Orlando

Home is a great place to be. The kids are doing fantastic. Zech likes Raleigh (the dog). Jaiden does not.

All was perfect through Atlanta. Customs was the smoothest I have ever experienced and the workers with immigration were encouraging and delightful. It was good to be back in the states.

And then the joy of Atlanta thunderstorms. We spent 7 hours in the ATL airport (almost as long as our international flight). We finally got home at 3am. Needless to say, we were some tired folks and the babies were going crazy.

I am having trouble uploading new pictures to www.shaneandlinda.com. Hope to do it soon.

Done!

Very happy to report that the process is finished and all we have left is a plane ride home to America!

The embassy time was smooth. We were there with 10 other families - all with unique stories of adoption adventures. There was one baby younger than our twins, and a few families that were adopting two. It was a happy group. We wrapped up everything around 3:30 pm local time.

All the medical issues we were worried about proved to be no issues. Thank you for your prayers. I felt the Father's hand in that one. After all the craziness, the time at the embassy seemed like the smoothest thing ever. The guy running the adoption portion there got up and made a little speech to get us oriented - Linda said, 'that was the most fluid part of this whole 2 year deal!.'

We wrapped up everything around 3:30 local time. It was fantastic to get their passports in our hands and be cleared to go.

I posted some new pictures at www.shaneandlinda.com. Enjoy.

Clean Report

New pictures - www.shaneandlinda.com. Mainly shots from our time in Arkhangelsk - I will post more later.

This morning the doctor showed up at 6am - and gave both kids a clean bill of health, which clears us with issues with the embassy! Thanks for your prayers.

Tomorrow at 2pm we meet with the embassy for the final step. Almost home! (picture of Zech taking a bottle).

In 15 Minutes

Ok - I am sitting in the lobby of the Dvina waiting on my driver to take me to the police station. Sounds ominous.

Prayer:

• That we get the passports quickly and smoothly and there are no paperwork gliches.
• That everything goes smooth with the interpreter (who I have not met).
• That there is enough room in the van for us all to go to the baby home.
• That they will let Cam, Tae, Addie and Sandy (my mom) go inside the home to get Jaiden and Zech (not typical that they do this - or that this big of a group is together).
• That our flight tonight is on time and we do not have to sit in the airport with little kiddos
• And finally (see below) that the homestudy issue is no big deal with the US Embassy (should know in a few days).

Thanks!!

Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day. At 1:45 I meet our driver who takes me down to the police station. In my hand a have a whole pack of documentation and they will sign off on the passports for Zech and Jaiden. Then, around 2:30 or 3:00, we will all go out to the baby home and pick up the kids. We will go in, change them into clothes we have for them, load up and head for the airport for our flight to Moscow.

In Moscow, we have 3 days of admin before heading back to the US - mostly stuff dealing with the US embassy. We also hope to visit our old stomping grounds from when we were here back in 2003.

White Sea

Today we took a little road trip up to the White Sea. And it was . . . white. As far as you can see a giant blanket of snow and ice (with ocean underneath we are told). Beautiful.

On Sunday we spent most of the day sledding on a hill near the center of town (down by the river) - right by the statue of Peter the Great (which is on the 500 ruble note . . . who knew?)

Tomorrow is the big day - we get the kids around 2:30 Ark time.

A few more steps

We have been in Ark (our abbreviation) since Monday night - and really enjoying ourselves as a family. We are staying at Hotel Dvina which is nicely placed in the middle of everything. Once you get the hang of it, it is a great city to meander around in.

And on the babies update! Well, we have been here 5 days and have not even seen them. Evidently, until a baby reaches a certian age (2 I believe) the home is designated as a hospital and not an orphanage . . . so parents (us) are not allowed to take them until all the paperwork is absolutely final. That will be Tuesday. In fact, we will get them, change them, go to the airport and head to Moscow. Once in Moscow, we will finish the final passport / visa work and then head back to the states.

One BIG prayer request. There is a new requirement (from the US govt side) that the homestudy must be very precise about what medical issues the social worker discussed with you in regard to the children you would bring home. In the past, this has been pretty vague and no big deal (especially because the Russian side lists all kinds of problems to cover everything that could possibly go wrong). Now, what they list, and what our homestudy says - need to match exactly (this just changed this week!). Of course, ours does not. So pray we slide through on this. We are not anxious about it and we know something will work out.

More later (I am working off the Rusky keyboard in the lobby of the Hotel Dvina!).

Today we went ice skating on a huge outdoor rink. Lets just say we were not the most fluid folks on the ice - hard to get that kind of training in FL.

Checkin In

Hey, this is Taelor here. We are having a great time in Russia just hanging out. But we're having some internet problems and cannot update often.

Monday we got in and we slept becasue of jet lag. Tuesday I woke at 1:00 and we looked around till it was time to eat. We ate at a place called Uno Momento. We ate a greek salad and pizza that was amazing.

Wednesday we went to Malie Karely - a ginormous outdoor museum of wooden structures. Cameron, Addie and I played on a four ropes that were attached to a pole that you could swing on. There was also a slide that was made out of wood that you could slide down with your feet.

That night we ate at a log cabin type place - we ordered all kinds of stuff but the chicken was the best. We explored more of the city as well.

On Thursday we found the information center for the city. We got more info on good places to eat and things to do. Dad, Cameron and I also went out to buy some sleds and to find a hill to sled on. We ate a very Russian place with three other couples who are adopting in the city (one of them from Orlando!).

Today we went sleding on a huge hill by the Dvina river with the hole family. Then we went to a place were kids learn how to carve wood and do crafts. That night we ate at a fast food resturaunt that was good. I had a hamburger and fries with a discusting milk shake!

Chillin in Moscow

We are sitting in a little coffee shop about 10 minutes from Red Square - rejoicing that this stage is over. The court hearing in Arkhangelsk was surreal. I was dressed in dark suit with brown shoes, blue shirt and yellow tie. Linda was the only woman in the room not wearing stilleto heels. The judge, a woman, was very formal but friendly. Her biggest questions were about us having such a large family - and if Raleigh (our dog) was angry. Court felt tense and anxious, but exciting to be near the end. I read my speech trying not to outpace the translator.

It took her all of two minutes to make her decision. And we are parents once again.

'How many kids do you have?' - Only five. I like that line.

After court we went back to the hotel, changed and went for pizza at the only restaurant in town where we know what we are ordering. We ended up with chicken fingers. Then off to the airport where our flight was delayed and we waited for 7 hours. Thank God for books.

There were two lines in court that really stood out to us. Both the baby home social worker and the social welfare representative said in their prepared speeches that "no one came to adopt them because no one cared about their destiny."

At this moment we both felt the unbelievable privilege God has given us stepping into this relationship with J & Z - and I am sure there will be many more awesome lessons about God's overwhelming love for us.

Jaiden and Zecharaih

J & Z are doing well. We were very impressed with how the baby home is taking care of them. It seems that the home's social worker is a very caring woman who is excited to see these kids get in a good home.

I was amazed at how much they move around now compared to our last visit. Both of them pull up on furniture and cruise the room. Zech especially goes for the open doors and anything special that is not a toy. Jaiden is a bit more attentive to people and is pretty mesmerized while you are holding here. She is also a bit anxious to be on the move - especially to stand and walk with someone holding her by the hands. She is not far from taking her first step.

You can see pictures of her standing, and Zech slapping my face at www.shaneandlinda.com - pictures from trip 2.

Our Day in Court

On a cold, snowy day in Arkhangelsk at 12:10 pm, we completed our court hearing. The court hearing began around 11. We were each prepared with our little speeches and the whole event went quite smoothly. Our translator (in picture with Linda) was as nervous as us because this was only her second court experience.

Now the 10 day waiting period begins, then we are able to get Zech and Jaiden and bring them home.

I will update more later, but suffice it to say it was a long journey with an awesome end. We played with the children today and prepared for court. Now we are off to dinner with some friends - our court hearing is tomorrow at 11am. Thank for your prayers. And - new pics at www.shaneandlinda.com

Boarding in Orlando

Jesus - we recognize your reign and dominion over this venture! Amen

Travel Time

Here is our schedule over the next few weeks. We will travel back to Russia twice. Strangely enough, it is cheaper to return than to stay.

March 17 (Tuesday) 12:30 - Orlando to Atlanta to Moscow
March 18 (Wed) 8:10 Moscow to Arkhangelsk
March 19 - (Thursday) Prep for court
Mar 20 - (Friday) Court hearing (I get to wear a suit!) - fly back to Moscow that evening.
Mar 23 - (Monday) Fly home

March 29 (Sunday) 10:30 Orlando to Atlanta to Moscow
March 30 (Monday) Travel to Ark, pick up children
Mar.31 - Apr.3 - paperwork in the region
Apr.3 - submit documents for child passport to OVIR
Apr.4, 5, 6 - days off
Apr.7 - get children's passports, - at 5:30 pm take flight back to Moscow
Apr.8 - submit documents for child visa to the US Embassy
Apr.9 - get children's visa
Apr. 10 1255pm Moscow to Atlanta to Orlando (arrive Orlando 9pm).

Finally! News! We got the word and are headed to Russia on March 17 (next Tuesday). A lot needs to happen between now and then, but we have gotten plane tickets and paperwork in order. Our visas had to be fast processed and should arrive the day before we leave. Here we go.

Day Two - More Fun

I took way to much cough medicine in the middle of the night, and, combined with a bit of jet lag, this made the morning quite an adventure.

We made it to the baby home about 9am - and were able to play with the kids and ask another barrage of questions. Everyone has been very friendly and it has been a time of emotional ups and downs. The only down being that we have to leave and we will be unable to bring the kids with us. We asked, but all is so formal and straight forward down the line. It is like a very well greased normal operating procedure kind of place. Our hearts hurt because the wait continues . . . but now we have hugged and kissed and connected.

In a few hours we leave for St. Peterrsburg. We will stay there a day before returning to the states. For more pictures of day two, go to www.shaneandlinda.com.

Meeting the Kids!

What a fantastic day! Like no other in my life.

It was not as emotionally overwhelming as I thought. It was like meeting kids that we knew were ours all along.

Here are the photos

Early this morning we got a phone call saying that we would not be able to meet with the director until 1:30 pm. We were disappointed, but exhausted, so we did not worry about it. We went back to bed.

Then we got another call from Dmitri (our in town contact) saying he would be by at 9. OK? We thought we were going to do paperwork and then reconnect for the afternoon. Turns out, the first phone call was intended for another couple. Dmitri ran us over to meet the director and then we went to the baby home (on our way, we picked up Alexandra - our translator).

We were anxious, silent and wary. Not sure what to expect. At the baby home (which seemed very nice), we were taken to the back and introduced to the social worker in charge. She gave us a run down on the kids background and various questions we had. Then BAM, they brought them in.

It was almost nap time so they wanted us to see them before they went down. We wanted to play, ask more questions, and just stop the world to soak it in. They were gone to fast! That first meeting we may have only had 15 minutes with them - but it seemed like 30 seconds.

We spent the next hour or so asking lots of questions and meeting with the Dr. of the facilitiy. She was wonderful and gave us all the information we could have ever wanted.

We then went out for pizza and processing. About 5 minutes from the hotel we ate at Uno Momento - (had a pizza with an egg on it).

Then back to the baby home were we sat on the floor with our precious little ones and played and cooed and did whatever. It was great. It was surreal. I did not want to cry until later - I realized what a giant miracle this is!

Helsinki for an hour

NY to Helsinki went faster than expected. We were mostly silent with
exit row seating (but near the bano). We watched Ground Hog day on the
iPhone and then Mama Mia on the big(ger) screen.

The Travel

From my buddy Bryan

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Learn as You Go

Brushing up on Russian at JFK. We felt very relaxed on the last flight
and even slept a bit. We sense God's covering. He is so good.