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. 

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

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

Home

I went to see the little man Friday afternoon. He was happy to see the car in my bag but took everything out of the bag looking for the second car. I can’t put anything past him; he’s a smart little boy who will keep me on my toes. When he left me he had the car in one had and the bag of cookies in the other, he knows what he likes, cars and his food!

From there I went to the airport, despite heavy snow in Moscow and fight delays on both flights, I made it home Saturday night. Now I have more paperwork to prepare. Once mine is done and the paperwork that needs to be completed in country is done, it will all be submitted to the court and I will wait for a court date. I’ll keep you posted.

I thank all of you for following my blog, for your posts, for your words of encouragement and prayers. I’ll post again soon. Chris

Big Day Today

Well today’s the day I have been waiting for. I get picked up at 8:10 AM and it’s off to the Ministry of Education for my interview, to paraphrase the Beatles, ‘hopefully I passed the audition’ and they let me into the baby house to meet my boy.

Last night I met the other CHI couple that is adopting from Astrakhan now and is staying here at the Azimut, Michael and Jennifer. They are very nice people. They are on their court trip for siblings, a 4 year old girl and a 3 year old boy that they are adopting. They have an adopted 5 year old son, Daniel at home. They told me how their interview went and what I may be able to expect today.

I’m hoping today goes smoother than the previous few days, I think it has to! I appreciate all of your prayers, good wishes and posts to my blog. Hearing from people at home is a great comfort.

It's 6:20 AM on 2/15/10 in Astrakhan now, I’ll post again later, wish me luck! Chris