Loyet Family Odyssey

We thought that once court was over we could relax and enjoy being parents, not so much. After three very long hours in a court room where every word spoken had to be translated for us, we began the wait for the adoption decree. At this point we began coming down from the adrenaline high we experienced during court. We waited for half an hour and then another 15 minutes for a correction to be made. During this wait our translator told us that our agency associate would be along soon to collect us. As the minutes ticked by we began to wonder what was happening. Our translator told us that our agency associate was on her way and we would be off to apply for Benjamin’s new birth certificate. After waiting an hour and a half, we were picked up and on our way to the vital statistics office.

As we drove along we sensed something was amiss, but our translator did not relay what was being said so we brushed it off. As we pulled into the parking area for the VS office we were enlightened. As chance would have it our day took a sudden turn. We were informed that a very important document was missing and needed to be located before we could proceed. As the story unfolded it was revealed that the document was Benjamin’s certificate of citizenship. This document is necessary to complete the adoption and to leave the country. The magnitude of the lost document was explained to us; if it could not be found it would take six months to issue a new one.

If this is unclear, let me sum it up. The adoption decree would be invalidated and we would return home empty handed and heartbroken. Our agency associate proceeded to rush us to our hotel and make the two hour drive to Benjamin’s city of birth. There she worked with the hospital to find the COC and bring it back to Izhevsk.

We sat in our hotel room for twenty hours knowing nothing as we waited to hear about the document. It was a long wait but we both felt a sense of calm, knowing that he was meant to be our son. We had faith that the document would be located and we could retrieve our son from the baby home.

Twenty four hours after we had been declared Benjamin’s parents we received the call. A new document had been issued and we would be picked up to resume where we left off filing paperwork and applying for documents. After twenty hours of dead calm we began a whirlwind afternoon rushing all over the city. We were so exhausted yet so invigorated knowing that all that remained was to pick up our son and his passport tomorrow and head to Moscow.

Now we await the morning and the drive to the baby home to pick up our son. We will head to Moscow Wednesday afternoon, approximately 8am Eastern Standard Time. We will post as soon as we are able, and will have pictures of us and Benjamin in Moscow. We are so excited to bring him home and to introduce all of you to our son.