1st Day of School - 2008/2009

Another summer has passed us by and the Smith Boys are back at school. Max and Ethan were very excited to begin the school year. Max is starting 3rd grade and Ethan is starting 1st grade.

Can you believe it? It feels like only yesterday that they were baby's. Look at them now - Ready to take on the world (or the 3rd grade & 1st grade at least)

Our bus stop has 13 kids - Yes, you heard me right, 13 kids!!!!!! We filled 1/4 the bus.

I hope that they have a great day!!!!

Documents in St. Louis

Good Morning Everyone!

I feel much better this week since I know that my documents have arrived in St. Louis today. Hopefully they will be in Russia by the end of the week and maybe we can have a court date by the end of next week.

Please continue to pray for us, and those family's waiting.

Have a great day!!!
Stephanie

Off to Trenton, NJ

I am off to Trenton to get copies of the boys birth certificates and the adoption documents Apostilled. Hopefully this will be the last time I have to visit Trenton for a very long time.

Wish me luck!
Stephanie

One Day Glitch

We have a one day glitch. It seems that our documents sent in April (to Krasnoyarsk) are no longer valid for our region. Hence, my documents were wrong and I could not get to Trenton yesterday. We are hoping to have them tomorrow and then off to Trenton we go for Apositlling (s that even a word?)

Anyway, in the meantime, we have been BUSY!!!!!!!!!

Keep your fingers crossed we get the docs tomorrow.

Another Step ....

What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step. It is always the same step, but you have to take it. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939, translated from French by Lewis Galantière

Another Step taken. We have received our paperwork from our new Home study Agency (HAPS) and hopefully we will be in Trenton, NJ getting everything Apostilled. I am hoping to keep to our timeline (1) Tuesday 26th, drop off docs to get Apostilled, (2) Wednesday 27th, pick up Apostilled docs, (3) Put Apostilled docs overnight into UPS mail to CHI, (4) Thursday 28th, CHI receives and reviews, (5) Friday 29th, CHI put in mail to Russia!!!!!

Each little step that we take keep bringing us closer and closer to bringing Cassidy home. I have a running joke with our CHI rep (Anna) - I keep reminding her that my wedding anniversary in on August 30th, and a really good gift would be a court date. So, everyday I sent her a little email with the new countdown reminder!!!! HA HA HA.

Anyway, this weekend my mother and I continued our quest for the CUTEST clothes for Cassidy. We are slowly building her closet up (as you can see below). We found a pair of pink Uggs - How cute!!!! I hope they fit her -


I will continue to keep you all in the loop. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Stephanie

Another Pebble avoided....

Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain. ~Author Unknown

WOW - another pebble passed, unfortunately, many more are on the horizon. Today is our Homestudy update (with a new social worker). We had to start fresh with a new social worker and a new report (due to our old agency closing down). HAPS assigned us a new social worker last week and already we are scheduled for the meeting. HAPS is really on the ball. They said we would move quickly and we are. As a matter of fact, they said that we should have our paperwork completed by the end of the week. I am so happy that things seem to be going along well.

What does all of this paperwork mean? Well - It means that as soon as this documents package is back to Krasnoyarsk we can get our Official Court Date. That is hopefully the next "BIG" news that I can post.

Until then, keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Stephanie (and Dennis)

When it rains......

IT POURS!!!!

We just found out today of another glitch in our adoption process. Our homestudy agency (Adoption House) closed it's doors 2 weeks ago - and NO ONE BOTHERED TO CALL!!!! We only found out by accident because I was emailing with our local social worker. As if that was not enough, we were in the middle of homestudy update. Our new CHI rep Anna has been looking into everything for us. She is trying to get the nitty gritty on what Krasnoyarsk will need from us with this change.

But, for every rain shower, there is a rainbow. And for us, that rainbow comes in the form of Homestudy & Adoption Placement Services (HAPS) in Teaneck, NJ. They are going to be taking over our Homestudy and see what he can salvage from the old files. Dennis and I are both looking forward to working with them.

We will continue to keep you posted.
Stephanie & Dennis

A quote to end today's post -

Never think that God's delays are God's denials. Hold on; Hold fast; Hold Out. Patience is genius. (Comte de Buffon 1707-1788)

Lots of Prayers....

We ask that everyone say lots of prayers for our friends adopting in regions close to the Georgia borders (especially Astrakhan). With this conflict in the region, we (Dennis and I) are preparing ourselves for the worst. The US Government has not yet issued any restrictive travel for the Russian Federation, however, I fear our agency will postpone adoptions (due to the conflict) because of the need to travel in and out of Moscow frequently.

We are thankful that Cassidy Mariya is NO WHERE NEAR the conflict, but it does not mean that we will not be impacted from it.

I will keep you updated as I hear anything. In the meantime, please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Stephanie (and Dennis)

Small Update

Some minor changes have been occurring. First, we are losing our CHI rep Marti. She is moving on but we wish her the best!!! She has been very helpful, and I hope that our new rep is as efficient.

Secondly - Things have been changing in our agency and they have been for the better. We found out that we are now able to speak directly to our representatives in our regions for documentation updates. This will eliminate "the phone game" with the middle man (as long as we cc the middle man). So, hopefully we will get more answers quickly. We have wonderful reps (Oleg, Dasha & Sveta) in the region.

Lastly - We are sending our package out to Cassidy today. We had a friend of mine at work translate a letter from Mommy & Daddy so that the caregivers can read it to her. We are also enclosing a bunch of stickers and small items (our package can't be over 1/2" thick). Hopefully she will continue to remember us and know how much we miss her and can't wait to bring her home!!!!!

As always, I will update as I can. Keep praying for us.
Stephanie (and Dennis)

Feedback Anyone?

In one of my comments, a friend posted a link with a recommended language tool http://www.karensadoptionlinks.com/product.html

I have looked into this and it appears very interesting. It says that it has over 150 adoption specific phrases that will help with an older child's language. It also has a CD that comes with it to help the children learn English quickly as well. It is $90 for the parent CD, the child's CD and the book.

Has anyone used this? Is it worth the cost?

I would love to hear from anyone who has used it.

Stephanie

Learning the Language

Privyet -

Dennis and I keep hoping and praying, and hoping and praying (and a little more praying) that we will get back to Cassidy Mariya soon -

However, the time we do have left we are taking advantage of - We are learning Russian. We have tried the "In-Flight" tapes, and tried the 4 hour courses with Rosetta Stone, but unless you start at the beginning, you are going to get no where.

And the beginning is with http://www.listen2russsian.com/ - All I can say is WOW!!!!!! Step by Step - I am slowly learning the necessary words to communicate with her. Right now I am working on one (1) word translations like bathroom (Vannaya), downstairs (vneezoo) etc - soon, I want to be able to work my way up to simple statements like "It's ok" or "Mommy is here". The hardest part is the constant listening and pronouncing new syllables. But, I want her to feel a little comfortable - a few words that she can remember as she gets older.

Hopefully next time, I will be able to share a few more words with you, and little good news.
pakAh, (BYE)
Stephanie

New CHI Rep

No new information on the adoption, but we have changed representatives within our agency (Children's Hope Int). Our new rep is Marti, and so far she has been wonderful. She is on the ball, and has gotten us the information we needed in a quick and professional manner.

Hopefully one day soon she will call us with our court date!!! Keep your fingers crossed for us (and a few prayers wouldn't hurt either)

Enjoy your day,
Stephanie

Pictures of Krasnoyarsk

As I anxiously await the date of our 2nd trip, I find myself going through our pictures more and more frequently. I don't want to forget a single thing about the culture, the building, or the people. I thought you might like to see some of them. (Please note that due to our adoption not yet being finalized, I will not be posting pictures of Cassidy Maria)

This 1st picture is of the Krasnoyarsk Airport. Small building. It reminded me of a local airport here in NJ.

This is the view from our apartment. We stayed in a very nice 1 bedroom apartment that all the amenity's of home (minus hot water). This flea market I heard has lots of stuff, but we were advised not to venture there alone.

The viewes below are from the top of the Krasnoyarsk Chapel. The church has great historical significance and has amazing views (as a side note, it is also so well known it is on the rubles)



Dennis & I can't wait to get back and spend more time looking and learning about her origins so that we can fill her in as she gets older.

Enjoy the pictures and I will post again soon.

Documents Submitted for 2nd Trip

It's been a long week and weekend, but we finally got ALL our documents, had them Apostilled by the State of NJ and sent them off to Children's Hope in St. Louis. We have a new representative there (Jeff) and hopefully he will be as wonderful as our last representatives were. Jeff is currently in receipt of our documents and promises to have them to Moscow by the end of the week. What the next step is - I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!! I guess at this point it is just a waiting game.

Speaking of games - Max played in his last baseball game of the season (The All Stars Game) this weekend. He did GREAT!!!! Now that baseball is done for both Max & Ethan we plan on starting to enjoy the pool - I keep telling everyone - I don't have children, I have FISH!!!!!!!!

Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Stephanie

No Update -

I didn't want everyone to think that I had forgotten about the blog, but as of today, I have no update. I am still waiting on the last document from our home study agency, and then I can get the documents apostilled.

In the meantime, we have been moving bedrooms around, ordering furniture and trying to finish up the end of the year. Max & Ethan are done with school, but Dennis still has a few more days. (Manalapan HS goes until the 24th - Can you believe it? And they have no AC)

Otherwise, we are looking forward to some projects around the house, and lounging in the pool this summer. With any luck Cassidy will be home before the start of the school year!!!!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!
Stephanie (and Dennis, Max & Ethan)