This is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you..

How many times did I hear that as a child? This kept running through my head on our last day with Vic before leaving for home. Though this certainly isn't punishment (as was what normally followed above statement) Bob and I are sure that this temporary separation is much more difficult on us than on Vic.


Bob teaching Vic about RJ-11 phone jacks.

We spent about 3.5 weeks with our littlest son, Vic, and will spend approx. 3.5 weeks without him. Just enough time for him to call us mama and dada, and now just enough time to forget about us.. maybe. Okay, he hasn't exactly _said_ mama yet, but he does give me kisses.. close enough in my book. Fortunately, we're not leaving him in a scary environment; the baby house is all that he knows. He's been in Room 5 for about 3 months (the 9-12 month old babies), and he's comfortable there. He's fed, changed, sleeps well, and has a little time to play - all the basics he needs. We're the ones feeling like we left a major part of ourselves behind.

Today is day 4 of our 15 day appeals period... a time when our hearts could be forever shattered and I pray will speed by without a problem. Once the 15 day appeals period is over, the court decision previously granted will become final and Victor Hugo Sims will forever be ours. If you are a praying person, or even if you're not, please put in a few good words for us and Vic. Pray that there will be no appeal to our adoption decree, that the time will just fly by, that Vic won't be too confused and sad without us there, and that I will be able to return at the earliest possible time (3 weeks from now) to bring home my precious son.


Laura, Vic & Bob in our last photo before leaving. Think Vic knows something is up.

The last morning in Karaganda was crazy, hectic, and very emotional. Although I didn't cry in court while giving my speech, I cried like a baby when leaving our Vic. My last words to him (& Bob's too) were "I love you, son. We'll _always_ come back for you". Our schedule that last morning in Karaganda went something like this...

- Wake up around 6:30, which is easy to do since the sun comes up at 5AM!
- Pack, eat and get ready for last visit.
- Clean the apartment, take out trash (Bob).
- Wonder what that sudden foul odor is in the apartment that smells a lot like goat poop (Laura).
- Run outside and rid shoes of goat poop picked up at the trash bin (Bob). Re-Sweep & Mop floors clean of goat poop (Laura).
- 10:00 Visit with Vic, give gifts to the baby house staff and coordination team.
- 10:30 Say goodbye to our son for an unknown amount of time and head for airport.
- Fly to Almaty and run into three couples we know from our baby house at the in-country staff office - Todd, Lisa & baby Tatiana; Pancho & Scott with Deanna & Valen; and the couple from Hawaii (sorry! can't remember names, only saw them for a few hours) who adopted Leko from Vic's room.

Our flight from Almaty to Frankfurt left at 3:30AM - ouch! Fortunately we were on the same flight as two families from our baby house which helped pass the time as we waited to board. Once in flight, the lights went out and thankfully nearly everyone on board went to sleep. We didn't see the other two families until after we had deplaned and were in the Frankfurt terminal. Bob and I really hope to see them again and promised to keep in touch. It was just amazing to see all the girls with their families as they looked so dramatically different than when they lived at the baby house. I'm amazed and relieved at how much good a bath and 24hour love can do for kids - they just thrive!


Three Karaganda adoptive families: we've just arrived at the Frankfurt Terminal and are saying our goodbyes. Todd & Lisa Henke with Tatiana, Pancho & Scott with Deanna and Valen, Bob & Laura.

We thought our flight from Frankfurt to Stuttgart was uneventful, however we've just discovered that Bob left his passport in the seat-back pocket. Whoops! Honestly, there are so many stamps in both of our passports that it's time to get new ones, so I'm trying to tell him not to sweat it. Bob and I have done so much tourist travel since they were issued in 2000 that there isn't much space left for stamps. He'll contact our passport office tomorrow (Tuesday) to cancel the passport number and have a new one issued. The good news is that since he won't be returning on the 2nd trip, we don't have to be in a panic to get a replacement quickly.


Home again with Grandma (Glenda), Laura, Bob & Jack.

It was sooo good to see our Jack again when we arrived in Stuttgart. Above is a photo of us all at the airport in Stuttgart. Jack picked out the outfit himself! Note the superman wristlets and bouquet of flowers. :o)

We went straight from the airport to our favorite breakfast spot, Bakerei Schill in Denkendorf. Yum!! I think that once we got home, our chief problem has been trying to fight the urge to lounge in our oh-so-comfortable bed. My goodness we have it good here. Our house is warm and inviting, we're surrounded by our beloved family, the fridge & pantry are full of tasty treats, we can brush teeth with the tap water, and we have the world's most comfortable bed. Oh my goodness have we missed being home.

Speaking of that comfy bed... I'm heading for it. I'll post tomorrow about today's shenanigans along with photos.