one last thought

If you want to get a few pictures from time to time send us your email at mdalpacas@yahoo.com We think we have some emails but maybe not of everyone who has been with us for this Journey of love!

We continue to marvel…

At all the transitions the kids, and we, are going through. It’s been just over two weeks since we arrived home and today another ‘first’ occurred. This time it was the birth of an alpaca. ‘Coppertone’ wasn’t due for another 3-4 weeks so this little guy is on the edge. Watching the kids while we cleaned up the cria and milk the mother as well as help the little one stand was pretty interesting.

This is just one of a hundred different ‘firsts’ they have been enjoying or enduring depending on your/their point of view. Two weeks ago today we took them out to the barn for the first time. Without blinking all three pitched in and helped us and Kevin’s parents herd the alpacas out of the barn, put out hay, and feed them grain. It took them a week before Delaney insisted in helping her father scoop the poop.

And so it goes – nothing seems to slow these kids down.

To back up 14 days and recap a few events that stood out at the time (and if we don’t document them now they will be lost to the years ahead). First, as we noted in our last blog post, we are grateful for CHI getting us through the maze of processes in Moscow. We can’t imagine being holed up in a hotel room with three energetic kids for as long as was predicted. So many we talked to in Moscow were taking 3 or more weeks for their second trip and we were home in one!

Our flights home were generally good. We baited the kids with chewy candy and suckers in an attempt to avert painful ears. Either that worked or we got lucky because none complained about ear pain. The first two flights were relatively short (less than 4 hours) and the trips to the bathroom and eating airline food did not pose any real problems. In fact, the kids did quite well but we knew we were at the end of the duration for keeping them from total boredom and meltdown. Fortunately, we flew back from Frankfort on a Boeing 777 with individual screens and headsets at each seat. That kept them completely entertained while they were awake. The kids should have been paid as testers because the switches got quite a workout. Once they ate, all 3 slept the duration of the flight.

When we arrived at Dulles we were meet by Nancy’s parents who greeted us with teddy bears, warm smiles and hugs. Upon arriving home at 11:00 pm the kids raced to their rooms of which they had seen pictures in the updated photo albums we took to Russia. Kevin’s parents, who were house sitting while we were away, rushed to do two weeks of home prep work in just three days: adding locks, moving things up out of reach, putting the finishing touches on the kid’s rooms, etc. By the time we could implement the routine of dinner, tubby time, ten minutes of movie time it was 3:15 AM before the whole house calmed to a short night of sleep because we were all up by 8:00 AM.

The next days brought the occasional meltdown because someone didn’t get their way, projectile vomiting when Parker was hit by the stomach bug, doctor’s visits and shots nearly too numerous to count (but Delaney and Carson certainly told Parker how many they each got on what arm since he got to stay home and recover from the bug as they pointed at each arm and stabbed themselves with a finger!). Parker got his a week later!

Carson is a chatterbox who’s favorite line is “Papa Oup PaWease” It took Parker two days to get that line down and now they both are giving their father back stress as he tries to carry them up the stairs to tubby time, p-sit (number one) or kakhat (number two). Delaney loves to be carried by her mom who also now has back stress! The kids all love to wash their hands, turn on light switches, race around, be tickled and all the other usual kid stuff.

There have been virtually no sleeping issues and each has slept in their own bed each night. Only one accident (following the dinner-time discovery of the frig water dispenser – which is now conveniently ‘broken’) though Carson has woken two nights crying and needing only to go p-sit.

Food has been an issue – but only in having enough to satisfy their appetites. Mac and cheese, yogurt, jello, meatloaf, roast turkey breast, fresh cherry tomatoes, pasta with pesto, pizza, raw radishes, lots of juice, milk – virtually anything we put in front of them. For all the bland food we ate in Russia these kids even scarfed up the Mexican rice Kevin made for lunch one day.

One night Parker put his hand on his head and went Boom, Boom, Boom as he raised his hand higher and higher and ever since all three kids are seemingly eating to grow bigger and bigger. They are doing it too. In just the first week Parker added two plus pounds!

We also celebrated Delaney’s 8th birthday which happens to also be Kevin’s father’s (Val) birthday. Having heard that kids in orphanages only celebrate birthday’s monthly and fearing that the two boys would feel left out of the gift receiving we didn’t really know what to expect. To make things simpler we gave both Delaney and Val their cards to open first. This was fine until we gave Delaney the first gift – which was a nozzle for a hand held propane tank. She quickly passed it to Val who was delighted but had little time to enjoy it before Carson ran off with it and became so attached that he slept with it that night! The rest of the event went well with Parker even playing delivery man to his older sister! We had lesson 101 on B-day’s which Nancy had forgotten – never do cake and presents in the evening for little ones. Kid B-days need to be in the afternoon to eliminate nuclear meltdown and overtired kiddos.

We could go on and on with anecdotes and challenges. The biggest of the later is language. It seems certain that these kids do not have all the terrible issues of determining who their new parents are or sleeping, eating, bathing, etc. What they need is a school environment so that they can start to socialize and learn English and not have each other as a crutch to fall back on. Delaney has already learned her ABC’s and numbers in English and has been caught speaking English in short phrases. Carson is nearly ready to sing Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes and Parker in some ways has made the biggest adjustments as he brought a certain amount of anger with him which seems to have begun to abate. Last Sunday he got to the point where he was freely giving kisses and hugs to both of us and it could not have brought bigger smiles, stronger hugs and return kisses. We can only speculate as to what their individual situation was with their biological parents and in the orphanage and what they learned and endured. Clearly, they learned some survival skills but also valuable life skills as well (what kid doesn’t play with their food or pout from time to time and how many kids take their dishes to the sink, trash/recycling to the appropriate can, help vacuum, put away toys or race to the tub for tubby time?). So, they seem normal enough to fit right in with us!

During our adoption hearing in Kemerovo, the judge asked Nancy if the kids met our expectations, she responded that they exceeded our expectations. Now, nearly three weeks since that hearing we can still say that they exceed our expectations in every way. Tomorrow, Delaney will start American First grade and Parker will start kindergarten for the first time (we’re bracing for a difficult time because the two times we have taken the kids to either school or day care Delaney stars to cry – we finally surmised that her only perspective on school comes from last fall when she was separated from her brothers and sent away to a boarding school – no doubt she fears that scenario will be repeated so we are planning on being there for her at lunch and available all day if needed to convince her that she will always come home to her forever family). If we survive this week and with some hard work and luck they will advance a grade next fall.

As for Carson, we feel lucky to have found what appears to be a wonderful person running a day care that is expanding to a facility right across from the school that Delaney and Parker will attend. He will start on the 31st and his brother and sister will be there for before and after school care starting on the same date.

We have also been blessed with a wonderful network of family and friends. We could not have returned as smoothly with out your help nor would we have been as comfortable leaving 57 alpacas without the steadfast help of Cindy and Craig Harmon and Angie Lowrie who came by each day to help feed and scoop poop. Kevin’s parents not only took care of and prepped the house but helped out in the barn each day as well. And, when we returned, their love for and patience with the kids is still remembered by their new grandchildren. Our co-workers, friends and family who have brought us gifts and donations of clothes, toys, car seats and other necessities have delighted the kids and relieved us as we see the kids engage in different ways with each newly discovered toy. This is both the most challenging time and perhaps the most rewarding. It has renewed our value in the simple things while trying our patience. God’s blessing has come to us in our families, in our four children (we can’t wait for Ellie to meet her three new siblings!) and in our friends near and far. Thank you for keeping all of us in your thoughts and prayers - we still need them! We can’t wait for you all to meet our three new ones and if you haven’t met Ellie yet to meet her too (she’s in New Castle, New South Wales, Australia right now for her Spring semester of her Jr. year at Clemson). This is the last planned entry into our blog. If for some reason we start up again we will let you know. Until then, enjoy the picture of 5/6’s of the Brandt family!

Stay Tuned

Stay tuned for one last entry in this blog - the adventures of the last week deserve one more post - hopefully this weekend...

Nearly home!

Moscow February 22 8:00 PM: By the grace of God we are coming home four days early because we are DONE! That’s right; the Russian staff of our adoption agency has done a fantastic job of getting us through the process. The last step was the visa process at the American embassy today. Imagine 30 adopted kids (age 12 months up to 12 years) and their parents all crowded into a 25’ by 25’ room with a few dozen other Russian nationals waiting for visas in more or less the same space, add in snow suits, heavy wool and fur coats and the temperature was easily 90 degrees and the cacophony – oh it was noisy! We were the second to last family to get our visas but got them we did. Our flights have been changed and we will arrive back in DC Saturday night! Wahoo!

This morning we went back to the nearby park in snow suits and had a great time sliding and swinging before hitting the grocery store (mark up another first for the kids… and us!). Then it was off to the embassy. Upon returning we’ve been relaxing in the room with the Russian dubbing of the Cartoon Network. We just finished two rounds of Candyland which were handily won by Delaney. It was a great way to mix in colors and counting as well as engaging Delaney and Parker. Now it’s time for dinner, bath time and then a bit of video if everyone is doing well – tomorrow is a big day.

Continue keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as we make the last leg of this incredible journey. In little more than 24 hours we will be home and start the whole rest of our young and old lives (but feeling younger every moment).

With love, Kevin and Nancy

Sweet Dreams...

Moscow, February 21, 6:37 PM: Today has been another memorable day starting with getting our selves and three bewildered kids up before sunrise. Last night was predictably rough as everyone was on sensory overload. Today was no different with firsts (as far as we know) in an elevator, bus from the terminal to the plane, airplane, sprinter van, traffic jams, tall buildings, and car sickness. Add a bit more vomiting, crying, exhaustion, wide-eyed curiosity, exhilaration, and the fact that the day is ending calmly and peacefully after an in-room picnic dinner and mama/papa bath-time seems almost hard to imagine.

Moscow was sunny today and notably warmer than Kemerovo – it actually felt like spring was not far away – not that we plan on being here that long. It was a great day to sit in the doctor’s office which is a required step towards getting American citizenship (the physical is required not just the wait) for the kids. After that adventure we were at least able to salvage the afternoon by finding a park where they could climb on jungle gym equipment, swing and slide onto a patch of ice at the bottom and go bump, bump, bump – all a real laugh to the kids. Tomorrow we hope to have our interview at the American embassy which will be the last step in the process. Our agency really worked hard to get us from the airport to the children’s hospital where the exams are done and then the paperwork to the embassy to start this process. Moscow is a huge city with New York style traffic jams with cars, trucks, busses and forklifts, backhoes etc. bringing everything to a crawl. So the fact that we got so much done today is amazing.

As for the four hour flight this morning… It went surprisingly well. We’re learning how to manage the kids’ energy which makes life more enjoyable for everyone. We beat the ear aches at takeoff and landing and barely managed to keep them entertained for four hours – crayons and magnadoodle can only entertain for so long. Of course simply moving on and off the plane and around the airports with snowsuits, large bags and hands to be held has presented challenges but so far we can report that all are present and accounted for.

So, it is a happy night and we are both exhausted and relieved to have survived our first 24 hours as parents to three energetic kids under 8 that don’t yet speak much English (they already are repeating a few words). We appreciate your thoughts and prayers and they continue to make a difference.

Sweet dreams to all! Kevin and Nancy

Yes, they are all sleeping!

Hello From the mostly sleeping family of five here in Kemerovo. It was a long but successful day with the kids now finally asleep in our room. Tomorrow we fly back to Moscow to begin the final paperwork with the US embassy. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather is good and that the waiting out in the cold is not too long. This will be short note tonight since our internet is on the second floor and we are on the 6th. More news tomorrow night when we have a connection in our room – we hope. Love you all and to all a sleep filled night!

We Are Family!

Kemerovo, Feb 19,9:45 PM: Today at 12:16 PM local time our adoption of Delaney Svetlana Brandt, Parker Alexander Brandt and Carson Vladimir Brandt was officially pronounced by the Kemerovo Oblast Court of the Russian Federation; we are now a family of six!
Having come so far, literally, it is still sinking in that we are 7/8’s of the way towards our goal of adoption. Not only did the court approve the adoption but they made the adoption effective immediately meaning we do not have to wait the usual 10 days for the court decision to be effective. Therefore, tomorrow morning we will drive to Delaney’s boarding school and the boys’ orphanage and bring them ‘home’ to our hotel. Thus will start the family phase of our adoption.
What a saga the last four days have been. Aside from being exhausted and hungry we’ve been anxious about how everything would flow. To our relief, today’s events went smoothly and presented no hitches – our adoption agency staff here are top shelf. Our hearing began a little late at 11:10 and concluded just over an hour later. Kevin was told to prepare a speech of about 10 to 15 minutes to cover many topics from our motivation to our finances to our relationship with the children. We were told to specially include references to our mortgage and wedding dates. As it turned out Kevin started with the meaning of our wedding date (Nov. 25th) and the judge took it from there with a range of questions that required answers from Kevin’s speech. Mid-way through the Q and A the pictures that we had struggled with the morning of our departure were requested. As they were passed around it was the first time in the hearing that smiles broke out among all participants including the judge! After 20 minutes of grilling Kevin was asked to sit down and Nancy was asked to stand and asked if she agreed to “everything your husband had just said.” Fortunately she did and a few more questions to her satisfied the judge.
More boilerplate-appearing readings were conducted (in Russian of course) and soon we got to the medical stuff. The enumeration of serious-sounding ailments resulted in an offer by the judge on the part of the Russian Federation to conduct more tests on the children. We respectfully declined and we moved on to our request to waive the Russian law which requires a 10 day waiting period before any court ruling can be made effective. After Kevin’s oral statement which was supported by the Oblast’s prosecutor and the regional Ministry of Education’s official the judge asked us all to step out of the court room (of special note: the court room included a pair of cells which were constructed on 1” rebar which fortunately we didn’t have to sit in). After not more than 2 minutes we were called back in for the reading of the court’s decision. Of course it was all in Russian but our interpreter gave us a running account and we squeezed each other’s hands to the point of pain as she pronounced each of the three adoptions approved. When she announced that she was waiving the 10 day waiting period we both gave a huge sigh of relief. As the judge and other participants filed past where we were standing we both hugged and our interpreter said, “Kevin, you look a lot more relaxed.”
The rest of the day was spent driving from the Oblast’s registrar’s office to the court house to some other place and back again and again. After the new birth certificates were issued and the passports prepared we went shopping for the little parties that we will host at the orphanage and boarding school when we go to pick up the kids tomorrow. Finally, we went to the local travel agency to purchase our tickets back to Moscow for our family of 5. I’m certain there isn’t a group rate here in Russia but we’ll certainly look into that back in the USA!
Tonight we ceremoniously opened the vacuum-sealed bag of kid’s clothes and packed a separate suitcase full of clothes and snowsuits to take to the kids. In orphanages the kids have nothing of their own. When they are adopted we basically get the kids au-naturale… so socks to underwear to snow boots and parkas are all being delivered tomorrow.
There are more stories to be told of course (like how Carson hugged his soon-to-be-dad and exclaimed in Russian “you feel just like a hedgehog!”, Parker cutting out a silhouette of an airplane announcing that he is ready to fly or Delaney hugging each of us so hard when we returned to see her that we could hardly breathe). As time permits we will share them. Please know that you were all with us today in that court room and we felt the power of your support. In fact, the judge asked us about our families’ support and specifically how Ellie feels about our adoption. As all of you have reminded us over these months this is a huge commitment. Each of you in both big and small ways has inspired us: Ellie, our parents and siblings, cousins and other family and friends and colleagues that we work with. Without your love and support we would not have the confidence to be here and both of us and three little children in Siberia would not be excitedly looking forward to the rest of our lives together.
Love, Kevin and Nancy

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Back In Siberia

Moscow, Feb 17, 7:25 PM: In an effort to release some tension and anxiety, Nancy announced that her ‘water broke – it’s time to go’ this afternoon, February 16, at about 1:30 Eastern Time. Of course the announcement was metaphorical but our panic of this morning could not have been more real. International adoptions require lots of things to be ‘just right’ – not ‘just close.’ There have been a few close calls along this journey and a big one nearly struck us this morning. Kevin was out making a ‘picture run’ so that the Russian court could see visual evidence that we had met and interacted with the former Peter, Paul and Mary – now Carson, Parker and Delaney (CPD). The camera kiosk at 5 CVS’s failed to read the card and in marginally controlled panic Kevin called back home to Nancy to retake the pictures of the newly decorated kids’ rooms and dump data from a USB drive so a new media could be re-tried at a 6th CVS kiosk.

To cut to the chase, triple backups of a CD, USB drive and camera card were all reloaded with the picture data and with about 25 minutes to spare Kevin was back with the required photos. Last minute shuffling of packed bags, hasty goodbyes to Kevin’s parents who are house sitting and we were off. Of course, we double checked our passport locations and a few other key documents while in motion and made one fast stop to unpack a bag to verify that the US Customs and Immigration Service’s documentation was with us. Convinced that we had all that we could think of; we sped off – at the maximum legal limit - and met Nancy’s parents near the airport to be dropped off at the main door.

Now we are sitting, and have been for 5 ½ hours, in the Moscow domestic terminal (only 3 more hrs to go). Kevin’s nearly fallen asleep and off his stool several times while Nancy, who slept a bit more on the flights, added to her growing Russian vocabulary. We’ve taken the time to add the sacred photos to an album to be used in court Tuesday and our fatigue seemed to fade away (at last for a moment) as we smiled at the photos of CPD and are reminded of why we’re heading back to Siberia in the depth of winter.

Well, our gate was just posted so we will soon go through final security and bag check, more waiting and boarding our second consecutive overnight flight. We’re guessing how much over-weight our bags will be and how pricey that will be. It’s hard packing for 5 people for at least 10 day trip in 80 lbs or less- including 3 full snow suits and boots…

Kemerovo, Feb 18, 7:25 PM: Exhausted. Happy. In two words that sums up our last 24 hours. We got to see the kids (CPD) today and there were just as we remembered them. More on that later as we ready ourselves for the first sleep in 42 hours. Suffice it to say our flights and bags were on time. Nancy nailed our luggage weight by being just 2.9 kilos over the limit for which we were not charged. Siberia is not disappointing in the cold department. Our court time has been moved back an hour to 11:00 on Tuesday (tomorrow) so we’re hoping the time in the morning will work for developing Kevin’s speech a s well as sleeping in a bit.

Keep us all in your thoughts and prayers!

Love, Kevin and Nancy