Yesterday we got to meet Addison's favorite caregiver. She must have been on vacation when we were there for our first trip, because I don't remember her. She is so sweet and Addison clearly adores her. She was singing nursery rhymes to Addison and she was totally doing all the motions to them ... I loved it!
Today our translator told us that the caregiver asked our translator this morning when we would be coming to take Addison for good. She said she couldn't handle it and didn't want to be there. She said she has been crying for days and she just doesn't want to be there. That makes me so sad! I almost feel guilty for taking her. I can't imagine the pain this caregiver is experiencing ... to have raised Addison for the first two years of her life, and now she will be gone to another country. It makes me teary eyed just thinking about it. I told our translator I was sad that we wouldn't see the caregiver because I really wanted to take a picture of her and Addison. I also wanted to video tape her singing the nursery rhymes to Addison so that I can play them for her when we get home. It turns out that we are picking Addison up at a different time than we originally thought, so we may end up seeing the caregiver tomorrow after all.
Either way, I told our translator that we would send plenty of pictures, as I know how much they love that. I'm sure it helps to see that the children are thriving in their new environments.
Showing posts with label st. petersburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label st. petersburg. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Our visits with Addison today ...
Addison was in a much happier mood today ... she was excited to see us this morning and we had a great time playing and snuggling. When we had to leave for court, she whimpered. :( We went back to visit her this afternoon and the minute she saw us, she squealed and came right over to us. So cute! We had fun playing and we got to watch her try to have a BM, which was hard for her to do. I hope we don't have issues with that! TMI? LOL. When we left, she whimpered again ... one more day, babe!
More about court ...
Court is held in a tiny room of a random building, although that doesn't say much coming from me because pretty much every building here is random to me since I can't read the sign when we go in! The people present in the courtroom were the judge, the prosecutor, the secretary, the doctor and social worker from the baby home, our translator and us. Our agency did an awesome job preparing us for court, so we pretty much knew what to expect. The judge asked us to confirm our identities, to include our birth dates and places of birth. She wanted to hear from me first. She asked me if we had been given Addison's medical record ... and I said yes. Then she asked if I still wanted to adopt the child, after having seen her medical record ... I said yes. She asked me why I would want to adopt such a child, a child that has "syndrome of Down". I explained to her that we have a biological child that has Down syndrome, making us very familiar with what Down syndrome entails. I went on to say that we are very familiar with the therapies that Addison will need and that we just want to give her a chance at life. She then asked me what my country has to offer people with Down syndrome when they get older. So I explained all of that to her, and I'm so mad that I totally forgot to add that there are people with Down syndrome that live independently! How could I forget that? Oh well. LOL.
Moving on to Kyle ... pretty much all she wanted to know from him was about our finances. And that was that. Kyle gave our "closing arguments", during which he basically said that our first wish was for our adoption petition to be granted. He then said that our second wish was that our 10-day waiting period be waived. I would like to take a second here to explain that Russia has basically stopped waiving the 10-day waiting period due to the death of a little boy {with Down syndrome, actually} that was killed by his adoptive family in Utah. The Russians were obviously disheartened to hear of the boy's death and they began refusing to waive the 10 days. I believe our adoption {and one other today that involved the adoption of a little boy with a major heart defect} was the first to have the 10 days waived in a long time through our agency.
Both the doctor and the social worker from the baby home spoke. They both nearly brought Kyle and I to tears ... they were SO sweet and they were very complimentary of us. The doctor mostly spoke about how good it will be for Addison to have a family ... especially a family in which she has a sister that is just like her. The social worker mostly spoke about her interpretations of our visits with Addison ... she said the initial visit was heartwarming and emotional as she watched Addison laugh, smile, giggle as she interacted with us. Both the doctor and the social worker asked the court to waive the 10-day waiting period, as Addison's entire extended biological family has "released" her and it would obviously be in her best interest to get home. We brought pictures of Kyle and I each with Addison from our first trip, and I think those pictures did a good job in showing the court the bond we have formed.
The prosecutor had no questions for us and he recommended that our adoption be approved. I don't believe he made any recommendation about the 10-day waiting period ... at least if he did, it was not translated back to us.
The judge left the room for about 10 minutes to deliberate. During that time, our translator turns to Kyle and says, "Nice hairdo." ROFL. It was totally random and after we had been sitting there with her for about 20 minutes. She laughed and said she was so busy translating, that she hadn't even gotten a chance to look at his hair. So funny.
When the judge returned, she announced her decision and told us that she hopes that Addison will get the same opportunities that we give to our biological children. {Of course she will!} She also said that she is happy that the girls will have each other and that Mason will be there to be the head of the family. LOL. Good big brother!
After court, we had to rush around to do paperwork. First we went to Office of Deeds to get Addison's birth certificate and an adoption certificate {both bearing our names}. When we got there, we found out the office was closed for a birthday party {go figure}, plus Wednesdays in Russia are non-public days and everything is closed {except court, apparently} ... even though we had an appointment. Our coordinator got them to make a special arrangement to get us our documents and we were in and out in 15 minutes. Apparently it normally takes about an hour and a half, so we were off to a good start!
Next we had to go to the police station, but we found out the woman who had to help us was out sick. Strike two! However, our super awesome coordinator arranged for the woman to meet us there {even though she was sick} and we got what we needed. Whew!
Tomorrow we have to get Addison's passport and then we will be off to Moscow tomorrow night on a train. Fun times! In Moscow, we have to get a medical exam/clearance for Addison and we have to clear her through the U.S. and Russian Embassies.
So yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up! LOL.
Moving on to Kyle ... pretty much all she wanted to know from him was about our finances. And that was that. Kyle gave our "closing arguments", during which he basically said that our first wish was for our adoption petition to be granted. He then said that our second wish was that our 10-day waiting period be waived. I would like to take a second here to explain that Russia has basically stopped waiving the 10-day waiting period due to the death of a little boy {with Down syndrome, actually} that was killed by his adoptive family in Utah. The Russians were obviously disheartened to hear of the boy's death and they began refusing to waive the 10 days. I believe our adoption {and one other today that involved the adoption of a little boy with a major heart defect} was the first to have the 10 days waived in a long time through our agency.
Both the doctor and the social worker from the baby home spoke. They both nearly brought Kyle and I to tears ... they were SO sweet and they were very complimentary of us. The doctor mostly spoke about how good it will be for Addison to have a family ... especially a family in which she has a sister that is just like her. The social worker mostly spoke about her interpretations of our visits with Addison ... she said the initial visit was heartwarming and emotional as she watched Addison laugh, smile, giggle as she interacted with us. Both the doctor and the social worker asked the court to waive the 10-day waiting period, as Addison's entire extended biological family has "released" her and it would obviously be in her best interest to get home. We brought pictures of Kyle and I each with Addison from our first trip, and I think those pictures did a good job in showing the court the bond we have formed.
The prosecutor had no questions for us and he recommended that our adoption be approved. I don't believe he made any recommendation about the 10-day waiting period ... at least if he did, it was not translated back to us.
The judge left the room for about 10 minutes to deliberate. During that time, our translator turns to Kyle and says, "Nice hairdo." ROFL. It was totally random and after we had been sitting there with her for about 20 minutes. She laughed and said she was so busy translating, that she hadn't even gotten a chance to look at his hair. So funny.
When the judge returned, she announced her decision and told us that she hopes that Addison will get the same opportunities that we give to our biological children. {Of course she will!} She also said that she is happy that the girls will have each other and that Mason will be there to be the head of the family. LOL. Good big brother!
After court, we had to rush around to do paperwork. First we went to Office of Deeds to get Addison's birth certificate and an adoption certificate {both bearing our names}. When we got there, we found out the office was closed for a birthday party {go figure}, plus Wednesdays in Russia are non-public days and everything is closed {except court, apparently} ... even though we had an appointment. Our coordinator got them to make a special arrangement to get us our documents and we were in and out in 15 minutes. Apparently it normally takes about an hour and a half, so we were off to a good start!
Next we had to go to the police station, but we found out the woman who had to help us was out sick. Strike two! However, our super awesome coordinator arranged for the woman to meet us there {even though she was sick} and we got what we needed. Whew!
Tomorrow we have to get Addison's passport and then we will be off to Moscow tomorrow night on a train. Fun times! In Moscow, we have to get a medical exam/clearance for Addison and we have to clear her through the U.S. and Russian Embassies.
So yeah, I think that pretty much sums it up! LOL.
Monday, November 10, 2008
We are here!
We just got settled into our apartment here in St. Pete. Good grief, what a trip! We had a carry on bag with our suits for court and our jackets. On the jet way in DC, they informed us the overhead compartments were full (there was a senior citizen group traveling that boarded before us and they all had small carry on suitcases that took up all the space) and they needed to check our carry on. And they meant check it, as in send it all the way to St. Pete, not check it as in gate check it so that we would get it in Amsterdam.
So yeah, they lost that bag. The only bag that we really need! So our only chance to get the bag before court will be on our same flight that comes in tomorrow around 5 p.m. local time. If not, then we may need to shop. Our court translator is calling the judge, however, to explain our situation and see if she will permit us to appear in court in non-court clothes. We'll see. Northwest is already going to be hearing from me on other matters, but the lost luggage and potential additional expense is another thing to add to our list.
Our apartment is cute and cozy ... bigger than the last one we had. It is right next door to the last one though, so we are familiar with the area. We are about to venture out (in the rain, nonetheless) with no coats to find food. People are going to look at us like we are crazy without coats, since they dress like Eskimos here!
I'm sure you are wondering when we get to see Addison. Well, tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. they are picking us up to take us to the Baby Home. Yay! I wish we could go there now ... it is really hard being in the same city as her and not being able to see her.
So yeah, they lost that bag. The only bag that we really need! So our only chance to get the bag before court will be on our same flight that comes in tomorrow around 5 p.m. local time. If not, then we may need to shop. Our court translator is calling the judge, however, to explain our situation and see if she will permit us to appear in court in non-court clothes. We'll see. Northwest is already going to be hearing from me on other matters, but the lost luggage and potential additional expense is another thing to add to our list.
Our apartment is cute and cozy ... bigger than the last one we had. It is right next door to the last one though, so we are familiar with the area. We are about to venture out (in the rain, nonetheless) with no coats to find food. People are going to look at us like we are crazy without coats, since they dress like Eskimos here!
I'm sure you are wondering when we get to see Addison. Well, tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. they are picking us up to take us to the Baby Home. Yay! I wish we could go there now ... it is really hard being in the same city as her and not being able to see her.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Our Apartment {Trip One}
I know, I know ... I said I would post these pictures like a month ago. Oops. So here it is ... the anticipation is over ... our apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia ... our very small, humble studio apartment ...
After walking up about three flights of old, raggedy cement stairs, you see this door ...
After going through the aforesaid door, you end up in this little hallway with three apartments, one of which was ours. This little area has been remodeled and there is a washer and dryer in the hall closet.
In order to get through those first two big, metal doors ... you have to use this round magnetic key ... nifty, eh? The other key was what we had to use to lock and unlock our apartment door ...
Ta da ... here it is ... our temporary abode ... looks cozy, eh?
Bathroom {with a really small shower ... the picture is deceiving} to the left of the entrance ...
The kitchen, I guess? LOL. Complete with mini fridge and microwave ...
And no kitchen in my house can do without some Mt. Dew! This was the only Mt. Dew we found while in Russia ... it tasted a little different and check out the florescent green bottle ... strange!
The main door to our apartment building off Nevsky ... this door is as heavy as it looks ...
After walking up about three flights of old, raggedy cement stairs, you see this door ...
After going through the aforesaid door, you end up in this little hallway with three apartments, one of which was ours. This little area has been remodeled and there is a washer and dryer in the hall closet.
In order to get through those first two big, metal doors ... you have to use this round magnetic key ... nifty, eh? The other key was what we had to use to lock and unlock our apartment door ...
Ta da ... here it is ... our temporary abode ... looks cozy, eh?
Bathroom {with a really small shower ... the picture is deceiving} to the left of the entrance ...
The kitchen, I guess? LOL. Complete with mini fridge and microwave ...
And no kitchen in my house can do without some Mt. Dew! This was the only Mt. Dew we found while in Russia ... it tasted a little different and check out the florescent green bottle ... strange!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Baby Home 13 {... and the kids}
The kids at Addison's baby home are split into family units, for lack of a better term. When you walk down the hallways of the baby home, all you see are a lot of closed doors. Behind each of those doors are family units. Addison's family unit has three rooms {one room with cribs and two play rooms with tables and chairs for eating ... oh, and a bathroom}. Within those three rooms the family unit is split once more, I believe into two groups of four kids, mostly just for meal time, from what I can tell. The kids in Addison's family unit range from a few months old to four years of age. After the kids turn four, they are transferred to homes for older kids or if they are incapacitated, they are transferred to institutions.We have spent a lot of time with Addison's family unit. All of the kids call us mama and papa ... it is so heartbreaking! However, at the same time, all of the kids know that we are there for Nika {short for Veronika}, as they so affectionately call her. This morning when we got to the baby home, we saw some of the kids from Addison's family unit going out to play. Every single one of them told our translator in Russian that Nika was upstairs ... they knew who we were and they knew we were coming for her. That just breaks my heart that these two and three year olds know that there are mommies and daddies that come for some of the kids, but that their parents have yet to come. They absolutely crave your attention and if you pay them attention, it is hard to break away because they crave it so badly. I wish there was more that I could do ... what can you do to help? ;)
The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood
We had a chance to go back to The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood so that we could see the inside. Wow ... it is SO beautiful and amazing! All of the images in the church are put together with tiny mosaic tiles ... they are not painted ...
I believe I previously mentioned that the church got its name because it was built on the spot that Alexander II was assassinated. He was assassinated along a canal, and the canal was rerouted so that the actual spot of his assassination was kept in tact ... down to the handrail for the canal.Here is the memorial that encloses the actual street stones and the handrail ... isn't that amazing?
Here is the canal right outside the church ... you can see where they had to build into the canal in order to restore the assassination spot. Also, each canal in St. Petersburg has a unique rail, so you can see here how the rail in the church memorial matches the rail outside ...
This is the largest dome of the church ... the four smaller domes depict separate images of Jesus Christ throughout his life ...
You can sort of see one of the smaller domes in this picture ...
The entire floor of the church looks like this ... it is all Italian marble ...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday Evening
Last night {Wednesday} we went to eat at Sbarro {I know, I know ... again ... real ethnic} with another couple that is adopting a little boy from another baby home. They are from Pittsburgh and it was so nice to sit down with someone who could speak English! On our way back from Sbarro, we passed this department store, which Andrei said was the largest department store in Russia. The picture shows the entire length of the store, all the way to the very left of the picture. Craziness! We walked through the store and it was set up so strange ... sort of like mini-shops within the store. Each shop had walls to separate it from the next, as well as its own cash register. It is really hard to explain, but it was very unique ...
Nevksy at night {this is the area that our apartment is in}...
This is Alexandriinsky Theater that is near our apartment ... I just thought it was so pretty at night ...
Statue of Catherine the Great ...
Quirky things we have noticed ...
*We can buy a 2 liter bottle of water for $1
*Kyle thinks that you ask someone if they speak English by just approaching them, tilting your head and saying, "English?" ROFL. {Edited by Kyle to add: While this technique may not seem appropriate, I've gotten what I wanted and needed ... while Bethany has not. *snicker*}
*There are so many people who get married on any given day. I know I mentioned this before {I think}, but seriously ... at any given tourist site, you will see numerous bridal parties taking pictures. On a Wednesday, on a Thursday ... it doesn't matter. And ... the maid of honor and the best man are denoted by wearing what looks like a pageant sash.
*If you don't have a small car in this city, you will never make it. Our driver has squeezed through the smallest places I've ever seen ... and parked in the craziest places I've ever seen. Even I wouldn't do that at home!
*There are pizza joints everywhere ... pretty much we have eaten a lot of pizza.
*When you go into a convenience store or a pharmacy or whatever, you cannot just hand pick the items you want and take them to a cash register. Everything is behind a counter or behind a window ... which makes it a little hard for those of us that can't speak Russian.
*A lot of people smoke here. You smell smoke everywhere you go.
*All the young girls wear skinny {and I mean SKINNY} jeans with pumps.
*I think the mullet is coming back in style.
*They have Pepsi Light, not Diet Pepsi ... and it pretty much tastes the same as the regular Pepsi.
Nevksy at night {this is the area that our apartment is in}...
This is Alexandriinsky Theater that is near our apartment ... I just thought it was so pretty at night ...
Statue of Catherine the Great ...
Quirky things we have noticed ...
*We can buy a 2 liter bottle of water for $1
*Kyle thinks that you ask someone if they speak English by just approaching them, tilting your head and saying, "English?" ROFL. {Edited by Kyle to add: While this technique may not seem appropriate, I've gotten what I wanted and needed ... while Bethany has not. *snicker*}
*There are so many people who get married on any given day. I know I mentioned this before {I think}, but seriously ... at any given tourist site, you will see numerous bridal parties taking pictures. On a Wednesday, on a Thursday ... it doesn't matter. And ... the maid of honor and the best man are denoted by wearing what looks like a pageant sash.
*If you don't have a small car in this city, you will never make it. Our driver has squeezed through the smallest places I've ever seen ... and parked in the craziest places I've ever seen. Even I wouldn't do that at home!
*There are pizza joints everywhere ... pretty much we have eaten a lot of pizza.
*When you go into a convenience store or a pharmacy or whatever, you cannot just hand pick the items you want and take them to a cash register. Everything is behind a counter or behind a window ... which makes it a little hard for those of us that can't speak Russian.
*A lot of people smoke here. You smell smoke everywhere you go.
*All the young girls wear skinny {and I mean SKINNY} jeans with pumps.
*I think the mullet is coming back in style.
*They have Pepsi Light, not Diet Pepsi ... and it pretty much tastes the same as the regular Pepsi.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Touring St. Petersburg, Russia
After our visit with Veronika {aka: Addison Veronika ... the name we will give her} this morning, our driver/translator, Andrei, took us sight seeing. Andrei, by the way, is an awesome tour guide! He speaks perfect English and is so knowledgeable! On to the sights ... I will try my best to identify them correctly! LOL.
First stop ... The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood ... this church was built on the spot where Alexander II was assassinated ... it is absolutely gorgeous. The church was closed today, but we will return to see the inside at some point.
This picture is of the one section of the outside of the church that was not restored after WWII. See the marks all over from the bullets? Isn't that amazing?
There are canals all over St. Petersburg ... they are so cool! Here is one ...
Part of the Hermitage ... on display here is one of the oldest art galleries in the world ...
Winter Palace, which is also part of the Hermitage ... this palace was first occupied by Catherine the Great ...
This statue {name, anyone?} is in the common area in front of Winter Palace ... Andrei told us that it is free standing and it not attached to its base ... gravity apparently does the trick ... scary, eh? He said the locals joke not to walk too close to it on windy days ... ummm, I agree!
This is the Second Hermitage {err ... something like that} ... a building that Catherine the Great ordered be built because she couldn't fit all her art in the Winter Palace ...
Another canal ... with a bride and a groom ... we saw people all over the city being married today and taking pictures at all the historic places ... that was so amazing! Andrei said people get married all days of the week here, not just on Saturday like most Americans do ...
And yet another canal ... the apartment buildings on the left are among the most expensive in the city ... each probably runs about 1.5 million, according to Andrei ...
St. Patrick's Cathedral ... we got to go inside and it was amazing! No photos allowed, though ...
The bell tower ...
First stop ... The Church of Our Savior on the Spilled Blood ... this church was built on the spot where Alexander II was assassinated ... it is absolutely gorgeous. The church was closed today, but we will return to see the inside at some point.
This picture is of the one section of the outside of the church that was not restored after WWII. See the marks all over from the bullets? Isn't that amazing?
There are canals all over St. Petersburg ... they are so cool! Here is one ...
Part of the Hermitage ... on display here is one of the oldest art galleries in the world ...
Winter Palace, which is also part of the Hermitage ... this palace was first occupied by Catherine the Great ...
This statue {name, anyone?} is in the common area in front of Winter Palace ... Andrei told us that it is free standing and it not attached to its base ... gravity apparently does the trick ... scary, eh? He said the locals joke not to walk too close to it on windy days ... ummm, I agree!
This is the Second Hermitage {err ... something like that} ... a building that Catherine the Great ordered be built because she couldn't fit all her art in the Winter Palace ...
Another canal ... with a bride and a groom ... we saw people all over the city being married today and taking pictures at all the historic places ... that was so amazing! Andrei said people get married all days of the week here, not just on Saturday like most Americans do ...
And yet another canal ... the apartment buildings on the left are among the most expensive in the city ... each probably runs about 1.5 million, according to Andrei ...
St. Patrick's Cathedral ... we got to go inside and it was amazing! No photos allowed, though ...
The bell tower ...
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Our first outing ...
We braved the streets to exchange some money and find some food. The hardest thing about being here is not having a clue what anything says and not being able to communicate with the people. Luckily, we have a translator who is with us during the day, but I think the evenings we will spend alone for the most part. It continues to crack me up that people just walk around with beers in their hands ... young people, at that! Oh, and there are tons of signs out on the sidewalks advertising "dancers", if you know what I mean. Wink wink.
First we went to the money exchange and the lady did not speak English. That was an interesting conversation! LOL. She gave us all 5000 bills and I was trying to ask her to break them down a little bit ... she broke one down, but that was it. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow.
So then we walked down Nevsky, which is right where our apartment is ... such a great location, but noisy. Again, trying to find a place to eat when we can't read anything is a little hard. We then saw the very familiar star with a smiley face logo {Hardees ... ish}, so we went for it. Except it wasn't called Hardees, it was Carl Jr.'s or something like that. We both got a burger and fries ... I know, we are real rebellious when it comes to trying the cuisine!
Random Russian architecture ...
More Russian architecture ... I love this!
A canal that runs down near our apartment ...
Here is an example of what we see everywhere ... can anyone tell me what that says? LOL.
First we went to the money exchange and the lady did not speak English. That was an interesting conversation! LOL. She gave us all 5000 bills and I was trying to ask her to break them down a little bit ... she broke one down, but that was it. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow.
So then we walked down Nevsky, which is right where our apartment is ... such a great location, but noisy. Again, trying to find a place to eat when we can't read anything is a little hard. We then saw the very familiar star with a smiley face logo {Hardees ... ish}, so we went for it. Except it wasn't called Hardees, it was Carl Jr.'s or something like that. We both got a burger and fries ... I know, we are real rebellious when it comes to trying the cuisine!
Our apartment building ... isn't it beautiful?
Random Russian architecture ...
More Russian architecture ... I love this!
A canal that runs down near our apartment ...
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