Where will we be adopting from this time?

Many friends have asked about where we'll adopt from this time. We have decided to explore a different region in Russia and we'll be traveling to Vladivostok this time. Here is some information about it.

Vladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of the Primorsky Kraj region. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea. It is also the home port of the Russian Pacific fleet. Their time zone is 15 hours ahead of eastern time.

Average temperature in January: −13.2 °C (8.2 °F)
Average temperature in August: 20.6 °C (69.1 °F)


In 2012, Vladivostok will host the 24th Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. In preparation for the event, the infrastructure of the city is being renovated and improved. Two giant cable-stayed bridges are currently under construction in Vladivostok, namely the Zolotoy Rog bridge over the Zolotoy Rog Bay in the center of the city, and the Russky Island Bridge from the mainland to Russky Island, where the summit will take place. The latter bridge will become the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world upon completion.

i600A Sent Off

Once again, FedEx is our favorite friend right now. We have sent off our i600A to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Now we must wait 2 months to hear back from them and receive their acceptance. Once we get this, we're given a date and time for our official fingerprints.

All of the initial paperwork is complete and I'm so glass that I have the summer off to accomplish that. It always feels good to be at this point of the process and have time to take a deep breath and relax. We hope to hear news about a little brother or sister soon. It would be nice to travel in October or November for our first trip.

Off to enjoy more of the summer...

Happy Fourth of July

Luke enjoyed being with our family in Nebraska. He hadn't been to a parade like this yet and it was fun to see him so excited. He caught lots of candy with his cousins and had a huge smile all day long. Fireworks are one of his favorite things and we got a great show in Waverly!

Here We Go Again!

Scott and I decided to begin another adoption and our home study is now complete! We would love any prayers as we enter this process again. We are hoping that we are just as blessed as we were with the first adoption with Luke. He is such a joy to our family and he longs to have a brother or sister. Yes, we are open to having a boy or a girl this time. We are asking for a child that Luke can play with and a 4-5 year old would be ideal!

Luke prays each night and tells me that he is ok with sharing his bed. He even scoots over and tells me that his brother is going to sleep their one day. He has such a big heart!

This week we're working on filling out over 13 papers to send off to be apostilled! This sure is easier the second time around when we know how to do all of this and how to get all of the documents needed. Having the summer off is also very helpful when running to the notary at the bank and the doctor visits.

We'll keep you posted on any news!!

Mother's Day

The best gift this Mother's Day... a car wash! Luke helped Scott with washing both of the cars. What a nice treat on a beautiful day. Luke is growing in so many ways and I love being called a Mom.

Gotcha Day - 2 years!

We can't believe that we've had Luke for 2 years now! He is such a joy to our family.

Gotcha Day

2009
2010















Scott and I can't believe that at this time last year we were in Russia getting ready to bring Luke home. For those of you that don't know, we celebrate the day that Luke officially became a part of our family. We call it, Gotcha Day! Our court date was January 26, 2009 and this is the day he became our son. What a crazy day that was. Scott and I had to wait in a holding area outside the courthouse for over an hour and then we were escorted to another area outside of the judge's courtroom. We waited another 2 hours there and it seemed like an eternity. As we were waiting, we heard the news that the judges had met that day and were unhappy about Americans adopting and were unsure if they would allow it to go through. Worry set in immediately and I just wanted it all to be over. The judge asked us both many questions and he seemed to ask me the most.



We were both relieved when he announced that Luke Dierlam was officially ours! We were so exhausted that we went back to our coordinators house and went to bed. We didn't even get to see Luke that day. The next day was very special when Scott and I saw him. He came running up to us and it all felt so good.
One year later, and we couldn't be more proud of this amazing little boy. He's had to adjust to so many things and he is a fighter. He wants to learn and he's trying very hard to make good choices. He's happy, healthy, and on the path to success. He gives the best hugs and has a smile each and every morning. We just wish that we could bring home a brother or sister for Luke. We have lots of prayers out there about the next steps our family takes. Until then, we will enjoy every precious moment we have with our son, Luke.


Many of our adoptive family friends have written with lots of questions about their upcoming adoptions. Know that patience is the most important thing. Your child is waiting for you. It isn't always easy and we're here to help with anything you may need.

Playing in the Snow with Sarah

Sarah and I had a great time playing in the snow today. We tried our hardest to find a sled and there isn't one sled left in this town! We ordered one and we hope it gets here tomorrow before the snow melts. It's so fun to see how excited Sarah gets about the snow! We'll be praying for lots of snow to come while she's visiting.

14 inches of snow and still coming down!

I had a little boy wake me up this morning screaming, SNOW, SNOW, and more SNOW mommy!
It's been snowing since last night and it's still coming down. We've had another great day of
playing in the snow and it looks like Sarah will get to have a white Christmas too. Scott is stuck
on a plane somewhere and we sure miss him. It seems like he's been gone for most of the month.
Shoveling all of this snow without his help was a bit challenging. Luke and I managed to get it done
in 3 hours and we were playing most of the time. It reminded me of all of my own childhood snow days!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Luke had his first experience with snow and he loved it! In the orphanage, he must not have been able to touch it or play with it. It was as if he had never seen it before. From the minute he woke up, we were all out playing in it and watching it come down. The snowman we built was so heavy that we had to get Scott out of the warm, cozy house to help us. All of us enjoyed a little snowball fight too! It's always such a joy to see how happy Luke is. Hopefully we can have some more snow when Sarah comes!

Thankful

We are blessed this year for so many reasons. We finally have Luke home and that feels so good to have a son. We also have great jobs, good health, and are surrounded by a loving family and friends.


Here's Luke's list of things he's thankful for...
Poppy
Mommy
Candy
Popsicles
Books
And soda

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

October Happenings

We had a busy October and I can't believe that it's already November. Scott was gone for half of the month, we had Sarah visit for a long weekend, Luke had his first Trick o' Treating experience and we all had some kind of illness. Halloween was such a great time in our neighborhood and Luke was so funny! He woke up the next day with a huge smile and asked if he could have Halloween again. He didn't even like the candy, he just liked visiting all of the houses and getting to peek inside. One person had a huge fish tank and I didn't think he would ever leave his house. Luke is doing really well in school with his academics. He has learned the entire alphabet and is beginning to sound out words. He is an amazing little boy! We keep working on his ability to listen and follow directions. With maturity, we're hoping that he'll do better and better in school with following the rules. He has a fantastic teacher and he is well loved at our school. Sarah had a great time when she visited and was able to have one last marshmallow roast before we had to put the fire pit away for the winter. We're looking forward to having my parents come for Thanksgiving and having Scott at home a little bit more.