Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Happy New Year to one and all from the Maples family! Sorry for the delay in posting. We've been back home since 11:30pm on Tuesday 12/15 but there just never seemed to be enough time to get it all done. I've worked on this post 3 or 4 times before but haven't finished it, so I'll finish up the adventures of our travel day and then update what's been going on since we got home later this weekend.

Let's start with our travel day experiences. We woke to several inches of snow in Belgrade on Tuesday morning, so the concern of would we be able to even leave was in question. A quick check of several websites showed that so far everything was still on time, and per Sarah we were leaving even if I had to get out and push the plane. :)

Our car arrived around 10:20 but the driver had to park a block away, so we got our first adventure of hauling bags and a stroller through the snow. The drive to the airport was pretty slow, lots of cars and pretty bad conditions didn't help make it a quick trip. Luckly we had planned in some extra time so we still made it to the airport in plenty of time. The parking lot at the airport was still completly covered in about a foot of snow so we had another fun time dragging and pushing all our stuff around. The driver and I had our hands full of bags and Sarah was having a hard time pushing the stroller even when sticking to the ruts from previous cars. Thankfully a kind stranger helped her get to the section of sidewalk that had been cleared. We had an easy time checking in at the airport, checked our large bags and even had some time for last minute souvenier shopping (also useful for using up the remaining dinar we had).

From Belgrade to Munich was a pretty quick hour and a half flight, Grace managed pretty well. She enjoys the feeling of movement and wasn't even phased by the rough take off. We landed in Munich on time but had to ride a bus from the plane to the terminal, up a couple of floors and then over to our gate. The gate attendents helped us find the elevator and get down to our plane. Because of our last minute flight changes Grace had a bulk head seat while Sarah and I had seats in the last row of the plane. Thankfully a kind young woman in the bulkhead row agreed to switch with us. This allowed us to have a bassinet for Grace to sleep in during the flight which was a real blessing. Grace was pretty fussy for the first hour or so of the flight as she was tired, but not comfortable enough with her surroundings to let herself fall asleep. Eventually she did fall asleep and slept for most of the rest of the flight off and on.

Finally we made it to the states when we landed in Chicago. As this was our port of entry into the US we had to claim all of our luggage and go through passport control, customs and immigration for Grace's paperwork. Being that it was evening by this time the immigration desk had only one staff member working on paperwork and with several groups ahead of us we doubted if we would be able to make our connecting flight. We talked to one of the custom agents nearby and told him about our connecting flight and I think he rearranged the order to get our papers processed next, so big thanks to him.

After we got through with the immigration paper work we quickly ran to the recheck area and learned that we had about 30 minutes before our flight. The clerk told us if we hurried we "might" make our flight, but that our luggage would not make it to the plane on time. At this point we just wanted to get home and there was nothing in our bags that we had to have, so we went for it. To get to the gate, we had to take a train to a different terminal, we were in terminal 3 and we had to go to terminal 1, which took about 10 minutes. Then in the terminal we had to go through security again and have all our stuff checked, which took 15 minutes, so we were running close on time. We raced from security to our gate without even putting our belts back on. As we ran to the gate, the gate attendant called out to us asking if we were the Maples and to hurry as the door was closing! Thankfully they held the door for us and I think if we had been any later, there was a gentlemen on "stand by" waiting to take our seats. But we made it, settled in for our last flight of the day.

We landed on time and and we were back in the land of Minnesota. Our friend Sue meet us at the baggage claim, and our other friend Kristin drove our van from Rochester to pick us up. I quickly verified with the baggage claim attendant that our bags were not on our flight, they were on the next flight, so we made arrangements for them to deliver our bags the next day which was nice. The drive back to Rochester wasn't to bad, Grace seemed pretty at home in her car seat and didn't give us any problems. We stopped to get some snacks and coffee to stay awake and eventually arrived in our driveway at about 11:30pm. Home Sweet Home!

Sam came upstairs soon after we arrived to greet us, it was sure great to see him and he had the biggest smile on his face. We quietly went around and kissed Ian and Iris who were very much asleep. Ivy did wake up but you could tell she was basically sleeping with her eyes open, she didn't even remember talking to us the next morning. We talked to Holly for a little while to get the updates on how everything went, and her sister came to drive her back to her house, were I'm sure she enjoyed sleeping in her own bed. A great big thanks to Holly for watching the 4 amigos, I know they all loved her and had a great time, we couldn't have done this without her.

Then it was time for Sarah and I to go to settle in to our nice cozy bed, safely at home at the end of another wild adventure.

All packed up and ready to leave

The snow covered street outside our apartment

Our plane arriving to pick us up at the Belgrade airport

They had the snow plows out cleaning the terminal area

Sarah and Grace all settled in on the plane just waiting for takeoff

Here we go!

So long Serbia!

Sleeping in the bassinet on the flight from Munich to Chicago

I'm tired of being in an airplane now.

Holly and the Kids made us this great Welcome Home sign.

Grace having her first bottle in our house, she hadn't eaten much during any of the flights.

That's a lot of snow to come home to! Thanks to Holly, Nate & Kristen, and our neighbors for cleaning off the drive way and sidewalks!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Monday

Monday was a jam packed day. We had to take Grace for a medical exam, get the visa papers prepared, pickup the passport, pickup the medical exam, and have an interview at the US Embassy to get the visa. All that and we had to hope and pray that we could get the visa back early enough on Tuesday that we could make our flight home. If we couldn't fly on Tuesday we wouldn't be able to fly until the weekend.

The medical exam was pretty painless, then Grace and I and went back to the apartment to pack while Sarah went with Jasmina to do the paperwork and pickup the passport. There was some confusion as to who could pick up the passport, but it all got worked out. A special thanks to the social worker from Blace who took the 3+ hour bus ride to Belgrade early Monday morning to help get it all cleared.

In the afternoon we had our interview appointment for Grace's visa from the US Embassy. We were a little delayed from getting the passport, but there were only a handful of people at the Embassy when we got there. During the interview they asked when we were leaving Belgrade so we told them our situation and the workers graciously said they thought they could get it done by the end of the day. So we hung out for a little while in the waiting room and only a couple of hours after getting there we had Grace's visa and we could official depart for home!!

In the evening we meet with Vlado and he and I walked to the Police station, even though it started snowing, to terminate our temporary Belgrade address. On the way we walked across the alley from the President's offices their "White House", no fences no special bars, we could have walked over and touched the building. Next to that was the Mayor of Belgrades offices, which the workers were happily removing the snow from the sidewalks, as the Mayor's office is in charge of all the departments in Belgrade. The President still has plenty of snow in front of his offices. After leaving the police station we spotted the President's car driving down the major bullivard on his way home with only one escort car. In the five minutes it took us to walk from there to the President's offices we could already see all the workers making quick exits themselves.

That was our last day in Belgrade and now we are all packed up dressed and ready to head to the airport. It's still snowing but so far all the websites show that there are no delays. The next update will be after we make it back home and can introduce Grace to the rest of the bunch.

Bye Vlado

"Ciao, ciao" Serbia

We're breaking out of here

Friday we got to bring Grace with us back to stay at our apartment. Before we left we got a tour of the orphanage to see many of the children there. Let me tell you there are some awesome kids in this orphanage that would be great in a family. One boy of about 6 was my best friend for awhile. He just talked and talked and talked. He kept telling the workers that he was going home tomorrow. After the tour I had to go get my passport so I could sign Grace out of the orphanage for her official file and then we took a taxi back towards our apartment.

First we had to stop at a Lilly's store to buy bottles and some food, then we walked to our appartment and settled in. We all took a nap for a couple of hours and then we made Grace a bottle with some fruit flavored baby food, cereal, and water. Grace then got acquainted with our apartment, She quickly learned that she could move well on the carpet, but only slide backwards on the hardwood floors. We played in the apartment for a while and then made supper, pasta and tomato meat sauce for Sarah and I, and Chicken dinner baby food in the bottle for Grace. She didn't really care for her food, later we got an email from Jasmina that said she prefers sweet foods.

After supper we decided we needed some more water and some bread and pasteries from the bakery. We got Grace all wrapped up and went for a stroll, of course the minimart is 3 buildings away and the bakery is across the street so our stroll didn't take but 10 minutes. I think it took longer to get Grace in her coat and hat. We played in the apartment for a little while longer and then it was bed time. It didn't take her to long to settle in and fall asleep, when I went to check on her later her legs were all twisted up. It looked like she was sitting crosslegged and just fell over asleep.

We're looking forward to spending lots of quality time with Grace over the weekend and learning her schedule. Then on Monday we've got the medical appointment, paperwork, pickup her passport, and apply for the Visa at the Embassy. Then fingers crossed, we'll be able to pick up the visa Tuesday morning and make it to the airport for our flight home.

Good morning Princess are you ready to break out?

Yeah!

One last rest in her crib while we went on the tour.

Signing the official papers so Grace can leave with us.

Party dress to celebrate leaving.

Bye, bye Jasmina

Grace has left the building

Standing at the gate waiting for our taxi.

Grace has already picked up pulling on my whiskers from Sarah.

Taxi ride to the apartment.

Our first bottle in the apartment.

Checking out the hardwood floors.

I was trying to take this picture myself. Got a good one of Grace, but the look on my face is a little bizarre.

Grace was really interested in the picture of Ivy.

Sleep tight little angel.

Did I say angel, I meant contortionist.

Please....Someone save them!

I'm posting this in hopes that someone reading my blog may be feeling led to adopt a child with Down syndrome. Please consider saving one of these precious angels before they spend their life "behind bars" in a mental institution where they will surely die. 90% don't survive 1 year in these places and once transferred, they will not be able to be adopted. Maybe not you, but maybe you know someone who's considering adopting. Please share as these kids are SO worth it!!

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URGENT PLEA!

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URGENT PLEA!

Please Grab This Button!
URGENT PLEA!

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URGENT PLEA!

Just One Big Family Now

Well, it's official. Grace is ours!!! What a very long, amazing, emotional, happy, sad day all wrapped into one. We met at the orphanage at 7am to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to Blace which is where the adoption ceremony took place. We met around a table with Jasmina(our facilitator), Jasna(lawyer and translator), the director(who happens to be a relative of Grace's), the lawyer for the social center and the social worker. Documents were drawn up for the birth certificate and we had to verify the information was correct. We signed the papers, shook hands and that concluded the "ceremony". What happens next is really amazing. We drove to another town to get the birth certificate but this is also where the hospital is that Grace's 2 sisters have been at. Grace's mother wanted to meet us so we all met in a room at the hospital. Grace's mother and father and 2 sisters were there and we had a nice visit. It wasn't too emotional as Grace's mother had really prepared herself and did not cry. She is very thankful for us and is happy that Grace will be with us. We got to take some pictures and I gave her mother a bracelet "from Grace". Our goodbye's started to get teary but we had to leave in a hurry to go back to Blace to apply for the passport before the police station closed. I am so thankful we got to meet more of Grace's family and get photos. This experience is truely priceless as this NEVER happens with international adoptions. Very very few families ever meet anyone from the child's family much less stay in touch. We look forward to updating Grace's birthfamily over the years and they have access to our blog. We've made the decision to post a few pictures of her family. So...after the lengthy process of applying for the passport(old and slow computer equipment), Jon and I took everyone out for dinner at a nice restaurant for typical Serbian food. Grace's father joined us and surprised us by bringing the oldest sister who had been at school before. She is beautiful and a very good student and gifted in music. They brought a gift for Grace(a little gold cross pendant) and a gift for me(a little pair of gold hoop earrings with crystals). We had an enjoyable meal(these people LOVE meat!!!) and then went to the village where Grace's paternal grandparents live. They wanted to meet us too. How amazing is that? Grandma had lots of goodies for us to eat even though we only had about 15 min to visit. We also got to taste some of her homemade brandy. WOW did that warm me up inside. I think I actually breathed fire, lol!! Grandma and Grandpa are so adorable. The whole family has asked us to bring Grace back for a visit one day and Grandma wants us to stay with them. I love this family and feel like I've known them for years even though I can't understand a word that is spoken. Grandma sat down next to me and was asking us to take good care of her granddaughter. She broke down crying and could barely talk. Of course, I started bawling as well. I can't even imagine how hard this is for them. I won't even pretend to know how they feel. All I know is how much they love Grace and how much they will miss her. It was very nice to hear how much they like us and are happy that Grace is going home with a family that will love her unconditionally and help her reach her fullest potential. They all loved seeing pictures of us with our other kids and asking us questions about them. The last few minutes of our day were the hardest for me as we had to say our goodbyes. We all just kept hugging and kissing and then hugging some more. Grandma and I cried and so did Grandpa. I think a few others were as well but I couldn't see anymore as I started sobbing as I got in the car. By the way I was carrying on, you'd never have guessed I just got a new daughter and whole new extended family. I will cherish these moments forever and look at our photos often. Grace Nadja Maples is one blessed little girl to have "1" whole big family that loves her very much and we are so blessed to have had this time with her birth family to be able to share this with her one day.

Social workers from Blace

Grace's Birth-Mother and baby sister

Everyone but the oldest sister and Grace

Etno Kuca Gedzo Resturant in Blace where we had a celebration lunch

Mixed Grill dinner; veal, sausage, pork and cheese filled meatballs

Lamb, potatoes, bread, and cabbage

Treats at Grace's birth-Grandparents house

This is how they have water, with jellied Strawberries and Turkish candy

And then the Hazelnut Brandy with Grandma!

Jasmina and Jasna

Saying goodbye for now.

He Signed!!!

We got the signature today that we've been waiting for. The adoption ceremony will be tomorrow and we get to spring Grace Nadja from the orphanage when we get back. We are so excited!! We are hoping to leave here on tuesday. Look for an update of the ceremony tomorrow night.

Bittersweet Day!

Well, today was the most amazing and emotional and sad day all in one that we've ever had throughout our 5 adoption experiences. We got to meet Grace Nadja's birth father, his sister and a maternal uncle. They travelled several hours today to come say goodbye to sweet Grace. Let me just tell you how much they love this little girl and how hard this meeting was for ALL of us. As soon as they came in the room, we all started crying. Very few, if any, families ever get the opportunity to meet birth family so we are totally blessed to have experienced this today. We now know why we did not get our signature yesterday. If we had, we would have travelled for the adoption ceremony today and they may not have been able to come say goodbye. I will never question God's timing again! Sadly 2 of Grace's sisters are in the hospital with pneumonia so her mother was unable to come. However, we hope to meet her after the adoption ceremony. Grace won't be with us then though so she won't be able to see her again and that breaks my heart. We got many many photos today and a little video as well to show Grace when she's older. It is so obvious how much they love her. They have our blog address and will be able to watch her grow up and thrive in our home. We are so thankful they want to keep in touch and they have invited us to visit them if we are ever back in this country. They are such warm and loving people and we feel like they are now a part of our family too. I just don't even have the words to express the love we felt today. We got to spend a total of about 3 hours with them today and even though they don't speak English, we were able to communicate. The embrace I got from Grace's father was the biggest, tightest, longest, and most heart felt hug I've ever received from ANYONE!!! We both just sobbed. I cried equally as hard when he and Jon embraced. I would love to post a few pictures but I will not unless I get their permission. I want to protect their privacy and do not want them to feel any shame or embarrassment for placing her for adoption. If they could, they surely would have kept her. Resources for a child with Down syndrome just don't exist here and her surgeries for the cleft palate are just too expensive. They asked us MANY questions today about resources for her and were pleased with what we will be able to offer her. We shared photos of our other kids and saw pictures of Grace's siblings as well has her paternal grand parents. We may even be blessed to receive some baby photos of her. God's timing and plan are perfect all the time and we couldn't be happier with the way things are going right now. I'll stop now as I'm starting to cry again visualizing Grace's father saying goodbye and looking back as he walks to the elevator.

Today we had a nice visit with Grace. She was being very cute today playing with us and crawling over my leg on her own {with a little backstop assistance}. Then Sarah put her in the baby carrier, and she fell fast asleep. She's been over tired on several occasions but has refused to let herself fall asleep. Needless to say we were pretty excited that she feels comfortable with us now that she'll fall asleep with us.

Then while we waited to get word if we would get the Ministers' signature today or not, we decided to go on a minibus tour to see the sites. It was a little hard to see somethings today as it was foggy, but we figured if we have Grace with us all the time soon we wouldn't get another chance. We did get to have an excellent lunch and wonderful conversation for several hours with our tour guide and the only other member of our tour a gentlemen from Malta.

Late in the afternoon we did learn that we would not be getting the signature we needed today, so we'll have to pray that we get it tomorrow. That pretty much blew our chance that we could all fly home this weekend. :( So our homecoming arrangements are still up in the air. Now we have to decide if I will come home this weekend and then Sarah and Grace would fly home when everything is done, or if I can strech things with work and we all fly home early next week.

This evening Vlado, who we rent our apartment from, and his wife Svetlana invited us and the other family here adopting out for diner at a traditional Serbian restaurant. We had another great meal and several hours of awesome converstation.

Grace crawling over my leg, with minimal assistance

Grace fell asleep for the first time while Sarah was holding her in the baby carrier wrap.

Such a precious little angel

Sarah and I standing in front of a giant tree in the garden where most Serbian couples have they're wedding receptions in the springtime.

Standing in front of the Prince Mihailo monument in Republic Square with our new friend Renault.

Svetlana, Mary, Jim, Sarah, Jon & Vlado at the "Just Like Home" restaurant.