Our First Christmas

I can't believe Christmas is only two days away! We got the Tree put up and decorated AND put up the outside lights all the day after Thanksgiving. That would be a first for us. There's a lot of things I wanted to do but didn't get to them, but we got the important things done. Brian bought and wrapped some gifts a couple of weeks ago because we're trying to introduce the boys gradually to all this "Christmas" stuff. The haven't unwrapped anything yet!!!

Matt and I have been fighting a cold for the past couple of weeks and now that we're feeling better, Brian and Tim are starting to sound bad.

Speeking of Tim, he's obsessed with Santa. Everytime he see's a Santa he yells out. We took the boys ice skating at the Pettit Center and Santa was there. Tim tried to monopolize his time. I tried to explain to Tim the he has to share Santa with the other kids. He didn't get that.

Colors

Every so often the boys really surprise me. I cleaned out their bedroom yesterday afternoon, packed away summer clothes and sorted through all the winter stuff we had. I filled their drawers with stuff that was “new” to them. I was really excited out my “cleanup” job but what surprised me was how excited they were when they saw all the new stuff! They were screaming and yelling “Papa, come here, come here!” They were running from room to room opening their drawers and showing Papa all the new stuff they had.

We’ve been SO blessed with clothes from friends. Their drawers are stuffed full and I had two bags of stuff we didn’t need.

Matt’s been at school for two weeks now and Tim had his first week. They both LOVE it.

We've all getting more comfortable with each other and sometimes the boys will talk Russian and we won't even realize it. It's weird, but sometimes I feel like I can read their minds. Matt is going through two weeks of "colors". Each day starting last Monday his class concentrates on a color. Last week Thursday was green. Wednesday night we were looking for a green toy that he could bring in for Show & Tell and he looked at me said "Mom, small green toy!" and somehow I know he was talking about the toy he got in his Burger King lunch last Sunday. I responded with "I think it's in the car" and he said "YES!". We just saw it earlier that day because I cleaned out my car.

Back to School

I can't believe it but the boys are going to school this year. Matt is going to all day kindergarten and started on Tuesday. Tim is signed up for Kindergarten Readiness and will start next week Tuesday. They're at two different schools but the start times are staggered so dropping them off won't be a problem.

What an awesome summer. Things started out a bit rough but we settled into a routine, got to know each other and everyone adjusted really well. We've been amazed at how Matt's picked up the english. I expected a word here and there but one day he just popped out with "Oh my Gosh!". It blew me away. After that the phrases kept coming.

Look at That
Just Wait
Come here please

I just love listening to the boys talk. Tim still speaks mostly Russian but we're hoping the Kindergarten Readiness will help him with that.

Below is a story from early June written by Brian:

============================================
The funniest part of today was getting them into the house with fishing poles held sideways and every other direction … they couldn’t get in the door.

So, Lola is sitting there watching this confusion and I tell the boys Come On … So, Lola “Comes On” …and so do the boys. I turn to Lola and say STOP … and the boys stop too. The dog and the boys don’t speak English, but they all understand “Come On” and “Stop” …

I was looking at a train collision at the doorstep as they all met confused.

First few days home

It's been a few days and I think the jet lag is finally behind us. We're all settling into somewhat of a schedule. The first couple days were a bit rough. Fri and Sat mornings the boys woke up at 3am. We tried to put them down for a nap and we had a really hard time waking them up. Saturday night they surprised us by putting themselves to bed at 7pm. We were worried but they slept until 5:30. Yeah! We got enough sleep for once.

Today we took the boys to Chuck E Cheese's. They loved it! At first we lost them in the tunnels but they knew what they were doing. After that we went and bought them some new tennies. I wanted them to have shoes with velcro rather than laces. That will be a lot easier for ALL of us.

We're Home!

Wow; what a trip! It sure felt nice to be back home in our own beds. We were able to catch an earlier flight home from Atlanta, so we got home around 8:15 last night. We were able to give the boys a quick tour of the house, let them play a little with some of their toys and had them ready for bed by 9:30. It took them a while to settle down, but eventually we ALL got some sleep. The boys were awake for most of the trip. We were ALL walking zombies by the time we got home.

This morning we were all up by 6:30am and were outside playing at the park by 8. The boys got to meet both of their grandmas, Aunt Kate and Kyndra. They're REALLY doing great. Matt's not hanging out in front of the TV like we were worried about. Timmy's not bouncing off the walls. Lola's not sure what just happened to her, but seems to be handling it well. I think just watching the boys wears her out!

We came home to a real nice yard display. I've posted the picture.

Thank YOU !!!

This is a thanks to all of you for your prayers, support, and love! A special thanks goes to the Cradle Society who made today possible. I could write a book about what they have done, so seamlessly, so thoroughly, and with back-breaking hours of work. The Cradle Society has truly impressed me with Judy, Shane, Ruslan, Oleg, Natasha, Michael, and all the people behind the scenes. You can't imagine what we've been through and how they have jumped in front of us to assist!

We completed the work at the American Embassy and will leave around 9 AM tomorrow for the airport. It will be about 20 hours before we are back to Milwaukee and I know this will be tough on the boys. I actually hope they stay awake so they can sleep when we get home ... NOT ... they will want to investigate the house, meet Lola, etc. and go nuts for a few hours starting at 11 PM tomorrow - and then we all adjust to the time change again.

More to come, but when we hit the Embassy today I heard other family war stories. A child getting Chickenpox while a family was enroute - and now the child is quarantined for 8 days - and several more stories. I put so much into God's hands, your prayers are so much appreciated, and we have been blessed on this journey.

Not sure if we will have time to post again. It seems like getting a family ready is about 30 minutes/person in the family. I can get ready in 15 minutes and Linda in 15 after that ... and because she took 15, I take another 15. OK, is this funny enough as adults? That it takes 45 mins for 2?

The 1st day we got the kids going with us in 45 mins ... the next day it took 60. Today, it is taking 2 hours. What's cool is that these kids never had a "choice" in life ... no favorite color, no favorite soda, no favorite clothes. It's hard to fathom, but they lack a preference. They are learning options and consequences - and this is so awesome to observe these kids getting this new lease on life.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow !!! Sing it with me, I know, that you know the rest of the praise! And for those that don't, look it up ... we hope to be home by the time everyone has responded.

All our love,

Brian and Linda and Matthew/Vladislav/Vladik/Vlad, and Timothy/Alexander/Sasha/Sash

The Last Push ...

Well, here we are on our last day of paperwork in Moscow. We have a 2 PM appt. at the American Embassy to get the boys Visas and we will be given their adoption papers, birth certificates, medical, vaccination documents, etc. This then goes into a sealed envelope that we present to Customs/Immigration for processing when we arrive in Atlanta tomorrow (at least that's our understanding).

Child's laughter - is there anything else like it? They can get into so much trouble and burst into such innocent laughter. I'll say turn it "OFF" ... and they start repeating the word OFF like it's the funniest word they've ever heard. So, then I put my fingers to my lips and say SHHHHH - oh my gosh, that's even funnier as they look at each other with a serious face, mimic me with their fingers and go SHHHH at each other and then bust out, rolling on the floor laughing !!! If they continue to be this cute, I'm never going to be able to discipline them!

Two days ago they were chasing birds, yesterday we took some bread and they loved feeding them. I found it interesting how we fight for the under-privileged by nature ... there was one white pigeon that they wanted to feed more than the rest. We feel an honor to be helping these special boys.

1 Samuel 1:27 (paraphrased)
We prayed for these children, and the LORD has granted us what we asked of him.

Linda, how are bath time and bedtime routines going?

Well, every day is different. We know they need to put the PJs on, go to the bathroom, get a drink and brush their teeth. We usually miss one of them each night. They always remind us of the "papeete" (drink). Sometimes we put them to bed, sit down on the couch and say "Did you take them to the bathroom? No, did you? No. Boys! Time to go to the toolyet! (Toilet)." They jump out of bed, take care of business and we start all over trying to get them to sleep. We've had to empty the bedroom of EVERYTHING! The boys are REALLY good, though. Brian's gotten to the point where we can walk into the bedroom, put out his hands and toys get delivered. Timmy even opened his night table drawer and gave brian what he had stashed in there! If they get too loud giggling, jumping on the bed, etc, then we take one of them out of the room into the family room with us and hold him while the other settles down. They know they've been misbehaving and whoever was out here with us jumps into bed, pulls up the quilt and goes right to sleep. It'll be nice to get home so that the surroundings stop changing and they begin to understand "sleep" time.

Time to get on with the day!

The Pouter, The Follower, & The Scavengers

We are definitely starting to see their personalities coming out. Vlad is big brother, watches over Sash and guides him - and I'm probably a bit of a threat to the way of life that he is used to. This morning they both had juice and I set out some blueberries. It sounded like Vlad said to Sash that he had to finish his juice before he could have blueberries, and he swiped at Sash as he went for the blueberries and spilled the juice. I gave Sash a blueberry, and Vlad was NOT happy about that. He's had to play big brother and father for so long, that I'm sure this will be an adjustment that will take a lot of time and consistency for him to understand the new family order.

Sasha is the follower. He reminds me of Lola, so innocent, in awe of everything, and wanting to please. Vlad wants everything, and if he doesn't get it, he pouts and withdraws. That doesn't last real long, but as the "previous" father, he is used to making decisions for his brother all day long - and when they aren't the same as what Linda or I feel is best, he pouts and doesn't participate.

Lola and the boys have one thing in common - if they see food on the floor, they go for it!!! We went to TGI Friday's yesterday and there was food on the floor, and before you could blink an eye, both boys were on their belly's, and had the food in their mouths chewing before we even knew where they went. They've found potato chips in the carpet that they started eating ... you name it, if they see food anywhere BUT on their plate, they eat it. We are very tempted to just throw their meals on the floor. They are absolutely incredible at sharing with each other ... if there is a last piece, they will split it. If one gets water, before he gives it back, he will take it to his brother and offer it to him too.

Battery running low - so I gotta send the post for now.

Sash made us coffee this morning!

These boys are so good ... Sash took the plastic bottle of Taster's Choice, put it on top of the stove and turned it on. When I got there, I had some nice hot coffee and just needed to add water (he forgot that part). It tasted a little plastic-y, but hey, it was his first attempt. OK, Linda - now that you've come out of the shower, how have you been doing?

I finally got to do a load of laundry. Never thought I'd look forward to that so much. I got to hang it on a drying rack in the family room since we don't have a dryer. Next; darks!

Poor Guys

We had a good ride overnight and are settled into an apartment. We reviewed and added on to the preliminary paperwork to present to the American Embassy tomorrow. We also had a Dr. knock on our door (Sunday morning and at the apartment). He did a quick physical on the boys to complete some Embassy paperwork.

These guys are doing well, but we keep changing locations, they find new switches, we change their routine, sleep schedule, and surroundings. It's hard to explain to them what's going on ... but we will be home soon.

Linda's in the shower getting some "quiet time" ... she's been in there for 3 hours now! Maybe I should go check and see how she's doing ... we have a good pic of her with the boys from yesterday.

An Amazing 1st 24 Hours

We've survived our first 24 hours - and equally important, so have the boys! They have already learned all of the important english words ... No, OK, Off (lights), Down (TV volume). We took a long walk yesterday before the rain hit. We were able to get their passports last night. And we enjoyed sharing in their bath time ... after all, when surfing in the tub, they felt it important to share their water with us!!! We also had a MUCH easier time getting to bed last night! Tonight we get picked up at 11 PM to catch the overnight train back to Moscow as we begin our journey home. Mama? Anything?

We all slept really well last night. We've back to TV and musical cars again. The restaurant is closed for three days, so we'll have to eat breakfast in the room. Don't know what we'll be doing for lunch yet. Bathtime was fun, but really wet!

We had to leave our room for a little while yesterday while they were cleaning our room. It was raining so we tried to find someplace in the hotel to play. We thought the bubbles might be fun. Forgot about the "mess" part. Anyway; as I was trying to wipe up the soap on the floor I noticed the boys were gone! I left my purse and went running. They were up the stairs and ready to go out the front door. When they saw me they turned and headed towards the lobby and up the stairs. Everyone in the hotel bar area was just watching this "mad woman" running after her crazy kids! The manager helped me get everything under control and said "guess what! the room is ready. You can go back" I never saw a hotel clean a room SO fast! It was in their best interest! We have SO many stories and can't wait to get home and tell everyone.

Oh well, another day. We'll see what kind of excitment is in store for us.

By the way we REALLY love reading all your comments. Keep them coming!

They're MONSTERS !!!

Lights on, Lights off ... once you stop one, the other starts flipping switches. Jumping on the bed, tv on, tv off ... heat on, heat off ... where did Sasha go? I don't know, I thought you were watching him! Time to go to bed ... Ha, are you kidding me? They won't take off their new clothes! You get one laid down, work on the other, and the first pops up like he has a spring in him!

It took awhile where we smothered them with love laying in their beds with them until the started calming down. Timmy got a little antsy around 2 AM, and as soon as I noticed he put his head down. I pointed to the bathroom, and he jumped out of bed and went and came back to bed. Then I hear, Pa? Pa? Papeet? He wanted water. Then after laying back down he was restlesss, he stood up to make sure he could still see his brother. I put my hand out, and he held it until he fell back to sleep.

I swear they are 10' tall monsters when they are awake and 6" tiny and beautiful children when sleeping. Linda? How was your night?

I slept GREAT! I could hear the little sneezes, sighs and breathing. It was SO soothing (once we got them to settle down). This morning they were laying in their beds when I went into the bathroom. I came out to the TV going, the musical car and "no no no, don't touch". They're SO cute! We had to unplug and move the two bedside lamps; everything within their reach had to be moved before they would finally go to sleep.

Now they've discovered their new packpacks. Sasha's putting stuff in his and putting it on his back. He wants to go to America. We showed Vladik the handle on his so he can drag it behind him. Now he's watching cartoons again.

We were up at 6am and need to be leaving at 9am for the police station and MORE paperwork. I THINK 3 hours is enough to get everyone ready. We'll see!

We've Been Blessed With 2 Sons !!!

Yes, pinch yourself ... re-read it ... cry, shout, praise God ... it's true. We can now post pictures of 2 boys named Matthew Vladislav Diven and Timothy Alexander Diven, sons of Brian and Linda Diven. We will also be coming home the middle of next week around 4/23 or 4/24.

We are expecting to head to the orphanage around 3 PM today and will have their passports either tomorrow or on Monday. Once we have the passports, we can head to Moscow to work with the American Embassy to finalize our trip home. Linda, is there anything you want to add? How about some pictures people have been waiting for?

It's hard to stop crying long enough to see what I'm typing. We'll be leaving here around 3pm to go get OUR boys! We have a "little" more paperwork to do and then we're heading back to Moscow. I still can't believe this just happened. I'm a MOM! The boys are amazing. I'll need to get used to those muscial cars we have. THANKS Gorczany's! They're a BIG hit with the boys. We'll be hearing those songs over and over and over again. I'm SO excited!!!!

Here are our pictures of the boys!

Wonderful Surprise

There was some confusion yesterday and we had to leave the apartment by noon and then "hang out" until the 10:30 PM train to Nizhny. It was raining and cold, and as we chatted, we realized I didn't pack Linda's dress slacks for court tomorrow. So, we went to Hard Rock Cafe, went shopping, and just kept eating and shopping and walking until our trip. Linda didn't sleep well and I did - which was the opposite of our last trip. We arrived disheveled, stinky, and ready for a day of recovery.

We were greeted by our facilitator and he said, SURPRISE - we're going to the orphanage to visit the boys! The next surprise is that he had a temporary hotel room for us to shower and clean up for the day - and then a 2 hour car ride. When we got there, the boys were outside playing. Sasha spotted Linda from a ways away and came running full steam ahead and jumped into her arms! Vladik saw his brother take off running and looked and then spotted me, and he came running and jumped into my arms! They were made aware of the situation and have been calling us Mama and Papa since we've been gone and looking at the pictures we had sent them.

The director also seemed very happy we had returned and said she is pleased the boys will have parents that love them. In an hour or so, our translator will be coming to the hotel to brief us on the court visit tomorrow and the questions to expect from the judge. We thought today would be boring.

Tomorrow, court is scheduled for 10 AM. If the judge approves everything, we may be applying for their passports and then heading to the orphanage to bring them into our family and back to the hotel with us. I'm not sure when we will have a chance to update the blog tomorrow - but we will, as soon as we can! The court house is very close to our hotel room.

Tomorrow's a big day - and Linda's really gonna look nice wearing pants! That might have been difficult to explain!

It was a GREAT day!

After touring Red Square we had our Moscow Physicals. Everything went great. They're preparing the letter for the judge in Nizhniy to recommend us as adoptive parents. We had a nice dinner at a nearby restaurant and are now ready for bed! Again! Tomorrow night we leave for Nizhniy on the overnight train, so we will be tired again but save a night of hotel costs.

At this point we wait for the judge's decision to bless us with these children on Thursday 4/17 (Brian's birhtday).

Red Square

We both woke up around 2am this morning. Fortunately we were able to get back to sleep! We had bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast and instant coffee. It was a little rainy in the morning but cleared up by 11, so we took a walk to Red Square. That's about a 20 minute brisk walk from our apartment. What an AWESOME sight! St Basil's Cathedral is beautiful. We toured the inside and then walked through a HUGE shopping mall where we stopped at a cafe and had bottled water and desert.

On the way home we stopped back at the grocery store and got 2 - 1.5 liter bottles of water. Brian thinks that's a lot, but for now I feel like I can't get enough! Anyway, we're getting ready for our 5pm Dr visit.

We're Here!

We arrived at 10:30 this morning. We checked into our room by 1:30pm and slept until 5pm. We walked around the area. There are a lot of casinos and shops across the street from our apartment. We noticed a "Sports Bar" and decided to have dinner there. Turns out it was a Japanese Sushi bar. At least there were pictures and an english description under each menu item. After dinner we stopped into the grocery store and got a few things for tomorrow - believe it or not we had a hard time finding bread and edible looking meat and the eggs are orange, but we specifically needed WATER!

We have our doctor appt tomorrow at 5pm (8am WI time). Pray that goes well for us!

Waiting in Atlanta

We have a 4 1/2 hour layover in Atlanta. We're sitting in the gate area watching CNN and playing on the computer. Next stop Moscow!

I think we're ready

We're just about ready. Laundry, dishes, cleaning; all done! I updated the pictures of the boy's play room. We're leaving a family of two and returning a family of four! I CAN'T WAIT!

What a Weekend!

We got a lot done this weekend. House cleaning, yard work AND cleaned out both cars. Brian finsihed making chairs to go with the table he made, so I started painting them. There always seems to be more to do! I can't wait to get on that plane and REST!

Also, for anyone who's interested, I've updated the links to the places where we're staying in Moscow and Nizhniy. We've chosen to go the "Apartment" route in Moscow this trip. We've been told it's THE way to go with kids. We'll find out!

Getting Ready to Leave

We're in the process of packing, making reservations and gathering together some more medical information. Brian and I have our LIST and keep checking things off. Unfortunately we keep ADDING to the list as we think of things. I finished sewing curtians for the boys rooms, Brian is making chairs to go with the table he made. Kyndra painted clouds on the bedroom ceiling and Aunt Janiece sewed the blankets that are currently laying on the boys beds. Everyone wants to do their part to welcome the boys home!

We have a court date - April 17th

We FINALLY got our court date. Brian's birthday April 17th! We have doctor appts scheduled in Moscow for Monday 4/14. Last night we got our flights scheduled. We'll leave on Saturday morning and hopefully return Wed night 4/23. Below is our expected itinerary:

4/13 - Arrive in Moscow
4/14 - Meet with Doctors in Moscow
4/15 - Overnight train to Nizhniy
4/17 - Court Date - Boys are ours!!!
4/18 - Finish paperwork in Nizhniy
4/19 - Overnight train back to Moscow
4/21 - 1st day at Embassy
4/22 - 2nd day at Embassy
4/23 - Leave for Home!!!

If paperwork can't be finished on Friday 4/18, then we'll finish up in Nizhniy on 4/21 and our schedule will be one day delayed.

Good News - Sort of

We finally got a call from our agency yesterday. I thought they were giving us a court date, but not quite. The good news is that the Judge has our paperwork. Unfortunately our background checks and medicals have expired. The Judge has requested updated paperwork. So it's back to the police deptartment and back to the doctor. It's really sad when the background check lady at the police department recognizes you! It's one thing for your morning "coffee" person to know you, but the police department???!!! Anyway, this gives us time to finish our parenting class and do more work in the bedrooms. I still have curtains to make. I've updated a couple of pictures. Blankets that Aunt Janiece made, and a table that Brian made (and I painted).

Our Paperwork is done!????? Or is it?

Last Friday we sent our last doucment to Russia; or so we thought. On Monday we were told that we needed the copy of our Pediatrician's license. So, off to Children's Hospital to pick that up and back to the Fed Ex box to get that sent to Madison and then to our Agency. DONE! NOT! Last night we were told that our Home Study expires on Feb 7th. That's about a week or so too soon. Guess what; more paperwork, getting documents notarized, sending them to Madison for Apostille and then Fex Ex to our agency! Will the paperwork never end????

The Boy's Rooms

We got a lot of work done this weekend. We finished painting and wallpapering. Now I need to make some curtains and quilt covers. I think I need some shelves for books, puzzles and stuff. We've already gotten two bags of clothes (thanks Mom!). We still need to go out and buy boots, snow pants and LOTS of other stuff!!!

Our Paperwork is DONE!

We got our last pieces of paperwork sent to Russia today. As soon as it get's there, then they'll be able to request a court date. We could get the call in a couple of weeks!

In the meantime we've been painting, wallpapering and cleaning out closets. We got a second bedroom set and have been collecting clothes and toys. I'll post a couple new pictures this weekend when we finish the bedrooms.