We visited Lexi again today.  She is definitely warming up to us especially to Clay now.  We had a room to ourselves, so we just had fun with her today.  She was acting much more like a crazy 2 year old :)  After our visit to her, we hooked up with another couple that is also adopting a 2 year old girl and they have a 6 year old son with them that they adopted from Russia.  We ate California Pizza Kitchen and then braved the Kras flea market.  It was great.  We also went in the toy store and bought a little stroller.  And then there was the food market... like a city market that you can buy fresh food.  There were piles of fruits and veggies so we got some apples and bananas.  But there were also piles of raw fish and caviar!  Literally bowls of caviar just sitting there.  Then there was the pet store in the next room, at least we think they were for pets :)  All in all, a fun day.

It's Official

We are Lexi's parents!!!  I can't even begin to describe court.  I'm just glad its over.  Thanks for all your prayers!

Kras

So the internet has been a little iffy, but its up and running tonight.  We got to video conference the boys tonight(your morning) which was fun b/c we hadn't been able to talk to them in 3 days :(  I was on the verge of losing it!  

We saw Lexi today and she has grown so much.  She is much taller and has more hair.  They told me she was losing her curls, but I figure the SC humidity will bring them right back.  She warmed up to us much sooner than last time and is definitely trying to talk.  She's already figured out that Clay's ipod is a fun toy :)  She was sliding between pictures of her and the boys.  She got a big grin when she saw a picture of Jonah dressed like a pirate!  She also had on the clothes I had left with her in April which was good and bad.  They were adorable, but they are also 12 month which means much of our closet may not fit her.  She will have a great wardrobe in the spring! 

The other mom traveling with us got to see her daughter too.  They are in the same orphanage and they even put us in the same room which was fun.  After that we spent close to 2 hours with our host here prepping us for court.  Clay is a little nervous now b/c he has to do most of the talking.  Instead of what we thought which was to keep answers short and simple, they want long in depth emotional answers.  They even told Clay it was okay to cry :)  That is so opposite of the Russian culture here so we were very surprised by that.  Apparently all I have to say is that I am in good health, don't have a criminal record (shhh!), and I agree with everything Clay says.  I guess I can fib a little to get my daughter :)

More to come after court if the internet is working.

new city

It's Sunday afternoon, I think :) We are in Krasnoyarsk. We will get to see Lexi in the morning. Already our contact said she's really talking now, so we can't wait... not that we'll understand her!

Surviving!

3 hours and 8 doctors later, we survived our medicals.   They didn't like part of my blood work, so they took more blood. However they signed off on everything so it shouldn't be a problem.

On a different note, let's talk about personal space as in you don't have any here :)  You stand in lines every where here and you have to be pretty aggressive or people will just cut in front of you. For example in McDonald's yesterday, the guy behind us was basically spooning Clay! :) The lady behind me was significantly shorter than me so she had her nose in my back.  After half an hour in line, I was hot and a little clostrophobic.  Never been so glad to get my fries and get out!

We leave tonight on a 1:30 am flight to Kras, so we get to hang out in the hotel lobby until 10pm tonight.  Can't even walk around b/c its raining!  We are trying to hook up with the Lawsons for dinner (they're our missionaries here in Moscow).

Time info... people have been asking about the time difference.  Moscow is 8 hours ahead of the east coast and Kras is 12 hours ahead.

We get to see Lexi in 2 days!!!

Arrived

We have arrived in Moscow safely and made it to our hotel despite our driver and the traffic! :)  The flight was uneventful.  We both watched some movies and then slept.  We've met the other lady from Bethany that is adopting and her sister is with her.  They will travel with us most of the time. That's all for now, folks!

And we're off...

We leave today for KC with the boys.  Clay is most excited that he's getting real barbeque tonight for dinner!  We're having a little open house tomorrow from 4-6pm at my parents' house if anyone there wants to see us :)  We're going to spend as much time with our boys as we can in the next 48 hours, but it still won't be enough...

more birthday pics!

Not sure what this is about.

Blowing out candles??

The breakfast of cinnamon rolls, bananas and eggs.

The boys in Patriots jerseys.

The gang had to move inside because of the rain.

We also played Blues Clues.

Jonah had plenty of help opening the presents!

My baby turns 3!

So I can't call him the baby for much longer, but its so hard to believe he's 3.  This is him posing with all the loot.  Yes, he's wearing a Patriots jersey thanks to the grandparents in Connecticut!  Despite the hurricane scare, we managed to have a small party with friends and everything was blue. That's all he's told us for months is that he wanted a blue cake.  He's so easy to please.  

Russia trip

We've been so busy with trip plans, I haven't even posted what's going on.  We're leaving on Monday to take the boys to KC to stay with grandma and grandpa.  Then on Wednesday Clay and I are on to Russia.  We will get to Moscow on Thursday morning and will be there until Saturday.  Then we spend 18 days in Krasnoyarsk before returning to Moscow with Lexi.  Woohoo! We then spend a week in Moscow doing more paperwork :)  We will arrive home on October 22nd.  My parents are bringing the boys home a few days before that!  Please pray for all the traveling and hotels and everything to work out, and for safety, of course.  We are going to ask the judge to waive the 10 day wait period, so pray she's feeling generous.  We've only heard of one other family this year that got it waived.  There are so many more things I could list to pray for, but I trust ya'll to think of those.  

Jonah

Is full of great quotes these days.  It was almost time for "rest time" and I had given him a 3 minute warning.  I walked in the bonus room where he was reading a book and he looked up at me with knowing eyes, and he says to me "Just go check your email!"

Russia news

So we found out yesterday that our court date will either be the 23rd or the 30th which means we could leave as early as the 17th.  Wow, there's nothing like a little notice.  Anyway, we should know for sure by the 10th when we're going.  We've decided to take the boys to KC while we're gone and then my parents will bring them back here a few days before we get home.  Please pray for the details to work out especially the cost of the plane tickets b/c its such short notice.   We've almost got her home!!   

More of Jonah

Jackson had a friend spend the night last night, so Jonah slept in Lexi's bed.  When we went in there last night, he took one look at the bed and started crying.  When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "I don't like pink, I like blue. I don't want to sleep there."  A few minutes later, Clay asked him what was wrong and he explained and then said, "I am angry about that!"

Jonah came into our room with underwear on his head and made the following announcement... (view video).  Mute the music first so you can hear.

Alexis' Room

So here's the almost finished project.  We still need to hang the valances, but we're close.  The green walls turned out great.  The boys are so excited.  Jackson told me yesterday, we needed to stand in front of the bed and surprise Lexi.  It's definitely more pink than I ever thought I'd have in my house :)  I should have taken a picture of the inside of the closet.  It is stuffed with girlie dresses and tutus and hats!  So Fun!

All Eyes Ahead

So Clay and I found this the other day in the boys room.  If you look closely, everyone is facing the same way.  Apparently they were watching a movie on the wall :)

4th of July

We spent the week of the 4th with Clay's family at a beach house in NC.  We swam in the pool and the ocean, played the wii at night, and generally just hung out, ate, and talked.  It was wonderful and relaxing.  Clay has posted a ton of pics on his website, but I wanted to put a few of my favorites up here. 

Clay and Jonah try on pirate hats at the local souvenir shop.

Clay had to fish a huge crab out of the pool one morning. Unfortunately crabs and chlorine do not get along.

Jack and Joe spent many hours hauling water up to the sand castle.

financing

Clay and I have been very determined not to go into debt with the adoption, but with the value of the dollar going down and travel and fees going up, it seemed that a loan was unavoidable.  We decided to wait and pray about it.  This weekend, we got 3 checks that totaled enough to cover the entire 2nd trip to Russia which was basically all we had left!  God is faithfulness never ceases to amaze me.  Thanks to everyone who's given over the last year.  You will never know the true thankfulness in our hearts!

Shower

I'm a little behind in my posts, but at the end of June some gals here gave me an amazing shower. Let's just say, Alexis will be the best dressed 2 year old around!  Thanks to Jen, Marianne, Denise, and everyone else who helped out.  And, of course, thanks to "Miss LouAnne" for the yummy cookies. :)

Adoption Prayer

Many people have been asking what to pray for as far as the adoption goes.  A friend of mine sent me an Adoption Prayer Bracelet.  In it, each bead represents something, so I thought I'd share.

Purple- represents mourning.  Pray for peace and comfort for the baby's birth parents.

Black- represents abandonment.  Pray for the baby's protection.

Red- represents Russia.  Pray for her country to be open to God's love.

Pink- represents the baby. Pray that God will give her our voices so that she will know that we are her forever family.

Green- represents new life and renewal.  Pray that God will prepare her for her new life.

White- represents God.  Thank you Father, that you are already caring for the life of this little girl.

Double heart- Pray for her heart, tender to stay.  Guard it, protect it, Father, I pray.  On her wedding day for her to wear, give her a heart as a symbol of your prayer.