Return to Sender

I'm sure many of you have been following the recent story of the woman who sent her 7 year old son, adopted from Russia, back to Russia because she alleges she was afraid for the safety of her family and herself. This story makes me really, really angry. Having adopted two children from Russia, I know how it can be done "right." My children are the biggest joy in my life, and I feel blessed every single day. But Adam and I were prepared for them - and although we are fortunate that neither of our children have behavioral or emotional issues, we were prepared that it could happen.

So, I'm angry with Ms. Hansen, for having unrealistic expectations about what adopting an older child who had been institutionalized for a good part of his life would be like. Every - EVERY - source we consulted before we decided to adopt internationally explained the potential issues with institutionalized children - developmental delays, attachments disorders, behavioral problems, even PTSD. I'm angry that Ms. Hansen apparently didn't obtain the counseling and medical help her family needed. I'm angry she didn't reach back out to her adoption agency for help.

I'm also angry with the agency, for not being aware of the problems in this family. Russia REQUIRES post-placement visits by a social worker, with a full report delivered back to Russia, immediately after placement, at 6 months and 1, 2 and 3 years. This woman and her child are either fantastic actors, or the agency didn't do enough to find out what was really going on in the household. I also have to wonder how this woman ever made it through the screening process, which for many Russian regions requires a battery of psychological tests. Was her screening rubber stamped the same way her post placement visits were?

We'll probably never know what really happened in this case. But in addition to being angry, I'm really sad for all the families - prepared families - who are likely to experience delays in getting their precious children home. Been there, done that - and it sucks.

Baby updates and an adorable kit....

I know I haven't been updating about Owen and our adventures on our last trip to Russia - but Adam is doing a great job with baby updates on our family blog - check it out here!

I have a few extra minutes today while everyone is napping and I want to show you this adorable kit by Eva and the layout I created with it - the kit is 50% off right now and you can pick it up here for only $2!!!


My layout:
This is such a great kit for ALL birthday and celebration layouts - and it's a steal!!

Introducing

Owen Jacob :)

We have a million photos on the camera from today and I pulled off just a couple to show you:



We're having a blast!

Coming later today: the big reveal

Although it's still Sunday night for all of you back home, it's morning in Moscow! We are going to pick up the baby in just a couple hours - so by the time you all wake up, I'll have photos posted!! :)

Happy Day!

Adam and I are officially parents of 2 children, rather than just 1! Unfortunately, we can't take physical custody of our son until we wait out the 10 day appeal period. Wahhhhh!!!!

Moscow bound - trip 2

We have our court date! We'll be leaving for Moscow on Saturday - unfortunately, we will be coming home without the little guy while we wait out the 10 day appeal period. Then it's back for trip 3 and then we'll all be home!

A tease (a few) and a super awesome freebie from Elise

Just because I can't show photos of the baby doesn't mean I haven't been scrapping him! Here are few of the layouts I've done the last couple days - sorry for the blurs! At the very end is a layout I did with a terrific freebie from Elise.
Credits: scraplifted (and modified) from a layout by Charlize @ Sweet Shoppe Designs; embroidery brush by Shalae Tippets; all other paper and elements from the Outlaws from Outer Space kit by Eva Kipler and Krystal Hartley


Credits: all papers and elements from the Wild at Heart kit by Julie Billingsley; layout template by Kim Wresh.

Credits: sketch by Mari Koegelenberg; papers by Mira Designs (Caught in Traffic) and beaded string/paper star by Danielle Engrebretson

Credits: paper and elements from the Backyard Crawlies kit by LLIELLA Designs.

I did this layout using the FANTASTIC Garden Party newsletter FREEBIE by Elise Hansen. You can sign up for her newsletter on her blog HERE - it's all you have to do to get the freebie!

Moscow adventure 2: the orphanage

Yesterday was a loooonnnggg day. We had our appointment at the Ministry to learn more about our referral, then we headed to the orphanage - it's really a nice facility and the staff is very friendly and seems to spend a lot of individual time with each child. I really wish we could post photos of the baby, unfortunately, Russian confidentiality laws are very strict and we don't want to take any chances. He's gorgeous, and we are very, very pleased with his development and his personality - he is very alert and responsive, and smiles and laughs easily when we can get his fingers out of his mouth!

We then went to a traditonal Russian restaurant for dinner, and went back to the orphanage to spend another hour or so with the baby. :)

More orphanage visits today!

Moscow adventure 1: Swine Flu screening!

We made it to Moscow! Adam and I are seasoned travelers - even of long, transatlantic trips - but man, that 10 hour flight from Atlanta to Moscow is rough!

I think the swine flu has been way overhyped, and really is much ado about nothing. But, I got to participate in the hype! Our entire plane was screened when we landed in Moscow - they shot this red beam into our ears (what WERE those things, anyway??) to take our temperatures. Fortunately, we all passed, although a handful of people had secondary screens. I kept wondering what would happen if someone had to be detained - they were letting everyone leave after they "passed" so apparently the whole plane wouldn't be quarantined.

We meant to go to Arbat St shopping today (it's Monday - we're 8 hours ahead of Eastern time). Instead, we slept. We've slept pretty much constantly since we got here roughly 28 hours ago.

We'll speak to our coordinator tonight and head to the Ministry of Education then the baby home tomorrow. Yippee!!

We're finally going to Russia (and a really cute layout)

Well, we got the call a couple weeks ago. We're leaving for Moscow on 5/9 and will meet the little boy that will hopefully become our son! I am not getting all worked up - after the disappointment with our first referral, we know that anything can happen. But at least we're going!!!! Those of you who have been reading for a while know that Russia is very strict about confidentiality, so public updates will be vague, and if I post any photos or layouts, the baby's face will need to be blurred out.

On a completely different topic, I love the way the layout below turned out and I wanted to share it right away! I used four fonts, which is this week's challenge at Sisterhood of Scrap, and I also used a list, which is last Saturday's inspiration challenge at The Digi Chick. Credits under the photo!

Credits: papers and elements from the FEMNZ April Grab Bag at The Digi Chick (by Sugarplum Paperie and Flergs); crayon action by Atomic Cupcake; paper cuts template by E. Merritt; fonts are Pea Aimee, Pea Sarah Quick, Times and Times Again and CK Newsclips

Quick adoption update

For those of you not following the story - we have had a referral for the adoption of a baby boy in Russia since February. We were originally supposed to travel to meet him in April (trip 1 - Russia requires at least 2 trips, with about 8 weeks in between - the adoption is "final" on the second trip) and due to a combination of issues with our agency (outside their control), the US government, and the Russian government, we still have not been on trip 1. At the earliest, trip 1 will be in October, but no one is feeling very optimistic, least of all me.

We're so conflicted about this. Our family feels very complete with Alexa, but I so much want her to grow up with siblings. There is a baby boy who is waiting in Russia for us. He's already older than we had hoped - Alexa came home at 13 months, our referral is already 15 months, so at BEST he would be 18 months old when he came home. The older he gets, the less comfortable we feel due to issues that become more common with children the longer they are institutionalized in orphanages. We signed our application to adopt in early 2007, when circumstances in our life (and Alexa's age) made another adoption perfect - and we had the (perhaps overly confident) expectation that it would take about the same time as Alexa's - 10 months start to finish.

Adam and I keep saying that if we were in a blind adoption region and had no referral information, we would at this point make the decision to stop pursuing the adoption. But it makes me so sad that we feel we already know this little boy just a little, and we were so looking forward to having him become part of our family.

Ugh.

I'm working on a Princess kit!

I should have a princess themed kit posted some time in the next week or so, so keep checking back! Other miscellaneous chatter:
1. We got the go-ahead from our adoption doc to continue with our referral. YAY!!
2. What main character do you think is going to die on Lost tonight? I'm banking on Sawyer but it's not a popular choice. Most people on the message board I frequent seem to think it's Sun or Jin.

Here's a paper layout I did recently with Basic Grey Two Scoops and some pens. It resulted from a challenge to scrap an imperfect photo. I love the way the layout turned out, although the photo of the layout itself leaves a lot to be desired!

Our adoption referral

This is a decidedly non-scrapbooking related post, but I wanted to share that we received our adoption referral from Russia today! It's a boy, born in June of 2007. I can't share any more information publicly because of the confidentiality of the process until it's "official." We should be traveling to meet him in late April/very early May and we hope to be home in late June or early July. Alexa is very excited about her baby brother, and he already comes with an "A" name that we will likely keep.

He is still listed on the Russia databank through the end of April and could be adopted by a Russian family until then, so although we are very excited, we are not going crazy. We are also sending all his medical info and photos off to an international adoption physician for evaluation, so if something unexpected comes back from that we could end up declining the referral. But, if that happens we will know within the next week or so.

It's hard NOT to be too excited!