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The Judge said ... Y E S !

He is ours! Court on the 15th went well and smooth. We almost did not know how to react and feel ... but the instant broad smiles on both our faces were not lost on the Judge, Prosecutor nor Court Reporter/Clerk!

Our prince is still struggling with some congestion which they believe does not need medication, so again, keep him in your prayers. He has grown and is looking less like an infant and more like a little boy. We had fun taking the short car ride to get his photo taken for the documents and his passport. He went silent on the ride while looking out the window trying to take in all he was seeing.

Now begins the count down on returning to Russia, going through Yaro's paperwork and then to Moscow for the US Embassy process. There is a frenzy of making sure we pack weather appropriate clothing, care needs and some food for him for the duration of that stay and return as we've been advised that there will not be any extra time for major shopping during trip three.

We really do not know how to put into words the way we feel. We are continually thanking God for the smoothness that trip two held and that He granted us timing and favor with the Judge. Thank you for praying for the Judge's health and that we would find favor with him.

As we approach the home coming date, we reflect on trip one. Cheryl might not have 'carried' our prince but we have definately had our share of labor during this process, especially during that first trip. We again thank the Lord for His faithfulness and His reassurance that this plan that He began two years ago for our family, truly was direct direction from Him to us. His timing of reassurance came as a healing balm that was so needed.

A Few Fun Facts and Dates

God has been at work again... coordinating everything for us:
- On Steve's birthday (March) - We received our referral call.
- On our Princess' Birthday (April) - We met and played with our prince for the first time.
- On Cheryl's birthday (May) - We received and signed the formal acceptance documents.
Thank you Lord God Almighty for watching over us and leading the way to bring our Prince home.

Got our Court Date

We received our court date today and will be traveling in the next several weeks on our second trip. Excited? You bet your boots we are ... to say the very least! We also met with the I/A pediatrician today to review all of the medicals that have been compiled from the baby house and Dr. Victoria. It was again reassuring to be advised that he is a healthy boy and actually on a reasonably good growth and development path as far as the growth charts go for his age group. The crib is up, changing table assembled, stuff to put on the walls and, well you can imagine what else. The little blondie in the house is not so excited about us going again, but she knows and understands why. She is such a trooper and still so very excited to have a brother coming home soon.

Our princess played an excerpt from "America" on the piano in chapel service a few days ago and did a great job. Many complements from friends and teachers alike. This was her second time to play publicly, but this was her first solo performance. We'll catch up more later.

Home From Trip One

We're home! Our first trip was bitter sweet, meeting our future prince, then having to leave him behind. What a wonderful, handsome, yes, cute boy he is. He had a cold and congestion, so please remember this in your prayers. Our coordinator, Olga was a God-send. Such a talented, perservering and lovely lady to be privileged to work with.

We had intended to post updates but had many technical difficulties. Lesson learned - if your power adapter requires fuses, take spares. Fortunately Olga had one we could borrow once back to Moscow. The internet cafe in Yaroslovl does not allow for the sending and receiving of emails and our hotel did not have internet access. We finally made it to visit the more modern hotel in Yaro and purchased an internet access card there, but we were glad we stayed where we did as there was much more privacy, a great restaurant and walking distance to other places as well.

The baby house director and staff were very caring and concerned for the welfare of the children. They were very helpful to us, and seemed to have had a bond with our prince. That was very reassuring. We got to visit and play with him there several times.

A note for next trip - if you want a washcloth, take it with you. Apparantly these are in short supply if available at all. Neither hotel, Yaro or Moscow, provided these. The cuisine was good as we had no bad meal.

Where are we in the process now you ask? We accomplished so much but also have more paperwork to do, file for court date and update the prince's room to be a bit younger than we had expected. That needs to be done prior to making our second trip for court. Please pray for the health of judge that will preside. As we understand it, he has not been feeling well of late. Besides wanting our court date to be assigned, hopefully before the end of May and the proceedings be favorable for us, he simply needs to get well.

Thank you all for praying for us and our princess while we were away. She celebrated her birthday for nearly the full week among friends and family that took good care of her.

We received our referral !!!

Well after accepting all indications/probability that it would be June/Summer before our first trip, we got THE CALL - we have our referral and we'll be traveling in April ! We are one ecstatic household! Now reality sets in - lining up the family and friends to care for our Princess, booking travel, 'packing light', etc. We're burning the midnight oil night and day. Have to get our travel visa's now, and get dossier documents finalized to bring with us per our consultants request.

We took our brief, very brief medical information and met with a doctor who specializes in international adoptions. A lot of our concerns were alleviated but we did receive a list of "do's" while on our visit - such as games to play, kinds of photos/video to take, what reactions to look for, etc.

We have purchased toys and will be getting some Cheerios and snacks for him also. Our Princess picked out his blanket and a 'lovey' that we'll leave there with him.

And speaking of our Princess ... she is so very excited! Talks of sleeping in his room with him so he won't be alone at night, pulling him in the wagon when we go to the Fall fairs, helping bathe him, being his seat mate in the truck ... all those Big Sister things!

We've run the gamut of emotions these past few days; mostly all good, but stressful none the less. So, please keep the L3 in your prayers as two of us travel and one stays state-side.

How time flies and stands still all at once!

It seems as these past several weeks have left nearly no time to get even the necessary things done...family birthdays, cousins activities, our own activities, the list goes on as it probably does in your family from time to time also. We did finally get the closet doors replaces, walls and trim painted and new light fixtures in both kiddo's rooms, pink for the Princess and a tan color for the Prince. We're having a difficult time figuring our what design or patterns will go on the pink. We've pretty much decided on using nautical flags and boats, anchors and such on the tan. Maybe by the next post this will be finished.

We are in the waiting for a referral stage, and waiting...waiting...waiting. We are just about finished with the updated home study and financial statement. This next week will will go get newly fingerprinted and get an updated FBI report. That seemed so scary at first, now we seem to be in a repeat mode. Many of our documents expire in the next 2-3 months so we are starting to get all new updates.

Russia has really cracked down on international adoptions again. We do not think that these new decisions will delay our process, but please join us in prayer about all our documents being accepted, without delay and that our referral is "healthy" in body, mind, soul, and spirit. We couldn't list that desire on our paperwork, but we petition God for this daily. Thanks for your support and prayers. God is good...all the time. Steve & Cheryl