Miracles and Grandma's (My Mother)

We were still waiting for Aliana's INS approval. We felt it was taking so so long. We had no idea what to do - so we asked Heavenly Father for a miracle, We had to wait it out. We prayed, fasted, everything. They don't provide any phone numbers for INS - you have no way of getting in contact with anyone. Well, I was bound and determined to get my paperwork, and told my sweetheart as such. I asked him to fast with me. So - we fasted on a Sunday - and on Monday -we got a call from a gal at INS! She said - "I don't know how your file ended up on my desk, and I don't normally do this, but tell me your situation, and I will see if I can help." We were flabbergasted. She listened to us, and then said she would have it to us within two weeks - due to the fact that she was going on vacation for two weeks. Do miracles still exist. I say yes!! THANK YOU, HEAVENLY FATHER!

After that, we felt confident that we would get the desired paper work, so we fervently started to get things in order to go. I kept thinking about Cami - and her connection with her "babushka," the only woman who had ever been kind to her in her life. Her dear Grandmother. I started to wonder if it would be a good idea to ask my mom if she wanted to go with us to Russia.

Now - you have to know my mom. I absolutely ADORE my mom. She is the Edith to my Dad's Archie (only my Dad is not even close to being like Archie.) My Mom is just so funny and silly and she forgets things and ...well.. the list could go on and on and on. She really hadn't been out of Utah much - I think she had been to Idaho a few times and maybe Wyoming? I am honestly not sure where else. OH - I know she went to Yellowstone - when she was pregnant with me, but that's Wyoming. At any rate - she's just a good old Utah born and raised girl.

So I asked her if she wanted to go to Russia with me. I didn't know what her reaction would be. I didn't think she knew either. She got quiet and a bit nervous and told me she would have to think it over. She told me later that she was very excited and just needed to talk to my dad. But you see - here was ANOTHER miracle.

My mom had been diagnosed with spinal stenosis. Her back had been bothering her for quite a long time, and she was having problems walking and sitting. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to sit or walk for very long. So - one week before we left, she had what is called "PROLOTHERAPY" and had thirty five shots injected into her back. She was down for a few days, but miracles of miracles, she was up and ready to go on this trip of a life time to bring her little granddaughters home. I guess you never know all your Hero's in your life -they just happen as you go along. My Mother is now one of the biggest Hero's I have. She showed me such strength, such determination, such courage and charity. And, throughout it all - she was still my mom. The girls took to her like you wouldn't believe, but that's for a different story. Mom - I LOVE YOU. More than you will ever know. And I would like to thank you for showing me the "better part" and teaching me the right way and loving me through everything. You and Dad, are my HERO'S!

So - we all went and got our Visa's - and got ready to go. I still was determined that these children were to come soon. I KNEW they would. For some reason - I felt that they were to be home with us - and not there. I already felt like a mother hen with her wings spread out - trying to protect her children, ready to peck at anyone that tried to stop me or hurt my children. Also - for some reason, these girls felt like MINE. It didn't really even seem like adoption, other than we had to wait. They were MINE.

We soon got a call that was disturbing. Irene (who owned the adoption agency) told us that the Russian Judge would be out of town on vacation from Sept 7-20. That meant we could not settle a court date until the end of September or first of October. I was very upset about that, because my son Mike was coming off his mission from Concepcion, Chile at the end of Oct, and we were going to Utah to see him come home, and the agency knew this. We were so shocked. We had planned on getting the girls before school. We decided to put our faith and trust once again in Heavenly Father and pray with "exceeding faith" that we would somehow get a court date. (This was found out Aug 12th)

We find a translator!

Ok. So now we are home. Back to the normal things of the day. But it just isn't normal anymore. We had to feel out so much more paperwork for Aliana. And there were still other papers to be apostilled, and notorized. Let me explain apostille to you.
It's the notorization of the notary by the state. It validates that the notary is legitimate. Any document that Russia required from us, they required it to be apostilled. Every copy had to have it's own apostille. It was like ten - fifteen bucks a shot - just for that! We were very lucky in finding a very good woman named Karen, who became our lifesaver for notary. We didn't have to pay her - or that would have been even more expensive. OUCH. The headache of it all makes me want to go take an excederin right now!

One of the things we had to do to prepare for the girls, was to go to INS (Us citizenship) and get visa's for the girls. There was always so much to do. Well - at this particular time, we had no one that we knew of to help us call Russia and talk to the girls. I was more than determined to do that. I didn't want those girls to think for one minute that I went there to give them false hope, and would never be back.

Well - we went to the INS department in Washington, DC. We were living in Stafford, Va at the time. So- off we went to fight the traffic on I95 (UGH) and went in (one of several trips for government related issues for the girls). While we were there, we were sitting there talking. I have always been someone who loves to watch people, and watch what is going on around me. BOY! This place was a literal melting pot. I saw so many different races, people from all walks of life, people it seemed from every corner of the earth. It was so amazing to me. See - I lived in Utah my whole life - and other than a quick trip to Idaho - or Wyoming (for fireworks) or Arizona in High school - and once I flew to California when I was pregnant with my oldest, but other than that - I never went anywhere until I married Vinny. So to see all these cultures and beautiful faces, rugged faces, faces that told stories, was amazing to me.

As we sat there, I noticed an old woman with a very old scarf on, like the women in Russia wear. Her attire was that of a Russia woman. She had clean clothes, but they were very worn and thin. She sat stoically with her white hair and cane. Next to her sat a man around forty, looking much older I assumed than his actual years. Next to him sat a young girl around the age of fourteen and with her were some young boys. I listened to them talking, as we were sitting right by them, and I immediately wondered if they were speaking Russian. So - you know me - I had to find out. I turned to the little girl and asked her where they were from. She told me Russia - I don't remember the part now. She was tall for her age, and pretty with dark hair. Her clothes were old, and she looked like some of the kids I saw in the Orphanage.
She smiled, and we introduced ourselves. She told me her name was Vika. Vika!!! That was Cami's Russian name, short for Victoria. I asked her where they were living. Seems they had just moved here, and they were there with the old woman from her Russian Church, applying for work permits? Or something like that. Well, all we had was time, so we struck up a conversation. She had a really cute accent. I told her my story of going to Russia and adopting the girls. She was really, really interested in that. She gave us a lot of information of orphaned kids. She told us that people in Russia really looked down on you if you were in an orphanage. They thought you were the lowest of low. That made my heart literally break!! They were the outcasts of society, and that's just how it was. People tried to avoid them, and when the children/teenagers were old enough to fend for themselves, the director of the orphanage was directed to take them, and drop them off in some city where they would have a hard time getting back to the orphanage. They were left with the clothes on their backs. I was horrified. And yes, I cried. I couldn't imagine my girls, let alone any girls or boys having to do this over there. I thought of Nikki's sisters and brothers I saw - and I was sick. But I let her talk on - wanting to find out any and all I could about situations over there.

After speaking awhile, I asked her where they lived. They lived about 45 minutes from us. I asked her if she would like to earn some money for me. She hesitated - and then I explained that I needed a translator to help me call the girls. If she could help - I would call her first - get her on the phone - and then call the orphanages - and then she could talk to the girls and tell me what they said back. She went to her father to ask permission. He looked very gruff, not so much as a smile, and I was somewhat disheartened. But she soon came back with the news that she would be able to do it. Vinny got up and went and shook her Father's hand. I think that really helped - and as Vinny tried to communicate somewhat with the father, Vika gave me her number. From then on I had a translator! I paid her twenty - sometimes forty dollars to help me. She was so sweet and kind, and it was wonderful. I remember that when we started calling the kids, she would laugh so cute at the things they would say. At first - the girls couldn't believe we were calling them. Aliana was always the loudest and boldest, Nikki was so shy - but didn't ever want to hang up the phone. She would sit there all day if we let her, and ask questions, to which she would boringly answer "dah" - to each and everything that was said. (Dah means yes). Aliana was serious, on the other hand, no monkey business. "When are you coming to get us"? she would shout into the phone. We tried to explain about the paperwork, and visa's and such, and I'm not sure of how much they even understood (until we got them here and they started speaking in English and we found out for sure). And then Cami. She was at a different orphanage, and they weren't so nice there. Sometimes they would not let me talk to her. Sometimes - it was so funny- they would get her - and you could here her little cute voice (she is really girly girly - high pitched) and she would say "Mama?" "Papa"? Then we would here giggling, and Vika (our translator) would really try to get her to open up. She really didn't understand much being only six at the time, so we just told her over and over again that her American Mama and Papa loved her so so much. She seemed to delight in that.

When we had left the girls in Russia, we left Nikki and Cami with a book of photos of their new brothers and sisters, and their new home. They had pictures of their bedrooms, and the dog, Chloe- and everything. We went over and over each picture with them very carefully. Nikki ended up sharing her book with Aliana for the time being. When we brought the girls home, it was upsetting - all of the toys and clothes had been left with the orphanage. We had to bring clothes back with us - and the girls were literally changed at the time they were handed off to me. I got VERY lucky - and got to keep Aliana's and Nikki's outfits they had on that day. Not so for Cami - but they did let me keep her shoes. Everything went to the Orphanage.

So - I had my life-line in Vika. About a month after using her- she went to some sort of a camp for a month, and didn't tell me she was leaving. I was so upset, and worried that the girls would think that I didn't want them anymore. Fortunately, I found one man in our ward that spoke Russian fluently!!! He was so willing and ready to help - so yeah!! Now I had a back up. All my girls in Russia were also sent to a "summer camp" for a month. So for one whole month - I had no communication with them at all. I would call dutifully every Sunday. I would always say "Americana Mama, don't hang up the phone'- only I had learned to say it in Russian. You don't know how many frustrating phone calls it took - where they didn't understand, and would hang up on me. They finally got used to us calling. YEAH!

Well, I missed the girls something fierce, and I prayed so hard that we would soon have our INS approval for Aliana, and just more paperwork kept pouring in. At times, we wondered if we were doing the right thing. But we pressed on - determined not to give up. "Doubt not - but be believing" became my slogan. I even got personalized license plates that said "Doubt NT".

I still have them and look at them. So - we still played the waiting game, only this time I knew that the girls were real. I had felt them in my arms. I had loved them and kissed them. And I wanted them home..