Wear Hope! and help us get Ian home!

...inspired by people, places, philosophies and feelings...an influence of things both external and internal. Embracing the imperfections found in nature, the gemstones in this collection are chosen for their individual beauty. Raw beauty over bling -(artist quote)

A very special friend of Ian has donated a series of beautiful necklaces to the Hope for Ian Adoption Fund. It's all I can do not to keep even one of these stunning pieces for myself!

These pieces and the artist that created them have a special connection to the country Ian is from. What is even more rare, is that each stone she has presented us with cannot be sold in stores because they have what society terms, "a small imperfection." HOW PERFECT!

What beauty and deep cut meaning then, does each of these special, unsellable in stores, imperfect necklaces hold. Ian was taken "off the market" at birth, because of one tiny little extra chromosome that made him unwanted and "imperfect." Looking at him, I see nothing but God's perfection, and I would be proud to "wear" one of these imperfectly cut stones to honor him.

Normally, these lovely necklaces sell for $80 to $155.00 in stores all over the world. They have even been worn around the necks of some very famous folks (look below)

Now, YOU can have own of your very own! All you have to do is click below to make a donation to Ian's adoption fund.

For every $15.00 donated

your name will be entered 1 time in the drawing for a necklace

(an absolute steal if you win!)

For every $40.00 donation

your name will appear 5 times in the drawing!

and, for those who simply must have the very best shot at one of these deliciously delicate pieces of wearable hope

for every $100.00 donation

your name will appear 15 times!

This special event will run until these pieces are gone. A winner will be drawn each time the donation fund reaches $150.00!. When donating, please be sure to note which necklace you would like to win (make a first and second choice) in the message area.

Click HERE to see each individual necklace up close

We are giving away 12 of these perfectly lovely pieces!

Results!

We reached $150 on 4/12/11 we had a drawing and....on 4/12/11, Adriana K.! was the winner. We assigned all the entries a random number and then entered them into a random number generator.

Your next chance to win is when we reach $300.00! Only 15 dollars to go!

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Yeah! We reached $300.00 on 4/12/11 and so here are the results of Drawing #2

Tesney D. you have won!

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We reached $450.00 on 4/14/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 3!

Amy L. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $600.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $600.00 on 4/16/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 4!

Polly K. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $750.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $750.00 on 4/19/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 5!

Casey B. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $900.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $900.00 on 4/21/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 6!

Kelly K. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $1050.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $1050.00 on 4/22/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 7!

(We are now using a random number generator as there are SO many entries, too many for the random name generator we were using!)

Kristy F. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $1200.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $1200.00 on 4/22/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 8!

Pam R. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $1350.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $1350.00 on 4/22/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 9!

Ashlei C. you have won!

Next drawing happens when we hit $1500.00 raised for Ian!

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We reached $1500.00 on 4/27/11 and so here are the results of Drawing # 10!

Angela C. you have won!

AND THAT'S ALL SHE WROTE. ALL OF THE NECKLACES HAVE BEEN WON.

(I held this fundraiser back in September and 3 people won, and then this time Adril K. gave her necklace back to us so we could raise more money)

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS.

WE ARE ALMOST THERE, PLEASE PRAY FOR A GRANT WE ARE SENDING IN FOR THIS WEEK, IT COULD MEAN IAN COMES HOME IN JULY

THANK YOU TO

MARGARET SOLOW

THE ARTIST WHO HAND CRAFTED THESE BEAUTIFUL PIECES

Day 4, our last day with Ian

On the way to the orphanage today I took out the flip video (which I totally suggest for anyone traveling to meet and spend time with their new treasures) and recorded the entire 5 min. ride from our hotel to the orphanage.

When we are missing him, I somehow thought this short video would be something we could play to remember the drive, the emotions, and most of all, how and where to find our son. Knowing it is the last day, for an unknown period of time, with legal and financial hoops to jump, especially that of a court hearing in a foreign country, it makes the time very bittersweet and a little bit nerve wracking.

Still, today was the most amazing day of all since we have been slowly inundating ourselves into Ian’s life. Ian is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! He is so SMART! I can admit now, that after Day 1, I was a little bit afraid for all of us. He was pretty out of control, yelling loudly and throwing things, pushing us away, and totally not with the program in terms of being touched and hugged, or even held for ANY length of time (which is a challenge for us because besides the fact that we worked so long to get to him, he is SO small that he looks like you just want to grab him up and rock a bye!)

Papa and Ian enjoying a try with the Hula Hoops

Im so glad to report that in just 4 short days, and in a total of less than 5 hours spent together, he is a different kid altogether. I am SO KICKING myself for not being on top of learning his language. That will NOT happen again. Craig and I have seen, mostly today, that we MUST learn to speak his language. We have already hatched a plan, and have some Russian friends who live close by whom have been waiting in the wings to help us in any way they can, so when we get home, the time will have arrived for Russian with your newly adopted child 101.

When we came in today, the orphanage dog, Mary, greeted us with a smile and a tail wag, and then got up and walked us to the front door! She is an endearing old dog, although I’m not sure one would want to pet her, she is in sore need to a bath and some attention. We did the obligatory blue shoe cover thing, and headed inside.

While we waited for Vasya today, one of the orphanage cooks came walking by. I think that because we have a four year old child with us, we are kind of eye catching to people that might normally walk right by. Plus, let’s face it, we are Black and here, we are the only people of color we have seen all week. Ari is also very friendly and in fact, he has learned to say good bye and well done, in Ian’s native language.

In any event, this bright-faced older woman stopped and asked our facilitator who we were. She actually stayed for a few moments, asking lots of questions. While I could not make out the entire conversation, I knew the gist of what was being said, and we knew this cook was very interested in us and that we were going to be Vasya’s parents. She kept saying his name like “Vasya?” as if she could not believe that a family had come for him. She seemed happy about it though, which was a nice feeling to get from a caregiver type person here since the ladies in Ian’s groupa are mostly stone faced and very stand off-ish. She told us our Ian loved to eat bananas! Which means he and Ari will get on famously at the breakfast table because Ari loves to eat bananas too. I can’t wait to feed Ian fresh food. He is SO thin and weighs nothing really.

There are children here who have occasional, and even regular visitors. Biological parents, aunts, sometimes grandparents...who just cannot let go completely, come to visit the children they have sent here. I don’t even want to begin to think about that burden, or how the caregivers must interact with these “visitors.” I think we say some today, on the way in.

In any event, we learned that our little Vasya-Ian has NEVER, EVER had a single soul visit or call to check on his well being – in his entire life. So, why don’t you just take my heart and fling it across the room already – because it hurts that much to know that he has never known a single ADULT that has loved him.

Given that the caregivers are the only people for which he could try to form some kind of bond with, and given they work 24 hour shifts, and given the job does not pay well, and given they are dealing with groups of children with wide variations of special needs, and given the resources are clearly lacking (shoes too small, clothes a mess and often with holes, no real early interventions, etc...) WE THINK HE HAS DONE FANTASTIC WITH US!

Ian putting on Ari's shoes (he runs to our shoes to put them on! We think it is because his little feet hurt in the too small shoes they have here for him)

He has worn ALL of our shoes, and happily and agilely too!

Today, we were very happy. Happy that when Ian came in – he did not yell! In fact, he only yelled once, and that was during a most dramatic little fit (which I talk about later in this post). He came into the gym (which we were super gald to be in again today), doing more of a loud talking versus a yell. We got out the iPod again, and OH MY GOODNESS, what happened next was really, really fun. He danced with us! He also instructed us on what to do! Our facilitator left us alone with him for a long time, in fact most of the almost two hours was just our new little family, which was also great.

Video of Ian as he was brought to us today to play in the gym

Ian showed us the dance that the children are instructed in at the orphanage dance “class,” to this particular song. We all walked in a circle, marched, and made foot actions according to what Ian showed us. So, feast your eyes on this! Ian, giving us all traditional Russian dance lessons!

Vasya-Ian dancing with us:)

For most of the time together today, Ian was incredibly calm! The tornado has apparently passed, and he has allowed us to begin to move in. He is guarded for sure, but he is letting us all touch him more and show him how to work with the toys we brought. He already knows how to bring up the iPod menu and how to make a certain little airplane fan we brought operate. He even spent time looking through the photo book we brought and left for him. Best of all for me, was that he let Ari move in a little too, by sharing in exploring what was in the Elmo backpack we brought along.

He brings all items very close to his face, we think for sure he needs glasses

Ari and Ian "playing" together

Our final time with Ian was great, much slower paced (thanks be to God for that because ya’ll he is FAST!), and much more of an everyday type of child-adult interaction, although we did not attempt to get any more family photographs. We felt like making him sit with us would have been a little step backwards, so we determined we had enough pictures to Apostille for court and moved on.

The meltdown scenario, where we saw Ian's little dramatic side, occurred when I determined it was time to start enforcing some boundaries with Ari, and with Ian listening to us. Our facilitator was back and translating for us with him, so I though it was the right time. It is a challenge to know just how far and how much discipline to exercise with our little guy. On the one hand, you are terrified of upsetting him, on the other hand you are feeling a bit upset over the behaviors that are being exhibited. You are also, sometimes, being watched. You are always wondering if they are thinking that you are letting the kid run wild and not intervening enough, or that you are some sort of grinchy mean parent. It’s a new sort of rock and a hard place for me, but in the end, our gut instincts won out, and I think that was for the best.

I have been a professional educator for 15 years, most spent in special education and most with severely behaviorally disturbed children of all ages. The one thing that has always kept me in good stead as a teacher, has been to start off firm with kids and then ease back. The few times I have started with too few boundaries, I have paid for that and found it near impossible to regain respect and cooperation.

So, today was the day that we needed to let Ian know that mom and dad have expectations about behavior and how to treat brother and our toys. Ari has been so great, beyond great, he has been amazing and as I have said all week, we are BLESSED to have this child along with us on this journey, in particular.

Ari taking a turn on the bouncy ball

Brothers

Ian really has not shared with Ari, since that first day when we gave him one of the kaleidoscopes. Of course, Ian horded everything we brought out for him, and Ari of course, wanted a turn with the toys too. Ari is young, and he is overly passive, so we have been working hard with him to defend himself in good ways. In this instance, Ian had had the iPod for a long time and Ari wanted a turn, and it was time to make that turn happen.

Well, Ian was having none of that. The kid is super strong, despite being super small for his age and very thin. He has a grip on items that is almost impossible to release unless you get ahold of each little finger and pry them away from the item. So, as our facilitator helped us with translating (because Ian can understand EVERYTHING that is said to him in Russian), we told Ian that it was Ari’s turn and to please share, and give him the iPod. We guided Ian’s hand with the iPod over to Ari’s and then had to pry it away. Ari was fine, but Ian had a fit. He yelled a little then started to cry. Then he sat down, put his little head between his legs and cried really hard and yelled and beat his little fists on the floor. It was hard to watch but as with ANY other child of this age, as a parent, you have to set those rules and follow through. Ian does well with structure and routine, as we have seen him go between night and day in terms of his behavior with us, and then in the presence of the groupa.

I rubbed Ian’s little boney back as our facilitator helped us talk him through his fit. He got up and yelled, and tried to get the iPod back from Ari, but we were on it, and we enforced the sharing. Miraculously, Ian just gave up on trying to defy the expectation we set forth, and moved on. In a few minuets, he was happy again, running around with some other toy. In fact, I think this little meltdown moment was one of best things we could have done in terms of bonding with Ian.

We did and saw and learned a lot about Vasya-Ian the remainder of our time together today. He is meticulous about putting things together, laying things out, and putting things away. He is also very independent and wants to work things out on his own. He’s a bit of a little actor too, as he toyed with me when Ari and Craig left the room to use the WC. Ian stepped out of a playhouse that he has been taking refuge in to examine the toys we brought, and looked at me, put his little fists on his hips, and grunted! SO DARLING, cannot believe I don’t have a picture of that!

Ian laying out an activity mat in the gym, he had to have it perfect before he would walk on it

We had one little disturbing moment, which is kind of what happens here, your sense of everything is overwhelmed by so much as one time, caregivers glaring at you, other orphans playing outside, or crying as they are with held from you, people starring at you, your new child running here and there, your other child, the language barrier…it is all sensory overload! So, to have Ian throw up while we had him was really unnerving. I had backed from Apple Juice boxes for Ari that we got at the grocery store across from the hotel. Ari was begging for juice so I had to relent, and Ian saw me get and give the juice to him and he bolted from across the room at me to try and grab it. Once I kind of got him to “ask” for some, he sucked that entire juice box down in about 10 seconds, and was sucking the air out of it too, after it was all gone. All of us adults in the room just stopped cold because what it looked like to us was that he was beyond thirsty, almost as if he had not had anything to drink in days. Well, less than a minute later, the contents of that juice box had been heaved up onto the carpeting in the gym. It was horrifying to seem him wretch, and then not be able to comfort him as you normally would (remembering that he is still not used to hugs, let alone seeking comfort from an adult, he has been taking care of himself really, since he was a baby).

When the time was up, we got to take him back to the groupa again, but they stopped us well before we got to the door, where the other children may have seen us. What happened next was a MIRACLE, and confirmation to us that Ian is really an amazing little person who has survived under the toughest of situations – one in which no one loves him like he should have been loved since the instant he was born...and while there are no pictures of this moment, it will remain etched in our memories forever.

He sat down on a little wood bench, his stern caregiver lording over him, speaking firmly in Russian to him. He took his shoes (which were off because they are so tight we cannot seem to make them fit on his feet, and nearly cry each time we have to try and force them on), and tried to put them on. He began to put them on the wrong feet and the caregiver talked him through making the decision, prior to placing them on his feet, which one was left and which one was right. He finally got it! It was so cute because he switched those shoes so many times, trying to find the accurate set up for left and right.

Ian's too little shoes

Then, the caregiver instructed him to give mommy a hug. He did not hesitate for a second and was over to me hugging me and flashing the biggest smile! It was very close to him looking like he was saying, “…LOL, gotcha! I was just kidding, just having some fun with you! Hurry up and come back for me!” Insert my JAW DROPPING to the floor! He then made the rounds and hugged papa and then – he hugged ARI!

So, all in all, as we then spent the next three hours on a driving tour of this famous and fascinating place…

Prayed for the Davis Family and Kirill at the Church of the Spilled Blood

Lunched in a traditional Russian eatery

Bought 6 little Matrioshka Dolls at the open air market

Stood on the square at Winter Palace

Marveled at the city

Bid farewell to Sergey our driver and Eleana our Facilitator

and told our last bed time story to Ari at the hotel

we are leaving here…

Battered…by the sheer physical demands of this trip, of all it has taken to even be here, and by what we have seen and heard.

Bruised…by the pain of the plight of the orphan, forever changed by their pale faces.

&

most of all, BLESSED - having come closer to our walk with God and in following his word to do good work. Good work does not always, or usually, equate to EASY work. We never asked for easy, we asked to be granted the chance to show that we are with this program, and that we accept his calling on our lives to not turn a blind eye when we KNOW what is happening to his children. The pain we have felt from accepting the measure of attachment and bonding and love that our sweet son Ian has MISSED, only makes us more resolute in our efforts to get him home.

As we left, our facilitator confirmed with the orphanage doctor that we REFUSE surgery for Ian until he is home in the United States. We did talk it over and the conditions in hospitals here are not the same as back home. Also, we just cannot have him operated on and not be there for him. Please pray that the two surgeries it looks like he will be facing (heart and another), can be staved off until he is home and we have had time to get some good food and real love into him.


Isaiah 58:7

"What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families."

PS...we are home! This post should have been put up last night but we had a 3:30 am driver call to make our 6 am flight to Frankfurt and then all day flying back to Atlanta. We are beat, but all in one piece and now will turn our full efforts to getting Ian home. Thank you to Abe and Corrie Koenig who both took us to the airport and picked us up, and to all of you who are praying for Ian, who have a heart for orphans, who are adopting or have adopted yourselves, and who have donated to help us get here.

Beautifully Absurd

When we arrived at the orphanage the morning of Day 3, Wednesday, April 6th, we got a rare glimpse of the groupa of children who are HIV positive. Ian’s orphanage is one that is especially for children with vision and eye issues, so these sweet babies also have some sort of vision problem.

What they have no problem with, is shining a beaming light. As we watched them Wednesday morning, they were in a dance class, you would never know the precarious situation of their health. One little toe headed boy looked at me from inside of the room as the children formed a circle around a stuffed purple horse, a child sized velvety purple rocking horse. His smile shone so brightly, he was so handsome, so sweet, so “normal” in his appearance. He smiled big at me for what seemed like ten minuets. He waved at me too, and I waved back. For a brief moment, I considered asking our facilitator about him, but that thought had to be suppressed, for I believe that we are doing all we can in bringing Vasya-Ian home. The burden of what God has shown us however, is heavy.

Such beautiful little souls, such alive little faces, such perfect children....and then you remember, as they imitate trotting around this funny looking over stuffed purple rocking horse, doing what must be a dance based around some sort of silly traditional tale...

that what you are witnessing is ABSURD.

That you stand in an orphanage that is at capacity with little humans, only four to seven years old...that is ABSURD.

That to rescue each one you have to cross the oceans three times, spend a year buried in a paperwork, and pay the powers that be in excess of thirty five thousand dollars to rescue just one of them, IS ABSURD.

That the children housed in this place are the LUCKY ONES in terms of being orphaned, a majority from birth, is completely ABSURD. They are lucky because a person knew they were there and rang the bell one day, proposed to start a new program...finding families for kids previously tossed away to those PAID to look after them. They are lucky because in this two story, half a century old building, the innards are clean and in decent repair. That they are not starving to death – yet. That they have a few toys lying around, and that the director and social director show signs of life – they care.

That some of these beauties suffer from the smallest of little things, like crossed eyes, and that has rendered them unwanted, untouched, and unloved, is totally ABSURD.

...and amidst all of this absurdity, you stand stunned, feet almost unmoveable, by the weight of how BEAUTIFUL Ian is, how beautiful every face we have seen is, how beautiful each hand that reaches for you, each word they say to you, no matter the language.

This evening, as the tears streamed down my face, my mind sunk down deep into trying to make sense of the absurdity of it all, my eyes again feasted upon the absolute, steeped in rich tradition and history, ornate BEAUTY that we as humans are capable of.

The Kirov Ballet. What a pleasure! Seated just feet from where Tzars sat, watching and hearing and delighting in the incredible artistry of the dance. The story itself, The Little Humpbacked Horse, absolutely ABSURD!...

The Mariinsky Theatre, in its 228th season (yes, that’s rights, in it’s two-hundred and twenty-eighth year of presenting ballet and opera performaces).

WOW, was really all I could say.

A replica of the Marinnsky, model size, to help people find their seats

The Tzars box seats

There I sat, juxtaposed between the HIV orphan horsey dance, and an entire two hours of highly trained dancers acting like silly horses! It is truly just a degree that separates the orphans life from ours, and what is ABSURDLY BEAUTIFUL about that fact is that with one thought (or many),

WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE FATE OF AN ORPHANED CHILD

The most amazing moment of the night was when our facilitator leaned over to me and told that her son, who is a very sophsitacted twenty year old young man, remarked to her that he believes her work with special needs orphan adoption has changed him and their family for the better.

He said that in part because on this night, as the crowd took to their seats after the third bell to signal the start of the Little Humpbacked Horse rang,

This young man walked by us

In the United States, you might not even notice him. I only would because I have been immersed in everything related to Down Syndrome that I could find for the past nearly one year. But here, he was unique. Other people starred and whispered. Us three marveled, and we saw it as a sign of hope for this society.

Maxim, our facilitators son, remarked to me that the dance playing the Little Humpbacked Horse was...beautifully absurd, and obviously, that notion stuck with me as a way to organize my thoughts on what we are experiencing here.

Reece’s Rainbow has an arm of their ministry called Voice of Hope. Seeing this young man out and about is what Voice of Hope is all about. Please visit Reece's Rainbow to learn, to know, to see, and to pray about how you can make a beautiful gesture to right this absurd reality.

Day 3

Yesterday after we came home and napped for a while and I blogged about day 2, we headed out to spend some time and have dinner with Clark and Angie Hook. They are here in St. Petersburg waiting out the 10 days until they can return to take their newly adopted child Evan, home forever.

There are so many blessings in so many things around us and on this trip, I really do not want to bore you, but I have to write them down so that we never forget all the ways in which God has put this together for us to be able to accomplish what we are trying to do in rescuing Ian.

For many months now, I have been emailing with Heather Fillmore. They adopted a little sunshine of a girl from Ian’s orphanage, Anya. By God’s hand (even after trying to get around it), they were required to have a ten-hour layover on the way here for their court trip, in Atlanta, and we got to meet them. That was a gift.

You spend all of this time emailing and blogging and sometimes even getting to talk over the phone, with incredible like minded people all over the country that are in the various throws of international special needs adoptions, and it is a blessing that is beyond compare. It is our good fortune that Heather really knows how to share, ☺ and so she hooked us up with a great resource here in St. Petersburg, who also speaks near native English and is very gracious.

As a result, we have a driver at our beckon call, which is great because we are traveling with a 4 year old and it is still winter here, despite the unseasonably warm temperatures. Last night, with just a few hours notice, the driver and person who arranged for our hotel stay, this friend of the Fillmore’s, sent a young man for us, Anton, to drive us to downtown so we could have dinner with the Hooks.

We are looking forward to tomorrow when we will do some site seeing of this incredible city.

This is Winter Palace, on drive by!

I’m not going to get into how they drive here, just sufficient to say that keeping ones eyes OFF the road as a passenger, is a good thing, otherwise you might suffer a mild (or stronger) heart attack by the time you get to where you are going! Honestly, our drivers have been super and really safe, compared to the other people on the road. I guess cars and busses and trolleys coming straight for you, head on, and then turning just before impact, is a regular thing here, no one even flinches! Oy vey!

Downtown St. Peter

In any event, we made it downtown and found Clark and Angie and proceeded to have a most wonderful meal (the best we have had so far!) at a Chinese restaurant on Nevsky Prospect, a main drag in downtown Peter (this is what the natives refer to the city as). I gotta say, this was another, totally unexpected blessing and gift for us.

Many of you know what the Davis and Hook families have been through with their adoptions. We have prayed and fasted for both of these families, neither of which we have ever met in person, until last night. The Hooks are wonderful, kind, FUNNY, down to earth people who we hope to see more of when we get back to the States. They do not live too far from us and they come to Atlanta now and again, so there is for sure an Evan-Ian-Ari-Levi play date in the future! Clark Hook is a card! He made Ari laugh and laugh, and I think Craig was happy to have an adult male around for a change! The Hooks “adventure” is incredible and it makes you thank God for how he works, unseen by us, to get these kids home. We had a great time with them, they looked great after their ordeal, and we were totally surprised and thankful and humbled when they refused to also let us pay for our meals. All I can say it that again, we are being given gifts left and right around here, and as we are thousands of miles from home, it makes me realize that home is where GOD is, and if he is your heart, you can feel at home anywhere in the world.

Angie, Clark, Craig and Ari

A big thank you to you Angie and Clark for your kindness, for sharing so much with us of your story and about your children at home, and for the comic relief after we spend such an emotional day 2 here.

So, on to our third, and next to last, visit with adorable little Ian.

Today was a little different, in a good way, then the past two. Both the social director, who usually meets us at the front door, and the director, were away from the “office.” So, we got ushered into a large room that was like a gym. Ian came in and we immediately whipped out the ipod, onto which I had preloaded some Russian children’s music. I had been playing this music over and over in my car for weeks so I knew the words and could sing the main parts of a few of the songs. The ipod was a HIT! In fact, Vasya grabbed it, yelped in delight, and then proceeded to the middle of the tunnel structure that was in the room, so that we could not got to him easily. He is so SMART! He wanted to examine that ipod by himself, without us trying to bother him! He danced to the music for a while, and ran around with the ipod (he had a kung-fu grip on that thing so it was a long while before we could pry it out of his hands!).

We did a lot of different things today with Ian, and while he seemed even less interested in Ari than yesterday, and even at one point kind of shoed him away, the chance for parallel play with the boys was great because of the size of the room. Everything we did with Ian we did with Ari, side by side, and I think that helped Ian to see that Ari will be a part of all he does in our family too. Again, God has blessed us with Ari. Ari is taking this all so well. He does want to play with Ian, badly, but he is also realizing that Ian is going to need to learn how to play with him.

Ari trying to wrangle Ian so they can play:)

This sets Ari up as a teacher. This is exactly what Craig and I predicted and a reason why we felt we could adopt Ian into our home and it not have a negative effect on Ari. Ari is the more skilled at this point in social interactions, and that will be so good for our precious boy, because he will gain confidence in being able to show Ian how to play. The opportunity for Ian to build trust in all of us is gigantic and likely the most important facet of him attaching to each of us.

I cannot tell you how good this trip has been for Ari, too. Again, a gift. Ari’s use of language has EXPLODED from the time we left Dulles in Washington, D.C. until now. He is putting words together to communicate with our facilitator (whom he adores!) and Ian and to share what he sees with us, in a way that he has not done in the past. He is truly amazing, and everyone that has observed him here cannot believe how well he has managed this trip. For a brief moment today, I got both of my boys on my lap, and it was – cool!

Lest you think Ian is only one running around and constantly moving, please enjoy this shot of Daddy, doing the same! These are boys, they are always moving around! So to be honest, everything is kinda normal around here ☺

The thing that stands out to everyone the most is that this whole thing of “parents” is totally foreign to Ian. He has no concept of mama and papa, how would he? Given that, he is doing AMAZING! Today, out of nowhere, after I sang him Katusha in Russia again while rocking him, he gave me a KISS and little hug too! Talk about melt your mommies heart! He is still having a hard time with the affection that we are trying to show him. He is not afraid of us anymore, but he is not used to being touched, or hugged, or hugging back. To me, the process he is showing in having hugged Craig yesterday, and having kissed me today, is proof positive that is going to be able to attach to us in a normal way. A child SHOULD show reservation to strangers – and to him we are REALLY strange! He has very likely never even seen a person of color before. In a really funny moment yesterday, he began to examine Craig’s skin!

INSERT SUPER CUTE VIDEO OF THAT WHEN POSSIBLE:)

There were many moments in our time with Ian today where he showed just how smart he is. He put together a floor puzzle by himself, he got out a large mat and when we tried to help, he said he wanted to do it by himself. He even imitated an English word when I was showing him how to interact with the ipod. He showed great reciprocal play skills with Craig playing chase, and he learned how to work a toy he had never seen, very quickly. He shows no signs of being withdrawn, and like any other 3-5 year old boy, he is interested in everything around him. This is huge plus for him because so is his brother Ari.

As our time came to an end today, we got yet another gift. This morning I got kind of bold and asked if we could see Ian within his groupa, idea courtesy of the Hooks. We got kind of left to our own resources at the orphanage because the powers that be were out. So, we got to take Ian back to his groupa upstairs.

Ian's picture outside of the groupa door

In the three to five minuets that we stood at the door to his groupa, I know for certain that Craig’s life and his perception of the world were changed. He was literally knocked to his knees by orphaned little boys climbing on him. I wanted to snap a picture but the caregiver at the door was not happy that we were there and she let us know that. Still, she let those 2-3 boys come over to Craig, pet him, ask where his hair was, and jump into his arms and hug him. It was a moment I do not think I will ever forget. Craig was in awe, and like me yesterday, when the children stood at the gate as we drove off, he was in complete tears before we got ten feet from the groupa.

I don’t care what kind of man any man is, the scene at the orphanage today when we arrived at the groupa would have brought you to tears. It was clear these little boys had some special needs, but it was also clear that they were LITTLE BOYS, God’s perfect creations, left behind. The touch of a orphans hand on your head, stroking your face, looking at you in awe, hugging you tight…it is more than any of us could take, and to my dear sweet Craig, all I could do was tell him that at least we are HERE, and we are making it one less, and that we are doing, in this moment in our lives, all that we can do to not turn a blind eye to the situation.

Later, after we left the orphanage for the day and dropped Craig and Ari off at the hotel for nap, our facilitator and I went to have me sign and notarize some paperwork. This was the reason for the trip, for us to meet Ian and for us to officially say that we accept the referral (affectionately known as referral number seventy), and that we won’t change our minds about adopting Ian. Since the debacle last Spring with the American woman sending her adopted son back here on a plane by himself, they actually ask you if you have plans to do the same. Dear lord.

I found out Ian’s middle name, his mothers full name, that the building he is in and the ones around it are more than 40 years old, but look more than 100 years old, and that he will be just the second child with Down Syndrome to be adopted here.

I had lunch with our facilitator and in a strange way, we have much in common. When I first came to Russia, in August of 1988, I landed at a youth camp on the Black Sea. In August of 1988, she too was at a youth camp on the shores of the Black Sea. She was translating for a group of young Americans.

Tonight, while those sweet faces who touched out hearts today at Ian’s orphanage sleep, with no mommy and daddy coming to meet them and take them home, I will sit in a seat in a world famous theater, watching the Kirov Ballet. I have never been to a ballet of any kind, and to sit there tonight and watch the beauty of dance, hear the orchestra, see the magical costumes and stage…I am certain tears will be falling for all of these babies that we have met who are still waiting from someone to hear the call of God to open their hearts and homes to his children.

We have been so thankful for all of your comments and prayers while we are here. We wish we could respond to each of them, but please know that we treasure your thoughts and insights and that you are sharing Ian’s story.

As our facilitator and I parted ways today I was told that the orphanage doctor wanted to know that if Ian needs surgery before we can get him home, do we want to have it done in Russia, or wait until he is in our care. Of course, I said wait, if it was not life threatening. Still, it is becoming more and more clear that he is going to need some sort of surgery, and possibly more than one on more than one part of his tiny little body. We ask first for your prayers for this sweet child, that he may be able to stave off having any surgeries until he is home with us, and that you help us bring him home as soon as possible. We have no qualms about letting you know we are $18,000.00 short in being fully funded. We won’t be able to submit our request for a court date via the court dossier, until we are very close, or at that amount raised. Please pray that we will be able to raise this amount quickly and get Ian home this summer.

In him,

Gretchen, Craig, Ari, and Ian☺