies are the most sought after, especially female babies. There is a growing movement in Russia to encourage Russian families to adopt and they have had limited success. Fortunately, Russia is moving to community and family care. Getting one child out of an orphanage is easy to imagine, but getting 800,000 out and ending the use of institutions is more complex. President Vladimir Putin has made it a national priority to move children out of orphanages and into families, and Russian leaders are implementing this work. The World Health Organization is working with Russia and many other countries to help move children from institutions to community care. Kids are placed in institutions as a result of formal government policies, medical and professional practices, and cultural beliefs. It is my hope that Russia will move forward to promote foster care and help families with young disabled babies and children obtain support and skills to keep their children at home. It is also my hope that more American and Russian families open their hearts and homes to the tens of thousands of children who desperately want a family. Spread the word.

Photo: Exterior of Podolsk Orphanage

Aunt Anne is coming to save the day!!

Katya's Aunt Anne (my sister) is coming to visit from California on Monday! I am so excited! When I posted the blog about my strong nesting instinct taking over my mind and body, Anne sent along wonderful suggestions about what I could do to set up her room, books to buy, school supplies, etc. I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. I sent Anne a "Help Wanted" email and she's coming to the rescue. Hurray for sisters! Hopefully one day Katie and Katya can support and help one another out when a distress call goes out! Again, hurray for sisters! Anne sent me an email this afternoon saying she already has a list going so I'd better be ready to go, go, go! It really helps that Anne is an elementary school librarian and has daily contact with 6th grade girls. She knows what they like, what they read, and what they wear, thank goodness.
HURRAY FOR SISTERS!