Sunday, February 18, 2007

And then there were five...



"Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love... " ---Mother Teresa

We received news from our adoption agency a couple of days ago--the court date in Kyrgyzstan was on February 13th, and our adoption is now final! We really didn't expect there to be any hitches, but you never know. Now there is a 30-day "appeal" period, but again there is rarely any issue that would reverse a court decision. So, we should be able to travel back to Kyrgyzstan about mid-March, to pick up the kids. We thank God every day for what can only be His divine intervention in connecting us with these children. It has taken so long to get to this point, and finally the end is in sight....or, should I say, the beginning...?

Our son Zachary, pictured here, is pretty excited about having a brother and sister. He understands all this in whatever way a 4 1/2-year-old can understand. We fear that he really thinks that this is a big sleepover, and that these two kids are going home in a few days.... We're sure we are in for quite a period of adjustment, for all of us. Zach has been the "king of the roost" for a while now. But--the truth is that he has wished for "two brothers and two sisters" for a very long time, so we are hoping that one of each will, eventually, be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Monday was President's Day, and we took advantage of furniture sales to pick out new bedroom furniture that will accommodate our new family. We plan to put the three kids in the same room initially, and see how that goes. So Zachary (and his best frog-friend Hoppy) helped us pick out a blue bunk bed for the boys, and we picked out a nice white, "girly" bed for Rita. There is still a lot to do before their arrival, from buying clothing, to making travel arrangements, to figuring out appropriate schooling, and time is moving quickly.

Everyone has been asking, so FYI--we have decided to retain each child's given name, in some fashion. Rita's given name is Margarita, which we will keep as a first name; however we will call her by the more "American-style" shortened name (for Margaret) of "Maggie". We will add the middle name of "Mae", after John's grandmother. So, Margarita "Maggie" Mae (OK, maybe also a nod to Rod Stewart!). Sergey will be called Samuel "Sam" Sergey, keeping his given name as a middle name. I guess we will see if kids this age (6 and 4) will respond to new names! But this way, if some day they ever want to go back to their Russian/Kyrgyz names, they can easily do so.

Well, so far we have no firm travel dates for the second trip, but we will post again when we know this. Debbie's sister Diane will travel here from Venezuela, to stay with Zachary while we go on the second part of this journey....

Love to all...

6 comments:

Marina said...

Hi Debbie!
I have e-mailed you twice with the addresses of the women who adopted Russian kids. I haven't heard back from you and I wonder whether you got my messages.
A couple of my students are ready to help you with communication when kids arrive.
If you are still interested, e-mail me, please.
Sincerely,
Marina
visit my blog
http://russianforforeigners.wordpress.com/about-me/

Julia said...

Hi Debbie,

My name is Julia. I heard from Marina Surikova that you are looking for a Russian person to help you with your new kids. I checked out your blog site, the kids are adorable. I would be glad to help you make the kids happy and comfortable in the new environment.

A little bit about myself. I'm 23 years old. Moved to San Diego from Saratov, Russia in November, 2005. I have a bachelor degree in International Business from Russia. Currently I'm taking prerequisite classes for Master's degree in Nutrition and in a year I plan to transfer to SDSU for my Master's program. My hobbies are healthy lifestyle in all it's aspects from spirituality to yoga to healthy eating. I love children and they seems to be drawn to me, too. Although I never actually "worked" as a nanny, I have experience babysitting family members' kids. My 6 year old nephew has a map of the world hanging above his bed and ever since I left for The US he would point to San Diego on the map and say that he's coming for a visit :).

If you feel that I could be someone you are looking for, please email me at yulia_shprekher@yahoo.com or give me a call (my phone number is in the email I sent you earlier today).

Sincerely,

Julia Shprekher

Madeline Petersen & Tim Avery said...

Hi Debbie,
So great to hear from you. I'm also happy you are "official" parents. I know Sam and Maggie Mae will be having a better life even though there is bound to be a huge period of adjustment and lots of issues with Zach. Just hope they don't try to push Zach away from "their parents", but know you have already thought about this. Was my nephew's fiance able to find you a nanny? Hope so. Those scientists always seems to know of people working in this country who are from everywhere else. We will probably be basking in the warm Hawaiian sun while you are picking up Sam and Maggie Mae, but will continue to check your blog to stay up on all that is going on. My heart goes out to you guys and all the challenges and rewards that lie ahead.
Thinking of you with much Aloha, and travel safely.

Madeline Petersen & Tim Avery said...

Hi John & Debbie,
Have you established the date when you will be leaving yet? Maybe you are already on your way...today is March 12? We will be headed for Maui on March 16....so if you haven't left yet, maybe we will be "in transit" at the same time?

Madeline Petersen & Tim Avery said...

Hi John and Debbie,
Have you established a "departure date"? Maybe you are already "in trasit"...it is now March 12....we are headed out to Maui on March 16..perhaps we will be traveling at the same time?
Thinking of you and Maggie Mae and Sam, and Zach.

Madeline Petersen & Tim Avery said...

Hi Debbie & John,
We are on Maui now, waiting to hear if you have left to "pick up the kids yet"....
Thinking of you with much Aloha