1/24/2008 - Thursday

• 1/24/2008 10:43:43 PM2nd Week of Any Day NowAs we approach the end of the second week of "any day now", I thought I might spend a moment sharing what I've learned about writing a blog on the internet.
  
  This past week I downloaded a program called "WebLog Expert".  This is a desktop application that analyzes your host provider's web server log files.  If you're not sure what those are, the short answer is that they are files that record all of the known (or derived) information about the visitors to your web site.
  
  If you examine the image below, you will see that I've opened the log file in Microsoft Excel.  
  
  
  
  At a first glance, it may look like a bunch of rows that have columns with cryptic names and many meaningless rows of garbage.  This is actually the raw data collected from every single visitor to the website for November 22, 2007.  Key pieces of information that get recorded are:
  - The Date and Time of the visit
  - What page or image on the website that was looked at
  - The unique Internet Address (or TCP/IP) of the visiting computer
  - Which web browser was being used
  - What type of Operating System is being used
  - and most importantly... how the user "found" what they are looking at
     In other words, where were they prior to being here and what led them here
  
  What the WebLog Expert program does is it records all of this data, summarizes it and then joins it against other known data such as:
  - Countries
  - Cities
  - Companies
  
  For example,
  the data column that records the visitors internet address... Who assigns that address and how did that person get such an address.  From that address alone, I can know the Country and City where that visitor came from and the name of the company that allowed their computer access to the internet.
  
  I can also know,
  - Which locations do most of my visitors come from
  - When do most of the visits happen
  - which pages are the most popular
  - What words or phrases were people looking for when they found this site
  - While they were visiting the site, What was everything they looked at and in what order
  - What was the last thing they were looking at before they left
  - Is the site becomming more popular, less popular, or staying about the same
  - what kinds of things do I write about that causes all of the things above to change
  
  The image below tells me that when people get referred to the adoption site, they are referred from the following websites, in the following order:
  1. Danny Dirt
  - This is another blog that I write on
  2. Google Images
  - Apparently when people look for certain images, they find this site
  3. Who-Is
  - Used to locate information about this site
  4. (NewMB)North East Wisconsin Message Board
  - Thanks Gladys!
  5. EZ-Net
  - This is a local internet provider in my area
  6. Adoption Chase
  - Thanks Chase Family!
  
  
  
  You don't have to be a statistics nut to find this kind of information interesting.  
  
  There is definitely a very scary side to all of this.  The question that appears to be good is also dangerous.  Who is looking at the site?
  
  
  
  If you are a regular reader, you may have noticed that most of the previous blog posts have been removed.  After careful analysis of the data above, I determined that we may have had some visitors to the site who may (or may not) take offense to what was written.  In particular - names, places (or descriptions of places) and images were posted.  To date, no one has specifically complained but we are trying to be proactive and not rock the boat while we wait for our appointment to be scheduled.
  
  In the meantime, we continue wait, write, and marvel at what God is doing and how many people are reading about it on this web site.
  
  
  

1/19/2008 - Saturday

• 1/19/2008 2:25:31 PMPassing the timeAnother week has passed with no significant news of a court date.  This week Peggy sent 6 more documents away for apostilling and they came back from Madison yesterday.  I'll scan them into the computer and email them to Val.  
  
  On a technology side note, if you have a computer and a flat-bed scanner, using them is a good way to keep track of your important documents.  Especially those that you have to send and re-send.  We have a Canon Cano-Scan Lide 30 USB scanner that I picked up for $7.00 and I have used it for a wide variety of things.  Peggy prefers to make photo copies and keep everything organized into folders and files on the dining room table.  The computer is my workspace, the dining room table is hers.  Enough said on that... If I say any more, I'll get in trouble.
  
  Over the last few days, we've been in contact with other families who have recently returned and discussed many of the nuisances of the trip.  Things such as gifts, home-stay families, staying in the region v.s. staying in Moscow, the Doctor appointments...  It is very comforting to talk with those that have traveled this path before.  It puts us at ease and makes us feel like we're a few steps ahead of where they were when they went.  We are gaining the benefit of their experiences and knowledge and that helps us prepare mentally for what lies ahead.
  
  It is easy to become frustrated with the situation and the pace of the activity.  I keep reminding Peggy that in many ways this is a business transaction.  We are paying for and are in the process of acquiring both goods and services.  While I don't think of Yuri as a "good" in the same manner as purchasing a vehicle or a meal at a restaurant, never the less, we are paying money to get a child.  
  
  She reminds me that we are dealing with people and to treat the situation appropriately.  Dealing with people, waiting on them, waiting on the situation... all requires patience and understanding.
  
  Perhaps this is just another example of why a man and a woman, a husband and wife are a matched set.  Each sees things that the other doesn't.  Each has strengths and weaknesses that are complimented by the other.  
  
  What a blessed man I am.

1/14/2008 - Monday

• 1/14/2008 10:34:42 PMExcitement and AnticipationSo there we were at home, waiting for "the call".  The phone rings and my wife answers it and sure enough it is the adoption coordinator - Val.  I didn't speak with her but I'll try to summarize what she said.
  
  - this is not "the call"
  - she expects to give us "the call" any day now
  - current estimates put our travel some time around the last week of January or first week of February.  This means that if the court date is in January, then we leave for Moscow next week.
  - Marina (from the Lighthouse Project), whom we were planning on staying with in Moscow is not available due to other business issues and we should consider developing a "Plan B" - meaning staying in a flat or apartment.  This is something we had not even considered and had done very little research on.
  
  ~~~ panic sets in ~~~
  
  Mr. Chase (from the Adoption Chase) called to let me know that he and his family are praying for us and Yuri, the trip...  What incredible timing.  I told him that we were in the middle of stressing out about the trip.  What a comfort it was to speak with him.  We had a very nice chat and I was very encouraged by the time we hung up.
  
  ...Val calls back
  
  - this is still not "the call"
  - there is another home stay available in Moscow but not for the entire time if we have to stay an additional 10 days
  
  Whew!  That was a close one!
  
  We were originally thinking that if we had to stay an additional 10 days (based on the judge's decision), then we might head to St. Petersburg.  As it looks right now, the cost of the train tickets up there may be too much.  That being the case, if the 10 day stay is not waived then we will stay in Yuri's region at a different home stay while we wait.  Then when we return to Moscow, we'll be at the home where we previously stayed and we can process our visa paperwork.
  
  There is a certain kind of feeling when you plan for something so long and you get to the point where it is going to happen.  Our first thought was, "we're going to Russia".  This may sound stupid because it is what we've been planning all along - yet at the same time, the realization of going there, going to a very different culture and being isolated from familiar things is both exciting and scarry.

1/10/2008 - Thursday

• 1/10/2008 11:52:09 AMWaiting on the GovernmentWaiting is not a new concept here in America.  Specifically, waiting on the government to act or react is something all Americans are intimately familiar with.  This doesn't mean that we are happy about it, only that we know it is part of the process.
  
  We received word yesterday that the adoption coordinator in Russia was not able to submit our dossier to the court before Christmas or they refused to accept it or something like that.  My guess is that they (the court) were focused on the end of the year, the Christmas holiday and getting done what could be done and prioritizing the rest.  In light of that, our paperwork was likely categorized as "work for next year".  
  
  As of yesterday, our dossier was officially submitted to the court.  I think that means that they now officially have have 30 days to respond - meaning within the next 30 days, an appointment will be scheduled for some time in the future.  Not that we will have a court date within 30 days, only that it will be scheduled within 30 days.
  
  Now we are in the position of trying to estimate, "for other adoptive families, what was the average length of time that passed between the time the dossier was received by the court and the time of the court date?"  Of course this is certainly no guarantee of anything but being the numbers minded person that I am, this is how I occupy my mind while I wait.  It is stressful but I think it is a good kind of stress.
  
  I am so anxious and excited, I can hardly stand it!
  
  People at work are asking, "did you hear anything yet?"
  
  My wife says not to call home because she is waiting for the phone to ring.  She will call me.
  
  This waiting thing is torture...
  
  Hmmmm????  But I just said it was a good kind of stress...
  
  Ahhh....  The joys of waiting.

1/8/2008 - Tuesday

• 1/8/2008 10:41:23 AMPlanningNow that we are in a new year and very close to making our trip, it is time to get our house prepared for Yuri's arrival.  Recently we made a trip to Saint Vincent De Paul which is a local food pantry and thrift store.  They have tons of very nice new and gently used stuff there.  From cloths to appliances, furniture to books.  You name it - it's there.
  
  
  For this trip, we were in search of a head and foot board for a twin bed.  When Yuri was here last March, we borrowed a mattress from some friends and put him in a bunk bed with my other son.  My daughters are using the bunk beds now so we were in search of a nice replacement - which we quickly found.  It is wooden with dark brown spindles and is in great shape.  I think the price was $10 or $15.
  
  My wife is a bargain hunter.  As such, she would never leave a store like this without checking out everything.  We soon found a new, twin sized, blue, down comforter - $10.  It is VERY nice!
  
  On New Years Day, we went to WG&R Bedding Shop.  It is a satellite store for WG&R Furniture on the west side of Green Bay and only does bedding.  They also have a nice selection of mattresses to choose from and a variety of manufacturers.  We ended up purchasing the high-end store model mattress and box spring.  It is comparable to the high-end Serta model.  When stacked on top of each other, they stand about 2 feet tall (or thick).  In fact, it was so tall that you could not see the foot board of the bed frame.  It is a very nice mattress and the other kids like to lay on it.  It will make for a fine place to lay a weary head.
  
  We also painted the bedroom that Yuri will be sharing with James.  It is the largest room in the house and has its own bathroom.  Peggy chose a blue-ish/periwinkle with white trim.  It looks very Victorian and fits the style of the house.  It has book shelves and lots of room for Legos and other toys that boys typically enjoy.  It is very calming and relaxing to be in there and I'm sure Yuri will like it.
  
  For now, we wait.  According to what we've been told, the adoption coordinator in Russia will try and secure a court date for us on January 10th.  Since they are about 9 hours ahead of us, I'm calculating that the earliest we will be notified of our court date will be some time late on Thursday (central time), otherwise perhaps on one of the following days.
  
  We have been packing our suit cases, visiting the bank to order the cash we'll need, making arrangements with family for the care of the other kids, our home, the cows, dog, cat, fish...  Things seem to be moving along smoothly.  We're also discussing what we will do in the event we must stay an additional 10 days (depending on the Russian Judge).  One thought we are considering is taking a trip to St. Petersburg.  There is lots of history there and it is not likely that I will get back there any time soon.
  
  There is so much to think about and so much to do.  I can honestly say that I have not been looking forward to or excited about anything as much as this since some of the earliest Christmas's I can remember.