The good news is

there was no news today.  The other shoe has not dropped - every quiet day brings a little more confidence that we may make it back there.  Finally, a quiet Friday with nothing looming over me for the next two days.   I may even begin preparing for the trip although I'm still afraid to get too far in the planning as things change so much.  I don't want to jinx anything!  Hopefully next week will be as quiet as this week was!  

More good news . . . I found some Russian adoption blogs of families waiting for court - one of who has a court date in two days.  That provides some relief as I have been worried about the conflict between governments right now over the Georgia crisis.   And, I read about families waiting in two different regions and they were 8 months out and still waiting.   It's sad so many children and families are waiting so long but it does provide some comfort that my situation is typical as I'm 9 months out right now.  Hopefully our journey is nearing completion.

All quiet today

It seems the dust of last week has settled and it has become very quiet since declaring that I'm going regardless of any confusion.  No phone calls, messages, emails - but, I'm always waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

I confirmed that the passports have been received for new visas and that the final renewals are being sent out for apostilles.  All I'm missing is the FBI clearance which I can hand carry if necessary.  Even if that comes in after I leave it should be fine.

Tomorrow I will get a new itinerary.  My plan is to arrive on 9/10 and make a return reservation for sometime late October or early November knowing that it will have to be changed.  I don't plan on making any reservations for the girls at this point as it will be easier to make them from Russia than to change them later.  Note that I'm being very positive about bringing them home with us on this trip.   I don't have any idea how it's all going to play out but for now I'm focusing on the goal. 

I don't think I'll lose this feeling of apprehension until I actually arrive in or possibly until we're all leaving Russia.  I have so many concerns about the judge and the government and all that could change.  I was blissfully ignorant with Katy's adoption and had no idea of how fragile the entire process was.  I realized after the completion just how close I was to not getting her out prior to the expiration of the accreditations - I was lucky I wasn't in the know then as I was able to just focus on Katy and making sure her needs were met.  I can't wait to end my nightmares about Camryn and Courtney growing up in an institution although I still think about that with Katy even though it's not a possibility for her any longer.  I think it will always haunt me as long as there are other kids existing in that environment.  It's such a sad, avoidable waste.  

Let's hope the quiet continues now.

The story today is . . .

Maybe there isn't a packet.  Or, maybe there is.  Nobody seems to really know.  The only piece of information that has not changed is that the judge has asked for the girls documents to be there for her on the 15th.  Nobody seems to be able to understand Olga or Olga's story keeps changing - they can't figure it out and are also very frustrated.  

So, today another call from the director of my agency which usually doesn't bring good news - at least it hasn't so far.   Nobody really had any advice on what I should do - just explained the situation of really not knowing what is going on and understanding that they probably won't until after the judge returns.  So, one thought was that I should hold off on traveling until after the judge's return and we can establish what it was that she really wanted me to do.  

Based on past experience, I'm told, that when the judge asks for the child's documents then a court date follows very soon unless there are problems with the paperwork, which is unusual.  The judge has already, apparently, looked at my documents so there shouldn't be any other requests other than getting the renewals that I've been working on. 

With the fragmented, unconfirmed information that I do have, I'm still planning to go on the 8th for arrival on the 10th.  I'm getting a 90 day visa and an open ticket so I can stay if a court date seems to be coming in the near future.   Otherwise, it will be the visit I had planned for this week.    It's really unfortunate that they (she) had me cancel that trip and then have all of the reasons for it unravel.  It's all been so strange but I don't know what to do other than go see the girls and hope to get a court date sometime in September or early October.    

This certainly has dimmed my excitement regarding the trip but it will be good to get back there and spend time with the girls.  I only hope that they will be with us when we return.