November 19, 1999 THE CALL!! Our social worker from Frank Adoption called. I thought she was going to say they needed another form or something. No it was a referral! My knees got weak as she was talking. She said to me you wanted a young healthy baby, well he's 6 months old and they don't get much healthier than him. He's from Novosibirsk, which is the capital of Siberia. He's half Russian and half Azerbaijani. I could barely speak. She asked me if I was sitting down because the best part was if we accept him we could possibly travel in 2 weeks! I think I went into shock. She said she would overnight the video and medical to me.
November 20 We were up so early we couldn't sleep. We were so anxious to get the video. The Fedex trucked finally pulled up. We took some deep breaths and opened it. When I first saw the picture I was numb. I didn't know what to feel. We put the video in and we were immediately drawn to him. He has the biggest brown eyes I've ever seen. His eye contact was amazing. We watched it over and over and realized we were watching our son.
December 7, 1999 We flew to Moscow from JFK airport on Aeroflot at 3:00 p.m. We were so excited to actually be going to Russia. We tried to sleep on the plane but couldn't. It was a very long boring flight. We arrived in Moscow at 8:00 a.m. We met our driver and translator and went to the Novotel hotel until 7:30 that night when we would be flying to Novosibirsk.
December 9 We went to the Ministry of Education and went over our paperwork, then we headed to the orphanage. My heart was beating so fast, I couldn't believe in minutes I was going to meet our son. We followed Alla our coordinator into the orphanage and took our shoes off. It seemed like an eternity when finally they brought Vincent in. My heart sank. I was looking at the most beautiful baby and he was mine. They handed him to Joey first. Vincent put his arms around him. Then Joey handed him to me. I can't really explain the emotion I was feeling. I didn't want to cry but there was no stopping it. I dreamed about meeting him since I saw his picture and he was more perfect than I expected. I wasn't sure if he would cry but when he handed Vincent to me he grabbed my hair, put his arms around me and put his head on my shoulder. All the Russian women were laughing and we were all so happy. He was just meant to be ours.
December 11 We went to the orphanage and I felt like we were being watched and we were. Vincent has a mild fever. After the orphanage Alla our translator asked me where my hat was. I had forgotten to bring one. It snowed everyday and I was the only one in Siberia without a hat, so Alla and our driver Vladimir took us to a department store where they helped me pick out a beautiful mink hat. I fit right in. I had people on the street talking to me in Russian. Afterwards we went to the Siberian Zoo which was a lot of fun.
December 13 Well now we know why Vincent had a fever. He's starting to teethe! He was smiling so much and all he wanted to do was come to me. Tanya my favorite caretaker told us when we left on Friday Vincent was upset. He's really starting to bond with us.
December 15 Vincent was feeling alot better today. They asked us if we wanted to take him outside. They put so many layers of clothes on him I almost passed out watching them dress him. I understand the baby should be warm but this was total extreme. We're still waiting to hear about a courtdate, I hope it's soon.
December 16 Another boring day in Siberia. We saw the baby but were on our own for the rest of the day. This trip isn't turning out like I thought. I want to go home so bad.
December 17 This was the most stressful day. We got ready for court but still didn't know if it was going to happen today. We sat waiting for the phone to ring for hours. Alla finally called, we were headed for court finally! I was pretty nervous in court but as always Joey was calm, cool and collected. I'm so glad he had to do most of the talking. It wasn't bad at all. The judge asked questions and we answered. She left the room for about 5 minutes, came back and approved us for the adoption. We were so excited, I think I kissed everyone in the courthouse. Vincent was finally ours and we were going home!!
December 18 This is the day we pick Vincent up at the orphanage. I was so nervous and anxious. When we arrived they took all his clothes off. We had brought very nice clothes but as we were dresssing him the caretakers started freaking out that we were putting actual "clothes" on him. I was so mad but I put a sleeper on him I had in the diaper bag. My tongue finally stopped bleeding from biting it and I kept saying to myself we're leaving tonight. We flew business class back to Moscow and I'm so glad we did. What a difference. Vincent was a little hyper, but they gave us a bassinet and he finally went to sleep. Back in Moscow we stayed at a really nice Holiday Inn. To bad it was in the middle of nowhere!
December 19 This is Embassy day. We couldn't believe the line outside of the Embassy and it started to snow. Olga our translator left us and when she came back she told me I could go inside with Vincent. I don't know how she did it but I was glad to be inside. They surprised us and took us to Red Square. It was so beautiful. We couldn't believe that we were actually there.
December 21 We're finally going home!! We felt horrible from being up all night. Vincent had cried on and off the whole night. At the airport we said our good-byes to Olga and Sasha. It was kind of sad knowing you would never see these people again. Of course our flight was delayed. We got our seats on the plane and we were so cramped. The flight attendant moved people around and we ended up getting 3 seats in the middle. Vincent was so good on the plane. He didn't cry and only got fussy a few times. Finally we landed, I felt like kissing the ground! I coudn't wait to get home. We almost ran off the plane. We had to drop off documents at customs but we were in and out. We got our baggage and looked for our limo driver. My heart was racing in the car on the way home. We pulled up in front of the house and I ran to the door. I handed Vincent to mom first. I was so overwhelmed I don't remember much, but everyone was laughing and crying. I couldn't wait to go to sleep in my own bed. The stress and time difference had really caught up with us.
In closing, it's August, 2000 and Vincent is now 15 months old and the most precious baby. He's healthy and happy and so special to us. It feels like he's been here with us forever and I can hardly remember what life was like without him. He's opened up a whole new world to us and made our lives complete. This is the words to a song that I dedicate to our son Vincent.
I KNEW I LOVED YOU by Savage Garden, 1999
Maybe it's intuition but some things you just don't question like in your eyes I see my future in an instant And there it goes I think I've found my best friend I know that it might sound more than a little crazy But I believe I knew I loved you before I met you I think I dreamed you into life I knew I loved you before I met you I have been waiting all my life
There's just no rhyme or reason Only this sense of completion And in your eyes I see the missing pieces I'm searching for I think I've found my best friend
I know that it might sound more than a little crazy But I believe I knew I loved you before I met you I think I dreamed you into life I knew I loved you before I met you I have been waiting all my life
A thousand angels dance around you I am complete now that I've found you
I knew I loved you before I met you I think I dreamed you into life I knew I loved you before I met you I have been waiting all my life
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