Reflection of our MOE day

Let me start by saying there is a lot of confidential information in here Svetlana asked us not to publish. Because this blog has limited access to a few close family members and good friends, I am going to share some facts. But, please don't share any of it as she is not our child, and we owe the Russian people the respect of honoring this request.

What a long day! We woke up at 6am full of nervous energy, ate, showered and we were ready by 7:30. So we sat around until 9:00 when we went down stairs. Comically, we sat there looking out the window for the car while our translator stood there in a tour crowd waiting for us to come down the elevator. We finally connected when the crowd thinned around 9:30. There was no traffic to Svetlana's office so we got there very quickly. The famous Svetlana is in fact larger than life and belongs in The Great State of Texas. Big hair, big personality, big ring... larger than life and so Texan! I swear I have seen Irina before. Gray long hair pulled back into a low neat bun. Not an old fashioned bun, she looked like someone I have seen as a doctor or at the University. She was only interested in papers. She was nice, but didn't want to chat. She wanted to work on papers only. I hate to admit it, but being in the states and not knowing them, we had a tendency to believe that money was a driving factor for them. My husband was the first to notice how wrong we were and how much this is about the children for them. Not us. The children.
We sat at a conference table with Jana and Breck and and were given a "what to expect" meeting and then we headed to the MOE. I wish I had taken the elevator just to say I did it. It is somewhat famous. The MOE is in an old building, but it is so close to everything. They are right not to move out to the new MOE building in the suburbs. The drive would be a killer if you had to go out one way to an apt and then head the other way to an orphanage! We sat for over an hour and a half and waited for our meeting. It was fun chatting with Svetlana and hearing about her grandson. Jana and her husband were also very nice. We finally went in and I was ready to jump out of my skin knowing her photo was that close. Jana went first. Brack spoke and told about their family. How many children, where they live and what they do as a job. Then the MOE described the child to them. After that it was our turn. Ian gave the basics about us too and then we got Nadya's file. Svetlana kept saying "Don't look at the photo" but I thought she was beautiful!!! It is the one from the Data Bank. But, I had never looked at 2006 since we wanted a child under 18 months. It was all ok, I kept saying we would take anyone After Sept 1, 2006 so she is the grade below Aidan. And she was born Sept 27th!! They are a year apart. For any numerologist out there reading, go look at my birthday pattern in an early post. She fits our family's birthday pattern. Only 12 days out of 365 work, and 4 are already taken. So with 8 special birthdays left, she WAS born on one of them! Tell me that is not weird! I don't know how we could have asked for a better medical report.
At that point we both said we wanted to see the children and off we went. We went to Fryzanio Baby Home where Artem (Susan's) and Liam (Ondrea's son) were from. It was quite the drive but not much traffic thankfully! We stopped at McDonalds because I warned them that my husband was very grumpy when hungry. We all got to eat. Yummo. Then we continued on. It reminded me of Dallas. You start in Dallas and don't realize you are in Richardson, then Plano, then Allen and then McKinney. A normal person would think you were still in Dallas, it was just big. We saw lots of kids out in the suburbs. Master planned communities with Gates and BIG homes too. Lots of trees and forest scattered. The orphanage had a big red wall around it with an iron gate and a guard stand. We presented our passports (you take them everywhere here) and in we went. The building was old, but it had murals on the walls and toys all over. Kids were outside on bikes and in trams. Very cute. We met with the director first. She started giving us the medicals and Tanya, our translator, was none to please at our intense interest. Dr. Gordina had a huge list of information we had to gather. Tanya kept saying, you love the child, you take the child, then we give you all of this. Ian had to say "Dr. Gordina wants the court report" and with Svetlana's permission Dr. M was able to obtain all of the documents for Dr. Gordina. I think everyone there knew Dr. Gordina personally and understood the minute we said her name. When we told this to Dr. Gordina this morning she laughed! The next thing I knew Nadya (Hope in English) was in the door way. None to pleased either. They woke her from a nap. My heart breaks every time I think about it. She was like a wet animal. She was terrified but compliant. A tear would run down her cheek, but she would submit to anything. She didn't really play all that much. She fed Ian cheerios and she thought the stickers were interesting. But not until she got her toys did she start to really play much. Fortunately, it was snack time soon. I asked to watch the caregiver feed her and BOY OH BOY did she change!!!! even with the Director, translator, Dr. M, Ian, Me and 2 caregivers all hovering over her staring, she was so happy to be around familiar caregiver faces and she totally changed personalities. She pointed to her nose and eyes and ears. She played "so big". She rocked a doll and sang a song to it. Her behavior demonstrated a really healthy development of attachment. She was attached to the doll. Not overly accepting or denying of new people and clearly at ease with familiar people. Please pray for this terrified little girl who doesn't believe she is allowed to say NO. She lets life and all the bad stuff just happen to her while she trembles. How am I ever going to last until court? I think she has Aidan as a big brother to teach her to say "no". I don't think it will take long for her to catch on. :) He will be a good role model for not having to let life happen to you. He is also going to teach that girl to EAT. I can't wait until the baby room ladies get ahold of her. She is really going to put on the pounds then!

We are not accepting her today. Well not quite. We are accepting her on the condition that Dr. Gordina gets all the other papers she wants and she doesn't recommend against the adoption. We head back out to the orphanage with a whole new list of questions, observations to make and documents to collect for Dr. G. She says that Nadya should behave differently today. She should be expecting us and she should respond differently in some way (upset or happy) we are to look for a change.

I am not sure how we are standing. Tonight I am going to collapse and sleep HARD.

OK, prayer warriors. Keep it going! She really needs you!
Paka!
Michelle