"Unfortunately, we had to say our temporary good

byes to Kyle on Wednesday because it was time for

us to leave. On Tuesday afternoonl (Day 6 at the orphange),

we spent time with Kyle and he always likes to climb in

the bed of the dump truck because he knows that Grampy

and Mommy take him UPUPUP and DOWNDOWNDOWN.

Kyle's first English word is UP although he sometimes

pronounces it UPA when he gets excited. He is ready for

take off in his red shirt and I have a feeling he is going

to love Disney World. Each day, Kyle recognizes us

more and more and gets really excited to see us.

During the final visit on Day 7, Kyle promised, as you

can see from the picture, that he would call us when

we return home. He also likes when Mommy and

Grampy play peek-a-boo and he just laughs and laughs.

The last stretch down the hallway was sad because

I knew we would not be back in the afternoon and

wonder if he when the door opens, he will be looking

for me. Fortunately, when he goes back to his room,

he is always happy - probably because it is either

lunch or dinner time. When I asked what food he

likes and/or does not like, the caregiver laughed

and said he eats everything. He is certainly a stocky

little guy. Grampy and I flew from Kazan to Moscow

and spent the night in Moscow in what can best be

described as a quaint Swiss Chalet. We are heading

to the Moscow airport shortly to return home. By

the time most of you are reading this, we are probably

almost home because of the eight hour time difference.

As most of you know, I tend to go to bed early but I have

been having some late nights so maybe this is a better

time zone for me :) Thanks again for following us in our

travels and for a being part of this. I will update again

once I know when we are returning to get him. Unfortunately,

it is looking like mid-January because the Russians are on

Holiday from January 1-11!" Here is our last entry for today.

The red shirt pic is day six and the others are day 7. See you

later and thanks again!!! :)

"We are leaving for Kazan tomorrow (Wed) and we went to

see Kyle twice yesterday (Monday) and have completed our

first visit on Tuesday. On Monday, I had the opportunity to sit

down with the caregiver to learn a little bit more about Kyle
and his habits. He has five other children in his group and they

all hang out together. They described Kyle as being active,

a fast learner and a little on the stubborn side. In the orphanage,

they share toys although it is my understanding that Kyle does

not prefer to share but he does so very willingly with Mommy

and Grampy. When we first came to the orphanage, I gave Kyle a

Bear and Blanket which you see in the pictures from today. These

items belong only to Kyle and he sleeps with the Bear and Blanket

each night. The caregiver told me a story about the bear. When

Kyle goes to sleep, he likes to move back and forth and he took

the bear and was rocking the bear back and forth in his bed.
Finally, the caregiver told me that she went over to his bed and

told him (in Russian of course) that the bear had fallen asleep at

which point Kyle put the Bear down, closed his eyes and

immediately fell to sleep! During the Morning visit today

(Tuesday), I walked down the long hallway to the room where I go
each day with the interpreter to get Kyle. Kyle came running over

to me and wanted me to hold him immediately. I then told him

in English "Go get your Bear" and he understood perfectly as he

walked to the sleeping room, opened the door and got his Bear.

The interpreter looked at me in amazement and I told her
that I wish I could learn Russian as fast as he is learning English. The
interpreter told me that it is strange for her when families return

to adopt a second child and bring the first child back because she

remembers them speaking Russian and they no longer speak or

understand any Russian! I will enjoy our second visit today and

Grampy and I will be very sad to leave Kyle after tomorrow's visit

but look forward to returning soon to get him! Aside from the
Bear and the Blanket, Kyle really enjoys his sippy cup as you

can see from the picture. He does get to hear the word Niyet (No)

because he also tries to dump out the water and finds it to be very

funny. Grampy and I do our best to entertain him in the small room

for two hours at a time and have added to our repertoire of toys

each day. As with any kid, he enjoys the boxes more than the toys!"

On Day four at the orphanage (Sunday), we only got one

visit but as you can see, Grampy had a wonderful time

with his new Grandson. After the morning visit, we
took a tour outside of Kazan of the Monastery which was

absolutely beautiful inside. Unfortunately, we were unable

to take pictures of the inside. The weather in Russia remains

unseasonably warm but the term "unseasonably warm" is
nothing like we think of in Florida. It is not 85 instead of 80

but 38 instead of 18! It is cold and dreary but not snowing.

It is typically overcast all day and gets completely dark around

3:00. This Monday Morning, it rained but thestreets are

empty as it is a Muslim Holiday. Approximately half of the
population is Muslim and the other half is Russian Orthodox.

We took a morning visit to the orphanage and Kyle is starting

to recognize his Mommy which, as you can imagine, puts a big

smile on my face!!!! We appreciate your thoughts and prayers

while we are in Kazan.

"This will be the first SEC Championship game that I have
missed where the Gators are playing to qualify for the National
Championship. Nonetheless, in spending the afternoon visit with
him (day 3), Kyle and I spoke about the Gators and when I told
him that I wanted him to be a part of Gator Nation, he put his
hands up in the air (no lie) and let me put on the t-shirt. I am
happy to announce that he is now a Florida Gator Fan and is
displaying his new oversized gear. Grampy was a little
disappointed in Kyle's eagerness to wear his Gator gear but is
still a proud Grammy despite the fact there are now three
Gators in the family - Mommy, Reese & Kyle! From Russia,
Kyle wants to say "Go Gators"!!!

"On the second day at the orphanage, we made our two daily visits
to hang out with little Kyle. We spend two hours with him each visit.
The pictures include a picture of Kyle's first "High-Five" and him
with Mommy. Kyle loves to look out the window and he and Grampy
spend time looking at the dreary skies, the birds and occasional
people that come below. We had a glitch as our converter burned
out and we have spent time going all over Kazan to find an
American converter and finally, our efforts were successful. We
recently returned from our first visit on Day 3 to the orphange and
will be leaving shortly for our afternoon visit. Apparently, they
realized that Floridians were coming to Kazan because we have
seen no snow and it really has been mild for a Russian winter.
The Vulga river is usually closed to commerce because it is is
frozen but has been kept open because it is warmer than usual.
They have, however, gone to somewhat of an extreme in the
orphanage as they have cranked up the heat in the little room
where we visit with Kyle. I think it is about 80 degrees in that
room and considering all we have are sweaters and long sleeve
clothing, it gets extremely hot! Next time, we will be bringing some short
sleeve clothes....And they say Floridians get cold! I think that these
people are typically at a much warmer temperature than our AC temps
particulary with the wool sweaters!!"

On April 17, 2008, I elected to attend an appointment with an adoption
agency, Alliance for Children, to obtain information on the adoption
process and was provided with all kinds of documentation necessary
to begin the process. I heard a variety of stories from different
sources about the length of time it takes to adopt a child so I did
some research on the Internet to find a reputable agency and came
across the Alliance for Children. I decided to schedule an appointment
to get some more information. Aside from being a highly accredited
agency, they had two big things going for them in my selection
process - the main office was in the Boston area (Go Red Sox!)
and the Florida office is only one mile from my office. I had a great
discussion with my social worker, looked at pictures of multiple
adopted children from a variety of countries and concluded that
my instincts regarding adoption were well founded and this was
something I wanted to pursue. On April 23, 2008, I completed
the paperwork and alas, the process began. Initially, I believed
hat this was a process which could potentially take years but
when I expressed interest in adopting a boy, I was advised that
the wait time was not nearly as long as the wait time for girls.
So I started gathering papers, completing a home study, taking
courses for adoption and in mid-August, 2008, my dossier, the
fancy term for all of the paperwork that they need, was sent
to St. Petersburg, Russia, which is the region I selected because
my Aunt and Uncle actually live in St. Petersburg. Once the Dossier
arrived in Russia, I was advised the average wait time is 6-8 months
but of course, in the adoption process, there are always variables...it
could be shorter and then again, it could be longer.
The morning of Friday, November 14, 2008, was initially a day like no
other. A State Mediation was set for 1:00 p.m. which fortunately I
settled by 9:30 a.m. I was on the phone with the door shut and my
brother popped into the office to announce a visitor from the agency
- Robert. As I sat down in the conference room, he told me that he
located a perfect kid for me but he was in a different part of
Russia - Kazan, a city I never heard of prior to November 14 but yet a
city mentioned at the conclusion of the most recent James Bond Movie.
And so here I am in Kazan, Russia after a whirlwind of two weeks of
getting additional documents to Russia, making flight arrangements
at the last minute through my travel companion and travel
agent a/k/a Dad. The flight from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta to
Moscow to Kazan took approximately 24 hours but fortunately, the jet
lag is much better. As I still have it, the quick update is that Kyle
Daniel is fantastic and I look forward to getting more information to
you!!!

kylecomehome