Finally Here!

Hey Everyone! We are finally in country and are so happy to be! As Mom posted earlier, me and Dad had a flight cancellation on the 19th when snow in Europe was slicking up all the runways. They put out cots and some type of chocolatey-granola  bar-like thing and TONS of water bottles, and a few people took some. Needless to say though, the airport in Germany was a crowded building full of mayhem.

Some people who saw that other flights to their destination were available stood in line for 4 hours+ just to be wait-listed. Flight gates were changing constantly, and hence people were running in every direction just looking to reach their long-awaited flight. In the end, though, me and dad got on a flight and were in country very quickly. From there we took another long trip, this time in the form of a six-hour train ride. We had our car almost entirely to ourselves, and we caught up on some much-needed sleep. Once we got to Julia's district, we were met by a very nice driver who spoke very fluent English. He then took us to our apartment, which exceeded my expectations entirely.

Albeit internet connections are very tempermental, it is an awesome place to stay for our trip.

From there, we got our first visit with the princess herself! We were so excited to see her. (I have a couple videos qeued up for upload on vimeo, and will post them when they are available. Pictures will follow as well.).


Going to Julia! from Caleb Lococo on Vimeo.

Julia's district over all is a very metropolitan city with everything we need to get by for 10 days or so. But there are many cultural differences I am yet to adjust to. I come from a family of non-smokers. None of my relatives smoke any more either. So being in a country where the smell is not uncommon is a bit odd. In the same respect, we in America truly are so priveleged with our resources. Whenever it snows, you can expect plows to come through at any moment on the double. Here, ice is ice and snow is snow, and you walk on it anywhere anytime. The sidewalks are literally caked with a good two or three inches of snow and ice that form a very hard, very slippery walkway that makes you feel like you're in March of the Penguins or something. But on the whole, i'm just happy to be in the same country as my little sister :)

Tomorrow begins the paper chase to get Julia with us ASAP. Please pray that all moves smoothly and that we can be home soon!  We even bought a stroller tonight to cart her around the city and through the airports on the way home.

(Editorial comment by Dad - isn't it too cute to see brother and sister finally united? Can't wait to get the rest of the crew in on the snuggling).

They have arrived in Julia's country

We just got a text from Tom and he and Caleb have arrived in Julia's country.  They must be beyond exhausted!  Now they will catch a train to Julia's region.  Those poor guys.  I hope they can get a good rest on Monday night so that they are ready for their hectic day on Tuesday collecting up all of Julia's documents.

Thank you for your prayers

We just recevied a text from Tom that he and Caleb are boarding a plane for the capital of Julia's country.  In short, the getting to go where they need to go :)  Once they get off the plane, they need to board a train to get to Julia's region.  This will be a trip that they will never forget!

Thank you, again.

Stuck in Germany

Tom and Caleb left yesterday for EE to bring our Julia home.  They have been sitting in an airport in Germany for the past 12 hours, trying to get to the capital in Julia's country.  Severe snow storms have hit this area of Europe and the airlines have been brought to a stand still.  I'm thinking of the families this past summer that were effected by the volcano ash that was floating above Europe.  Snow or volcanic ash, if it isn't one thing it is another!  Tom has sent us an e-mail explaining what it is like in the airport.  They have set up cots and put out water bottles and Twix bars to keep the "masses" from getting too cranky.  I wonder how that is working ;)

We would appreciate prayers for Tom and Caleb and all those traveling during this difficult time.  I know there are other RR families who are traveling right now too.  Some for their first trip and others returning to bring their children home.  Let's hope that everyone reaches their destination safe and sound.

Trip #2

Hello, everyone.  Sorry for the silence during the past couple of days.   Tom and I arrived home on Tuesday night.  Wow, it was great to see our children.  We had missed them so much.  It was great to be back in America as well.  We are so blessed in our country.

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind of getting ready for Trip #2.  Tom and our oldest son will be returning to bring Julia home.  Our son (who is 15 years old) is so excited about this trip and can't wait to meet his new little sister.

Grandma and Grandpa have returned to the warmth of Florida.  We are so grateful for the help they gave us while we were away.

Tom & I want to thank all of the people who have helped us during this adoption journey.  We have been blessed with financial support, prayers, and friends & family helping out with the care of our children at home.  We know that all of the help has made it possible for us to bring Julia home.  Thank you!

So, once Tom and Caleb are back in Julia's country, I'm sure they will be updating the blog often.  We will miss them on Christmas, but we know they are bringing home such a beautiful gift with them, Julia.

Please join us in praying for all of families that will be apart this Christmas for many different reasons.  Also, please pray for all the children around the world who wait for a family.  Maybe by next Christmas they will be home with their new Forever Families.

On the way home

We're back in the capital after a quick and uneventful train ride.  We're back in the same apartment we stayed in our first night in country, so things are looking comfortingly familiar.

Here is a shot of the difficult parting at the last visit with Julia before we left.

In one of our last walks around the local city it was snowing heavily on Saturday afternoon.  Saturday is the day local brides get their pictures taken in the local parks.  Even when it is freezing out!

From Adoption Trip 1

This spot kept reminding us of the scene in "Mary Poppins" where they all hop into the chalk paintings in the park.



This footbridge is a popular place for wedding shots, when it is not covered with ice that is.

The strangest thing was watching brides smoking and spitting while waiting for their pictures.  Interesting!

So tomorrow we make a quick stop by the US embassy to sign some papers and then first thing Tuesday we fly for home.  America - here we come!

Court Day - Part 2 - two heart attacks and a decision

Ok - it's Friday night over here, and we already told you the big news earlier in the day.  The way the court day happened was almost as interesting as the outcome.

Our appointment was for 11am.  We were picked up in the city at 10am because the driver also had to bring a couple other officials needed for the adoption hearing to the courthouse.  As we sped out of the city at around 65-70 miles per hour, a policeman on the side of the road motions for us to pull over.  The driver nearly locks up the brakes on the highway, slides off the pavement and through a few potholes.  We start wondering if this whole altercation is going to make us miss our court appointment.  We find out later it was a dispute over speed limits, and they claim we were at least 10 kilometers per hour under the published speed limit and the police are just harassing them. That was heart attack number one.

The courthouse is a long two story brick building in the middle of the countryside.  There are always cars and people swarming all around it like you would not believe.  In all prior visits, we have never been allowed inside.  As we enter the building there is a metal detector active that you have to walk through and a security guard standing by.  Everyone sets it off, but no one is stopped or examined.  Interesting.

We are led to a waiting area in the upstairs hallway.  All doors on the hallway are shut at all times, but people come in and out of each door about once every 30 seconds.  It all appears quite comical when you can't read any of the signs and have no idea what is going on.  We wait for a while and the facilitator briefs us on some questions we may get and how the hearing will proceed.  Shortly all our party has arrived but we have not been called yet.  It's about noon when our name is eventually called.  We enter the courtroom, but still no judge.  We wait for another 10-15 minutes and then he appears.  He reads the introductory papers on the case, and then calls a five minute recess.  Hmmm.  The interpreter politely tells us "no one knows what is going on".  Ok - that clarifies things.  Eventually the judge returns and proceeds to read through a number of documents and recommendations regarding this adoption from the orphanage, local administration and state department.  Everyone is giving us a green light.  We are called to answer some basic questions - name, date of birth, address, occupation and why we are adopting this child.  The judge calls a fifteen minute recess to issue a decision in the case.

Snow is falling heavily outside the window as we wait for the judge and his two assistants/witnesses to return. Everyone makes small talk about the weather and what it is like where we come from.  We actually get to talk to our facilitator more then we have since we have been here about her adoption work and the orphanage in general.  Then the three men return and begin to read their official decision.  No big deal, right?  This is when heart attack number two begins.

As the judge reads the first couple paragraphs our facilitator's jaw drops, she sighs loudly and shakes her head.  We look at her eyes for some sign this is going to be ok.  Nothing but a look of fear and confusion.  In a few minutes that felt like a few years I start playing back in my head.  "What could we have possibly done to cause this judge to deny or delay this adoption?"  No answers come.  He continues to read and the courtroom is dead silent.

Then our facilitator's face begins to relax.  She translates - "Child's new name will be Julia Mary,...  this petition is approved,...".  A wave of relief washes over us.  We're done.  Julia will be our daughter if nothing adverse happens during the ten day waiting period.

What was the fear and confusion about?  Communication problems.  The judge is speaking Ukrainian.  Our facilitator's primary language is Russian.  She is struggling to convey it all in English for us.  She thought he was saying no to our adoption petition, but he was speaking about something else.  The joys of international adoption.

Sorry for the long story, but it demonstrates what international adoption is really like.  It is long, complex and confusing, and at every moment it hangs on many people doing the right thing.  Any misstep or miscommunication along the way can halt things temporarily or permanently.  In that moment everything hung on that judge believing that it was in this little girl's best interest to move across the sea to a new life with a new family in a foreign culture.  Thank God he did.  The administration even said we are "very good people".

The courtroom was strictly business.  No teary pictures with the judge or anything.  A couple quick hand shakes and congratulations.  Here are some smiles outside the courtroom afterward.

So another major step is behind us.  We got to spend the evening with Julia and celebrate this little moment.

Court Day 1 from Tom Lococo on Vimeo.

See her big smile at the end?  We think that is because she knows court is over.  ;-)

Stay tuned for the trip home and the beginning of Trip 2 to bring Julia back to America.