December 10, 4:55 p.m.
e-mail from Alexis at Happy Families international received
She has e-mailed Tatiana - Tambov region coordinator in Russia
There is little news, but she hopes to get me some information in January...
although January 7th is Christmas in Russia, so it will probably be after that,
because everything shuts down for a week afterwards... so now are looking at
maybe hearing some news after January 17th. ..
still waiting for news about my baby boy...
The Lewis Russian Adoption
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
No news update:
Dear Tamra and Stephen,
There is no new news, only that your documents are in the Tambov region and they are in line to be registered there. Tatiana our coordinator there is busy working with 2 families so as soon as she receives any change she will let us know.This is the hardest part of the adoption process, just sitting and waiting, but please be assured your documents are in line and are moving forward.I will try and ask for an up date in a couple of week time, but you are welcome to ask for an update at any time.
Kind Regards.Alexis Fry
There is no new news, only that your documents are in the Tambov region and they are in line to be registered there. Tatiana our coordinator there is busy working with 2 families so as soon as she receives any change she will let us know.This is the hardest part of the adoption process, just sitting and waiting, but please be assured your documents are in line and are moving forward.I will try and ask for an up date in a couple of week time, but you are welcome to ask for an update at any time.
Kind Regards.Alexis Fry
Friday, September 17, 2010
A poem I found yesterday... It made me cry.. grab a tissue before your read.
KISSES IN THE WIND (The Waiting Child's Lullabye)
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- © Pamela Durkota, written for Josh
I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.
You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.
I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.
But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.
Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...
Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.
I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.
Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.
But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.
May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.
And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.
--- © Pamela Durkota, written for Josh
still waiting....
No news from my agency. I e-mailed them today. It has been over a month since our last correspondence. I sure hope to hear something soon. I will keep everyone updated. Right now, I'd just like to hear something. This waiting is the worst part. waiting!?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
August update:
To our Adoptive Families:
Please find attached the latest news update of each adoption stage for
all of our families in all regions.
We appreciate your patience and understanding with all the recent
changes to the process implemented by the Russian Ministry of
Education in answer to the recent incident of the mother returning her
adopted son, many of which have caused delays.
We look forward to being here for you during your adoption and in
making your family complete.
Attachment:
August 20th, 2010
To Our Waiting Adoptive Parents:
It was bought to our attention by a family recently, that not only do you like regular updates from your specific region but you would also like to hear news updates about our other families and how they are proceeding.
Many of our coordinators are waiting for the start of September, which is the date they have been given to start making inquires on where each of our families stand in the line and any news of referrals for some families.
We know that this can still take a number of weeks before we get any specific information, so we just have to be patient and wait for news as it comes, which we will forward onto you immediately.
Despite the summer months being known to be slower in the adoption field, taking into account the lengthy vacations taken by some official’s in various Ministry of Education Departments.
Over the summer I’m pleased to report the following
From June 2010 to 20th August 2010 #
Families who have made 1st Trip 4
Made 1st trip, waiting for a court date 7
Rec’d court date and completed and HOME 4
We will continue to keep you updated of any news we get and we welcome you to contact us if you have any questions. Natasha will be back full time in the office from Monday 30th August, recently back from Moscow she will have all the latest news, including any interruptions with the high temperatures and outbreak of the fires on the marshes.
Please find attached the latest news update of each adoption stage for
all of our families in all regions.
We appreciate your patience and understanding with all the recent
changes to the process implemented by the Russian Ministry of
Education in answer to the recent incident of the mother returning her
adopted son, many of which have caused delays.
We look forward to being here for you during your adoption and in
making your family complete.
Attachment:
August 20th, 2010
To Our Waiting Adoptive Parents:
It was bought to our attention by a family recently, that not only do you like regular updates from your specific region but you would also like to hear news updates about our other families and how they are proceeding.
Many of our coordinators are waiting for the start of September, which is the date they have been given to start making inquires on where each of our families stand in the line and any news of referrals for some families.
We know that this can still take a number of weeks before we get any specific information, so we just have to be patient and wait for news as it comes, which we will forward onto you immediately.
Despite the summer months being known to be slower in the adoption field, taking into account the lengthy vacations taken by some official’s in various Ministry of Education Departments.
Over the summer I’m pleased to report the following
From June 2010 to 20th August 2010 #
Families who have made 1st Trip 4
Made 1st trip, waiting for a court date 7
Rec’d court date and completed and HOME 4
We will continue to keep you updated of any news we get and we welcome you to contact us if you have any questions. Natasha will be back full time in the office from Monday 30th August, recently back from Moscow she will have all the latest news, including any interruptions with the high temperatures and outbreak of the fires on the marshes.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
New - but no news...
Hi everyone. I received an e-mail yesterday from my agency. Titiana, the Tambov Region Coordinator has told us that she was told not to call the Dept. of Adoption until the beginning of September for any news..... I'm not sure what to make of this statement... Whether everyone is on vacation... whether they are behind and don't think they will be caught up until then... whether they think a child will be available for adoption by then... or what... I guess I try to read to much into things... Maybe they just don't want to be bothered for a little while. Maybe I am just being a pain... But I don't think that a monthly update is that unreasonable. Well - still waiting... TO BE CONTINUED...
Monday, July 12, 2010
Update:
Well some news (even bad) is better than no news at all...Here is the latest e-mail information that I have from my agency...."The latest news we have from our Tambov regional coordinator, Tambov is open during the summer but at present there are no kids at the moment that are suitable for you." Okay - Whatever "suitable" means. I am assuming they mean that meet my criteria, healthy, baby boy, 6-36 months, eligible for international adoption. - I am concentrating on "at the moment" (the optimistic side) which means that maybe next month there will be one "suitable"...
Monday, June 28, 2010
response from Natasha
Okay, well it looks as though it will be fall before we hear anything.
Here are some of the excerpts from the letter received:
"Due to the Tennessee situation when the mother sent her child back and other abuses, the adoption process' have become much more difficult and stricter for American families. We all understand that waiting is very difficult, but we cannot control the process of referrals. A lot of officials leave for vacation during the summer months and this is why we do not think we will get any new referrals. "
"Tambov is a small region and there are not always a lot of children available but it is the one that accepted and registered your documents. Tatiana, our coordinator, has a great connection there and she is doing her very best there."
I just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
THANKS!
Here are some of the excerpts from the letter received:
"Due to the Tennessee situation when the mother sent her child back and other abuses, the adoption process' have become much more difficult and stricter for American families. We all understand that waiting is very difficult, but we cannot control the process of referrals. A lot of officials leave for vacation during the summer months and this is why we do not think we will get any new referrals. "
"Tambov is a small region and there are not always a lot of children available but it is the one that accepted and registered your documents. Tatiana, our coordinator, has a great connection there and she is doing her very best there."
I just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and support.
THANKS!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Change in my agency Coordinator
Hi Friends and Family...
THE LATEST UPDATE
I received the following e-mail from my agency this morning. This was our second coordinator.
I have sent an e-mail to Natasha for additional information about the words "The summer months are extremely slow in Russia as many of the officials take extended vacations until the Fall. Due to this, the various regional Departments of Education will not be providing referrals at this time." I am not sure what this means - but it doesn't sound good. This waiting is horrible. Why can't things just go smoothly?
e-mail from agency:
Dear Families,My husband has accepted a job in London, England and I will bejoining him there with our children by the end of summer. This sadly means I am unable to continue working as your coordinator.The summer months are extremely slow in Russia as many of the officials take extended vacations until the Fall. Due to this, the various regional Departments of Education will not be providing referrals atthis time.We will do our best to make this transition as smooth as possible foryou, by sending regular updates every 2-3 weeks, but in the meantime, if you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Cold Spring office.Natasha will be traveling back to Moscow over the summer, but she isalways available via e-mail at natasha@happyfamilies.org , you may alsocontact Alexis at alexis@happyfamilies.orgI have enjoyed working with you and wish you the best of luck with youradoption.Kind Regards,Marianna Larin
Steve and I were hoping to travel to Russia this summer, but by the sounds of this e-mail, it may be fall before we get a referral.
My niece, Chrissy, asked me last night if we were ever going to get our Russian baby. I told her I hoped so, that we were just waiting. She was going to spend the night, but is allergic to something in my house, so needless to say, I made a trip to Marietta at 9:45 last night. Her eye was all itchy... and she'd forgotten her blankee... - I think it was more the "blankee" than the itchy eye. Her eye is better and she is fine this morning.
"Will I ever get my baby boy? Who knows?"
Frustrated at work, in Marietta, Ohio!
THE LATEST UPDATE
I received the following e-mail from my agency this morning. This was our second coordinator.
I have sent an e-mail to Natasha for additional information about the words "The summer months are extremely slow in Russia as many of the officials take extended vacations until the Fall. Due to this, the various regional Departments of Education will not be providing referrals at this time." I am not sure what this means - but it doesn't sound good. This waiting is horrible. Why can't things just go smoothly?
e-mail from agency:
Dear Families,My husband has accepted a job in London, England and I will bejoining him there with our children by the end of summer. This sadly means I am unable to continue working as your coordinator.The summer months are extremely slow in Russia as many of the officials take extended vacations until the Fall. Due to this, the various regional Departments of Education will not be providing referrals atthis time.We will do our best to make this transition as smooth as possible foryou, by sending regular updates every 2-3 weeks, but in the meantime, if you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the Cold Spring office.Natasha will be traveling back to Moscow over the summer, but she isalways available via e-mail at natasha@happyfamilies.org , you may alsocontact Alexis at alexis@happyfamilies.orgI have enjoyed working with you and wish you the best of luck with youradoption.Kind Regards,Marianna Larin
Steve and I were hoping to travel to Russia this summer, but by the sounds of this e-mail, it may be fall before we get a referral.
My niece, Chrissy, asked me last night if we were ever going to get our Russian baby. I told her I hoped so, that we were just waiting. She was going to spend the night, but is allergic to something in my house, so needless to say, I made a trip to Marietta at 9:45 last night. Her eye was all itchy... and she'd forgotten her blankee... - I think it was more the "blankee" than the itchy eye. Her eye is better and she is fine this morning.
"Will I ever get my baby boy? Who knows?"
Frustrated at work, in Marietta, Ohio!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Information received from my agency..."Adoptions have slowed down a bit since this incident but are still moving forward.The Russian government made an official decision NOT to close adoption with US last Friday so that is a great thing. But they are being overly careful with documents now. The judges unfortunately have started to request more documents from our families that are about to go to court, which is slowing everything down.The month of May is relatively slow in Russia because they celebrated two very big holidays, one on May 1 and the other on May 9. Usually the first two weeks in May everything is closed." by Marianna my agency contact
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The waiting - Where is my baby boy?
Well - I have never been a very patient person so it shouldn't surprise anyone that I am getting tired of waiting and not knowing. Where is my baby boy?!
I wish I would hear something about my baby boy... His Name?, his age?8 months, 12 months, 18 months? 36 months?, what color is his hair and eyes? When will I see him? How much longer is the wait going to be? a month - 12 months? I can hardly stand it! It is excruiatingly painful to keep me waiting like this. Where is my baby boy?!
Today I bought two recordable books from Hallmark. I hope to have Steve read and record on one of them and I can read the story on the other one. Then when we go over on our first trip we can leave the books at the orphanage with our child and hopefully he will be able to hear our voices even when we aren't there. It was just a spur of a the moment purchase - but hopefully it will help our little boy get used to our voices. Where is my baby boy?!
I have crocheted an afghan for him. I fell asleep the other night, snuggling with it and it was nice and soft (this way it smells like me and I won't be unfamiliar to him). I have started a quilt for him too- it is almost ready to start the quilting process. I had it spread across my bedroom floor last night (my cat had to lay right in the middle of it - of course), while Steve decided if what I was doing looked okay or not. I have crocheted hats for babies in the orphanage in my spare time - during all this waiting. I would love to start his room, but am waiting to do this once we know more about him. I want to buy clothes for him.. but what is his size?! WHERE IS MY BABY BOY?!
My patience is wavering and it has been almost a year since we began this process (June 1, 2009)... Our papework was done by Oct. 15, 2009.......so what is the hold up??? Russia - and the RED TAPE involved in this process! soooooooo WHERE IS MY BABY BOY?!
Hopefully, he is healthy and well and being taken care of.
Dear God, I am ready to be a mother now.... Please send me information about my baby boy soon! Please keep him safe from harm until I can be there to care for him and love him.
WAITING...WAITING....WAITING..... GOING CRAZY.....WAITING....WAITING....WAITING.. WHERE IS MY BABY BOY?!
I wish I would hear something about my baby boy... His Name?, his age?8 months, 12 months, 18 months? 36 months?, what color is his hair and eyes? When will I see him? How much longer is the wait going to be? a month - 12 months? I can hardly stand it! It is excruiatingly painful to keep me waiting like this. Where is my baby boy?!
Today I bought two recordable books from Hallmark. I hope to have Steve read and record on one of them and I can read the story on the other one. Then when we go over on our first trip we can leave the books at the orphanage with our child and hopefully he will be able to hear our voices even when we aren't there. It was just a spur of a the moment purchase - but hopefully it will help our little boy get used to our voices. Where is my baby boy?!
I have crocheted an afghan for him. I fell asleep the other night, snuggling with it and it was nice and soft (this way it smells like me and I won't be unfamiliar to him). I have started a quilt for him too- it is almost ready to start the quilting process. I had it spread across my bedroom floor last night (my cat had to lay right in the middle of it - of course), while Steve decided if what I was doing looked okay or not. I have crocheted hats for babies in the orphanage in my spare time - during all this waiting. I would love to start his room, but am waiting to do this once we know more about him. I want to buy clothes for him.. but what is his size?! WHERE IS MY BABY BOY?!
My patience is wavering and it has been almost a year since we began this process (June 1, 2009)... Our papework was done by Oct. 15, 2009.......so what is the hold up??? Russia - and the RED TAPE involved in this process! soooooooo WHERE IS MY BABY BOY?!
Hopefully, he is healthy and well and being taken care of.
Dear God, I am ready to be a mother now.... Please send me information about my baby boy soon! Please keep him safe from harm until I can be there to care for him and love him.
WAITING...WAITING....WAITING..... GOING CRAZY.....WAITING....WAITING....WAITING.. WHERE IS MY BABY BOY?!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Update...
Today I started my blog page... I just wanted a place to leave information on our Russian Adoption and maybe I can print out later.
To catch everyone up... June 2009... we decided to go ahead with our decision to adopt from Russia.
Paperwork was insane to say the least.
Our homestudy was completed in October.
We were registered in the Tambov Region of Russia in February 2010. Happy Families International told us that the average referral time of this region is 5-12 months... so we have a long wait ahead of us.
April 2010 - some stupid woman from Tennessee sends back her adopted son and causes and international outrage and a halt to adoptions to the US... We are very upset about this.... to say the least. We get information from our agency... Adoptions have not been stopped... they are still open... still hope for our adoption to be finalized in 2010.
My agency (HFI) sent me the following information today...I sent them a question about how we would be getting our referral...
"The way it works is the department of education issues a referral in your name and gives it to our coordinator in Russia. She immediately scans it and emails it to HF office in NY (our office.) We call you or email you right away to let you know we have it and we send it to our translater who usually translates the referral within 2 days. Then we email you the English version of the medical and the photo. Most referrals come with only one photo. They are not always updated and sometimes very poor quality. We have requested updated photos a million times and they almost never give them to us." signed by Marianna....
I hope to be getting an e-mail soon.
To catch everyone up... June 2009... we decided to go ahead with our decision to adopt from Russia.
Paperwork was insane to say the least.
Our homestudy was completed in October.
We were registered in the Tambov Region of Russia in February 2010. Happy Families International told us that the average referral time of this region is 5-12 months... so we have a long wait ahead of us.
April 2010 - some stupid woman from Tennessee sends back her adopted son and causes and international outrage and a halt to adoptions to the US... We are very upset about this.... to say the least. We get information from our agency... Adoptions have not been stopped... they are still open... still hope for our adoption to be finalized in 2010.
My agency (HFI) sent me the following information today...I sent them a question about how we would be getting our referral...
"The way it works is the department of education issues a referral in your name and gives it to our coordinator in Russia. She immediately scans it and emails it to HF office in NY (our office.) We call you or email you right away to let you know we have it and we send it to our translater who usually translates the referral within 2 days. Then we email you the English version of the medical and the photo. Most referrals come with only one photo. They are not always updated and sometimes very poor quality. We have requested updated photos a million times and they almost never give them to us." signed by Marianna....
I hope to be getting an e-mail soon.
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