Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Smith family!

We didn't do much today, just went and got a stroller from Walmartski and ate at Traveler's Cafe.

Thought I would post some pics of today and Maddux in the pumpkin set we got him.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Jenny

First night

Our first night with Maddux went well. He was super good.
We had a little "Gotcha Party" with the other family. We had cake and some gifts so boys had a good time.

The hotel where we are staying in Kemerovo doesn't have a crib or anything for Maddux so we had to sleep with him last night. Well he is a bed hog! :)
I didn't get much sleep. My husband however never seems to have a problem, it's pretty annoying!

I did something to my back yesterday. Well I think it's a combination of sleeping on the springs of the bed, our mattress is beyond terrible, car rides and carrying him. I thought I was going to pass out my back hurt so bad last night, I think I really pulled something. So taking tons of Advil and trying to fix it. Boy am I getting old or what?! We are buying a stroller today, not waiting until tomorrow.

Well posting some pics of the boys sleeping. Yes, Rich can ALWAYS sleep, and I thought I slept a lot! :)

Jenny

Gotcha Day!!!

Gothcha Day is finally here and we are so happy.

We picked up Maddux today around 11:00. We really think he knew he was leaving, he looked kind of sad. He cried when one of his caregivers said "paka paka" to him.

He did wonderful on the car ride home and we took him to Walmartski this afternoon for formula and stuff and he did great there. He is very curious about everything!

Well going to finally post some pics!


We are so happy and he was definitely worth the wait for us!

Jenny

Wheel of Fortune

So here we are on Day 10 and it's so hard for me to believe Maddux will be officially ours tomorrow!

During this 10 day wait I have been thinking a lot about a conversation my Grandfather Stickels and I had years ago. I was waiting to write about it until the end of our 10 day wait. My Grandfather has been gone now for several years but I have never forgotten this story and being here reminded me of it again.

So on my Dad's side of the family I was kind of the 'odd ball' to them. I was in my late 20's and then 30 and wasn't married and had 0 prospects. I never really dated a lot and brought no one around. Almost everyone else on that side of the family married early and had kids. They were from a small town and that is what most of them did. So I got teased a lot, called an "Old Maid" all of the time and would always be asked when I was getting married, why I wasn't etc. My family would do this a lot, but they liked to tease. I knew I was just on a different path. I bought my house all by myself in my 20s, I traveled, I worked hard and took a leap into consulting which really paid off for me. I just wasn't at that stage yet, but the teasing did get to me at times. It bothered me, especially by the time I turned 30 because I would get down about not having anyone special.

Anyway, so one time when we were back in IA my Grandfather could tell all of the teasing was really getting me to that day. I could tell he felt sorry and bad for me so he started to talk to me about it. He said "Jenny you know you remind me of one of those Son's of B's (that is how he talked and it was funny, his style) on that game show your Grandmother watches all of the time, the one where they spin the wheel (yes Wheel of Fortune). He said "you are the sap everyone feels sorry for the whole game. When it's your turn, you always get 'lose a turn' or 'bankrupt'." He said " I always feel so bad for that person and low and behold at the very last minute that person somehow ends up winning the WHOLE DAMN JACKPOT! He/She wins the whole darn thing. He said "that is you, one day you are going to win it all, the whole jackpot".
I have never forgotten that story and wondered if it would be true. I also liked his comparison of life to a Wheel of Fortune show!

Fastforward to now and my gosh my Grandfather was right. I had to wait awhile but in the end I married a great guy who is my best friend and now we are blessed to have a son who I already love so much.

So looks like my Grandfather was right, I ended up winning the whole darn JACKPOT! :)

Jenny

Sushi in Siberia and Day 10!

Today is Day 10! At close of business today the waiting period is up, and hopefully everything continues to go according to plan. We are leaving Saturday morning at 8 am to pick Maddux up from the orphanage. I think we are both a bit nervous, but in the end it will all be worth it.

The other night we went out with Kevin and Denise, the other couple that is here finishing their adoption. There appears to be two Japanese resturants on the main street, and we ate a the better one according to those two. I have to say, even in the places where they don't speak a bit of english, everyone has been very nice to us. The cashier at the Walmartski still scowls at us when we ask for a plastic bag though. Oh well. You can get a long way just pointing at the pictures on the menu!

I'm sure tomorrow we'll have more to say, and pictures of our boy of course! Jenny got a very funny one with his tongue sticking out and looking all goofy. I'll make sure I post that one! He just happens to be wearing a Cubs shirt too...that wasn't an accident. :)

Oh, and a special thanks to Grandma Carole for taking care of our dogs! They are a handful sometimes!

Rich

Days 8 and 9

We are almost there. Saturday still seems like a lifetime from now, hopefully it goes quickly. We're trying to relax as much as possible during these last few days, because once he's with us everything will change.

I wrote something to Maddux back in July, the day we met him. I don't even think Jenny knows about it. I saved it on our netbook so when the time came, I could share it with both of them.

7/22/2010

Maddux,

Today is the first day that I met you. You were just about a week away from your first birthday. I'm kind of lucky, not many fathers get to meet their son on such an adventure. The country in which you were born is very nice. There are many things similar to the United States here, and likewise many differences. As I sit here this morning and wonder how today will go, I can only hope that you and I are starting a wonderful journey together as father and son!

What's strange is you are there at the orphanage now, probably eating breakfast or playing, and you have no idea we are coming. However, your mother and I have dreamed about this moment for a long time now. In about three hours, both of our lives will change forever. I like to think I'm a strong person, but knowing that I get to see you finally has be excited and terrified at the same time. What if you don't like us? What if you want to stay in Russia with your friends at the orphanage. What if you resent us for bringing to you our country. I pray none of these things are true. You are what we have waited for, you are our son.

Your mother is almost out of the shower, and she'll be ready to go eat breakfast soon. I thought it would be nice for you to someday read my thoughts before the day we met. Someday we'll share with you the wonderful journey that brought us together. I love you already Maddux, and always will!

Dad

Day 6 and now 7

We have made it through days 6 and 7!

We didn't do much yesterday, the weather has been really nice here 40s, so higher than usual. So we took a walk near the river and stuff.

We found out yesterday our "Gotcha Day" will be this Saturday the 30th! Yeah!
What a fun Gotcha Day, right before Halloween. Glad we brought a little pumpkin outfit for him.

We went to the orphanage today for our last visit! Maddux REALLY liked the basketball and liked putting the ball in the hoop. I think he may like basketball more than baseball, sorry Rich! :)

Maddux was good though and had fun playing ball with Luke.

We also tried on Maddux's cubs shirt, took some pics of him in it. He looked very cute!~

On the way home we say lots of stray dogs. I couldn't live here, I would try to rescue them all! One of the dogs was a pretty black with white paws and he was in middle of nowhere. He was walking down the road, staying right by the side to avoid traffic, he looked like he was trecking to the next town.... Poor guy. I hope he makes it there and finds a home... :(

Well Saturday is the big day for us! We can't wait!

Jenny