wool tights

Two and a half weeks before we leave for Kemerovo. I've done this before. Only traveled once but planned 3 trips, so it's old and familiar. For me the most nervous I get is around obtaining a visa. See the cost of a visa depends on the processing time needed, less time equals higher cost. The agency we work with has a ten day (business days of course) processing time or a five day. With the New Year's holiday most businesses were closed Friday making it impossible for me to contact our travel agency and be reassured by Natasha that everything would be fine. Not wanting to wait for tomorrow I just went for it and sent out our applications and passports. There is just something unsettling about sending your passport out into the world without you, or maybe it's just me. Now everything has always worked out and it's always been on time, but it's just hard waiting until that last day before you fly out to get your passport back.

Jim has a different stress. It's cold in Siberia, like really cold. I'm not sure what Jim has pictured in his mind but I think he believes he needs to go hunt and gather meat and berries or something. I'm pretty sure we are not going too far in the outdoors and if we do I plan on walking quickly. He is going a little nuts trying to find the proper cold weather gear. He is going to be there for maybe a week before he returns to "warm" Kansas. He is not the one staying for almost a month!! Anyway, we managed to collect a few things we hope will help.

I got a pair of Uggs this afternoon. Not really a huge fan of how they look, but gosh they are cozy. Picked up a couple pairs of wool socks. I was nervous about the wool sock purchase thought they would be itchy and uncomfortable, but wow they are awesome. Wool sock technology has really come a long way. Just stood out on my concrete front steps with one wool sock and one lame sock, amazing. Plus since my feet are so small I could buy them in the kid section, which saved some cash. Jim found some things for himself on amazon. Some layering pieces that seem like they will help him with his hunting and gathering and I ordered wool tights, because I just can't bring myself to wearing long underwear.

hello january!!!!!!!!

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried. Yesterday was a blissfully happy day. House all cleaned up, homemade soup on the stove, chocolate eclairs, Jim home from work, and company over for dinner. The blissfulness ended at 9:00PM when I checked my email, you can read about that in yesterday's post. It wasn't the news we were wanting.

This morning I'm close by my computer and phone waiting for people who are on vacation or near vacation to care and help guide me through fixing yesterday's issues, and fix they did! Our coordinator in the US heard from our coordinator in Russia about what we need to do to remedy yesterday's drama, and thankfully it is simple and does not cost hundreds.

The cure
Take our Nebraska home study and have it re notarized by our new agency here in Kansas. Our Kansas caseworker will write a little note about how she approves it and looked it over. I'll take that and have it apostilled in Topeka and send it off to Russia with some family that is traveling there on January 10th, saving me $100 of FedEx shipping costs. Could it be that easy? We will have to wait and see...

Also, our coordinator in Russia received our release letter from Moscow meaning we get a court date. A court date, yes you read that correctly. The current plan, knowing things change all the time, leave January 19th, court on the 25th, Jim goes home, and I stay until February 16th.

If you read the previous post and said a prayer, I blame you for this! Thank you. Continue to pray that it could just go on from here as planned.

Current temperature in Kansas a balmy 61
Current temperature in Kemerovo -4 with flurries

any news from russia?

It's been everyone's favorite question. My standard answer is the following... No, no news yet Russia is going to be closed for the holidays things will start up again a bit later in January. We are still praying to travel in February. Then people say "ooo February, that's so soon" Yeah, February might feel soon to you, but its not. Not when you haven't seen your kid since the beginning of August. February is still a long time away.

However, today we receive an email from our caseworker here in the US. Let's just say I was happier with the previous answer of Russia is closed waiting till February than with the news she had for me today.

Our coordinator, In Russia, sent an email to our caseworker here telling her that she is nervous about our home study. She suddenly (it's been there since November) thinks it's not detailed enough and our judge will not accept it. What?

Well originally our home study was all completed and lovely and sent to Russia with dossier #1. We moved, re did our home study, sent it back in...you know the story I've told it before. Anyway, the home study update was just on things that changed like Jim getting a new job, me not having a job, and the safety of our new home. Unlike the first home study it did not have details about our personalities, families, and desire to adopt a child. So yeah it's not as detailed, but why does it even need to be? I'm still related to the same people, still am the same Pollyanna (well that might be wearing a bit thin), and still would like to adopt a child. Can't a judge just look at the two home studies side by side? Can't the documents be sent to the judge "as is" while we work on fixing this, then if she indeed does not like it we will already have our new documents in process and not waste soooo much time? So many questions.

Hopefully this can be sorted out tomorrow and we can get whatever they want/need and send it off soon.

Goodbye February, Hello?

living room & kitchen

Aside from the red red dining room the rest of our downstairs was various shades of brown, tan, and caramel. Out with it all and in with the sage. Our house was also filled with awful awful cloth blinds. My guess is that they were once white and lovely, by the time we showed up they were more greyish and filled with dust...gross and now gone.

Living room

Kitchen

When Jim's dad was downsizing and selling his house he let us pick out some photos that we wanted. Jim's father took all these pictures when he was in college at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) back in the day. They are quirky and really quite random. We never found a place for them at our other house, well they had a place in a box in the basement but I'm not sure that counts. They have a much better place now.

Ledge above our kitchen table

Other random photos, not related to our house being painted...

Below the above ledge are a bunch of windows. Outside the window is our deck and a bird feeder. We call it our "bird tank" You know, like a fish tank but with birds. Here are a few photos I caught of a cardinal. He comes around with some lady cardinals, a woodpecker, and some assorted finches, I just couldn't catch them with the camera.


Purchased this orchid at Lowe's in the clearance section for sad dying plants. I only purchase the sad dying ones, all they need is sun and water and I totally have those things. This one was was a sad flowers less $6.99. Ya!! I knew it would come to life.

dining room

Our dining room is right off the front door, it was a bright welcoming to our house...too bright. Too much like a candy cane.

right after we moved in

photo we had to take for our dossier (I hope Russian judges like red...)

new paint, quiver tan...looks better than I thought it would
please note the high chair (come on Russia) and my slight attempt at Christmas decorations

christmas?

How non Christmas is it at my house, it's so non Christmas we still have pumpkins on the door step and gourds in the dining room. Our house is so non Christmas every bit of our Christmas decorations are tucked away in their respective boxes in the basement.
It's not my fault. I like Christmas, Jesus, decorating, gifts, etc. First, I blame the painters. They made us put everything in the middle of each room, it's like living on an island in a construction zone. So if all our stuff is in the middle and all the painters stuff is on the perimeter were do you put the tree or anything else? These painters are moving at the speed of slow, so there isn't even an end in sight. The painters listen to the easy listen station on the radio. I had the day off on Thursday and had to endure hour after hour of the annoying easy listening station's version of Christmas music. Decided that mommy kissing santa, have yourself a merry little christmas (bad previous experience with the song) and anything sung by a chipmunk just make me more annoyed than "in the spirit"

Second, I blame my husband, he has told me numerous times he does not want to exchange gifts...I can't even discuss this because I can't relate, that's just ridiculous. He seems to think it is too difficult.

I need a kid because Christmas can never be canceled if you have one, I'm sure of it.

Speaking of expecting a kid...
It was 10:00 this evening, butter is on sale at the local grocery store (I use a lot for this cookie business), there were hardly any cars in the parking lot and I park in the expectant mother parking spot. I didn't know it was the expectant mother spot until I already pulled in. The spot is so close to the door and expectant mothers with children actually growing in them should be home with their feet up at 10:00 at night. I was fast.

Praying Russia invites us for court soon. We hear "February, If you're lucky"

hint hint

Our baby name of choice did not make the list.