The info we received was very minimal.  Basically it was this picture and a little info about his family.  There were several sentences about his health and it was all Russian medical terminology that didn't mean much to us.  Our agency wrote a letter to the Ministry of Education requesting more details.  We spent the day on the phone with international pediatricians getting their advice.  We used Dr. Jenista and Dr. Aronson.  Since there are a few health concerns this is definitely not a sure thing, so we have to stay guarded.  We have had so many ups and downs, but this feels positive...

May 24, 2004...  We received the full medical file on Albert today.  It helped answer some questions we were worried about.

May 25, 2004... We have been on the phone with our Agency and both doctors trying to get as much information as possible.  The good news is that we got some color pictures and Albert looks very healthy.  Dr. Jenista called this afternoon and reviewed the medical file with us.  There are a few risk factors to worry about and Albert has had a tough life so far, but overall he is doing well.  We have decided that we want to commit to this child.  We called CAI and said we are ready to accept Albert.  We know that this could not work out, but we are already getting very excited.  I think God means for us to be together... By the way, we were looking in a baby name book tonight and found out that Albert means BRIGHT.  It was meant to be...

May 27, 2004...  We sent a letter last night requesting our travel dates.  It will take a few days to get a response.  We probably won't hear anything until after Memorial Day.  We are hoping to leave within 3 weeks, but we just have to wait and find out.  We don't know yet if we can do it one trip or two.  If it is one trip, then we will probably be gone about 4 weeks.  If it is two trips, then each trip will be about 10 days with 4 to 5 weeks in between trips.

Jun 1, 2004... Today has been a hectic day.  CAI called and told us that we need to be in Russia by June 15th.  This means we will probably leave on June 12th.  That gives us just 11 days to get everything together...AAAGH!.  We still don't know how long we will be there or if it will be one or two trips.  Tonight we have been working on more paperwork.  We are sending in our visa applications to the Russian consulate tomorrow.  We also have about 10 other documents that need to be sent to the Florida Secretary of State to get apostilled.  We are feeling a little overwhelmed tonight.  We haven't even made any of the travel arrangements yet. We did find out today that Albert is in an orphanage in the town of Votkinsk.  Votkinsk is 60 km (38 miles) north of Izhevsk.  Votkinsk is a small town with no hotels.  We may have to rent an apartment or travel each day by car between Izhevsk and Votkinsk.  Traveling by car is hard because the roads are rough and the car is unreliable.  The good news is that we have heard very positive things about the orphanage in Votkinsk.

Jun 2, 2004... Another day closer to Will.  We managed to get ourselves booked on a 36 hour flight to Moscow!  Yes, this is what happens to travelers who get little notice they are traveling.  Additionally, our 36 hour trip from ATL to Moscow cost just as much as our 40 minute trip from Ft. Walton Beach to ATL!  CRAZY!  Byron has described this day as "I feel like the faucet has been turned on my wallet and all the money is flying out."  Or as my mother so eloquently said "Welcome to parenthood!"  Other than FedExing (we use this word as a verb) our life history to the Secretary of State for Apostilling (another verb now), picking up every "just in case" prescription for Will, ordering "clean" money from the bank (Yes, as opposed to dirty...Russia will only accept bills that are younger that 1992, unmarked and they have to be crisp...which by the way the entire city of the Ft. Walton Beach banking community has never ordered), and re-checking our many "to-do" list...this was a normal day in the life of someone adopting internationally.  How are we holding up?  My face looks like a connect the dot kid's activity, I have a 3 day headache, Byron's jaw muscles are aching (we think he is grinding his teeth while sleeping) and we are completely thrilled to be experiencing every moment!  I feel like the best Christmas in the world is just a couple of weeks away.  How amazing this is going to be.  The miracle of birth...a birth from the heart.

Byron and I have been so touched by the outpouring of support.  When you are pregnant, your physical symptoms are shared with everyone and anticipation of the birth is celebrated.  I felt like I was missing out on some of the attention and closeness with our family and friends...but this web site has made us so proud to share our moments with everyone.  We are truly blessed.

Jun 3, 2004... Not much news today.  We still don't know if it will take one or two trips.  We have our plane tickets and are planning to leave on June 12th.  We may be there for one week and come home empty handed just to have to turn around and go back for Will a few weeks later OR we may be there for 4 to 5 weeks and bring him home with us.  We won't know till we get there.  So basically we have to pack for 5 weeks.  Packing for ourselves is tough enough, but we also have to pack for Will.  This means enough clothes, food, diapers, toys, blankets, carriers, medicine, etc etc for about 14 days.  I'll try and take a picture of our luggage so everyone can have a good laugh...  This weekend we are going to try and finish a few projects around the house so everything will be ready when we get back.  All of our friends and neighbors have been very supportive, so we have plenty of people checking on the house while we are gone.  We still have a few letters to write and get notarized.  These letters are from doctors, employers, etc asking the judge to waive the waiting period.  Anyway, till tomorrow...

Jun 4, 2004... Christy Malone, our adoption manager, informed us today that Russia has a "delay in the State Database and no children are being released right now."  We really aren't sure what this means exactly.  Christy M. says that it should only last for 2 to 3 weeks, but this means that we are almost guaranteed two trips.  We sent the remaining documents off today.  We think that should be all the paperwork we need.  Now we are just waiting for our Visas to return.  The associate in Russia emailed and said she had booked us a hotel in Izhesvk. Here is an excerpt from the email:

"Today I was busy arranging the hotel reservation for the Brights. I refused to make room reservation at the  health-hotel  Metallurg , because several difficulties arisen over their with the foreigners registration.  In Volga-telekom  rates are too expensive, and I was thinking about it as about one of the options. I made reservation at the hotel  Okolitsa  for June 14th. It is a little beautiful (it has only 8 rooms) hotel with  it s own fenced green area. Rooms are very good; there are WC, shower, TV, phone, fridge, water boiler, conditioner, bedroom, room for rest and third room verandah with the table, where you can eat on a fresh  air. Everything is cozily furnished, and it has a home atmosphere. As for as I think, the main plus, is that food is available at any time when the guest requests, which is not like this in  Metallurg. This will be  convenient for the Brights and for us, because we ll arrive late from Votkinsk, so there will be no need to  go to another cafй in downtown.
Breakfast is included, for lunch and dinner has to be paid separately.  Room for
two like  this costs 2500 rubles ($86-87), for reservation they take 25%, this is
not taken in other  hotels. So the following Monday I ll have to pay for the first
day of staying. If they don t come, then I am  loosing the sum paid, it is not
refundable. There is Rusian banya (sort of sauna, but as opposite to traditional Finnish sauna Rusian banya has not dry but wet steam), where the Brights can
sweat out with  traditional birch Russian besom and go to the swimming pool as
well. This is certainly, for additional pay.  It s a pity; I didn t find this hotel earlier (I would prefer to place families in there). The only minus of this hotel, is that it is situated in not prestigious part of the city."

Another day....Another dollar....a little closer to Will...

Jun 5, 2004...  We felt like we ate our last supper tonight.  Thanks to Debbie and Rich Miller, we ate a wonderful meal at Bone Fish Grill in Destin.  We didn't actually eat dinner until around 8:00pm. While we were eating we noticed there were no other children in the entire restaurant.  This might have been our last late, impromptu, adult, dining experience for a while.  Over dinner, we talked about how we both felt an overwhelming sense that we would be able to complete this adoption in one trip.  Even though our agency is preparing us for two trips, we feel like we will be able to bring Will home on this first trip.  This may just be wishful thinking, but it feels like something stronger...

Jun 7, 2004... Yesterday we spent the day packing...packing again...re-packing...weighing our luggage...removing packed items...weighing again...OK, you get the point.  I'd like to challenge anyone to pack for Russia for 5 weeks, for an infant, for two adults...my point again.  In all seriousness, I have been very worried about Will.  I don't want to discuss too much of his medical information for the world to read, but I am very concerned about FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome).  This is a very devastating disease that affects a person developmentally (Autism, low IQs, cognitive thinking).  Due to Russia having poor prenatal education and the availability of alcohol, Will is at risk.  The pictures we received from the orphanage are not conclusive in diagnosing him with this disease.  So, Byron and I are left with the task of taking pictures and emailing them to our Doctors.  I've been playing the "what if" game for two weeks now.  What if Will has this nasty disease?  What will be my reaction?  Can I adopt this child knowing that he could require a lifetime of special care?  My answer embarrasses me.  Why can't I be a stronger person?  Yes, I know that I am crossing that bridge before I need to be on the other side...but "what if".  Sometimes I think that I feel this way because of the miscarriages that I have suffered.  Just as soon as I start to feel "safe" about a pregnancy...I would lose a baby...maybe this is just a natural reaction to protect myself...just in case I were to lose Will.  Sometimes I feel like I need to add a disclosure when I talk to someone about Will..."Yes, we are adopting a son, BUT everything still could go wrong and we might not adopt him".  I asked our agency what happens if Will is diagnosed with some awful disease?  What are our options?  The agency has told us that we do not have to accept Will.  We can request another referral and that they would do their best to match us with another child while in Russia (sounds awful).  Well, this is what keeps me awake at night.  I just want what every mother wants...to hold their child safe in their arms.

Disclaimer:  Byron did not write the above journal entry.  He says that he's not worried about Will having FAS.  Mom, he says that you can send the Xanax, now.

Jun 8, 2004... After Christy's sappy journal entry last night, I have banned her from the computer...  Today we received our Visas from the Russian Consulate in San Francisco. As well as our final apostilled copies of the last documents.  Our airline tickets should be here Thursday (yes...Russian airlines still use paper tickets...no e-tickets yet!).  Christy "robbed" the bank and got our "clean" money today.  She also bought some gifts for our Russian friends ... ties, jewelry, cologne, makeup, etc.  Mostly trinkets to us, but it means a lot to them.  By the way, what do you buy a Russian judge you've never met (that has the authority to keep you in the country indefinitely)?

Jun 9, 2004... Today was my last day at work.  I took Thursday and Friday off in order to get some stuff done around the house and help Christy pack for the tenth time.  We got a really nice email from her cousin Melinda today.  Thanks to everyone that has left us such supportive emails.  This week has been incredibly slow.  Just like before Santa Clause is suppose to come...  There is really no news to report, everything seems to be on track. 

Jun 10, 2004... Today started with a 7am walk-up call...My first thoughts were, "God, this can't be good", then I thought, "This better not be my Dad", then my last thought was, "Surely, Saint & Malisa are not calling about their house again!"  However, it was our adoption manager, Christy M. informing us that Russia did not like the form our Medical Letter was on.  So out of bed we sprang...downloading another form from Christy M.'s email, calling Amy (our Angel) to notarize and making an appointment with the Secretary of State's office to get the Document Apostilled.  Now, I know this sounds easy, huh?  IT'S NOT!!  NOT only does the medical letter have to be signed by a doctor...NOT only does the Russian gov't want us to have TB, Hep, HIV tests...NOT only does the Doctor's signature need to be notarized...NOT only do we have to drive to Tallahassee (Sec. of State's office, 3 hours away) and FINALLY the documents must be scanned and emailed back to Russia for approval!  Needless to say the crisis was over and done with by 2pm.  Whew, we have absolutely ran out of time (we hope) for any more last minute document fiascos.  We did receive our plane tickets as scheduled and some great words of encouragement from The Otts and my Aunt Bobbie.  Time is once again at a crawl...we're almost there...

Philippians 4:6 - Don't worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to him.  Thank you Nikki, for all your words of encouragement...I will keep them close to my heart.

Jun 11, 2004...  This has been an incredibly long day.  The minutes have just ticked by.  I think we will feel much better once we board the plane tomorrow.  We did our final pack and weigh tonight and decided we had better take out about 5 lbs (sorry Will, you can play with the rest of your toys when you get back to the States).

Tonight we were looking through some old cards and notes that friends and family had sent over the past few years during our miscarriages.  We realized that Christy's last D&C was October 9, 2003...THE SAME DAY WILL WAS BORN!!!  Here we were in our darkest hours, but God had a more miraculous plan.  Life is full of God's grace.
 

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