Look how long it's been since our little princess got her forever family:

Monday, March 31, 2008

Naming

People keep asking me about the name Mary Margaret, so I thought I would write it down. The reason the blog is named Mary Margaret Maybe is because I wanted to use the name, but my husband did not like it. So, I just kept referring to her as Mary Margaret (rather than "her" or "our daughter", etc.) Lots of people do this when they are pregnant, my brother-in-law names all his unborn kids outlandish names that he calls the baby the entire pregnancy, but that is never the "real" name. So anyway, that's sort of the idea.




I got Mary from my precious 99 year old grandmother who kept me every day after school until I was old enough to drive. She is a saint. She is responsible for my belief in God to this day, I truly believe it because she talked to me about Jesus all the time. For her, being a believer was like going to school or work, it's just something you had to do and you didn't really have too much to think about, she couldn't imagine another way of life. So she instilled that in most of the people around her. My oldest son is named after her husband (my grandfather, obviously.) In addition, my dad's grandmother was named Mary (and she adopted my grandmother, so she certainly is someone who would have understood our heart) and my husband's great-grandmother's name was Mary, so that seems very fitting.




Margaret comes from my dad's mom. She was an amazing woman too. One of the strongest women I've ever known. She was also a very strong believer. I am so proud to be her granddaughter. She passed away last year, but her legacy carries on for sure. For one thing, I look ALOT like her mother. It's weird, I have this old photo of her mother from probably 100 years ago and it's eerie looking to me because it resembles me so much. I have that photo in Mary Margaret's room. Anyway, since she just passed away, I had gotten alot of her things from my dad. And very much by accident, he brought me this pink quilt with butterflies on it. He wasn't actually bringing me the quilt, he was bringing a mirror and used the quilt to wrap it. But that became the anchor piece in her room. After that, my aunt sent me a box of Grandmother's things that included the aprons that are now hanging on the wall. My dad then brought me a quilt box and a little rocker that were her's and the quilt box contained the coverlet that is now Mary Margaret's curtain. I absolutely LOVE walking in her room and being surrounded by all my grandmother's things. My grandparents worked in a factory and farmed all their lives. I can remember spending time with them in the summers after they retired. I would stand on the fence and watch their baby pigs for hours on end. It was my delight when there would be an occassional runt to bring inside and nurse back to health before it could be returned to it's mother. There was no "Charlotte's Web" scenario that I can remember with Grandmother's runts. :) My middle son is named after her husband.




I am so proud and thankful to call these two women my grandmothers. And I feel like my daughter would have a good start to be named after two beautiful, strong, God-fearing, salt-of-the-earth women. So at first, Brian would just smirk when I would say Mary Margaret. But slowly, it caught on and everyone started calling her Mary Margaret. My kids pray for Mary Margaret. My friends call her Mary Margaret. We refer to her room as "Mary Margaret's room." So at this point, her name will most likely be Mary Margaret. However, the one glitch is that both our adopted sons were already named Russian names that equated to the American versions of our grandparents names. That was certainly a nice little pearl. But what are the odds that our Russian daughter will be named Mary or Margaret already? We will just have to wait and see. I can certainly foresee having to revise the name somehow to reflect her Russian heritage, so we are staying open, but for now, that's what we're calling her.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

THIS is why I NEEEEED a daughter!

Okay, I wish I had a photo of my husband today, with a miniature jack-hammer, breaking up our tile floor in the boys bathroom. Yes, he rented a small jackhammer to break up the tile and lids were falling off my pots and pans from my hanging rack downstairs. It's was funny. The boys thought it was great. Brian thought it was the best. Actually, the better photo would have been ME in the goggles with the jack-hammer. Brian thought it was so fun he just insisted that I try it. He kept saying, "It's fun, try it!" So I did. I hammered about two or three seconds, gave him back the ear-plugs and goggles and told him that you must need more body parts to "get it", because I didn't! And that, dear readers, is the very reason I NEED a daughter. I just don't get all the things my boys think are so much fun.

I realize the postings are getting a bit obsessive now. It's pretty sad the addiction I have developed to this "hobby". I told B that I wish I had more things to blog about. Maybe I should start a blog about blogging! :)

"Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in heart of all who love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger." The Breastplate of St. Patrick

Friday, March 28, 2008

Is the Earth still spinning????

Well, I will have to say that my head poked up out of the mole hole today and I realized that there is actually other stuff going on in life outside of my adoption and blog-world! Wow, who knew? I thought for sure everything had stopped and I was living in some sort of blog Matrix-land! :)

Man, am I in nesting mode. I hung curtains, hung a bamboo shade in my bathroom, frosted the glass on my shower, oiled the hardwoods (by hand), VACCUUMED (man, wonder when the last time I did that? I don't actually own a vaccuum so I used the shop vac! :) I even did the steps, by gosh! Don't say I'm not domestic! On top of that, I went to Target and a fabric sale. They had lots of lovely polyester, but that's another story and I refuse to digress to that level.

I am very excited, several of the blog friends I follow are getting court dates, making first and second trips, bringing home little angels... it's a victory when others you've followed are progressing, even when you're on the sidelines. And it's always good when others are moving because that means we're one referral closer! But we did get some news today that there are starting to be "rumors" or stirrings about referrals. That's as close as we've been so far. Nothing concrete, but just hearing that girls are going to be clearing the database soon, or something like that. That feels much closer, even if in reality we are no closer than ever. Honestly, even if they say absolutely NOTHING, I just love to find e-mail from our agency in the inbox. So, that's my high for the day. Pretty sad, huh? But at least my house is clean. The absolute quote of the day was from my friend Michelle. It's in referrence to the age child we are looking for, compared to the age child her family is waiting for. I don't know why I laughed out loud at this, you'd probably have to be in the midst of insane adoption land to get it, but I'll leave you with it anyway, "I have crib bedding!"

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Do you want the good news or the bad news?

What do you want first?

Okay, the bad... we did NOT get registered in St. Pete Monday. (Hushed silence falls over the crowd!) The REALLY bad part is that this time there is actually THREE weeks until the next time we can be registered because March 31 falls on a Monday, that means the second Monday in April is actually the third week of April. DEEP EXHALE!!!!! Notice the ticker at the top says 19 days to go... not 12 or 11 like it should be!

The Good? The other family whose documents were sent with ours DID get registered AND they received a referral the next day. YEAH!!!! That really is good news because hopefully it will work the same way for us.

I talked to our agency rep and she feels certain that we will be registered next time around. See, I'm already obsessing less. And she thinks they have an idea of other children that will be coming off the database, so unless a Russian family adopts those kids in the meantime, we should get a referral quickly enough. Nothing is a guarantee in this world, we just have to trust God's timing in this and I do trust that the other family was registered because their child was off the database and ready to come home. I trust that we did not get registered because God has already planned the daughter(s) we will adopt and she/they aren't ready for us yet. I know His plans are sovereign. I know that He will prevail. I know there are so many folks praying for us. I feel "Held", like the Natalie Grant song says. And I know that it will happen in His perfect timing. My best friend told me yesterday that she felt like I was actually back on planet earth, that even my voice was different. And I truly do feel that I have taken another step in submitting this to God. But folks, please pray with me becasue I feel that this submissive slope I am standing on is very slippery and I could start to loose my grip at any moment (just like when I looked at the calendar and saw three more weeks to go, I almost "went there".) Maybe this is the level God was waiting for to bring us a victory. But if not, I will cling to the example in Habakkuk (I think I've quoted this before.)

Habakkuk 1:5 "Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days - You would not believe if you were told." AND Habakkuk 2:1-3 "I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart; And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me, and how I may reply when I am reproved. Then the Lord answered me and said, "...the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will NOT fail. Though it tarries, WAIT FOR IT; For it will certainly come, it will NOT DELAY." (emphasis mine)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Still Quiet of Morning

Our house is quiet this morning. It's a stark contrast between now and five minutes from now when I will wake the boys up and a rush to rival the NY Subway will ensue. I just went up to give the boys their initial nudge before the "real" wake-up occurs. They look like little angels when they sleep and I still love to watch them, even at 8, 6, and 3, in that state of peaceful bliss. I can only imagine the thrill of little curls on a pillow when our daughter is asleep in her sea of pink.

Yesterday was sheer torture, probably the slowest day of the whole process for me. But we made it through and today is a new day. Today we will find out if we are registered or if we start the two-week cycle again. But last night as I finally gave up at 8:30 and decided to put the long day to rest, I realized that it doesn't really matter if we made the registration this time. Yes, I will be disappointed (I'm not made of steel), but I know it WILL happen eventually and I do know that God is in control. I woke up super-early this morning because I couldn't sleep (as usual) and started reading my Bible and a devotional that I am trying to work my way through and all the verses just kept speaking to me. And the main thing they kept saying is that in everything we do, EVERYTHING, the sole purpose is to glorify God. Funny that it didn't say one thing about making me happy! :) So, I just had to remind myself that there is a very good chance that none of this is actually ABOUT me... it's about bringing glory to the Father. And that is something I haven't done very well over the past few weeks. I have been scratching and clawing for this adoption and my posts have even moved away from what I feel Him speaking to me to being more focussed on myself and what's going on every day. This is not the direction I want to head. I have said before that the most amazing part of the adoption process for me, and the reason it's so "addictive" is that I am so totally reliant on the Father in a way I have not been able to duplicate outside of adoption. I feel a closer connection to Him during this process. Just after an adoption, I wake up every morning with a purpose, and that is to acclimate this new little miracle into our family. There's a greater purpose than just me at play. And I have tended to lose sight of that over the past few weeks. Instead of pouring my disappointment on Christ, I have wallowed in it. I am still very hopeful that today will be THE DAY that we get the good news. But if it's not, I have my marching orders for the next two weeks... rely on Him. "God's voice is Peace... the Enemy's voice is fear and chaos." When I read that this morning I shuddered because I realize very clearly whose voice I've been hearing recently... fear and chaos pretty well describe the last two weeks of my life. I am speaking it out of being today! I am NOT going to allow the prince of darkness to steal my hope.

It's a two verse day:

"In him, we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory..." Ephesians 1:11-12

"that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self." Ephesians 3:16

Monday, March 24, 2008

An Attempt at Humor

Okay, here are the TOP TEN things to do with yourself on the day of registration when it is your fifth deadline and your agency is closed so you don't know if it happened or not:

1. Overdose on potato chips

2. Clean your house like the queen is coming (my husband might request a slowdown so the house could stay clean all the time! :)

3. Stalk your inbox

4. Stalk other bloggers

5. Be completely irrational when people try to talk to you (this includes your kids)

6. Pray!

7. Eat 8 day old pizza for lunch. Hey, maybe food poisoning will take my mind off the calendar!

8. Obsess!

9. Pray some more!

10. Count the hours until 5:00 (happy hour.) At least I know that one is going to roll around today! :)

Truly, this is almost bordering on cruelty. Right now our dossier is either registered in St. Pete, or NOT (again) but there's no way to find out. I asked my husband if he had a feeling one way or the other and he said he's 50/50. The spiritual vitamin I picked up at the Y today was the 23rd Psalm, so that's probably not a very good omen, huh? The only positive thing I can say is that the first song on my shuffle list today was a song by Israel Houghton "Not Forgotten". That was pretty hopeful. The song says "I am not forgotten, God knows my name." I am reminded that God truly does know my name. And not only that, he knows my daughter's name and He has a plan. So this is what I am reduced to... trying to find messages in random Bible verses, songs, and polling people! :)

Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for God is with me. His rod and his staff they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall dwell in me forever and ever!

Psalm 23

Friday, March 21, 2008

Easter

Well, we're off for the Easter weekend to visit my in-laws. When I return home, it will already be March 24 in Russia. So the day we have been waiting for is ALMOST here..... again! Check back Monday for more progress... or if you hear shouts of joy coming from far away, it's probably me screaming Hallelujah at the top of my lungs!: )

I will leave you with this amazing verse... let the message of this verse sink in a bit and I hope you will be as amazed as I am at our Lord's capacity! Happy Easter!

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty Savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in His love, He will sing joyfully because of you."

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Room

I just had to post some photo of M's room. And a few of the outfits that await her arrival. I can't help it, I've been waiting eight years to buy something pink... this is called "waiting for adoption" therapy! :)






Shhhhhhh... do you hear that?

Wow, I do! Quiet! I should call Katrina today because there is NO noise at my house! :) Katrina (at CSS) says she always knows its me on the phone before I say a word because of the noise in the background. What, Katrina, you don't recognize that sound? It's the loud din of happy, growing boys... fighting! Anyway, the reason you wouldn't hear it today is that my kiddos have all gone off to Maggie's (grandma) house and Brian and I have THREE DAYS sans kiddos. So, what am I doing with my time? Well, this morning I am reading a bunch of blogs because my husband had the NERVE to call me at 7:15 and tell me he forgot to put the trash out before he left.... ARGH! And I wanted to see if anyone is getting any happy news on their adoption. It turns out that some folks are traveling, some are getting referrals, and some are in Russia right now bringing their babies home. YAY! But some are waiting for the world's slowest government agency (CIS) to do their JOB, and some are like me... waiting and waiting with no particular issue, just waiting. But, ahhhh, the sound of silence. :)

So, it's pouring down rain here and I have two wet dogs in my garage. I hope it stops because later today when I finish painting M & M's dresser the dogs are getting kicked out one way or the other. But that's AFTER Brian and I get a couple's massage. I've never done that before, but I am so excited... I can feel the stress melting away already. I mean, I've had a massage, but not a "couples massage" so it should be fun. Then we are going to breakfast, then I am going to attempt to finish M's room. I can't wait to get it done so I can just admire it... no really, I want to get it done so I can actually focus on keeping my house a little cleaner, sewing more clothes for her, and basically doing anything else other than thinking of what to do next in her room. One thing I might do is read more blogs! :)

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Submission....

Well, I am finding it much easier to submit to this process since last Friday. I have just been actually trying to even practice a posture of submission in my prayer time (which is usually about ten seconds before the boys feet hit the ground.) And I mean posture in the literal sense. It has really helped me to just have my head bowed, my shoulders down, and be "bowed" to my Lord.

The blessing of the week has been that I found two support groups on-line to tap into. (Thanks TH) One is for clients of our particular agency (CSS) and the other is for parents who are or have adopted from St. Petersburg region. This has been SO helpful to me in passing the weekend and feeling connected to others in my same boat. There is really something so helpful about talking to others who are in our unique position. It's funny how much these lists can come to mean to you and what friendships are forged. I still keep in touch with a couple that I met through our first adoption. It's an invaluable source of information too. I have already learned some things about St. Pete region that are a bit different from Moscow. The agency, of course, can give you the technical specs of what that looks like, but it's different when you live it.

So, I'm taking a deep breath at this point and just exhaling slowly. Brian keeps reminding me that God never said following His will would be a breeze, He only said that is where His blessing and protection lie. I am committed to this region, process, agency, etc. unless I hear very clearly from God that He has other plans for me. The really obvious thing about this is that it's so much easier to live in this state than the state I have been in for the past few weeks. I really think THAT is what God meant when He said "....His yoke is easy and burden light." Not that your circumstances would be easy, but that it's infinitely easier to be in His will and walking in His way than it is to be going solo because He is shouldering the load for me.

Please continue to pray for us though. I know right now the clouds have cleared for me and I have found some serenity, but I know that my stamina is weak and I will falter if the road is too bumpy. I have no faith in myself, only God's ability to carry me through. I want you all to hold me accountable to submission! I think this is one part of adoption that is so addictive because we have to live in such a communion with our Savior to get through this that you don't want to leave that place. And PLEASE, keep Mary Margaret in your prayers. All this time while I am just wanting to hold her, she is likely hungry, alone, and needing what we have for her here. As we wait in joyful hope for the resurrection of Christ at Easter, we also wait in faithful hope for our union with our daughter!

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
Phil. 4:7

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Clarity, perhaps? It's all about life in so many ways...

Okay, as with most things, time offers a little clarity, even if it doesn't heal all. Yesterday as I was in the last class of my Bible study, I realized that I was speaking submission to God's plan for us, but I wasn't actually living it. As we were discussing what submission to God really looked like, I started getting this visual of what I define as submission in my dog. Okay, I know, I know, if you know Vince and his incorageable ways, you're thinking this is a bit of a stretch, but work with me here. To be fully submitted, it requires more than his butt on the ground in a sit position. If his mind is still moving forward, even though his body is in obedience posture, he's not really submitting. And I realized that this describes me in this process. I have my butt on the ground in the submissive posture to God, but my mind is moving on to plan B and C "in case God doesn't come through for me" or something like that. So, as I suspected, God was really waiting for ME (rather than the other way around) as usual, to be able to move forward. Isn't it so funny that so many times we think we have to wait for God's timing, when in reality, God's ready, it's us He's waiting on. So, not to say I am anywhere close to where I need to be to move forward on this, but just finally realized that God's got some "stuff" he's weeding out of me before He can give me His full blessing and protection.

Brian went to a men's retreat a couple of weeks ago and one of the things that really stuck with him was that God didn't say, "Follow me and it will be smooth sailing." He actually said that it wouldn't be easy, it would not be fun sometimes, (after all, look at what Jesus' life was like... he was virtually homeless and fully dependent on the love and generosity of those around him, but he was always provided for) but He did say we would always be held in His protection if we were walking in His way. And the price is ALWAYS worth the outcome with God. That's the beauty of the whole thing.

This is unrelated to our adoption, but this seems to be a recurring theme for Brian and I with people all around us right now, so I need a place to just lay down my thoughts. This seems like as good a place as any. Seems like it keeps being revealed to us that there are many people around us who are either pro-choice, or at least pro-choice with restrictions and in some cases. I have such a hard time processing how my Christian friends can have a belief that so vastly veers from the nature of God. I just don't understand this point of view. I have tried to have intelligent, non-emotional conversations on the topic, but I still have yet to hear anything that I could even sort of believe. Last night one of our friends, who I had always considered to be a fairly "fundamental" believer, revealed to us that she is pro-choice. Her argument was that she didn't see this as a "religious" (or moral) issue, but as strictly political. This prompted a conversation from Brian and I this morning about how that can be and just trying to evaluate our views in light of that. Do we invite government into too much by favoring overturn of Roe v. Wade? The bottom line is that I believe that God can redeem ANY life. This friend of ours argued that in some cases, there are things worse than death. I guess in her opinion, this might include life in an orphanage. And who is to judge which things are worse and which ones aren't? Do we limit God's ability to redeem the lowest of low, the worst of situations when we become judge and jury on whether this soul has a right to a chance at life? Who said that "hard" equals "unworthy"? At what point is hard too hard? I mean, how do you determine? Is there a certain level of poverty below which no life should be sustained? Is there a certain level of deviance from "acceptable norms"? Doesn't that sound a little "Hitler-ish"? I just CAN'T seem to make sense of this argument. I know people who have carried babies to term with untold amount of deformities and syndromes, only to be surprised by the immense blessing they received from their committment to doing the "right" thing inthe eyes of God. Haven't you experienced that, where you find yourself in the midst of something you would never have chosen, wondering why on earth God would ask you to endure something so miserably painful, only to find that He brought you through the desert to deliver you into a land of milk and honey? Really, Moses journey for 40 years was a pretty good foreboding of what the Lord has in store for us if we only perservere. Anyway, it's just so sad to me and I needed a place to put it down. There are so few of you reading this at this point that I'm sure it won't set the world on it's ears anyway! :) I think I have about four followers.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

So Much for Mother's Intuition

Well, I guess that sixth sense I was having must have been some sort of precursor to a nervous breakdown or something. Suffice it to say we did NOT get registered with the MOE... yet again! Turns out, the fifth time was NOT that charm.

Okay, so what else could go wrong you ask? Well, apparently, DHL sent our POA (the latest last minute document) to St. Pete as directed, but then, for some unknown reason, forwarded it to Frankfurt, Germany, not the CSS office in St. Pete. UUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Do you hear me stomping my feet? I am two jumps away from a full blown fit here!

SO, what now, you may ask. Brian and I have asked that too. Does it seem like maybe God is trying to tell us something? When I get to heaven, is He going to say, "Dang, Ondrea, I did everything but write it on the wall!" But, alas, the agency wants us to hang in there for ONE MORE CYCLE... so that's what we're doing. They PROMISE us that we will be registered on March 24, barring the rapture or other act of God. So, I told them we would stick it out. But if we don't get registered on March 24, then I have asked them to please forward our documents back to Moscow and let's start fresh in another region. Somehow, I just have this feeling that March 24 will roll around and there will not be good news. At this point, I want to go get the bleepin' documents myself and walk them over to the MOE... if only I could speak Russian!

Anyway, wanna hear another curve ball? (It just keeps getting better.) They told us that this all might be a moot point anyway because they are now hearing that there is only ONE girl available in the St. Pete region and she is 27 months old. The age is not a problem since we are approved for up to 30 months. But, the problem is that if there is (God forbid) a problem with the referral, there is no one else to offer us. She did say, however, that there is a young sibling group of two girls if we would consider that. I sort of laughed at that one thinking Brian would have a heart attack if I even mentioned it. But I think the Holy Spirit must have possessed him for a few minutes because he said he was open. I asked who this man was and what he had done with my husband, but he just laughed. He did say that we would never be able to leave the house with five kids and probably would never be asked to visit grandparents ever again. But that's okay, they can visit us (and stay with Ashley or EJ 'cause there'll be no room in the inn.) :) hahaha Don't freak out, I don't think we need to start planning for two anytime soon, I'd be happy just to be registered, it seems we can't even cross that bridge, much less get a referral.

I really must continually remind myself that God has a plan, He has a daughter for us, He IS in control of this process. I have laid my burden down (or tried to, anyway) on the THRONE of the living God. The Creator of the universe is on the case and these few days we have waited are truly but a breath for Him. I know in my head that these things are true... the Holy Spirit needs to get busy telling my heart to be patient and rest in Him. Truly, truly, I trust that God has a very perfect plan for us. I count it all joy, as Paul said, and really I do know that this is leading me somewhere God needs me to go. We have places to go and worlds to conquer, and I just can't get there carrying some of this "stuff" he's waiting for me to set down. SO... down with discouragement and fear, anxiety and impatience. I am going to have to get busy getting it right or this is never going to happen.

Deuteronomy 14:29
...the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

Monday, March 10, 2008

Today's the Day

Okay, it's 10:45 PM in Nashville, March 10. But in Russia, it's 7:45 AM, March 11. Today is the "make up" day the MOE was going to take dossiers since February 25 and March 10 were both Russian holidays. I have a hope that our dossier was going to be registered today. HOWEVER, the director of the agency sent me an e-mail and asked me to call her tomorrow, so I am prepared that it might be bad news. This is the FOURTH registration date that we have come to, so I have very high hopes that this will be the one.

IF we get registered today (tomorrow), then we could have a photo of our daughter as early as next week! Just the thought of that is almost more than I dare let myself believe.

Well, it's off to bed, not that I'll get a wink of sleep.

Romans 5:2-5

... And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perserverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

My friend Sonja wrote this verse on a post card for me when she found out that I was pregnant with Connor. That was four years ago. It's amazing how this verse just keeps meaning so much to me at every passageway in my life.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

More delays

If you haven't heard, the last registration day, February 25, was a holiday in Russia. So we are living for the next date, which is March 10. But as it turns out, March 10 is also a Russian holiday. Graciously, they have offered to accept dossiers on March 11 so that we don't have to wait until the end of March. However, the representative in St. Pete asked for an additional piece of paper, which I overnighted last Friday. It arrived in NC on Monday and was immediately sent to St. Pete. However, DHL will only guarantee it there by Friday, which means that it's not likely to be translated and notarized in Russia in time for the registration date on March 11. I'm not holding my breath. What I am doing is starting to be very frustrated with this process. I don't see how the Russian representative in St. Pete can be the one to review the documents, ask for two extra sets of documents at two separate times, and then realize one week before our third delay that there is something she didn't get the first two times. I'm optimistic, but this is starting to feel like the "runaround" to me. I think I have one more cycle in me before I just ask to be transferred back to Moscow and forget about the 10 day wait.

I see you looking!

Where in the world are you?