Gabby the Wonder Cat

Evan and I have two cats, Isabella and Gabby. Each were acquired on a day where I was having a very hard time dealing with our infertility. So, they are kind of my babies. Isabella would be considered our "good" cat. And, Gabby would be considered our "spunky" cat. She is two years younger than Isabella and has about three pounds on her. She's a very sturdy girl! Isabella tends to prefer Evan, while Gabby loves me. Enough of the background, here's the story:

It was just like any other morning. Around 5 AM everyday Gabby feels the need to wake me up and kind of cuddle with me. However, she never quite settles down and so I don't really get much sleep for the next hour. This morning we were trying to get her to go sit in our bedroom window since she likes doing that and it would allow me to get more sleep. Evan put her in it the first time, but she wanted none of it. She wanted to be with me.

Then she changed her mind. She went into the window and all of a sudden we heard the blinds move abruptly. We figured something had scared her and she just ran down the hall. But, something in my "mother's intuition" thought there was something wrong with this picture. So, after a few minutes of not being able to shake that feeling, I got up and checked the window of our second story bedroom. The screen had fallen out along with GABBY!

I yelled to Evan and he ran downstairs and outside. I started checking the house to see if she got away in time. All these thoughts raced through my mind: call off work, put "Lost Cat" signs up, etc. Luckily, Gabby was just in our next door neighbor's back yard. She is fine and it is like nothing ever happened.

Here she is less than an hour after the incident:



Needless to say, we will be childproofing our windows. What a way to start the morning.

Onto adoption news . . . I don't have too much. I called the FBI regarding my fingerprint cards. It was their mistake, so I just have to send the card back down and they will stamp it. Hopefully, they will do this fairly quickly.

And, the good news is that all our other documents are on their way to Russia today. Hopefully, there won't be any more documents needed for court.

Lately I have been having a hard time with this wait. Each day that passes by is another day of our son's life that we miss. I am so ready to go back to Russia. You don't hear those words every day!

But, in the meantime, we will continue to organize our house and buy the things we will need for our trip. I am hoping to blog some good news in the near future.

Kristin

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .

What a busy weekend! We spent most if it buying some more things for Nicholas and trying to organize all the things we already have. While our house still seems a little too small, we've managed to utilize our space the best that we could (Thanks, Mom!). Below are some pictures (please remember it is a work in progress):

Nicholas' crib and dresser.


Nicholas' closet is starting to fill up




Here is our high chair. The teddy bear is hanging out there. Hopefully, the next picture will have Nicholas in it!




So, that is the "best of times". Can you guess what the worst is? Of course, not having a court date yet is bad. But, I'm talking about the FBI fingerprints. No, they weren't rejected this time. Instead, they only processed one of the two cards that we needed. They stamped "No Arrest Record" on the back of one and pretty much ignored the other card. AAAAHHHHHHHH! Unfortunately, at the time I opened my mail their office is already closed. So, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll chat. There will be a big celebration once these fingerprint cards are completely done and are on their way to Russia.

That's all the news we have for now. We did send all of our other documents to St. Louis, so they should be on their way to Russia in the next week. Please continue to pray that we get a court date soon. We are getting extremely anxious!

Kristin

Please Pray!

Here is a link to a horrible tragedy.

Steven Curtis Chapman is a Christian singer, but also a huge advocate of adoption. He and his wife have adopted three little girls from China. In a horrible tragedy, one of his sons accidentally hit the youngest daughter with his car. She died from her injuries. Please pray for their family as they struggle with grief over this situation. Also, please pray for his son. I can't imagine the pain, guilt and sorrow he is experiencing right now.

Thank you,

Kristin

What a great weekend!

This past Saturday I had my baby shower! My sister planned it and members of my family helped her execute it. I think it was wonderful. I wish I had pictures to show, but I didn't take any. So, once a kind family member sends me some, I'll post them here. I will say that I feel very blessed. Everyone was so kind and generous. Nicholas received more gifts than we ever imagined. I should have taken a picture of when Evan and I got them all in the house. Our entire family room was filled. We have cleared out most of it, but we still have more organizing to do.

Sunday I did at least 10 loads of laundry. I washed all of Nicholas' clothes, towels, wash clothes, bedding, blankets, etc. You name it, it is clean. His closet and dresser drawers are starting to fill up. If you look around the house, it actually looks like a toddler lives here. All we need now is to add the baby.

Saturday night after the shower I just looked at all the gifts we had received and felt so blessed. At the same time though, I wanted to cry. I just wish we had a "due date". I am so ready to bring Nicholas home. Even though we are very busy getting ready for him, his absence is always on my mind.

So, it looks like this week will be all about organization. With all of Nicholas' things in here, our house is starting to feel smaller. Thankfully, my mom is going to help me maximize my space. I should have pictures of the nursery soon too. In the meantime, we'll be praying that our court date comes sooner than later.

Kristin

A Public Apology to the Brunswick Police Officer Who Took My Fingerprints!

As you can see from the title, I had an interesting experience getting my fingerprints retaken this weekend. I had a different officer than last time and newer ink. This made for a huge mess! The officer told me to relax my fingers, which I thought I was doing. However, we ended up going through 8 or 9 cards or more!!! I'm not exaggerating! I could tell the officer was getting very frustrated with me. There was one point where I think we were going to call it a day and find a different police station. Instead, the officer brought out their "fingerprint expert" who was able to take my prints in one try. He also assured me that the FBI should not have a problem with these prints. Needless to say, I will not be speeding in Brunswick any time soon. I don't want to run into that officer again!

We also assembled the crib and put the dresser in Nicholas' room. It actually looks like a nursery! As Evan was putting it together he got a huge smile on his face. Each step we take just makes it more and more real for us. My baby shower is Saturday, so we can't wait to see what Nicholas gets. He is a very loved little boy.

Mother's Day was a happy, but sad day for me. I liked the fact that I knew I had a little boy in Tomsk, Russia. I even received some Mother's Day cards. My little Nicholas also gave me one (Thank you, Evan!). It was hard though because he wasn't here with us. But, next year he will be!

Each day brings us one day closer to bringing him home. We are so excited!

Kristin

Garage Sale Success

Our two-day garage sale exceeded all of our expectations. God's hand was surely on it. Not only did it not rain as predicted, but the people kept coming and coming. We do not have an official tally, but our total is over $900.00. God is so good! I want to thank everyone that donated items and/or their time to the garage sale. We couldn't have done it without you!!!

Here are some pictures from the first day:



My cousin, Jessica showing off the merchandise



Jessica and I posing as two Babushkas (Russian for Grandma)



Jessica, me, Aunt Judy, and my mom (All pictures taken courtesy of my sister, Amy)


By the end of the weekend, Nicholas' furniture should be assembled and in his room. We are swapping it out with furniture that is already in there. Pretty soon all that will be missing is the baby. We hope that isn't too long of a wait. Hopefully, we'll hear some good news soon!

Kristin

My Registry

I have had so many good tips and advice from moms of children around Nicholas' age. Please keep them coming! I also wanted to use this blog to give everyone a method to my madness. Some of the things I have registered for are because Nicholas will be a little bit behind developmentally and a little smaller than the average child his age. For every three months in an orphanage, they are typically one month behind developmentally. Little Nicholas has spent the majority of his life in an orphanage.

I registered for a stroller system with an infant car seat. Nicholas is near the top of the weight range. I don't know if he will get to use that particular car seat. However, we do not know what the future holds and God may open up my womb and allow us to conceive or allow us to adopt a younger infant. I guess it is our way of being prepared because we may not get another baby shower. If I don't receive this as a gift, I'm fine with it. I was just taking hold of an opportunity.

So, with that said, anyone that has any advice on products that they registered for that they absolutely love or I should have, let me know. If you tell me in time, I may just have it added to the registry.

On the actual adoption process . . . we are still trying to finish the remaining paperwork to get our court date. I have to go to the police station in the next couple of days and have my fingerprints redone, since they couldn't read my prints at the FBI. Hopefully, it won't be the officer who told me, "You only need a little bit of your print. This will be fine." I am really going to have him ink my fingers heavily and smash it on the paper. I do not want to do it again! And, the FBI still will have to turn it around quickly, which they didn't do last time.

Well, just a reminder, the garage sale is tomorrow. Hopefully, the rain will stay away!

Kristin

A Very Busy Week!

How does one recover from a trip to Russia? By being busy every day the week you return. I think last night was the first time I didn't have anything to do all week! But, the good news is that I think I have officially recovered from jet lag.

Yesterday was probably the highlight of my week. I went with my mom, sister, grandma, aunt and cousin to Babies R Us to buy the crib and dresser. We had so much fun! But, we made sure we took a little time to rest.



I was very happy with the furniture we picked out. We should be able to pick it up in a week or two. Pretty soon Nicholas' bedroom will really look like a nursery. For now, we are scrambling to clean it up. For the last four years it has been a guest bedroom/storage room/office. Now we have to figure out where to put everything.

Some of the items will be making their way to the garage sale this Thursday and Friday (May 8th and 9th). It will be held at my parents' house (for those of you who know where they live) and all proceeds will go toward financing Nicholas' adoption. So, if you are in the area, stop in and say Hi!

Also, we could use your prayers regarding the finances. Like I have said in previous blogs, God has provided the money so far. Please continue to pray that He provides the rest. The last fee to our agency is by far the largest! But, thankfully, my God is bigger!

Overall, I am glad this week has been busy. I am trying not to dwell on the fact that we aren't with Nicholas. I just keep holding on to the fact that we will see him again soon and this time, we will take him home.

Kristin