Home Sweet Home

Our day started at 2:45am (Moscow time). We got up and showered and then met our driver at 3:45am. Our flight to London was rough, it was crowded and cramped and Maks had a hard time falling asleep. The man behind me smelled like salami and alcohol, so my stomach was turning most of the flight. We had a 3 1/2 hr layover at Heathrow, good for Maks to be able to move around more and get some more food. He is really gassy and still a little constipated. We got upgraded on the flight home to business class, thank God and Thank you JoJo!! It was great to have space to stand up and rock Maks. We had the bassinet seat too, but he wasn't going for that, it is mommy or daddy or he just screams! The flight went well, the British Airways staff was so wonderful and helpful. Maks slept for a couple hours so we were each able to relax a little. We also sat near an older British gentleman who was really nice and interacted alot with Maks, we had told him Maks was just adopted in Russia and we were on our way home. He thought that was wonderful. At the end of the flight, he walked up to Kevin and handed him money and told him to put it in Maks money box and congratulations to us and welcome home Maks. That was so sweet and so amazing from a complete stranger, I will always remember him! Maks did have several episodes of loose watery stools and spit up several times. I was covered in puke and poop! He had another poop just before our decent, so I ran to the bathroom and changed him, of course it went up his back and messed up his Little Brother t-shirt. So I managed to clean that up. We settled back for our decent into Philly as we are landing Maks pooped again! I felt it leaking out his pants-YUCK!!!
JoJo met us at the plane and we introduced her to her smelly, dirty, yet very cute newest nephew and Godson, I felt bad she couldn't hold him, because he was dirty and a little anxious about eveything.
We made it thru customs and secondary inspection fairly quickly and Maks was officially our newest citizen!!

We walked down the long corridor to meet up with the family. It seemed like just yesterday we made that walk with Alek! I saw Alek ahead with my mom waving and smiling, he looked so big and so different!!! We went right into my arms, I was crying, Maks was just staring and Alek started bawling hysterically, saying mommy mommy and holding onto me tight, then he completely melted down, it was very overwhelming, so Kevin held him too. Then Maks started crying as well. We were all a mess! It was great to see everyone,Granny and Pop Pop, Grammom and Poppy, Pop and Noni, JoJo, LaLa, TT and Kaitlyn all welcomed us home! Maks was too anxious to go to anyone although he did a couple times and then started crying immediately. I know it was overwhelming for him, but at least our family got to see him and we could then settle in at home. I loved holding both my boys in my arms, it was truly a dream come true!!! Our family is complete, what an amazing feeling at the end of a very long trip and journey!!
We said our good byes, Pop and Noni bought us enough clothes for both boys to last for like two weeks so we wouldn't have to do wash!! LaLa drove us home, Maks was not happy with the car seat situation at first, I sat in between my boys as we drove home. Maks got more comfortable as I tickled Alek then him, he even started laughing and smiling!
So wonderful to pull in our street (although, alot of Xmas lights up already!! Our pumpkins are still out front!). Walking in the door as a family of four was such a wonderful thing! Thank God we are home! Grammom and Poppy left us turkey and trimmings which we will enjoy tonight, we were too tired last night and just ordered a pizza. We loved the matching outfits from Grammom and Poppy for the boys, so cute, cant wait to see them in it together!
It was so fun watching the boys in the playroom together, Maks was so into exploring all the toys and crawling around. He was not into the dogs though and completely freaked out when he saw them. He is warming up slowly though. It was fun all sitting around the table for dinner, although Maks is not eating much, but he will drink the bottle and formula and I did get him some Pedialyte to replace all he lost during the day.
Maks passed out around 7:30, he definitely prefers to be rocked but he stills cries and moans as he is falling asleep. Kevin, Alek and I came to bed around 8:30 and as soon as we climbed into our bed, Maks woke up! We took turns getting him back down, it is rough, he really fights the sleep, I feel bad for him. He finally conked out again at 9:30 so we all fell asleep, Alek stayed in our bed, he really needed us to be close. At 2:30 Maks woke up, so I took him in the guest room and tried to get him back down, lots of rocking, one large bottle and 2 hours later he fell back to sleep in bed with me. At 6:15 Alek woke up and came to his room looking for me and when he didn't find me he got really upset and started crying which then woke Maks up. So we have been up since 6:15! The boys played all morning, Kevin got us our long awaited and anticipated WaWa coffee and donuts (coffee roll for me!). Tried feeding Maks some breakfast of warm oatmeal, some applesauce, he wasn't digging it at all. he did have another large bottle of formula though. He did eat some more peach applesauce which he liked. We played, Maks' eyes look so tired and red. I tried to get him to sleep again but he just freaks out. So we played some more, but you can tell he is absolutely exhausted. So daddy took Alek to the big boy store (aka Lowes) and I got Maks down, it took about 40 minutes though! Alek came home asleep and is napping in our bed, Maks woke up after only 20 minutes of sleep. I tried again and again to get him back to sleep but to no avail, so changed of scenery he is downstairs with daddy trying. Poor little man!! So that is it for now! The work and fun begins!!!

We're outta here!

We are officially done!!! Just got back from the Embassy and Maks has his visa! It was jumping there today, 23 families and 32 kiddos!! (and two workers), thankfully Irene our translator got us there early and we were numbers 1 and 2.
We had a quick, nice but cold walk around Red Square and got some good pictures. It is a very cold rainy day here, but I am glad we got to get over there.
Maks is napping right now, we will have some dinner and then make it an early night. Our driver is coming at 3:45 am!! Our flight to London leaves at 5:50am. We are hoping Maks does well with the two flights and that we are able to get that bassinet seat, that may help.
At least I know I will have a clean airplane bathroom to change him in. You wouldn't believe what we had to change him in on the Murmansk to Moscow flight (there is not enough disinfectant in the world!!).

So that is it, we are coming home!!! Can't wait to see everyone and can't wait for Maks and Alek to be together!!!
Philly here we come!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello from Moscow! We made it and LOVE being at the Marriott, it makes us feel closer to home and we totally ordered up some "american" snacks when we got here, wings, chicken nuggest (for Maks), fries and popcorn!! It really hit the spot!

Maks did well on the plane, for all the changes in the last 24 hours he is a trooper. We had our medical clinic appt. He does have ear infections in both ears as I suspected, so we started him on the amoxicillin. The doctor hear kind of doubted the whole "asthma" thing, he said he looked good otherwise. We had to have his bloodwork taken for another test required by the Embassy due to his medical history, well it is VERY interesting and horrible how they draw blood here--it broke my heart to put him thru that!! As a nurse I wanted to yell, don't you people know the right way!!!! But all I could do was sit there and help hold his arm down. But he lets us comfort him and he stopped crying pretty quickly once back in my arms. he really is doing great, he has quite the spunky personality. He loves to snug and is making really good eye contact with me as well. He fought the bottle the first day, but today took right to it. The kid is an amazing eater and he has the belly to prove it!

The Marriott Tverskaya is having turkey, cranberry, brussel sprouts (yuc) and mashed potatos as a special tonight, I think we will give it a try!

Tomorrow morning we are going to Red Square with our little group and then off to our Embassy appts. Two more nights away, we cannot wait to get home!!!

Thanks for everyone's emails and posts to the blog!! It is so nice to feel so close to everyone when we are so far away.

We cannot wait until Saturday, we miss Alek so much and can't wait to hold him with his new brother!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!! We have so much to be thankful for this year!!

Maks is with us!

Last night we enjoyed dinner at another pizza place called Mama Mias, it was really good and we had a nice time. We then went food shopping for baby stuff and some treats for the caregivers. We topped off the evening with another movie (Sweet Home Alabama), yes Kevin watched a chick flick with me! I am so glad we bought that DVD player. CNN and BBC news gets old after a while!

This morning we headed to the orphanage for the last time. We got to feed Maks lunch there and then it was time to change him into the clothes we bought, we were cracking up over the size of his thighs!!! This boy is big and you should see him eat too, he polishes off a big bowl of stew like it is nothing!!
It was time for him to say his good byes, it was emotional. HIs caregivers were thankful for him to be going home but they were sad, they will miss him. He has been with them since he was one month old. We took pictures, said good byes and then it was off to the hotel.
We then had a nice lunch with the family we are traveling with and their two new kiddos, they are so sweet and so cute!! It was a nice lunch. Then it was back to our room. We played a bit with Maks, it is really amazing to see the difference in him from our first day here until today, his personality is really coming through.
I rocked him to sleep for his nap, he loves to be held and rocked which is wonderful--although he is heavy!! So him and daddy are taking a nap. Kevin then heads to the passport office to pick up Maks' passport. Tomorrow we leave the hotel early, around 6:20am, ourflight to Moscow is 8am. Once we land in Moscow we head to the medical clinic (can't wait to hear which line Dr. Boris uses for Maks) and then to our hotel. I am so craving a burger and the popcorn shrimp at the Tverskaya!!

We really have enjoyed our time here in Murmansk, it is a beautiful city and we have enjoyed our walks and the shopping and the sightseeing. We are so gratelful for this experience and most of all to finally be Maks' parents!!!

That's all for now, next stop Moscow, we are almost home!!!

Here comes the sun!

It is a beautiful sunny day here in Murmansk, the sun is shining for the first time since we have been here, it is nice to see!
We had great visits with Maks last night and this morning. It is fun to see how much more his personality is coming out as he gets comfortable with us. He loves playing and throwing his blocks and balls, he is crawling fast everywhere and loves to hold your hand and walk. He is making alot more sounds and noises too which is great. It has been amazing to watch the transformation in only a few days!
We just got back from a quick tour of the city and went to see an amazing monument for the unknown soliders of WWII, it is so unbelievably tall! It is at the highest peak in the city so the views we had were spectacular of the city, the bay, the ships and the port. It was alot of fun and we got some great pics and video too!!
Kevin is off with our coordinator dealing with the passport stuff for Maks. Then we head back for another visit with Maks before his dinner.
Tonight is our last night alone--tomorrow morning we pick up Maks for good!!! We cannot wait!
Alek sounds like he is doing well and having fun with Noni. Today is his Thanksgiving celebration at school so I am sure he will have a great time! We miss him so much and cannot wait to see him in a few days!! I cannot wait to be holding both boys in my arms! My dream will be complete!

Harkins, Party of Four!

Yes, it is official, we are now a family of four!! At 1 pm Russian time, we officially became the parents of Maks-Joseph Kirill Harkins!! We were so excited, happy and relieved. Court was a bit longer and tougher than with Alek, but all in all not too bad. The ten days was also waived so we stay on schedule for our trip home!! I cannot wait to be home on Saturday and have Maks meet his big brother Alek and the rest of the family!!
It was decided that it would be best to keep Maks in the baby home so we could visit him more and have him get more used to us. We will pick him up on Wednesday morning though!! We can't wait for that!!
In the meantime we head back for another visit to our son (I love saying that!). Tomorrow we will visit twice and we are also going on a tour of the city, which we are looking forward too. It is pretty cold, but Kevin and I have been out exploring alot and have enjoyed it!
So that is the scoop!! We are so happy and thrilled to have our family complete and cannot wait to have the boys home together as brothers!!

Hanging out with Maks

We have had a couple visits with Maks, yesterday he was still fighting a cold. He is a bit leary around us which is good, he seems very attached to his main caregiver. He definitely prefers me and is slower to respond to Kevin. He did cry alot yesterday and prefered to be held close, which is fine with me, although he is a chunker! I am thinking my arms will be in great shape soon!
This mornings visit was much better, he had a huge smile when he saw us. He still was a bit leary but definitely started to play more and we saw how active he can be. He definitely is a little delayed physicially and probably speech wise, but nothing that overly concerns us. I also think he has ear infections in both ears. He is a cutie and his smile lights up a room! We also got to feed him lunch, the kid can eat! He ate a large bowl of potato, onions, carrot, beef stew and then drank a whole cup of juice and wanted more. It was easy to see where he gets his weight from. We head back shortly for another visit and then tomorrow morning is court! We are a little nervous and anxious about that but I am sure it will go fine.

Last night we went out shopping and had dinner at the pizza place we like. Then we hit the market and bought some stuff for movie night. It was great to find Lays potato chips! We bought back some beer and Russian champagne and watched Meet the Fockers--so it wasa fun night! Still cold here, low 20's today.

Alek sounds like he is having a blast at LaLa and Jimmy's and the reigns get handed over to Pop and Noni today, so hopefully that will go smoothly.

We will update after court tomorrow!!

Hello from the balmy city of Murmansk!

Well, if you call darkness, snow and 20 degree temps balmy, this is your kind of town!
It was a long trip for sure, compacted by a delay in London where there was technical problems with the plane (seal on the cockpit), that sounded important, so we had to wait for them to bring a new plane (which came from the maintenence shed).
The hotel in Moscow was nice and we had a good nights sleep.
The flight to Murmansk was uneventful and we are now here at the hotel.
Tomorrow we head over around 11 to meet Maks and have a visit. Sounds like we will have several visits over the next two days with him. Court is Monday at 11am, so that will be 3am for all you folks back home!
So that is the scoop for now. Alek sounds like he is having a blast, he can only spare us a few minutes of his fun time with Jakey to talk.
Off to have a drink at the bar, so we will write more later!

Just a few more hours

and we are off to Russia to bring our beautiful little guy home! Still alot of miles, snow and a court date in front of us, but we are excited to be nearing the end of the journey and heading towards the beginning of our journey as a family of 4!

The hard part is coming up, saying our good-byes to Alek, well hard for us, he will be so excited to be a LaLa's house and playing with T-T when we leave, I am sure he will be fine.

So the bags are packed and we are ready to go. We will update when we can, hopefully tomorrow but it may not be until Friday.

Thanks to everyone for their support, love, thoughts and prayers!! It means the world to us!

This is it!

24 hours to go!! I can't believe it is finally here. I am again filled with the wide range of emotions, excitement, anxiety, fear, stress. I can't wait to get there andhold and hug Maks again, but I also can't believe we have to be away from Alek for 10 nights!!
Starting the actual packing last night, hard to do with all these warm weather clothes! Maks is packed and ready, so that just leaves us and the donations.
Alek's schedule is set, he is with Jim and Laurie tomorrow night thru Sunday, then Pop and Noni take over at our house from Sunday to Wednesday, then Grammom and Poppy come over Wednesday to Saturday and then we are home!
All of Alek's special presents are wrapped and ready for him.
The forecast doesn't seem as bad as it was last week. Looks like Moscow is snowy/cloudy in low to mid 30's and Murmansk is snowy and cloudy, low 20's (last week was in single digits!).

The donation bag is overflowing thanks to my generous co-workers!! We have lots of clothes and diapers and blankets to bring over. We are so grateful!!!

Today is last day of work. Lots to clean up and then head home to finish up the packing!!

One week from tonight!

We will be on a plane crossing the pond, headed to our new little man! The plans are set, the reservations are made, gifts are bought and donations are coming together. All that is left is to pack.

We can't wait to have our boys together and start our journey as a family of four. We know we still have alot of miles ahead of us, but we at least we feel the end is in sight.

11 days and counting!!!

Less than 2 weeks before we leave. Still so much to do. The thought of packing for this trip is overwhelming, between warm clothes for us, clothes and supplies for Maks, donations and all the gifts-yikes! The big stuff is done. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, airport transfer, cell phone rental, visas, and finally papework (shipped the rest of that off yesterday!).
I was just checking out the ten day forecast for Murmansk--BRRRRRRRRR!
Here's the beginning of the week we leave:
Nov 13 Monday
Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 20s and lows in the upper teens.
Nov 14 Tuesday
Scattered snow showers. Highs in the upper teens and lows in the upper single digits.


Today I am off for afternoon of relaxation, Joanne, Laurie and myself are headed to the spa and then dinner. I can't wait for my massage, I so need one!

Huge sigh of relief!

Got the ok that our paperwork is good. What a huge weight off my shoulders. So as we speak most of our documents are getting appostilled and the rest will be tomorrow.
Our Homestudy agency has been so great and so accomodating, I know it wasn't easy for her, getting this all together, but we truly appreciate it, Barb is an angel!!
Hearing all this made Halloween even more special. Alek had a blast. He got to visit Daddy's work, Grammom's work, Me-Me's house, Mommy's work and then go to his school parade. It was really cute, all the kids looked great and he was so excited when he saw LaLa, T-T and Jakey there. So much so, he pitched a fit when they left, so we had to drive over there so he could play a little. He was all hyped and sugared up, he was actually bouncing around the house yelling trick or treat--we have never saw him with a sugar high, it was funny and scarey at the same time!

So now it is back to planning and getting everything together for the trip. The weather is looking mighty chilly over there, I saw one day this week had a HIGH of 15F--YIKES!!! Since everything happens at once, our hot water heater decided to die, so that was replaced today. Hopefully no more surprises, unless of course they are good ones!

We did get some disappointing news that the family we traveled with the first time had their court delayed a week. We are really bummed for them! We had looked forward to sharing this last part of the journey with Chris and Kelli and their new little guy. but hopefully one day we can get our little Murmansk men together for a reunion. We wish them all the best for an easy trip and we will pave the way for you guys and have a drink in the club for you saturday night as we had previously planned!!

Two more weeks and Maks here we come!!!

Paperwork stress

As expected we were hit with the last minute paperwork requests, nothing like a little extra stress to add to your days. We seem to have it all done and are just waiting on approval of one letter requested of our state in regards to our HS agency. It all comes down to an address, I am worried, stressed and concerned that they way one letter is addressed could affect our court date--I am trying to be optomistic, I know things do tend to work themselves out but it is very frustrating right now--the waiting to find out.
We did get an update on Maks, he seemed to have lost a little weight since we have been there, but I guess that is not unexpected given he was in the hospital. But it still worries me and I just want to get back there and hold him! He is shorter than Alek was at one year, he just stockier.

So, any thoughts, prayers, positive wishes are welcome for this paperwork crisis to resolve by today!!!

But I am going to try and put that stress behind me today and enjoy Halloween with Alek. We do have to interrupt our day to go get another paper notarized and shipped off for appostilling but after that it is off to trick or treat and enjoy his party and parade at school. He can't wait to put on his Buzz Lightyear costume!!

I work with the best people!!!

I realized not only am I blessed with an amazing and supportive family and a close group of wonderful friends, but I also work with the greatest people!!! It is truly overwhelming how much support, care and enthusiam that has been shown to me by my work family. Today I was surprised with a wonderful baby shower--it really caught me off guard and helped make a day filled with stress over paperwork and travel plans, alot more brighter!!
The decorations were so cute, the food was yummy and the gifts were beyond generous!!
We are truly grateful and thankful to everyone! I was so overwhelmed I even started crying and that is something I never do at work!! I know Jen was happy to get some pictures of that!!
So thank you everyone, your thoughtfulness, generousity and support throughout this entire process has meant so much to me and has helped keep me sane throughout the work week--I truly appreciate all my friends and co-workers!!!
You are the best and I cant wait for everyone to meet Maks!

A child is the greatest gift
That our lives can bestow.
It brings the most exquisite joy
That we will ever know.
Some days deliver happiness,
Far more than we can touch.
We need the help of all our friends
To comprehend how much.

And so we thank you for the gifts,
Both those you brought and are,
That celebrate this rich, full life
And its rising star!

Happy Turkey Day-From Russia with Love!

Well right after my last entry, I checked my email and saw, "Travel dates"!!!! Very exciting, I truly wasn't expecting to hear anything this week! So our tentative trip is as follows:
Leave Philly 11/15 at night
Arrive and spend the night in Moscow on 11/16 (this time at the nicer hotel--I need hot water!)
Fly to Murmansk 11/17
Court 11/20
Not sure when we get actual custody of Maks, but hopefully right after court!!
Fly back to Moscow on Thanksgiving 11/23
Medical clinic and Embassy 11/24.
We are hoping to be able to catch the 9pm flight from Moscow to London that night, so we can arrive home on saturday 11/25 instead of Sunday (the second worst travel day of the year!).
So we have lots to do in a couple weeks--YIKES!!!!

Maks here we come!!!!

I was looking back at my previous post with the fall pics and started to look thru the last couple years with Alek and the pumpkin patch--my how time flies!! Next year I will have both my boys at the pumpkin patch--I cannot wait for that!

Not a whole lot to report

As far as we have heard from several different sources, Maks continues to recover and do well, and apparently there was quite a bit of the respiratory infection going around. We hope to hear soon if we need additional paperwork, but right now, no news is good news on that front.
I just kind of figure we will spending Thanksgiving in Russia eating fried reindeer and Shanghai surprise for dinner instead of turkey and stuffing! But it will be all worth it especially if Maks is having that dinner with us.



We did the pumpkin patch yesterday, it was alot of fun and the kids enjoyed it. Alek loved the cornstalk maze, he is so quick, I had a hard time keeping up with him!! A good time was had by all and we even managed to get back in time for kickoff!

Little update on Maks

We heard today that Maks is still in the hospital but he is doing better. His health state was now considered "satisfactory". He had an "acute upper respiratory infection" and will finish out his treatment and head back to the baby home. We were told not to worry that he is ok (easier said than done), but I feel a whole lot better having an update.
Hopefully we can get some more detail as to exact diagnosis and what he was treated with.
I just want to know for sure for trip 2 to make sure I bring appropriate medication.

Back to work today. I feel so much better than yesterday, the jet lag killed me. It is nice to feel normal again!!

Looking back

Ok, now that we are home and settled in, I feel I can take a different look back at the trip. It is funny how different it is the second time around, your emotions, expectations and thoughts are very different. We were excited to meet Maks, but not excited about the trip, the travel and all that goes with it. To us it was a means to an end, getting our son home. My stress level was very high, especially leaving Alek. I did melt alot once Maks was in my arms. Kevin said though the first time he held Maks he was thinking about Alek and how all we do and are going to do, affects him. By the second day though, it was alot easier and we could relax and play.
Adding to the stress though, was the fact that Maks was sick with a cold. So we could have the full time we expected with him. Then hearing he was in the hospital, really hit hard. It was all I could do to not lose it in the hotel lobby. And then we had to drive off and go to the notary, when I really just wanted to climb in bed and cry. It was tough knowing he was lying in a hospital bed and there was absolutely nothing I could do, it killed me not only as a mom but as a nurse. You truly feel like your hands are tied!
Even today as we wait for news, I feel like I am holding my breath.

So looking back, it wasn't as bad as it all seemed like at the time. I read my posts and think, geez I really sounded stressed. But now, was it really that bad? I guess it is like labor pains, you forget quickly and that is what makes you able to want to have another child!
Well time to unpack and do some wash and take a nap!!

The pics at the top are my hand in hand pics with my boys. The first is Alek and the second is Maks. Can't wait to have them both here today holding my hands!!

Home Sweet Home!!

We made it! We had a very enjoyable flight from London to Philly in 1st class--JoJo ROCKS!!!!!
We pulled up to Grammom and Poppy's to see Alek waiting at the window, he started yelling mommy, mommy--he hugged us so tight, still yelling mommy and daddy!! It was so emotional!
It sounded like he had a blast with everyone this week. Toys were scattered all over Grammom and Poppy's house, so we know he was completely spoiled.
We finally arrived back to our house to a sign on our door from Jim, LaLa and the kids and a very cute photo story book of Alek's vacation at LaLa's--we were cracking up, it was so great to see how happy he looked, I know he had fun. It made the trip alot easier knowing he was in good hands while we were far away.

So, still no news on Maks. I did shoot off an email, so hopefully I will hear something tomorrow. This is really stressful, not knowing--I am trying hard not to dwell on it every minute, but I just want to know he is ok.

I want to thank everyone for their emails, their posts to the blog and their thoughts and prayers, it helped knowing so many people were thinking about us. It was such an emotional rollercoaster of a trip, but it helps so much to know that many people are pulling for you and supporting you every step of the way!
It was also great to have such wonderful travel companions and we truly hope we will be back in court together very soon!!!

Layover in London

We made it to London and are in our hotel for the night. I have to say it is nice to be in an English speaking country after a week!!
Been trying to check email on updates on Maks but can't seem to get AOL here. Hoping and praying all is ok with him.
One more leg of the jounrey home is tomorrow and hopefully we will be landing in Philly around 2:30!
Can't wait to see Alek and give him big hugs and kisses!!

Maks is in the hospital

We were met in the lobby to begin our afternoon and we told that Maks was taken to the hospital for most likely the flu. It really caught me off guard and I was trying to hold it together, but then started crying. I know it is common for them to be hospitalized quicker and for lesser things than we would, but it is hard knowing your child is in a hospital and there is nothing you can do. They reassured us it was common and he was in good hands and that they would try to get as many updates as they could for us before we leave tomorrow. This is really hard. I did assess him while we were playing this morning, his lungs seemed clear, his breathing was not labored, he was not coughing, just clear runny nose and low grade temp. They said he had been spiking a temp after his nap. So please keep Maks in your prayers and hopefully we will hear something good soon!!!
So we were brought back to the hotel. We are both bumming, but Kevin reminded me that the trip and visits with Alek didn't go too smoothly either and we ended up only being allowed to visit with him once on the first trip and things all worked out fine as well.

So, it is off to begin our two days of travel home tomorrow. I am nervous again about the flight to Moscow, but it would not be me if I wasn't stressing about that!!
At this point we just want to get home, get updates on Maks, see Alek and get back here for court! We were told to expect around 40 days in between trips, possibly shorter. It snowed lightly here today but we were told to expect a bunch of snow on our return.
That is it for now, hopefully we will have some good news on the next post!

Last day in Murmansk

Last night was fun. We tried ordering pizza thru the front desk but that didn't work out to well. So we set out to find the pizza place Tanya told us about. Called something like Hobbin Bobbin? We walked past it the first time but managed to find it. We also managed to order the plainest looking pizza on the menu, at least according to the pictures. We also managed to get it to go, she said something in Russian and Kevin just shook his head yes, so I guess we were right?
The pizza tasted good. We just hung out in our room after that. It was so sweet to hear Laurie made cupcakes to celebrate Maks' birthday!! Talked to Alek for a second, but of course he was too busy playing to stay on long==sounds like he is having a blast!!
It is off to Grammom and Poppy's house for him tonight. Sounds like the doggies are behaving themselves as well and are being spoiled!

This morning's visit with Maks went great. He was feeling a little better, still fighting off a cold. He was more animated and we got him to laugh and giggle a couple times. He definitely likes playing. He is soo cute and when you hold him he grabs tight around your neck, he seems to like to snug. His eyes are such a deep blue, they are really cool. We had fun playing with him this moring. Afterwards will completed the petition to adopt and then headed back to the hotel for lunch. Kevin and I walked around the city a little bit, it was flurrying, it is cold and crisp here. We checked out a couple stores and enjoyed our walk.
We are just waiting to be picked up to head to the notary for our documents and then back for our final visit with Maks :o( I hope he continues to be well enough to play long with us. The have said he has asthma? Not sure if it is that or bronchitis. He does not sound junky to me, and his breathing sounds pretty clear and steady. We hope to get his height and weight. We did his head ourselves and it is good size compared to how Alek was! We measured his feet too, to hopefully figure out what kind of shoes to bring. The were 4 1/2 inches and WIDE! Fred Flintsone feet.
So that is the scoop for now, we are looking forward to some more time with Maks tonight!
Tomorrow is an early day, our flight to Moscow is 8 am. So probably will check in one more time tonight and then be offline until we get home Sunday.
Thanks to all for your thoughts prayers and well wishes!! They are so much appreciated.

Visit number 2

only lasted about 5minutes. Poor little man is still under the weather, so we saw him with his group in his play crib. He is so stocky, it still amazes me. We met with doctor, director and caretakers and got some good info. Wehope to have more time with him tomorrow and we hope his fever goes down. Wegot his birthparents measurements and they are failry tall, so looks like possibly a big guy we have coming home!!
We enjoyed being with him on his 1st b-day, it meant alot.
Tomorrow we fill out petition to adopt and head to the notary. Wehave decided his official name will be Maks-Joseph Kirill Harkins.
Can't wait to be able to share pictures. This has been a long and tiring journey, but well worth it and I can't wait to have my boys home with me!!

Thanks to everyone for their support and messages!!!
Good night!

Meeting Maks

After we were picked up this morning, we went to the MOE, we were shown a newborn picture of Maks (Kyrill) and we were give permission to head to the orphanage.
We walked into the baby room and he was standing up getting his diaper changed, I was really surprised at how big he was, he was very round, stocky looking and definitely with red hair!! he is a cutie. He was hesitant to come to us but then let me hold him. He really is heavy, we were both surprised since Alek was such a peanut. He has a round face, larger head, red hair, dark blue eyes, big hands and big (Fred Flintstone looking feet!). He is very cute. He is also a little sick, he was running a fever, runny nose, watery eyes, so he was a little crabby. We spent around an hour. He played a little bit, he sits well, he walks while you hold his hands, he cruises along the table.
He is a real sweetie!! It was time for his nap, so we left. We hope he is feeling a little better when he wakes up! Wish I could send pictures for everyone to see.
We are both exhausted though, this trip is really tiring both physically and emotionally. Goint to try and sneek in a quick nap before we head back to visit late this afternoon. I think we are doing pizza for dinner tonight (Thank God), I think I have eaten enough rice and bread to last me a lifetime!!
The weather is around 40, drizzly, overcast, not too bad.
We found out how the second trip works, you arrive in Moscow on a Thursday, fly to Murmansk on a Friday, spend saturday and sunday with the child. Monday is court. Tuesday and Wednesday you are getting paperwork done. Thursday you fly back to Moscow and go to medical clinic. Friday is US Embassy and then you can head home. Definitely a long trip for us. We are contemplating bringing Alek along, but want to find out how it would work. We both are really missing him alot, although he seems to be completely fine!!
That is it for now, hope to have time to post some more later.

We are here!!

We made it and we are in Murmansk! The flights over were good and smooth. Made our connections, met up with our driver easily. The ride to the hotel across Moscow was terrible, 2 1/2 hours, the airport hotel was bare bones. We had a quick dinner with the other family traveling with us and then went to sleep. We talked to Alek and he sounds like he is having a blast--we miss him so much!!
The flight to Murmansk was fine, noisy plane, a bit of a bumpy landing, but safe. For a protestant girl, I had my St. Joseph's medal from Tifany and the St. Teresa of the Rose card from Kate and believe me I was praying!!
The weather isnt as cold as I thought, high 30's, not much different than Philly winter. No snow yet.
The hotel here is very nice. We had a great dinner last night and drinks with the other family. I didn't sleep too well last night, anxious I guess. We are being picked up shortly to head to the MOE to get our official permission to visit Maks. Then it is off the orphanage!! We can't wait, such a long haul it has been.
Today is his birthday, we can't wait to see him and hold him. The family traveling with us gave him a teddy bear from Germany which is so cute!!

Well more later, can't wait to tell everyone about this little guy!!
We miss you all and thanks for all your prayers and support!!
Love,
Kris and Kevin

Well this is it

We are off. Our flight leaves in 6 hours. We are packed and ready. Now the hard part, dropping Alek off and saying good-bye. I am trying to gear myself up for that and not doing a very good job, I might add!

So we appreciate any and all prayers for safe travels and for Alek to stay safe while we are away (although we know he is in wonderful hands).

Also, FYI, you can post comments to this now as I made annoymous comments allowed. So if you just click on the comment button at the bottom of each post you can make a comment without signing in. Kind of like email, I can respond to them as well.

I guess next post will be from Russia, stay tuned....

48 hours to go

Today has been filled with periods of calm and complete anxiety for me. One minute I am so happy to be going and cannot wait to hold Maks and then the next minute I am completely stressing over Alek. I know he will be in very good hands and he will have a great time. I just worry, probably too much. You start to think of your own mortality and the "what ifs" of traveling far away from your child. Of course Kevin is calm and not stressing--thankfully. If he was, then I would be a complete mess! I guess I have had way too much time to dwell on this travel. It is much better when it is quick and fast, no time to think, like ripping off a band-aid fast. It's been almost two months since we got Mak's referral, so it has been a long time to ponder the process ahead.
I think we are organized. Just have to do the actual packing it up. Clothes are laid out, documents are in order, lists are made, Alek is set. So all's we have to do is zip up the suitcases and head on out.
Tomorrow we take the dogs to Grammom and Poppys and have some lunch down there, then it is back to finish packing and watch the Eagles, hopefully beat the pants off the Cowboys!

I am off to try and get some sleep or lay there and become even more anxious....

Packing challenges

As someone who is truly an overpacker, no matter where I go, this is the hard part for me. For these trips you really want to limit your bags and pack sensibly. So my idea of 5-7 pairs of shoes so I can have a choice each day is not really feasible.
Our goal, 2 medium bags (one for each of us, well mine is a little larger) and one carryon.
The other challenge is the weather.

This is what our forecast looks like:
Monday 10/9, flight out of Philly: Mostly Sunny 74°/52°
Tuesday 10/10, Moscow: Showers 58°/45°
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Murmansk: Showers (36°/31°), Showers (38°/30°), and
Few Snow Showers (35°/29°)--Yes that did say snow!!

Since the last time we were in Russia, it was pretty hot, this is new to us. From what we are told, they tend to overheat buildings, rooms, hotels, so the key is layering. Well I am sure I will be doing alot of packing and unpacking trying to get this all right!

We have some gifts for Maks for his first b-day: we bought some little toys, key teether, baseball bear (just like what alek had) and a fun little music toy.
He also got a cute little 1st birthday bear from Granny and Pop Pop and a First Birthday Bib from Grammom and Poppy (from Aunt Sandra's store). We can't wait to celebrate his special day with him.

I am working on Alek's little project (the links of love--thanks for the idea Kristen!!). Ok, I am so artistically challenged, I have messed up 3 links already--how hard can this be?!? He has special little presents for each day we are gone, so hopefully that will make him very happy!!

Back to the packing.....

One week from tonight!!

Philadelphia(U.S.A. - Pennsylvania)Mon 9:21 PM *
Murmansk(Russia)Tue 5:21 AM *


Distance from Philadelphia to Murmansk:
Distance is 6587 kilometers or 4093 miles or 3557 nautical miles


We will be on a plane headed to Russia! The nerves have kicked in big time for me. I am really stressing over Alek, the plane rides, the weather, everything basically. I have had too much time to dwell on this, it just needs to happen now!
So, Monday night, we leave Philly. Arrive in London on Tuesday morning. Fly to Moscow. Transfer airports (2 hour car ride). Check into hotel. Wednesday we fly to Murmansk. Where the temps are hanging in the mid to upper 30's. We get to visit Maks, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Thursday will be his first birthday, we are so happy to be able to share the milestone day with him. Saturday morning we fly back to Moscow. Saturday night, fly to London, spend the night, Sunday head home!
That is our whirlwind week.
We keep talking to Alek about his vacation to LaLa's house and Jakey's room and then to Grammom and Poppy's to see Corlie and Kaiser again.
I am sure this will be alot harder on us than it is for him. I know I will be a mess come Monday!! I told him tonight that mommy and daddy will be flying on a plane to go visit baby Maks, he said, "that fun, to infinity and beyond!" That's my little Buzzy!!

Ready for Halloween!

With everything going on and not knowing when trip 2 will be, we ordered Alek's costume a little early to be prepared.
Alek's Halloween costume arrived, so we had to try it on--yes he will be Buzz Lightyear! He is totally in to Toy Story right now, his favorites are Buzzy and Mr. PotatoHead.
Kevin's favorite is the dinosaur, "He tortures toys, just for fun", has him cracking up.

So here is Alek in his Buzzy gear, minus the wings, which I didn't feel like blowing up yet! And a video to go along with it.

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=86280&cdate=20060927&ctime=174659

Less than 2 weeks

We will be leaving on another amazing journey in the quest to complete our family. Preparing for this trip, has had me thinking back to the first time we did this. So many emotions, so many memories.
I was reading the journal I kept while traveling for Alek, it was fun to read what I was feeling as we sat in the business class lounge (enjoying those perks) and waiting to board our flight. I remember meeting Alek for the first time, they walked into the room with this little chubby faced (yes Alek had full cheeks!) and they said his last name, which we didn't realize, so we stood there for a second until we realized it was our little man!
I think about how it was like then, and wonder how will Maks be when we first meet him. Will he be scared and cry, will he be tentative or will he be social? I think of how different it will be, Alek was only 4 1/2 months when we met him, Maks will be one.
It makes me sad to think of how he may feel, after all his whole world will be turned upside down, once we are able to bring him home on our second trip. So it is a battle of emotions, on one hand you are so happy, this little person is coming home with you, to a new life with a loving and caring family who cannot wait to welcome him with open arms, yet the first thing we do is take him from all he has ever known. Sights, sounds, smells, language will all be different for him. I just can't imagine how he will react to that.
We were watching some of the video of Alek on our first day with him. How much he has changed!! It seems like he went from a pale white peanut, to this thriving bundle of non stop energy in no time!!
I remember arriving with him in Moscow, meeting Joanne in the hotel. As tired as we all were, we had such fun sightseeing and walking around Moscow, with the little man in tow!
I remember getting to the hotel in Heathrow seeing Granny anxiously waiting outside for us to arrive and the smile on her face when we stepped off the bus and then rushing inside to meet up with Pop Pop.
I remember sitting for what seemed like forever in immigration in Philly, knowing our family was out there just waiting for us, thank God for Diane who came in and whispered something to the immigration worker and next thing we know our name was called!
I remember Pop's face and Grammom and Poppy's expression when they all got to hold Alek for the first time. I remember LaLa, and the kids and Joe and Niki all being there smiling and sharing in our moment and welcoming home this little guy with open arms. I love the pictures from that moment!!
Such great and wonderful memories and I can't wait to build more with more Maks.
We are truly blessed to not only have gone through this journey not once but twice and we are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends surrounding us and supporting us thru it all!!
Sorry, got carried away a little bit with the mushy stuff!!

Well the paperwork is done, every requested document is in our hands, so all that is left is the packing!

The plans are set!

Well looks like everything is done except for the packing and the last minute stuff! We have our airline tickets (Thanks Jo, you are wonderful!!!!!), we have our hotels in Moscow and London, our coordinator takes care of the one in Murmansk along with the flight to the region, we have our ground transportation from the airport in Moscow to our hotel at the other airport. Visa application is to the agency, all the additional paperwork is almost done, so we should be able to bring it with us on trip 1. Thanks to Pop and Noni for the generous donation to our travel funds!!! We truly appreciate it. Arrangements for Alek are made (thanks LaLa, Jimmy, Grammom and Poppy), we keep telling Alek he will go on vacation soon to LaLa's house and get to sleep in Jakey's room--he said, "no Jakey's bed", "that fun". So hopefully that week will go smoothly and we won't be scaring off the babysitters for trip 2!

Thanks to everyone who has helped us out with paperwork, support, cheerleading and finding needed resources like CPA's and psychologists (thanks Tim and Rach!!), thanks to Amy for the IA medical assistance, and thanks to Mike and C for the comic relief, without everyone's help and support we would never get through this process!!

So on to some Alek updates. He is doing so well on the potty training front both at home and at school--definitely worth bragging about! He has gotten a bit aggressive, but we are blaming daddy on that! Those full contact baseball and football games they play each night have now filtered over to school and we got a little bad report today of Alek tackling a little boy. So daddy has been asked to dial it down a notch!! Otherwise he is doing great, his language expands daily and it is so fun to hear him talk and sing. We just love his little personality.
Here is a picture of our future Penn State quaterback (although I secretly hope he takes up a little less of a contact sport!). If you click on the below link there is a little video we took of Alek, it is dark, but you get the picture!


http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=86280&cdate=20060921&ctime=173231

Russia here we come!

We got our travel dates!!!! We leave Philly on 10/9, arrive Moscow 10/10, stay overnight, leave for Murmansk on morning flight. We will spend 10/11, 10/12, 10/13 visiting with Maks. HIs 1st birthday is 10/12--so we are very happy to be able to be there with him that day!! The morning of 10/14 we fly back to Moscow and then we can fly towards London that night, so we should be home in the afternoon on 10/15! Our trip is a little less than a week. So now we are working on the newest paperwork we need, from police clearances, to 8 doctor medical forms, psychologist evaluation (no jokes please!)--we hope to have them all done to carry with us on the 1st trip. So that is the scoop for now!! Below is a map of Russia, you will see Moscow to the left in bold, then follow up to the top of the map and right next to the tip of Finland and Sweden you will see Murmansk, right on the Barents Sea! That is where we are headed!!

A little update

We found out last night, that we should receive our travel dates sometime by the end of next week. The inspector in the region comes back on 9/12, so dates are expected soon after that. They anticipate us traveling by the end of the month. So hopefully by the end of next week we will be making our travel arrangements. In the meantime, this region requires a psychological evaluation on us (no laughing please!) and an 8 doctor medical form (which is pretty funny to read since we don't have some of the specialities here, like a narcologist?), but the good news is our family doctor can fill this out.

Alek and I spent a nice long weekend in NH with Pop, Noni, Joe, Niki and Joseph. The boys had a blast together and entertained themselves well on a rainy Sunday. The trip was fun, despite an over 5 hour flight delay on the way home!! Here are some pics of Alek from the trip.

Waiting to meet Maks

A Moonbeam

Take a glimpse into the sky

And if a moonbeam hits your eye

Follow it back to whence it came

And dream of a child who'll bear your name.
A little one may look right back

And follow a beam along it's track

And see a mother awaiting the day

In who’s arms forever to stay.

(Tom Fisher-2005)

Yes, we have decided on a first name and that is Maks (pronounced Max). It is essentially the Russian spelling of the name. Maks is short for Maksimillian (which we won't be using), but the name means "competitor" and Aleksandr means "conqueror". So we thought that was pretty cool! We will have a little conqueror and competitor--should be an interesting combination!
We are just trying to figure out the middle name now.

Still looking like end of September to head out, but we hope and pray for some earlier dates. In the meantime Alek and I will be flying up to New Hampshire for a visit with Pop and Noni, Uncle Joe, Aunt Niki and Joseph. We are looking foward to the quick get-away--and hoping that Alek flies well this time. It is only an hour and 20 mintue flight, thankfully!

Here are a few new pics to pass the time:

The wait to travel begins

This is the hard part--we have his pictures, have memorized his sweet little face, imagined what it will be like to hold him for the first time, wonder what his personality will be, we have fallen in love, and yet we have to wait and try to be patient.
Seems like we will have to wait to mid-late September now to travel due to vacations of the officials over there. There is still a chance they will return early and we could go, but it is looking more like a month before we leave. Same thing happened with Alek's trip.
Trying to look at the positives:
More time to plan and prepare and make arrangements, especially for Alek.
Air fare is cheaper.
Alek and I still get to go to New Hampshire Labor Day weekend.

But, that doesn't make up for the fact that he is there and we are here and now there is a good chance we may not have him home for his first birthday.

I found this poem today and it really stuck with me. So we will be hoping and praying that he stays safe and healthy and we can hold him in our arms very soon...
Sweet dreams my little man.

Half A World Away

A half a world away,
Sometimes it seems we're so far apart
But a half a world away,
Is not too far for a journey of the heart

My little one, my bundle of joy
I'm waiting for you,
My precious son, my baby boy
I know you're waiting too

A half a world away
A child waits for a family of his own
While a half a world away
A family waits to come bring him home

My little one, my bundle of joy
I'm whispering a prayer
My precious son, my baby boy
I hope to soon be there

And I hope that we will no longer be
a half a world away.

Copyright words and music 1999 Jill Marshall

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!

Yes, we have a referral!!! I was caught completely off guard at work on Friday with "the call". We definitely were not expecting anything this soon, but we are excited!
After some discussion today with our physician, we decided to accept the referral and make our first trip!

So, for now, the basics:
He is a gorgeous 10 month old little guy (with blue eyes and strawberry blond hair)who is in Murmansk, Russia. Murmansk is up above the artic circle, near Finland. We probably will make the first trip very soon--so we appreciate any and all prayers! It is going to be stressful making arrangements not only for our trip but for Alek as well. The thought of leaving him home saddens me so much, I don't like to think about it, but I know he will be in good hands!! Of course now the wprries over being mom to two young kiddos will kick in as well, but we are excited!

So stay tuned, name and more details will follow.....

Happy Adoption Day Alek!!

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone,
But still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute,
You didn't grow under my heart - but in it
--- Fleur Conkling Heylinger

Two years ago today (August 16, 2004), in a court room in Kirov Russia, we became a family forever!! I can't believe it has been two years, it seems like yesterday. Time has flown and our little man has grown so much. He was 5 1/2 months old when he became Aleksandr Smith Harkins--he only had two teeth, he was drooling up a storm, rolling over and only sitting with support.
Today, he is 36.7 inches and 29 pounds of pure energy. He can out run me, which is kind of frightening, he is talking up a storm, loves to sing, is counting to 20, swimming under water, diving, playing baseball with daddy, and has been doing well on the potty training front. It is just amazing how fast they grow and change, somedays I wish I could keep him that tiny baby forever!! So today we celebrate our family day and eagerly anticipate the news of our newest family member. We are excited and nervous of all the changes in store, but truly look forward to welcoming a new little one into our lives and finally making Alek a big brother!!


The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
--- Unknown






"Wherever you came from, wherever you go,
This is the place that we start.
Whatever you learn, whatever you know,
You've still got a home in our heart."

This was sent to me

via email, so I thought I would share.
Get out your tissues though and then afterwards, call your parents, grandparents!
http://parentswish.com/

The next Mark Spitz..

or actually, Aleksandr Popov?

Here is our little fish!

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Future Home Run king?

well Daddy sure thinks so! Alek has learned to hit the ball--very exciting moment in our house!

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Crazy kid!

Alek has a fascination of putting on shoes and things on his head. So after swimming yesterday I changed him into a new diaper and t-shirt before dinner, he added to it after finding his winter boots in the garage.
On his head is a wheel from one of his construction trucks which for some reason he thinks is cooler as a bandana. He proceeded to boogey down for me while I was cooking dinner--nothing like a little pre-meal entertainment! Click on picture to see them all!

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July 4th weekend pics, a little late

Yes, I am behind on my posting. July 4th weekend was nice, I was recovering from some surgery, so not a whole lot was going on. We had a nice BBQ at Jim amd Laurie's, spent Monday at a PA German Festival, which was nice, but too hot and the the 4th at the Fillmore's watching some soccer. So here's some pics from the weekend.