Our Moscow Baby

2007-04-02T14:10:00.000-04:00

We are home!
After an exhausting plane ride - we arrived at JFK on Saturday March 17th! The last 2 weeks have been very busy as we continue to childproof our home and get to know the new member of our family - 2 1/2 year old Andrew. It is quite an adjustment for the little guy but he is doing well and everday gets better and better. Fortunately, the weather has been pleasant so we go for a lot of walks and visits to the park. We took a trip to Babies R Us and purchased a new stroller as the umbrella stroller is not conducive to the cobblestone streets of Newport. We are now working on his nap and bedtime schedule -sometimes this can be quite a challenge!
Well, have to sign off....someone is waking up from his nap :)

2007-03-16T14:53:00.000-04:00

Friday 16 March
Today started off early as usual. Andrew wakes up at approx 0630. He wakes up to some very bleary eyed parents due to his restless sleep and infrequent naps. He heads straight to the kitchen, climbs up into his chair and ties his bib on - I guess this means he's hungry. Meanwhile Scott is preparing his porridge and I am getting his milk. He is stumpy after breakfast and it is a beautiful spring day so we decide to go for a walk. We went to the Red square which is very quiet and let him run around. All of the gold on the top of the buildings were sparkling from the sun. After that, we decided to make one last visit to Yelseevs food market and then head back to the apartement for lunch. Andrew gobbled up his lunch and then we prepared for Elena to pick us up for our appointment at the US embassy. There were many other families at the embassy - all of the children were quiet and well behaved except for one - a 2/12 year old boy named Andrew :) (1/3 Russian, 1/3 Aussie and 1/3 American)! Needless to say the interview went quickly! So we now officially have his Russian passport and everything is signed and sealed. Yippee! We went for one final walk through the Red Square to see our little sputnik orbit the square one more time. Time to go back to the apartment to have dinner and pack as we leave Russia tomorrow morning for home.

2007-03-15T14:47:00.000-04:00

Thursday 15 March
Andrew woke up at around 6:45 am - after a restless night sleep. Obviously he was still not comfortable in his new surroundings. One of us had to lay down with him from about 3 in the morning. Scott made oatmeal and toast for breakfast. Next, it was nappy change and bath time for Andrew. We have had some success on the potty and have learned that the potty chair that they use in the orphanage and fortunately there is one in the apartment is made by baby bjorn and sold for only 9.99 "the little potty". We plan on buying one as soon as we return home. It was obvious that when he had baths they were most likely bird baths as he seemed afraid of the large bath tub that loomed before him. While standing in the tub we could see the uncertain look upon his face when standing ankle deep in water, so, Scott did what any father would do, and got in the tub with him. This seemed to put him at ease and it was quite amusing for all of us. After a quick rubidedub we threw some new clobber on him and he played with his toys. Elena arrive at 0930 hours, with Lisa, they completed some paperwork for the next few days appointments. Andrew had fallen asleep, so Scott stayed with him as Elena and Lisa went to pick up his passport. Next, we all went to the Izmaylovo market to do some last minute shopping. Andrew was unhappy as lunchtime approached so we had to cut it short and head back to the apartment. After lunch it was clear that he wasn't going to sleep, and the sun was starting to shine, so we decided to return to the Red Square for some physical activity and more shopping. He ran around the cobbles like there was no tomorrow with a giant smile on his face. Once returned to his stroller, he immediately dozed off :) - we took this opportunity to have a coffee and a beer. We then returned to the apartment and knocked up some dinner of roast pork, potatoes, peas and carrots (we don't think he likes peas or carrots). His treat for the night was a quarter of a chocolate marshmallow cookie (he did like that and was snooping aroun the table for more). It was a little easier getting him to quiet down for the night although it was about 9:30 before he was finally asleep. Last appointment is tomorrow - an interview at the US embassy. Our last official appointment in Russia!

2007-03-14T13:48:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 14 March
Elena and Alex (our driver for the day) picked us up at 0900 hours. After we got some official business out of the way we stopped to buy a cake for the orphanage staff and flowers for the orphanage doctor/director. When we arrived at the orphanage we quickly changed Andrews clothes as we were running late for his medical appointment. Andrew seemed a bit in awe as we travelled in the car. We arrived at the pediatric hospital and Andrew was given a clean bill of health. We were dropped off at the apartment and had some lunch. He was too distracted and excited with his new surroundings to take a nap so we put him in the stroller and went for a walk. We took him to the Red Square and let him run free (possibly for the first time in his life) - I've never seen a bigger smile as he ran around the square. Next, we took a walk through Gym (Gum) shopping mecca. We stopped for a coffe and bought Andrew a bowl of vanilla ice cream - the look on his face taking his first mouthful was priceless! We returned to the apartment for some quiet time (or not so quiet time) before dinner. Scott made us some chicken, potatoes, carrots and cabbage - which we all enjoyed. Bedtime was a bit of a challenge - we thought he would be tired due to missing his nap but that was not the case (at this stage we were looking for a 1-800 number for suggestions :). It took over an hour, but soon he was sleeping soundly. Thank goodness. Good night to all. We love our little boy, he is Gods gift to us.

2007-03-14T00:23:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 13 March

We woke up to an overcast day in Moscow. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until Wednesday to pick up Andrew from the orphanage , so today we had a day off. Scott made us a lovely breakfast and then we mapped out our plan for the day. We decided to visit the Lenin Mausoleum first - for some reason the Red Square was blocked off but the security guard pointed us in the right direction. Upon entering the mausoleum it was very dark and security was there to tell us which way to go. It was very eerie to think about how long he has been there and open for viewing. He was in the center of a large room in a coffin draped in red fabric. It took about 2-3 minutes to walk through. Upon exiting we were directed to a memorial area of former politicians and leaders of the communist era.
Our next stop was to see the Diamond fund. This is a dazzling display of diamonds, gold and silver. The diamonds nearly blinding at the first sight. We also took another tour of the Armory museum, we had done this as part of a tour on a previous trip, but wanted to spend some more time on our own. It wasn't very crowded so it was nice to leisurly view the Faberge eggs, gowns, carriages and armour.
We returned to the hotel for lunch and made plans for the afternoon. We wanted to find the Izmaylovo market so we decided to take the metro - oops....we went one metro station too many and after wandering around the wrong area (we did find a large produce/meat market which Scott enjoyed) we decided to head back to the apartment. That was when we realized what we had done....so back on the Metro. We found the market but by this time they were closing for the day. We will see how things go in the next few days and possibly return with Andrew.
It was great to return to the apartment and relax. Scott made us a delicious roast pork dinner with potatoes, carrots and cabbage. We went to sleep (or at least tried to sleep) as Elena will be picking us up at 0900 hours sharp.

2007-03-13T00:24:00.001-04:00

Monday 12 March
Scott woke me up at 0800 hours....I was finally in a deep sleep! Elena picked us up at 10:00 - our first stop was to make copies of our passports - the first place we went to charged .20 cents per copy - Elena said "no deal" and we went down the street in search of a better price. We were in luck, we found a place that charged only .10 cents a copy. Next stop, passport agency to sign papers for Andrews passport (his passport photo is sooo cute!). We then headed to the orphanage. When we found his group, he appeared - happy and with a small wound to his upper left cheek (something about a fall while playing) - they put some green solution on it which must be the Russian equivalent to mercurichrome (?spelling). It was lunchtime, so we waited while he had his lunch of ground beef and potatoes. We were able to play with him for about a half hour then it was time for his nap. It was hard to leave, but just knowing that he will be leaving with us soon is a good feeling. From the orphanage, we returned to the apartment for lunch. Next, we visited St. Basils Cathedral. It is obviously very old, amazing brick work and artistry. From there, we went to the Metropol Hotel to see the dining room where Scotts dad ate during his stay a few years ago. It was very beautiful! We stopped for a glass of wine on our way back to the apartment and met a Canadian guy who is now a pro hockey player in Russia. We had a nice conversation with both he and his girlfriend. We decided to go out for dinner, because soon we would have Andrew might not be able to get out as much. We found a great Italian restaurant near our apartment "Gusto" www.gusto-moscow.ru I think is there website. The food was very good and reasonably priced. From there we went next door to the Posh cafe for coffee and dessert. Then home to sleep!

2007-03-13T00:24:00.000-04:00

Saturday, 10 March

Due to spring break, we had difficulty with flights so we rented a car to get to JFK (which is about 3 1/2 hours from Newport). We had a pretty smooth trip although 95S can be a bit of a nightmare! I have not driven to NYC in some time and was amazed that you cannot go more than 5 miles without passing a McDonalds restaurant! We arrived at JFK on schedule, checked in, purchased magazines, etc....
The flight was fully booked. Aeroflot is certainly a no frills airline but everyone was nice and the food was fine. There were no movies on the plane, but we had brought a portable DVD player so had our own entertainment. We arrived in Moscow an hour late due to the backlog of planes leaving JFK. The weather in Moscow was warmer than Newport - about 50 F. Our driver took us to our apartment where Andrei's rep (Peace travel) met us. We were pleased to find a roomy apartment with all of the comforts of home. After settling in, we took a walk down Tverskaya to the grocery store. For the price of breakfast at a major hotel we purchased enough food and beverage for a week! We returned to the hotel where Scott made some yummy snacks. I drifted off to sleep while Scott familiarized himself with the satellite TV stations. Due to the time change, we both woke up at about 1:00 am, watched part of a movie and went back to sleep.

2007-03-13T00:13:00.000-04:00

Good morning,
Scott and I have arrived safely in Moscow. I have not posted in a while, so I am going to do some backtracking.
The past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind......finishing up projects at work in preparation for my leave of absense and, of course, making travel arrangements. There was some fun involved - I had 2 baby showers! At work, my coworkers surprised me (last minute meeting) and we had a lovely lunch complete with a cake from the Mad Hatter bakery. Andrew received some great gifts (books, clothes, games, puzzles) a little bit of everything.
I also went for dinner with the my friends from the ballet studio. After class, we went downstairs to "Yesterdays" for dinner and they too had lots of very nice gifts for Andrew.
Thank you to everyone!

2007-02-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

24 February 2007

Since our return from Moscow we have been busy making plans for our next (and last trip)! Flights were a little difficult because it will be during "spring break" - not a problem for our flight to Moscow - but difficult for the connecting flights. Thankfully, we were able to get a direct flight from JFK to Moscow on Aeroflot (russian airline). We will be in Moscow for one week, returning home on St. Patrick's Day. We have also decided to rent an apartment rather than stay in a hotel. The cost is less and we have a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and even a computer. The apartment is near the Red Square which is a great location. Scott is looking forward to another visit to the mansion style grocery store "Yeliseev's Food Hall" on Tverskaya Street as well. It will be really nice to be able to prepare our own meals.
It is so exciting to finally be able to bring Andrew home!

2007-02-14T05:15:00.000-05:00

Happy belated birthday to Bruce!

2007-02-14T05:06:00.000-05:00

14 February 2007
It's official! We just returned to the hotel after our court appearance. Thankfully everything went as planned.....we are now officially parents to Andrew Hale Williams :) Unfortunately, we are not able to see him today because of his nap schedule and the availability of our translater Elena. We will be returning to Moscow mid March to take him home.
At the court hearing, the orphanage director gave us his Russian Orthodox Christian baptismal certificate - we will also ask for the cross that was given to him at the baptism on our next visit.
Now we are off to see some more underground rail stations and then to the Kremlin ballet tonight. It will be an early night as our driver will be picking us up at 0430 hours for our flight to Paris, and then on to Boston. Hope the weather cooperates with our travel plans!
We are both very excited and consider ourselves very lucky - what a great Valentine's day gift!
Love to all,
Scott and Lisa

2007-02-13T10:31:00.000-05:00

10 February 2007
We left Newport on Saturday for Moscow via Paris on Air France 747 (very large and very full). Disembarking on the plane from Charles De Gaulle airport seemed a bit primative as we went down the stairs onto the tarmac onto a bus in the pouring rain. We were then shuttled for a good 1/2 hour to another terminal, where once again, we got on another bus and were driven to a different terminal. After a brief stay in Paris airport, we boarded yet another bus to our plane to Moscow. The flight to Moscow was great - it was a very clear day and we were able to see much of the Russian countryside which appears to be as flat as Australia as far as we could see. Elena, our interpreter, was at the Moscow airport to meet us. We gathered our luggage and headed to the Renaissance Marriott for a much needed rest.

12 February 2007
We had a wake up call at 0700 hours, as we had not been to the supermarket, we went downstairs to the cafe for possibly one of the most expensive breakfast ever. As sumptuous as the food was, the lady playing the harp made it all the more better and relaxing. At 0910 hours we met Elena in the lobby. We went straight to the orphanage to meet Andrew. They immediately brought him to the playroom, he was looking very smart in his sailboat cardigan - he is still wearing his pink sandals! He seemed healthy and happy - he really liked the toy car that we brought for him. He also, liked looking at the pictures of him on the camera. We took a banana and a bottle of water which he also enjoyed immensely. It was time for Andrews lunch so we had to say goodbye until tomorrow. Next stop, the grocery store to avoid the high cost of eating in the hotel and restaurants. We stopped briefly downtown and were able to purchase tickets to "Giselle" at the Kremlin palace auditorium. Our plan was to meet Lauren downtown for dinner - it was about a 1/2 hour walk to town - and with Scotts amazing navigation skills there was no doubt of ever getting lost. We briefly stopped at the mansion deli where we will possibly return to make some purchases. We met Lauren and had dinner at Il Tartufo, followed by coffee with Jeff (minus Maria) at a local coffee shop. Deciding not to walk home, we caught a cab.

13 February 2007
At 0910 hours, Elena was a bit late due to weather, snow (sneg) was falling when we awoke. We went directly to the orphanage and Andrew looked somewhat sleepy, but immediately sparked up when he saw us. Once again, he enjoyed car, banana and water. We briefly met with some social workers, who observed our interaction with Andrew. Midday, it was time for his lunch, it was hard for us to leave, as it was our last day with him before we return to take him home. Elena dropped us off at Arbat street, where she gave us a quick tutorial on how to use the Metro and helped us to purchase tickets. We tried to not get duped at the local vendor stalls and bought a pin and doll. Then we went into the Moscow metro. Traversing down the laragest escalator ever seen, much to Lisas horror, we entered into the bowels of the Moscow metro. Built in the 1930's, Moscow is renowned for having one of the most efficient and architecturally beautiful underground rail systems in the world. Tonight at the hote, Casino Royale will be playing in English. That is all for now.....
Love, Scott and Lisa

2007-01-31T20:44:00.000-05:00

We have great news! The agency called today to inform us of our court date (o.k., I called them), our court date is February 14th, Valentines day.
We are really excited, more than anything we can't wait to see Andrew. On our court date, they will also let us know the date that we can return to bring him home.
So, have to go now, we have lots of plans to make.........

2007-01-21T16:23:00.000-05:00

Shopping..........straight to the clearance rack - that is what I have been doing this weekend! The sales are fantastic - I went to Gap kids and bought Andrew lots of new clothes. How could I resist.....they had shirts for $3.00, leather boots marked down to $5.00. It was lots of fun, I only hope I got his size correct! I also started to gather gifts for all our "helpers" in Russia.
O.k., as you might have guessed, we have still not heard from our agency about our court date. They are closed on Fridays, and don't open on Monday until 10:00 am (I wish I had those hours!) so I will have to wait til then to make my phone call. I have found that if I don't call them they do not rush to call me so when I call my usual line is "just checking to see if you have heard anything" or I ask a phony question about expiration dates on our paperwork to get the ball rolling. During our last conversation she led me to believe that we were close to getting our "invitation to travel" - to travel to Russia you need a Visa - however, in order to get a Visa, you need an invitation from someone in Russia. I think our invite comes from the Ministry of Education. Anyway, she hinted that we should be receiving ours soon.
O.k., I'm off to the couch to watch "The devil wears Prada" - I hope its good.

2007-01-14T18:12:00.000-05:00

Like many others we are waiting for news about our court date. The MOE (ministry of education) closes in early January for the Russian Orthodox Christmas - they re-opened January 9th - so we are hoping to hear some news this week. In the meantime, we are sending the agency updated paperwork, etc.....
We are also working on Andrews room - we bought him a new bed (a twin bed, the kind with the drawers in the bed for extra storage). I also ordered a highchair today online! We purchased the Euro II highchair from One Step Ahead (www.onestepahead.com) - it is natural wood and grows with the child. It holds up to 150 lbs. so we should get lots of use out of it. I found another catalog "Right Start" (www.rightstart.com) - I haven't ordered from them ....but they have some nice things. We still haven't made a decision on what to bring to Moscow in relation to car seat/stroller combo, umbrella stroller, baby carrier/backpack type system or nothing at all (just carry him in our arms).
I received information today on my "secret blog pal" - we are assigned a blog pal - and from now until mid April - we exchange cards, small gifts, etc.....This is my first time participating in this and I think it should be fun!
We hope to hear some good news soon! Have a great week.

2006-12-31T16:31:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day of the year - we are really looking forward to all that the new year has to bring. We had a wonderful Christmas - Andrew received many nice gifts! Scott received a care package from his family in Australia - including Vegemite, which he had recently run out of (and commented on every morning at breakfast!) Scotts dad gave us a very generous gift as well. We have been busy getting Andrews room ready and making lists things that we need to purchase. I would like to buy a stroller with a removable car seat - I think it would be convenient to have on the last trip - so on the airplane he can sit in the carseat and we will also be able to insert it right in the stroller as we go throught the airport(s). If anyone already has one or has seen one that they like, please let me know. We are still waiting to hear about our court date. In the meantime, Scott is renewing his passport via the Australian embassy in New York City and we are obtaining the rest of the paperwork that is needed for the next trip.
We wish everyone a happy new year and peace on earth.

2006-12-07T09:30:00.000-05:00

Monday 4 December

Our last day!
Elena and Sergei picked us up at 9:30 - we went straight to the orphanage. Andrews group was getting ready to go outside to play. They are a little bit older (3-4 yrs old) and very cute - I wish I could take 1 or 2 more home with us! We took him to the playroom and the music teacher was there - she played a song on the piano and then put on a childrens music CD. She started to dance with him and it was cute to see his little feet move from side to side. He really likes to be twirled around and giggles like mad when this is done. It was time for lunch and we were able to observe him for a few minutes - he eats at a table with 3 other children. He was having borsch soup and black bread. He feeds himself very well and is able to drink from a china teacup without spilling a drop. We then left to go to the main orphanage building to complete the necessary paperwork to proceed with the adoption. Later that evening we had dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant - the Tom Yum Gum soup was excellent.

Tuesday 5 December 2006

Sergei picked us up at the hotel to take us to the airport. It was hard to leave without seeing Andrew one more time. I am trying to focus on all of the things I need to do to prepare for his arrival. He will not sleep in a crib so I will be getting him a toddler bed. I was also able to figure out his size - he is a size 2T - so now I can start to do some shopping - perhaps a trip to the outlets is in order!
The flight home was excellent as the airplane was only 1/2 full and we were able to stretch out! Our flight from JFK was delayed a by about 1/2 an hour (it is a very noisy airport!) - my sister Pam picked us up in Providence- it is good to be home!

2006-12-07T08:43:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have not posted for a few days......I discovered that it is quite costly to use the internet at the Marriott (I should have known as they charge $12.00 for a glass of wine at the hotel bar!). On Saturday we took a tour of the Kremlin and the Armory Museum - the tour took 3 hours and very informative - a great lesson on the history of Moscow, Russia and its leaders. The architecture is an amazing sight to be seen. The Armory was most impressive with its display of Faberge eggs as well as the coaches, clothing and armour dating back to the 1100's. After the tour, we went to GUM department store for lunch and a quick walk through part of the mall - it is so huge - it would take an entire day to see it all. Later that evening, we met Lauren and Marco for dinner - they had just arrived that day and it was great to finally meet them! We went to a restaurant called "At the Mill" - the employees were dressed in period costumes and they had pheasants and other wildlife in cages. The food was delicious and after dinner we went to a nearby coffee shop that Scott and I had discovered earlier in the week.
On Sunday we were able to make a short vistit to the orphanage to see Andrew - it puts a smile on my face just thinking about him! We spent the afternoon shopping on Arbat Street - I think we were taken a few times - but soon learned the art of bargaining!

2006-12-02T00:37:00.000-05:00

On our third day........
Elena and Sergei were scheduled to pick us up around 0930.... due to the arrival of Russian President Putin and his motorcade.....traffic was stopped in the business area of Moscow and they were held up for nearly one hour. We arrived at orphanage around 1100 hours and the staff brought Andrew to the playroom where we were able to spend more time alone with him. He seemed happy and his cold seems to be improving. His funny habit of emptying toys from the basket and meticulously returning them to the basket is very interesting to watch. We also initiated some of the paperwork to proceed with the adoption. The drive to and from the orphanage is very interesting - passing many statues and old buildings as well as the site of the 1980 olympic games which the US boycotted. After our visit, we asked Sergei to drop us at Arbat Street - Elena showed us around briefly - and then we stopped in many of the tourist shops, getting an idea for gifts to bring home. There is certainly not a lack of Matroushka dolls, a doll, in a doll, in a doll........Had a wonderful dinner in a small Italian restaurant - with possibly the best profiteroles ever! Saturday, we plan on touring the Kremlin. That's all for now.

2006-11-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

Left Providence for Moscow via JFK - all flights on time. Arrived Moscow half an hour early. Elena, our interpreter, met us at the airport. We were very tired due to little sleep. After settling in at Courtyard Marriott, we went for walk around town. Quick look at Red Square Kremlin, Bolshoi Theatre and St. Basil's Cathredral - as well as GUM department store. Past government buildings with security armed with uhzi guns. Had dinner at hotel and look forward to a good nights sleep and going to orphanage to meet child tomorrow.

Met with Elena and Sergei in morning about 1030 hours. From there, we went to Ministry of Education to get approval to go to orphanage to meet Andrewski. After filing the correct paperwork and a long drive though Moscow we arrived at orphanage. There we met doctors and staff responsible to children. To our surprise, a very cute little boy came through the door - very curious to see what was going on! with him sitting him on Lisas lap we were able to ask about his habits - eating, sleeping, likes and dislikes. We watched him gulp down a teacup full of water to the very last drop. After that, we were able to take him to a play area where we were able to take many photos and watch him mechanically empty a bag of toys and replace them and repeat process several times - he seemed very happy, smiling and laughing and appeared to enjoy our company. We were able to spend about an hour with him by ourselves. He particlularly liked the photo album we had brought for him (surprisingly more than the toy that we brought!) We could see he was tired - he has a mild respiratory problem - and we left him to take a nap. It was a long drive back to hotel through Moscow rush hour traffic. We both can't wait to see him again tomorrow and have organized to visit in the morning. We are both very happy on todays events!

2006-11-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are not familiar with the adoption process here is a summary of what will be happening in the next few months. We will make 3 trips to Moscow. On the first trip, which is the end of the month.....we will meet the child at the orphanage, have an International Adoption doctor come with us to the orphanage to review medical records and examine the child, and then we will sign papers to formally accept the child. On the second trip, which is usually about 8 weeks after the first trip, we will go to court. After the court date we will return home and about 3 1/2 weeks later return to Russia to take the child home. Why can't we just take the child home after court? That would make a lot of sense.....but it is not the way things work in Russia.......there is SO much paperwork involved! So, we go with the flow and hope that everything goes smoothly.

2006-11-16T16:49:00.000-05:00

We have good news!
We will be leaving for Moscow at the end of the month - we have a referral for a little boy. The last few days have been spent organizing plane reservations, travel visas, hotel accomodations, etc.....We will spend one week in Moscow and can't wait to visit the orphanage to meet "our Moscow baby" as well as take in some culture. Hopefully, we will be able to do some Christmas shopping as well. There is a great thread on the FRUA board that is "all about shopping" and I have been taking detailed notes. We will keep you posted on any new developments.....that's all for now!

2006-11-11T10:25:00.002-05:00

Good Morning!
Today I am working upstairs in the attic/loft area.......Scott has finished my cedar closet so now I have to fill it with our out of season clothes. This has also led to the task of cleaning out and organizing other areas. I don't know where to begin....I have Christmas "stuff", wedding "stuff" (from 3 years ago!)....shoe boxes, shopping bags, photo albums, travel bags, etc......
I have, however, thrown out a few things. Fortunately, Scott is better at parting with things than I am - so if I have a question or need convincing to get rid of something I just ask him!
I want to get this completed before I start bringing baby items home. That will be the fun part - decorating the bedroom! We have a meeting with our adoption agency on Tuesday - it will be the first time we meet them in person - they are located outside of Boston, Mass. We are looking forward to it and will hopefully have some news to share soon. I have had some people ask if they could add our blog to their blog roll - by all means- we are happy to share our experience. I enjoy reading all the other blogs as well!
Have a great weekend!

2006-11-04T17:52:00.000-05:00

Scott is home! I picked him up at the airport last night at 11:30 ......he has been working in Tortola, BVI for the past few weeks. He has been complaining about how hot it was but I have no sympathy for him as it is very chilly here in Newport. It's so nice to have him home! I had dinner on Thursday with my friend Debbie. We ate at a restaurant called "22 Bowens" - it was a nice change of pace because with Scott away I have been having "healthy choice" frozen dinners most nights. I told her about the pending adoption for the first time and she was thrilled to hear the news! I am going to call to our agency on Monday so hopefully will have news to report sometime this week. Enjoy the weekend!

2006-10-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

Saturday 28 October 2006
There is quite a storm at the moment (rain, wind.....), I have lost power a few times today.
No news from our agency yet....hopefully they will call this week.
It was my birthday on Thursday......my mother made a delicious dinner at her house and all the family was there. I received some lovely gifts......my sister Suzanne gave me a white feather Christmas tree (I have always wanted one!), and a sailboat beaded bracelet from Angela Moore. My sister Pam and my parents gave me a very generous gift as well! Scott gave me an accessory for our new car. I received two books from Scotts family in Australia as well. I had dinner on Friday with 3 friends from work (Donna, Cece and Laurie) and they gave me a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. We have also received our first "baby" gift! My friend Jody gave me an adorable stuffed elephant that has many hidden surprises!
While we wait work on the house continues. Scott is in the process of building a small cedar closet in our attic to store our off season clothes. Once that is complete my shoe tree will have to be relocated from the spare bedroom (soon to be baby room) to upstairs.
While waiting, I have been following Lauren and Marias progress as well as reading Jen's "lists" - she had very detailed lists which she shares on her blog from "what to ask the adoption director" to what to bring for travel.
Check back next week for more news!

2006-10-18T19:35:00.000-04:00

18 October 2006
Today we received word that our agency has received their NGO! For those of you that don't what NGO is.....it stands for non-governmental organization. Starting this year Russia requires that all agencies working in Russia are accredited (which ours is) and has NGO status (Oct 18th is the "official" deadline). Fortunately for us, ours now has both!
We are still waiting to hear from our agency on news of a referral, but we are optomistic that they will be calling soon!
Happy Birthday to Lauren!
Have a great week!

2006-10-10T20:18:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Lauren and Marco!
They received a referral for a little girl in Kazan today! If you haven't already, check out their blog listed in my blogroll.
Hope to see more people making travel plans soon!

2006-10-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

Good Evening,
After waiting for what seemed to be eternity we spoke with our agency. Unfortunately, the little boy we hoping to adopt has some problems with his paperwork and is not eligible for adoption at this time. As you can imagine we are extremely disappointed as we grew quite attached to the little guy. So now we are back to waiting for a referral for another child, however, we are confident that our agency will have another child for us soon. Thanks so much to everyone who has sent us words of encouragement - we realize that many of you (fellow bloggers) have been or are in the same place.
On the homefront, we spent one day last weekend visiting a nearby Ikea (Stoughton, MA) - it was our first time there and maybe the weekend wasn't such a great time to go - the place was packed! We were looking for shelving units for our upstairs loft area in an effort to get organized. We came home with a few large boxes of shelving units that are yet to be assembled. Scott is leaving for Tortola (BVI) in two weeks on business so hopefully they will be completed before he leaves so I have something to keep me occupied while he is gone.
I look forward to hearing of more people receiving referrals or making travel plans!
Have a great week!
Lisa

2006-10-07T19:04:00.000-04:00

Welcome!
G'day and welcome to our blog. First, I want to thank Lauren for creating this lovely blog.
Just a little background information.....my name is Lisa and my husband Scott and I are in the process of adopting a child from Moscow. We live in Newport, RI where I work as a Registered Dietitian and Scott, who is Australian, is a sailboat captain. We originally planned to adopt from the Ukraine, where our friends Jody and Steve adopted their child. However, adoptions closed there and we put our focus on Russia.
We had all of our paperwork completed by mid August and were in "hurry up and wait mode" until two weeks ago when we received a phone call from our agency that we have a referral for a little boy who will be two next month. We received photos and some medical info, which sent to a physican who specializes in adoption. We accepted the referral and proceeded to make arrangements for trip #1. However, Thursday night we received a phone call from our agency that there is a "glitch" which might affect our travel plans and we should talk more on Tuesday. It is a holiday weekend, so, of course I am contemplating every possible "glitch". So, stay tuned and I will keep you informed as to when we will be travelling!

2006-10-04T13:40:00.000-04:00

Just a test to see if I am doing this correctly!