Cant blame a girl for trying...

So Im not one who gets sick often but last night I was almost comotose laying on my laptop at midnite with the sound blasting so I wouldnt miss our meeting online so MVT guy could call. In the end it was over before it started. Got a really bad connection and all he heard was that she sent her response in letter form back to one of the contacts who helped get our intial letter to her in first place.
NOT NO exactly... but NOT YES either!!!
That contact will email it to us as soon as she gets the letter.

WHAAA! I was feeling so miserable that it was all I could do to log off and crawl back to bed. I had just seen Oprah yesterday on THE SECRET.
A man had lost his job so his wife threw a celebratory party!! (in faith that it was meant to be!)
DETERMINED & DECIDING NOT TO FEEL SORRY FOR MY SELF ..
I layed there and kept saying over & over
"Rejection is God's protection...."
"Disappointment only means something bigger is coming along..."
"thank you that we are still in the game"
"Gee at least its getting warmer in Siberia by the day.. any delay means warmer weather..."

I was one BIG MOTIVATIONAL CLICHE.

But this morning the sun has risen and it's a new day. MVT guy left for Russia today & I was half tempted to just email the judge and ask


CAN I HAVE HER NOW???

how about now?

what about now??

so much for plans to win over the director... PLAN L,M,N,O,& P COMING UP!

sign me: ALL DRESSED WARM AND NOWHERE TO GO

TICK TOCK ... CANT SIT STILL!

Tonite we are going to call the orphanage director.
We just recieved confirmation that the letter was delivered to her.
So many things going thru my mind!!!
Im ready to jump on a plane the minute she says yes.
We have decided to email the judge's office to let them know I will be visiting. Who knows what they will say but we think its best not to appear like we are trying to going around the MOE ( Ministry of Education)
MVT guy is going to Russia tomorrow so we have a VERY narrow window to try & get through. The phone lines to Siberia ( especially in winter) arent the best. Stay tuned!

HERE WE WAIT AGAIN!

Ok, so today is one week since we sent a letter to the orphanage director asking for permission to visit. We had to hand deliver it and it's NOT FAST should she choose to write back so we are going to try calling today ( its actuall FRI there already) There is no telling what she will say, but I feel that since she was open to the searchers visiting surely she'd allow me to come in person. We cant move forward on visas or plans of any sort until we know she will allow this visit. So hard to sit back & let others call all the shots! ARGH! LOL I have to laugh seeing as there are still so many hurdles to overcome. It will be nothing short of amazing to watch all this come together!
Cool story from yesterday.. I was running behind as I packed up my stuff & Summer and was heading to work when the Expedition wouldnt start!
Normally I dont drive the Porsche with Summer (for safety reasons) but I had no choice.Anyway when I got off the sun was peeking out & she BEGGED me to put the top down. We blasted the radio and she was singing & dancing like no tomorrow! At a stop light she was chattering to the lady next to us
"We are driving with the top down!!! This is a PORCH car!!!" it was so cute. Then the song came on
" I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN..." well she picked right up and was siging the chorus when we just HAPPENED to pass the DFACS office. Out front was the sign "ADOPT TODAY!"
(I'm TRYING HONEY!!)
the VERY sign that got us started on being foster parents
that led us to adopting Summer.
WHEW surreal I tell you!

Happiness is finding joy & inspiration on the simple ride home.

Ok going to find Vigilante Translator Guy to see what's UP in Siberia!!!

Adoption video now ready to watch!

Hey all! I finally finished Summer's story!
Go to my websiteb www.ImagesbyRainy.com
click on " Adoption show"
then make sure you right click & select FULL SCREEN!
TURN UP THE MUSIC & GRAB SOME TISSUE!!!!

STAND BACK I'M GOING IN!!

w-o-w!
So a while back I said I had a secret up my sleeve.. it has taken on a life of it's own! If you have been following this whole saga you will remember that my friend VOTEMOM was instrumental in helping me pick the region we adopted Summer from. She & some missionaries had gone & built swing sets for the orphanages.Her adoption tale is not for the faint hearted but suffice to say it ended in the most incredible way with her bringing home two adorable baby girls just recently. Fast forward three years...

here's where we stand
-The judge has turned down our requests to adopt Ali twice because there was another sister involved who is now out of the orphanage.
- Independent adoption is all but non-existent (still technically LEGAL just not done much & frowned upon)
- There are no agencies that even go to this very remote region!
-The agency we used the first time went belly up and are facing fraud charges, let's be nice & simply state that there is a place in
you-know- where for folks who take $$ and use innocent children for ill gotten gain. So basically no help from them.
-The search team made contact with Ali & the orphanage and we thought it paved the way for lots of contact etc. however this has not been the case. We cant even get anyone to mail stuff there!
- I didnt want to just be a peice of paper to the judge once again so..one night at about 3am I tried googling te small town she lives in . being so remote not much showed up. But then.. a blog from American missionaries who were BIKING thru Siberia!! ( good grief!) they had stopped in Blago where my daughter is from to do a service and then headed north to the next town. Apparently word got out that they were coming and much to their surprise many people lined the streets in a town they hadnt even planned on stopping at! The begged them to stay & do a service. So they did.. you guessed it ! it was her small town!! try not even on a map! wowowow! So google pulled up their blog and wham! I got the idea of my life!!
WHY NOT TRY & USE THE
MISSIONARIES????
I flew to the phone later that morning (not everyone appreciates my epiffanies at a such an early hour!!!) and called Votemom who in turn gave me some emails.
but OH HONEY!! not JUST addresses!!
without saying too much, I will tell you that this one gentleman is quite what the doctor ordered! He is a man of God, LOCAL, and has actually adopted himself from the same region!!
Of course you can imagine how fast I latched on to that!!!

( one degree shy of stalker-ism!!!)
ok ok ok so we have written back & forth ( did I mention he just HAPPENS to read & write fluent English??) & I shared how if I could just meet Ali & get to know her & the director maybe the judge would allow our adoption. Could he help me get a letter to them?
What a kind, gracious man!
So last Mon I was so completely OVER this whole anxious waiting game ( I mean come on people!! we are living out of boxes waiting to move into a larger house so she can have a space of her own) It's getting old. I decided the garden variety prayers had to go!
"Please God if its your will bring her to my door so we arent inconvieneced and we will make a home for her"...
that night it was more like
"OK I'm a woman on the edge here. If you want me to bring that child home I will do ANYTHING, let's get this show on the road!"
I decided to name her. I know, dont say it..
" What if she doesnt want a new name? or Isn't that pre-mature?"

I am naming her so she is real and there are no options to fail. This kid WILL have a home.She can choose later what she wants to be called but I was on a mission!
Tues morning I got an email from him suggesting that I just need to come visit. Thats right, NO GUARANTEES
just stop.. get on a plane
(did I mention that its WINTER in Siberia?
& that I'm still cold from my last trip???)
at first my wildly weenie-like brain rejected this as pure nonsense! Afterall, I wanted the judge to say COME & GET HER! It's a done deal!

nice & neat

is how I like my life lessons thank you very much! ;)

but suddenly my heart starting pounding
& I realized that this is
EXACTLY what I had to do.
funny sidenote. it wasnt until like the next day when I noticed that my expensive watch had stopped ticking at the very moment I read his email.!! ooohh eeeee oooohh!
days later I just stare at it and think of the ramifications.. but alas I need a new battery!

ok so where were we?
Last year Maverick Vigilante Translator (wont use your real name but your new title will now be MVT) lol... that did our search team report had a personal crisis and needed to be in NY immediately. So I gave him a buddy pass. Note: I dont usually start corresponding & sending gifts to folks I meet on the internet but hey the guy needed some help and I just HAPPENED to have a pass left that we had been saving for Russia.Anyway we joked & always said he'd go with me to translate & stuff when the time came. Well... unbeknownst to me he has been sent to Russia to help with some searches the SAME time I am planning to go! Oh AND.. remember the eerrie voicemail that was left on my phone playing the song "THERE WILL BE NO WHITE FLAG ABOVE MY DOOR?"

you HAVE TO, HAVE TO scroll back and read THAT post!!!titled "SURREAL"
My dear frind AMANDA left it accidently one morning... anyway for months she has been trying to complete the sale of her substantial family business. It has drug out forever. Suddenly last Fri she is scheduled to close that day!
I called and said want to go to Russia? and it just so HAPPENS she is now free and ready to go on a minutes notice!

feel spared my friends!In my life things happen at such a fast pace and you know Im QUEEN WEENIE and one of YOU would've HAD to go with me!
as a funny coincidence (I think NOT!) just this morning I recieved an email from a complete stranger off the adoption boards sending me a link to some missionaries he thought might be able to help me!!

OK OK I GET IT! Even Todd who is normally, shall we say, slightly more conservative than me? says
"I think you should go."
WHOA! now if y'all lived woth me day in & day out you probably think he was just trying to get some peace & quiet but hey its a SIGN trust me!

stay with me here.
We had to write to the director to ask permission to visit the orphanage of course ( thanks MVT for translating & sending letter so fast!)
but I hardly think that will be an issue,
now that the planets have aligned and I've conquered my fears to actually GO!
We hope to go in FEB right around the corner! so much to do!
STAY TUNED!
next up
- co-ordinating a driver/ translator/tickets/passports/ visas/ learn Russian for Dummies/ find care for the 5 kids we leave behind! Go read "MELTDOWN AT TARGET" about my attempts to learn the language & buy gifts for the orphanage!!

the letter was mailed today
HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS this ride is just beginning!

PUSHING HARD ON THE WALL OF NO.

SIGH.. Sitting here listening to Christmas music, I caught up on several of my favorite adoption blogs.
I am overcome with happiness for my friend Lisa who has FINALLY gone to bring her girls home!! She had started out in Blago along with us almost three ( can it be?) years ago. Finally the circle is complete. There were 6 families caught up in the Blago mess. I managed to get Summer home as did one other family ( read earlier posts about them!) Three families went on to adopt from other regions/countries & one family adopted from the US foster care system. You simply cannot write this stuff!
update. It turns out that Ali (as we now refer to her) is so far into Siberia that no one literally goes there no Fed-Ex, DHL, or even mail for all we know. I am stumped as to what to do next. We had really hoped to send more letters & pictures and try to get to know the orphanage director before officially requesting the judge to adopt her
(for what will be the third time)
So many unknowns..
Each time I sit down to try & write a letter to the judge I just cant. How can I put everything into words?
This isnt just a peice of paper to be taken lightly.
He has said no twice before ..
I need him to change his heart!

We are in the middle of trying to move into a bigger house ( yes partly for her)so we are living out of boxes, trying to sell our house and then the not knowing about Ali, well let's just say it's hard some days.
I truly believe if there is a way I WILL FIND IT!
I have a little plan up my sleeves. Will let you in on it in a few days...

The boys have come around and I dare say look forward to having a new sister! Summer prays to God. "Please bring Ali home"
She draws her pix and I try in vain to explain we cant send them!

Anyway please keep her in your thoughts! Thank you to my friends who encourage me so with their stories of steadfastness and success.
I have seen sad journeys turn to happy ones and I'm claiming that for us as well!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ER- I MEAN BIRTHDAY!

So A turned 10 on Halloween. My computer totally crashed
so I missed my conference with our searcher /translator
who was going to help me call the orphanage
(remember we never have gotten through)
My life is on that computer so I was
being talked off a ledge by my staff.
Unbeknowst to me, he called without me!
( thanks dude!!!) and said the director seemed pleased
(but not giddy!) and said thank you for thinking of her.
He also asked if she (the director) had gotten our email
and she said she connections are sporadic but would check
& hopefully confirm to see that we have it right.whew!
All in all a successful mission! Still a long shot from
operation" COME ON OVER HERE & GET HER!!!"
but Im pleased.. if we can establish email contact
I dont have to tell you how cool that would be!!!
Best I can tell, this orphanage seems way better maintained. Clean, neat & the kids look happy.
You all know the rules I cant post pix of orphans
but suffice to say the kids look happy & well taken care of.
A FAR CRY from how Summer's orphanage looked.
It is a very poor coal mining town with dirty streets and half cut trees.It is get this-8 hours PAST where Summer was!
Talk about the ends of the earth!!!
I am now going to compose a letter that he can translate
to the director.I hope she lets us into her world
and in the process get closer to A.
I am not giving up!