What a picture!

Got lucky with this one - terrible lighting conditions! These two are inseparable and Buster has taken to defending Jax when he's being "punished". If we say "No!" to Jax and pat his little diaper-butt, Buster comes a'running to get inbetween us and the baby, nervously wagging his little stub tail. He doesn't like it when Jax is in trouble! Some loyalty, huh? Here we've had Buster for 10 years and Jax for 1 week and already Buster has taken sides with the baby! Sometimes, you just can't win!

Baby fun!

It's so amazing to see life through a child's eyes. Every little thing is new and worth looking into - nothing is taken for granted. We are really enjoying our new son. He's a pistol!!! When he smiles, your whole world lights up but when he's mad, look out! The poor thing is teething like crazy, has a bug bite on his right cheek, has an ingrown toenail that is all red and swollen (undoubtedly from those darn tights that the baby house squeezed him into each day) and is still fighting a bad cold and yet he can muster up a giggle and smile at the drop of a hat. He is just such a happy boy and so full of life! We took our first walk in the stroller today - brother Buster accompanied us. We met some neighbors that have been dying to see Jax and got a little fresh air and sunlight. We had to use the straps to hold our little monkey in at first, but once we got going, he loved it! It's been a difficult week but our schedules are getting better and better each day. What a treat it is to wake up to the baby gibberish of your son lying next to you, informing you that is time to get up and start the day. We're tired but very, very happy. Once again, the Lord has truly blessed us...

Thank God for California King's!!!

Well, our bed has gotten considerably smaller with four of us in it now! The two boys love sleeping together but as you can see by my face, mommy is very tired and doesn't get much mattress room any more! Oh well....they're worth it!

Our two boys!

The dream is now a reality and here are some pics to prove it. Our two boys are now best friends, although it didn't start out that way. Poor Jax was terrified of his brother, Buster, but now the two share everything, including food and toys. They are so cute together. Buster has been absolutely every bit the wonderful creature he has always been, being careful not to plow down Jax when they play and trying very hard not to lick him every chance he hets. Jax repays him with food, sharing all his meals with Buster. Buster never knew Cheerios could taste so good!!!!

Welcome Home

We pulled up from the airport to this beautiful sight! Our dear friends the Keterrer's had come over on Xmas eve and decorated not only our front porch but the inside of our home, as well. They put up a Xmas tree for us and hung stockings that read "Baby's First Xmas". They provded us with food and drink and little surprises under the tree. Lise K. got in touch with some of our other friends, Zann Starbuck and Holly Ferris, who also came over and pitched in, helping to give Jaxon a royal welcome home. The feelings we had when we saw all of this had us teary-eyed with swollen hearts. We will never, ever forget this incredible fairy-tale ending, given to us by such special and loving people. Thanks guys! We love you very much!!!

Cabbage Patties

Growing upmy Russian grandmother used to make us something called "Nachinkes". Since her death, I've never been able to find these anywhere, not even a recipe. Well, while waiting for our flight to LA in the business class lounge at the Moscow airport, Darren went to get us some lunch as I fed Jax his....and guess what he found? I couldn't believe my eyes! They called the Nachinke's, "cabbage patties" but there was no denying that they were in fact what I had been longing for since childhood. I stuffed myself on these and Jax loved 'em, too! What a surprise and such a perfect farewell treat from Russia!

Jax in Moscow hotel

Viktor, our driver and translator

St. Basal's Cathedral and Red Square

Pictures from Moscow

Here are a few pics of our visit to Moscow. We didn't do much sightseeing (not that much to see there) since it was so very cold while we were there. The air pierced your skin when you'd walk outside - no amount of clothing can keep you warm in weather like that! So, mommy and Jax spent most of the day in the car, napping, while daddy braved the elements with our driver, Viktor, in order to get a few pictures of Moscow. Moscow truly is chopped liver scenery-wise compared with St. Petersburg!!!

God bless the U.S.A.!!!

The Embassy visit was a piece of cake! Everyone there was so supportive of international adoption, we couldn't believe it. The employees were sweet to the all the kids there and patient with all the new parents. We were in a room filled with new families, with kids of all ages, and got to meet some new people and hear their adoption stories. When all was said and done, we walked out of there and breathed a sigh of relief, for we were finally finished with all of the paperwork and official business this adoption required. When we returned to the hotel we sat Jax down and explained to him how very blessed he was to be a citizen of the greatest country in the world. All he has to do is put his little feet down and touch the ground at LAX once we land and he is offically a United States citizen. His reply to this information was basically a big smile with a bunch of drool hanging down. Then he threw a toy at his mommy. This kid has a great arm and deadly aim! I've learned that when he's in his throwing mode to only give him soft toys. He's about taken my butt out on more than one occasion - he thinks it's funny!!!
We had dinner last night with the Frala family - another Nightlight family that we've been spending time with, both in St. Pete and here in Moscow. They switched hotels in St. Pete to stay with us at the Petro Palace and after staying one night in their hotel here in Moscow have once again switched hotels! So, now we have our friends here with us again. They adopted a beautiful (and tall) little girl, Ally, aged 13 months, so Jax has a new girlfriend. We put both their highchairs together last night at dinner and got a few pics of them sitting there all cute with their bibs on. It's been nice to have another family to hang out with and share experiences (and supplies) with. We are planning on dinner again tonight and some picture taking here in the beautiful hotel lobby. They've done an incredible job of decorating for the holidays, although their music montage that is constantly playing in one of the restaurants varies from Christmas carols (all instrumental) to the piano theme from the movie "The Exorcist". Nice mix, huh? No, I'm not a huge fan of that movie but my piano brain can't help but remember songs like that!!!!
So, we went sightseeing this morning for a few hours but cut it a little short because it is very, very cold today in Moscow. The clouds have started to move out, although it is still snowing in patches and the temperature has really dropped. So, poor Darren and our driver Viktor had to walk around taking pictures of everything that I really want for our photo albums, while Jax and I stayed in the warm car! Tee-hee! Love playing up the baby-card! We are really looking forward to coming home and seeing all of you. We can't wait for you all to meet our beautiful boy. You will just love his playful personality. He is such a good boy. We are still awaiting the infamous 1st poop....I keep pumping him full of liquids because I'm worried he's dehydrated but all he gives in return are a few "toots". However, judging by the smell of those, we're in for the motherload of bowel movements!!! Yikes!!!
This will be my last post from Russia. We will miss this beautiful and mysterious country but will forever be grateful for the time we had here and the precious child she allowed us to bring home. If any of you have ever considered visiting here we would highly, highly recommend it. It is truly a wondrous place. God bless you all and thank you so very much for your continued love, support and prayers throughout this incredible journey. We love you all....

P.S. We found something interesting, mounted on the wall behing the desk in our room here in Moscow. Darren couldn't help himself so he removed the outside covering from the plastic box, connected to a very thin wire in the wall to see what it was. Judging by every spy movie we've ever seen, IT'S A BUG!!!! You won't believe the pictures we'll show you of this thing. Interesting, huh???? We were just laughing about this one adoptive mother here who keeps saying that "they're watching us.....they're reading all of our emails....they're listening to all of our conversations and recording all of our telephone calls...." We thought she was paranoid, but now........I guess we owe her an apology???? Woo-hoo! I love Russia!!!

Moscow Mayhem

Sorry for the late update - the world class business center in St. Pete took a dump! So, here we are in Moscow and all is well. We survived our first night as parents with no major problems, although we are still anxiously awaiting our first "poopy" diaper...no movement as of yet. I'll let you know how it goes...should be a bomb from hell! We've been feeding him nothing but fruit and eggs....
OK...backing up a bit. We had a wonderful visit in St. Pete and were able to get all of our paperwork done in time to stick to our original travel itinerary, which put us into Moscow last night. We got up early, paid our bill to our agency staff in St. Pete, had a big breakfast, checked out and then went to go pick up Jax. We arrived at the baby house feeling excited and ready. We presented all of our gifts, which were greatly appreciated and well-received (apparantly the orphange staff are getting more and more picky about the type of gift they get...they have become privvy to name-brands, and are easily offended should you choose a lesser one! Thank God I'm a big spender!!!!)then made our way to the music room to await Dmitri's caretaker. She came in and we gave her a bag filled with his new clothes, hat, snowsuit and Reebok's. She left. The baby house doctor came in and gave us his feeding and sleeping schedule (up at 7AM, breakfast 8AM, play time until 10AM, nap 10-12, lunch 12:30, playtime until 3, nap 3-5, dinner 7PM, bedtime 8PM). Also, she let us know what foods he's been eating and basically, the kid eats it all, just like his mother! When the doctor left and it was just Darren, Marina and I sitting and waiting for the big moment, I swear, I almost had a panic attack. I just wanted to get up and run out into the snow and start screaming!!!! I couldn't believe this was the moment of truth, at last. I have been so careful thru this to not get too attached to any thought, idea or notion of a successful adoption and then all of a sudden, here we are, just waiting for our son to come into the room and be taken away from all he has ever known. Well, luckily I calmed down (thank you Lord Jesus) and when that door opened the flood gates opened. I tried to keep my head down so Darren and Marina couldn't see the tears...I did a good job! The caregiver came over to me carrying the most adorable little blue snow baby you've ever seen, complete with his little ear flap hat, all tucked in and cozy warm in his little blue snowsuit that matches his eyes so perfectly. She handed him to me and I melted. Jax was smiling at us and looked ready to go. Darren was running the video camera and we were very fortunate to get Jax's caregiver on tape, giving me advice and wishing us the best with our new son. She was wonderful, as was everyone we dealt with in St. Pete. Then, we all got up and headed for our van outside. Darren got great footage on camera of Dmitri leaving his baby house in his new mother's arms, and entering the outside world as Jaxon. We waved goodbye to the baby house and headed for the airport.
The flight to Moscow was FANTASTIC!!!! Smooth sailing all the way and great seats! It was about an hour and 15 minutes total flight time and Jax slept thru the whole thing. He is VERY on schedule with things....Once in Moscow we were greeted by our wonderful driver, Viktor, who promptly helped us out to the car with our slew of luggage. We then headed out into the first truly nasty snowstorm Moscow has seen in some time, and when I say nasty, I mean, N-A-S-T-Y!!!!! The airport is app. 30 minutes from the hotel, and 5 hours later, we arrived. Let me just say that Darren and I were tested as parents for the first time in one of the absolute worst possible situations, and we all did fine. D and I didn't eat anything since breakfast but I had packed baby food for Jax, diapers (which never got changed...no poop so I figured I'll just wait rather than try my luck in this poor man's overstuffed car in the dark on the freeway, as an unexperienced diaper changer...) and water and juice. I gave him a sippy cup and he had no idea how it worked. They never use bottles or sippies in the orphanages - all the kids drink from glasses. So, off with the top and the sippy cup becomes just a cup, spilling apple juice/water all over the place, but hey, at least he got some liquid in him. Well, we checked in o.k., had breakfast this morning (awesome Russian style...) and used a highchair for the first time (loved it!) and just finished our emabassy physical (passed with flying colors...delayed development of lower limbs...needs some good walking time with mom and dad). We have our appointment with the emabassy at 2:00 (in 3 hours) and then we are completely finished with everything! We are staying over until Saturday to get out and see Moscow a bit and to rest and continue bonding with our baby before the long journey home. I'll write more tomorrow about the wonderful city of Moscow - can't wait to share pictures! Love you all and God bless...

PS - there is no spell check on these computers unless you're using cyrillic, so sorry for all the errors!!!

It's official....WE'RE PARENTS!!!!

Wow! What a day yesterday was....first off, I tried to post about our activities and progress from Sunday but the computer was down here. Sorry for all you lurkers out there...but we're back on-line today!
OK....on to court. We woke up, feeling prepared. I memorized my speech to the judge and Darren and I got all prettied up for the judge. The courthouse is similar to one like in the U.S. only more ornate architecturally. The actual courtroom was very small and intimate. It put me at ease right away. Our translator, Vica, prepared us well for what to expect as far as questions from the judge and the process in general. It was very formal but the judge smiled at us many times during the hearing so we felt better and better as the hearing went on. Finally, she stood to take her recess and make her final decision. She returned app. 5 minutes later to announce that her judgement was positive and she waived the 10 day waiting period for us! Hooray! We did it! Little Dmitri is an orphan no longer!!!!! After the hooplah, she came out of her little office behind closed doors and spent some time talking with us. She was very, very excited about my Russian heritage and we spent a great deal of time going over some of the things my Bunie (grandma) used to cook for us. She loved we were so impressed with St. Petersburg and when Vica told her how much time we had spent sightseeing she loved to hear about our enthusiasm. She was so very happy to hear that I was in love with the cathedrals and had attended two services while here. She kept saying to me, "your roots are coming out...your roots are why you are so happy here....". When all was said and done, she left the room as we packed up our stuff to leave. Right before we did, she came back and presented us with a stuffed white tiger to give to Dmitri - she was such a sweet lady. We were informed later that she has never, ever done that with any of the other Nighlight clients that she's presided over, and there have been hundreds. We felt so blessed to have been assigned such a wonderfully kind judge and just know that once again, God is watching over us during this process.
Immediately following court, we began paper-chasing all of the documents needed to finalize our adoption. We went to the Vital Records office to have Dmitri's birth certificate changed from Dmitri Yuriyevich Korolyov to Jaxon Dmitri Wild. It so neat to see, even though it's all in cyrillic. Then, we raced back to the Baby House to pick up the social worker there to take her to the police station to get the release we need to have Dmitri's passport assigned. It was a very long night. We finally made it back to the hotel at about 7:30 (no lunch, no snacks, very tired, very hungry, very in need of a glass of wine) only to be told by the front desk that our last suitcase had made it to the Pulkovo/St. Pete airport but that the officials there wouldn't give it to us. The reasons were many, including "it's too heavy so we're sending back to London" and "we want to know why this Shawn Wild is here in Russia. What is he doing here and what's in this suitcase?". Aaarggghhh...Russian customs! So, our translator, driver, and coordinator are all on the subway back home. I call our coord. and tell her that if we aren't at the airport in one hour to clear this up and open the thing in front of the officials it's going back. She says I can barely hear you - I'm on the subway - call back in one hour. Well, that would be too late so Darren and I took matters into our own hands. Adventure time!
The front desk girl was very sympathetic to our needs once she found out about our adoption and that the missing suitcase had all of the baby's stuff in it, including his meds. So, she said that she got off work at 8:00 and would drive us to the airport herself and act as our translator. So, D and I got into her little rust-bucket, completely snow-covered, ancient mobile and headed out to the airport. It was fun, fun, fun! That girl can navigate thru Russian traffic like a real pro - big on the horn-honking, too! It took about 35 minutes to get there and once there, with her pushing people around and not taking no for an answer, we got our bag. Never even had to open it. We made it back to hotel and gave her $100.00, which she gave right back and refused to accept until we begged her, over and over so that we could have peace with this whole thing. She finally accepted and Darren and I thanked her for making our nightmare turn into a wonderful dream. She was truly an angel sent from God and we will forever be grateful for the intelligent, beautiful, kind-hearted "ANYA" at the front desk of the Petro Palace.
Well, if you're still reading this you must be about over it - thanks for listenting. We've had quite a few days here in St. Pete but wouldn't trade any of them for the world. We have seen and done things we never dreamed we could and feel so elated to be back here. And to put the icing on the cake, all went well at court and we are officially a mommy and daddy (to a human child....can't forget about out babies at home). Thank you Lord!!!!
Today will be more paper chasing...there is a good chance that our itinerary might change. PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL TO GO WELL WITH THE PASSPORT LADY HERE....she is "mean as a snake", so we're told, and might hold up our papers by one day....which throws everything off with our embassy visit in Moscow...which might have us here until December 26 or 27th!!! Please, please pray that all goes well today and we get our needed papers so that we can come home for Christmas!!! Love you all and God bless..

Test....

published?

We made it...but NONE of our luggage did!!!!

We left our home on Thursday @ 6:30 AM....and 33 hours later, we arrived in St. Petersburg, completed wiped out! We had no sleep on the planes and a whirlwind of problems with our flights. We made it to JFK o.k., but then sat on the runway for about an hour and then got stuck in a holding pattern in London due to heavy traffic. We missed our flight to St. Petersburg and were given the option of either laying over in London until next morning or RUNNING for Gate 26 and hoping that our stand-by status would get us on the next plane to Frankfurt, Germany. Well, we made it on that flight but then got delayed again on the runway and then stuck in a nasty windstorm, which put us into another holding pattern over Frankfurt (which was quite a ride, let me tell you!!!). After landing in Frankfurt, we headed towards the B Terminal (opposite end of airport....trams, trams and more trams, then walking for what seems like forever) and once there, had a bite to eat before boarding for St. Petersburg. I'll give you one guess what happened with that flight.....that's right, DELAYED!!!! We finally made it to St. Pete and arrived at 12:30 AM, made it through the friendly Russian customs, and proceeded on to baggage claim. One by one, we watched as suitcases of every color and shape rolled past us. Then, without warning, the belt shut-off and the lights were dimmed. Not one piece of our luggage made it.
So, back to customs, filled out paperwork, then on to Lost and Found. Oh yes, I did I mention that we are literally walking zombies???? Long story short, we met our driver out front, made it to our hotel in record time, headed to the concierge to hire a driver to take us shopping for clothes the next morning (we were informed that we had to visit the baby house that next day for offical reasons....), then off to our room where we promptly washed our socks and underwear in the sink, then used the hotel-provided hair dryer to dry them. We got to sleep at 2:30ish, then up again at 7:00. Shopping didn't work out for me, but Darren got a new shirt. Off to baby house in clothese I've been wearing far too long (sweat pants, white t-shirt, a sweatshirt tha didn't match my pants, navy blue flight socks provided by British Air, and my sneakers.....). Jaxon has grown!!!! He's walking so much better, he's taller, he recognized us and warmed up right away and he's so much more interactive!!! We had a blast with him! Poor thing just had another hair cut though, and this time they really buzzed him! He's got a cold again, too. Most the kids in the baby house do.
So, today we move on to sight seeing, more time with Jax and shopping. We're heading out to the Shamrock for a good luck pint before our big day tomorrow, so wish us luck and keep us in your prayers. I'll update things tomorrow....God-willing, we'll be parents tomorrow afteroon!!!! We love you all!

We're leaving in the morning...

Thanks, everyone, for your undying support during these past 2 years. We couldn't have done this without you! We are leaving tomorrow morning for Russia and will be updating our blog daily from there. Please pray for us Sunday night (Monday morning in Russia) for smooth court proceedings. We are a little nervous about it but know that God will be right there beside us, making sure things go o.k. Please also pray for Jaxon, for he is about to go through the shock of his little life! We are hoping that his little system will handle all of the new foods we brought him and that he won't be sick when we go and pick him up. We need God's blessings for our long journey trip home, too. Poor little guy has never even been in a car, let alone an airplane. He should look great riding in his new car seat in the Hummer, though! Hope he doesn't barf in my new car but I'm sure that will happen eventually! God bless all of you....

Countdown to Travel

5 MORE DAYS!!!

We are in the final hour of preparations and there just isn't enough time to do all the things that still need to be done. The way I see it, we're going with or without all those important things we need. Let's just hope I manage to pull it all together and not forget anything!
We've been enjoying our week with my father and his wife. They have been a nice distraction from the everyday stress and worry of this upcoming trip. They've also been really helpful, keeping me on track with my mega-list check-off's. It's been wonderful being surrounded by family during this very exciting time. We can't wait for everyone to meet Jaxon and welcome him into our family!
Our office has become the new war-zone. Maneuvering thru it requires some effort - right foot here, left hand holding on there, etc. The pile keeps growing as we add new things that "absolutely must go" to Russia with us. Unless the airlines have a new policy regarding weight limits, I don't think we're going to make it luggage-wise. It took some fancy shifting of objects last time, just to make weight, and that was with only 2 of us! You can't believe the slew of stuff this baby needs - he's getting the biggest suitcase and it still can't hold all of his junk! And, Buster has made a point of "sliming" everything just as soon as we put it in the office - the Russian people will probably think that we never do laundry in the U.S.!
In closing today, we'd like to thank everyone for their continued prayers. Lord knows we need them (and He's been listening...). Soon we will be home and closing the book on this exciting chapter of our lives. We'll keep you posted.... God bless, always!

Court Date Confirmed - December 19th

It's a go! We leave December 15th and arrive in St. Pete, 12/16! Booked our flights this morning and for the one, low price of $6,800.00, we'll get to Russia and back, with Jax in our arms. We're looking forward to finishing the final chapter on our adoption journey and beginning our first chapter in "parenthood"! We owe a great big "thank you" to Don, Shawn's dad for coming to stay with our 1st son, Buster, while we're away. Our Boxer isn't used to us leaving and doesn't like it - he won't touch his food for a few days and gets a little depressed. Darren and I will be at peace knowing dad is here with Bus, giving him all the love and attention he's used to and so deserves. So, wish us luck with our packing. There are 3 of us to pack for now and babies sure do need a lot of stuff! Sheesh!