Waiting Game

Well, no news reagarding travel dates for this week. We did receive our "travel packet" which is actually quite large! We have been reading through it, the whole thing is quite detailed. Included are the exact instructions as to what to expect when you go to the US Embassy, boy did that bring back some memories for Daryle and I! That part of the adoption was all such a blur and it was funny to read all about the appointment. It was funny as we compared parts that we DID remember, and how each of us remembered something different. Maybe this time we will be able to remember more, we will see! We were so rushed at that time not to mention we were so messed up from the time changes. Anyway, we are getting excited to make our first trip. Still no idea of when that will be, we are hoping soon. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we will get the dates this week and travel in 2-3 weeks. Some REALLY cool things happened to us this week. One was that a dear friend of mine offered to donate some skymiles on Delta to us. She has enough to get us one round trip ticket paid for!!!! Then, one of my cousins (thanks Ryan!!) said he "convinced" 9 co-workers that they needed to buy my cookbook!! That is so awesome!! We couldn't believe these great things were happening this week, the angels are definitely looking down on us and finding ways for us to make this adoption possible. Slowly but surely things are coming together!

Today we cleared out the "guest room" aka "junk room" and took all of the furniture (well, just a bed and dresser) over to Grandpa's new apartment here in Queen Creek. Now I just have to clear out the years of pictures, awards, certificates, etc., etc., etc., that had been accumulating over the years. Anybody know what to do with an old computer??? I have no idea how to "clear it out" so that hackers can't get my information. Right now it is a dust collector! We are going to paint the room and move Travis into this room (he wants to do an Oakland Raiders theme....they finally convinced me it wouldn't be too bad!) and then I will clean up Travis' room, maybe put on a new coat of paint (if I can find the time!) and put the baby in that room. (We still haven't agreed on the name ... either Matthew or Connor).

Besides all of that I am now 3 weeks into my next class for my Master's degree. This one is a LOT of work, but worth it. I don't know if I will be able to keep this up once the baby gets here, so although I am quite anxious to get over to Russia, part of me is glad I am able to get this class behind me!! I feel like I am running around in circles all the time!!

Well, that is all for now. Travis is still doing very well in soccer, he scored 3 goals today! Last weekend he went to the Monster Truck show with Daryle and Grandpa, they had a blast. Here are a few pictures.

Hopefully I will have awesome news to post soon!

Decisions

We finally heard back from our Dr and we have decided to move forward with the adoption!! We are so excited!! Tomorrow our agency will tell our contact in Moscow and paperwork will get started so we can plan our first trip. I am hoping we will get travel dates this week, but I don't know if we will or not. We have to have our medical reports redone (they are only valid for 3 months, go figure...). Our appointment is for Friday afternoon. Hopefully that will go smoothly and we can get those papers on their way. I am sure there will be more, we will roll with the punches on that as it comes. At least by now we are "paperwork pros"!

This weekend we have been thinking a lot about names. We really like the name Connor, and we will more than likely name him that. I also did some research and found out that his current Russian name is a form of Matthew. I did a double take as I looked further and saw that Matthew means "Gift from God". That information along with the fact that everybody we show the pictures to think he resembles Travis (it is the same big eyes!) has pretty much convinced us that this is our son. (Along with a good medical report of course!) It is such an indescribable feeling and once again we are in awe of how God is working in our family. People are always shocked when they find out Travis is adopted because they think he looks just like both of us. That was one thing I was a bit worried about when we started this journey again. I hoped that we wouldn't get a child that stood out like a sore thumb. (Not that it really matters, but since Travis looks so much like us, I just hoped that this child would somehow look a little bit like somebody.) I know I haven't seen him in person yet, and I didn't see the similarities when I initially saw his picture, but it seems like our sons will somehow both look like they were meant to be in our family. I even got out the photo album of Travis when we first met him and compared the pictures. It is unbelievable the resemblances they share. I know that sounds strange, but what can I say? It is the truth. So, with all of that said and done, we are so excited to finally embark on the next phase of our journey. This was a child we weren't expecting, it was like an outside force was guiding us to act from the very beginning. This whole experience has truly been a "Gift from God." We can't wait to meet him in person, to hold him, hug him and give him some kisses. (I still don't know who is more excited, Daryle and I or Travis!!) As soon as I know when we will be traveling, I will let you know.

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. ;-)

WE GOT THE CALL TODAY!!!!!!!!!

Ok, this is the post many of you have been patiently waiting for! This is how it happened. I got a call on my cell phone around 11 and it was our coordinator calling about information on the baby boy she has been telling us about! YEAH! Of course, due to strict privacy issues I can't post a picture of him and I have to be very careful about what I put on here. This is what I CAN tell you though. He just turned 15 months old (he was one year in October), he appears to have big blue eyes and light (maybe straweberry blonde?) hair. He seems fair skinned. He seems to take after me (hahaha!!-by the way if you look at my baby pictures I had light colored hair too). Anyway, we are very excited because his medical information looks very good, there doesn't appear to be any "red flags", just the normal Russian mumbo jumbo that they put on there to get the kids into loving homes with moms and dads. Travis says he likes him and wants to be his big brother, so I am taking that as a very good sign. We did get 5 really cute pictures of him. He looks nothing like Travis, but I think with those big blue eyes he will fit right in with us anyway!



So, "What next?" you might ask? Well, I have already forwarded the pictures and medical information to our trusty pediatrician in Memphis. Hopefully she will get back to us tomorrow and give us her thumbs up (we hope and pray it is not a thumbs down!!). Then, we call our agency and tell them we would love to meet this baby boy. From there, they get paperwork started and they arrange the date where we will meet our little guy. So, it seems we will have travel dates very soon if all of this is a go! WHOOOHOOO!!!



Spread the word, I still have cookbooks to sell!! Tell your friends and family and let me know if you are interested!! We have to get this little guy home ASAP!!



Thanks for all of your continued prayers and support!! Hopefully I will have travel dates to report in the near future!

Proud Soccer Mommy!

Travis had a soccer game today, he actually scored 4 goals!! YEAH!! He sure has come a long way since last year. When he first started his "soccer career" he would rather sit on my lap and cry if he had to go in the game. Today, he didn't want to come out of the game! I am so proud of him. The video shows him scoring his fourth goal, the last one of the game.

Soccer Champ!

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Frustrated

Ok, well we all know that adoption is a huge roller coaster ride for sure. Thanks for joining us on it, it is nice to know we are not traveling on it alone! We have been anxiously waiting ALL week for the medical report and a picture of our baby. Of course, we have not recieved the information we were hoping for this week. On Wednesday I was told that our coodinator was back at work this week and that she said the information would be e-mailed and sent to us this week. Well, the last time I checked, the week has ended. So, now we wait for another weekend to come and go before NEXT week can begin. Deep down I know that there is a "plan" out there, the timing is in God's hands, I know that. However, I am also feeling like I have been very patient and so I deserve some answers!! We are SO ready to move on to the next step. We have waited through all of our holidays as well as all of the Russian holidays. We have known about this baby for over a month now and I just don't understand why it is taking so long. I am sure there is some "process" that I know nothing about, I have no idea how hard it is to meet with the adoption director, get the information, translate it and e-mail it. I have found that things that seem "simple" to us are more complicated in Russia and that things just seem to take a LONG time, especially when we are getting impatient. So, with that being said, I am off to enjoy a nice 3- day weekend.... Do they have Civil Rights Day in Russia???!!!! I sure hope not!!!!

Nada, Nada, Nada

I think that says it all. (Looonnnnggg sigh here). Tomorrow is another day, one day closer to "the call". That is what the optimistic Lisa is saying.

I won't even mention what the "other Lisa" is saying right now!!!! (It must be censored!!)

Tension & Football

I don't know if this will be "the week" or not, we sure hope it is though. I can already feel tension building up in my neck just due to anticipation. I am trying to take deep breaths and focus on what needs to be done this week. On Thursday I will begin my third class for my Master's degree. The good thing is that I almost have my Reading Endorsement done. I know who the teacher is going to be and he comes highly recommended, but I also know it is going to be a lot of work. I am excited about it, but at the same time it makes me nervous because I may have to miss a class when we go to Russia. Oh well, not much I can do about it I guess. Just go with the flow for now.

Today my mom and I went to see a movie, we saw Bride Wars. It was actually pretty cute, a chick flick for sure! It was nice to relax for a bit and have a few laughs too. When I came home I found out what Daryle had been up to while I was gone. Well, the Arizona Cardinals have made it into the playoffs for the Superbowl and next week's game will be played here in AZ. So, he bought a bunch of tickets (he was lucky, they all sold out in 6 minutes!! He got 8 of them!) and was selling them on E-Bay! He has already recovered the cost and he has only sold half of the tickets. I told him that would probably pay for a plane ticket to Moscow!! So, even though the house wasn't spotless, at least he was making some "easy money" to help with the adoption costs. Thanks Daryle!! You really know how to make your wife happy!!!

Holidays

Well, we are being told that the Russian holidays are finally ending. We are hoping that business will go on "as usual" next week. Hopefully we will get some news on the baby. I think we have been VERY patient if you ask me. I promise to update the minute we hear anything new. Wish us luck!

Wishing everybody a wonderful 2009

I can hardly believe it, but Travis actually made it up all the way until midnight!! He was a little bit "glossy eyed" but he managed to stay awake to watch the ball drop, run outside and make some noise and celebrate the new year at home with mom, dad, and grandpa! (I have included a short video at the end showing his excitement about 10 minutes before all the action happened!!)

Here he is watching the TV and waiting to start the count down...

Earlier in the week, we made our gingerbread house. He was so proud! I told him we would snack on it on New Year's Eve. Well, Rock (our dog) had other plans. While we were out, he decided he would eat it and leave a huge mess for me to clean up on the floor!! Oh well, none of us needed that much sugar anyway!! (I was secretly happy about it actually!!)

We want to take a moment to wish each of you a wonderful, blessed new year in 2009. Even with the crazy things going on in our world, it is important to take some time to be thankful for the things we do have. We can't wait to see what good things 2009 has to offer for us all!! Wishing you and yours all the best.

Love,

The Hawes Family

Happy New Year!

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