Jaxon's cousins, Riley and Colin

Here are some pics of Jaxon's cousins (Shawn's sister's children), Riley Anne and Colin Michael. Riley is 4 1/2 years old and Colin is 4 weeks! Jax is so blessed to have these two in his life - we can't for the three of them to "meet"! These pictures were taken at Shelly's house on Thanksgiving...

Tentative Court Date - Hooray! (I think....)

We received word yesterday that we have been given a "tentative" court date. We are holding our breath, praying that this will hold. Sounds good, so far. We were instructed to start buying plane tickets and book our hotel! Now the real fun begins. We are, as you very well know, first-time parents and quite "inexperienced" with babies. We are trying to start packing for Jax because his needs right now, are great. Bottles, sippy-cups, diapers, food, snacks, toys, clothes, bathing items, boots, snowsuit, mittens (that's a joke....like he's going to keep these on!), blankies, bibs for the "drooling champ", medicines, thermometer, etc., have begun piling up in his room, which is also our "packing" room, which will also be the room my dad and his wife stay in next week. Guess I better start clearing it out so they have some room to move in there, huh? It looks like a
war zone in there (see attached pic).
To top it off, nosy Buster has been going in there and checking everything out that I have layed out. In other words, half the stuff in there has been "slimed" with his slobbery mouth that he drags over stuff that he sniffs! But hey, it wouldn't be home without him and just seeing his little white hairs and dried slobber on some of our clothes while on trip #1 in Russia really helped when we were feeling very, very far from home. I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to get my two droolers together at last - what a mess this house will be! I put one of Jax's bibs on Buster (see attached pic) - he liked it! Keep us in your prayers for a solid court date. We want our boy by Christmas, if at all possible!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I can't believe it but another year is coming close to an end. How could it possibly be Thanksgiving tomorrow - it was just Easter!!!! We are looking forward to celebrating our 2nd Thanksgiving tomorrow at my sister's house in Valencia. We had a FABULOUS 1st Turkey Day with Darren's family last Sunday at his mother's house in Hemet. Mmmmm....what a spread that was! Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow (and ignore the scale for the next month or so!).

This year, Darren and I have so very much to be thankful for, outside of our latest blessing, Jaxon. Our families have managed to stay healthy and happy throughout 2005 (knock on wood) and for that, we are eternally thankful. We got a new car, new job for Darren (start date TBA), many new home improvements, and another year with our precious Boxer, Buster (picture attached). He was diagnosed with skin cancer, stage II, in June of 2004. We never imagined we'd still be blessed with his presence for another Thanksgiving but it seems to be the Lord's will. We also got a new nephew, Colin Michael Inman, born November 2, 2005! After a tumultuous pregnancy, he arrived healthy and hearty. Again, THANK YOU LORD JESUS!!!!!

We wish all of you and your families, a very happy and grateful Thanksgiving. We will keep you in prayer and maybe even toast you once or twice! Please keep all the orphans in Russia and the world in your prayers - there are so many children who will never know the blessing of a warm home, hot meal and loving family to call their own. They need all the prayer we can spare!

God bless you all....

The Walrus Club

Vica, our translator, was all too happy to point out this once-in-a-lifetime site. We were finishing up our tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress (will have extensive post on this later...) and noticed this "herd" of men, preparing to enter the frigid, fresh waters of St. Petersburg. She said it was like our Polar Bear Clubs here in the states. Gotta love those speedos!

Admiralty Tower

This site proved as a wonderful "compass" for us while driving/walking thru St. Petersburg. We had a wonderful view from the not-so-famous Sky Bar, atop our hotel, that was simply stunning at night. The Admiralty is a unique monument to the Russian fleet. It's architectural purpose - the glorification of Russia's naval prowess. The tower with it's tall gilded spire is topped with a weathervane in the shape of three-sailed frigate (fast-sailing warship). In the front entrance, (sorry...no pics of this) stand monumental figures of sea nymphs holding orbs, symbolizing the free passage of the Russian fleet across the globe.

Mikhailovsky Castle (Michael's Palace)

This was built on the site of of the wooden summer palace of Elizabeth Petrovna. The castle was named after the church within it's walls, which was dedicated to the Archangel Michael, the dread leader of the heavenly host. The building's appearance is a reflection of its owner's darkly romantic imagination. The castle was surrounded by a moat, which was passable only by means of drawbridges. This is where Paul I was assassinated in 1801, in spite of the thick defensive walls of the building and the presence of the tsar's personal armed guard.

In the front of the castle, on the parade grounds, stands a monument to Peter the Victor (man on horse). It has a comical appearance, made to mock Peter versus glorify him. The horse and Peter both have bug eyes and Peter carries a worthless, short weapon in his hand.

St. Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac's Square, shown here with The Bronzed Horseman and St. Isaac's Cathedral in the back, was one block from our hotel room. The picture of Darren looking cool with his sunglasses is from our hotel balcony, depicting the view of St. Isaac's Cathedral from our room!

The Bronzed Horseman is a monument to Nicholas I and truly magnificent in overall size and detail. The Cathedral, was intended to be the greatest in the Russian Empire. Vast amounts of money and effort were required to construct it. It is the 4th largest domed cathedral of it's type in the world and took 40 years to construct. The interior of the cathedral is made up of gilt, variegated marble (15 different types and colors), murals, mosaics, paintings and sculptures. **SHAWN'S 2ND FAVORITE SITE**

Church on the Spilled Blood

The Church on the Spilled Blood, or The Church of Resurrection, is the site of the mortal wounding of Emperor Alexander II. It was built on the spot where the emperor was assasinated in 1881. The site of the murder is marked by a special chapel in the western part of the builiding beneath the bell. Here, in an area slightly below floor-level, part of the carriageway and railings that were stained with blood at the time of assasination can be seen. According to our translators, many Russians today swear they can still see the blood. Darren and I did not. Looks like river rocks surrounded by an ornate gazebo-type temple. The construction of the church and work on the decor took 24 years. It is 81 meters high (love that metric system).

Although the love of the faithful did not save the church from being closed in 1930, the will of God saved it from destruction during the Blockade when a shell fell on a cupola but did not explode. It was later removed in 1961, by sappers who risked their lives to defuse the missile. Truly, a work or art.

Darren and Shawn - 1st day in Russia!

Blog-resistant, no more!

Well, I've taken the plunge. I just couldn't bear not communicating with all of our friends and family while in Russia for trip #2, via the 'World Class Business Center" at our hotel, so I'm setting up a blog that I will update daily, complete with pictures, once we are there!

{Please have patience with me as this is the first blog I've ever set-up. My hope is that it will mimic a fine wine, getting better with time.}

OK - here's where we are. As you know, trip #1 was a complete success. We experienced emotions that we never knew we had, met two of the most wonderful people we've ever known - John and Rayann - who are adopting siblings (Max - age 7 and Nina - age 5), held our little angel (and got drooled on....BIG TIME!) and finally signed the official paperwork to be his parents. Whew! It was a whirlwind week but lots of fun, as well.

We are currently waiting on our fingerprints to clear the BCIS (formerly INS). Once they clear, then our coordinator in St. Pete can request Jaxon's database release slip from Moscow. Once she has that, she takes our dossier and meets with the judge to secure a court date. We are hoping and praying to have him home by Christmas, but it will probably take a miracle. We will take what we get and are preparing ourselves for a January travel date. If it happens before, then Hallelujah!

We are planning on staying in the same hotel, even though the business center is lacking. We are comfortable there, know our way around the surrounding area pretty well, and enjoy the decor and comfort of the rooms. The price is right, too. There is a little liquor/convenience store two doors down and about 6 steps down (it's underground - kind of neat). It has a WIDE variety of alcohol and some snacks. In addition, there is a deli with cheeses and salads and things. We weren't brave enough to dive into that on our first trip, but we may on trip #2. We'll see...

We are currently scrambling to make sure all of our paperwork is in and ready to go. We are finishing up on some home improvement projects, too. We are trying to get everything done prior to bringing Jaxon home. I'm sure there will be many loose ends left to deal with, but hey.... we're trying! We bought some new clothes for him, warm and loose for layering, and are trying to plan how many outfits to bring, how many diapers, snacks he can eat, etc. Any advice from our current mommies out there would be greatly appreciated.

I'm going to intrude upon all of you to read each post and then pay close attention to the prayer request that follows. We really need all the prayer you can spare! Thanks for everything and I'll post more later.

*** PRAYER REQUEST: NOVEMBER 19, 2005 *** Speedy courtdate and health of Jaxon

Love,

Shawn:)