Signed, Sealed, Delivered....Back to US!

I'm experiencing a mirage of feelings: frustrated, relieved, excited, bummed, and hopeful.

Frustrated. Today, the package that we sent via FedEx on January 2nd was returned to us. It was a Customs issue and although we included all perinent data, I also included on all my notes on the contents "For K and her Friends", "For all the children in the Orphanage", etc. I just have to accept the fact that Customs Agents have no heart. (Ok, so they are doing their job...I've just got to vent!) They rifled through the box, tore open the photo album I had wrapped (ok...my bad...I never wrap anything when I travel in the event it has to be inspected) as well as pulled out the clothes and shoved them back into the gift bag, etc. The only thing they didn't open was the envelope which had a brief letter explaining what the gifts were for and a picture to put faces to the names of the senders and adorable recipient.

The box that travelled across the world in search of a little girl!

We have no idea what the sticker on the box says...but evidence that it made it close to our daughter in Russia!

Relieved. Thank goodness the package arrived home with what appears to have everything intact. At least the Customs Agents didn't have sticky fingers! We hope to somehow "vaccuum shrink-wrap" the blankets and fit them in a suitcase when we have to pack. Hey, where's Ron Popiel from Ronco when you need him?

Excited. The friends we made in Ekaterinburg back in September (adopting a little boy from the same Grupa and Orphanage as K) got the call that their court date is February 20th! We submitted our p/w before Halloween in October and Dawn and Jeff submitted their p/w 3-4 weeks later around Thanksgiving in November so we're hoping that perhaps we're not too far behind. I may have mentioned before that their agency deals with the male judge and we deal with the female judge...so I may be comparing apples and oranges. But still ~ we remain hopeful!

Bummed. This is a teaser as I'm not going to go into great detail until I hear it directly from our Agency but apparently, something happened at the Orphanage where K lives and all the kids have been relocated to other orphanages/hospitals throughout the city of Ekaterinburg. The kids are fine...but it leaves me with such a helpless feeling not knowing where K is. Everyday, I imagine her in her Grupa room, or in the music/playroom, or out on the playground bundled up so tightly that she can barely walk! Is the place she's in now clean?

Hopeful. I have to thank Mom for instilling hope into my thoughts tonight. When we talked about what happened at the Orphanage, she said maybe this will move things along faster since the kids have been relocated and perhaps the other Orphanages may be crowded now. We're so far into the process that I will hang onto this thought and remain hopeful. I mean -- what more can the judge possibly want from us? She knows more about us now than our own family does!

As soon as I get an e-mail back from my agency (who I asked to contact our Coordinator in Russia STAT), I'll post again. So continue to check in...the saga continues!!!