Purple Folder Adventure

After a restless night, we are on our way home.  Missing all three of our children around the world.

Thank you for your comments and emails.  They have helped and made our trip brighter.

Bill and Heidi

We are once again parents.  It’s official.  We’ve just come back from our court hearing and have been awarded one of the most beautiful girls in the world to call our own.

We were nervous, we dressed appropriately (Heidi’s skirt was smashing!), we apparently said all the right things at the right time and had prepared everything well.  I think it was our best performance of all three times!

Shortly we are on our way to visit Her Sweetness in her orphanage before returning to the US tomorrow.  How sweet to hold her and be with her.  How hard to let go.  How hard to let go.

We saw Isabella today.  She was very shy and reserved.  Sorta like Kylor in the beginning.  She is two soon, so I think she is starting to shut down and feels only comfortable in her environment, which does not yet include us.  She stayed with me and didn’t look comfy even looking at Bill (which he took very well).  He has enough love for her already to be patient and understanding.  Me on the other hand, needs to scoop her up, hug and kiss her and play in her face.  She is a doll.  She liked the rattles and book we brought, in her own way she told me she wanted to keep the book… so she did.  Little Miss Bossy already (such a joke!).  Wonder if we’ll ever see that book again, we had it since Ky was a baby and Madi went and got it from our collection to bring to her.  It was a perfect choice!

Her Sweetness is tiny.  Smaller than I remember.  I remember being on the playground at Johnathon’s Dream and seeing a woman with a baby and thinking, “I’ve missed that stage”, yet, I got here and was reminded instantly that she is tiny and needing to be “babied” and will take time to catch up.  But not long since she is already walking.

She also has many teeth.  And her smile is beautiful (when she lets it sneak out).  She will be reserved and feel comfortable hiding into me when meeting everyone.  It will take time, just like Ky did.  Madi, sweet Madi, she would go to anyone right from the start, but she was younger and hadn’t learned yet to be scared.  She still hasn’t… Little Miss Co-pay!

We’ve just had dinner, and are full and back in our room.  We went to bed last night at 8pm and did not set an alarm because we had until 10am… 14 hours.  Well… we slept until 9:50am and kept our people waiting (not good).  Fastest I ever got ready (including shower), we were downstairs and in their car by 10:13.  We missed our breakfast that is our favorite meal and included in the cost of our room… so that was so NOT fun.  No coffee, nothing.  So we had a big late lunch today and it’s now time for making our notes for court and then settling down for sleep again.  One meal today.  Better luck tomorrow… we’ll set the alarm this time.  Who’da thunk we’d sleep FOURTEEN hours???????!!!!!!!!!!  (And I did NOT have a sleep aid of any kind either, can’t believe it!).

Did you see the Red Sox game?  OMG.  Don’t ya know, the night they start the World Series is the night we fly IN TO BOSTON.  Yeah, that’s nice.  Whatever.  Go Sox!  Batter batter, SWING!

Congratulations to Dawn who won the picture contest below (thanks Grandma & Papa for not cheating).

Tuesday is our Court Date… 10am, but you all will be sleeping through it I guess!

Do you notice something about this picture?

We’ve arrived in St Petersberg.  The trip was long yet uneventful.  One thing that we noticed that was different while flying in was that it was a pretty sunny day and how beautiful the city looked from above.  Made us smile.

We get to see Her Sweetness tomorrow.  More smiles.  I actually can feel that we are closer to her.  We can’t wait to get our hands on her!

The Purple Folder is indeed part of our journey.  Again it holds all the important documents to enable us to bring our daughter home.  It also holds the pictures of the children it helped bring home before Her.  Kylor from Russia, Madeline from Russia, Owen from Ukraine, Lauren and Bohdan from Russia, and Dawit from Ethiopia.  It is a constant reminder to us that this has worked before and will work again, that the miracle continues in every child brought home, that we have many people with us even while we feel alone thousands of miles away, that no matter the circumstances, it will get better when we’re all home together.  Purple Folder, we love you.  Who will you visit next when it’s your turn to be passed on?

We’re preparing.  Packing, cleaning, going through clothes, preparing the house (old and new), scheduling, decorating, planning.  What are we forgetting?  Praying, breathing.  What else?

Divide and conquer.  That’s what we do.  That’s what we’ve been doing.  Wish it was more relaxing once we get to the “other side”, but it isn’t.  It’s worrying, waiting, running, waiting, studying (gotta make sure all our answers match our home studies from the past two years).  Praying, trusting…

Is in Nov 16 yet? 

October 23, 2007.  That is the date we’ve been waiting to hear.  It’s our court date.  We’ve finally found out our court date!  That’s the good news.

The not so good part… we must make two more trips before Her Sweetness comes home.  Tentatively she should be entering the USA, and becoming a citizen when her sweet toes touch our soil, on November 16.  Happiness is!

We just can’t wait to welcome her home!!!

We’re playing the Waiting Game.  My heart can hardly stand this game.  I don’t play it well.  It’s not fair and I want someone to make it all better.

Await I must.  Her Sweetness’ face is everywhere with me.  While we’ve moved only some things into our new home while our other house is on the market, we don’t have any art work on the new walls yet.  But Her Sweetness is here.  Her room is almost ready, her face smiles at me upstairs and down, she rides with me in the car.  Most of all, she is in my heart where ever I go.  She is always on my mind.  Always.

The same song that played at our wedding, Always.

People ask, When?  I don’t know.  I always look sad when asked this question.  But it’s okay to ask, she’s on my mind anyway.  I feel badly the answer has not changed too.  But keep asking.  The answer will change and you will see me change too. 

It’s hard to explain the love in your heart for someone you’ve met for just a short time.  I only know that I waited for my Kylor boy for so many years and he was the one.  He. Was. The. One.  And my Madeline.  She was part of the deal to marry me.  She. Is. Mine.  I loved them before I met them.  And when I met them, I knew who they were, my soul knew them.

The same is for My Sweetness.  I looked into her eyes and I knew her.  Only then, I could tell her in person my love for her.  And then I had to leave.

I ache for her.