A New Blog

Hello All, I decided to create a new blog for this new journey. My new blog is called  New Beginnings In Russia.  Please feel free to follow along and I encourage you to comment along the way.  

The URL of the new blog is:  http://newbeginningsinrussia.blogspot.com/

I will not update this blog anymore.  I hope to see you on the new blog, thanks, Chris

Snow, Sleet, Ice & Fingerprints

Today we had a really bad storm, it started as snow durnig the night then went to sleet, freezing rain and ice.  Everything is coated with a layer of snow and ice, making driving challenging and scary.  Today I also had an 8 AM appointment at US Immigration Services to be refingerprinted.  Since I'm traveling in a couple of weeks, I didn't want to try to reschedule my fingerprinting appointment; I have no idea how long it would take to get another appointment.  So I decided to say a prayer and leave my house very early this morning; before the roads were plowed and before there was a lot of traffic on them.  I had to go about 70 miles round trip.  It took me about four hours to get to Port Chester, to get fingerprinted and to get home.  I was very thankful to get home safely. 

Travel Dates!

For those of you who have been following my adoption journey, you know that if it's winter it means it's time for me to travel to Eastern Europe!  I found out today that I have been invited to travel to Moscow in early February.  At this point I don't have many details, I just know I have a lot to do to get ready to go.  I'll post again soon.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  May we all celebrate new beginnings in 2011.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!   Enjoy the day with your family and friends!

Next Steps

CHI and I have had many discussions about the options available to me.  We discussed a few regions but ultimately decided that the best place for me to continue my adoption journey would be in Moscow.  That being said, today I applied for a Visa that will allow me to return to Russia in the beginning of the new year.  Hopefully I will receive my invitation to travel quickly when the calendar turns to 2011.  I hope all of you will continue to support me and follow along as I move forward in this process once again.  I'll post again soon.

Documents

We had some unforseen delays getting all of my documents out of Astrakhan.  I received word last night that we got my documents back.  That's a good thing!   I'll speak to CHI again soon about the options available to me and then I'll have some decisions to make about what happens next. 

Thanks

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and prayers.  Please continue to keep me and the beautiful boys I have left behind in your thoughts and prayers.  

I'll post again soon.

Update

I recently found out that I won’t be able to go back to Astrakhan. The little man I leave behind will remain in my heart forever.

Documents Submitted to Court

This past week my documents were submitted to the court in Astrakhan again.  Now a judge needs to be assigned to my case.  Once the judge is assigned, my documents will be reviewed by the judge and we'll see what happens next.  This next step should take about two weeks or so. 

Clearance

Today I received my immigration clearance in the mail.  This was the document I was waiting for.  Once I speak to CHI I'll get all the necessary signatures and stamps on the new documents and then they will go to CHI and onto Russia.

Moving Along.... Slowly

Today I received a call from the Department of Homeland Security, it was so unexpected that I thought it was a prank call.  Then the officer told me who she was and why she was calling, she needed another form for my new clearance.  She said everything else looked good, as soon as she received this additional information she would complete her job and send it to her supervisor for review and approval.  When I got home from work I found the form she needed and faxed it to her.  Hopefully she has everything she needs now and I'll get my clearance in the next couple of weeks.  More waiting.... 

Happy Birthday Little Man

Today my little man turns 4 years old. From the time I met him, first on paper; then in person, I thought this day would be special for both of us. I don’t know what we would have done, but I know we would have done it together. I don’t know what or if they can do anything for the children in the orphanages on their birthdays, I hope they do something for him to make his day special. Happy birthday little man, I love you.

Time Goes By...

Due to the delays I have experienced while waiting for a court date, my immigration clearance has now expired. I met with my social worker last week and I will be resubmitting to the US Immigration Services for new clearance this week.

It seems like time goes by faster than anything else in this process.  I hope the children I have met in this process and all of the other children in the orphanages are well taken care of and that someday soon someone says yes so these children can have homes.  All I can do now is to continue to wait and watch the time go by…. Chris

Still Waiting

Not much to say but I thought I would post because I know some of you check my blog regularly. The meetings between the US and Russia have taken place and fortunately CHI (the adoption agency I’m working with) has the required accreditation needed to continue working in Russia.  At this point I’m still waiting for a court date, hopefully I will be assigned a date very soon. I think about my little man all the time, wondering how he’s doing, what he’s doing, how he’ll react when he see’s me again, etc, etc. I hope to see him again very soon but for now all I can do is continue to wait. Take care, Chris

Clearance

Yesterday I received the required clearance I was waiting for. I spoke to a very helpful woman at the FBI, I explained my situation to her and she processed my clearance immediately. I got very lucky, if not for the compassion she showed towards my plight, I could have been waiting until July for this clearance.

This week this document will go to Russia and with all of the other documents that have been prepared by me and CHI they will be submitted to the Astrakhan court to request a court date. Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later but I have no way of knowing. The sooner I get my court date, the sooner I see my little man again!

I hope to update you all again soon with a court date. Take care, Chris

It’s Been Awhile

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted to my blog, I thought today might be a good day to post an update in light of all of the adoption news coming out of Russia the last few days.

I’ve been busy over the past couple of weeks preparing additional documents requested for the court. I finished the documents last week. I am waiting for one of my clearances to come through; as soon as it does it will go to Russia with all of the other documents I have prepared.

As you may know, for good reason there is outrage in Russia right now towards the U.S. adoption community. I can’t imagine what that woman was thinking, I hope the little boy is well taken care of now and that he recovers quickly from everything he’s been through.

I can only hope and pray that her actions do not prevent me from bringing my little man home soon. All I can do now is wait for my clearance, hope that adoptions continue in Russia and continue to pray for a quick and successful outcome to my adoption journey. I ask that all of you continue to keep me, my little man and all of the other adoptive families and children in your thoughts and prayers.  Thanks, Chris

Happy Spring!

Today, the first day of spring is my favorite day of the year; it is the beginning of three beautiful seasons of natural colors, great weather and outdoor fun. I can’t wait to bring the little man home and have him experience all of this.

Today was a beautiful day with temperatures in the low 70’s. I hope you all enjoyed the day. Take care, Chris


Here's a picture I took in Holland, Spring 2008, it shows off many beautiful spring colors.  Enjoy!

My Documents Are Done!!!

Yesterday I picked up the last document (I hope) I will need for court. Today I went into Manhattan with all of the St. Patty's Day revelers (I'll bet they had more fun than me) and got all of the necessary signatures, stamps, seals, copies, etc. on my documents. Then it was off to the post office and they were over-nighted to St. Louis. CHI will review them and send them to Russia on Friday. Once they arrive in Russia they will be translated, stamped, sealed, etc. and submitted to the court in Astrakhan.

I have been preparing adoption documents for over four years now. To say that I think I have completed my pre-adoption documents is HUGE!  Thanks to all who very willingly assisted me in this process, doctors, accountants, social workers, family and friends. A special thanks to those of you who have been listening to me about these documents, encouraging me to continue to push through them and covering for me while I had to run out to get a document, a signature, a stamp, a seal, etc. I could not have completed this task without you.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all, I'm hoping I have the luck of the Irish as I continue through this process. Take care, Chris

Court Documents

Just a quick update, with the help of others I'm getting all of my court paperwork done.  I'm hoping to have it all completed and in my hands on Friday.  If I get it all done, then next week I'll head into NYC to get all of the required stamps.  Once that is done, everything will be sent to St. Louis then to Russia for translation and submission to the court in Astrakhan.  These may be the last documents I have to do before the court decision that allows me to bring the little man home, notice I said may be..... 

I hope everyone in the North East survived the snow storm last week, I lost power for a few hours but I lost my television, Internet and phone for four days.  It was very quiet in my house for awhile.  There are trees and branches down everywhere, once the snow melts the cleanup will continue.  I'll post again soon.  Chris