Welcome Home to the USA...4 years ago!

4 Years ago today, my wonderful son became a US Citizen as the wheels of our plane touched down in NY. I love the sleepy little grin on his face as he's waving his American flag. We left Moscow at 3 am Moscow time, flew to Austria where we had a 7 hour layover...in the airport! Then landed in NY and took a taxi to JFK and arrived in ATL at 9:33 pm the following day.

At approximately 10:00 we introduced Evan to over 30 members of our family and friends who were waiting for us with signs held high.

These are some of my favorite airport pictures.

My Mom just couldn't control the tears!

Amma and Ampa rushing past everyone to met Evan...even though we had asked everyone to stay back so that Evan wouldn't be overwhelmed. LOL They couldn't help themselves.

A Picture Perfect Family

Wow, where do I begin? There is so much to share.

Evan continues to amaze us daily. He completely understands everything we say and communicates with a new word everyday. The other day, I told him to tell his Grandpa, "See you tomorrow" and Evan said "see morrow." He will try to say almost anything that we ask him to say.

Shortly after our last post we celebrated the 4th of July. Boy, was that an emotional day! Just the pure excitement as we celebrated what the 4th is all about with our sweet NEW AMERICAN BOY! We did the typical July 4th stuff and celebrated big. The day began with the Oxford Parade, then we went to Chic-Fil-A to play and eat, then to my parent's (Mimi and Pops) lake house where we rode the boat and cooked out. We ended the day with Clay's parents (Grandma and Grandpa) at the city fireworks show, which we left early because of a storm. We even told him all about how great America is and what a wonderful place it is to live...like he understands that. :-) It was a great day!

Evan had his 2 year check-up. Our pediatrician was blown away with the progress that Evan has made since we got home. He could not believe his vocabulary, he went on and on telling us how great Evan is doing. Evan has grown almost 3 inches and gained about 3 pounds since we have been home. We had to buy him new pajamas because his others were getting so short, he did look cute in his high waters though. :-)

On July 31st we took Evan and Wesley to their first Braves game! Go Braves! Clay's brother, Brent also went with us. We had a wonderful time. Evan was so cute doing the tomahawk chop! Wesley had his face painted and I wish you could have seen the look on Evan's face...like who are you and what did you do with Wesley. Braves tickets...free gift, parking...$10, tomahawks for Evan and Wes...$10, drinks...$16, Wesley's face painted...$13, holding Evan while hearing the National anthem at his first baseball game...priceless!!! We found out that the Schattes (the family who we stayed with in Russia) took Hannah to her first Major league baseball game the same weekend. Hannah is doing great also by the way. She is growing, talking, and her hair is growing so pretty. We can't wait to see them again. They are flying down to visit in October.

When we first picked Evan up from the baby home, we had trouble getting him to use the potty. We decided that he was going through so much of a transition that we wouldn't force the issue so we put him in diapers. Well, he is now into week 3 of using the potty. Evan's a big boy now! He is so funny, we tell him good job for using the potty and now he hops up and says
"Gu Jhob!"

Well, Evan has officially started school...yes school. His first day was August 1st, that was a hard Mama moment for sure. We enrolled him in 2 year-Pre-K at Social Circle Christian School. He goes 2 mornings a week on Mondays and Fridays from 8:00 - 11:30. We felt like he really missed the interaction with kids his own age, after all...he was around them 24/7 everyday of his life for almost 2 years. We noticed that even in the grocery store if he saw a child his age, he would want to go over and play and talk to him or her. The first day he cried which broke our hearts. Clay went to work late so that he could go with me to take Evan, he knew I would cry too. I was just afraid of Evan thinking, okay...I see small wooden tables, small wooden chairs, lots of kids...oh no, they are leaving me again. His teacher said that he did great and did not cry long at all. He goes to music class at 9:00 and we are friends with the music teacher. She called us that night to tell us that he did a great job in music. She said that with most 2 yr. olds it takes them a good month or so to begin to really act silly and interact with her in class, but Evan jumped right in. He danced with her, played with the instruments, and tried to sing with her. Today, was his 3rd time going. When the teacher at car pool opened the car door, he said "Hello, Hello" and waved at her. She unbuckled him and he gave me a kiss, waved bye-bye, and said, "Luv ya" and bye-bye." Ahhh, my little boy is growing up already.

Enough about us. Thank you all for praying for our friends, The Hardmans and The Groffs. The Hardmans are now home enjoying time with Kadin everyday. The Groffs are still in Russia. They should have been headed home by now but the passport office is giving them trouble. As you know, Russian offices can just make up rules and that is exactly what they are doing. It looks like they are going to be there an extra week or so. Please continue to pray for them.

Many of you know but some of you might not, but the adoption situation is pretty slow right now in Irkutsk. Yes, slower than before. In early July an adoptive mother in N.C beat her 2 yr. child to death. The same judge that granted our adoption granted that one. The judge was encouraged not to grant any adoptions right now. Please keep the families of Irkutsk in your prayers. Like we did, they have been waiting a very long time to be reunited with their children and now don't know what to expect. We know God's plan is to reunite these families together!!

We will try to post once a month.

Love,
The Hodges...family of 3!

A week of many celebrations!

Last week and a half have been so awesome! It began with us celebrating Father's Day. It was so awesome to see Clay and Evan together playing on Father's day, such a dream come true. Evan gave Clay one of those cheesy "World's Greatest Dad" T-shirts. It was very appropriate since it was Clay's first Father's day at home with Evan. Last year, we celebrated Mother's day and Father's day the best we could with Evan in Russia.

Our second celebration of the week was when we received a letter in the mail from President Bush, congratulating Evan on becoming a US citizen. Along with it was a beautiful certificate of citizenship.

Then we celebrated Clay's birthday. Evan had a lot of fun helping Daddy open his presents, he really enjoyed it when Clay opened a card with money in it...his eyes lit up like he knew what it was. :-)

Saturday we celebrated Evan's second birthday at our house with our family and friends. It was a bit emotional for me...I kept thinking this is what life is all about and we are finally celebrating his birthday with him home! The kids played in the sand box, the kiddy pool, and with Maci and Woody. We ate hot dogs and cow cupcakes with Barn cake that I made. Everyone had a ball. It was totally awesome! Thank you Lord.

Last year, Evan was in Russia on his first birthday so we had a party at our house with our family to celebrate his birth. We released over 70 balloons filled with love to fly to Russia.
This year we released 4 balloons, one for Anicka and Tanya, one for Nathan, one for Mary Elizabeth, and another for Kadin. We then said a special prayer for these special children waiting in Russia.

Sunday, we went to church and Evan was dedicated to the Lord. It was very touching and our Pastor Paul said some very special things about Evan. It is so awesome to see God's hand in action. Evan did great! He let Paul hold him and when he asked Evan if he would like to pray, Evan said "yea" and closed his eyes. After the prayer Evan said "Amen." He is such a wonderful child.

Yesterday, (June 28) was Evan's actual birthday. We went to Toys R Us and bought him a Radio Flyer Tricycle, he is so cute trying to ride it. Friday the lumber company is delivering everything to build him a play set in our backyard. Daddy will really be busy this weekend.

Yet another celebration, the adoption of Kadin (The Hardman family, our friends from Indiana) was granted yesterday on Evan's birthday. Kadin was adopted from the same baby home as Evan was. Please pray for the Hardman family as they continue their journey.

Love,
The Hodges...family of three!

Evan is doing great!

Evan continues to amaze us daily with his development. He now has an English vocabulary of about 20 words, love ya and thank you are two of my favorites. He is also learning more sign language. Before we left Russia he was signing more and all done. Now he also knows thank you, please, up, and help. Yesterday, he patted his chest for help and then pointed up as to say, Help me, up.

His allergies are getting better, he is back on antibiotics and is feeling much better. He is eating better too but still not like we want him to eat. He now enjoys fish sticks. When we went to the doctor this week he had gained a pound, which made us very happy.

He loves outside! All boy for sure! It has rained everyday this week which has really limited our outside time.

Some friends of ours from Indiana received their court date! They must be in Irkutsk on June 20th. In the mist of all of the preparation for their trip they just sold their house and have to be out before they leave. Please pray for smooth travels for the Hardman family.

Thank you all for the visits, calls, cards and gifts. It feels good to be home. We will try to post occasionally to let you know how he is doing.

Love,
The Hodges...Family of three!

Covington News

Hi Everyone!

We just wanted to let you know that there is an article of us in today’s Covington News. We took a copy of the newspaper with us to Russia as part of the “News Travels Fast” promotion that they do. Clay dropped the picture off and the lady ended up calling him asking questions about our trip. It is a nice article.

Evan is doing great! He is has an English vocabulary of about 20 words, other than just the three mentioned in the article. Another thing mentioned in the article…it talks about us putting a snowsuit on Evan in 60 degree weather and quotes Clay saying how hot-natured he is…Yes, we did put a snowsuit on him, they article doesn’t explain that we HAD to put it on him. The Russians bundle their children up and sometimes even use snowsuits in the summer months. If you don’t bundle your child up as they would see fit, you will face a Russian Babushka (grandmother) yelling at you in the middle of the street. Once our adoption was finalized, we took our chances and took the snowsuit off on warmer days; boy did we get some looks and one yelling from a Babushka too.

Pick up a copy of today’s paper!

Love,
The Hodges…family of three!

Welcome visitors

We know that many of our friends and family have been nervous about coming to visit so we wanted to let everyone know that you are welcome in our home! We appreciate you all waiting for us to get settled in first and we think we finally are. Just call first to make sure we are home. He is doing great!

So good to be home

It feels so good to be home with our sweet little boy. We are doing good and settling in well. These GA allergies are no match for a 2 year old from Siberia. We have already been to see Dr. Trover twice. Evan has had a high fever, cough, running nose, and sore throat for the past few days. He seems to feel fine most of the time and remains so happy. He fits in great and acts like this is nothing new. He loves his grandparents and acts like he has known them forever. His favorite person in the whole world (other than Mama and Daddy, of course) is Wesley. He follows Wesley around everywhere he goes and tries to do exactly what Wesley does.

He is getting better at riding in his car seat. He loves to go Bye-Bye or Baca as he sometimes says. He has had a lot of first since we came home....Wal-mart, base-ball games, El-Charro's, swimming in Mimi's pool, golf cart rides, walks to see the cows, playing with the dogs, just to name a few.

Just to let everyone know...Carol and Hannah made it home safely! PTL!

We will try to post every now and then...Thank you all for your comments on our blog, prayers and well wishes. We love you all.

The Hodges...Family of 3!

Home at last

We made it home last night at about 9:30 pm. We were very tired, and extremely touched by all of those who showed up at the airport. Throughout this long journey, it has been the prayers and support of our friends and family that have helped us through. We know that we are blessed to have Evan with us at home now, and although it has been agonizing at times, we are blessed by the experience. We have never felt as loved and supported as we have over the last year, and we have felt all of your prayers. We have met several families at various stages of the adoption process, and they have become dear friends. We are now at the end of our process, and we will continue to pray for those who are still waiting. I know that soon I will be coming into work every morning and pulling up your web sites, to follow your journeys. What a ride. We love you all.

Hodges family of three

a computer in austria

this keyboard is different from home. i cant find any shift key for caps, z is where y should be, and there u s and o s all over the place. okay, i will try my best. we are about a quarter of the way through our 5 hour layover in austria. the flight here was great. the plane was comfortable and cool, and it landed 20 minutes early. evan slept the whole way. one down two to go.

Our last day in Moscow

Clay walked to McDonald's to get us lunch. It took him about 45 minutes to go there and get back. It was hard to entertain Evan while his Daddy was gone. We walked around the hotel and rode the elevator while Evan held out his arms saying Da-Da. He was so excited when Clay opened the door. He jumped up at Clay with such excitement. After nap we took Evan for a walk to Baskin Robins. Evan did not like the cold ice cream touching is mouth.

Our driver will be picking us up in the morning at 3:00 AM (that's 7 Pm Thursday night for ya'll) Mark, do you understand the meaning of ya'll yet? Please pray for our journey home. With our trip home lasting over 24 hours I am sure that Evan is bound to have at least one screaming fit or two along the way. Please pray for a smooth flight for us all, and nice and understanding people on the flights. Evan did well on the 6 hour flight to Moscow so hopefully he will do well on the next three as well. You can check the post before we left for our flight schedule.

We arrive in Atlanta at 9:33 Friday night. Hope to see you there.

It is so hard to believe that our journey is coming to a close. Thank you sweet Lord!

Evan says he can't wait to meet you all and that he will try not to be too shy! :-)

Hodges family of three

The light at the end of the tunnel

Today we took a tour of an art museum here in Moscow. Evan was great, and actually enjoyed looking at alot of the big paintings, especially the ones with dogs in them. He's becoming quite at home on the subway to, and just like a southerner, he waves at every one he sees (and Moscow has 15 million people). This morning I walked for about 20 minutes each way at 7am to McDonalds because I new that he would love there pancakes. In Russia, you get honey instead of syrup to put on them. Well, first we tried to get him to eat them without honey, and he wouldn't. Then we put the honey on, and he still wouldn't. Brandi tricked him into trying them, and he loved the honey. So, he just raked the honey off with his finger, and licked them for his breakfast (along with my hashbrowns). One thing that didn't make it here from USA McDonalds is biscuits. I ate a sausage muffin. Man I miss home. Well as the final countdown approaches, that light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. Thirty-seven hours and fifty minutes, and we're leavin' on a jet plane. Talk to y'all again tomorrow.

Clay

Back from the US Embassy

We made it back from the US Embassy, everything went smoothly. We have Evan's passport, birth certificate, adoption certificate, court papers, etc. waiting to fly out. We were hoping that we would be able to get an earlier flight out but it is booked so we will just have to wait until our regular flight. We can't wait to get home. Remember that we will arrive in Atlanta on Friday night at 9:33...hope to see you there!

Renee...I sent you an email at your school address. Email me the info.

Carol...give us a call ASAP!

Love you all!

A clean bill of health

We just returned from the Doctor and Evan was given a great report. This afternoon we will go to the US Embassy for our final piece of business. Then it will be just a matter of waiting until Friday. We posted yesterday, but this computer loses the blogs sometimes. Anyway, to sum it up, we went to TGI Fridays Sunday night, McDonalds for lunch Monday, Pizza Hut again last night, and we just finished our McDonalds lunch today. Now that I'm not craving junk food anymore, I need some home cooking, and there aren't any places here that will scratch that itch. We saw Red Square yesterday from the outside, and took a few pictures, but were not allowed in because of a Victory Day Celebration rehearsal. We saw the Moscow River and the changing of the guard, and rode the subway. Man, that thing must be a mile deep. Evan is still doing good, but his eating schedule is a little wild due to the time difference. Can't wait to set that little clock to Eastern Standard Time. Anyway, the hours are dwindling, and as the Schattes would say, we're getting short. Friday will be here soon.

Clay

PIZZA HUT

As I have posted in the past, we have eaten very well on this trip, unlike last trip. Mark Schatte cooked many meals for us, we went out a few nights, and one night, a missionary family from Florida invited us to their home in Irkutsk for a delicious homecooked meal. That said, however, a full month out of country will have you craving familiar food. Today at lunch, we walked out of our hotel and walked about five or ten minutes to see what we could find. We saw a Pizza Hut. It was just like home. We had a pepperoni pizza and some cheese sticks, and boy was it good. Evan turned up his nose at the pizza and he had a slice of bread. He has done great with the jet lag, and I think it may have even helped. Now, he fights sleep as he always has, but with the five hour difference, he finally gives up his fight at about eight for his bedtime (that's 1 am his time), and about noon for his nap (5 pm his time, his normal nap is 12 pm). So those are two tantrums that we've avoided. This morning, when he woke up, he actually looked at his bare foot, pointed to his sock that had come off at night, and said sock. We were excited. Also, we've met more couples than we can count. Last year we hid from adoptive couples while we were here. We just didn't want to talk about it. This year, we're seeking them out. Brandi just went up stairs a few minutes ago. She had blogged already, and then the computer malfunctioned, and she lost it before she could save it. I've tried to hit all the key points that she told me about, but if I missed any, she'll blog later. See you soon.

Brandi, Clay, and Evan

Safely here in Moscow

We have arrived. We actually got here at 12:30 pm Moscow time, which is about 4:30 am over there. We haven't been able to figure out how to call home, so this is the first contact we've made with anyone. Carol, hows Hannah holding up without her running buddy? Let us know. We had the same driver in Moscow as last time, and he's okay, but isn't a talker like Anthony was last year. We just picks us up and drops us off. A man named Phillip is going to help us in the US Embassy, and he will meet us in a few minutes, and hopefully he'll tell us the best way to survive here, because room service is expensive. Mom and Mom, as soon as we find out the best way for you to reach us, I'll email it to Lisa, so you two coordinate. Things are so different in Moscow this year. As I typed last year, I thought only of Evan, and how I missed him, and how we would make it until the next trip. This year, I'm watching him and his mom chase each other through the hotel lobby. They have a glass elevator, and everytime it goes up or down, he stops and points in amazement. In his twenty two months on this earth, he has experienced so little, and what a pleasure it is to give him a crash course. This morning as we got on the plane, he was a little nervous, and while we climbed, he held me tightly, and fell asleep with his head on my arm. Those first two hours were the only peaceful ones of the six that we flew. He was very good though, and didn't throw any fits. He even took it upon himself to chastise the baby behind us who did. Well as y'all read this, do I sound any closer? I should, cause we're coming home in a week. We love you all.


Clay, Brandi, and Evan Hodges

Moscow Bound

This is the last time we will post from Irkutsk. Our facilitator is coming over tonight to finish up business, and give us all of Evan's paperwork so that we can make a 9:15 AM flight to Moscow in the morning (that will be Friday night @ 8:15 in Georgia). Say an extra prayer as we go onto the next leg of the adventure. We'll see how Evan handles a one room hotel room, and how he deals with the jet lag. Moscow is 5 hours behind the only home he has ever had. That means tomorrow will be a long day for him, and I hope the flight wears him out. Depending on the availability of a hotel computer, we may not be blogging quite as much from Moscow. Mark had to go to the internet cafe in Moscow, and it cost him about fifty American dollars for an hour, so don't be alarmed if posts get scarce, but maybe we'll find a free computer so who knows? When I talk to you guys next, we'll be about 2000 miles closer to home.

Clay

One more day!

It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day here in Irkutsk. We took Evan to the shopping mall today and bought him a pair of Russian shoes! Too Funny! Well, he is not happy here at the internet cafe and people are starting to look at us...sorry for the short post but better go.
Love you all!

71 hours, 40 minutes, and 50 seconds.....

71 hours, 40 minutes, and 50 seconds, but whose counting? That's how long it will be until our flight leaves for Moscow. we have had a wonderful experience here, and have gotten attached to the schatte's and Hannah (my caps lock button only works on certain letters, so all of you first grade teachers reading this, cut me some slack), but i'm ready to begin the final phase of our journey. The weather here has been good, but rain and sleet are expected the next two days, which will make for long days with the little ones who run to the closet for their shoes everytime one of us has to go to the market or here. i left them screaming in the floor when i came here. we went to the yellow mall yesterday and bought a few toys to hide until we get on the plane. maybe evan will be good on the plane, or better yet, sleep. probably wishful thinking. i'm excited. Moscow is not home, but we will be staying at a marriot, so we will have television (some english channels) and control of the thermostat in the room. they keep all buildings here at about 80 to 85 degrees. i hope i don't suffocate between now and saturday. it was great talking to some of the people at the bank at midnight last night. i can't wait to get back to work, and i mean it. hope all is well.

Clay

Our 10 days are over!!!

Our 10 days are over now so our paperwork can begin! Andrew came over to our apartment and told us that he now has the official court decree! We are so excited, now everything is becoming final! Andrew picked Clay up this morning and took him to the notary's office to sign some papers to request Evan's adoption certificate and birth certificate. We also took evan to have his picture taken for his passport , not a good picture but it is our son!!! Evan and Hannah got into their first battle the other day so Evan has a fat lip in the picture. :-) Evan got even and gave Hannah a scratch under her eye but I still think Hannah won.

The weather is getting colder and is calling for it to be icy tomorrow and Thursday. After the kids wake up from their naps we are going to take a street car back to the yellow mall. We need wipes and that is the only place that we have found wipes like the ones that we use at home. The wipes in the markets here are very rough. IT is also a good excuse to go to the Figaro for pizza and desert pizza! They have the best pineapple pizza with powdered sugar. yum yum!

we enjoyed our time yesterday with sandy (the missionary that we met) she is so nice. She wants to cook dinner for us on Thursday night. We are really looking forward to it. What nice people, to open up their home to three total strangers and their kids for dinner!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and comments...keep sending them!

Funny story: A Russian lady knocked on our door today and began talking to us and kept talking to us. We kept telling her Nee pon e mi u (I don't understand) finally she just left and gave us a piece of paper. We told Andrew about it and we figured out that we were invited to a "homeowners meeting" He was happy to know about it so that he and Alex could go to it.

Tuesday afternoon...and counting down! Love you all!

Happy Tears

Whenever I come to the internet cafe I always read the comments from yesterday before I type my post. As I sit here in the internet cafe today, I am getting many funny looks...like "Why is that crazy American girl crying and laughing?" Well, it is because after reading Mark's comment I am in tears. Mark, we love you and miss you so much! We are so blessed to have met you and Carol and Hannah, the three of you will always be family to us! I think Clay misses you the most. I think he was a little "ill" yesterday. HA HA (Only Mark will get that) He misses talking to you about God, ball, the states, and guys stuff. He loves us but misses your talks now he only has "girl talk" or "baby talk" with the occasionally watching of Friends :-)

Yesterday was good. We met a very nice family from Spain for pizza that is adopting a little girl about a month older than even from another baby home. There adoption was granted last Friday. Continue to pray for waiting families. There are two other couples here with court dates coming up that we are also hoping to meet this week.

This afternoon we are meeting some friends of Kirsten's who are missionaries here. They are going to walk around the city with them.

Carol and I are out now and naptime is almost over, in-fact I can probably guarantee that one if not both of the kids are probably up. I wonder how Da-Da is doing with both of them. It is so great to see him interact as a father, it is something that I have waited so long for and it is the sweetest site in the whole world.

Evan went down for nap really well today. We were very excited! He is getting better and better at it. I think he is finally realizing that we will always be there for him and that we won't be gone when he wakes up.

Less than a week left here in Irkutsk. We leave Saturday am, Friday night for you guys. Please pray for a good flight for us. We hope Evan does well.

Tammy, We gave Alex the Minnie Mouse and he said that he would deliver it to Olga.

Clay is going to the baby home one day this week with Alex or Andrew to spend time with Anicka, Nathan, and Sasha hopefully he will get lots and lots of great photos and video. We love you guys! You will be here soon.

We love you and miss you all!
Brandi