From the desk of Queen Bee...

One week, down, now into week two...



Hello from Sunny and HOT, HOT, HOT California. The day we left Moscow it was 28 degrees, and now it is 104. My body doesn’t quite know how to handle this! The jet lag is finally gone, and I am back at work full swing. Thanks to all for the wonderful words of encouragement. Our email box is backed up with kind thoughts and well wishes, and we feel the power of your prayers daily. All things happen in Gods timing, and we see it constantly. Court should be in about 5 weeks, give or take one, and I find myself staring at picture of Princess Patterson and longing to see her again. Attachment is forming on my side for sure…

On the adoption front, V emailed me yesterday and the great paper update is officially on! We need to update our medicals and finger prints….AGAIN…and put together a bunch of other stuff for the embassy. Soooo, I have called our Dr. to schedule ANOTHER physical, and had to resend the FBI card ‘cause smart ol me, I forgot to put two $18 cashiers check in the envelope. Word to the wise, they NO LONGER take personal checks. So, I wrote a sob story letter about how I cannot wait 6 weeks and could they please complete them as soon as possible?

John is preparing for Church Camp. He is busy as can be, and it is good that he works with a terrific team to get this thing off the ground each year. Our dear friend M creates the entire curriculum each year, and K is assisting with staffing.

Memorial day is fast approaching and I ask, “Where does the time go????” We will be traveling to Oakhurst, having fun at the lake, and hanging out with friends. I can’t wait!

Aidan party went off without a hitch! Thanks goodness we had a bowling party ‘cause the heat was terrible and it was so nice and cool in there. I will post pictures as soon as I get them from my BIL. All the children had camouflage on their faces, wore military party helmets, and bowled their little hearts out. We bought Aidan a trampoline for his present, and he is having a ball. I refuse to buy anything that sticks my children in front of the TV anymore!

And Myself? I have been performing the ultimate in therapy…SHOPPING! (on a budget
) I have bought several outfits and a few pairs of shoes…and everything is P-I-N-K!!!! No blue on my Princess…at least for now. I am going gaga over cute leather pink and white sneakers, and lacey socks. Sigh….I still need so many things, I believe I will be doing some more shopping this weekend in Oakhurst. Having all boys has not left many hand-me-downs for my little girl. She needs a hairbrush, and shampoo, and a car seat, a booster seat, bibs, jimmies, toothbrush and toothpaste…the list goes on and on. I shopped last night with no tears…I am constantly thinking “Pinch me, Pinch me!”

And, I finally managed to get the wall paper off of Bryce's bedroom walls, so we will soon (sometime when I actually FIND TIME) be creating a room fit for a Princess. Complete with her beautiful patch work quilt (thanks Steph) and a country garden theme including butterflies...The sign of new life...

So, that’s pretty much the low down for now…John needs me to help him clean out the trailer and put on the new batteries. Gotta run. Take care all!

Buzz Buzz…
The Busy Queen Bee

Princess Patterson

Another day with what we have fondly dubbed the ‘Patterson Princess’. What does that mean for me? My friends, I will officially be moving my title to Queen Bee soon…And Deb, I guess I will be needing a new chair? LOL .We cannot wait to get this little one out camping, because although I will ensure she is every bit the Princess and remains a frilly little lady to the very end, her daddy has other ideas. He even joked about bringing a camouflaged outfit to bring her home in - Hee hee hee –like I am going to let that happen! She seems to be every bit adventurous and likes to play ball and rough house. As long as she does it in patent leather shoes I am fine.

Snuggling with mommy...
So, we arrived at 9:30 this morning and our little princess was not there. She was at the Doctors having a small hemoglobin removed. They pointed it out to us yesterday, and I was not overly concerned. I am familiar with these as my good friend’s son had one. The can either grow larger or go away over time. Apparently they decided to take care of it and not wait to see which way it would go. Interestingly enough, something like this would keep her from being chosen by a Russian family – that and her brown hair and brown eyes.

So, no little girl…now what? We decided to kill time and drove off to the notary to create a document that stated we want to adopt Rose. The other family that met their daughter yesterday brought in an International Adoption Doctor to look over the child’s records and perform a physical. John and I listened to her medical background and we opted out of this choice. Except for the hemoglobin, we could see no other signs that she was healthy enough for us. To us this is the little girl Gods wants us to love and care for, so we are moving forward and completed a statement that said who we are, and that we wanted to petition the court to adopt her.

We needed to kill some time so we went to Aribak Street where there are lots of vendors and stores. We spent our lunch at McDonalds and yes, they really do have clean bathrooms! What was really interesting to me was what appeared to be the equivalent of an outside ‘drive up’ window where people were lined up to buy their food….on foot. Too funny. Crowds of people were on the inside, and remember, they aren’t too good on lines here, so you can imagine the frustration in trying to get your food. The Big Mac and fries is still sitting in my tummy like a lead brick. I told John it will be another five years before I do that again!

At three o’clock we met up with our driver and returned to the orphanage. They brought in Rose and you could tell she was not feeling 100%. She came to me and allowed me to pick her up – and hugged me tight. She just stayed there with her arms around my neck for a while until I passed her off to her daddy for his hug time. She obviously still does not know who we are and is trying to figure us out.

Today she engaged us very well. She played with a big ball and even wandered around the room with it. She can pass and kick a ball very well, and is so smart. We took down some stacking rings and she was able to restack them in order. Her motor skills are fantastic.

After a few hours they took us the her groupa. She shares her area with what appeared to be around 10 other children. We saw where she sleeps (little beds all in a row – neat as a pin) and plays, her cubbies and the other children. One little boy saw John and said “Hi Daddy!” Hmmmm, that got us thinking because most children fondly call adults Mama and Papa. We are not too sure on his story. A few had obvious signs of FAS, others had downs syndrome. It broke my heart to see them there – and put into prospective just how overall healthy Rose is. Overall this orphanage is in very good shape, very colorful and the children are obviously well cared for. The outside has murals painted on walls, many little brightly painted and covered play areas and lots of bikes and toys. Nature is all around including giant white birch trees and squirrels. Compared to what we saw in the Ukraine, I am quite impressed.

Rose’s caretakers took her picture book that we assemble with names and titles in Russian (mama, papa, brother, etc) so they could read them to her while we are away. She was paying attention while they read off each page and when we together in the play room she kept looking at the picture, then at John, then back to the book, and so on. I told ya she was smart. My pictures threw her a bit because I am both blond and brunette, but she seemed to get it in the end. They also agreed to take pictures of her for us with the disposable camera that we left. They wrapped her in the pink blanket we brought and V translated for us that they called her ‘The Princess” and of course Mommy concurred!

We gave Princess Patterson one last hug and kiss and told her goodbye. We are both smitten with her. Not in love yet, but definitely smitten. All in all we really feel like she is the child for us.

We leave tomorrow at 1:20 and I cannot wait to get home. Enough said.

See you all soon!

Queen Bee

Our day with 'Rose'...

OMG friends and family - we have met our daughter, and what a thrill it was to finally lay eyes on her. ‘Rose’ is beautiful.

I’m telling you there is no mistaking this child, she is definitely a Patterson!

So, here is how the day went:
We were picked up at 1 pm by our driver and taken to the MOE. Traffic was terrible and like the Ukraine you take your life in your hands driving ANYWHERE in this city. There was also another nice family there from Texas to receive their referral. They happen to be going to the same orphanage. We walked in the room after being informed of the questions they may ask us (what is our annual income, who will stay home with the child, etc…) and guess what? They didn’t ask us ANYTHING! They sat us down, read us the referral information, and away we went to meet her. I think we got off easy…

We drove about 20 minutes to orphanage #3 (which, by the way, although it was old, was very neat and colorful, located among a grove of beautiful white birch trees and a park.) We proceeded to the office area and sat down to meet with the Director. They read over her medicals, why she was removed from her family, how long she had been there, and commented that she was baptized (she had a little dress and cross pendant in her file – cute) and then THERE SHE WAS. She was brought to the door holding the hand of her caregiver. Very shy, a little leery, but not looking too overly scared, just unsure. She took a few little steps and I was able to get her easily on to my lap. She kept looking at John – I don’t think they see a lot of men around there.

After they finished reading her file, I told John to take her hand and we walked with her to the play room and sat on the floor with her. I took out the green ball and the monkey I got her that played music was a hit, and she hung on to it most of the time we were there. John had her sit on his leg, and she decided this was going to be her seat. She refused to move from then on…coming back to sit there every time she left to get the ball. I walked over to the toy shelf and took down some stacking cups. I wanted to see how she would do with them. She stacked them back in order, and we even got to see her complete some trouble shooting when they did not match up right. This child is VERY smart!

Oh yeah, and SHE IS POTTY TRAINED…Yahoo! My childcare was just cut in half! LOL

We are so thrilled at this child. She has a great personality, and John engaged her to the point of her giggling and laughing out loud – and I got it all on tape! At one point the other families little girl came crawling over and was pulling up on Johns legs. Rose pointed to the other parents and said something in Russian that we can only assume was “Go over there and stay away from may family” She hugged me tight and was happy to stay that way for a while. I think the team there was a bit surprised at how quickly she took to us. Their faces were a bit shocked when they walked in the room and saw her giggling. At 6 pm they came to take her back to her groupa and she waived goodbye…with monkey and ball in hand. We will see her again first thing tomorrow morning.

I cannot post her face on a public page, as her adoption is not finalized, but here is a sneak peak at ‘Rose’ playing with her daddy…

Playing on the floor with daddy...

Were here!

Warm wishes from Moscow. We have arrived!

First…I have been reminded of two things I had forgotten: People are rude and everything smells like an armpit. If you remember from my time in the Ukraine, I wrote about how people do not forms lines, they crowd and shove, men DO NOT open doors for women, and never seem to use deodorant. Um humm. Welcome back to the Soviet Union Kym….Ya know that Coke commercial where they would like to buy the world a Coke and teach it harmony? Well, I’d like to by them deodorant, and teach them to shower. Yuck.

Moving on….

We arrived late in Sunday, after missing our connecting flight in London. A word to the wise for those traveling through Heathrow. It is one of the most disorganized airports I have ever experienced. Give at least 2 hours minimum in between flights because they drive you in and it takes way too long to get you to the gate you need to leave from.

We were met by our driver and taken the Cosmos hotel. It’s I okay for a Russian hotel. The hotel itself was built in the 1980’s for the Olympics and had 1770 rooms. We have had some major hiccups concerning our reservations and we sent the better part of the morning trying to connect with anyone who could help figure it out. When we arrived they stated we only had reservations for two nights instead of four. It took an email to the person who made the reservations and me standing at the travel agents desk and refusing to move to get it taken care of. We now are definitely here for four nights. (Next go round we will contact Peace Travel and rent an apartment.) Our room includes breakfast and WOW! Now that they’ve got a hold on. Good stuff Maynard!
So, what next? John and I braved the Metro and low and behold we managed to get ourselves to Red Square. What and awesome and overwhelming moment to stand in the middle of one of the most well known locations in the world. The buildings are beautiful, and St. Basil’s cathedral is breathtaking with its colors and design. We also visited the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. John took some really good pictures of the Veterans placing flowers the tomb while a flame burns from inside. VERY beautiful gardens and pristine lawns. I mentioned to John as we stood on the center of the red bricked street that I just cannot believe I am here. What a monumental moment in out lives. 25 years ago we in the throws of a cold war with this great nation, now I will be mothering two of its children. Amazing, simply amazing…

Tomorrow we will meet with the MOE (Ministry of Education) and receive our referral.
We have limited internet access, but will post as soon as it is possible.

Till then…

*Edit to the trip travel posting...we are flying LAX to London non-stop, then to Moscow. Yeah!!! I so much prefer a one shot international over a two legged domestic flight!

It is getting soooo crazy around here! Countdown to meeting Rose has commenced! I have a 'To do" list a mile long. Will I remember everything????

We have our hotel booked. Check. Packing will commence tomorrow. Check, check. I have secured my wonderful friend Steph to take care of my kids. BIG check! Tomorrow morning I will order the nice crisp $100 bills we will need to travel with. Tomorrow evening will entail making sure all the laundry is caught up (kids have got to have clean underwear while I'm gone, right?) Also need to work on stocking of food in the pantry. Let's see, have I missed anything?

Life is crazy, but life is good....:)

It is well...

Today was what I often describe as an “It is well day”.

With our departure less 7 days away, there are many things left to accomplish and so little extra hours to get them done in. But, I warn ya, sooo many sappy tears of joy. John is about done with me.

After working on my memory picture books till noon, (my current project that holds about 6 years worth of photos begging to go into picture books - and I am now almost done, yeah!) I finally graduated from jammies to shorts and went out with Aidan to accomplish crossing off as many things as I could…

First stop, Party store. I took Aidan to the Party Works store to buy invitations for his most anticipated birthday party that will take place the Sunday after we return. All the way over he was adamant to the fact that his party was going to be Spiderman themed. Anything else was just plain incomprehensible. But wouldn’t you know that when he saw all the different types of party stuff – walls and walls as far as the little eyes can see - all it took was the lure of army party hats and all the previous ideas went flying out the window. So, for his seventh birthday Master Aidan and seven of his closest buddies will be enjoying an army themed birthday complete with the camouflaged hats, souvenir cups and goodie bags. We also completed ordering cupcakes with little Army men on them, and have reserved the bowling lanes for a fantastic ‘Army Hero’ bowling birthday party. He is sooo stoked. We even bought little medals that say ‘Hero’ on them. All I have to do now is located some camouflage paint for their faces and away they will go…bowling down the enemies with their bright colored green balls…Such fun!

Then, it was off to the Dollar store to find these baby dolls a friend told me about. I moseyed on down the toy isle and sure enough there they were. The cutest little soft bodied baby dolls with eye lids that go up or down, depending on the position of the baby. Now of course you know I have never had cause to pay attention to dolls before. At least not since I was 8 or so. This was all pretty neat. I started to get misty eyed, but caught myself before things got out of hand (it’s those darn third trimester adoptive hormones again, I tell ya!) I then saw a neat little green rubber ball…took that too. So, we now have a few extra toys to take to our referral.

Next stop Home Depot. Did you just hear the Angels sing when you read that? LOL. That is TOTALLY my store. Ahhhh, the joys of home improvement! I need a screen door for the front of the house, but darn it if after finding one of those invisible type ones that retract when you don’t need it the darn thing won’t work. John said “I’m sorry honey, we done have a open front door jam, just brick” and now I’ve gotta take I back. I will figure something out…I really want to be able to open that darn door. I also bought the Ohhhhhh so perfect shades of yellow and pink paint to cover the walls in our soon to be daughters room. And of course as the guy behind the counter was opening them to dab and check the color on the lid and I just couldn’t believe I was painting MY DAUGHTERS room. I have decorate many a friends baby rooms, but this was MINE. I started to cry – again. He asked me “You okay ma’am”. I wiped my eyes and before I could say anything Aidan piped up “Yeah, She’s all right. Were gonna have a baby sister” and walked off. The guy then proceeds to kind look down at where an expectant mommies belly should be. Poor guy, he looked a little confused and I didn’t bother to explain. By that time Aidan had moved on to the other side of the paint area ooing and awing over a pirate room he saw on a paint brochure.

Then, we went to Walgreens to fill a prescription, and finally the last leg of the trip, the all mighty Sam’s Club. I ran into one of my clients from work. I showed him the picture of our referral. He said “Well Kym, she looks like YOU!” I beamed of course. If something should happen where this referral does not work out I’m sunk I tell ya.

I happened across the new little kid summer clothes. I allowed myself to look over the land of pink…"Ohhhhhh, ahhhhhh..." Aidan was patiently standing close by and I was not really paying much attention to how I must have sounded. Next thing I know he is asking “Mommy, you feeling all right?” I said “Yes, why?” “Cause you’re making a lot of noises like" and then proceeded into a pretty good rendition of the noises. I lughed so hard! I told him of course I was okay; I was just looking at the little girls clothes. “Well, you still sound funny Mommy” was all he said.

I found and bought (God help me, I could not STOP myself) the cutest ever swim suit and terry cloth cover up. It was a set and I took the 2T…I figure she's gotta have a swim suit, right? Now there’s one thing I can fudge a bit on concerning the size. Again - More tears. I cannot believe I am doing this. I cannot believe I am BUYING little girl stuff for MY soon to be daughter.

Pinch me.

I called my friend as soon as I left the store. I was sooo excited!

So, I now have a dozen material covered (pink of course) hangers and one darrrrling swim suit hanging in what will soon be my daughters closet.

Life is sooooo good.

Thank you God!