We are off to pick up brother in less than 24 hours. Yikes, as I sit here still doing laundry! I think I have everything that I need to pack, now I am just not sure how it will all fit in 3 suitcases. I am sure we will be a sight coming through the airport with all our baggage. We've also decided to take an umbrella stroller for the return leg. I think we will be happy that we did this when we are waiting in one of 4 airports - UGH!
We want to thank everyone for this journey and keeping in touch with us when we are gone - it means a lot to know we have such a strong support in the states!
Becky & Jon
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Vladivostok Countryside
This was done at high speed! We loved seeing the colorful little houses. Everyone had a tin/metal roof. We really wondered how they stayed warm in the harsh winters.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
We are home!!-two weeks later!
HOOOORAY!
We had a few calls from friends who were very disappointed when there was no posting on Friday. Thank you to everyone who is now addicted to our blog. Let me try to recap Friday for everyone.
We were a little late arriving to the baby home due to Arina's daughter being sick that morning. We arrived at the baby home and like usual went upstairs to wait for Nakita. Arina comes bounding into the room with out him and says come follow me quickly. As we are racing down the pink staircase, she tells us that his groupa is performing for the celebration of autumn. She asked the director if we could watch. We went into the music room.(Picture posted previously) His groupa is sitting ever so still in the lined up chairs all dressed up. His caretaker Rita is dressed in a gown of autumn colors and sequins with a crown on leading the songs. The girls are all in white dresses with HUGE bows( Pam this would totally put the girl's bows to shame:)) The boys are dressed in white t-shirts and bright yellow shorts. They all have bibs made of bright yellow crinoline and feathers. The boys had orange bow ties on theirs as well. Come to find out that the children were all chicks and Rita was "Mother Autumn". The 3 year old groupa came to watch and sing along too. All the doctors and directors were there. They sang a few songs, with a man who was dressed in bright colors with the children and playing an accordion. Rita gave all the children tambourines to play along with on the next song. They shook them above their heads, and on their feet. Nakita loved this part. Rita got a volunteer from the 3 year old groupa. He played a mini-accordion with the man for a special song( we found out later that he is 4 and is waiting for his court date next month!!) The little boy and Rita then went out into the hallway, when they cam back into the room, they were singing about machina(cars). The little boy was pulling a truck full of bananas. You should have seen their eyes light up! Then all the children were singing about bananas.( Arina told us that the children don't get many fruits, because there are very few available, and the ones that they import from China are full of chemicals) Nakita ran over to the truck and followed by all the others from his groupa. They then turned on the music and the children got up and danced and laughed. I was invited up as Nakita's mama to dance too! Great fun!
We were then able to go upstairs and play for a bit. – I thought saying good-bye would be full of tears. – We both gave him a kiss and then before we could get too sentimental, he ran off (being of COURSE he was late for lunch – and boy that boy LOVES to eat!) – he sat at his table and waved “paka” to us both. That was it! – HE is SOOOO loved and they really take great care of him there. I feel good and we know we are coming back right after the holiday season – (I’ve already put in a tentative leave at work!!)
We’ve had a rough time adjusting to the time zones coming back, but we’ve also found a WONDERFUL sleep aid! (this will help us so much on trip #2) – Nat was excited to see us and we’ve put up quite a few pictures of Nakita at home. – It won’t be long and he will be running down our street and chasing after the dogs!
I will post more pictures and possibly some video when our computer is back up and running - it has a virus and it is totally down - go figure!!
Thank you to Everyone who has helped us in this amazing journey! We are so truely blessed!!!
We had a few calls from friends who were very disappointed when there was no posting on Friday. Thank you to everyone who is now addicted to our blog. Let me try to recap Friday for everyone.
We were a little late arriving to the baby home due to Arina's daughter being sick that morning. We arrived at the baby home and like usual went upstairs to wait for Nakita. Arina comes bounding into the room with out him and says come follow me quickly. As we are racing down the pink staircase, she tells us that his groupa is performing for the celebration of autumn. She asked the director if we could watch. We went into the music room.(Picture posted previously) His groupa is sitting ever so still in the lined up chairs all dressed up. His caretaker Rita is dressed in a gown of autumn colors and sequins with a crown on leading the songs. The girls are all in white dresses with HUGE bows( Pam this would totally put the girl's bows to shame:)) The boys are dressed in white t-shirts and bright yellow shorts. They all have bibs made of bright yellow crinoline and feathers. The boys had orange bow ties on theirs as well. Come to find out that the children were all chicks and Rita was "Mother Autumn". The 3 year old groupa came to watch and sing along too. All the doctors and directors were there. They sang a few songs, with a man who was dressed in bright colors with the children and playing an accordion. Rita gave all the children tambourines to play along with on the next song. They shook them above their heads, and on their feet. Nakita loved this part. Rita got a volunteer from the 3 year old groupa. He played a mini-accordion with the man for a special song( we found out later that he is 4 and is waiting for his court date next month!!) The little boy and Rita then went out into the hallway, when they cam back into the room, they were singing about machina(cars). The little boy was pulling a truck full of bananas. You should have seen their eyes light up! Then all the children were singing about bananas.( Arina told us that the children don't get many fruits, because there are very few available, and the ones that they import from China are full of chemicals) Nakita ran over to the truck and followed by all the others from his groupa. They then turned on the music and the children got up and danced and laughed. I was invited up as Nakita's mama to dance too! Great fun!
We were then able to go upstairs and play for a bit. – I thought saying good-bye would be full of tears. – We both gave him a kiss and then before we could get too sentimental, he ran off (being of COURSE he was late for lunch – and boy that boy LOVES to eat!) – he sat at his table and waved “paka” to us both. That was it! – HE is SOOOO loved and they really take great care of him there. I feel good and we know we are coming back right after the holiday season – (I’ve already put in a tentative leave at work!!)
We’ve had a rough time adjusting to the time zones coming back, but we’ve also found a WONDERFUL sleep aid! (this will help us so much on trip #2) – Nat was excited to see us and we’ve put up quite a few pictures of Nakita at home. – It won’t be long and he will be running down our street and chasing after the dogs!
I will post more pictures and possibly some video when our computer is back up and running - it has a virus and it is totally down - go figure!!
Thank you to Everyone who has helped us in this amazing journey! We are so truely blessed!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Thursday in Vladivostok
Hi everyone!
We woke up early again today. Neither of us has been able to sleep well here. So, we tuned into yet another episode of Seinfeld. Yes, we watch the older american sit-coms on satelite. Everything says "stay tuned for the new episode". I spose they were all new...10 years ago. Anyway, it's fun and keeps us occupied. We've watched so many movies. I know Jon can't wait to get home and watch college football.
We went to the baby home around 10am. Nakita was ready for us. We stopped and watched the turtles and frog in fascination. He loves tapping the glass to scare the fish too. (He will really love the Petco fish station!) We hid the snacks today for just a little while to try to get him to play. It worked for about 20 minutes. We did a puzzle and he loves his touch and feel books. He mimicks "neigh" and "meow - meow". After awhile, he mainly concentrated on finding the snacks. He looked behind, under and around us. In the sack that we bring everyday, he took everything out trying so hard to find his snacks. We couldn't hold out and once we opened the can, he would take 2, give the can holder one and close the lid.
We had a great day playing and when we took him back to his group they were in the midst of story time. We open the doors and they all shout "Nakita" for his return. Very heartwarming!
We ate lunch with Lana and Arina here at the Vlad Inn. They are very comical in their stories of Russians and the "2" New Years celebrations they have. They call it Drunk month from December 31 - January 20!
This afternoon, we went to notarize our final document to formally request the adoption of Nakita. The gal was out to lunch so we went souvenier shopping quickly (as you all know, I don't like to shop quickly.... Jon became a little impatient. Shocker!) But, the store was about 5 million degrees and there definitely not alot of time to do everyone justice as Arina was waiting for us in the car. So Lana helped us pick and choose items. We had to go then back to the notary, who was located in an dark alley way. Very quick!
Lana, our interpreter, loves cats as we found out on one of our many drives. We told her that one of our good friends, Mr. T has 2 cats and a stroller for his kitties!! She loved that and had never heard of such a thing, but would like to see one! Mr. T you are are international icon now!! Such a trend setter!
Here are a few photos for you of the city and of Nakita today!
We miss you all!
Love Jon & Becky
Vlad photos.....
We woke up early again today. Neither of us has been able to sleep well here. So, we tuned into yet another episode of Seinfeld. Yes, we watch the older american sit-coms on satelite. Everything says "stay tuned for the new episode". I spose they were all new...10 years ago. Anyway, it's fun and keeps us occupied. We've watched so many movies. I know Jon can't wait to get home and watch college football.
We went to the baby home around 10am. Nakita was ready for us. We stopped and watched the turtles and frog in fascination. He loves tapping the glass to scare the fish too. (He will really love the Petco fish station!) We hid the snacks today for just a little while to try to get him to play. It worked for about 20 minutes. We did a puzzle and he loves his touch and feel books. He mimicks "neigh" and "meow - meow". After awhile, he mainly concentrated on finding the snacks. He looked behind, under and around us. In the sack that we bring everyday, he took everything out trying so hard to find his snacks. We couldn't hold out and once we opened the can, he would take 2, give the can holder one and close the lid.
We had a great day playing and when we took him back to his group they were in the midst of story time. We open the doors and they all shout "Nakita" for his return. Very heartwarming!
We ate lunch with Lana and Arina here at the Vlad Inn. They are very comical in their stories of Russians and the "2" New Years celebrations they have. They call it Drunk month from December 31 - January 20!
This afternoon, we went to notarize our final document to formally request the adoption of Nakita. The gal was out to lunch so we went souvenier shopping quickly (as you all know, I don't like to shop quickly.... Jon became a little impatient. Shocker!) But, the store was about 5 million degrees and there definitely not alot of time to do everyone justice as Arina was waiting for us in the car. So Lana helped us pick and choose items. We had to go then back to the notary, who was located in an dark alley way. Very quick!
Lana, our interpreter, loves cats as we found out on one of our many drives. We told her that one of our good friends, Mr. T has 2 cats and a stroller for his kitties!! She loved that and had never heard of such a thing, but would like to see one! Mr. T you are are international icon now!! Such a trend setter!
Here are a few photos for you of the city and of Nakita today!
We miss you all!
Love Jon & Becky
Vlad photos.....
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Day 3 in Artyom
Good Wednesday morning (or evening for those of us on the other side of the world!)
Today was great. Nakita's main objective was his snacks! He ate all morning long! We did go out for some playtime outside, but it was shaded and quite chilly. After that we stayed indoors and played with his books and ball, but he was HUNGRY! As we spend more time with him, he's really reminding me of someone else we all know.....stubborn, strong willed, a mind of his own, does what he wants to do, wants to eat when he wants to eat..... hmmm, who could that be? He did get slightly irritated with Jon when Jon tried to hug him. He yelled "NYET, NYET" followed by a finger point. Jon laughed. This is his boy.
We were able to take him up to his group of mates and they were ready for lunch and waiting for him. It is so heartbreaking to see all these faces staring up at us, not knowing their final story. Nakita pushed through them and was ready to eat! He turned around, waved "paca". We waved to all of his mates and will return tomorrow.
I tried to attach video of the countryside here, but it is taking WAY TOO long, so I will try to do that when I am at home.
Thanks for all your support! We love reading the comments and appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Becky & Jon
Here are some pics of his baby home "Desky Dom".
This is where they have music and special holidays.
This is the pet turtle. He even has his own heater!
Today was great. Nakita's main objective was his snacks! He ate all morning long! We did go out for some playtime outside, but it was shaded and quite chilly. After that we stayed indoors and played with his books and ball, but he was HUNGRY! As we spend more time with him, he's really reminding me of someone else we all know.....stubborn, strong willed, a mind of his own, does what he wants to do, wants to eat when he wants to eat..... hmmm, who could that be? He did get slightly irritated with Jon when Jon tried to hug him. He yelled "NYET, NYET" followed by a finger point. Jon laughed. This is his boy.
We were able to take him up to his group of mates and they were ready for lunch and waiting for him. It is so heartbreaking to see all these faces staring up at us, not knowing their final story. Nakita pushed through them and was ready to eat! He turned around, waved "paca". We waved to all of his mates and will return tomorrow.
I tried to attach video of the countryside here, but it is taking WAY TOO long, so I will try to do that when I am at home.
Thanks for all your support! We love reading the comments and appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Becky & Jon
Here are some pics of his baby home "Desky Dom".
This is where they have music and special holidays.
This is the pet turtle. He even has his own heater!
Happy Tuesday!
It's been a great day.
We met with Nikita early this morning and were overjoyed when we walked in and he ran to Jon, immediately gave him "knuckles", a "high five" and hugs. Jon was overcome with emotion and in his words "what a great way to start a day." He then ran to me, gave me a hug and grabbed my hand and we walked into the playroom.
We spent alot of one on one time with Nakita today, and we know in our hearts that he is the child for us. He laughed, had a little temper (hello Jon!) and ran after us for hugs when we started to leave the baby home. As part of the adoption process, we understand that there are no guarantees - health wise - but we are more than willing to face those challenges head on with the support and love of each other, our family and friends. We are formally moving forward with adopting him and can't wait for the day when he can ride his trike! We do expect a very difficult day for us when we leave on Friday. We won't be able to return until late January/February at the earliest to see him again to bring him home, which seems so far away. We ask all of you for your continued thoughts and prayers. While this has been an experience of a lifetime, we are both mentally and physically exhausted from the happenings over the last 48 hours.
We're attaching some photos of our son ("brother") and are excited for the day when you can all meet Nakita.
Love and hugs to all of you!
Beck and Jon
We met with Nikita early this morning and were overjoyed when we walked in and he ran to Jon, immediately gave him "knuckles", a "high five" and hugs. Jon was overcome with emotion and in his words "what a great way to start a day." He then ran to me, gave me a hug and grabbed my hand and we walked into the playroom.
We spent alot of one on one time with Nakita today, and we know in our hearts that he is the child for us. He laughed, had a little temper (hello Jon!) and ran after us for hugs when we started to leave the baby home. As part of the adoption process, we understand that there are no guarantees - health wise - but we are more than willing to face those challenges head on with the support and love of each other, our family and friends. We are formally moving forward with adopting him and can't wait for the day when he can ride his trike! We do expect a very difficult day for us when we leave on Friday. We won't be able to return until late January/February at the earliest to see him again to bring him home, which seems so far away. We ask all of you for your continued thoughts and prayers. While this has been an experience of a lifetime, we are both mentally and physically exhausted from the happenings over the last 48 hours.
We're attaching some photos of our son ("brother") and are excited for the day when you can all meet Nakita.
Love and hugs to all of you!
Beck and Jon
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