Lazy Saturday

We woke up this morning pretty tired. Long story short, still haven't made it to Crimson Square. Jordan was first up. She stood up in her bed (pack-n-play) next to our bed, and again started rocking back and forth until we woke up. It was about 8:00. We got ready and went out for breakfast. She did great again. She really tries to interact with a lot of the people around her, quite a surprise to both of us. After breakfast, we went to the most beautiful grocery store I have ever seen, across the street from our apartment. The moldings on the walls and ceiling and the chandeliers were absolutely palacial. It was their version of our "Fresh Market". Wish I had carried my camera. We came back to the apartment and rested the rest of the afternoon.

Dinner was at TGIFriday's. Jordan had a blast. She dances to the music, and chats with all of the waiters and waitresses. She did great with Robin's pasta, but she is not a fan of Coca Cola. I don't think she has ever had anything carbonated in her mouth, because after one sip, her mouth flew open in absolute shock. It was hilarious.

She still has her meltdowns on occasion, but they are getting shorter and less frequent. Eating has become an enjoyable experience for us. She does not argue anymore when we insist on feeding her; she has a blast!

Jordan was definitely a Mama's girl today. I seem to have a 2-foot shadow. This is normal for children from an orphanage, but we are trying to get her more daddy time. I think it will take more work there because of her dependence upon women all of her life. We knew I would become the one she ran to just as she did her caretakers in the orphanage. I'm sure once she sees how Jackson hangs all over Robin, she will follow suit. Maybe Jackson will be a little jealous of her and decide to love on me for a change.

Jordan went to sleep about 2 hours ago. Her snoring got her kicked out of our bedroom tonight. We have to see an ENT ASAP!! There is not much air getting through that little pug nose.

Crimson Square is once again a goal for tomorrow. For now, it's time to look for the Bama game online. Roll tide!!!

Enjoying and Adjusting

Today was another interesting day with Jordan. Robin did all of the official stuff at the American Embassy and Notary today, so Jordan and I stayed at the apartment most of the day. I let her sleep late and that she did. I guess she woke up about 9:00. We found out that she does not wake up crying or screaming. She just sits up and starts rocking until we come find her. She did the same after her nap today as well.

We did make a point to take Jordan on a brief outing today, to McDonalds (only a few blocks away). She did great! The people there did not make her upset at all, and the fries were a definite hit. She's gonna love the US! By the way, when you come to Russia, don't call it a "big mac", order a "mac tasty". There was a bit of an issue when we got her out of the stroller to walk the last block back to the apartment. I think that she thought we were leaving her somewhere because she just went limp and refused to walk, starting to cry. We persisted, though, and in no time she was trotting right along holding my hand. She loves to walk, just needs to know what's going on, understandably.

She has learned to play peekaboo and just cracks herself up trying to hide. The word "peekaboo" is a little difficult for her, but she is trying to make the sound. She learned to high-five today and loves to. She runs from Robin to me with her hand in the air. She has learned "mama" and "daddy", and knows very well who we are. She tries to say her new name, too, but I guess "Jordan" is difficult as well. She's doing great, though.

Another thing she loves is her hat. She plays with it, puts it on her head, our heads, pulls it down over her eyes and tries to walk. It doesn't seem to bother her when she slams straight into the wall.
Turns out our drama queen is a beauty queen as well. She does not pass by a mirror without stopping to admire herself. Not only does she admire herself, but she also has had extensive conversations with that little girl in the mirror. I get the feeling mirrors are new for her. Every time she puts on her hat, she runs to the mirror to check herself out.

We are hoping for a sightseeing outing tomorrow. 3rd trip to Moscow and finally going to see the Kremlin and Red Square (we're calling it "Crimson Square"...that's about as close to the Crimson Tide as we will be able to get tomorrow I'm afraid). It will be interesting to see how Jordan holds up to a longer outing. I think she will do great.

Thanksgiving Day in Moscow

Thanksgiving is just starting for you, but our Thursday is almost over. There is no turkey and dressing in Russia, and no big sales on Friday morning...just another workday here. Our interpreter and driver were thoughtful enough to give us a bottle of Georgian wine for the American holiday in lieu of our normal family celebrations.

We did not take Jordan out today except for a walk down the hallway. She is really enjoying her time with us, even when we have to get on to her. She still loves to eat. She prefers to feed herself, but it is quite a mess. We have taken that job away from her for now, with some power struggle. She is quite independent. When she finishes eating snacks, she immediately picks up the napkin, opens the kitchen cabinet, and throws it away. She hops up in a kitchen chair and puts her bib on when she is hungry. She makes every effort to dress herself.

The Doctor came to our apartment today to perform Jordan's physical. He said she is very healthy and smart, but that she is quite a drama queen. We already knew this, but now have the medical diagnosis to back it up. She still does melt down when anybody but Robin or myself come into the apartment. There is still some crying when she wakes up, too, but nothing out of the ordinary. It ends fairly quickly. It will be interesting to see if Jackson makes her melt down like the adults do.











We are having great fun with her, watching her explore and trying to figure out what she is thinking. She found the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen with no prompting whatsoever...everything's a toy. She loves her book, her leggos, and her balls.

VICTORY!!!

Please allow me to introduce our precious new little girl, Jordan Noel Roberts!!

The word of the week for us has been "Victory"! This journey has been so long, almost 4 years in the making, and I have to say, after numerous roadblocks and brick walls thrown at us by a total of 4 different countries, multiple legislations, expired documents, and unexplained delays, I was beginning to wonder if this was God's will or just my will. We were determined to make this happen, and prayed continuously for God's blessing, but you have to wonder after 4 years.

This past Sunday, oddly enough, the director of Compassion International spoke at our church on the importance of little children to the Kingdom of God. Passage after passage on helping the orphans, not causing little children to stumble, showing them the way to God. It became so obvious, these roadblocks were not thrown our there by God, but by Satan himself. How could he let something so important to God just happen? Robin and I talked on the way over about this victory over Satan and how awesome this is obviously going to be, that he would fight so so so hard to keep it from happening. It is so awesome and empowering to know that our hearts are aligned with God's and He won this victory through us. This little girl will always have the love of God poured all over her. She will grow up knowing who God is, and learning to love Him. VICTORY!!

On a whole other level, we feel victory over our screaming little girl as well. She screamed for about 2 hours from the time she saw us until we were almost to our apartment. Finally, she was finished. Funny, as soon as she stopped, our interpreter turned around to us and said "you have a victory!" A little more screaming while we were getting settled, and then she began to come around. By the end of the night, she was giggling, kissing us repeatedly, telling me to kiss Robin, reading books, quack quack-ing, mooing, and seemingly quite happy to be with us. She went to bed without argument, playing a little before drifting off.

Not many photos of this trip yet, but I will get more posted soon. Only a few things to do each day, and we have the weekend for relaxing and sightseeing. Snow all over the ground here, and more falling. Hope everybody has a great Thanksgiving. Ours will be the best ever!

And We're Off

We made it to Atlanta with no delays. Just had lunch and now awaiting boarding of our flight to Moscow. We are so hoping to get some sleep on this flight since we will pick up Jordan immediately upon landing. There is just so much excitement, it was even hard to sleep in our own bed last night. Jackson didn't really seem to mind our departure this morning. After all, he's waiting on Mimi and Poppa to pick him up for the week. He did blow kisses out the window as we pulled away, though...so sweet.

We have a long 2 days ahead as our flight does not land until about 11:00 Wednesday morning. I doubt I will be able to post again until Thursday, but my plan is to finally get photos of OUR little girl on the blog at that time.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We will miss you.

The Day That Would Not End

Well, we started yesterday out at 4:00 AM, and 29 hours later, it was still yesterday, and we were pulling up to our home. Two layovers and delayed flights made for a very very very long day. Great to be home!! We're almost rested up now and ready to start gathering paperwork and visas for the next and final trip.

Packing for us has become routine and easy. This final trip, however, we have to pack for Jordan as well. I'm not even sure they will let us take her from the orphanage in the clothes she has on. They may make us change her clothes there. Then there are toys, snacks, blankets, diapers, etc. We have to start packing now so that we have time to round up anything we don't have. We will be staying in an apartment next trip, so we can buy groceries once we get there.

Jackson has been so loving and cuddly today. He wants to be right with us. He missed us and doesn't even know it. He doesn't want to leave the house...very unusual for him. He keeps saying "I stay at home". When you ask him where Mommy and Daddy went, he says "to sissy Jordan's". He thinks he's ready for her to come home. I can't wait to see how they interact. We have high hopes there.

Success in Court

We just got back from court, and Jordan is officially our daughter. The proceedings were fairly informal. Only the judge, prosecutor (hate that they call her that), social worker, and the 2 of us (with our interpreter) were present. The proceedings lasted about 45 minutes. She looked at the photo album I had put together, and reviewed the mound of documents in our file, asking questions as she went. I felt like such a proud mom (and a little scared) when the judge kept asking the social worker why no Russians wanted to adopt her. She kept saying that she is such a good-looking child and there is nothing wrong with her. (Russians get first pick.) She just could not understand why this little girl was slipping away to America. She finally dropped it, and proclaimed Jordan to be ours.

Still we have a 10-day wait. This is actually more like 12 days. We will pick her up Wednesday, the 26th, as soon as we land. We definitely have to find a way to get some sleep on the plane next trip. We are so excited at the court decision. Nothing more to do now but eat dinner and pack up. We will fly all day tomorrow with layovers in NY and Atlanta. Will be great to get back home.