The Ides of November

We have some news about our travel date... sort of. You will recall that we were delayed because the court had trouble obtaining our kids' birthmothers' birth certificate. Well, they now have it. That's the good news.

The less than good news is that it had one of the infamous "10-day holds" on it that seem to be so common in Russian legal affairs. We learned that the 10-day hold expired on... you guessed it... October 1st. This is the same day that the judge in Stavropol left for vacation... for the entire month of October. The judge did not receive the document before leaving.

So.... we are not yet on the court schedule. One better... we will not be placed onto the court schedule until the judge returns to work... in NOVEMBER. Our caseworker said that our in-country rep learned from the court clerk that we will most likely be scheduled for sometime between November 17 - 20. It looks like we aren't going anywhere until the Ides of November at the very soonest. Hopefully the Ides of November will be better for us than the Ides of March were for Julius Casesar! The way things are going, I'm starting to wonder. In any case, we are STILL awaiting an "official" date because all we have so far is someone's best guess.

The weather in Stavropol for our potential travel keeps getting colder and colder. This will be an issue because we have VERY limited baggage weight restrictions. Trying to take warm clothing for us and for the new kids and still be within the weight restriction is going to be a challenge.

Keep us in your prayers.