Remembering Gotcha Day!

April 27th of last year was the day that Blake said goodbye to the Artem baby home. I have mixed feelings as I reflect on this day. Of course the most overwhelming feeling is gratitude. We are so blessed to have Blake with us. I can remember the relief we felt when we had him buckled in the van and we were backing down the bumpy drive. He has the biggest smile on his face, and he left no doubt in our minds that he was more than ready to begin his new life as an Overstreet. We were also very excited to finally have a webcam session with Brady and Maddie. They were more than ready to see their new brother. Mostly today I am grateful!

The other feeling that I can’t help but to have creeping up is a bit of sadness. Justin and I can vividly remember the faces of the other children in the Bee Groupa. We can’t help but wonder what has happened to them as they moved from the baby home into an orphanage. I think about the caregivers and director of the baby home. I pray that they have the supplies and staff they need to care for the children. I pray that they know how important their jobs are in the lives of the children. I pray that they aren’t stressed and taking their frustration out on the children that are so hungry for their attention….

We spent some time last night talking about the importance of this day with the kids. We looked at pictures and shared stories. That will be how we celebrate Gotcha Day. Many adoptive families celebrate this day like a birthday. I think that is a wonderful way to mark such a memorable moment. Justin and I feel that for the dynamics of our family we are going to always remember these important milestones and talk about them freely, but as far as having a party or gifts we will stick with the birthday celebrations. While each child is special and different in their own right, we want to create a sense of continuity and ‘sameness’. We of course know there is very little that is the same about any member of any family.  (o:

Now that this blog is set to private, I thought I would post a couple of pictures from the baby home today that we haven’t shared in the past.

Here is Blake getting changed. We had to leave every piece of clothing he had on at the baby home. It was great to get him out of the tights he had on and into shoes that fit his little feet!

We were ready to go within 10 minutes of being there that day! We filled the time playing in the visiting room with the signature brown couch one last time and taking self portraits.

Justin and I talk about this moment a lot. On one of our visits we were able to go outside. Victoria and Blake enjoyed the fresh air. As we walked around the building, the children on the inside would come to the windows to watch. It is a sad memory. It is like the free bird vs. the caged bird….

 

Here are a couple of the sweet faces that we remember.

I wish we could have spent a little more one-on-one time with some of the children. To make them feel special at least for a moment….

The Bee Groupa with two of the caregivers in December of 2008. Blake is the one in all blue in the back row – second from the right.

Passport!

We were slow about filling out the paperwork for Blake's passport so Justin and I just sent out the form and such a month or ago. I really didn't like that we had to send his original copy of the Certificate of Citizenship.  That made us very nervous.  Well both his passport and his certificate came in the mail today!!!!  Guess what date the passport was issued?!?!?  April 16th.  That is exactly one year from when our adoption was final.  Very cool! 

1 year ago it was official!

More memories!  On April 16th, 2009 we officially became Blake's parents.  We could breath a huge sigh of relief when that day was over.  It was fun to do back and read last year's entry.  This part in particular made me laugh - I can still remember the craziness of it!

We spent the morning hanging out with the True Family (Sandy, Ryan, and Bodi) and picking their brains about court. Around noon we decided to go back to the room and reread our homestudy, Blake’s medical and family information, and make a list of notes to have with us in court. We were to be picked up in the lobby around 2:30-2:45 for our 4:00 court session. Well because there was NOTHING else to do, Justin and I began getting ready for court early. We decided to be in the lobby at 2:15 just to be on the safe side – and to get us out of our room! At 2:12 the phone in our room rings. It was Lana, our interpreter. She said, “Heather, there has been a mistake (insert here – heart pounding, lump in throat developing, stomach turning). The judge changed the court time to 2:00 not 4:00. She only told half of the people 2:00. Irina will be there to pick you up in ten minutes. Please be ready!” Well that sure made things interesting.

I think the entry I did yesterday on our 'public' blog shares some great pictures of how far we have come over the past year!

A reminiscent time of year…

We have a lot going on lately. Brady has started baseball practice and is preparing for his piano recital. Madison is working hard to get ready for her dance and tumbling recital. Blake is still having speech therapy two times a week. Church, small group, housework, yard work, regular work, school etc… I am thankful that we live such full lives. And very much UNLIKE last year Justin has been in the fields this week and planned to start planting today which is very exciting.


I find that we have been saying the phrase “this time last year” a lot around our house lately. It has been fun to remember details of our second trip. On April 14th we arrived in Vlad from Moscow and on April 15th we finally got to be reunited with Blake. We still weren’t able to post pictures of him at that time so I thought it might be fun to go back and see what photos we had from those days. Of course on that first visit with him we were being prepped for court so I don’t have as many photos from that day.

This one reminds me of the ‘shops’ we would see often on the side of the road.

This picture reminds me of why I gained 10 pounds that I am still struggling to lose. Carbs central!

Here you can see Lana in the background and Blake sitting in a machina looking at a book that teaches Russian phrases.

It was not uncommon for us to see Blake in ‘girlie’ clothes.

The memories are all coming back now!

Blake's first Easter

Last year Easter was a week later than it was this year, and Justin and I flew out of Moline on that day to return to Russia. We were a mess leaving Brady and Madison, but were so excited to return to bring Blake home. Well this year Easter was a VERY joyous occasion. Blake has now been with us for each one of the holidays that we celebrate in one year. He understands that we celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birthday, and it was great fun for us to try to teach to him that on Easter we celebrate that Christ rose from the grave. Brady and Madison love telling him the bible stories that they have learned.

The fun started on Friday night. Our niece Alexis and nephew Trevor came to spend two nights with us. They enjoyed dying Easter eggs. Blake couldn’t get the hang of the little dippers so he just stuck his whole hand in the dye. Thankfully his hands turned back to their normal color by Saturday morning.

On Saturday we went to Justin’s parent's house and celebrated Easter with his family. There was rain in the forecast so Blake’s first Easter egg hunt was held in the shops and barns on the farm. The kids loved it! Here they are with some of their goodies. Brady, Blake and Alexis thought they were cute with buckets on their heads.

On Sunday, we all went to church. We were really excited to have my sisters, Dyan and Glennda with us as well as my aunt Becky and Grandma! We didn’t have much time for pictures before church but here is one of the three kids and Annie. Annie looks so clean in the pictures. She really is filthy dirty from running through the pond!

The kids had a blast putting together a scavenger hunt for the adults. Justin and I helped them plan it out. Here is a picture of the group at the starting egg. The kids came up with the rules that all of the adults had to stay together. It was fun!

Blake really did have a great time. He loves to be together with his family. And he is a chocoholic so Easter candy is right up his alley. He needed a new bike for this year, so we thought that would make a great Easter present. He loves to ride it, and Madison has been working with him on turning and stopping.

Loved this day last year!

One year ago today we got 'the call' with our court date!  I reread what we posted about the day.  I laughed out loud at one particular line in the entry.  It reads, "After court and the necessary paperwork processing we will be bringing Blake home with us. This is our last trip to Russia until many years down the road if he would like to visit."  Funny how quickly your path in life can change!