Time Flies! Right?

Okay, I have a brighter outlook. Even though it will likely be 6 months before we can travel to see our boy, it really is only approx. 3 months longer than we anticipated. When I look into this little guys eyes, I know I can wait forever for him. So far, Russia remains as an "open" country for adoption, meaning they have not officially closed their doors. It may be true that we are experiencing delays due to our particular region, Kemerovo (southern part of Siberia), meeting a quota and needing time to catch up on the adoptions they are processing currently. Kemerovo is where Maxim is, so we will wait.
Thank you everyone for your support. (Pictured above, Mom's Prayer Meeting in Canada with Special Prayers for Maxim).
PS For my family....can anyone please send me a picture of Grandpa Shiel? Auntie Esther, I know you must have many. I think Maxim kind of resembles my Grandpa.

"Maxim"um Impact!

Well, the BIG day has arrived. We've met the baby boy who will one day be our son! Meet "Maxim". He is currently 9mos old and obviously gorgeous!

We received the referral on Monday, March 22nd and held our breath while we waited for the International Adoption Specialist, Dr. Staat at Cincinnati Children's Hosptial to reveiw his history and medical information. We had already fallen in love with Maxim and hoped for the best. Much to our relief, Dr. Staat called and gave glowing reviews! He is thriving (which can be difficult for a premie in an orphanage) and healthy.

We let Anna at Adoption Ark know of our intent to accept Maxim and could not wait to go see him. (we were thinking May or June, possibly?). Much to our dismay, Anna told us there is a delay in the adoption process, possibly due to a quota being met, or the recent investigation into a very unfortunate death of a previously adopted Russian boy. Either way, it is now likely we will not be able to visit Maxim until as late as September or October.

McKenna's Room

McKenna poses at her desk for the Russian Judge. We are required to submit photos of our home ...every room, including the bathrooms. McKenna wants the Judge to see how "responsible" she is. I had to quickly throw the usual clutter under her bed in order to take the picture. I plan to take the rest of the photos Thursday afternoon...as soon as Sandy, our cleaning lady, leaves! Yep, I'm a thinker!

Me and Hannibal

Oh Help Me! Just logged on to update adoption status and I am being subjected to the absolute worse singing I have ever heard!!! Kip is doing Wii American Idol with McKenna and I don't think I realized how tone deaf he actually is. Good thing he's cute.
Okay, I will try to ignore the noise in the background......
We finally found a psychologist to do our adoption evaluation in Lexington. No one in Louisville performs the ($600!!) tests the adoption agency requires and according to the half dozen psychologists I spoke with, they reserve these tests for CIA applicants and the Hannibal Lectors of the world. The first appt. (yes, there will be many) is tomorrow...I hope I pass the ink blot test.:)
We received the first of our Apostilled documents (our marriage certificate) from Missouri today...it is scary official looking and I am afraid to even touch it. As it reads on the front under one of the many shiny seals "For use in Russia...not for use in The United States of America"...this has to be the first paperwork I have seen that comes with a warning label!
I had a tough few days last week.....I received a mass email from the agency that had a photo of a one year old from Kemerovo, Russia...it killed me that I couldn't just fly there and get him NOW. I found out today that there a couple families looking into adopting him..so I am at peace.
When McKenna saw his photo, she said, "Oh Mom let's get him, he looks just like us...tell them I will give them a thousand bucks if I can have him." I explained that he probably is not ours, but we will meet our son/brother real soon. She went on to say, "Well whoever gets this little boy Mom, is going to be very busy...cause he looks like a busy guy!". She has such a postive attitude about this adoption...FOR NOW.

Forget The Psychologist...I'm Going To Need A Psychiatrist soon!!

Well, after waiting 3 weeks to see the psychologist recommended by our local adoption agency, we found out 2 hours before our appt. (only by calling to verify the address and asking how long the tests take) that she does NOT perform one of the tests required by our international adoption agency. Now, I will ask the right questions before booking the appt.

And So It Begins

Welcome. I am a complete idiot in many things and this, starting a blog, would have to be near the top of that list. I hope you will check here from time to time to get the latest update ... (it's moving very slow right now) on our pending adoption of our son from Russia.
Considering the fact that I have yet to complete a full page in 7 year old McKenna's baby book...those of you who know me, are probably saying, "What?! Kim is blogging...ha!"
Bear with me as I will probably be very slow with the updates, but hope this blog will help create some sort of timeline for myself and Kip. Right now it feels like we are just floating in space, waiting for the race to begin...
It started in November (after encouragement from a new friend I had recently travelled with...that extra little nudge seemed to do the trick!)....the BIG decision to adopt was made, contact with the local adoption agency, Adoption Assistance, made and announcements to family and close friends over the holidays.
Since then, we have completed our Home Study (just waiting on the final 18+ page report on us, should be interesting?), chosen our international agency, Adoption Ark, and slowly but surely are working to complete our Dossier (a fancy name for a whole lot of super processed, super sealed and super expensive documents!). Just a few more hurdles to manage before we can complete our Dossier...2 hour Psychology exam this Monday......more Official Documents releasing Kip of a warrant speeding ticket he failed to pay on time more than 21 years ago...I kid you not...and then we are off to Frankfort to have all these papers Apostilled (another fancy word for some super expensive seals and ribbons).
Once the Dossier is sent to Adoption Ark, we anticipate receiving what the business calls a "referral"...more warmly known as a photo and background on what could be our son.
So hang in there....the boring stuff is just about done and the FUN will begin. One fact we have learned is that our son will likely come from the region of Kemerovo which is in the southern part of Siberia....hoping for some SUMMER travel dates as it is currently 35 below zero there.