Life With Logan.....

We're BAAAACCCKKKK......

2011-09-07T11:28:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! I can't believe that it's been almost a year since our last post. I really didn't intend to ignore my blog as much as I have, but it is a new priority now to keep it up! I have changed the look and title of the blog to reflect our life now. But, even though I have been neglecting my blog, I have still enjoyed keeping up with all of you and your precious little ones (who are growing up so quickly), so don't think I have forgotten about you! So, stay tuned to an update and of course PICTURES :) of what we have been up to this past year as we have been living LIFE WITH LOGAN :)

PICTURE TIME

2010-09-23T14:40:00.008-04:00

Here's some more recent pictures of what we've been up to! ENJOY!

My how time flies when you are having fun!

2010-09-22T15:27:00.009-04:00

So, as you can see my regular blog posts have made their way down to one post every month - month and a half (or 2 months like this one)! It seems like each week, when I am making my to-do list, "UPDATE BLOG" is on the list, but I never seem to find the time to actually do it! But, that's life...what you don't get to today, will be there for you tomorrow!

So, I think at our last post, we had just moved back North and were getting settled in. Since then, Nicole started working part time at Sandia Ceramics (her parent's company), Dennis is still making the daily commute to Arlington WAY too early in the morning and Logan is growing up right before our eyes each and every day. While Nicole is at work, Logan is staying with our friend who Logan absolutely loves! We are so lucky and blessed to have found someone who loves and cares for our son just as much as we do...THANK YOU PAM!!!

For the remainder of our summer, we had playdates with the Gaskill's and Carter's, family time, weekends out in Luray, Nicole's 30th birthday celebration, our 1 year post placement visit (can you believe it's been 1 year already??) and ended the summer with a VT football game at FedEx Field (what a sad loss...we were so close to winning!!).

Now that fall has arrived, our lives seem to have gotten even busier. We had a weekend in Myrtle Beach, this weekend Nicole is heading to the Hamptons for her sister's bachelorette celebration, next weekend Nicole is hosting a shower (along with her aunt, Pati and sister-in-law, Michelle) for her sister, then we have weddings and weekend meetings and doctors appointments and whatever else comes along the way! We have to remind ourselves to slow down sometimes and just take a breath...Logan is such a trooper, though. No matter what we are doing, where we are going, how long we are in the car for, he still smiles and laughs (with an occasional meltdown). We truly have been blessed with this child.

So, what has Logan been up to lately? As I mentioned, he spends 3 days a week with Pam - they go to the park, play outside, draw with chalk, learn about planes and butterflies (some of Logan's favorite things) and many more fun activities! We are still working on his language, but it is really coming along. He is trying to say words when he wants something, so to us, that is a positive sign that talking is shortly behind! He can tell you what a cow, sheep, cat and horse say (I will try to post a video of him doing those animal sounds). He still loves his shapes. He can find ANY airplane in the sky (even the tiniest speck of one) and points it out to you until you see it. He points out every truck and bus on the road. He loves to buckle himself in his carseat, in shopping carts and anything else that buckles. He likes to do EVERYTHING himself now (drinking out of a cup, pushing his stroller, drinking out of a juice box/water bottle, anything...he pushes our hands away). I guess he's becoming a big boy, now! His favorite books right now are "Goodnight Moon", "Good Morning, Good Night", "Love You Forever", "Moo, Baa, La La La", "Daddy and Me" and many others. We have also had to transition into a toddler bed because that little monkey started climbing out every morning. At least now, if he wants to get out, it's a shorter distance to the ground and less of a chance of him hurting himself. For Nicole's birthday, her parents got her a bike with a trailer for Logan - so we have enjoyed taking bike rides around the neighborhood. Logan loves spending time with both sets of grandparents and we love it too! As I have said in the past, seeing your parents as grandparents is incredible...very hard to put in to words!

So, we have hit some special anniversaries that will always hold a special place in our heart for the rest of our lives. One year ago, June 18, our hearts melted when we met Logan for the first time. I remember so clearly how he cuddled with us, how he could barely sit up on his own at that time and his huge toothless smile! One year ago, August 14, Gladney called us with our court date! That's when it really set in for the both of us...this was it. We were going from DINK's to a family of 3. One year ago, September 15,we sat nervously in the Kaluga Court room as a judge made the decision that we would be Logan's parents. I remember feeling butterflies in my stomach the entire day. I remember how the actual court seemed to go quickly, but the wait seemed like eternity! And then I remember the emotion that overcame us as she said "Logan Christopher Merz" was our son. I couldn't wait to get back and hold him in my arms again - to hold our son - I couldn't believe that day had actually come. Now, here we are 1 year later, chasing after a toddler. A little boy who had no clue how much his life was going to change on September 15, 2009. A little boy who has brought so much joy and love into our lives. A little boy that is a gift from God that we couldn't be more thankful for.

So, I have tons of pictures to post, but just for memories sake...here's some "Then and Now pics" to celebrate our 1 year anniversary :)

JUNE 18, 2009 - the first moment we met Logan

June 18, 2010

September 15, 2009 - The day we were named Logan's parents!

September 2010 - Myrtle Beach, SC

YES......We are still here!!!!

2010-07-20T15:19:00.007-04:00

I know, I know....I am slacking in the "blogging" department. People are asking me for updates and new pictures all of the time and I am now FINALLY getting to it. To say that our life has been busy the past month, would be an understatement. A lot has changed (for the good), and we are slowly getting back into a normal life (whatever that may be). So, I will QUICKLY try to update you on what we have been doing and of course, include pictures of Logan :)

Since our last post, which I can't believe was around Mother's Day, we enjoyed our last few weeks in Hampton, VA. In the month of June, we took Logan to Busch Gardens, celebrated Dennis' first Father's Day, Nicole finished up the school year (and teaching for a little while) and we packed up our house and moved to Northern Virginia. For those who do not know, Dennis was reassigned back to the Coast Guard Recruiting Command and we are renting out our house in Hampton and are now back living in Northern VA. Nicole's parents graciously worked on their basement and that is now our new home (a 1000 sq ft little abode). We love it and it allows us to save money and for Nicole to be home with Logan. And of course we love being back up here for Logan to be around both sets of grandparents (and I think they are loving it too!!). Once we got settled in, July came along with the dog days of summer (man it's been HOTTT). We celebrated the 4th of July in Luray with all of Nicole's siblings and their "mates" (as Phil called them). It was a wonderful time with family and from there we went to Dennis' parents for a cookout. We discovered that Logan DOES NOT like fireworks (small or big). Maybe next year! We have enjoyed catching up with old friends now over playdates and spending time with family. Just last weekend, we took Logan to Sesame Place on our way to visit Dennis' family in New Jersey....he had a blast and loved seeing all of the characters! We also enjoyed visiting with Dennis' grandfather and other family members for the weekend. So, we are now home and trying to get Logan back on his schedule. He is still sleeping through the night (anywhere from 10-12 hours/night) and I have gotten him used to taking 1 LONG afternoon nap (2-3 hours). We get up each morning and go for a walk with Maggie (our dog), then are home for breakfast and playtime. We tried to go to a local park for an animal show a couple of weeks ago, but Logan had NO interest in sitting through that, so we went and played at the park instead. He still loves to be outside and run and play as much as he can. We are still lacking in the speaking department, but he definitely has become more vocal over the past couple of weeks and is making lots of noises (ba, da, ma, na). He loves to point out his shapes and counting is a new thing (he doesn't say "1, 2, 3", rather points with his finger as I count for him. We are still battling the throwing of toys and food and are now entering the stage of temper tantrums....all things that I am reading are normal for this age. So, even though he is a sweet boy most of the time, he has become trying at times as we are entering this "independence" stage. This too shall pass :) As far as for us (Logan's parents), Dennis took his servicewide (advancement test) and scored 12th out of 230ish. So, this means that in the next year or so he will be advancing to Chief. When that happens, there is a possibility of us moving again, but we will have to wait and see what is available at that time. There was also talk at his office of him going down to the gulf to help with the oil leak, but now with the cap working, we don't know if that is still going to happen. Again, we'll wait and see what we are told! As I mentioned earlier in the post, I (Nicole) will not be going back to teaching in the fall. I have decided to take a break and be home with Logan. I'm sure it will be an adjustment when August comes around and I won't be having to prepare lessons or wonder what students I will see again this year. But, I am ready for a break and need to be home with our son. So, that pretty much sums it up! And now for what you all have been waiting for.....PICTURES OF LOGAN.......

First BIG BOY HAIRCUT...the first time was just a trim!

Playing on the fire truck with Daddy

Meeting Super Grover!

Getting caught going up the slide the wrong way! UH OH!

Big Bird's Hot Air Balloon Ride

Waiting in line with Daddy....IT WAS HOT!!!

Flying fish ride with Mommy

Family picture with Bert and Ernie

Logan LOVES Cookie Monster

Watching Elmo Rocks Show

Water Park at Sesame Place

Watching the parade when we got to Sesame Place

Pretending to be asleep in the car on the way to Sesame Place

Playing with Mommy's sunglasses

Let's go for a swim, Mom Mom!

Taking a walk with Mom Mom

Playing on the tractor at Uncle John's

Logan loves Maggie!

Proud to be an American!

21 months

Chilling with Big Bird

21 months

4th of July

Mr Cool

Hanging with Uncle Tim

Train Ride at Busch Gardens

Just a swingin'!!!

Meeting Grover for the first time

Cookie Monster Love

Come on Daddy, let's go!

Sky Ride with Daddy

Water baby

Carousel with Mommy....not too sure about it!

Lil' Clydes Ride ALL BY HIMSELF!!!!!

Sesame Street at Busch Gardens

1st ride at Busch Gardens with Mommy

Elmo at Busch Gardens

Bluebird Gap Farm

Father's Day 2010

20 months

Logan Day by Day

2010-06-04T22:04:00.009-04:00

Sesame Stree Show @ Langley Air Force Base - watching/mesmerized by Elmo

ELMO!!!!

Waiting for the Sesame Street Show

Memorial Day Weekend in Luray - mowing the grass with Daddy

Pool Time

Water Baby

Splish Splash

Luray Petting Zoo

Tired with Daddy after a long, FUN day

Feeding a goat at the Luray Zoo

Mommy and her baby

Look at the monkeys, Mimi!

Hanging out at the zoo with Daddy

Cutie Pie

Mommy & Logan at the Hampton Block Party

Daddy & Logan

Logan expressing his feelings :)

Fun times at the block party

Logan's first haircut

Not so fun :(

Happy baby

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T20:18:00.005-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of our friends and family who we love dearly!!! Dennis and I have been extremely blessed to have such amazing women in our lives who have shown us the unconditional love of a mother. On the top of the list of amazing women, of course, are our Mom's. We can't even begin to explain our love for them and the gratitude that we have for all that they have done for us, not only individually as their children, but also for us as we have started our own family. Today is special for me as it is my first Mother's Day. When I look back to this time last year, I thought I was going to be the mother of a little boy named Alexander. But, God had another plan and through all of the sadness and questioning and fear, we were given another blessing and gift in Logan. Even though it has only been 7 months that we have had him home with us, I can't imagine life without him and now understand God's plan that seemed so hard to explain at the time. It feels like Logan has been with us forever. I am so thankful and honored that God chose this child for us. I just pray every day that I am the mother he needs me to be for Logan. Today has been a day of reflection for me. I have reflected over the past 7 months on how much Logan has blossomed and know that he will continue to amaze us every day. I have reflected over how much our lives have changed for the better and know that this is only the beginning. I have reflected on how blessed we are to have such a supportive family, who is always there for us and the love I see in their eyes when they are with Logan is breathtaking and indescribable. I have reflected on how none of this would have been possible if it were not for Logan's birthmother. In our home today, we have celebrated two women - two mothers. We will never forget Logan's birthmother and will make sure that Logan knows how much she loved him. She chose to give him life and a family who could give him the life she wanted for him to have, that she could not provide. She gave us the child that we had prayed for and dreamed of for years. She made me a mother. For that, I am forever grateful. Happy Mother's Day!

Pictures

2010-04-15T23:24:00.004-04:00

We are the TRUTH

2010-04-15T22:52:00.002-04:00

Today is Adoption Blogger Day – part of the Joint Council on International Children's Services Call to Action – We Are the Truth. We are the PROUD and BLESSED parents of a BEAUTIFUL adopted child from Russia. We have been following the horrible story in the news lately of the Tennessean woman who returned her adopted son to Russia with a note stating she no longer wanted to parent him. I cannot begin to explain the range of emotions from anger to sadness that we have felt over the past week. I think the biggest emotion is sadness for the boy. This woman is not representing adoptive parents in a positive light (OBVIOUSLY) and unfortunately, is affecting TONS of families who are waiting for referrals. Now, because of this woman's senseless act, many children may not be adopted and will miss out on the gift of having a loving family, just like Logan (and many other children) have received if it weren't for international adoption. We continue to pray (and ask that you do the same) for all of the adoptive families who are somewhere along their journey to their child and are being affected by this event.

On a more positive note, we have been having a blast with Logan over the past month. I know we start most posts with "It's been awhile since our last blog entry...", but as many parents know - parenting keeps you busy!!! So, my time to "blog" is few and far between these days!!! Here's a TOP 10 list to re-cap what we have been up to:

1)Logan is now 18 months old and changing every day (he now has 12 teeth, his hair is still growing, he is saying the "ba", "ma", "da", and "na" sounds, is still very ACTIVE, and so much more!!! You just have to see it for yourself!)
2) Logan had a small surgical procedure done at the end of March. He came through it wonderfully with no side effects and was back to his normal self the following day.
3) We have FINALLY gotten rid of the bottle!!! This was a HUGE step for us because we wanted to keep him on it for attachment purposes and we had tried once before to stop it, with no luck. So, we just said it was no big deal and we'll try again later. But on Logan's 18th monthday we decided to try it again and had SUCCESS!!! So, we have been bottle free for 1 week now - PROGRESS :)
4) We celebrated Easter with our family. Logan had 2 Easter Egg hunts and was great at finding the eggs, but wanted to hold them all once he found them. It was quite a sight to watch him try to figure out how he was going to keep them all in his hands. But, in the end, he walked away with many cute toys, goldfish & animal crackers, fruit snacks and marshmallows.
5) Logan loves animals (especially his dog, Maggie). We have taken him on some "trips" to the pet store, Bass Pro Shop, Blue Bird Gap Farm and the Norfolk Zoo. He absolutely loves watching/petting the animals.
6) Logan has started his weekly speech therapy sessions. We have only had 2 so far, so not too much change, but we know progress will come with time.
7) We had our first family photo taken (professionally)by a local photographer. Stay tuned to for the pics!
8) Logan is going to have a new babysitter during the day for May & June. Our neighbors (who watch Logan during the day) are moving and due to health challenges are not going to be able to watch Logan. Please pray for our neighbor, Gary, as he begins his chemo/radiation treatments. They have been such a blessing to our family and have loved Logan like their own grandchild. They have been our "family" down here and we will greatly miss them when we move.
9)Logan loves to laugh and what a beautiful sound it is! He is a pretty funny kid and he tends to think that the littlest things are HILARIOUS!!! So, we do what we can to make him laugh because it makes us laugh! And laughter is good for the soul!!!
10) We are still looking for tenants to rent our house. We still have time and know we will find someone before we move in June. 9 more weeks and we are moving!!!

So, I guess that sums it up! We are just living life and loving being parents to the most awesome little boy! We hope you are all doing well and we will talk to/see you all soon!

Swim Lessons, Warm Weather, First Post Placement Visit, Moving....YES WE HAVE BEEN BUSY!!!!

2010-03-18T11:07:00.003-04:00

Hello to all of our friends and family! We hope that you are all doing well and enjoying some warmer, spring weather, just like we are! By the title of our post, you can see that we have had a lot going on. First, Logan has started his "Mommy & Me" Swim Lessons at the YMCA. We've only gone twice, but he is definitely a fan of the water. The mother of one of the children in the class is actually from Russia - what a small world!!! Next, the weather has finally decided to warm up and we are taking advantage of every minute outdoors that we can. As I have mentioned before, Logan LOVES to be outside and gets pretty upset when it's time to go in. So, we have taken many walks around the neighborhood, gone out to feed the ducks and enjoyed a couple of trips to the local Peninsula Town Center (outdoor mall/restaurants) that recently opened near our house. This weekend they are saying it will get up to the 70s, so we are planning a trip to the zoo. Pictures to come! We have also had our first post placement visit from our social worker. For those of you who do not know, it is required that our social worker visits us and writes a report at the 6 month, 1 year, 2 year and 3 year mark to see how Logan is developing and adjusting and how we are adjusting as parents. This report (along with pictures) is sent to the officials in Russia. It's hard to believe that we have already been home for close to 6 months. But, the social worker was extremely pleased with how well Logan is doing and the visit was easy and quicker than we thought it would be. Lastly, we will be moving at the end of June. Dennis is getting transferred back to the Recruiting Command and we will be back in NOVA. We are looking forward to being closer to family and friends. So, this week our house was listed to rent out and we are hoping we get GOOD renters, quickly! That about wraps up what our life has been like lately. Since we are approaching our "6 months home" anniversary, Nicole has found a great website (onetruemedia.com) to organize all of our photos we have taken since we began this journey. Some pictures, you have already seen on our blog, but some pictures will be new (and we also included some video). We have posted the "montages" below if you would like to look back on our journey with Logan. It's amazing to see how much he's blossomed and changed!!! ENJOY!!!

The Past 6 Months at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-18T11:05:00.001-04:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Logan's first days home at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-18T11:04:00.003-04:00

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Logan here we come!!!!

2010-03-18T11:04:00.001-04:00

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My Montage 2/25/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-18T11:03:00.001-04:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Quality Family Time

2010-02-25T16:27:00.005-05:00

We have been enjoying the weather and some quality family time, lately. The snow has finally melted, the sun has come out a few days here and there and we have had some warmer days that we have enjoyed. But, it seems as if the cold is back this week, along with rain! But, that hasn't stopped us from enjoying every minute. We celebrated Dennis' birthday on Wednesday (having Logan here made it EXTRA special). We are grateful for Dennis' parents who came down to babysit Logan on Tuesday, while our usual babysitter had an appointment and we are both running low on leave from work. Logan had a blast spending the day with his MomMom and PopPop - and I know they enjoyed every minute of it, as well. Dennis and I had our first "date night" since we have been home with Logan. It was nice to go out, just the two of us, but at the same time we both missed having Logan with us and couldn't wait to get home to him. Here are some pics of the fun we have been having lately.....

Logan enjoying some of Daddy's birthday cake - can you tell he liked it?!!?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!!

The Candygram birthday card that Mommy and Logan made for Daddy

On the trail at the aquarium - this has to be one of my favorite pictures of Logan - he is just too darn cute!!!!

SHARK ATTACK!!!

Daddy and Logan amazed by the fish - love this picture!!!

Mommy and Logan having fun at the aquarium

Logan touching a horseshoe crab

Exhausted from a fun-filled day of sea creatures :)

This is Logan's yucky face - he mainly does it when we tell him not to touch the trash can - YUCK!!!

Enjoying the nice weather and learning some golf tips from Daddy

This child LOVES to be outside - he cries whenever we bring him in

One of his favorite things to do - take the food off of the pantry shelf, line it up on the floor and then put it back...

Our weekend trip to NOVA to visit our family who had been snowed in for over 1 week. The amount of snow they had is hard to even imagine...

Celebrating Love

2010-02-16T16:31:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day (a little late) to all of you! We spent the weekend in Northern Virginia with our family, who we love dearly. Logan is loved more than he will ever know. The love for a child is something that you can't describe - you just have to experience it for yourself and that was something that we were so happy to celebrate this Valentine's. Logan is the best gift of love that we could ever ask for!

Home 4 months

2010-02-09T16:27:00.009-05:00

Today marks our 4 month anniversary of being home with Logan. It's funny all of the days we now celebrate or remember now that we have a child. Logan also turned 16 months yesterday. I have posted a "month-by-month" photo review since we first saw Logan...

8 months old - first day we met Logan (June 18, 2009)

11 months old - Court Day (September 15, 2009)

12 months old - Moscow, Russia (October 8, 2009)

13 months old - playing with his toys

14 months old - at home with Daddy

15 months old - bringing in 2010

16 months old - getting SO big

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!!!

2010-02-04T16:17:00.004-05:00

Well, we are down here digging ourselves out of the biggest snow storm that the Hampton Roads has seen in a decade!!! We got hit with the snow on Saturday, followed by sleet, then more snow on Sunday. It closed the schools down for 3 1/2 days (which Nicole didn't mind because she got to stay home with Logan). But, just as everything is beginning to melt away, they are calling for more this weekend. So, maybe the groundhog is right - 6 more weeks of winter!!! We will wait and see....

Logan is continuing to grow and blossom every single day. If he could be outside all day, running around he would. When we took him out to play in the snow this weekend and he just wanted to run around - he didn't care much about the snow itself. So, we would bundle up and go outside for a little bit each day for some fresh air and exercise. He has finally learned to go down the stair safely and not just continue walking off the top step! He still loves to spin the toilet paper roll, so all bathroom doors are closed at our house. He is also learning how fun it is to flush the toilet (maybe this will help when it comes time to potty train). Logan is completely off formula now and our next step is to move from the bottle to the sippy cup. He can stack 4-5 blocks himself (and of course loves to knock them down). He loves emptying out his drawer in the kitchen (with his bowls, cups, etc) and lining them up in the doorway - it's rather funny to watch. He is great at helping us clean up his toys. His communication is still a challenge - he still only says dada and then yells for everything else he wants. We are waiting to see if he qualifies for speech therapy through the city's Early Intervention Program. During our initial meeting we had with them, Logan is above average in all areas except communication (he is right on the border line of below average and average). So, we were pleased to see his development and progress since we have been home with him. Logan also loves to dance to music. His dancing isn't a lot of moving around though - it mainly consists of him waving his arm back and forth, with an occasional head bob and maybe some swaying in there. You'll have to ask him to show you his moves next time you are with him. We are still waiting for his molars to come through - it would be so much easier if they would all just come in at once, right?!?

I think we mentioned that Dennis is getting transferred back to Northern Virginia this summer, so we will be renting out our house until it is better for us to sell. Work is going well for both of us. Nicole is starting a new semester - which means the year is 1/2 way over and Dennis is holding everything down at the training center. We are enjoying the month of February where we have nowhere to travel and can have some good quality family time.

We hope all is well with you and your family. Check out http://adaywithlogan.shutterfly.com for some new pictures (and older pics I forgot to post from Christmas. Love you all!

A Belated Merry Christmas & Happy New Year's From the Merz's

2010-01-11T16:29:00.006-05:00

I've always thought that the holiday season was an extremely busy time for us - but it seems like it was even more busy this year. But, I mean busy in a GOOD way. Christmas with a child seems more special. Since our last post at the beginning of December, we continued to enjoy each day in amazement at the new things Logan is learning and doing. We met with our "regular" pediatrician and learned that Logan has increased on the growth charts in each area by 25 or 50% from the time we brought him home. We had a hearing screening done on him, to be told that everything is clear and good with his ears. We made our first road trip to New Jersey to visit with the Maguire family, where Logan met his Great-grandfather and cousins. We got a chance to visit ChristmasTown at Busch Gardens (not with the grandparents since it snowed in NOVA that weekend). But, it was nice to go together as a family - Logan loved the Sesame Street Christmas show, meeting Elmo and seeing all of the beautiful lights and decorations. We spent Christmas Eve, just the 3 of us, going to the Children's Mass and then having a nice family dinner. Christmas morning we drove up to NOVA to spend the day with the King and Merz families. Logan was showered with many gifts this Christmas, that we had to leave some at the grandparents house because there was no room in the car! On December 26th, we had Logan's baptism by Fr Peffley and enjoyed a celebration with family and friends. Then we were off to TX to visit with Nicole's families. We loved seeing Logan play with his cousins Rylee and Jack (just a little younger than Logan). Logan did great on the flight down (of course this was a piece of cake compared to the last time we flew!!). While we were in TX, we were excited to be able to visit the Gladney Center (who we adopted Logan through). The emotion that we both experienced as we walked through the beautiful facility is hard to put into words - there is nothing we can say or do to thank them for bringing us our son - the gift we have prayed for for so long. We brought in the New Year's with the wonderful Hall Family at the Sullivan's house and then headed back to Virginia to get back into our normal routine. Logan came down with a cold the first week we were back. Even though he wasn't feeling well, we enjoyed all of the cuddling that he wanted to do. Now, we are dealing with teething again (his back molars are coming in). So, he's not feeling to well or sleeping through the night. But, we know that this too shall pass. Some new things that Logan is doing now - slowly learning how to safely come down the stairs, giving kisses and blowing kisses, loves to open and close drawers (as well as empty them out then put everything back in), he has discovered the toilet paper and loves to spin the roll so it all falls to the ground, he loves to play peek-a-boo and "come and get me", he can point out animals such as a cow, duck, dog, cat and sheep and continues to be a typical active boy. At 15 months, he is right on track developmentally in all areas except his speech. He continues to only say Dada (we're still working on Mommy), but his babbling and making different sounds has definitely increased. I'm sure it's a matter of time before he is talking up a storm. I guess that catches all of you up on our lives. We hope you and your families are all doing well. I have posted a couple of pictures on the blog, but don't forget to check out http://adaywithlogan.shutterfly.com for more pics. Love you all!!!

2 months home

2009-12-08T20:24:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone - we can not believe we have been home with Logan for two months now. Since our last post, we have continued to adjust to our new life as parents of a toddler. We had a great Thanksgiving with our families up in Northern Virginia. Logan finally got the chance to meet his Uncle Ben, play with the Gaskill twins and meet all of the horses out in Luray. Logan is finally walking and defintely keeping us on our toes. He began taking a few steps right before we left for Thanksgiving and then over the holiday weekend (with lots of practice and encouragement from us and Mimi). Now, he is walking all over the house and even climbing up the stairs. We're on a whole new level, people!!!!! Logan is also "testing his boundaries". When he knows he is doing something or touching something he shouldn't, he will do it and then look back at us and smile. He definitely knows what he wants and will not stop until he gets it! We are continuing to sleep through the nights and still wake up smiling and wanting to cuddle. We have another doctor's appointment on Friday, so it will be interesting to see how much he has grown and to discuss a few things with our new doctor/pediatrician. Today, Logan also turns 14 months and continutes to amaze us and make us laugh every day and teach us an unconditional love that is hard to explain - you just have to experience it for yourself. We are looking forward to a road trip up to New Jersey to visit Dennis' family this weekend. The following weekend we are excited to go to Christmas Town at Busch Gardens with the grandparents. And of course we are excited to celebrate Logan's first Christmas and our trip to Texas!! We hope you are all doing well and are enjoying the holiday season.

A long, overdue NOVEMBER update

2009-11-22T16:20:00.005-05:00

It's hard to believe that the month of November is almost over! It seems as if ever since we've been home with Logan time is going WAY to fast. He is literally growing up and changing every day - almost too fast! But, we are all doing great and enjoying each and every moment that we have together. Since going back to work, we have all gotten used to our new schedules. Logan is a real trooper about getting woken up at 6:15 in the morning to go next door to the babysitters, waking up every morning with a smile. This month, Logan met Aunt Lauren - her and Mom came down to babysit, while we went to a wedding. Logan had a BLAST with Mimi and Aunt Lolo and it was nice to have them here to help out. We also survived the Nor'easter that hit our area pretty hard. We didn't have any damage to our home, but had some pretty bad flooding in our neighborhood (the water came up to the top of the first step of our porch, completely covered the yard and the streets were impassable). But, we survived and enjoyed having a day off of work to spend together as a family. We also enjoyed a trip up to NOVA for a wonderful shower that Ginny Murphy hosted for us. It was so fun to bring Logan over to meet everyone and we were touched by everyone who came to celebrate with us. This weekend we took Logan to his first football game (Nicole's school won the regional game) and he loved it. There was so much for him to look at, lots of people for him to wave to and plenty to keep him entertained. We are looking forward to going home for Thanksgiving and taking Logan out to Luray for the first time. He is continuing to learn new things all of the time - he loves to wave "hi" and "bye", he says "dada", "dog", "mama" (not to Nicole, but when he's eating), he copies sounds and motions, still loves tires (or anything that he can spin with his finger), gives "high 5s", took a couple of steps by himself the other day (still not walking, though), gives us kisses at least once a day, loves kisses from Maggie and so much more!
We were talking this weekend about how special this Thanksgiving will be for our family this year - we have SO much to be thankful for, we don't even know where to begin. It's hard to believe that this time, 2 years ago, we were just starting the process. We were overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork we were being asked to complete. We had no idea what our journey was going to be like. We were touched and blessed by all of your kind words, encouragement, support and continued love. We never would have thought that 2 years later, we would be blessed with such a perfect child to help us start our family. We knew all along that God would lead us to the child that was meant to be with us - but having Logan is truly amazing and we pray every day that we are the parents that he needs. Those of you who are reading this and have children, know exactly what I am talking about. My adoptive family friends who I have met along the way, I know can relate to the variety of feelings and emotions that we are experiencing on our first holiday together. My adoptive family friends who are still waiting for your child, stay strong and know that your time is coming. I can't wait to read about your first holiday with your child and how much they will change your life. So, thank you all for always being there for us and we couldn't ask for better family and friends. Happy Thanksgiving! We love you.

Loving a visit from Aunt Lauren

Playing at the park with Mom

The beginning of the effects of the Nor'easter - this wasn't event he worst of it

Logan's first football game - GO WOODSIDE!!!

"Can you believe that play, Mom?"

Logan playing INSIDE the toybox

Hanging out with Uncle Ryan

One month already?!?!

2009-11-08T19:36:00.003-05:00

Well, it's been awhile since our last post, but we've been busy chasing around a now, 13 month old! That's right, today Logan is 13 months old and as of tomorrow we will have been home with him for 1 month - TIME IS FLYING!!!! Since our last post, we enjoyed the rest of October, hanging out together each day, visiting with Logan's grandparents and other family members and of course, celebrating Logan's first Halloween (which as you can see from the picture, he was lion and didn't quite understand the concept of giving the candy away to other people!!!). We have also successfully made it through our first week of Mom and Dad going back to work and Logan staying with our wonderful neighbors! He has done so good and it has been SO hard to leave him every day, wondering what new thing he is going to do or learn that we have to hear about instead of see for ourselves. But, he is in excellent hands and is so loved by our neighbors. The favorite part of my day is when I come and pick him up and he sees me through the door and this ENORMOUS smile comes across his face and he starts crawling toward the door. I LOVE THAT MOMENT!!! But, he's doing really well - he is definitely growing, he is getting more hair, he is teething again, he is going to start walking on his own very soon, we have noticed that his "thumbsucking" has stopped, he is sleeping better through the night, and he just keeps us busy - always on the go! Anyways, we hope you are all doing well. In case you didn't know, we have another website strictly for pictures of Logan and the website is http://adaywithlogan.shutterfly.com. We will still keep the blog for updates and some pictures, but have the other one as well.

PICTURES :)

2009-10-19T19:49:00.006-04:00

Settling in at Home

2009-10-18T16:04:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone. I know it's been awhile, but it's hard to believe that we've already been home for 1 week. And what a week it's been! Filled with firsts for Logan and lots of memories. I'll try to summarize it for you:

You may be wondering how the 10 hour flight went. Well, for the most part it was fine. Logan was great for the majority of the flight, but didn't sleep much (a total of 2 hours). Everyone around us fell in love with him and during our walks around the plane he made sure to stop and smile at each person. It was a good thing that he charmed everyone in the beginning because he basically cried for the last 2 hours of the flight. We later found out when we went to the pediatrician, that he still has an ear infection (which the doctor in Russia told us was gone) and that probably attributed to the pain he was feeling. We finally landed, made it through customs, gathered our luggage and went to our last stop when we were told that they didn't process our paperwork at the first customs, so we had to go to a separate line and wait for our name to be called. Finally about 2 hours after we landed we walked through the doors to the smiling faces and cheers from many of our family and friends - the signs and balloons were so neat to see. It was great to finally be back home and with the people we have loved and missed so much. After many hugs, tears and oohing and ahhing over Logan, we made it back to Nicole's Mom's for a small birthday party for Logan. We really appreciate everyone who came and made our homecoming so special - The King's, Merz's, Colon's, Burton's, Burke's, Gaskill's and especially Aunt Mary who came all the way from Texas - we love you all!

We then spent the rest of the weekend with our family and let me tell you how neat it is to see our parents as GRANDPARENTS - the love you see in their eyes is something everyone needs to experience. It was a quick visit before we were ready to head home - just the 3 of us and start our life together. So, we headed to Hampton on Sunday for Logan's first night at home. We took him from room to room in the house and walked outside so he could see the house. The feeling that overcame us to finally have him home is indescribable.

Our first week together was pretty good. Monday we met with the International Adoption Pediatrician. She gave us some tips, watched him play and said he was on track developmentally. Logan then had to get some blood work done, so we had to hold him down as they took about 8 vials of blood - that was SO hard to do as he is looking up at your SCREAMING!!!! But, we all made it through!

Dennis went back to work on Tuesday, so it was just Mommy and Logan. Trying to get him back on schedule with the time change and just overall life change was kind of difficult at the beginning of the week - ok, Nicole has had a couple of meltdowns, but is much better now! For the most part, Logan will sleep through the night, getting up a couple of times, but will go right back to sleep. He was first waking up around 6 or 6:30, but is now sleeping mostly through the night and waking up around 7 or 7:30. We have discovered that Logan LOVES Baby Einstein, taking walks outside to visit the ducks, bath time & lotion rubdowns afterwards, jumping in his monkey bouncer, being barefoot, food and many other things. We have also discovered that Logan does not like grass on his feet, wearing socks, the car seat (but we have made MUCH improvement), pears and afternoon naps. Logan has also been lucky to have visits from both of his grandmothers who just couldn't stay away - we loved having them down here and can't wait for many more visits.

I guess we've gone on enough about our first week. I will post pictures later, as it is not working right now. Some people have asked if I am going to keep up with the blog and the answer is YES - we will keep people updated on how Logan is doing and all of the fun things he is learning along the way. The updates may not be as frequent as they used to be, but we will definitely update :) We hope you are all doing well and again thank you for your continued prayers and support. Our prayers are a little different these days - we pray in thanksgiving for this angel God has given us, for safe travels on our journey to pick him up and for our health and life. We pray every night to be better parents each day and to be the parents that Logan needs us to be (not necessarily who we think we need to be). And lastly, we thank God for all of you!! We can't wait for you each to meet Logan - we know you will fall in love just like we have :)

Day 11 - Logan's First Birthday

2009-10-08T12:38:00.002-04:00

Well, we started off the morning early at 545am... Logan was ready to celebrate his birthday with us so he could not wait. We hung out today and started getting ready for our journey home to meet all of our family and friends. Dennis went to the monastery to pick up a relic of Logan's patron Saint (St. Igor). Dennis got back and we had a birthday lunch for Logan which included a cake. After lunch Logan only took a 45 min nap, due to the numerous amounts of sugar in his body from the cake. We made it through the day and now are ready to come home to the GOOD OLD USA.... We hope to see alot of you tomorrow at the Airport at 3pm.

Love you all....

Day 10 - Play Day

2009-10-07T12:34:00.002-04:00

We had another nice day together as a family. The weather was BEAUTIFUL today so we actually went out and walked around and into a couple of the malls. Logan fell asleep about 15 minutes into the walk, so that replaced his afternoon nap. We got a chance to spend some time with the other family who arrived last night and Logan and their son, Aleks, played together this afternoon - and shared their toys very nicely! We are counting down the hours before we board the plane home - tomorrow we will celebrate Logan's 1st birthday. We are going to go to a monastery in the morning and pick up a souvenier of his baptismal saint (he was baptized in the Russian Orthodox Church) and then hang out and pack the rest of the afternoon. We hope to see many of you when we come home Friday afternoon. WE CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

Day 9

2009-10-06T13:55:00.002-04:00

Today was a restful day - didn't do much. We are definitely getting homesick and counting down the days knowing that we will be home soon. Logan has been a little more cranky than usual, but I think it is because a new tooth is coming through. Or maybe he knows he's leaving his birthplace and going to a strange new land - who knows! German has been gone the past 2 days with another family who just picked up their son from Kaluga also. They just got in tonight and we are excited for Logan to have a playmate for the next couple of days! Maybe they knew each other from the baby home! Anyways, we're signing off for the night and will talk to you all tomorrow. Love and miss you!

Day 8 - US Embassy

2009-10-05T12:56:00.003-04:00

Today was our trip to the US Embassy. We began our day with laughs and giggles from a happy baby. Then we cuddled and played in bed together - that's how we have begun every morning since we've been together - IT'S SO FUN!!! We left at noon for the Embassy for our 2:00 appointment. There wasn't any traffic today so we actually got there about 1 hour early and waited in the car with Marina. When you go to the Embassy and you are an adoptive family, that is an immediate pass to the front of every line - it doesn't matter how long. We got through security, followed the signs for Adoptions, paid Logan's Visa fee and walked into a waiting room with 3 other American families who had just adopted their children - they were all girls around 2 and 3 years old. It was neat to talk with the other families (and Americans) and share our experiences. Then a lady came out and told us what was going to happen today and called each family up to the window for the "exit interview". They gave us some instructions, had us look over Logan's information and make sure it was correct and then we had to wait for Logan's passport/visa. The interview took maybe 3-5 minutes and then we had to wait for about 20 minutes. Then we were handed the "sealed envelope" and Logan's passport and we were out of there by 3pm and headed back home. Logan was off of his schedule today and missed his afternoon nap so we had a pretty cranky baby for the rest of the evening! But, he is sleeping peacefully now - hopefully for the night! Here are some pictures from the past couple of days. Love to all!!!

Day 7 - SHOPPING :)

2009-10-04T14:25:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness for good weather! Not a drop of rain and the sun was out ALL DAY!! But, it was a little chilly and VERY windy. That didn't keep us from our trip to the souvenier market, though! We took Logan on his first shopping trip. We picked up a couple of Russian toys and cartoon DVDs for him to have as he grows up. We figured that he is definitely used to hearing the Russian language and even though we won't be able to tell him what they are saying, it may be comforting for him to hear the sound of the language (and it's a cartoon, so you can basically figure out what is happening, right?!?!). Dennis bought himself one of those furry Russian hats (I'm not sure what they are called but he's been DYING to buy one and finally did). I also picked up a rabbit fur scarf - it is SOOOOOOO soft and warm! Michelle - if you are reading this we got Carson his White Sox stacking doll!!! We will mail it to you when we get home :)
We had a bit of a rough night sleeping last night. I must have spoke too soon when I said Logan sleeps through the night. The first night he did. Other nights he has gotten up and gone back to sleep within 5 minutes of us soothing him. Well, not last night. He woke up around 3 am WIDE AWAKE!! We tried EVERYTHING to get him back to sleep and nothing worked - he was fighting us the entire time. Finally at 430am we broke down and gave him 1/4 tsp of Benadryl (prescribed by our IA pediatrician to help with sleeping) and within 30 minutes he was OUT. We got a few more hours of sleep and then he was up laughing at 7:45 am. His giggles is the best way to start your day no matter how rough the night was.
Tomorrow we head to our appointment at the US Embassy, where we will receive our official documents. This will take up most of our afternoon, but it's one more day closer to coming home.
A lot of people have asked about when they can meet Logan. If you would like to be there at his "debut", we arrive at Washington Dulles Airport on Fri Oct 9th at 3:30pm (we usually arrive before then, so if you are coming check the status of the flight online). We will be in NOVA for the weekend hanging out with our families and then head back to Hampton on Sunday. We don't mind seeing people and sharing our bundle of joy with you. All we ask is that you help us continue our bonding with him by allowing us to be the only ones who hold him and care for him. We are not sure if he knows us as his primary caregivers yet and it is important that we continue to be the ones who provide all of his needs right now.
Hugs and kisses to all and we will talk to you tomorrow (and upload some more pictures)

Day 6 - Red Square

2009-10-03T14:31:00.005-04:00

Hello Everyone - We had a great day today that started off with laughter at 650am and then off to breakfast. After breakfast we played with Logan while German and Marina went to run some errands. When they returned we got ready and headed off to Red Square to get some pictures with Logan so that when he gets older we can show him a little bit about his country. It was off to downtown Moscow with a few short stops for German so that he could get his Indy 500 race car serviced. Then we arrived at the Red Square and it was beautiful - all of the old time architecture it is just amazing. Then we walked around and took numerous pictures with the Little Man and got a once in a life time opportunity to see the Changing of the Guards in Red Square (same as what they do in DC at the Tomb of the Unknown). Then we hurried back to the car because the temperture start to drop a little and it started to sprinkle. We left Red Square at mock speed and stopped by a mall/grocery store so that Marina could get our dinner for this evening (delicious trout) and then back to German and Marina's to feed little man and get him to bed. After Nicole put him down we went and had another great dinner and got to watch a Russian Comedy on TV. Then we were asked if we wanted some Russian Ice Cream which being Irish and from the United States couldn't turn that down. It was really good it came out of a tube instead of a container. Then we departed back to the room to check the VT score and update the blog for day 6. Stay tune for tomorrow when we take Logan to his first incounter at the souvenior market. Cant wait to see you all on Friday Afternoon. Miss you lots and love you all.

Love
Dennis, Nikki, and Logan

Day 5 - From Logan

2009-10-02T12:15:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! It's me, Logan!! Mommy and Daddy keep telling me that they are telling everyone back home everything we have been doing, so I told them that I wanted to say hi. I have been having a great time getting to know Mommy and Daddy - I just can't wait to meet all of you people. The weather here in Russia has been cold, rainy and windy, so we haven't had a chance to go for a walk outside. That's OK though - they brought some cool toys for me to play with. Mommy and Daddy are doing a great job of keeping me on the same schedule as my caretakers did at the baby home. I am very good for them - I don't cry much - only when Mommy leaves the room. But, she always comes back :) Here are some other things that Mommy and Daddy have learned about me - I love to eat. I make a mess when I eat cookies. I don't like wearing a bib (but they make me anyway). I don't cry when they give me a bath. I wake up laughing. I am ticklish on my feet and thighs. I LOVE to suck my thumb (either one is fine with me). I love the music that Mommy and Daddy put on our blog - it puts me to sleep every naptime and at bedtime. I can crawl and am learning how to walk (right now I need help and walk on my TIP TOES). I have very WIDE feet - Mommy and Daddy had to buy me a pair of shoes because they forgot mine in Virginia. I am a good sleeper. I have 7 teeth right now and more coming. I don't like to read books or look at the pictures - I just want to put it in my mouth. When I wake up in the morning, I like to get in bed with Mommy and Daddy and play. I am so happy that they have come to be my family. I can't wait to meet the rest of these people they keep telling me about. I guess I will see you soon. Here are some new pictures of me (Mommy won't keep the camera away!!) I love you!
Love, Logan

Day 4

2009-10-01T12:49:00.002-04:00

We had another wonderful day together as a family. We were even able to keep Logan exactly on his schedule - every feeding and 2 great naps! We had to go and get his picture for his visa taken and we bought him some shoes. This boy has some WIDE feet, so it was kind of hard to find one that fit - but we did and they will work for now. German went to Kaluga today to get Logan's passport and I think tomorrow we have another free day - we will have to find out from German tomorrow. Logan is still full of giggles and smiles every day and I just can't believe how blessed we are. Dennis is such a wonderful daddy - a great bottle maker and diaper changer too :) It makes me smile every time I see my 2 boys together. One week from today and Logan will turn 1 and we will be packing to go home!!! I hope this week flies by!!!! We hope all of you are doing well and we miss you all! Talk to you tomorrow.

Last Trip Day 3

2009-09-30T12:48:00.007-04:00

Our first full day as a family and it was a good one! Just like we went to bed to the sound of giggles and claps that is exactly what we woke up to - and he slept through the entire night!!! We are hoping for the same tonight. Today we had our trip for Logan to see the doctor (Dr. Boris). It took us longer to get there than our actual appointment was (we were there for about 15 minutes and spent a total of 2 hours in the car round trip - RIDICULOUS). Dr Boris said he is healthy, on track developmentally and the only problem we will have with him is keeping the ladies away from him. After that we came home for the rest of the day and just spent time together. Logan had a few fussy episodes but we quickly calmed him down and he flashed us a smile again. We kept him to his schedule for the most part today, except for his afternoon nap (he slept most of the time in the car and we tried to lay him down at 3pm, but he just played in his crib for an hour). So, needless to say he was very tired by bedtime (8pm) and fell asleep while taking his bottle. We have a free day for the most part tomorrow except for taking him to get his Visa pictures taken. Here are some pictures from the past couple of days, as promised!

Daddy and Logan in the car

Mommy and Logan playing

LOVE those blue eyes

Representing the United States Coast Guard

Trying to go to sleep last night

Car ride from Kaluga to Moscow

Logan with his caretakers - wonderful women!

Logan's playroom at the babyhome

This is a restaurant in Kaluga - I guess it was meant for the Merz's to come here to adopt Logan :)

Last Trip Day 2

2009-09-29T14:28:00.002-04:00

September 29, 2009 is going to be a special day for our family. In the "adoption world" people call it Gotcha Day (which I read somewhere can stand for God Ordained This Child's Happy Adoption Day)or Forever Family Day. This morning we had breakfast, waited at the hotel while German ran some errands, went to the Vital Statistics Office where we picked up the Adoption Decree and Logan's birth certificate, ran some more errands, had lunch at our favorite German restaurant that we eat at every time we have come to Kaluga, checked out of the hotel then off to the baby home. German dropped us off for about 40 minutes and we spent some time with Logan and the caretakers before we left. They changed him into the outfit we brought (pictures to come), we took some pictures, received his feeding/sleeping schedule from the head doctor and then said our goodbyes. Then we buckled him in the car seat PRAYING that we would have a smooth ride to Moscow. He was PERFECT!!! Didn't cry once. We have also heard that a lot of children get sick in the car, so we had paper towels and plastic bags just in case - but Logan didn't get sick at all (thank goodness). He just stared out the window, looked back and forth at us, played with a toy we had brought and slept. It was wonderful. German kept saying how surprised he was that he was so good! After a 4 hour trip (we arrived at 8:30pm), we made it to German and Marina's and tried to get settled in our room. Since he hadn't eaten dinner yet, we figured we should feed him. So we gave him some mashed potatoes and a bottle. Then it was time for bed. So, we laid him down, turned off the lights and then laid down in our bed. Then we hear the CUTEST laugh - over and over again. We buried our heads in the pillow to muffle our own laughs. Then came the clapping. Then he started standing up in the crib. So, we would go over, lay him back down again, he would give us the HUGEST smile and we would go lay back down again. The laughing, clapping and sitting/standing up would start again. This went on for about 20 minutes and he finally went to sleep. So, we are trying to find things in our suitcases using the light from the laptop. We are off to take Logan to the doctor tomorrow morning and then we have the afternoon to hang out. We wanted to give you all an update and promise to post pictures tomorrow. DASVAYDANYA!!!

Last trip Day 1

2009-09-28T08:04:00.002-04:00

Hello from Russia! We landed in Moscow Monday Sept 28 an hour earlier than scheduled. The flight was PACKED and there was a lot of turbulence, so we were glad to get off the plane. Once again, the health department had to take our temperature before we could deplane (I guess that's a standard now, when coming from the US). We made it through customs quickly with no problems and then waited FOREVER for our luggage. We were beginning to worry that it didn't make it - but it was one of the last pieces to come out. German was waiting for us and then we were off to Kaluga. He told us in the car that we were going to see Logan today (which was a surprise). So, we stopped at McDonalds for a cheeseburger, then off to get Logan to take his passport picture. One of the caretakers came with us. He was quiet the entire ride, just staring at us and probably wondering what the heck was going on. While we were waiting for the pictures we got to hold him and tried to get a smile out of him, with no luck. Then back to the baby home, where we got to spend about 30 minutes with him before his nap. I think this was the most fun we have seen him - laughing, smiling, playing, walking with us and trying to figure out why Daddy's face is so rough (Dennis hasn't shaved in a couple of days now and Logan kept rubbing it and staring at it). Two more teeth have come through (now he has 4 top and 3 bottom). Then they brought out a bottle for us to give him before his nap - I think he downed that thing in 2 minutes. I have read that the holes in the nipples of the bottles are big and they almost choke getting it down - well we saw it with our own eyes. I kept trying to take it out of his mouth so he could breath (I was successful twice, but not for long) and before we knew it he was done. It was crazy! At least we know this boy can eat :) We said our goodbyes and now we are back at the hotel resting - our last restful night! Tomorrow, we make our last trip to the baby home and this time we are taking Logan with us!!!! We just hope he is as excited as we are!

A DAY IN KALUGA COURT

2009-09-15T14:24:00.004-04:00

We are back in Moscow reflecting on the day's events....

We woke up to a beautiful warm sunny day in Kaluga and went and had breakfast with German. After breakfast we stopped by the baby home for about an hour to see our new little boy and to get an update from the Head Doctor. He has definitely grown since we last saw him (hence the new nickname of CHUNKY MONKEY) and has a pretty good bill of health, except for what they are calling an ear infection. He smiled when he first saw us and then realized we were strangers and started crying. German said he was crying because he was upset we had left him there and was wondering where we had been :) THen we left the baby home and went to our favorite German restraurant for lunch before we headed back to the hotel to get ready for court. We headed out around 2pm Kaluga time which was 6am USA time and met up with the Inspector from the Ministry of Education and our translator Anna. We waited about 10minutes and then off to the court room to get the ball rolling...
Court....it's hard to describe what we were feeling. First of all, they have actual "cells" with bars for criminals to sit in the court room - kind of strange. We were on one side of the court room with our translator and the Social Worker from the baby home, the inspector from the Ministry of Education and the Head Prosecutor were on the other side of the room. German and Anna had prepared us for what kinds of questions to expect and gave us some "tips" on how to word certain answers. So, in walks the judge and court begins. She only asked us about 4 or 5 questions (unlike the 10 or 15 German and Anna were telling us we would be asked). Then the Social Worker, Doctor from the baby home and inspector spoke about lil man's background, his biological parents and that they support us adopting him. This part took about 1 hour. Then the judge left the courtroom to make her decision.
We waited in the courtroom for about 40 minutes before the judge returned - the LONGEST 40 minutes of our lives!!! We petitioned to have the 10 days waived, but they did not see any emergency with his health where it would be necessary for it to be waived. Then the judge came in to give us her ruling, she stated that she did not rule in favor of the 10 day waiting period, however did rule in favor of us adopting Lil Man and named us as his Mother and Father...
We then left court and ran a few errands with German and then off to the baby home to celebrate with LiL Man!!!! When we arrived at the baby home LIL Man just woke up from his nap so he was a little groggy. We had about 20 min with him before we had to beat feet to get back to Moscow. However, before we left the baby home the care giver asked us what name did we want them to start calling him, so....... We told her to call him..................................
LOGAN
Yes, that's what you have all been waiting for....we are naming him Logan Christopher Merz. As we said our last PAKA PAKAS (bye byes) we left the baby home holding back tears from having to leave him one last time, but knowing that we would be back for him for good VERY SOON. We were walking outside back to the car and as we turned the corner we looked at the window and the caretakers were holding him and waving and blowing kisses as we left. It was so sweet to see that....this baby home is amazing in the care and love they give these children.
So, I guess we have told you pretty much everything. For now, we are flying back home tomorrow (Wednesday) and will return to work for a week. We will come back to Russia on Sept 27 and officially pick up Logan on Sept 29. Then we start the rest of the paperwork process and end this part of our journey - we know that a whole new edition is about to begin. Love you all and thanks for your continued prayers - it is what gave us strength, calm and peace during court today :)

This is the first time we met Logan in June 2009

Our visit with Logan before court today (he's a little unsure still)

Proud new parents :)

The New Merz Family

Hello from Kaluga

2009-09-14T15:20:00.003-04:00

We finally made it to Kaluga around 1100 pm which is 300 pm your time after a 6 hour long medical visit. We were told that we are fit to adopt LiL Man :) We saw 8 specialists who asked us mostly yes and no questions but because all the specialist were not available at the same time we had to wait and wait and wait. German said that it never takes this long :( However during our six hour wait we met two other families one is from Tusla, OK and the other is from Michigan they are both adopting teenagers. We finally left the medical facility and headed to Kaluga but on the way made a short stop at KFC for dinner.

German I think made a three hour trip feel like 1 1/2 hours. We will eat breakfast in the morning and then off to the baby home to see Chunky Monkey ( this is his new name because German talked to the head doctor and she said his cheeks have grown since the last time we have seen him). After we see Chunky Monkey we will come back and change before we head off to court which is at 230pm which will be 630am in the US. We will send out another blog tomorrow when we get back to Moscow which will probably be late afternoon US time. Please continue to keep praying for a fast court and possibility of 10 days waiver granted.

Love you all and we look forward to seeing you all soon.

Back in the good ol' USSR.....

2009-09-12T13:46:00.002-04:00

We are here!!! We arrived today (Saturday) having a wonderful flight and no issues getting through customs/passport control AND all of our luggage arrived :) German picked us up at the airport and said "It is so good to see you. They are all waiting for you in Kaluga" - what an awesome thing to hear!! German also told us that there is another family staying with him who just adopted a 2 1/2 year old boy -so we are all living in close knit quarters for the next few days. They are from New York and adopted their son from a different region. They are at the end of their trip, just waiting for their visit with the US Embassy. It is so nice to have another family to talk with (and speak English)and share experiences with - plus they have gone through the 8 doctor medical review and court already, so they have let us know what to expect. When we got to the apartment, we had a nice lunch and then took about a 5 hour nap. The weather is beautiful - 60s and sunny. Tomorrow (SUNDAY) we will go to the medical clinic for some tests and then go back on Monday for the 8 doctor review. Then we will leave Monday night for Kaluga. We will be able to visit with lil man Tuesday morning before court and then we have court at 2:30pm (6:30am EST) and then visit him after court to celebrate :) If they don't waive the 10 days, we will return to Moscow Tuesday night and fly home Wednesday. If they do, then we will wait to hear what will happen. Lil Man will make his debut appearance on our blog after the official "YES" is given on Tuesday - so stay tuned for pictures and his name - which we know everyone is dying to find out. We love you all and miss you, but we do feel that you are all here with us in spirit. DASVIDANYA (good bye) and SPAKOYNEYOCHI (good night).

Ready, Set, GO!!!!! Here we come Lil Man :)

2009-09-09T16:51:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!!!! It's been awhile since our last post and we are getting closer to heading back to Russia, so we figured we'd leave one more message. Summer is officially over. We ended our summer with the wonderful wedding of Ryan and Michelle. What a beautiful day!!! It was great to see all of our family and friends - we had a blast!!! School has started for Nicole and the first 2 days went well. We are both just making sure that everything is going to be taken care of at work while we are gone. We are still scheduled to leave on Friday Sept 11 and we are READY!!! We pretty much have everything packed - except for our clothes, which we plan to do Thursday night. We have received our Visas, our flights are confirmed, we have our donations to the orphanage ready (we purchased diapers/formula for the children and some items for the caregivers as well - THANKS TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED), we have all of Lil Man's stuff ready, our international cell phone has arrived, and we just have to go to the bank tomorrow to get our NEW UNMARKED BILLS (just the way the Russians like them). I don't think we have forgotten anything, but will double check (probably quadruple check) our lists before we leave Friday morning. We have court on Sept 15 and once we know the time we will let everyone know so you can send up all of your prayers during that time. Again, we should have internet access while we are there, but will not be sending out emails as we update the blog - so remember to save it to your favorites and check it if you are interested to see what's going on. We can't believe that we are finally at this point and are full of excitement, nerves, happiness, love and many other emotions!!! Know that each of you are with us in spirit as we travel....we love you all and can't wait to share some good news with you in the upcoming week!

Let the countdown begin

2009-08-25T08:38:00.002-04:00

Well, we are definitely in countdown mode! We've been accomplishing a little each day, which we are hoping will alleviate some of the stress as we get closer. We spoke to the agency that issues our visas and they will be ready to mail to us on August 31- so we will receive them in PLENTY of time! We have lil man's suitcase packed just in case they waive the 10 days (if they don't we will just leave his suitcase over there for when we return). We had to make a small change on lil man's ticket - we were originally told to put his Russian name on his ticket because that is the name that would be on his passport. But, after talking with other adoptive parents, the name on their passport is their new name given by the parents. So, Nicole was on the phone with United last night for 1 hour for them to make the change. But, it's fixed and we are sorry that the lovely agent from United knows lil man's name before all of our family and friends. But you will soon ALL know his name :) Thanks for playing along with us....

Nicole returns to work on Thursday. So, she's counting down the days of summer that are left. Today her Mom is coming down for some shopping and Wednesday she has an appointment to visit a pediatrician and maybe 1 more time at the pool! But, it should be a good year and it will be fun to bring lil man to all of the high school games and events!

The donations continue to come in for the orphanage (via checks and PayPal). Thank you again to one and all and we will let you know what we will be asked to give the orphanage. You still have until September 4th if you want to help.

We will continue to keep you posted on everything that is going on. We hope you and your families are doing well. Love you and thanks again for everything you all have done for us.

Flights booked......CHECK

2009-08-18T15:39:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! Hope you are all enjoying your last few days of summer! Not much to update, but we have sent off our visa applications (hoping to receive them in PLENTY of time) and flights are booked!!! Those are both HUGH items to cross off of our list. Now we can focus on our packing lists and preparing for court. Some of our wonderful adoption family friends have given us suggestions on what to expect - THANKS!!

Also, a BIG thank you to the Schaar's for their donation. There's still time if you want to help "lil man's" friends at the orphanage :)

We'll be in touch as we get closer to our trip and receive more details. For now, Nicole needs to get her mind into school-mode and start lesson planning!! Thanks to everyone for your kind emails and words of encouragement. Love to you all.

Lots to do.....

2009-08-15T11:39:00.002-04:00

After the exciting news of our court date sank in yesterday, our minds started racing with everything we have to do before we leave. First, we found out our travel dates. We will be leaving for court in Russia on September 11, arriving in Moscow September 12, completing our 8 doctor medical review, court in Kaluga on September 15 and assuming that the 10 day wait will not be waived, we will return home on September 16. We figured it would be better for us to come home during the 10 days so we could both work and save our leave. During our first trip from the 11th - 16th, we will be able to see "lil man" a couple of times, but will not be coming home with him yet. Then we will leave to go back and get OUR SON on September 27 and return October 9. When we return for this trip, we will pick up "lil man" and he will be with us the rest of our stay in Russia. I'm sure there will be more details as we get closer, but that's what we are expecting in a nutshell. Our goal this weekend is to book our flights and send off for our visas (we are going to make sure that we receive them earlier than the DAY we leave - that was too stressful last time).

Nicole starts back to school on August 27. Then we have Ryan & Michelle's wedding. Then school starts - Nicole will be there for the first 3 days, then we will leave for the first trip. We will both return back to work from September 18-25. Then be off for the 2nd trip. Nicole is going to take off the entire month of October and start back to work in November and Dennis is going to take off 2 weeks in October. At least that is our plan for now :)

Thanks to Gina and Lila for their donations! I have also received questions about sending us a check instead of PayPal and that is fine too. Just email me if you would like to do that and need our address. The new deadline is September 4 and ever little bit will help!

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, we still have a lot to go through and finalize our adoption of "lil man", but know that everything will work out. We just realized last night that we started this journey exactly 2 years ago. In a way, I can't believe it has been this long, but it is also a blur with everything we have been doing and have gone through over these past 2 years. It's hard to explain, but it's a great feeling to know that the end is getting closer and we will soon be a family - GOD IS GOOD!!!!

We got a DATE!!!!

2009-08-14T09:50:00.004-04:00

Yes, you read it right!!! We got a call this morning with a court date of SEPTEMBER 15!! That is all the details we have now, but they will be emailing us with specific travel dates. The good thing is we will be here for the Ryan & Michelle's wedding - the bad thing is "lil man" won't be here for the wedding!!! That's OK...he'll be here for every other celebration in our families for the rest of his life :) We will keep you posted as we get more information, but we just wanted to share that exciting news with you all!

I have also extended the deadline for those of you who would like to donate to the orphanage. Now that we know when we are traveling, we can extend the deadline a little more. Thanks again to Wendi, Erinn and the Bruce's for their generous donations! We know there's got to be more of you out there who would like to help "lil man's" friends!!!!

Thanks for your prayers and support. Love you all.

Where is the time going?!??

2009-08-06T10:36:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! Hope all is well with you and your families! Can you believe it is August already??? Time is just FLYING by!

Anyways, just wanted to answer the famous question "HAVE YOU HEARD ANYTHING YET" with our famous answer of "NO STILL WAITING". But, the waiting is definitely starting to wear on us - it's been almost 2 months since we've seen "lil man" - it's killing us! He will be 10 months on Saturday - we've missed 2 whole months of his life since we've last seen him!!!! But, we know that just means we will cherish every day we have with him once he is ours forever, knowing what it was like to miss him!

Last night, we started going through our packing list of what we have, what we still need to buy and even pulled out the suitcases and put them in his room. We have a lot of things, we just need to get some "essentials" for once we have lil man with us (bottles, formula, toiletries, medicines, bibs, etc).

Also, remember if you wanted to donate to the fund for the items we are giving to the baby home, you must do so by August 15! Thanks to Wendi who made a donation (we are excited to give something to the baby home for your daughter you are waiting to meet) and to Erinn for the items you are donating! You don't know how much they will be appreciated!

We also received a package from our agency the other day with the documents we will need to take to the US Embassy. That was kind of exciting because it was something new and it is EXTREMELY specific (documents must be in the order listed and exactly what is listed). So, we are making sure we have EVERYTHING they ask for so there are no hold ups.

I guess that's about it from us....just trying to keep ourselves busy and prepared because we know once we get the call it's such a whirlwind trying to get everything together! Love you all and we'll continue to keep you posted!!!

Summertime....

2009-07-22T11:01:00.004-04:00

Hi friends & family! Just a quick little update to answer the question "Have you heard anything?". Answer = nothing since our last post! With the timeline we were given, we are assuming that our package is in Russia now and being translated. We emailed Gladney asking if we could get an update on "lil man". We look at his pictures every day and wonder how he has changed since we last saw him. We know a lot of changes occur in the first year and we don't want to miss too many of those milestones! We miss him SO MUCH and can't wait to bring him home!

We also want to thank those of you who have offered to share/give your baby items to us for lil man. Thank you Nicole Ryder for the car seat, Gina for the baby carrier/clothes (all the way from Hawaii) and many more who will be passing down clothes! We definitely appreciate it and know that every little bit helps.

We hope you had fun voting for your favorite name for "lil man". As you see, Logan is the name of choice for most. So, you will have to wait until he is on US soil to see if your vote is what we have decided to name our "lil man"!!

We have been enjoying the summer. These past few weekends have been quite busy - we had a business conference in DC, but got a chance to see the new Gaskill family - yes, Cristin delivered her twins EARLY, and they are doing WONDERFUL!!! It was amazing to see those tiny little lives - just precious. We will be going back to NOVA for the next couple of weekends for Carpenter-King wedding events. Definitely looking forward to celebrating them! And just getting little things done around the house now to make it a smooth transition when we are home for good with our new family.

Lastly, you may have noticed a new addition to the blog titled "Bring lil man home". This is a neat "widget" that I came across while looking on MANY other adoption blogs. Most people have posted it on their blog as a way to help offset the costs of international adoptions. So, why are we posting it, you may ask - for the most part, we have MOST of the money that we need for our final trip (I say most, because we did have to use some of what we had been saving for our unexpected trip for referral #2 and we are saving again now). But, the main reason we are posting it is to help with the donations that we will be asked to give to the baby home. We may be asked to bring shoes, diapers, formula, really ANYTHING. All along our adoption journey, so many people have asked how they can help or let them know if there is anything they can do. I can't express the feeling you get when you walk into a baby home and see all of those children looking up and smiling at you. You want to help ALL of them, but know that right now, you are only there for one. So, this is a way YOU can help - by "chipping in" from our blog. We don't have a certain amount that we are trying to raise and it will only be up until August 15. All payments are done through PayPal and if you don't have an account it is easy to sign up for one! So, if you feel inclined, "chip in" as little or as much as you can. We thank you in advance for your donation and know that a day doesn't go by that we don't thank God for the friends and family he has placed in our lives who support us through their prayers, words of encouragement and relationships. We love you all

It's in the mail....

2009-07-13T10:36:00.006-04:00

Hello!!! We are back from a relaxing time at the beach with Dennis' family. We had a great time and got plenty of sun!! We also have some good news to report....our package for court was mailed out on FRIDAY!!!! This is the furthest that we have gotten in the entire adoption process and it just means we are one step closer to bringing our "lil man" home. An estimated time line is: it takes about 1 week to get to Russia, then about 7-10 days to translate before it is taken to Kaluga. Then we wait for when the judge is available to see us. For some reason, as I (Nicole) am writing this it is really hitting me that we will have the child we have always dreamed of in our arms soon. I have known it all along, but it just feels more real now - I don't know how to explain it. Anyways, if "lil man" ever reads this one day, we just want to let him know:

Daddy and Mommy love you so much. We can't wait to have you in our arms again and bring you home. You have no idea how many people can't wait to meet you. You are going to receive so much love from your family and friends and especially your parents. We miss you so much and can't wait to see you again. We just found out that our paperwork is in its way to Russia - which means we are one step closer to you. We just want to let you know that even though you may be scared, leaving the people and places you have known, we promise to take care of you. We promise to be the best parents we can. We promise to give you everything you need. We promise to teach you values and morals to help you grow into a strong young man. We promise to always be there for you. We promise to have fun together as a family. We promise to always support you. But, most of all we promise to love you, no matter what. We love and miss you more each day, lil man!!!

Love, Daddy & Mommy

Off to the BEACH

2009-07-08T09:25:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! We hope you are all enjoying your summer and had a nice 4th of July. We are getting ready to head to the Jersey Shore (Wildwood, NJ) to spend a few days with Dennis' family. We are looking forward to a few days away and just relaxing together!

Just wanted to let you all know that our paperwork is at Gladney and as of Tuesday, they were looking through it and making sure it was ready to be sent to Russia. Remember - we are praying for travel dates at the beginning of August or after September so that we can be here for Ryan & Michelle's wedding - we of course would rather go in August so we can have him at the wedding!!

It looks like a lot of people have put in their votes for what we should name "lil man". The survey program I used only let me put it up for a certain number of days, so if you haven't voted and want to, make sure you vote in the next couple of days. And you will have to wait until we bring him home to find out!! Sorry to keep you in suspense....but it is kind of fun :) Also, today "lil man" is 9 months old!!!! Hope we don't miss too many more "celebrations". Talk to you all soon!!!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-01T19:18:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone. Well it's been 10 days now since we've left our "lil man" and we miss him terribly. But, we have been busy getting all of our paperwork ready to go to Russia. We had everything pretty much ready, except we were waiting for our police clearance letters to come in the mail (Dennis and I still have NO police record in case you were wondering...ha ha ha) and for them to change a couple of sentences in our homestudy report that were originally for Alex that we didn't need anymore.

So, our police clearance letters came in the mail yesterday and our homestudy agency is overnighting our updated report so we will receive it tomorrow (Thursday). Then we are off to Richmond to get all of our notarized documents apostilled and then FedEx that paperwork to Gladney so they can add it to our package to send to Russia. Then we are both off the rest of the weekend to relax and enjoy the holiday and celebrating the good ol' USofA!

We have also been asked why we keep calling this new referral "lil man" - that is because we are keeping his name a SECRET until we bring him home! So, for fun, we have added a poll in the top right corner of our blog for you to vote what you think we should name him. We both have our favorites, but we thought we would let others, who want, to have some input....so make sure you get your vote in and stay tuned to see if your vote is the name we choose!

So, here is what we need to pray for now - 1) that our paperwork gets to Russia ASAP and translated quickly 2) that "lil man" continues to stay healthy and grow every day we are away from him 3) that we receive a court date soon, so that we are home before Ryan & Michelle's wedding in September 4) we use this "free time" wisely to prepare for our trip, enjoy each other and prepare for the new addition to our family. We have the room pretty much ready to go - I'm still looking for a cherry changing table, a baby carrier, 9-12 months clothing and other infant items - so, if you hear/know of anyone looking to get rid of baby items PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! I've been a "craigslist stalker" lately and just purchased a BRAND NEW Diaper Genie for $15! I'm all about SMART SHOPPING :) We hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend. Love you all and talk to you soon!

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-23T08:49:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone. Just wanted to let you all know we are back home. We arrived at Dulles on Sunday 1 hour earlier than we were supposed to and getting our luggage and going through customs was a breeze (much quicker than last time). Then we enjoyed a Father's Day dinner with our families and shared details from our trip. We drove home Monday morning and both went back to work - Nicole is officially on SUMMER VACATION!!!! YEA :) So, what's next - we get our paperwork over to Russia ASAP and wait for a court date. We are hoping it is before the end of the summer - but remember - we aren't in control - just along for the ride! We hope you are all doing well and hope to see/talk to you soon. Love you all!

Ready to come home

2009-06-20T11:02:00.004-04:00

One of the many beautiful churches you see driving through Moscow

These stands are EVERYWHERE - they sell drinks, cigarettes, beer, magazines - kind of like a 7-11

Pictures at the souvenier mart

This is our last night in Moscow for this trip. We slept in until 11am this morning - we must have needed the rest! Then we left for the souvenier market - but got stuck in the elevator at their apartment for about 20 minutes!!! They live on the top floor (16th floor) and we go stuck between the 2nd and 1st floors. They had to pry open the doors and then we had to climb up to the 2nd floor to get out. Definitely something we will never forget and yes, I was praying the whole time that we would get out soon (this was my first time being stuck in an elevator). We picked up a couple of things at the market - our favorite purchase was a Virginia Tech matrishka doll (stacking doll). They had a lot of other college and pro football teams, but of course we had to represent the HOKIES!!!! It's been raining all day, so not the day to be outside, unfortunately. But, that's ok - we've been getting everything ready in our suitcases. Our flight leaves at 12:35pm (Moscow time) and we arrive at Dulles at 3:30pm. If it is anything like our last trip, it took us about an hour to deplane, go through customs and get our luggage. Maybe it will go a little quicker!?!?! Anyways, we are looking forward to coming home and seeing our families tomorrow! Please pray for a safe flight home....love ya'll!!

Last day with Lil Man....

2009-06-19T13:15:00.006-04:00

Prescious little hand
Coming in to the baby home through the gate
The entrance we come in at the baby home

Today was our last day seeing our "lil man". We went to the baby home around 9am and spent about 1 hour with him before his morning nap. Since he is teething, he must have been in some pain because he wasn't as smily as he was yesterday - but he LOVED to cuddle, so we weren't complaining :) We made a small photo album to leave with him that has pictures of us and Maggie (our dog). It looked like he was actually studying it and making the connection between us and the pictures. Then we left the baby home and went to the Ministry of Education to meet the inspector (she is the one who matches the families with the referrals). She was very apologetic of the previous situation with our first referral and told us we were a special family to them because this doesn't normally happen and a lot of families don't continue after losing a first referral. It was a nice visit and we enjoyed meeting her very much - we will see her again when we come back for court. After that, we checked out of our hotel, then off to lunch and back to the baby home. We spent about 1 1/2 hours again with lil man - tried on some clothes - he is size 9 mos now, but I'm sure he will be close to 12 mos soon (he's a bit of a chunk), cuddled and played some more and then watched him as he fell asleep in my (Nicole's) arms. It was so surreal....a wonderful feeling. We kissed him goodbye and watched as the caregivers took him back to his room to sleep. Our visit was quick but full of memories of meeting this sweet, precious angel. Then back in the car for our LONG, traffic filled, race car driving experience to Moscow. Also, we heard back from Dr Johnson (international pediatrician) and he had nothing but positive feedback - he says lil man is on the charts for growth, on track for developmental milestones and is comfortable with us going through in adopting him. So, that is what we are going to do. Most of our paperwork is ready to be submitted when we return - we just have to get a few papers apostilled and then off to Gladney to submit to Russia. We have no idea of a time frame for when we will return, but hope it will be soon and quicker than last time since everything is ready to go. We are looking forward to returning home. Thanks again for all of your love, support and prayers....see you all soon :)

Meet Ya Day :)

2009-06-18T09:26:00.006-04:00

Our view of a beautiful sunrise when we woke up this morning

Our view of YUCKY rain when we arrived yesterday

Well, today we met little man. Our day began with getting up early (5am), breakfast at German & Marina's, on the road by 6:30am and arriving to Kaluga by 10:00am. We had to stop at the Ministry of Education's office to pick up the referral, then pick up our interpreter (Giardi) then off to the baby home. I do have to say that the nerves were MUCH better this time. We got there around 10:30 only to be told that lil man was sleeping (funny how they told us to come at this time - during his nap time). So, they told us to come back around noon. So, German took us to the Kaluga Space Center museum, we checked into our hotel and went to lunch (pizza). Then off to pick up the interpreter again and back to the baby home. Oh, I forgot to mention that the head doctor is on vacation, but came in today especially to meet with us, which we were very appreciative of. When we got there, she wanted us to meet lil man before we talked with her - he is in a room with about 8 other infants. They were changing his diaper when we saw him and he immediately started smiling when we walked up. What a smile!!!! Nothing but gums and a cute little baby laugh! It was precious. Then we went to speak with the doctor for about 45 minutes and received information about lil man's parents and medical background. Everything is positive, nothing abnormal and his growth is on the chart's which is a WONDERFUL thing for children in an orphanage. We have still sent the information we received to Dr. Johnson (international pediatrician) for reassurance. After speaking with the doctor, we got to play with him for about 1 1/2 hours. It was of course different this time than last - an infant doesn't do as much or require as much chasing around as we did with Alex - but we know that will only come with time. He is teething right now, so EVERYTHING goes in his mouth. He can sit up, roll over front to back and back to front, stand with help, is tickelish and LOVES to suck his thumb. All of the caregivers say he is a happy baby and they "love him with all our heart". We are now back at the hotel relaxing. We will go back to see him tomorrow morning and then head back to Moscow. We will continue to have internet access while we are in Russia (German & Marina now have Wi-fi), so email or leave us a message on the blog. Love you all and can't wait to be back home!!

P.S. - German's driving is still CRAZY and the traffic is still HORRIBLE - but Russia is MUCH PRETTIER now than it was in the winter!! They actually have grass and flowers! And it doesn't get dark here until after 11pm....very tricky!!!!

We are here

2009-06-17T11:58:00.002-04:00

Greetings from Russia. We left Dulles airport successfully on Tuesday 6/16. When we checked in at the ticket desk, Dennis showed his military ID and we were upgraded to economy plus (more legroom) - the benefits of being in the military!!! Then when we got to our gate, they asked if we would be in an exit row (since we spoke English) and most people on the flight were Russian speakers - so we had even more legroom - MUCH BETTER THAN THE LAST FLIGHT!!! We were about 30 minutes late leaving (just sitting on the runway), but our flight was peaceful (NO TURBULENCE) and we were even able to sleep. We arrived to Moscow and couldn't get off of the plane until the Health Department came on and took everyone's temperature to make sure we were healthy enough to deplane. There were 2 ladies who walked down the aisle and took our temperature in our ear with this laser type thing. Once the whole plane was seen, they told the pilot we were good to go. The line to get through passport control was MUCH longer than last time, but again we had no issues. Our luggage arrived safely and we found German and off to the Moscow traffic :) It only took us 1 1/2 hours to get home this time. The weather here is about 65 and rainy - but everything is so GREEN!!! I guess you would figure that with the amount of precipitation (snow and rain) they get all year. We came back to German and Marina's apartment, had lunch and took a nap!! It is now 8pm Moscow time and it is German's daugther's birthday, so they are having some people over for dinner. Our plan is to leave for Kaluga early tomorrow morning to go and see "lil man". We will spend the night in Kaluga and return to Moscow Friday evening. We thank everyone for their prayers for safe travels and it is nice to be back in Russia, seeing our future child. We love you all and check back tomorrow for updates on "lil man" :)

WE ARE READY!!!!

2009-06-14T19:09:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to leave one last post before we head to Russia. We've been staying busy this week - it's definitely a lot less stressful this time around, having done it before. We are leaving at 4:50pm from Dulles Airport on Tuesday and returning on Sunday at 3:30pm just in time to celebrate Father's Day with our dads :) The packing is lighter, as the weather is supposed to be in the 70s while we are in Russia. We are looking forward to seeing what it looks like with NO SNOW on the ground - should be different. We are also looking forward to a non-stop flight - last time we had to stop in Frankfurt, Germany and going through security 2x to get to our connecting flight was kind of crazy. Nicole is trying to wrap up things at school - the kids last day is Wednesday, but her administration is being very cooperative with her giving some exams early and doing her end of the year check out the Monday after we return. We have bought a few toys to take over to "Lil Man" (this is what we are calling him for now), a couple of outfits to see what size he is, as well as a blanket to leave. We have sent over our referral information to the international adoption pediatrician and with the little information we have right now, they are positive with his growth and development, but are waiting for us to get them more information once we meet with the head doctor. The only thing that is a little nervewrecking is the fact that our visas are supposed to arrive Tuesday morning. They have assured us we will receive them by 8am - we are leaving at 11am. So, please say some extra prayers that there is no hold up with the delivery!!! You can bet that Nicole will be tracking the package every 5 minutes until it is delivered to our doorstep!!! And amid all of this preparation, we are celebrating our 7 year anniversary on Monday. The time has flown by, but we can't wait to see what the next 7 years will bring - we know it will be a much different stage of our life and WE CAN'T WAIT! We think that we will have internet access again to post updates to our blog, so save the link as one of your "favorites" (http://merzdn.blogspot.com) and check back if you are interested in getting updates. Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and prayers - keep 'em coming :) Love you all.

Blessing #2

2009-06-04T22:23:00.002-04:00

First, we would like to thank everyone for all of their kind words, support and prayers over the past week. It has definitely been difficult at times and we know we wouldn't have been able to make it through the tough times without all of you. We know that so many prayers have been sent up for us and we are so appreciative of all of you. As we said, we will never forget Alex - he was our first blessing and gift from God, but he has been given back to his mother and every child deserves to be with their mother. We will always pray that he is taken care of and grows up to be a strong, young man. But, once again, God has shown us he is in control of this journey and brought another blessing in to our lives - an 8 month old little baby boy. We received a call from Gladney today at 3pm that they have another referral for us and we will be traveling to Russia, once again, on June 16th. We don't know much about him, but were sent about 15 pictures - he was born on October 8, 2008 and has a HUGE smile, chubby cheeks and a bald head :) He is adorable. We will travel over to meet him and get more information from the head doctor at the orphangage (same trip we did the first time). If we choose to accept him, we will return to the states and since all of our paperwork is ready to go over, the turnaround time should be MUCH quicker. We of course are a little more cautious going through this the second time around, but of course are excited to meet this little guy. We will probably make one more post (at least) before we leave and will be in touch with everyone once we return. For the next week, we will be sending off for our visas, booking our flights, ordering our global phone, starting to pack and patiently waiting for June 16th. Since we have done this once before, we are hoping the packing process will less stressful this time around. Thanks again for everything - we couldn't ask for better family and friends. You guys are the best and we love you all!

Please Pray

2009-05-28T08:00:00.003-04:00

We just wanted to let everyone know what has been going on with our adoption lately. Tuesday night, we received a phone call from our caseworker at Gladney with some sad news. Alex's birth mother has come back for him. Because this is now occurring and most court systems will do what they can to keep parents and children together, Alex is no longer available for international adoption. We are of course devastated becuase we have come so close to getting him, but anyone who knows anything about adoption knows that nothing is final until it is final. This of course does not happen often (Gladney told us we are only the second case in 15 years that they have had this happen to), but it does happen and it is now just a part of our story. There is nothing anyone could have done to prevent this or to know that this was going to happen. Alex had been in the orphange for about 18 months and his mother never once tried to get him back. Everyone who we have been working with at Gladney and in Russia is heartbroken over what is happening to us and doing all they in making us a priority to find a new referral. Even though we are "grieving" right now and are shocked that this has happened to us, deep down we know and believe that EVERYTHING happens for a reason (as we have said all along). There was a reason Alex was brought into our life for this short time - to show us the love that a parent can have for a child. There was a reason that there was a hold up with sending our final paperwork to Russia for our court date - we weren't meant to be Alex's parents and God has bigger and better plans for us. There is a reason he has been taken away from us - to make us stronger, to bring us closer together as we are going through all of this and to never give up on our journey to our child. We know that many (or probably all) of you who are reading this have already fallen in love with Alex, as we have, but there is another child out there that is meant for us and for you to love. We will definitely keep you all posted as things change or as we hear news. Right now, we just ask for your continued prayers and support (as you have given us all along) and some "private time" as we continue to get through this ourselves. We love you all!

Poison Ivy, Funeral, Shower, Room, Still no news

2009-05-05T17:59:00.018-04:00

As you can tell by the title of this post it has been a busy couple of weeks. Per our last post, we were still waiting for our paperwork. And that is where we still stand...but we are a little further along. We received our homestudy update in the mail yesterday. We were excited because that meant we were one step closer to sending everything off. After talking with our agency, we decided it would be faster if we drove the documents to Richmond ourselves to be authenticated (one final seal) and then just send the documents directly to them. So, we were ready to do that on Wednesday, when we received an email to wait because the salaries that they had in our homestudy report didn't match our employer letters. SOOOO....we have to wait for them to fix it, send us a new one and then go to Richmond to get them authenticated. Needless to say, we are a little frustrated and growing impatient. But, as we have said all along, there is a reason for everything and our trip to get our son will happen at the perfect time.
Amidst all of this chaos, Dennis got poison ivy, Nicole went to Texas for Grandmother Hall's funeral, now Nicole has poison ivy and Mary Ellen (Dennis' mom) threw us a wonderful shower on Saturday. Alex got some cute stuff to add to his room....which we are ALMOST done with. The only thing we have left to do is stain the glider and cover the cushions and then it will be done. So, in some ways we are progressing, but still not fast enough in our eyes. We will keep everyone posted as we hear more news. Enjoy the photos of Alex's room and the shower :)

Some toys in his new room

Team Safari bedding

Excited parents-to-be

Nicole with her mom and mother-in-law

Nicole & Cristin at the shower

One of the many beautiful items made by Bobbie

Amazing food!

Beautiful cake made by Bobbie

The bathroom....monkey themed :)

Dennis putting together the crib

Special Day :)

2009-04-09T12:10:00.003-04:00

Today is Alex's 25th monthday! I know it's not a BIG birthday, but it's still a special day! And it's been exactly 1 month since we've been home from our 1st trip. Maybe all of these "special days" mean something good is happening soon??!?! Please keep the prayers and support coming...it's been tough waiting lately!

Nesting?? Cleaning, laundry and the beginning of a room :)

2009-04-08T10:22:00.004-04:00

Friday night we decided to try it again and put together the new crib we got for Alex. It was MUCH easier than the first one we tried and we like it a lot better. It's still convertible all the way to a full bed, cherry finish and kind of sleigh-like. We also bought some wooden letters that spell out ALEX and put that over his bed. So, that means - NO MORE GUEST ROOM! But, don't worry, we will have a pull-out in the office for any visitors. It's so neat to walk by and know that soon our little boy will be sleeping/playing in that room. Then yesterday, I (Nicole) did some laundry of the clothes that we have picked up for Alex as we've been out and about. They are SO SMALL!!! AND ADORABLE! I also bought some sensitive laundry detergent, just in case. But, everything we have so far is clean and ready for him to wear and hanging in his closet. I also think that I've been "nesting" - I have been going on a cleaning, organizing, throwing things out rampage. Isn't that what pregnant women do towards the end of the pregnancy? I HATE cleaning and I have been cleaning like crazy - dusting, cleaning out cabinets, organizing drawers, vacuuming, caulking along the baseboards, mopping - you name it, I've done it! The house looks great and we are just ready to fill it with the pitter patter of little feet!

Police Letters Came!

2009-04-03T14:34:00.002-04:00

Besides waiting for the final copy of our homestudy update, another document we have been waiting for is our police clearance letters - and they came today! Just in case you were wondering, Dennis and I have NO criminal record :) Anyways, now that's checked off and the update is in the process of being sent to Gladney, we are getting closer to going to get Alex!
We also got a neat package in the mail this week from Meemaw - she is the best in case you didn't know! But, she has been doing some spring cleaning and came across some Russian souveniers she has collected over the years (not knowing that she would have such a close tie to the culture one day in a great-grandson) - a silver star she received from a party that her and Tapaw went to at the Russian Embassy when it opened in Washington, DC, an icon of St Nicholas (patron saint of Russia), a medal of St Gerard and a piece of cloth that touched his relic from Fr. DaRosa and a sweet gift from her friend, Kay, from church. It was so neat and we were very touched by the thought! We have also enjoyed following along with our fellow "adoption bloggers" who are slowly getting their calls for referrals, court, trips, etc - it gives us an idea of what to look forward to!
We hope that you are all doing well and enjoying Spring. I (Nicole) am off next week for spring break - so you guessed it - I will be doing some spring cleaning of my own before Alex comes, as well as getting his room started. We are excited to spend Easter weekend with our family in NOVA. We wish you all a blessed Easter and we will be in touch soon! Love, Dennis & Nicole

Paperwork SENT

2009-03-27T13:09:00.002-04:00

I know I haven't written since we have been back home, but we have been pretty busy! It was hard going back to work after being off for 1 week, but we were definitely glad to back into a routine for now. The day we returned home, we were already receiving calls from Gladney, our homestudy agency and our dossier preparation agency on what we needed to be doing next for our court dossier. Lots of updating paperwork - medical exams, employer letters, fingerprints and police clearance letters and about 1 pound worth of documents to be notarized. But, we finally finished it all (just waiting for our police letters to come back) and put it in the FedEx yesterday! Luckily all of the people we have had to get signatures, information and notaries from have been really understanding. YAY :) Now, they (Gladney) will look it over and make sure everything is done correctly (they are EXTREMELY specific in their guidelines) and if it's ok, it will be sent off for translation and then to the court. In the meantime, we have been preparing for Alex to come home. We made our first big purchase - the convertible crib. We are not sure if he is ready for a toddler bed, since he has been in a crib his whole life, so decided the convertible bed that he can use forever would be a good investment! We ordered it online, it came on Monday, Dennis put it together Wednesday only to discover that a couple of the pieces didn't fit together. So, we took it apart and are sending it back. We have also enjoyed shopping a little bit - getting some clothes and shoes and toys to take with us when we pick him up. Any suggestions for what to entertain a 2 year old with on a 10 hour plane ride?!?! That should be fun! We have started registering - I think Dennis has picked out a lot of toys that HE will enjoy playing with and have compromised on what his room will be - Dennis wanted sports and I wanted baby animals. So we found a set called "TEAM SAFARI" at Babies'r'Us that is a great mix of the two! Once we get the room set up I will definitely post a picture for all to see :) It's going to be ADORABLE - all it's missing is Alex! Stay tuned to our blog for updated information....love to you all and please keep the prayers and support coming!

Moscow Sites

2009-03-10T17:04:00.007-04:00

View of Moscow from Red Square

Historic Museum in Red Square

St. Basil's Cathedral

Where we spent most of our trip - IN THE CAR!!!

In Red Square - it was COLD that day

Back Home

2009-03-10T16:51:00.002-04:00

We are finally back home in Hampton and trying to settle back into some sort of normalcy! We landed on Sunday evening with no problems. The Merz's picked us up at the airport and then we went to the King's for dinner and "debriefing" of our trip. We were so exhausted and were asleep by 9pm - and VERY glad to be home. We took off work on Monday and returned to work today. We keep replaying the trip in our heads, looking at his pictures and watching the video we took of him over and over - it's our way of keeping in touch with him while we are apart. We left a teddy bear, blanket, lamb and photo album with him - the caregivers said they will show him the album so he will remember us when we come back. We also left a disposable camera with him, so they could take pictures and we can see how he changed. The next couple of months will be busy - we have to get our 2nd dossier together for court and once we have all of the paperwork for that, we will get it sent off and translated and then hopefully be assigned a court date. They are giving us a 2 month time frame, but we have learned that it can happen whenever - remember we are not in control :). So, we continue to wait, tear down our guest room and turn it into a room for a precious little boy - so if you want a nice bed to sleep in when you stay with us, you need to come visit us soon - or else it's a pull-out couch to rest your head on...ha ha ha. We also want to thank all of you who were thinking about us, praying for us and pulling for us last week - the trip had NO glitches/issues/problems at all and we know it was because we had all of you surrounding us and God leading the way for us! We will never be able to thank you all enough, but know that we feel your prayers and love every day! Now our prayers have changed a little - we pray for patience during the waiting, we give thanks for a safe trip, we pray for a speedy completion of the next set of papers, we ask for safety and protection over Alexander (we say extra prayers to St. Alexander and St. Christopher), we ask for diligence and guidance over our adoption agency and everyone involved in our paperwork that they complete their part in a timely manner and we lastly pray that we become the parents that God needs us to be for this little boy and gift he has given to us. We hope you are all doing well and we will definitely keep you posted things progress! Love, Dennis & Nicole

Trip 1 ALMOST over....

2009-03-06T14:46:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! We are finally getting access to internet and thought we would give you a quick snapshot of our trip. Heads up - we are using our hosts computer and some of the letters might switch to cryllic...but you should still be able to understand. We arrived on Tuesday 3/3 and were greeted by our host, German, at the airport. The flight was smooth and we arrived with no problems. Then we were introduced to Moscow traffic - worse than ANY we have ever seen! NOVA people have NOTHING to complain about compared to here! We were exhausted Tuesday night after a long flight and 6 hours in the car from the airport. We got up early Wednesday morning to drive to Kaluga to meet Alexander. Again, more time in the car, but totally worth it by the end of the day. We arrived at the baby home at 3pm, met with the head doctor and she explained his legal and medical records to us. We had a translator, Anna, with us the entire time - she is wonderful! Then we met him - he had just woken up from his nap, so he was very standoffish at first, but that is to be expected. They fed him lunch and then we got to go downstairs to the gym with him and play together. What an ACTIVE little 2 year old - loves to play with everything (he especially loved the bubbles that we brought). He opened up with us while we were there - smiling and laughing. We spent about 1 1/2 hours together. THen we went to dinner and our hotel. We got to see him again on Thursday for about 45 minutes in the morning and then about 30 minutes in the afternoon. It was so neat to see his face light up when he saw us - he seemed to remember us - he even was giving kisses before the day was over. It was EXTREMELY difficult to leave him, but we know that he is in good hands with the caregivers and the doctors at this baby home - they truly love and care for the children. Then back in the car to Moscow (another 4 hours in the car). We got to sleep in today (FRIDAY). Marina took us to tour a monastery - VERY BEAUTIFUL and then we got to relax the rest of the day. Tomorrow we are touring Moscow and we leave early Sunday morning to head back to the states. We still can't post pictures on our blog, but I'm sure if you see us, we will have some to show you :). Just know, he is a BEAUTIFUL boy - big blue eyes, gorgeous smile, cute laugh - good things come in small packages and he is God's gift to us. We can't wait to come home - after being in a foreign country you begin to realize how blessed we are in America. Love to all and thank you for all of your prayers - please keep them coming.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE!

2009-03-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

We landed on Tuesday afternoon and have experienced most of Moscow from the CAR :) We are having a wonderful time. We met Alexander today....what a CUTIE :). We are in an internet cafe now and don't have long to talk, but we have sent pictures and video to our IA pediatrician for evaluation. He is healthy, happy and full of energy. Nicole lost it when we left and he ran up to grab her hand to keep playing...we will definitely share more when we return. Love you all and please continue to keep us in your prayers. We will be back in the states on Sunday 3/8 - not sure if we will have internet access again :)

Ready to Go!

2009-02-28T14:53:00.002-05:00

This will probably be our last post for a few days. We aren't quite packed yet, but have almost everything laid out all over our bedroom - quite a mess! But, we will pack it all up tonight.

This past week has been EXTREMELY busy! Since we received the call with our travel dates last Friday, we have been shopping for items to take with us (catching some good sales on winter clothing). The first thing we did Monday was book our flights. We will be flying out Monday 3/2 from Dulles on Lufthansa and return Sunday 3/8. We overnighted our VISA application on Monday and received them on Thursday (which was a relief). The weather forecast while we are there is calling for SNOW :) and in the 30s....should be fun!

We have been corresponding with our Gladney coordinator daily taking care of last minute items. We will be staying with a host family while we are there. From speaking with other people who have "gone before us" they say that family is great - their names are German and Marina and Marina is a great cook. So, we will get to experience some authentic Russian food :) We are so excited to be finally going over to Russia to see our beautiful little boy. We are also excited about meeting all of the people that are taking care of our little one.

We should have internet access while we are over there and will update our blog as we can to keep everyone posted. We won't be able to send out email updates, so if you want to keep track, save the blogsite as one of your favorites and check it when you can.

Thanks to all who continue to pray for us - please keep them coming as we travel, meet our referral and make the best decision we can for us. We know that we are only along for the ride and God has total control of this journey we are on - but we also know he is bringing us to this little boy for a reason!

RUSSIA....HERE WE COME!!

2009-02-20T21:34:00.008-05:00

Looks like we will be heading off to COLD COLD Russia on March 2nd. We received the call from Gladney tonight with our travel dates - we will leave March 2nd and return March 8th. This week will be extremely busy for us getting everything ready for our trip - we have to get our visas, book our flights, pack, make a photo album to leave with our referral, get gifts to leave with our host family/facilitators/drivers/orphanage caregivers, make sure we have enough layers of clothing to keep us warm and I'm sure a million other things. While we are in Russia, we will be able to see our referral for the first time, gather more information on him, spend some time with him and maybe even tour Moscow/St Petersburg before we make our decision. We cannot believe that we will actually be in Russia soon. We cannot wait to see him with our own eyes - I'm sure it will be something we will never forget. We will post one more message before we leave and depending on internet access while we are there, we may be able to keep you all updated while we are there. If not, we will definitely be in touch when we return. Please continue to pray for us this week - for organization, patience, focus, positive thoughts, the health of our referral, safe travels and guidance in making our decision. We love each of you and appreciate all you have done for us.

We got THE CALL!!!!

2009-02-10T21:23:00.005-05:00

Let me start off by saying we have experienced God's plan for us in so many ways these past couple of weeks. As you all know, our last post wasn't the best of news, but we were still positive that we were getting closer to our child. It turns out we may be closer than we thought!!! Less than a week later (Wednesday Feb 4th), we received a call from Gladney asking us if we would be interested in a child that was out of the age range we had asked for (we originally requested a child no older than 18 months). This was not a call for a referral - just an "are you interested in changing your age range" call. The child they were asking us about was 2 years old - that is all they told us. After talking about it, we figured "sure. why not!". So, we told her yes we would extend our age range and she said she would let them know. On Friday Feb 6th at 3pm, Dennis gets a call from Gladney saying that they have a referral for us. I was actually on my way to his office to meet with him so he asked if we could call her back before she told him anything so we could hear it together. When I got to his office, we called Jennifer and she sent us an email with the referral for a 2 year old little boy. She discussed with us some of the things mentioned in the email and what the next steps are. They sent us about a dozen pictures, which we can't share right now, but we will as soon as we can - I PROMISE!! But, I will tell you he is ADORABLE - he has big blue eyes and light brown hair. So, what we have done so far is sent the pictures and the little bit of information they sent us (mainly his measurements) to a pediatrician out of Minnesota that was recommended to us by our agency and several others, who specializes in international adoptions. He has given us his feedback (as good as he can from a few pictures and a few pieces of information about him) and tomorrow we are talking with another pediatrician to get his evaluation, along with a social worker at Gladney. From there, we are going to let Gladney know that we are interested in traveling to meet this little guy and see how he is for ourselves. Once they tell the orphanage that we are interested in traveling, they will let us know when we can come. It could be in a week or a month from now - they will decide. So, once that is scheduled, we will go over for our first trip (7 days) and make our final decision from that trip. I can't tell you the emotional roller coaster we have been on the past few days - it's a miracle that all of this is happening so fast. We are feeling everything from excitement to being scared - but mostly excitement. We can't believe that we will soon be traveling to Russia to meet our referral. We know our lives will be changing in a dramatic way, especially because it has only been the 2 of us (and Maggie) for so long! The fact that it will soon be the 3 of us is AMAZING!!!!Once we got the referral, the first people we wanted to tell was our parents, so we made a special trip up to NOVA to tell them in person. It was priceless to see their reactions and just share that moment with them - it is something we will never forget. I think they are ready to be grandparents! Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel and that God will give us the guidance we need to make the best decision possible and that this 2 year old little boy is as healthy as he can be. Even though we started this process in August 2007, we feel that this is the REAL beginning of our journey. We will keep you posted when we know our travel dates. Love ya'll!!!!

We wait, we wait, we wait.....

2009-02-01T14:08:00.003-05:00

Hello to all! We hope this long and overdue post has found you all doing well and enjoying 2009. It's been awhile since our last post, frankly because there hasn't been much to say! We are still waiting! And it looks like we will be waiting some more. We had a conference call last week with Gladney on some things that are occurring. First, some of our paperwork has expired during this process, so we are currently updating things like fingerprints, medical work and our homestudy. Not a big deal and it's kind of nice to be doing "something" again. Second, on the conference call Gladney discussed the current situation in Russia and how that is affecting adoptions. We will try to explain it as easy as possible: 1) Two years ago, Russia closed down international adoptions and required all agencies to get re-accredited. Since there were no international adoptions occuring, Russia opened up orphanages within the country and Russian citizens began adopting. So, when agencies began to get reaccredited again, it's not like there was a ton of children waiting because they weren't begin adopted - there was actually less. 2) So, with that being said Gladney is no longer taking any new applicants to the Russia program. 3) They will continue to work with the 40 families who are currently in the process 4) They have told us not to expect to get referrals for children under the age of 2 and probably with more developmental/health issues. So, where does that leave us? We continue to wait, keep our paperwork updated and PRAY PRAY PRAY. We have known from the time we began the process that it was going to be a long and trying one and it was all going to happen in God's time. Even though we may think we have a plan, we know in reality He has THE plan for us. So, we look at it as His way to make sure that we are ready, it is the right time, we are able to save the remainder of the money that we need to complete the adoption (THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE HELPED US WITH YOUR "CONTRIBUTION" - it means more to us than you will EVER know) and we use this time to become the best parents we can for our Russian angel. All we ask from our friends and family is to keep us in your prayers and continue giving us the love and support that you have from the beginning of our journey. As we have said many times, we wouldn't be able to do this without all of you and are so grateful for the love that our child will one day receive from you. We love you all!

Our Russian Angel is from......

2008-09-09T16:39:00.005-04:00

the Kaluga region of Russia!!! We just received an email from Gladney today saying that we have been assigned to Kaluga. It is located southwest of Moscow (about a 3 hour drive). We are trying to research more about that region, so as we find out more information, we will keep you posted!!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we get closer to expanding our family!! Love you all!

No News

2008-07-29T13:35:00.004-04:00

Happy Summer everyone!!! It's been a busy one for us....lots of little trips here and there, many visitors and the summer is almost over. One more month and Nicole is back to work (which she is NOT looking forward to). She has enjoyed MANY days at the pool, sleeping in and relaxing and watching "Adoption Stories" (on DiscoveryHealth channel) every day at 3:30 (and cries every time). It is amazing how every couple's story is different, but the same. If you get a chance to watch the show, I'm sure it will enjoy hearing the stories, just as much as we have. But, it's good to be busy because it has made the waiting easier. Last post, our paperwork had been sent to Russia. That is still the latest news we have. Just waiting for a referral (which could happen any time in the next year). We have been taking advantage of this time and educating ourself about the rest of our journey - talking to others who have been there before, getting advice, finding a pediatrician who specializes in International Adoption, still deciding on possible names, still deciding on what to do with the baby's room,making a list of everything we need (and want) to do "before baby" and realizing that we are going to be parents - scary and exciting. We are going to embark on learning some Russian - we have the Rosetta Stone program and hope that will teach us some basics to help us while we are in the country. Be ready, as we will practice our Russian on all of you as well!!! We can all learn together :) We just wanted to keep all of you updated, since you have been our support through it all. We hope you are enjoying your summer too and we will talk to you soon....love ya'll :)

In the mail

2008-06-07T13:01:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone! As we are heading in to summer (it's 100 degrees in Hampton today - HOT HOT HOT), we just received an email that our paperwork has been sent off to Russia!!! According to the agency, it was just sent this week to the in-country facilitator for processing and translation. So, the time frame they are telling us now is 9-12 months for a boy and 12-15 months for a girl. Since we do not have a preference, hopefully the wait time will be sooner than later. So, we just keep waiting!! It's a good thing that we are busy or the wait would be very hard! School is almost over, so Nicole is busy wrapping things up with that. Dennis is keeping busy with the Coast Guard. We are sponsoring a military officer from Lithuania, who is attending a class in Yorktown (where Dennis is stationed) and have had a great time getting to know him and learning about the Eastern European culture. We have had fun teaching him about America and taking him to some fun events around the Hampton Roads area. We hope to introduce him to many of you, since he will be in the US until August. We have a couple weddings to attend in June. We have family and friends visiting us in July and August. Then it's back to school and start the cycle all over again. We hope you are all doing well! We will be in touch as more information is shared with us....Love to you all :)

We are......APPROVED!!!!

2008-05-13T17:35:00.002-04:00

Yes, everyone, you read it right....we have been approved to pursue international adoption through The Gladney Center! So, how did we get to this point and what is next? Well, since the last post, our homestudy was approved. The actual process was a piece of cake....it was putting together the final paperwork and making sure all of the wording in it was PERFECT and how Russia wanted it that has taken some time. They are VERY PARTICULAR in what they want and how things should be worded and nothing should be abbreviated or crossed out....it's definitely a TEDIOUS process, but well worth it. The people we are working with have been great at making sure things are done right, so we have been lucky to catch the "mistakes" before it all gets sent to Russia. We have made quite a few trips to the bank to papers notarized for the dossier. They know us now when we walk in - it's kinda funny! So, by the end of the week, Kate (the lady who is putting our dossier together) should have all of that complete. She will send it to Gladney and they will look it over and send it Russia. Once Russia receives our paperwork, they will review it and begin looking for a match. The estimate they have told us on finding a match is 6-9 months for a boy and 12-18 months for a girl. We are open to a boy or girl - whatever becomes available first. It's exciting to know that Russia will finally know who the Merz's are!!! We are definitely getting more excited...it just seems more real now that we have gotten through the first 1/2 of the process. We are thinking more seriously about how we are going to transform our "DINK" house into a "child friendly" home. We have been discussing names, nursery ideas, baby shopping - not buying anything, but just looking, applying for grants to fund the remainder of our adoption expenses and just praying that the rest of our journey continues with the success that we have had so far. All we can do is stay positive, pray for our child every day and thank God for all of our friends and family who have been so supportive of us since the beginning. It has been so fun sharing each step with all of you and we can't wait for the day to share our child with you!! This baby has no idea how lucky they will be to have each and every one of you a part of their life! We love you guys and will continue to keep you posted as things progress....

Homestudy.....COMPLETE :)

2008-03-25T22:35:00.004-04:00

Hi everyone. Hope you all had a nice and restful Easter! We ended up staying in Hampton and spending it with some friends....so it was a quiet one for us, but nice! Since our last post we have completed all of our home study visits. After we met with our social worker together, we each had our individual visits/interviews. They weren't bad at all....Dennis went first (I think I was more nervous for him than myself) and then I had mine 2 days later. She just asked us about our childhood, our families, our relationship, our parenting/discipline styles, etc. Then today (TUESDAY), she came to our house for the final "pre-adoption" visit. She had a couple more questions about some information they were asking for in the report, then we showed her around the house, she asked about our plans for the child's room, met Maggie (our dog) and then she was done! So, what happens next, you ask???? She will finish typing up the report, submit it to our home study agency (ABC Adoption), submit it to Gladney, hopefully we are recommended to complete the adoption and then we finish up our dossier requirements and begin waiting for the referral. Dennis and I are calling this our "half-way point"....we've made it through the first part of the paperwork and waiting and are ready for Round 2!

Visit #1....COMPLETE :)

2008-03-11T21:35:00.003-04:00

We had our first visit with our social worker today. This was basically a visit to get to know us and see how we have gotten to this point of deciding to adopt. I think we were both nervous (even though we told each other we weren't) because it was silent the entire 30 minute drive to her office...ha ha ha....but it was pretty easy. It was kind of a question and answer session, we went over some paperwork, she gave us some things to think about and our next visits are booked. She is meeting with Dennis on Tuesday (3/18) and Nicole on Wednesday (3/19) for the individual visits - stay tuned for the details on that!! Then she comes to our house on Saturday (3/29) to do the last and official "home visit". She assured us that we do not have to have our home "babyproofed" yet - she is just looking to make sure we live in an environment suitable for a child. After that, she writes up our report, sends it to Gladney for approval and then we submit it to our dossier send that off to Russia and then the waiting for a referral begins. Once the dossier is submitted, they estimate to have a referral within 6 months - so hopefully by October or November (at the latest) we should get our referral - if everything goes smoothly! We have enjoyed sharing our journey with all of you so far and can't wait to share the rest of it alongside with you.....please continue to keep us in your prayers! Love you all and hope everything is going well!

Finally.....something new!!!!!

2008-03-01T09:45:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! We hope this note finds you all doing well. Things have been busy with us. Between work, running our online business and waiting for news on the adoption - we have kept ourselves busy! A lot of you have been asking about any news....well, we finally have some! It's not much, but it is a start! The reason for the hold up for the past couple months is the Home Study Agency is waiting on our background and child protective services checks to come back. The reason it is taking longer than normal is that they are doing more extensive checks/searches and there are quite a few people going through the process (according to our social worker). But, we just got an email from her last night and even though they haven't received our checks yet, she wants to go ahead and start our home study visits! So, let the interrogation begin :) So, our first meeting with her is March 12th and 6:00...please keep us in your thoughts at that time - I'm sure we will be a little nervous! We will keep you updated as things change! Take care.....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008-01-03T11:13:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! We had a wonderful holiday with our family and friends. We spent Christmas Eve with Nicole's family and Christmas day with Dennis' family. It was a quick visit, but a nice one! Then we were back up to NOVA to celebrate New Year's with friends (Cristin and Wayne). We are very excited to see what 2008 has in store for us....we know it will be a busy year, hopefully with a wonderful ending. We know it has been awhile since our last posting, but nothing much has changed. Still compiling PAPERWORK! We are in the home study portion of the process....just waiting for a date for the actual visit. We still have some forms (medical) that we are waiting on from our doctors, our criminal background checks to go through and our references to be returned. After our home study is complete (and hopefully approved) we will submit our dossier and wait for our referral! We have been getting a lot of tips from families who have adopted from Russia and are continually learning! So, we just wanted to give everyone an update and we'll let you know as things progress! We love you all and hope 2008 brings you many blessings!

The process continues....

2007-11-11T21:47:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. We hope you are all doing well. Things are good with us. Each week, we get one step further in the process. Right now we are trying to get a lot of stuff with our home study application complete, before we leave for our trip to Mexico with Nicole's family for Thanksgiving. Since our last entry, we have sent off our paperwork to CIS, sent in the initial application to ABC Adoption Services (our homestudy agency), sent off to have our dossier started (dossier = paperwork requested by the Russian government; we have decided to have a service do it for us - it's a lot of certified copies/authenticated forms/apostilled forms and it's one less thing we have to do - we believe it will be well worth the money spent) and we have been scheduled to go get fingerprinted this week. We received our homestudy history packet in the mail on Friday - they definitely want to know everything about us! We each have to write a 8-10 page autobiography, along with completing their full application and submitting forms (birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc). Once we send the application in, the homestudy visits will be scheduled - they have to come to our house 3-4 times for interviews, check out the neighborhood, etc. We actually got a call today from our social worker who will be completing our home study. She is contracted through our home study agency and is also a social worker for Catholic Charities in Chesapeake, VA. She was very nice and encouraging on the phone and assured us we would make it through the paperwork and she is there to help us with whatever we may need. That was reassuring! It has definitely been a learning process so far and we know we will continue to learn MUCH MUCH more. We have been reading a couple of books that have been insightful and eye opening. Nicole's sister, Lauren, works with a guy who is over in Russia now with his wife adopting a baby boy. We got the chance to talk with them before they left and they gave us some good tips. A couple of other people have shared names of individuals they know who have adopted from Russia and we look forward to talking with them about their experience. We have also been thinking about baby names....so stay tuned for what the decision will be for a name. FYI - November is ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH...so try to learn something new about adoption :) As Thanksgiving approaches, we are thankful to have each and every one of you in our lives. We hope you all have a great thanksgiving holiday with your family. We love you all!

STEP 1 - COMPLETE

2007-10-14T19:12:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone...it's been awhile since our first blog, but that is because we have been busy getting the first step of the process complete - THE GLADNEY INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION APPLICATION. Talk about paperwork...but we know that this will probably be the easiest application of all of them! We had to get copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, employment verification letters, physicals, Maggie's vaccination records, pictures and floor plan of our house, pictures of us, pictures of our family, references, insurance verification, forms notarized, fill out their application and contract and of course send them our deposit, committing to work with Gladney during this process. So, all of that is done.....YEAH :) Next step, the Home Study. So, nothing too exciting to share with you now, but we just wanted to keep everyone updated on what is going on. We want to thank all of you for your words of encouragement, prayer and support. We appreciate it now, at the early stages, and know it will be appreciated more as we continue to get closer to our child. We'll be in touch. Love to everyone!

2007-09-17T18:29:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, we have been talking about adopting a child. After much prayer, research and discussion, we have applied to adopt through the Gladney Center for Adoption in Fort Worth, TX. In late August, we received a letter stating that we have been accepted to their International Adoption program. It was kind of neat because we received the packet about 2 days before Nicole's birthday - what a wonderful gift! We were so excited the day we received the information packet! After looking through the information on the countries that Gladney works with, we have decided to adopt a child in Russia. So, here we are...beginning the process (a LONG one) and we can't wait to share each step of the way with you. If you would like to learn more about the Gladney Center for Adoption or Russian adoption, click on the links on the left side of the page. We'll be in touch!