Blog Tagging

I have a friend, Brenda, with a great Blog. She "tags" people all the time on her blog to post facts, play games, post jokes etc...she always seems to tag me! Or maybe she knows more than one Kathy - and I am just being narcissistic?

Anyway, the latest tag is 8 random facts. Since there are so many people who read this who don't really know me - I thought this might be a fun one.

1. I've had 5 last names in my life...but have only been married one other time.

2. The shoe/clothes thing isn't new, I have seriously ALWAYS been this way.

3. My grandpa probably had the biggest impact on my life.

4. I am scared of ducks (long story...goes back to a bad date in college)

5. I like to be silly - and am uncomfortable being too serious

6. I started dating my wonderful husband before I was 30 (ya, I was a kid!)- and didn't know how old he was until we had dated for over a month.

7. My biggest pet peeve is not being understood

8. Anya's name is a family name...my middle name is Ann (i.e. Russian Anna - Anya) - Anna is also Marty's grandmother's name...Anya's middle name is Helene...or Helen. Helen is the name of my grandmother, and of the director (or the Children's Home where she is) who is protecting her.


The deal with tagging is that I post this on my blog...and then tag people to post this on their blogs. Well - I know all of you out there well enough to know that you won't...so, I will tag whoever reads this, and is brave enough to post a comment to this thread!

Document Update

We heard from Russia today. Apparently our lawyer has had an emergency in her family, so was out of the office all of last week. She presented our documents, and of course, the Judge rejected them with technical issues (again).

Our appeal to the Supreme Court is being prepared now.

On one hand, I am excited. On the other hand, I am sick to my stomach. This elevates our case significantly - and will bring a lot of attention to our case (more than we already have). But, we're ready for it!

last word on prayer vigil

Here is a list of everyone we want to thank for praying with us today.


Kathy’s Mom – Fran
The Prayer Team at First Presbyterian Church in South Bend, IN
Vicki Matafin
Mark Potterbaum – 12-1pm EST praying and fasting
Gene Stowe – and men’s prayer group (up to 3,500 men nation wide will be praying for us later afternoon / early evening)
Gene Ort and family
Cindy Nicula and family
Wes Smith (on the plane on his way to Israel!)
Cindy Postma
Vicki Young
Young Family
Jackie Clindaniel
Vanessa Smith
Jen from FRUA
Miriam Friend (Marty’s Mom)
VMom from FRUA
Michelle Wegner
Trish Linner
The 2nd grade class at St. Andrew’s school
Lori Rockwell and family
Cindi Hajicek
YAHOO Group
Kathy and Marty
Judy
Lynn M.
Brenda
Mclsch
Miriam Navarro
Joyce
Wanda
Amy M.
Miriam
Patricia
Lupita
Jill Mulger
Janett Stewart

shared prayer

Someone from my Yahoo group posted this prayer - it brought me to tears, so I thought I would share it.

May you be blessed as you spend time with the Father. I pray He reveals to you His Heart by His Holy Spirit. I pray against the enemy who would have you fear or doubt. All you need is the Faith of the grain of a mustard seed and, He will move mountains. I do not know what the mountains are. I do come against the wickedness and evil in high places that would keep a child from a loving parent. I pray you protect them and as these women intercede on their behalf, I pray strength for them, I pray peace, I pray that they will feel your presence Jesus. And just as Moses was able to part the Red Sea I pray that the REd tape of the Russian Government will be parted and the people will be able to claim their children and their promise land. We ask all of this so that you may be glorified. We understand Lord that it is your power and will that makes all things possible and so we submit this into your hands Hear the prayers of your people Lord. We praise you for your mighty works!!! In His most precious name we pray the name of JESUS! THank you Father for hearing my prayer your humble servant.

what gets me about Russia

I know - I am a glutton for punishment. I was surfing You Tube tonight looking at some of the videos people have posted about their adoption stories. It doesn't matter where the video was taken - all of Russia looks the same!

Conversely, here at home, Bristol doesn't look like South Bend...and Northern Indiana SURE doesn't look like Florida!

Prayer Vigil update

Here is who we have praying so far. As we add to the list, this information will be updated:

Prayer Vigil
Tuesday November 13 - 2007

Kathy and Marty
Kathy’s Mom – Fran
The Prayer Team at First Presbyterian Church in South Bend, IN
Vicki Matafin
Mark Potterbaum – 12-1pm EST praying and fasting
Gene Stowe – and men’s prayer group (up to 3,500 men nation wide will be praying for us later afternoon / early evening)
Gene Ort and family
Cindy Nicula and family
Wes Smith (on the plane on his way to Israel!)
Cindy Postma
Vicki Young

YAHOO Group
Will be praying from 8am – noon EST
Kathy and Marty
Judy
Judy’s Women’s Prayer Group
Lynn M.
Brenda
Mclsch
Miriam Navarro
Joyce

PRAYER VIGIL TUESDAY NOV. 13

Hello Everyone,

Several people have suggested to me over the past few weeks, to have a dedicated time for a 24 hour prayer vigil. On FRUA, some members did this last week, and the outcome was amazing - but then, isn't the outcome of prayer always amazing?!?!?

I was so busy last week, I completely missed the prompting on FRUA. I feel like I am hearing God's gentle prompting become a loud roar - and I am going to respond!

There are a lot of things happening in Irkutsk, and with adoptions in Russia. Now is the time to pray!

A 24 prayer vigil will be on Tuesday the 13th. I've never organized anything like this - so if you have, I'd love some input on how to organize this effort.

1) The Orphans in Russia and around the world
2) The Families waiting to welcome a child into tier lives

3) The officials in Russia with the power to sign accreditation paperwork for adoption agencies - and the Judges who hear adoption cases. This includes the US Embassy who is working diligently to help our cases.

4) The Orphans birth parents / families

5) The caregivers of the orphans

6) anything else that comes to mind as you pray


If you are with us on this time of prayer, please reply to this thread...

-Kathy & Marty

Bananna Hands

OK, I know my sense of humor is a little off sometimes - but when I get in a bad mood - I always watch this - and it TOTALLY cracks me up. Thanks Leah for sharing this hilarity! It's just so stupid, you have to laugh at it! ...especially if you've ever been to Germany and noticed how the people there communicate. Or - if you've ever been to parts of Europe - and seen the music videos - this is EXACTLY the kind os sillyness we've seen on Russian TV - but it was in Russian.

My Hands Are Bananas

Add to My Profile | More Videos

New Hair

One of the reasons we went to Chicago was because I had an appointment with Mario Tricoci. http://www.tricoci.com/

You can see my hair before in the photos to the right from when we were in Russia in September. With my new TV gig, I don't want to be wearing my hair in a pony tail all the time - it just looks ridiculous on camera. So - a super duper cut was in order. It looked so good when the stylist (Jasmine) was done - now if I can figure out how to to that - we'll be all set!

weekend away

We took a few days out this week to go to Chicago. I had to go on a buying trip, and decided to bring Marty along for a change of scenery. We were fortunate enough to stay at a condo right on Lake Shore Drive - a few blocks off of the Magnificient Mile - right on the water. I think this real eatate has to be some of the most expensive in Chicago!

The views were amazing. 2 walls of the condo were windows overlooking the lake.

Another conversation with the Embassy

Mark from the Embassy called again this morning. I had emailed him to ask if his office could authenticate our documents to get over the apostille issue. Mark spoke with Marty - seems like they were on the phone for a long time!

His office will provide a letter for us to authenticate our apostilles (yay)! I guess they did this in another region, and it was exactly what the judge wanted. He also reiterated to us that the Embassy is behind us 100%, and are brainstorming ideas every day on ways to help us. Not sure if I believe that 100%, but it was nice to hear. He had a good point...he said in Russia, it's not just knowing the law - but knowing the attitude around the law. In the US, the law is the law - regardless of the attitude. The attitude is what we're trying to figure out - and once we crack the code - we (and others) will know what the Judge wants.

Mark also said that one of the left over attitudes from Communist Russia is the notion that someone is always watching. This 'fear' is especially prevalent in older Russian people. Because of this fear, they are more likely to say no than yes...even to simple things. You can't get in trouble for saying no - at least, that is the attitude.

So - it all goes back to attitude.

I corresponded with our lawyer today, and reiterated that if the Judge does not provide a court date for us this week, we will take our case above her head. Step-1 will be to appeal her decision to the Chief Judge. Step-2 is to appeal her decision to the Human Rights Board.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We're heading to Chicago on a buying trip this week - it will be nice to have a change of scenery and relax a little bit.

Adoption Update Oct. 31

October is finally over!...



Most of you know that after our revised documents got to Irkutsk the end of September, the Judge decided to take the month of October off. I know - I can hear all of you saying in unison - "ARE YOU KIDDING ME" - unfortunately, no, I'm not.

Well, Judge Stepanova is scheduled to come back on Monday, November 5. Our lawyer is primed, and is going to be waiting on her doorstep.

So once again, we're asking for prayer and a miracle!


KEEP UP TO DATE
weekly and sometimes daily updates and thoughts on this blog.

We are keeping everyone up to date with everything from political junk in Russia, rumors, real updates, random thoughts and so on on our blog. All of the posts are organized - so it is easy for you to see. We would also like to invite you to reply to any post! We would love to hear from you!
THANK YOU!

Thank you for being on this journey with us!

Love,
Marty and Kathy

Lurkers

It's crazy to think that this blog has had SO MANY people visit it - but no one is posting any comments! I know you're out there! Post something! All you need to do is click the "0 Comments" below each post.

the bigger meaning of things

So - for the past few weeks, I seem to be pushed - tested. First, it was with a woman who was part of a project I did with a friend a few weeks ago (I blogged about in the post that refers to the song "East / West"). I am/was grateful she is out of my life - however, she is still causing storms with several of my friends. It's sad when a business relationship causes such chaos in people's personal lives!

Well, then there was the mail man. Long story short - there is a guy at the Bristol post office who takes his job a little too seriously. He has all these "rules" he never tells anyone - but expects you to abide by. I almost went postal on him (no pun intended) - I got so mad, I had to hand the phone over to my hubby!!

Of course, there was the whole situation with the Embassy that ruffled my feathers.

Now there is a client of my husbands...the client has an employee who is incompetent...so instead of listening - he is always thinking of the next thing to say to cover his butt. In the business of advertising, that is a bad deal. He is one of those people who start every comment by saying "with all due respect, ma'am...." and all I hear is "I'm covering my butt right now and bla blaing on and on to buy time until I can come up with something to say"

My blood pressure must be sky high. I really feel like I am going to completely lose my temper - like I am being pushed and pushed and pushed - to see how much I will take before I go completely ape on someone. That's right - I said ape!

Then I wonder...why?

What am I supposed to be learning? What is the bigger picture? Am I being tested because this is how the judge is going to treat me - and I need to get comfortable with biting my tongue?

I just don't get it.

Tornado hits Nappannee

A Tornado touched down Thursday in a small town called Nappanee - this is very close to our house. Thursday night, we were on our way to Lowe's, and the radio weather guy came on and said, "dangerous storm system heading East...towns in the path of the storm are Goshen, Dunlap, Bristol" Well, we were in Dunlap, heading to Goshn from Bristol. Anyone who knows me at all knows I DO NOT like storms!

After eating dinner, and thinking that all the rhetoric on the radio and TV about the storms was a scare tactic...we learned about what was happening a little south of us.

I saw some photos today of the destruction on another blog...

Derry Prenkert: Tornado Touch Down in Nappanee

on traveling to Russia

This is a Fodor's travel reporter on a trip to Russia. Pretty accurate from what I read.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=35068558

more bla bla from Embassy

We FINALLY got a note from MArk Seibel - the man from the Embassy who I spoke with. Here is what he said:

Dear Mrs. Friend:

The Consul General's letter regarding his trip to Irkutsk was intended to provide an overview and general assessment of the trip for all of the families with pending adoption cases in the region. I do want to assure you that information about the specific problems you have encountered was provided to the regional court, as well as the Prosecutor’s and the human rights offices for the Irkutsk region. This includes the problems you noted regarding apostilles and medical examination requirements. We also specifically underscored the problem of allowing independent adoptions in our follow-up correspondence to the court, and pointed out that the regional court's position on this issue differs from that of judges in other regions in the Russian Federation.


In your case, we understand that there is no need for you to request refusal documentation from the court, as your attorney already has correspondence from the court. While I cannot give legal advise, I would offer a couple of ideas based on the advice given to the Consul General by the Prosecutor’s office and the regional human rights representative. You could run these ideas by your attorney to see if she thinks they are worth pursuing. As noted in the Consul General's letter, the chairman of the court said that all persons have a right to appeal to him if their dossier is rejected for any reason. In your case, the judge seems to be stalling you with perpetual demands for additional documentation, which constitute at least an interim rejection of your dossier. It seems to me that your attorney might be able to appeal that decision to the chairman of the court. I would be happy to provide you with a document from the Hague working group on apostilles that may help make the case that the judge's rejection of those documents was not proper (the same document we provided under cover of our diplomatic note). If the chairman of the court were to reject an appeal, you would at that point have the right to bring the matter up as a complaint to the human rights office in Irkutsk or to the office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights in Moscow. Such a course of action could raise the profile of your case and bring the judge's actions under the scrutiny of others. We would also be happy to speak to your attorney if she wishes to call us, or to correspond with her, to explore ways in which we might be of assistance.

Best regards,

Mark Seibel

So - what does this mean? Your guesses are as good as mine! I'm open to intrepertation!

Well - we FINALLY heard from the Embassy. Below is the letter that we got via email today. Apparently it was also mailed - but because I've been trying to get in touch with them every day for a week...I am sure they decided emailing it to me would shut me up.

Let me say that I am HIGHLY disappointed with the Embassy. This letter is clearly a form letter, and doesn't address ANY of the specific issues about our case that was to be brought up in Irkutsk.

bottom line...talking with, sharing information with, and putting ANY hope in the Embassy helping was a colossal waste of time.

______________________________





Embassy of the United States of America Moscow, Russia
October 15, 2007


Mr. and Mrs. Friend
55754 County Road 19
Bristol, IN 46507

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Friend:

I write to thank you for providing us with information about the difficulties you have encountered in attempting to adopt in the Irkutsk region, and to update you on our efforts to resolve the ongoing impasse there.

I traveled to Irkutsk last week and met with senior members of the Governor’s office, the Chairman of the Irkutsk Regional Court, the regional human rights office, the General Prosecutor, officials in the Ministry of Education, and adoption facilitators serving American families in Irkutsk.

I was encouraged by the fact that the Governor’s staff, the chairman of the court, and others were willing to meet with me to discuss your problems. I presented the chairman of the court, the prosecutor’s office, and the human rights representative with case summaries based on the information that you provided, and asked that they review your case. My exchanges with these officials underscored the fact that there remains deep skepticism on the part of local authorities and the general public in Irkutsk toward international adoptions, notwithstanding official Russian government support for adoptions. Progress on this issue is likely to be slow at best.

That said, the chairman of the regional court in Irkutsk affirmed to me that whenever a judge rejects an adoption dossier before the court, the judge is obliged to provide a written notice of the denial, including the legal reasons for denial. He also affirmed that any person whose case is denied has the right to appeal the decision to the chairman of the regional court. You or your representative have the right to demand such a written notification if the court has rejected your dossier. This document would be an important part of any appeal you or your representative may file with the chairman of the court.

If you have a copy of a notice of rejection from the court, or can obtain one from your representative, I would encourage you to send a copy to the Embassy (unless you have already done so). This information will be helpful to me and my staff as we follow up with the authorities in Irkutsk, which we were encouraged to do.

I also met recently with a senior Ministry of Education official in Moscow to urge expeditious consideration of pending applications for accreditation. As you know, the absence of accreditation for most of the adoption service providers operating in Irkutsk is an ongoing roadblock, as these providers are unable to do business with the regional court. The Ministry of Education indicated that several more adoption agencies may be re-accredited in the near future. I am hopeful that progress in this area will remove a major obstacle for many of the pending adoptions in Irkutsk.

Although the situation in Irkutsk remains difficult, we will continue to work with local and federal authorities on your behalf and on behalf of the many young Russian orphans who deserve better.

Please accept my best wishes.





Sincerely,



Kurt Amend
Consul General

laundry

Well, today we've been home a month...1 month ago, I was having the WORST travel experience of my life!

Today - I FINALLY got caught up on laundry! I'm not kidding - it was OUT OF CONTROL! I feel like we've been going a million miles an hour since our plane touched down in South Bend. I finally had a few days off to catch my breath - so I did laundry. Oh ya, and cleaned my office (it was bad!)

So tomorrow, I can hit the ground running again - while we wait to hear something from Irkutsk (or Moscow!)! Currently, it is 8:10am in Moscow, and 1:10pm in Irkutsk...ya, I am staying up late 'just in case'!

updates

Many of you have been emailing me wondering if we've heard anything about the meeting(s) in Irkutsk. We've heard nothing. Which isn't uncommon. Anytime there is a meeting, it takes days for us to hear anything. I promise, as soon as I know anything, I will post it here.