[cathvash]

Yeah, well I didn't know where it is either! It is in the wild "Far East", 4 hours up the coast from Vladivostok on the Sea of Japan.

Strange place to have ended up. Perhaps no one knows where it is because they have almost no communications here, internet or reliable phone service either for that matter!!! "No...(they say), Eet ALWAYS work until now" Great.

Actually, I am very excited to be here, despite the inconvienences. In my last post, I was reeling from the trip over and trying to fight to a decision, pretty much alone, about whether to decline my blind referral. I'm a nurse and have this need to "fix" broken people. I had to totally disconnect from that mindset and look practically at my limitations as a parent.

The child I declined will, I hope, be accepted by a couple with one stay-at-home parent who can lock this child to his/her hip for several months and feed him 5-6 nutritious meals a day, get him to rehab appointments etc. and kiss him a hundred times a day. With that kind of intense intervention, who knows?

I was worried about how the local MOE official was going to react about the declined referral. She had been strict with several families at my hotel. Actually, as it turns out, she was the same lady who placed my daughter with me 3 years ago, and she remembered her! When the photos popped out of my purse, and she saw how Alex has bloomed, the ice melted..."Now tell me...What kind of child you wish?"

Next thing I knew, I was checking out of the comfort of the North American oasis of a hotel in Vladivostok, with it's many wonderful adoptive parents (it's amazing how you make quick friends over here), and heading off to meet a child in some distant place I had not expected to be.

Actually, I was planning for Tommy train and Sesame Street, and ended up with the referral of a 15 month old! Back to diapers!! This wasn't within my minimum age requested, but I just had a feeling this time the child was the "right" one and accepted the referral for a younger boy.

It would not be ethical for me to say too much at this time, and I sure would love to post a photo, but that will have to wait. I CAN say that when I got to the Nahodka hospital, the most darling "leprechaun" came through the door - covered with wild strawberry blond curls and a wide grin! He's a handful and a half, but a real sweetheart!

Of course, it aint over till it's over, but I feel hopeful eveything will work out now.

For those waiting, and for those who will have to go "blind", don't despair! Though it may be scary and difficult, the outcome is what matters. They say "follow your gut" when it comes to making these types of decisions, and you can count me in that camp now. The "gut" was what led me to this point.

Thanks for all of your support. It made a big difference!!