WE FINALLY MADE IT TO RUSSIA!!!!

Hi everyone, we finally made it to the Kaluga region! It was a very LOOOOONG flight (about 10 hours) but a very smooth flight. We flew American Airlines from Chicago to Moscow. We were in business class and the seats were extremely tight. It was almost impossible to get a good night sleep on the plane (especially for Joe who is a little on the cranky side right now) but with the help of a couple benedryl and a few bloody mary's, we managed to get some shut eye.

Nadya, our translator, was right there at the airport waiting for us. She is SO very nice and helpful. We then were met by our driver, Basil, who is also very nice quiet, but nice) and drove for another 3 hours to our hotel in Kaluga.

Nadya brought us to our hotel and checked us into our room and we were then met also by Rita who works as a facilitator at the orphanage. She introduced herself, took our itinerary and said she would meet us tomorrow at the orphanage. You girls were right about having to check EVERY outlet in order to get internet access, but once we did we were fine. I'm sure our family was wondering what happened to us, but we just couldn't get access right away and we,of course, had no cell phone access. We tried to do some Skype calls, but our microphone must not be that great because my sister-in-law had a hard time hearing us. We were just so excited to have our own room and a BED....even if it IS as HARD AS A ROCK!

Anyway, we couldn't have been in better hands than we were with Nadya...she is GREAT! She even took us to a little restaurant around the block and helped us order. She said she is going to call us tomorrow at around 11:30 a.m. to pick us up for the orphanage.....we get to see our little girl tomorrow! I'm not sure about tomorrow, but she said that on Tuesday and Wednesday we will get to go to the orphanage twice, once in the morning for a couple hours and once in the afternoon for about an hour and a half. We were also so excited when we showed her the picture that we had of her (well, actually JOE had of her in HIS POCKET) and she said "YES, I know this little girl!" She was so happy. She said that she has the prettiest eyes and that when she saw her she just was sitting up happy in her walker, but all by herself....ahhhh...how sad. Nadya will be there with us every day to translate for us. We just cannot WAIT to actually see her face...finally!

Well, this is going to be a short post because I am exhausted! Joe is already CRASHED. I'm going to TRY to sleep, but I don't know if I'll be able to.

Well, I'll post again tomorrow after our first visit!

To all our family, we love you and just want to say thanks for being as happy and excited as we are. Dad, you can breathe now...we're here safe and sound! ha-ha!

Michael, love you honey.

Paka,
Renae and Joe

WE LEAVE TOMORROW!

This is the time we have been waiting for!!!! We are packed and ready to go. We will arrive in Moscow around 12:15 p.m. on Sunday. We will be picked up at the airport in Moscow by our translator (I believe Nadia) and our driver and they will take us to Kaluga which is about a 3 hour drive.

I spoke with "C" today and she said that we probably will not get to go to the orphanage until Monday. So, I guess we'll go to our hotel, try to settle in and get organized and get a little sleep (TRY anyway).

We both cannot WAIT to see this little girl. Hopefully all goes well and we are able have some good news to share!

Bye everyone....next post will be from RUSSIA!

Renae and Joe

WE GOT OUR TRAVEL DATES!!!!!!

I received and e-mail from "C" today telling us that we are going to Russia on Saturday, October 11th and leaving Russia on Saturday, October 18th....yeaaaaah!

We are now going through the crazy rush process of sending for our visa's and making flight and hotel reservations. Hopefully that will all be done tonight and tomorrow.
"C" said that we will arrive in Moscow on Sunday and a car will pick us up to go directly to Kaluga, which is the region where we are going to visit this sweet little girl. The trip from Moscow to Kaluga is a 3-5 hour drive. We will then go to the orphanage to visit on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday....drive back to Moscow on Thursday (hopefully after accepting our referral), have our 8 doctor medical on Friday and fly home on Saturday.....whew!

I'll keep you all posted!

I sure hope all of you other families get some good news real soon also!

Renae and Joe

REFERRAL!!!!!!!!

We are FINALLY going to Russia! I actually got a call last Tuesday from "C" who offered us a referral for a little girl in Kaluga. She sent us some pictures and a little bit of medical information and, after reviewing her medical information with our IA doctor over the weekend, we called "C" and told her that we would love to go and meet this little girl!

We are SO excited and yet nervous at the same time! "C" said she thinks we will be traveling the weekend of the 11th....that's in 2 WEEKS!

I called my son Michael and the rest of our family to tell them the WONDERFUL news and they were ALL just as excited as we were! It is SO great to have such a loving, supportive family and we can't wait to bring our daughter home to be a part of it!!!

Now the packing and preparation of traveling begins...yikes! I have to get my lists made!

We'll keep you updated!

Renae and Joe

STILL IN KEMOROVO....FOR NOW

I spoke with C last Thursday and she said that they want to keep our dossier in Kemorovo after all. She was told that there is a CHANCE that there may be another girl referral in September. She said that she will not keep us there long though, so if there isn't a referral by the middle of September, we will again discuss our options. I am going SO crazy....I really hope we do get a call in September!

Meanwhile, Joe and I took yet another trip to the Florida Keys! I really needed it after being told we would possibly get our call in July....and didn't.....and then being told that Kemerovo wasn't giving any girl referrals until at least January of next year (which may not be the case now...who knows). It felt REALLY good to just relax, drink some delicious margeritas and do a little fishing.....who CARED if hurricane Fay was on it's way to the keys also.

Saturday night Joe and I were at Lazy Days, one of our FAVORITE places to eat overlooking the ocean. We got a call from our Captain for our Sunday morning trip and he said that it's going to be some GREAT fishing tomorrow and that the storm isn't supposed to REALLY hit until Tuesday night. He said that they just called for an evacuation for all visitors for Sunday morning at 8:00, but we're coming back in at 3:00 and then we can just get into the evacuation line. ARE WE CRAZY?!?!?!

So, we DID go out and it WAS beautiful most of the trip except it was a little windy and the waves were about 5 foot. I wasn't nervous until we were heading back and it got REAL dark and REAL windy. We did catch alot of dolphin, but it was just a little too rough out there and it was a bit hectic on the boat as far as the fishing went....but it was fun! Joe and I wished we were staying so we could actually see the storm, but we got out just before it got really bad.

Now, we wait and see if we get our call in September.....I REALLY, REALLY hope we do because this is WAY too stressful!

Congratulations to Karen and Cathy who traveled on their first trips to meet and accept their baby girl and boy!!!! And to Michelle who had her Gotcha Day with her precious little girl!

Good luck to the families who will be traveling or are traveling right now!!!!

bye for now,

Renae and Joe

WHERE O' WHERE IS OUR LITTLE GIRL?????

NOT in Kemerovo. Joe and I just got a call from "C" today around 5:00 telling us that there will be no more invites to travel to Kemerovo until AT LEAST January. Kemerovo said they filled their quota for the year. Talking about our bubble bursting!!!! Every day now we have been on pins and needles because we were told that there was a good possibility that there would be another girl referral from Kemerovo by the end of July. So, EVERY DAY we have been hoping it would be OUR day....and then we get this news.

C said that she would recommend NOT waiting in Kemerovo since we did not receive a referral from there. Joe and I totally agreed, so our dossier will now be sent to another region to wait on our baby girl. It's o.k. though, our agency has been moving pretty quick with the girl referrals so we feel positive about it being not too long from now anyway.....HOPEFULLY!!

I DO feel really bad, however, for a few of the families (one really good friend) who have already received their referrals from Kemerovo and do not know when they will be able to travel to meet their children...I know this has to be so difficult for them.

I guess we'll find out soon enough what region our daughter will be in.....hopefully SOONER than LATER!!!

Renae

STILL WAITING

Hi everyone,

Not much going on to post about lately, we are still ANXIOUSLY waiting to get "the call." We are NEXT to get a baby girl referral in Kemerovo City.....I'm sure most of you know the anxiety I am feeling right now. It has been a little over a year since our dossier first arrived in Russia (July 13, 2007), and we are praying our call will be by the end of this month!

What HAS been keeping me sane is seeing all the other families traveling and bringing home their BEAUTIFUL children. Congratulations to all of those families!!!!!

Bye for now,

Renae and Joe