Special Weekend

This past weekend was a big one for our family. On Saturday Connor was finally baptized. Originally we had wanted to do this last fall. However, the class we had to take was only offered on Thursdays and at the time my classes were on Thursday evenings. So, we had to wait and take the class in January. I had hoped to have the baptism in March, but that was Lent and no baptisms were going to be scheduled. Our parish holds monthly baptisms on the third Saturday of the month. So, April 17 was the date. I also knew that April 18 would be my Grandma's 90th birthday. As you can tell by now, we had quite the weekend!
Here we are at home before leaving for the church.

Here we are at the church after the baptism. It was so nice that my brother Rob was able to fly in from Seattle to be the Godfather to Connor. He is Travis' Godfather too.

I think we had somewhere between 40-45 people at our house after the baptism. It was a houseful! The food and company were great, we just love having people over. We are so blessed to have such a large family that lives close by and who were able to come and share in Connor's special day. Not only did my brother fly in, but so did my Aunt Mary Ann (who is also my Godmother) and my good friend Stephanie (she is both boys' Godmother now too). It is such an honor to have such special people in our lives and we are so happy they were all able to make it here for the weekend.

After all of the excitement from the baptism, we got to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday on Sunday! Wow, I can't believe she is 90. She sure has seen and been through quite a lot during those 90 years. We are all so blessed to have her in our lives. I love my Grandma so much, she is such a wonderful role model for me. She has taught me many things over the years and we have so many memories together. It was great to watch her blow out her candles and when we sang to her you could hear every name from Mom to Grandma to Great-Grandma all at the same time. She is such an amazing woman! She looked so pretty in her blue and white outfit, she is stylish even at 90!

I barely made it through the day today. I can't tell you how many times I just wanted to sit at my desk and put my head down for a nap. It was such a special weekend for us and it was so nice to spend some time with our whole family. They all mean the world to us!

The Weekend in Review

Saturday began with Travis' baseball game. Here is part of the team after the game. His team is called The Muckdogs! At the end of the game they stick in their hands and yell, "Who let the dogs out?!!" It is pretty cute. They are a pretty cute little team. I think they all believe they are playing in the big leagues! It was pretty warm and sunny, Connor and I got a little bit sunburned. Travis and Daryle just got more tan. At least now there is somebody else in the family who burns easily just like me! Ha! (and we even wore our 45 SPF sunscreen too!)
We have this place in town called Organ Stop Pizza. When I was a kid we would go there for special occasions like birthdays and things like that. Well, it has moved locations but other than that it is all still the same. It is hard to see but the organist comes up from this hole playing music. There are instruments all around the place, little puppets, flags, and lights. It is wonderful entertainment for the whole family. They play a variety of music and just the organ alone is captivating for everybody no matter what song is being played! Since Connor loves music we figured he would love this place. We were right, he was glued to it from the moment the organ started playing. He really liked the cats and was MAD when the curtain went up and they went away!! I guess this means we will have to return again one day!

Connor has not been feeling well and was not cooperating for a group shot. That's ok, his eyes are all swollen and puffy anyway. The dr said it is allergies so we are doubling up on his medicine to see if that helps.

Today I was able to type up yet another research paper. For this class I have to do one a week. It keeps me on my toes I guess!

All weekend long Daryle and I have been discussing the big news story regarding Russian adoptions. In case you haven't heard a mother in Tennessee sent her 7 year old son back to Russia, all alone, on an airplane, with a note telling Russian officials she didn't want to be his mother any more. She paid a man to pick him up from the airport and bring him to the Ministry of Education. She claims she was lied to and that the boy had severe psychological problems. There is so much more to the story, and I am sure there is even more that nobody knows. However, it was reported that at the 6 month post placement visit in January no problems were noted. The grandmother claims that the violence began after that and that is why they sent him back. The way I look at it they only gave this little boy about 3 months to help him work things out. When you adopt, and especially with an older child, you have to be prepared for major issues such as the ones they were experiencing. These children have major baggage and often have attachment problems. It is not an easy road for sure. It takes YEARS to work through these issues, maybe even a lifetime. We are just upset with this mother for handling the situation with such poor judgement. Mostly, she has single handedly affected adoptions for hundreds of Russian orphans who are waiting for families to adopt them. We are so thankful that this did not happen a year ago. If it did we might not have Connor here with us today. Please say a prayer tonight for all of the families who are in the waiting process. I can only imagine how upsetting news like this can be when you are this close to bringing home your child. So many families are heart broken and are waiting on pins and needles to find out if Russian adoptions will be frozen until the two countries can come to an agreement. Last year there were 1,600 adoptions from Russia to the US. We are so proud to be one of them. Not a day goes by that we aren't forever thankful for our boys.

Easter Fun!

Coloring Easter eggs the night before Easter is a tradition in our house. Connor didn't quite get to participate because he just wanted to put everything into his mouth. However, Travis is becoming quite a pro at it!

Here are our finished products. I just wish I liked to eat them as much as I like to decorate them! At least they don't go to waste because Daryle loves them.

Here are the boys Easter morning after their egg hunt and finding their Easter baskets. For some reason the bunny just goes overboard.... I don't know how that happens!

After they were dressed for church they had to have another egg hunt, Travis has become addicted actually. We have had hunts all week long! In fact, he is getting quite clever with his hiding spots. Who knew an egg would sit in between the blinds??

Here are the three of us, ready for church. Never mind the sugar high the kids were on at the time. Thank goodness our church has outside seating on these days, it sure helps when all Connor wants to do is RUN! He actually ran from me, turned around and blew me a kiss before taking off again! Everybody around me snickered, he was so cute! It's hard to get too mad when he is blowing kisses at me! Thank goodness he couldn't go too far. I was happy when he found a little girl to flirt with, that kept him close by.

Look what the bunny brought, bunny sunglasses!!! Connor likes to wear them on top of his head.

You can't tell, but Connor had the giggles here. He thought Travis looked so funny in the glasses.

Monday was the Diamondback's home opener game and of course we have season tickets. The game was at 2:10 and I gave Daryle "permission" to take Travis out of school early to go to the game. Their bleacher section is called "Uptown" this year for one of the players who plays in right field so Daryle made this sign for Travis to take to the game. His head fits perfectly, he doesn't even have to hold it with his hands! I think it turned out pretty well, Daryle did a good job. They had a blast!

It feels so good to spend the holidays knowing our children are with us. I can't believe how fast the past year has flown by. I remember last year all we could think about was "next Easter when Connor is home..." and now it has come and gone. Amazing is all I can say! I think Connor said it best at church on Easter morning... "AMEN!"

Happy Birthday, Travis!

First things first. It wouldn't be April and the official start to the baseball season without a VIP tour of Chase Field, now would it? Here is Travis down in the dugout for the Diamondbacks. We love our team!!
Here is Travis holding a press conference after the "big game"! haha!

Yes, Connor finally got his hair cut. He is losing that "baby" look. I got the mullet cut off. Sigh. Not that I like mullets, I don't, I just don't like cutting his hair because it grows sort of funny. Here are a couple of views. I think it turned out pretty cute actually.

Here is a view of the back.

Last Saturday began the never-ending-birthday-party-weekend for the newest 7 year old in our house. We let him invite some friends to go to the bowling alley for his party. Everybody had a wonderful time! If you are looking for a party where all you have to do is show up and bring a cake I highly recommend it. They took care of it all and the kids were entertained the entire time. This is the first time Travis actually invited friends from school. Here are the ones who were able to come. You can tell from the looks of them that they all have "personality", they sure are cute! (I am bracing myself for next year when they will all be headed my way to 2nd grade.... YIKES!!!) But really, they are such nice kids.

Here is another shot, along with one of his "oldest" friends Jack. He fit right in with all of the kiddos!

Here is Travis with the girls that were invited. They were few, but from the smiles they all had a great time. Kylie is our neighbor and has been to all of Travis' parties. I can hardly believe that Kylie and Travis were both babies when we all moved in!What is a party without a Sponge bob cake?

Yes, this is how he sat while we all sang to him. Is he a ham or what?

On Sunday Daddy took Travis to Wrestlemania. This was supposed to be a present for Travis.... I wonder. Daddy bought these tickets ages ago, I think in November which is around his birthday! There were TONS of people there that night and they had an awesome time.

Monday was Travis' official birthday when he became 7 years old. I can hardly believe it. Time is just flying by! Grandma and Grandpa from California got him this new bike. It is a little big, but fortunately Travis grows like a weed and will grow into it in no time at all. He loves riding it and actually can handle it better than I though he would.

At school Travis got a birthday crown from his teacher. He wore it all day. He wore it at home. He wore it to dinner. He would have worn it to bed if it wasn't so big. He looked super cute in it too!

He got to sit in the saddle at dinner while everybody yelled "Yee Haw!". He loved every minute of it.

And being the great big brother that he is he also gave Connor a turn to sit on the saddle. The funniest part of this crown was at dinner that night. I don't know if you can tell or not, but the hat says, "Travis 7" on the front. Well, the waitress asked if it was his birthday and he said yes. She asked how old he was and Travis replied politely , "Look at my hat, it says 7, you don't even need to ask me!" Well, he sure told all of us! It was pretty cute.

When we got home Travis decided to show off his "belt" and poster from Wrestlemania the night before. He came out growling and snarling. I have never heard him make those noises before. We were all cracking up laughing, you can sort of see his snarl on his face here. He is so funny..... oh and this is his "exercise shirt" because it is sleeveless! Where does he get this stuff?

Now we have a new guest at our house. Flat Emily has come to visit from California. We had to dress her. I started it and somebody just *had* to help decorate her clothes and make her hat. We need to add a little something. She is a work in progress. We are excited to show her around town this weekend! Good thing it is Easter, we have lots to do for sure. I can hardly believe it is April already. We are excited to celebrate Connor's first Easter at home. I wonder what he will think of the Easter Bunny?? As long as toys and candy are involved I am willing to bet he loves it. HAPPY EASTER!!

Our last visit

Boy did we take tons of pictures and short videos on this day! We just wanted to soak up every second we had with Connor not knowing exactly when we would be back. At the time we thought we would be back mid-June because we had been told he had to be one year old at the time of court. With all of the delays we had with Travis in the back of our mind we weren't completely sure what would happen. We were so lucky to be back at the end of May and be bringing him home mid-June! We got so lucky the second time around.
He loved the buttons on my sweater. Early on we could tell how curious and inquisitive he was.

We could also see that everything found its way into his mouth! (This is the total opposite of how Travis was!)

Daddy and Connor enjoyed playing around with his Diamondback's hat. He looks pretty cute. This week he has been wearing his own baseball hat around the house. He loves hats!

It was evident that these two adored each other even after only spending few hours together over 4 days.

It was hard to leave this little guy behind. I got a little teary eyed and I could tell Daryle was holding back a bit. We knew we had to get home to Travis and we also felt that Connor was in a very good place. As we left we hoped and prayed that we would be back in no time at all. Those must have been some pretty powerful prayers because we were back in just two short months!

While we were there Daryle enjoyed taking Tyson out for his nightly walk outside. Notice how I am dressed appropriately for 20-30 degree weather. (Don't worry, my scarf and coat had been cleaned after the incident on Tuesday!)

Now notice how my crazy husband is dressed!! Anatoly called him "hot man" because he stopped wearing his coat. I guess he wasn't cold. Whatever! That's Daryle, a perpetual rebel.

For those of you who have stuck with me through this trip down memory lane, thank you! I mostly just wanted to document some of our memories. I realized that I hadn't done that a year ago, I think it was mostly in part due to the fact that so much has to be kept confidential. Now that he has been home almost a year and we have done 2 post-placement reports I think it is ok to write down some of these details. I really don't think anybody is going to hop on a plane and come get him and take him back!! Who knows it may just help someone who is going through their own adoption process.

Our adoption of Connor was an amazing experience from day 1. We weren't really sure if we would have more children and then all of a sudden one day a light bulb went on in our heads and we realized we needed to go back. It all went so quickly. We know how lucky we are. I read other blogs all the time and there are A LOT of families out there who started the process at the same time as us or BEFORE us and they are still not home with their child yet. I can't explain why this happens. However, I do believe with all my heart that we all have a destiny and things do happen when they are supposed to. Having faith (and lots of it!) is what got us through both of our adoptions. I'm not saying it is an easy road, it isn't for everybody. What I do know is that my boys are perfect for us and they fit into our family as if they were our biological children. I honestly don't even know the difference, these are our children in every way. The love is unconditional all the way around. I may not have stretch marks or have carried my children for 9 months or actually given birth. However, when my final days do come I can't even begin to imagine what the stretch marks on my heart will look like because that is where I have carried these boys from the beginning. And when it comes down to it, that's all that really matters anyway. That we were all loved and we were a family.

Third visit, one year ago

Look at this sign, this was taken from the main road and points the way to the baby home #17. It is nestled among several other apartment buildings in a neighborhood type area. On this particular day we did not get to go to the music room with Connor because there was some sort of meeting going on in there. So, we got to go downstairs to a completely different room. It was an odd room with paneling on the walls, a small couch and not much else. It seemed to have been decorated in the 1960's, I sort of felt like I was in the Jungle Room at Graceland. (If you have been there then you know what I mean!) We did get a peek in the room that was adjacent to where we were. Here is what we saw.

It appears to be some kind of physical therapy/sensory type room for the children. While we were there they brought a few children in and then closed the door so we couldn't watch them. We were told that all the children get a chance to go in this room a few times a month. I thought it was a pretty cool room actually. I wished we could have taken Connor in there on our visit though, that ball pit looked like a lot of fun!Then they finally brought Connor out to us! We let him sit on this little horse, he wasn't too sure what to do with it though!

Love those two bottom teeth!!

This giant bear was in the corner, I just had to get a quick picture of him by it. I don't think he saw the humor in it though! He looks a bit scared.

At the end of this visit we started to get a little sad as we knew we only had one more visit left until we had to leave for home without our baby boy. As we were leaving on this day we were greeted by a most handsome man as we were walking out the doorway. It turns out he was the orphanage director. (You always hear about these people, delays are always blamed on them. They tend to be mysterious people to adoptive parents.) He was quite tall and was wearing a blue suit. He had sandy brown hair and the most gorgeous green eyes. He carried himself quite well, like he was somebody of importance. He introduced himself to us, shook our hands, and asked if we had any questions for him. No, we didn't. We were in shock, it was if the president or the pope or somebody was standing in front of us. Our translator asked him about the lapel he was wearing on his suit and she later told us he had a position in Parliament. I'm not too sure exactly what that means, but evidently he wears a lot of hats over there. We met him again at court in May, he was still as handsome then as he was on that cold March day! We were quite impressed, he made a good impression that's for sure! I am sure he is enjoying (or has enjoyed!) the nice expensive bottle of liquor we brought him on our court trip. (Haha! Wink, wink) In the end, if it got Connor home a few months earlier it was surely worth every penny! Around this time we realized it was because of the relationship this man had with Alla that we got to meet Connor before he was one (a big "no no" in Moscow) and it got to count as our first trip. In May we learned that because Alla knew him we got court bumped up earlier because this man would be on vacation in June. If we didn't have court in May we would have to wait until September for court. She convinced him to have court earlier rather than later. I didn't mind too much when we were asked to bring a gift for his daughter and wife on our third trip, that backpack and bottle of perfume were worth getting Connor that much earlier. We for sure had angels watching over us through the whole process! (I know some people might look at these gifts as "bribes" but it is true that in Russia they are looked at as "gifts". In fact when we were with Svetlana we gave her a box of chocolates as a gift for staying with her in addition to what we paid her. She rushed to her room and gave us a box of chocolates for Travis. Gift giving really is a part of their culture.)

Second day with Connor

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