After what seemed like an eternity, we got the call we have been waiting for since last February 2008. That call was a specific timeline that included the date we would bring our son home for good.
Prior to that, we have a few last hurdles to face. The first of which is a court date with a Russian judge. Once we make it through the Russian court system, we will return home to wait out a 10-day recision period. I can only imagine that this will seem more like 10 months, than just shy of two weeks.
Once the 10 day period is up, we hop a flight back to St. Petersburg (yeah, it sounds easy, but it's not) to pick him up.
One would think that you would, at this point, be able to return home and start our new lives together, but you would be wrong! Instead, we spend almost a week in St. Petersburg getting his paperwork finished, then it's off to Moscow via an overnight train trip.
Once in Moscow, we visit the US Embassy for, guess what, more paperwork. This should only take a couple of days, but with the weekend, maybe a total of 4 or 5 days.
Then comes what we have been dreading the most from the start of this process, the plane ride home. Neither of us are really sure what to expect, but we are prepared for a VERY LONG trip home! The combination of us not knowing him well, him not knowing us well, all three of us tired of traveling should make for an intersting flight home. I guess we just need to put it all in perspective that, a) it's only 24 hours, b) it's all worth it in the end!
Next post will be from warm and sunny St. Petersburg! Until then, Пока Пока!
I'm so happy for you guys and hope to be right behind you. I'll be reading to find out how everything goes and will send good thoughts for your Court date and bringing Max home.
ReplyDelete-Anita Butler
I'm really happy for you - you will have your son home before you know it (even though it does seem like a long process). God bless you.
ReplyDeleteTeena