more pics

This first photo is of the room where we get to spend time with Anya - the table isn't stable, so if you lean on one side of it, it will tip over. The TV doesn't work, the sofa smells like dirty feet and the stuffed animals have a case of the creeping crud. Other than that -nice place.

This is Luda and Steve. Luda is the one who has been hosting the Bible Study that Anya goes to. Of course - you all know Steve...the head of the Jackson household. This photo was taken inside Luda's church in Shelechov (about a mile from Anya's orphanage)



This photo was taken at the Jackson's church. We attended church with them last Sunday. The chior that sang was very good.

This is a pic of Steve Jackson, and the pastor of thier church. I wish I could remember the pastor's name...

you want photos?

This is a note that Anya wrote to us the first day we saw her. It says (generally) Mama and Papa, I love you - I am glad you are healthy


Melissa (the youngest Jackson) gave Anya a Valentine - this little heart.

Can't remember if I've posted this yet...if I did - then you get to see it again :)


Us - the day we went to court.

For those of you who have been to Irkutsk before - you will appreciate this. It's a REAL mall! It's only been open for a few months. There aren't many stores open yet - the thing to the right is a giant grocery store. There is also the Russian version of Victoria's Secret, Sephorah and Things Remembered at this mall.

after court

As I mentioned, after court we went to dinner at the Japanese restaurant on Karl Marks street. Actually, it wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be. For 7 people, dinner was about $180 (about $26 a person). The restaurant was very much like a Japanese restaurant we have at home.

Here is a photo of the night:
Pictured (l-r)
Me
Alex
Olga (or interpreter in court - she is great! I am sure we'd be friends if I lived here - hee hee! And, she had a great haircut -if I need a trim, I am going to call her!)
the guardianship lady (whose name is Olga too I think)
and at the end, the lady from the Adoption Center (whose name I can't remember - but she is super sassy and fun. We think she looks like Marty's sister, so she was introducing herself as Marty's Russian sister - hee hee!)

the award for the nicest family goes to.....

When we got home from court on Wednesday, the Jackson family met us at the door with big smiles. They also made us a 'congratulations' banner, and Melissa (the youngest Jackson) made us a card.

We've been blessed beyond words by this family.

quick note

Just a quick note before my husband kills me for hogging the internet connection...

We will probably be here until at least the end of March. Our prayer is that things with the remaining paperwork (Anya's birth certificate and her passport) goes smoothly and is done fast.

We're leaving the comfort of the Jackson's home tomorrow, and moving into an apartment. Pray that we will not need to be there for a long time, as the cost is OUTRAGEOUS.

Will post more photos and details later...

First official Friend family photo

forgot to mention - to all PAPs

I had a conversation with Alex about documents, requirements and the American families who continue to wait. He told me that TE MOST IMPORTANT THING is the apostille. After talking through everything, we agreed that for those who are waiting - time and energy should be spent on the apostille FIRST. Why? Because if that isn't the way the Judge wants it to be (and it is more a prosecutor issue than the Judge) - you will have to redo everything anyway. So why make double the work?

Alex is is court at least 3-4 times a week. He currently has 7 families in town. He has been working consistently in the adoption world in Irkutsk for (what?) 16 years. I will tell you that in out court hearing, there was little to no discussion about our documents. When it comes to trust - I completely trust Alex and his experience.

That is my tip for the day...straight from the horse's mouth (so to speak).

for Debbie

today we had hash brown casserole quiche for breakfast, skipped lunch and had lentil soup for dinner.

hee hee! I crack myself up!

the after math

Today - we are completely wiped out. Couldn't quite get it together all day. I am pretty sure this is the definition of mental and physical exhaustion.

I remember talking to one of my friends about the time between court and when you physically get to GET your child. This friend described this period of waiting as torture. At the time, I thought that was a big of an exaggeration - but now that I am living it, I'll agree. TOTAL TORTURE.

Today, we went to see Anya, and as I've mentioned, we planned to bring some cake etc. for her group. We wanted to have a party celebration with what she has known as her family. We got to the orphanage, and were escorted to the room we always play in, and her group was there. I thought this was great - we would get to all play together and eat cake.

Well, almost instantly, all the kids were taken out of the room. We set out the juice, candy and cake and told the caregiver that we had brought those things for the group for a party. I specifically said 'Anya party'.

About an hour or so later, the caregiver came back and took all of the cake and candy. I assumed she was going to set things up, and come back for us.

This isn't my first ride around Mayberry. I've done this 'party for the kids' thing a few times before. I know the stick - I get how it works, and why it is important to make all the kids feel special. Generally, we're invited into the room. One child will sing a song, another will recite a poem. They will all introduce themselves to us...then we eat cake.

So - knowing this is how things go...I started picking up our things. And we waited -and waited.

Finally, I realized we weren't being invited to the party - maybe they were going to have this treat after dinner. OK - that is fine - seriously, that makes sense. Why spoil dinner time.

It was time to go, so we made our way back to the area where Anya lives. The kids were walking around with chocolate faces. Yep - they had the party without us AND Anya.


Mad? No, I wasn't mad. I was hurt. We took time to get things for ALL of the children to enjoy - and that included Anya. We wanted to spend time with her friends - see how she interacts with her friends. Make a memory for ANYA about this special occasion.

I know there will be a lot of opportunities for parties and celebrations. But not with this group of kids. My sincere hope is that after we left, all of the children were able to celebrate. That this little celebration in some way gave the other children hope, and showed them that people love them outside of those walls.

the rest of the story

After yesterday, we walked into court today and were confident that this was the end. We met all of the people involved with the case (Alex, adoption center people, orphanage people etc) in the lobby of the court house. There was quite a bit of talking and review of documents going on. Alex told us that the Prosecutor was not in favor of our case. She spent the morning at the Adoption Center and at the Guardianship Department looking through files.

It looked like the Prosecutor took last night to come up with something to staff our case. She said that she didn’t have a copy of our Indiana State adoption law (which is part of our file), and then she decided that we didn’t meet requirements of the Immigration Law which would allow Anya back into the states.

We went into the court room and waited for the Judge to come…and we waited and waited and waited…and waited some more. We were told that the Judge and the Prosecutor were in a meeting. The fact that they had not made it to the court room yet was not a good sign.

So we continued to wait.

FINALLY the Judge and the Prosecutor came into the court room. The Judge looked, well, mad. The prosecutor had a smirk on her face, and wouldn’t look at us.

And so the questions began. First of the lady from the Adoption Center. More questions about Russian families who didn’t accept Anya. Then questions about the new medical exam that Anya had this morning. The Prosecutor asked for Marty to stand. She started asking him questions about post placement reports and documents he really didn’t know anything about. It was clear that she KNEW he didn’t have 100% knowledge on these things. At one point, the Judge looked at me and rolled her eyes.

Then the Judge called for a break.

At the end of this break, the Judge asked for closing remarks. Marty stood up and said a few words, and then I was asked to say a few words (I have no idea what I said). Then everyone from the Adoption Center, the Guardianship lady, the director from the orphanage all gave closing remarks. Then came the recommendation from the Prosecutor.

Deep Breath

We were prepared for her to find fault and not agree to the adoption. I glanced over at Alex, and he winked at me. Was this a good sign? Or simply to tell me to calm down?

The Prosecutor started reading – she rehashed Anya’s entire life…all of the details of her abandonment, her bio mother, her time in each orphanage. A recount of our visits with Anya, our homestudy…and on and on and on. The prosecutor turned to the last page of her hand written notes, and said “with everyone in agreement that Anya should be in the home with the Friend family, I agree and suggest that Marty Wayne and Katherine Ann Friend be granted this adoption petition, and be the legal parents of Anya”

Did I hear that right?

Marty took a deep breath.

The Judge then said that we would take a 15 minute break and she would return with her judgment.

I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry…was this thing over?

The Judge returned and read her final Judgment. “The adoption is granted”!

My eyes must have been as big as saucers. Forcing back the ugly cry. Everyone in the court room was hugging and congratulating us.

As is customary, we went to dinner with everyone (except the judge and the prosecutor – guess it would be considered a bribe if we offered to take them to dinner). Of course, it was expected that we pick up the tab – which was fine!

Now, we will get the official document of the Judgment on Friday. We think that we will be able to get Anya on Sunday, and not have to wait out the 10 day waiting period before we take custody of her. The 10 days will start on Friday, and to my shock weekends count!

We’re going to the orphanage tomorrow afternoon to see Anya, and to bring a cake and celebrate with her group and those at the orphanage.

it's a girl

At 4:45 today, the Irkutsk Regional Court granted our petition to adopt Anya!

It's like a dream right now. We need to process all that has happened over the past 2 days.

The bottom line? God is good!

for Debbie

I have to tease my friend Debbie. When she and her husband were here a year ago, she would keep us all updates on her blog with the happenings of the day, complete with the day's menu.

So, in keeping with Debbie's foodie posts...here is what we had today:

Home made chocolate chip cupcakes
home made mac-n-cheese
broccoli (that was grown in the backyard of the home where we are staying)
an orange (from Egypt, but not that much different than California naval oranges)
and some ice cream

No - don't get all excited. I didn't all the sudden become all domestic and learn to cook overnight. Tami, our gracious hostess, made all of this. She is amazing (and doesn't know it). I think she should open a restaurant for American families visiting Irkutsk.

quick update

Just a quick update.

We were in court for 7 hours today. We had 2 breaks – no lunch break. The room was FREEZING, which was good because after 7 hours, we were tired!

Marty and I were in the hot seat for about 4 hours. Our fears of the prosecutor (so far) have been out-prayed (Is that even a word?). There were no hard questions, nothing difficult. A few minor miscommunications, but nothing huge at all.

Thank you all so much for praying – we felt your prayers in such a big way. God showed up – and that’s all I can say about that right now.

Everything went very well until the last 30-40 minutes of the hearing. A last minute document was added to Anya’s medical file. Apparently there were 2 different diagnoses on the same issue in October. One clinic said it was nothing – the other said it was something.

This caused a fairly big to-do in court. Bottom line – Anya will be seen by a court appointed doctor tomorrow morning to make a final determination on this issue. This document will clarify the others that were not clear and contradicted each other.

Until this document came up, everyone in court thought we would be able to get a judgment. In today’s court cases in Irkutsk, a 1-day adoption hearing in unheard of.

We will reconvene at 3pm tomorrow (which is 2am Tuesday night/morning EST). Again, this is unheard of. Alex said that generally the second day of court is at least 3-4 days later, generally 1 week later. To have the continuance the next day –at 3pm says that the judgment will be handed down tomorrow.

Of course this is all speculation at this point.

I just wanted to post some general info on today. We are exhausted, were hungry (thanks Tami for feeding us!!) and mentally done for the day.

more tomorrow.

Monday meetings

We won't see Anya today. I wish we had a way of telling her that we couldn't be there because we are preparing for court. Unfortunatley, there aren't enough words in my limited vocabulary to get this point across.

We won't see Anya for 2 days (I think).

Monday will start with Marty and I working hard on refreshing our memories with every aspect of our documents. We've prepared our speeches for the court, and need to practice them.

After lunch we'll meet with Alex to review everything for court on Tuesday.

Then we'll spend the night...well, knowing me -I'll be sick to my stomach, unable to eat - pacing the floors until morning.

We covet your prayers, and are already feeling them. We know that we will walk into that court room with the armor of God, and will be confident in knowing that HE has gone before us to prepare everyone involved with our case.

I don't know when I will be able to post again. I hope to be able to give you all an update by Tuesday night. I am not going to promisw anything as I don't know how the day will go.

Sunday

THis is my 6th time to Irkutsk. Not that I think I am an Irkutsk expert by any means, but I dio think that I have a pretty good understanding of most things about being here.

Today was different.

THe day started with church. What a blessing to be welcomed into a Russian Baptist church. Although we didn't understand what was going on - I caught some words in the message. Basically, this was the message of the morning: God, love, understand all. How's that for a good message?

After church, we went to see Anya for a little bit. This is where the day gets odd for me.

This is the 3rd orphanage she has lived in. Again, I don't think I am an orphanage expert, but I have a lot of direct experience with orphanages of different kinds here. I've met many caregivers, social workers, psychologists, security guards, directors and the like.

I've seen the kids cared for, some needing care others wanting care. I've seen the kids fed, bathed, in the toilet....playing, fighting, being scolded.

Today, as we were leaving the orphanage I saw something I will never forget. As we were getting into the car, there were 4-5 boys that followed us out. The boys were about 14-15 years old. The boys in this home where Anya lives are rough. We are told they are always looking for something to steal and sell to get money. They all have the same look in their eyes...and it's not a look I would want to cross.

The boys walked out into the winter air right behind us - and then headed toward the street. As I turned to get into the car, I noticed that one of the boys had a full (pint maybe? is that big?) bottle of vodka in his hand. I mentioned this to Steve and Marty in the car. As we pulled the car around to leave, several of the boys were huddled at the base of the drive. THey looked to be in a tussle. As we got closer, it was clear what was going on. They had tackled one of the boys. This boy looked to be 15-16 years old - redish blonde hair, red in the face from having it rubbed into the snow. He was drunk. So drunk he couldn't stand by himself. About this same time, we saw several of the workers from the orphanage run out of te doors.

This boy is a resident in the same home where my 7 year old lives.

Do their paths cross? Probably not - but that's not the point.

So much innocence is lost in these places. This home is particularly dirty and depressing. The children aren't clean - there are always kids wandering around. At least 5-6 times during every visit, a boy will stick his head into the door where we are to see what we are going. Again, looking for an open door, with an empty room to see if there is anything there to steal.

Anya's hair hasn't been washed since we got here. She has something that looks like food stuck in her hair. Her hands are filthy, and her clothes are in serious need of a good washing.

Every other time that I have been here, Anya has been squeaky clean. She has smelled like soap. Her clothes were free of odor and stains.

I can't bear to think about what would happen to her if she is left in this place.

if you are expecting an email...

If you are expecting an meail from me and haven't rec'd it - check your junk / spam folder. Might have gone there (mom). I've been using my yahoo email acct.

prayers needed

Well, we’re down to it. We’re in the final days before heading to court on Tuesday. We found out something that we need your prayers on.

There is a prosecutor at every court hearing. There is one prosecutor who is horrible – and has an ‘interesting’ nick-name among those she comes in contact with. Debbie – this might be the same prosecutor you had.

Anyway, she specifically requested to be a part of our hearing, since it is “famous”. (feel free to insert grunts, groans and expletives here).

This woman has the power to call for any additional information she sees fit in a hearing. In other words, she can call for more documents at the last minute. She also has a ‘say so’ in the final outcome of the case. Now, the Judge can over-rule her, however she does have that power.

In an adoption hearing a few weeks ago (with a German family) she denied their adoption because on the initial form – the couple stated they were looking for a child with blue eyes. The child they are seeking to adopt has brown eyes. The judge overruled the prosecutor’s opinion, and granted the adoption. Well – the prosecutor then appealed to the Supreme Court. No, I am not kidding!

Please pray about this for us. We’re praying that any and all hindrances that may come in our way to bring Anya home be removed! And if that means she isn’t a part of our hearing, then God has the power to completely remove her. If His plan is for her to be a part of our case, then we hope that she is able to see His love though us for Anya. AMEN!!!


For those who would like to pray for us as we are physically IN court - that will be around 8pm on the 15th - (Indiana EST)time.

we are being spoiled!

We are staying with the Jackson family, and let me tell you – we’re getting spoiled! They have really gone out of their way to make our stay in their home comfortable. Steve has been acting as our driver since we got here – and for that we are SO GRATEFUL! Tami has been making such good home-cooked food for us; I thought I was going to lose weight when we came here…ha! Not with blueberry pancakes for breakfast, homemade soup for lunch and tacos for dinner!

The kids (Ashley, Andrew and Melissa) have all been so helpful too. They’ve been helping us with ideas on what to play with Anya and so on. Melissa is 6, and is really looking forward to meeting Anya and playing together. I am too! I don’t think Anya has ever played girl-games before (dolls, dress up etc.), so I am really excited to see her with other girls playing together.

I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to repay the kindness the Jackson’s are showing us.

Friday

Today – Andrew was sick - and wouldn’t you know it, we needed an interpreter! The lady who will be in court with us from the Adoption Center stopped by – she is really nice. We’ve been blessed with those who will be a part of our case who are ladies we really like – and who seem to really like us. Anyway…she came to meet the doctor who will be in court with us to read us the official medical document for court. We figured it out, and were able to get what we needed from the meeting (thank goodness for cell phones!).

I think we have a game-er in the making! Marty let Anya play on his i-phone today…and that little stinker loved playing the games! She was entertained for a LONG time! (note to self: remember this for the flight home!)

Here are some pics from Friday

Nice Suprise

Thursday was a holiday here in Russia. I don’t know the name of it (insert wisdom from Kate here – haha!), but it is the end of winter. Which I think is pretty funny considering it is -30 outside. Anyway, with the holiday come some traditions. As in the U.S., that might mean sharing a meal with a neighbor. Which is exactly what happened!

We were fortunate enough to meet Tami and Steve’s neighbors. They are a wonderful Russian couple. We had a really good time sharing a meal with them, and laughing..and laughing….and laughing!