Christmas so far....

Well - our household is full of new experiences. Last Saturday, Deniss and I made some cookies. He had never done that before. So - I taught him about licking the beater and other such things that kids do when "helping" to make cookies. He really did help though - he ran the mixer for me and help drop cookie dough onto the cookie sheets.

Saturday night we went to Callaway to the "Fantasy in Lights" display. It was cold and raining but we didn't complain because we needed the rain so much. The lights are still fun to see - even in the rain.

The boys are taking exams this week. They will be out of school on Friday. I will be taking them ice skating that day.

Deniss has an appointment to take his test for his learners licenses at DMV tomorrow. We were able to make arrangements to have someone from DMV read the questions to him. So - if all goes well, I will be teaching Deniss to drive soon! And Aaron will start in about six months! Say some prayers for us all!

Merry Christmas to anyone reading this!

Robin

Thanksgiving

Wow - what a great Thanksgiving we had this year. So much to be thankful for with Deniss in our family. It was fun trying to explain our tradition to him - part history lesson - partly I just kept saying "It's all about the food".

We had Thanksgiving dinner with friends from church. Having a big group around always makes Thanksgiving fun. We couldn't get Deniss to try the cornbread dressing. Maybe at Christmas.

On Saturday, Ken's birthday, I had arranged for all the Likumi kids to get together for ice skating. All of the families came. That was eight kids that have been or are in the final stages of adoption that live in North Georgia. They all came from the Likumi Children's Home in Latvia. There are two brother/sister siblings groups that are in family's with two other siblings. There is a set of twin girls who were adopted by a couple with no other children. There is one girl who now has three siblings and then there is Deniss with two brothers. All of the siblings were there ice skating as well with the exception of our Bobby and one other older brother from another family. So we had a great crowd. The Likumi kids loved getting to see each other - after all - they are like family as well. The parents all enjoyed talking to each other and sharing the joys and pains of adopting older kids from another country. It seems like we all were able to laugh about our shared "issues". Kids that eat us out of house and home, kids not understanding why they need to tell us before they leave the house, kids that struggle learning enough English to get by in school. The list goes on - but it was nice to talk about these things and know that we all had the same issues. But most important - it was nice to see the joy and happiness from all of the families and the kids! We are already planning another get together for February!

Deniss got to experience his Dad's birthday as well. He was with us for Aaron's and my birthday back in June but our birthdays were overshadowed a bit this year because we were still in Europe. We were busy getting paperwork completed in Riga on Aaron's birthday. We were traveling to Poland for our US Embassy appointment on my birthday. Now that I think about it, we were busy with Deniss on Ken's birthday as well. Maybe next year we will all have birthday's that are not overshadowed by the adoption thing. By then we will just be busy with everyday life.

Robin

Halloween

Well - Deniss had his first experience with the whole trick or treat thing last night. He had never done that before. He went with Aaron and a friend. He was a "redneck" in camoflage clothing. Only we know how out of character that really was! He had a good time but I really think he is going to get sick from all the candy!

We also participated in a fall festival at church on Sunday night. I really thought he was going to be sick from the candy that night as well.

We have had a wild week so far and it is only Thursday. Besides the Halloween stuff, on Monday night we got a letter from the boys high school stating that two girls had been arrested for discussing a shooting threat in a My Space chat room. It has been in the local newspapers. Yesterday, rumors were flying at the school about another threat. About 25% of the students went home early. We did not get the boys because we felt like the rumors yesterday were not credible. People tend to get a little crazy at times like these.

Robin

We finally have citizenship papers

Even through Deniss officially became a citizen of the USA when he went through Immigrations in Atlanta back in June, Homeland Security wouldn't give us his citizenship papers until he went to a swearing in ceremony. Deniss and I went to an 8:30AM appointment in Tucker on Friday. He signed his papers, swore an oath ant then received his papers. It was actually issued back in July - go figure! We can now get his social security number and passport. Having a passport will mean that we can at least start thinking about a trip back to Latvia.

The wait at Immigration on Friday was long but I did find another family that has worked with New Horizons. They adopted a 15 year old from St. Petersburg Russia. So - at least I had someone to talk to during the two hours that I was in the waiting room. Deniss had to go in another room all that time. I hadn't taken my camera so they took pictures of Deniss receiving his paper and us hugging after the ceremony.

The Shultz's have left to go on their next Latvian adventure. They hosted a boy named Dima when we were hosting Deniss. Dima decided after their first trip to Latvia that he did not want to be adopted. It broke their hearts but not their spirits. They hosted again this summer - this time a brother and sister. Go check our their blog at jblatvia.blogspot.com. They left the USA yesterday. We are praying for better news after this trip!

Robin

I have been busy - so it has been a while since I last posted anything. We got wonderful news from some friends who have been trying to adopt from Latvia as well. John and Becky tried to adopt a 14 year old boy from Likumi. However, after their two week visit, he decided that he did not want to leave his brother behind. I think it is probably a tough decision to make at that age. In the short run, his life would be easier staying in Latvia. It is difficult to adapt to a family, to a new language and a new country. But, we all know that in the long run, having a family can make a kids life much better. That is a very difficult thing to understand at age 14. Thank goodness Deniss has the maturity to see that the short term difficulties are outweighed by the long term benefits.

Anyway, John and Becky didn't give up. Since they were already in the adoption mode, they decided to host a brother and sister from Likumi over the summer. Of course, they fell in love with them and decided they wanted them. They just got the good news that the referral for the kids had come from the Ministry in Latvia. They are scheduled to go for the two week visit the first week in November. They are also trying to make arrangements to bring the kids back with them under a temporary custody arrangement.

Another couple that hosted last summer (2006) when we did, is going to Latvia in a few days to bring home their new son and daughter. The Dolans were a little behind us in getting their paperwork done. The adoption was finalized in September.

So as of now there are four kids from Likumi here in North Georgia with another three in North Florida. Two more will be here before the end of the month with another two by the first of the year. Quite a crowd. We have gotten together with the twins a few times. We hope to get some of the others together.

It is a little harder for Deniss to get used to not being able to speak Latvian. All but one of those other kids have a sibling here in America that they can speak to in their native tongue. Deniss doesn't have that luxury. He says he misses his language.

The boys are out of school the end of this week. We decided to take a little trip to Texas to visit Bobby and Lana. Deniss will be able to add another state to his list of states he has been to or through. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and now Texas.

Deniss had an unfortunate incident last night with his bike. We had gotten him a really nice bike because he enjoys riding so much. Well, last night he rode it to Best Buy. He knows that bikes have the same rights as cars, so he pulled his bike into a parking space, locked it up and went inside. When he came out, he found that someone (who didn't have the nerve to stay around) had run over his bike with their car. He called Ken, Ken called the police. There was an eye witness who hung around to describe the car to the police but unforturnatly the van had the drive off dealer tag on it so there was no tag number to trace. We can only hope that they messed up their shiny new vehicle because they left Deniss' bike in a heap on the ground. Now we have to find a way to pay for major repairs to his bike or we might have to buy a new one. He was noticably upset!

I will try not to wait so long for the next post.

Robin

Well - school was a slight problem again but not because of Deniss. This time, we got a nasty letter from the school saying that they would take Deniss off the roles if we didn't give them his social security number by the middle of October. Well - that is a problem because we don't have one. We can't get his SSN until we get his citizenship papers. We can't get his citizenship papers until his "swearing in" ceremony on October 26. So - I had to go to school today and sign a paper saying that I objected to giving his SSN. Crazy stuff! Here he is in this country legally but they give us a hard time! Go figure.

Anyway - the school is happy for now. Hopefully we will get his papers in October. So much depends on that. We need the SSN for school, for taxes, for him to get a learners license, for getting a passport etc. Life just revolves around those numbers.

Robin

More school stuff

Yesterday Deniss and I met with the ESOL teacher and guidance counselor. Deniss is really beginning to believe that people want to help him. He comes out of these meetings very excited about getting a good education. He told me yesterday that when he was in Latvia he did not care so much about school. Now he thinks he can get a good education and eventually a good job. I think it is exciting that a 15 year old can see the value in having better opportunities. He sees that staying in Latvia would have been easier right now but not so good for the rest of his life. I am not so sure I would have been able to see the value in that when I was 15. But then, I always had parents and teachers looking out for my best interest. I get the feeling that maybe even the teachers in Latvia didn't put a lot of effort in the "orphanage" kids. Deniss seems amazed that these teachers seem to care so much about helping him.

Robin

School stuff

Yesterday Deniss and I had a meeting with his guidance counselor and all of his teachers. Well - it was supposed to be all but the most important one - the ESOL teacher was a no show. Anyway, it was a good meeting. Deniss was very nervous about it before hand. He had certainly never had a parent going to bat for him before. All meetings with teachers before were never for good reasons. I kept reassuring him that this was a good meeting - meant to find ways to help him.

When we left - he was happy. He now feels like we are mostly all on his side! (There is one teacher that wanted to only say his piece and not listen to what we had to say so I am a little concerned about him). But - for the most part, I think we found some ways to make the language barrier a little easier for Deniss. They are going to find a buddy for him in a couple of classes to read questions to him and write down his answers.

Hopefully the ESOL teacher will call me today for a rescheduled appointment. I really need some guidance on how to teach Deniss to read and write in English. I am not a trained teacher so my attempts are missing the mark a bit right now.

Anyway - we all have a lot of work to do to help Deniss. He is a great kid but understandably gets very frustrated and overwhelmed trying to learn in English.

Robin

Friday night, Deniss and I spent the night in Duluth before the Atlanta Cup started on Saturday. His first game was at 8AM. Deniss talked non-stop the whole way up there. We covered a lot of topics, including people getting sent to Siberia from Latvia and the Holocaust.

His team lost both games on Saturday but he was really excited that they were playing better as a team. The boys are a hodgepodge group of 14 and 15 year olds from different soccer clubs, so it took a little while for them to become a real team. They won their game on Sunday.

Between games on Saturday, first I made Deniss go to a scrapbook store with me. Believe it or not, he had a little fun with that. Then we went to the Mall of Georgia. He had never been in a large mall before. We bought some new soccer cleats for Deniss and some new shoes for me. We had a lot of fun just being together. Again, Deniss did a LOT of talking.

Ken and I called each other on our cell phones during the games. Aaron was playing in Fayetteville. Aaron's team won the first game and lost the second. They won their game on Sunday when I was there. Aaron scored two goals over the weekend.

Monday we went to the New World of Coke in Atlanta. We had some family fun. Now we are all back to our daily grinds. Thankfully, it will be a four day week!

Robin

Deniss is beginning to get a little overwhelmed at school. He is a smart kid and understands most of the concepts but learning in english is difficult. He is not only learning new concepts but has to understand the english words as well. Tests are difficult because he doesn't understand written english as well as he does spoken english. He says he gets headaches. We have been told that there is such a thing as "english" headaches.

He does miss his friends in Latvia. He also says he misses his language. I can understand that. Every aspect of his life has changed. He is really adapting well considering the overwhelming amount of change in his life!

Aaron is adapting to a new brother and to high school as well. Of course he has lots of old friends to help in the high school thing.

The boys are playing in the Atlanta Cup soccer tournament this weekend. But of course nothing could be simple. Deniss plays in Duluth. Aaron plays in Fayetteville. Deniss has his first game at 8AM Saturday so he and I will go spend the night in Duluth Friday night. Ken and I will switch kids on Sunday. They only have to play Monday if they go to the finals.

More later.....

Robin

The first week of school went by without any real problems. We did have issues with Deniss being able to read some of the instructions and questions on his homework - but of course we knew that would happen. We are settling into a routine with school and soccer now.

Deniss says he had lots of time with nothing to do in Latvia. He says he wasn't so busy as he is here. I guess we are teaching him to be a typical American teenager.

Robin

School!

Well I was on pins and needles all day thinking about the boys and their first day of high school. I knew Aaron would find his friends and be fine. I wasn't so sure how Deniss would do. He can sometimes go into his shell around people he doesn't know. But - to my surprise, when I got home, he was all smiles. He had a great day. He said people were very friendly and lots of people wanted to be his friend. Some friends of Aaron's (girls) found him at lunch and had him sit with them. He was quite pleased with the day.

I took the boys to school yesterday and today. Taking Deniss to school has really started to make all of this feel permanent. I knew it was before but somehow - it is really taking hold now.

I picked Deniss up from soccer practice last night to take him to find new shoes. We stopped and got some dinner before heading home. We kept a conversation going all of that time. He has really started talking more about his childhood. We talked about Christmas and Santa. He said he never believed in Santa because Santa never came and brought him anything. He said he never got much for Christmas or birthdays. I told him that Santa would bring him something this year. He just smiled.

Robin

Well - today is a big day! Deniss and Aaron started high school today. Today is the day when we really get to feel that Deniss is here to stay and not just visiting again. Both boys were nervous starting a new school. Aaron will be fine once he finds his friends. Deniss just needs a few days under his belt. This is a much larger school than he has even attended. His school in Latvia had about 200 students. McIntosh has over 2000 students!

The boys played in a soccer tournament over the weekend. It was HOT!!! We watched them play against each other on Saturday. Deniss' team won - but it was close. We didn't enjoy that game some much because we couldn't cheer for either side!

Robin

I got back from my trip yesterday. I was really glad to see my boys. Deniss was in the yard waiting for me.

We went to the first night of family VBS at church. That was fun. Deniss had seen pictures of us from the last one back last fall. He had fun helping the children make wooden boats. Aaron helped make ropes.

This weekend will be the first soccer tournament of the season. We are looking forward to seeing the boys play. Deniss' and Aarons' teams will play against each other in the second game. That will be nerve racking!

One week until the start of school. I think the real adjustment issues will start then. We'll see.

Robin

Well - we were going to stop posting but have been asked to continue. So - we will keep this going but won't be updating quite as often.

All continues to go well in our newly expanded family. Last night we went to the New Horizons farewell party. Deniss wanted to see Ruslans and Zenta again before they went home to Latvia. It was fun to see some of our old friends from New Horizons - but the best part was knowing that we wouldn't have to go to the airport on Wednesday to say goodbye to Deniss! My heart ached for the families that will be going through that sad time.

I have to leave today to go to continuing edcation and a partners meeting. Deniss said he wanted to go with me but he and Aaron have soccer practice. Last night he said at least we know it is not a year but only a few days that we will be apart. Today will be the first day that I won't see him since we picked him up on June 4th.

Ken has been telling me that I need to cut the apron strings but I am just not ready to even consider that. I tell him that Deniss just got a Mother, he needs to be able to enjoy it.

Last Friday night, Deniss and Aaron's soccer teams played against each other in a scrimmage game. It was a lot of fun to finally see Deniss playing in a game. That was the first time in his life that he has played with family on the sidelines! At one point in the game Deniss and Aaron were going at it one on one. I couldn't look - I can't take sides! In the end, Deniss' team won - but they are older than Aaron's team. The first real test of both teams will be the weekend of the 11th of August. They are both playing in a tournament. We don't have the schedules yet but it may also be the first time that Ken and I have to go in different directions and each pick a kid to watch.

Deniss and Aaron start High School on the 16th of August. That is going to be the next major hurdle in our lives. So - big changes are coming!

More later
Robin

Deniss and Aaron started soccer training this week. They are running about four miles several times a week. Deniss went to the dentist yesterday. He may need braces. He says if he has to have braces, then he won't smile all of the time they are on. So - this should be interesting.

Tonight we are going to take Zenta, the director of Likumi to dinner. She is here for this summer's hosting program and we promised to take her to dinner. Besides, we wouldn't want to have her in America and us not get to spend some time with her.

I don't know how much longer we can keep up with the blog without invading Deniss' privacy. At this point, this can get a little personal. It has been a lot of fun letting folks keep up with our adventure this way. But - Deniss is a teenager and wouldn't want his personal life open to the whole world.

I will up date a little while longer regarding soccer and school. I will let you know when we plan to stop.

Robin

Another week behind us

I took Deniss to have some fun with his Latvian friends on Friday. It is really strange to sit at lunch with your child and three of his friends and not be able to understand what they are saying! But - I could tell that they were really enjoying being together and that is what counts. Deniss had a chance to speak in Latvian for two days. The other boy in the group is being hosted this summer. He came home with us and spent the night. We met back up with his host family at a New Horizons event at Stone Mountain Saturday night. It was fun to see some of this summer's families. We also got to see Zenta, the orphanage director.

Ken and Deniss went to the first meeting for Deniss' soccer team. Ken is going to be the team manager. We are looking forward to seeing Deniss play. Camp is next week and I think there is a tournament shortly after that. Aaron's team meeting is tonight.

We are all continuing to adjust. No major hurdles - just normal teen issues.

Robin

Well - another week has past. Bobby and Lana were here until Saturday. They stayed in Deniss' room. He had to sleep on the couch. He was sad to see them go - but was very excited about getting his room back. Last night he asked if he could rearange his room, which he did.

He continues to ride his bike for long periods of time. I think that he enjoys that sense of independence. He was used to having some freedom at the orphanage, so we don't want to confine him too much.

We are arranging to get together with the twins who now live in Marietta. They are 12 year old girls. Deniss talked to them on the phone last night. They talked for a long time. I think he really enjoys the opportunity to speak to someone in Latvian.

We are going to Stone Mountain this weekend to meet up with the hosting group from New Horizons. Zenta, the director of the orphanage and Ruslan, another kid from Likumi will be there. Deniss wants to see them as well.

Deniss' lanquage skills continue to develop. He talks more and more all the time. He gets much less frustrated when he doesn't know a word. Sometimes he draws pictures to help explain things.

Deniss and Aaron are continuing to find their places in this new family. They are testing each other and us - not in a bad way - just feeling their way. We have not really hit any snags yet that we could not have anticipated. Just stuff that is normal. I am amazed sometimes at the concepts that I have to explain to Deniss. Stuff that we all take for granted about being part of a family. He didn't seem to understand at first when I asked him what he had been doing while I was at work. I think he felt like he needed to defend himself - rather than the fact that I was just interested in him.

We are adjusting very well at this point - but I am sure there will be some unexpected snags before long!

Robin

OK - so we were having fun!

We had so much fun - it was been hard to slow down and write an update. We got to WDW on Friday night. Saturday, we picked up Bobby and Lana from the airport. Saturday night we went to Chef Mickey's for dinner. We had a late reservation which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Apparently we had one of the last seatings of the night. The characters loosen up a bit when it is quitting time. We had our own personal show!

Deniss really opened up during our vacation. He can speak and read a lot more english than we suspected. We always knew that he understood most things, but he admitted to Bobby that he thinks it is funny when people say things over and over trying to make him understand.

We did most of the must do things at Disney World but we didn't do everything. We like to take it easy - we don't like to stand in long lines. Hartzog family plan - go to a park early, go straight to a very popular ride and get fast passes. then go on rides with short lines until time for the fast pass. when you finish the ride with the fast pass, it will be about lunch time. Get lunch, nap, go to pool.

We are now back in PTC. We went to the parade this morning. Craziness as usual - if you have never experienced the 4th of July parade in Peachtree City, then you are missing something. Tonight we are going to a church gathering for the youth.

More next week - soccer practice will start - and we are having family photos made.

Robin

Monday morning update

Well - we have been to Hilton Head and back. Short trip but we did get to see the people we wanted to see. We went to our old church on Sunday. It was great to be able to introduce Deniss and for them to see how much Aaron has grown!

Friday we leave for Disney World. This will be Deniss' first trip to Disney. We certainly hope that he enjoys it as much as the rest of the family does. We are certified Disney addicts! Bobby and Lana will join us there on Saturday - so that will be the first time all the Hartzogs are together in one place - all six of us!

Deniss and Aaron are getting quite adventurous on their bikes. They go a little farther each day. Deniss is very athletic and likes to keep in shape. Aaron is getting stronger keeping up.

We will update again from Disney World!

Robin

Thursday and all is well

Ok - language is coming faster every day! Deniss is getting brave venturing out on his bike. He wants to explore and is used to having some freedom. Today he took a one hour bike ride. He says he wants to know where he is.

I took him to my Rotary meeting today to show him off. I am working with our Rotary club and one in Latvia to try to come up with a project that we can fund for the orphanage where Deniss grew up.

Aaron and Deniss went to soccer tryouts Monday night. Deniss pulled a muscle in his thigh. They are trying out at the Lightning organization in Fayetteville. We hate having to drive that far but the team in Aaron's age group have all gone over there. We want both of them to be at the same club. Deniss is in the next age bracket up from Aaron. We know that Deniss will start to make new friends once he is involved in soccer - so we are encouraging that activity.

We are going to Hilton Head Saturday to visit a friend. My mentor, boss, friend and fellow Chrisian has cancer. He will be starting chemo soon and won't be able to have many visitors, so we are going to let him meet Deniss and see how tall Aaron has gotten.

More next week.

Robin

Monday morning update

Well we are settling in to our new life. It was wonderful that on our first day back it was Sunday and we got to go to church. We were all welcomed back home with open arms.

I showed Deniss the rather large scrapbook I made of the pictures from his visit last summer. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that he could read some of the journaling. He can read more English than I thought! He is getting very comfortable speaking English to us. He clams up around other people but is saying more and more to us everyday. We have been told many times that English comes very quickly once these kids get home. I am really starting to believe it!

We got Sam from the kennel yesterday. He showed every sign that he remembered Deniss. Once he sniffed him a few times, he ran and got a toy to play with. Deniss spent a lot of time with Sam last year playing with Sam's stuffed toys. Sam remembered!

Deniss got brave and went out on a walk around the neighborhood with Sam yesterday. I think Ken was a bit nervous with him going alone but he will never learn his way around unless he gets to venture out alone.

Today we are going to try to assess the clothes situation. Deniss still had some of the clothes that we bought him last year but of course everything he owned fit into one suitcase. He has shorts and t-shirts, a little underwear but he only had the shoes that were on his feet. I think a shopping trip is in order but building his wardrobe will take some time. He always says no when we tell him to pick something out at the store. He is certainly not a typical teenager yet with a closet full of clothes!

More later.
Robin

HOME SWEET HOME

WE ARE HOME AND GEORGIA IS ON OUR MINDS. Just a quick post and more details. Deniss Hartzog is an American citizen as of 4:45 PM EDT June 9th 2007. Hip Hip Hooray.

We are coming HOME!

We have Deniss' visa and we have changed our flights. All four of the Hartzogs will be coming home from Warsaw tomorrow. WOW. We are so ready!

Robin

In Warsaw - waiting

Yesterday was Robin's birthday. What a wonderful gift - a new son! We left Riga at about 1:30PM - we were actually almost 30 minutes early leaving! Never in America!

We arrived in Warsaw early and had an interesting introduction to Poland. After a long taxi ride, we arrived at the Sheraton Hotel only to be told that we had a room for two - two twin beds! We know that the travel agent was very specific about what we needed. Well they offered us two rooms and we would have been paying twice the price. So - we got back in another taxi and went to the Marriott. We got one room with a king bed and a cot. Aaron slept on the floor for the night. We moved to a different room today with two double beds. Everyone gets a comfy bed tonight.

We got up early for our appointment with the USEmbassy. We arrived about 30 minutes early. There was a line outside already but we were told we could go to the front of the line. They tried not to let us go in until 9AM but we finally said the magic word "Adoption", then the gates parted and we got our move to the head of the class pass. (Most of the people there were non-USA citizens tring to get visas to the US)

We went through our appointment with no problems. We had an interview with a very nice young lady who promised to get the paperwork done as soon as possible. However, there was a common computer glitch that someone in Washington DC had to fix and they don't get to work until noon Poland time. So, Ken and Deniss are walking back to the Embassy now for a 3PM appointment to see if they give him back his passport with the immigration visa attached. We sure hope we get it today because then we can change our tickets to get home sooner. More later.....

Robin

Vistors to Our Blogspot

Starting in late may Robin set up a Google Analytical tracker on our blogspot. At the time it was just something to do. Then it became a must see everyday. Now when I got the results for June 5th a little while ago I was amazed. We have had visitors from ten states, and six countries. Most of the states we can figure out but who in the world is longing in in Turkey? Oh well thank all of you for your comments, support prayers and encouragement. Dont give up I will be posting for a while to come. I have more pictures to add to the other blogspot and will do so if we get the time and internet connection in Warsaw, otherwise I will start posting from home soon.

Last full day in Latvia

Today we had nothing on the agenda but to have a little fun. We did such a huge effort yesterday getting all of the paperwork and appointments done that we finished in one day instead of the two that we had allowed. (Let's hope it works that fast in Warsaw!)

So we had lunch at the Lido - a restaurant and amusement park. It was the same place that Deniss and friends went ice skating back in February. This time he and Aaron went roller blading on the same spot. We left there and went to a place called Go Planet. They rode go carts on an indoor track, played lazer tag and a few other games. That killed off the rest of the afternoon. We are back in our rooms now getting ready to leave Latvia tomorrow.

Deniss has seemed a bit distracted and down today. I think the initial adrenalin has begun to wear off and reality is setting in. He is probaby struggling with mixed emotions. There is absolutely no doubt that he wants to go but who wouldn't be a bit sad and even scared to be leaving the only home you have ever known for a different country!

Well - we just will have to love him through all of this.


Robin

New Pictures on Latvian Pictures Blogspot

Many new pictures have been posted on the new blogspot. Please visit www.latvianadoptionpictures.blogspot.com.
Deniss talking to his older brother Bobby during the first minutes of our arrival. We could be there but Bobby and Lana had to be home in Texas, so they missed out on the festivities. Oh did I mention it was 3:00 AM in Texas!:)Yes that is mom's elbow in the pic. We have not taken the time to crop our pics.

One More Hurdle has been Crosssed

While most of you were enjoying a good nights rest we have been very busy. We met our facillator and driver at 9:30 AM to start the medical side of the paper work. We arrived at the hospital that does contract work for the American Embassy at 10. Our driver left to pick up another family for the same thing. Five minutes later the hospital clerk needed a paper that we had left in the room. I took the walk back to the hotel, got all of our papers(because we were not sure what she wanted) and returned shortly thereafter. Well wouldn't you know it, we did not have the paper she wanted. She then said, "Dont worry, last family did not have either." Oh well, long story short, all systems are go, he passed his physical, his chest xray is good and he only needed one shot. Robin and the boys and facillatator are out now picking up his new passport with the correct name on it. What was supposed to take the better part of three days was done in about six hours. Now we have a free day tomorrow, well almost...

Today was Aaron's birthday,and May 14th was Deniss's. so we are going to take them to an amusement park tomorrow and the Lido resturant (Lido is a must do in Riga)for dinner. We have been there before. They offer literally hundreds of choices of foods to eat and just as many deserts. After diner the boys will be able to skate for a couple of hours while mom and dad veg out and watch. No not ice skateing like in the January/.February pictures, now it is roller blading.

We will fly out of Riga Thursday afternoon for our appiontment with the American Embassy in Warsaw on Friday. Say a prayer all goes well. If his appiontment goes well and they issue his Visa on Friday, we will all be home before the weekend is over. And believe me we ALL are ready to be home. Deniss is in very good spirits and is very excited about coming to America.

A Time for Change

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The Daugava River in February...the the same river in June. Also the sun did not rise until about 9:00 AM and it would set between 3 and 4:00 PM. Now dawn is around 3:30 AM and dusk is about 10:30 PM. What a difference a season can make.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

We are back in Riga with Deniss. We couldn't stay at Likumi too long bacause we had an appointment to get Deniss' new Latvian passport. We have appointments tomorrow starting at 10AM with doctors. The doctor reports are needed when we go to the US Embassy in Warsaw.

After arriving at Likumi, Aaron and Deniss went out to play football (soccer). Soon there were many boys in on the game. Ken and I gave up and went inside to talk to the adults. We gave the ladies their presents. I had made a special scrapbook for Zenta using some of the pictures from last summer. She is coming to America again this summer with the New Horizons group. We are planning to take her out to dinner again.

When it was time to go, a lot of the children gathered around the car. Zenta and one of Deniss' longtime caregivers began to cry. Even one of Deniss' friends began to cry. As much as everyone was happy to see him with a family, they are also going to miss him. Likumi has been his home for almost 10 years. These people were all the family that he has had. So it was sad and happy at the same time. Deniss looked a little sad but after getting away from that area, he was all smiles! I am sure that he has some mixed emotions right now. Who wouldn't?

DENISS HARTZOG IS NOW WITH HIS FAMILY(Most of it that is)

It is a great day for all.Deniss is with his family, most of it that is, Bobby and Lana will catch up with us later this month. We got to Likumi at 10:oo AM today and Deniss came running down the road to meet us. We left at noon with no party because we had to go to passport appiontment at 2:00 in Riga. We pick up his passport Wednesday and should be cleared to leave Latvia on Thursday. Short blog for now because much is left to be done today, but long update and pic's later. Thank all of you for your support and prayers.































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NEW LINK ADDED

We have created another for for pictures of our adoption journey. Uploading pictures is very time consuming, and takes up alot of space, so we statred a new blog that I will be adding pictures as time permits. It is listed in my links of Christian Adoptions so it will only be a click away. The link for the new site is:
www.latvianadoptionpictures.blogspot.com

Check it out while it is under construction.
Not much will be added today. We are leaving in a few minutes to pick Deniss up. It is three hours each way and we will host a going away party for Deniss and it will be attended by about sixty kids. We will probably get in very late tonight so not much will be posted today. I will try to have pictures of the party up by sometime tomorrow.

HE HAS FOUND THE SOCCER HEAVEN

Do you think the boy is Happy?

WE ARE FINALLY IN RIGA

Just a short post to let all who are following us that we have arrived in Latvia. Check in hassles, strange carry on rules, late airplanes but we are finally here, It is 1:30 AM and we will be leaving here about 7:30 AM to go to Likumi to pick up Deniss. Big update on the blog tomorrow night so check it before you retire for the evening. Keep the prayers coming and pray for the team at Casa. Good night and God bless you all.

Fun and misadventures in London

London here we are. We arrived Friday AM. All went smoothly but slowly through customs. We bought our round trip ticket on the Gatwick Express to get us to Victoria Station in London. We then took one of the infamous London taxis to our hotel. It is a basic but decent hotel across the street from Kensington Gardens. We took a nap and then set out to find some lunch. We did a little walking to a real tourist trap area. We napped some more. Ken went and got us some "take away" food and then we made it an early night.

Saturday morning we had our traditional English breakfast here in the hotel. Then Ken and Aaron set out on the tube for Stamford Bridge (stadium for the Chelsea football club). Robin set out on a three hour walking trip to Harrods and back. This is where the misadventure set in.

Ken and Aaron went down into the tube (subway). Ken got on the train, the door shut, and Aaron was still on the outside. So Ken went on without Aaron. At the next stop, Ken got off, found a transit police person and told him about the problem. Fortunately, Aaron had the working cell phone. The police called him, he had gotton on the next train but it was a different line going in the wrong direction. The police gave him directions to get to the right station where he met Ken. Thank heavens, all turned out alright.

They went on their tour of Stamford Bridge. Robin walked to Harrods, around the inside of Harrods and then back to the hotel Three hours of walking almost non-stop. Needless to say, my feet were really tired!

We went to an English pub for dinner, fish and chips for all of us. That was fun.

Today we will take it easy before going back to Gatwick to go to Riga. Just think - this is Deniss' last day at the orphange!

More later.
Robin

The Third Phase of a long Journey

We started very early Thursday, May 31. I opened the garage door at 5:30 AM and John was in my driveway, 45 minutes early. For those of you who do not know our Youth minister, John Dollar, he just loves to cut it close on time. I recovered from my stroke and so the day began. We flew from ATL to London by way od LGA and bus to JFK. We were late departing JFK, but only sat on the runway for a little over an hour which was alot better than February.

We got to London on time at 6:30. We landed in Gatwick and took a train to Victoria Station, and after much confusion we ended up taking a London taxi to the hotel. The tube was going to cost 22 L, or $45 and the taxi was only $20 so it was faster and a bargain to boot. The hotel is very nice but the lifts do not seem to be working. We took a nap then went to lunch. We walk the streets for a while and viewed the many tourist traps, saving the good for tomorrow when we are rested. Aaron and I will go to Stamford Bridge for a tour of the stadium that his beloved Chelsea Futbol team plays, Robin is wimping out and going to do some walking and window shopping in some of the more "fancy" places in London. I will leave that part for her report.

We are all on pins and needles. We can pick up Deniss on Monday morning and he never has to go back. Hard to believe someone can wait that long to have a family. So many years no mom, dad or brothers and sisters, but finally he will have it all, just no sisters. I will update the blog daily from this piont on. I will being adding pictures as time and weather permits.

I am closing for now so that we can feed our face once again and try to get a full night sleep tonight. For now may God bless and keep all of you safe in the days to come.

One last request, our Church is sending a group to Mexico this week . Robin, Aaron and I usually go with this group but we could not figure out how to be in two places at once so we chose to pick up our new son. There are alot of you out there praying for the Hartzog family so just add this group to your prayers also. If you are interested in what they are doing please visit www.casaporcristo.org . We have being going for a couple of years now, so please pray for the group and especially for Alan if he needs to go out at night.

We go to London tomorrow!

We have waited soooooo long for our final trip to Europe. This has taken longer than anyone including the adoption agency thought. But - our travel date is here at last. We will leave the house in the morning at 6:30AM. It will be a really long day and night but well worth the exhaustion. We will finally have our arms around Deniss on Monday. We know how excited we all are - we can only imagine the emotions that Deniss must be feeling at this point. We have not talked to him since April 25. We can't get through on the telephone - and we can't get him to email us. Thankfully, the communication issues will be resolved over the summer!

We are taking a computer with us. We know there is internet access in the lobby of the hotel in London and in our room in Riga. We won't know about Warsaw until we get there. So - starting Friday afternoon, we will be updating about our travels.

Ken and Aaron have packed their bags already. My stuff is laid out on the dining room table. We had to get ready early because tonight is church night. There are some special events tonight so we don't want to miss! Besides, we know that we will get some extra prayers for our journey - and we have certainly learned the power of prayer over the last year!

Keep praying!

Robin

Update from the Dolan Family

I thought I would paste this email from the Dolan family. The Dolan's are another family from the ATL area adopting children from Latvia. My problems in Amsterdam are minor compared to theirs. Read on...

Hey Everyone,
We picked up Sintija and Maigurs yesterday. Well maybe I should start at the not-so-good beginning of our trip. Unfortunately, somewhere between Delta’s international ticket counter and Amsterdam’s passport check Michael’s fanny pack with his wallet in it was stolen. Fortunately, I had Michael’s passport in my purse. We’ve had to cancel our credit card, but we should be okay just withdrawing money from the ATM and converting the cash we brought into Lats and/or Euros.
Our day in Amsterdam wasn’t much fun because we couldn’t get money out of the ATM’s at first (all of our cash is in savings but their ATM’s just automatically withdraw the money from your checking account.) We had to wait until our bank opened so we could call them and have them transfer our savings balance into the checking account. In the meantime we had to walk about 7 km one way just to find a place that would convert our dollars to euro’s so we could pay for the hotel. Can you imagine what our cell phone bill will be like with all these calls to the banks, credit card companies and Delta? It’s $2.26 per minute to call from Latvia!
The trip started getting better when Daina, our lawyer in Latvia, met us at the airport. She has totally taken care of us since we’ve gotten here. She and our driver Dougness (sp?) took us all over Riga to find an outlet converter because the one we brought broke in Amsterdam (of course). Then they took us to our apartment that Daina had arranged. It’s 75 Euro’s a night (about $103) but it’s very big. It is in a very old building in Riga. The inside has a mixture of wood flooring and carpeting. There are four bedrooms, a very large dining room, a very large living room, and a narrow but long kitchen. The ceilings are very high with the original molding/plaster work. It’s beautiful. One bedroom and the living room have balconies that overlook the street. We are located near quite a few embassies including the British Embassy. We’ve found an extremely small grocery store that is very close, but later today will venture into old Riga (I didn’t think it could get much older than where we are at) and try to find a Rimi grocery store, which is like Meijer or Super Walmart but bigger and nicer.
Yesterday Daina and her husband Edgars picked us up at 8:30am. We drove close to 2 hours to the orphanage, much of the trip was over dirt roads. The country is absolutely beautiful. We were greeted by Zenta, the orphanage director, but Sintija and Maigurs were not in sight. We were invited in for tea and cookies, and finally after some small talk Sintija and Maigurs were brought in. They had lost the healthy glow that they left America with. Someone had dyed Sintija’s hair a lighter color – almost a strawberry blond. Can you imagine dying a 13 year old girl’s hair? It had been layered as well. I’m not sure she is too happy with it. I wonder if they were trying to make her look more like our family by giving her lighter hair? We were welcomed with big hugs, a welcome sign and small gifts. The kids then took us on a tour of the orphanage. It is very old, and so in that sense it is very run down. However, it is clean and as well taken care of as it can be given their limited funds. We were introduced to everyone and greeted very warmly. I got the feeling that Sintija and Maigurs had told everyone about us. There were beautiful little children (under 7, and not yet old enough for school) in one of the buildings. Michael asked me if I felt drawn to any of them, and I answered that I was drawn to all of them. They were all beautiful, and it broke our hearts to think of them with no families. Some of them would grab us by the hand to show us things like where they slept. You could tell they were very excited to see parents from America.
Shortly after our tour we left for the orphan court. We had to go the orphan court that was in the town where Sintija and Maigurs used to live with their parents. It was another 2 hours away, in the opposite direction as Riga. The kids, Michael and I all signed the papers we needed to, and then we had tea with the four women from the orphan court. They had fruit, cookies, candy, coffee, tea, juice and water – quite the spread for such a rural area. Then it was about four hours in the car back to Riga. We stopped at Lido’s, a huge restaurant and tourist attraction that people from surrounding countries come to. It was very good.
Today we are relaxing. We walked to the Olympic training center, and the grocery store, then back to the apartment for lunch. We’ll head to Old Riga as soon as I finish typing this letter. After dinner this evening, we’ll head to the coffee shop that offers wireless internet for about $2 per hour, so we can send this letter to all of you. So far, it’s like our almost ten months away from each other has just melted away. We’ve picked up right where we left off last summer. Sintija and Maigurs were excited to look at all of the pictures I loaded onto the computer. They loved seeing everyone in the family and are excited to talk to Amanda and Isaac on Saturday via Skype on the computer. Amanda and Isaac will be able to see us but we don’t have a webcam for the computer at home so we won’t be able to see them.
Take care and keep us in your prayers.
Jeannine (& Michael too!)

Just up late thinking

I am having trouble going to sleep lately thinking about the changes about to happen in the Hartzog household. But more about the unbelievable changes about to happen in Deniss' life. He has never really known what a loving family is like. Since he was 5 years old, he has never had his own room, never had a pet, never had much that was really his own. Yes - things are not the most important aspect of life but they are on the list! He has never had parents that worry about how he is doing in school, or who have been there to cheer him on in a sports activity. He has never had a family that just enjoys him being in the room. He has never had a family that gave him hugs for no particular reason. Wow - this next year will be overwhelming I am sure.

Thinking about all of these changes for Deniss have made me stop to look at the things in my life that are so easy to take for granted! It really makes me appreciate the fact that I was adopted as an infant and was blessed with a wonderful loving set of parents and a sister - as well as lots of extended family and friends. It makes me think back to lots of carefree childhood days. I have always appreciated the fact that my life has been blessed, but I am beginning to appreciate it all the more.

Just think, Deniss is starting the last three weekends of his life without a family close by. He has two more weeks alone, and then we will finally all be together!

Enough rambling - good night.

Robin

Update on travel etc.

Well, we have the actual plane tickets now. I had to give up on my do it yourself job and go to a travel agent. It took three different tickets each, including for Deniss only going one way, to get us around Europe to all of the stops we need to make. And boy is it expensive! Thank heavens this is a once in a lifetime event! That makes it a lot easier to swallow. And of course getting Deniss home to stay is the big prize!

Even Aaron is getting to be excited. For a long time now he just said it didn't seem real. He hasn't seen Deniss since last August when he left America. And of course, Aaron has that 13 year old "I don't care" attitude most of the time. It reminds me of the cruise commercial running where they say they have seen their daughter smile which is a rare occurance. Well, Aaron has started to smile on occasion.

Yesterday was Deniss' birthday. Of course - we couldn't get him on the phone as usual. It has become increasingly difficult to get through to the office at the children's home. It was terribly frustrating not to be able to say Happy Birthday to him on that day. Thank heavens that will be the last time - at least for this reason. As of now, we will have no more birthdays, Mother's Day's or other holidays where he cannot be with us. (Except of course the reasons that start getting in the way when kids are grown and move away). Aaron and I will both celebrate our birthdays this year in Latvia with Deniss. Ken will get this next Father's day with at least two of his sons with him. (Bobby won't be with us because we will see him soon after on vacation.)

This is getting really exciting for all of us now!

Robin

Travel Plans

Ok - so we finally have some dates set. We are flying to London on May 31, which means we will get there on June 1. We are stopping there so that Ken, Robin and Aaron can have one last hoorah before our family changes. We did that just before we picked up Aaron back in 1993, so we feel like it is a family tradition. We will spend Friday and Saturday nights in London. The one big event will be for Ken and Aaron to tour the Chelsea Football Club stadium - Stamford Bridge. (For you non-soccer folks - the rest of the world says soccer is football) Robin may go tour Harrods department store.

On Sunday June 3, we will fly to Riga. We will spend four nights in Riga. On Monday, June 4, the long awaited day arrives. We will proceed to Likumi (Children's Home) to pick up Deniss. We will have our farewell party for Deniss and go back to Riga that night. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we have doctors appointments and visa appointments etc. for Deniss. Tuesday will be Aaron's birthday so we will have to do something for him that day but of course the weekend in London is all about him!

Thursday June 7, (Robin's birthday) we will fly to Warsaw Poland. Friday June 8 at 8AM we have the Visa interview appointment at the US Embassy. If miracles happen, we will have Deniss' immigration visa by three o'clock Friday. If so, then we can all come home on Saturday June 9. Ken and Aaron will come home anyway - Deniss and Robin will stay behind in Warsaw if necessary. If we don't get the visa on Friday, we will have to wait until Monday, which means we may not get out of Warsaw until Tuesday. Somehow, I think that wait will be the easiest one we will have to endure.

This will probably be the last post until the Hartzog clan is on the move again! Check back after May 31 so that we can update you on our adventures and misadventures!

And thank you all for the prayers and support. You will never know how overwhelmed we have been by the kind words of support and encouragement that you have given us over the last year!

Robin

Waiting - again

We know the date that we can pick up Deniss. June 4 is the big event. We will have a party for the other boys in his group and give them some gifts. This is traditional when a child is leaving.

We know the date when we can go to Warsaw to visit the US Embassy. However, we still don't have an actual appointment with the Embassy. And now - we found out the President Bush will be arriving in Poland on the day that we want to have our appointment. Great- I guess we will be a little delayed in Poland.

We are planning to stop in London on our way to Latvia. Aaron really wants to be able to go to the Chelsea football (soccer in America) stadium and megastore. Since this will be our last few days as a family of three (I am not forgetting Bobby but he doesn't live with us) we wanted to do something special for Aaron at the beginning of our trip.

So - we are on hold for just a little longer waiting of the US Embasy. We know when we will go to London, when we will fly on to Latvia, when we will pick up Deniss, when we will leave Latvia to go to Warsaw. We just don't know when we can leave Warsaw. Oh well - we should be used to this waiting game but we are not!

More later

Robin

Difference in Night and Day...or Winter and Spring

^ This picture was taken on our first trip in early February
RIGA in the Spring

The flowers are blooming and all is so fresh and bright. The sun now comes up early and sets late. It is daylight from before six AM until almost nine PM. What a difference two months can make. The pictures tell the story. It is 6:45 AM local time and I am sitting in my room at the Albert Hotel, drinking coffee with my window open and listening to the birds sing. I went to the airport at 4:30 this morning to try to fly out standby on KLM to Amsterdam and I was told ," this would not be allowed, you must purchase a new ticket," for $1,142. So I decieded it would be better to pay for a hotel room for one more night. I am traveling on Delta from Amsterdam to Atlanta on a "Buddy Pass" generously donated by one of the family from Southern Crescent Church of Christ. Delta does not come to Riga so therefore rhe need to travel to Amsterdam to get home. I have a seat on KLM tomorrow afternoon that is confirmed so if all goes well I should arrive back in PTC on Saturday afternoon.

Three Happy Campers and the Ones That Helped Make it Happen.

Deniss does not look happy in this picture because he thought he had to go in the courtroom. He says bad things have happened in court and he did not want to go in, so we let him take care of the twins while we took care of business.

Thanks to the Brain Trust, from L to R, the court secretary, Zenta the Director of the orphanage, seated is Daina our legal representative and the one that got cut off is our interpreter Ligita. This team is working very hard for all the children. Not pictured are our drivers, Edgars and Caspers. Many thanks to this crew.

We Are Family, April 25, 2007 at 3:33:33 AM EDST it became official.

Well it is now official. The judge held the hearing this morning and was able to hand down the approval immediately. It will still take until the first part of June to bring the latest addition home, but all is well. Deniss is one happy young man today. As of today he will be officially known as Deniss Fomins Hartzog. A new birth certificate and passport will be issued to reflect his new FAMILY status. More later it is nap time.

By the way, the girls in the picture were also in court today being adopted by a family in Marietta.

Deniss Fomins Hartzog, Welcome to our family.

News from Home

This is Robin. I got a call at 3:45AM from Deniss. I said hello, he said hello, then I asked "Is this my son?" I got a very happy yes as an answer. You could feel his happiness through the phone line! Then I talked to Ken for a few minutes. You could feel his happiness as well!

I talked to Ken again at about 7AM, he was back in the car headed back to Riga to begin the journey home. We have a date finally when we can pick Deniss up. The wonderful day is June 4th. Again - a longer wait than we hoped but...that is the last wait we will have!

Ken and I are officially the proud parents of three sons! Bobby 26 years old, Deniss 14 years old and Aaron 13 years old.

Aaron and I went out for a pancake breakfast to celebrate this morning.

Robin

RIGA LATVIA at NIGHT

I thought it would be a good idea to start posting pictures again, and this is one I could not resist. I am going to be leaving for Jekabpils and my court session in just a short while. Deniss will be our third son shortly after 10:00 AM.
I will take pictures and post them as soon as possible. You will also be able to meet Mike and the twins, through the blog, because is court appiontment is right after mine. Keep checking the blog.

Going to Latvia

A new day has dawned and the air is still crisp. I will not bore you for now but I am in Riga. Going to AMS airport through security, inspection and ticketing took less than thirty minutes. It is a little better organized than our TSA. The only thing that really delayed me in Riga the dog alerted on me and it took a few extra minutes to clear customs. I really think she(the dog)just smelled my dog Sam and got excited because it was my shoe she was interested in, sorry I will coming back they did not throw me in the pokey.

We were call for boarding at 8:40 sharp. I got a little worried when I went out the door and was told to get on a bus (memories of Paris). But it was meant to be because we arrived at the plane at 9:05 for a 9:15 takeoff. Did not quite make that 9:45). It was very interesting because most of the people on the flight were ordering vodka and tomatoe juice for breakfast, oh well some say tomatoe and some say vodka. I stuck to my old vice some good strong coffee, brown roll with a tomatoe and something else, I am not sure what mushed in the bread but it was good. We landed late in Riga by 45 minutes due to bad weather on the way. It was a small 100 seater jet but was not bumpy and we had a smooth landing. My taxi driver looked about 14. I started to ask for her drivers liscense but she spoke 0 English. She was a very inexperienced driver also...easy to tell when she let the cluctch out and my teeth would rattle for the biggest part of a block, every block. I remembered from my last trip and she appeared to be going the wrong way, but like I say no Engli. Well the way she went was 3 Lats cheaper than the last time so I wished I knew the she went. We were told never to pay more than 10 Lats so I was happy as a pig in poo.

Well I add more later, I am going out to do my honey do list now and wish me the best.

The posting time is in EDT it is early afternoon in Riga, seven hours ahead of ATL

News from Amsterdam

Phase II Adoption in Latvia and the Honey Do List

Well after a bumpy ride across the Atlantic a new day is upon me. I woke up on the plane with the sunshine creeping in around my mask, and the smell of something similar to breakfast, well the coffee was good. I slept most of the trip and was well rested but my back was aching when I got off the plane. I do not know if I missed something but I was off the plane and on a shuttle bus in search of a hotel within thirty minutes, it was then that I realized I did not land at JFK again. It was a short shuttle ride to a group of hotels near the Shipole Airport. The first two had no room in the inn but the third was a charm. The room is clean but very small and not that expensive when you consider where I am and Queens Day is just around the comer.

I was very bored so I took the hotel shuttle back to the airport and took a train to City Centre. Amsterdam is a really beautiful city and anyone you happen to speak to for directions was very friendly. I walked around for a couple of hours then found the train station and headed "home". The trip back was a laugh a minute. I boarded a car that happened to have a British amateur soccer team boarding, and they were a laugh a minute. I won't go into detail but it is a man thing, Bobby, Aaron and Deniss would understand but most of you would not see the humor. Oh well, more of this later.

I am back in my cubby hole now and getting ready to tuck myself in for a long winters nap. I will be leaving here in the morning before most of you get to sleep good and will be headed for Latvia. By the time I land I will be just a mere 24 hours from having my third son. He will be officially ours on Wednesday at 11:00 AM Latvian time, btw that is about 5:00 AM in Georgia. (But I can't bring him home this trip!) This whole process that started one year ago as a dream is becoming a reality. I have lost track how many different churches and people are praying for us but this is a great testimonial to the power of faith and prayer. Yes I have let my faith go weak and have had my doubts, but prayer and words from a lot of you showed me where my faith should be, and now the moment of truth is just around the corner.

Well you would think being this far away from home and very little contact with the world that I am comfortable with that I would not have a honey-do-list, but I do. Most of it is dealing with questions we need answered but the biggest on my list is going to find a bible that will be both Latvian and English, but if all fails I will come home with one in Latvian. I will be in Riga most of the day on Tuesday and should be able to accomplish most of my goal then, just say a prayer that I will be led in the right direction.

Well the eyelids are heavy and morning is fast approaching so I will close up shop and try to update you tomorrow, from the Albert Hotel in Riga.

In the beginning was the word... John 1.

Trip Number Two

This is Robin posting this time. I dropped Ken off at the airport Sunday April 22 for him to fly to Amsterdam. This is the first leg of his second trip to Latvia. Our date with the adoption court is Wednesday April 25 at 10AM. Ken will stay in Amsterdam overnight and them fly to Riga on Tuesday. He will meet up with Mike, another soon to be adoptive Dad, and then Wednesday morning they will make their way to Jekabpils. This is the week that Deniss will finally become a legal part of the family.

I didn't sleep much last night waiting on that phone call from Ken to know that he was safe and settled into a hotel. I am sure that he is quite tired as well. He said that the flight over was a bit bumpy, so his back was pretty sore. When he gets settled and can find a hot spot to log onto the internet, he will pick up on the story telling here. In the meantime, I will keep you posted.

Robin

Many stories to tell

If you are interested in more pictures and stories please keep coming back. I have had some funny and not so funny things happen over the last two weeks. I will also start from the begining and what made us get involved in a Latvian adoption.

I will be starting from last spring and coming forward to the current time. I will post both pictures and stories, some serious and some funny, some sad but all will be true.

Once again thank all of you, friends,family and friends of family from your prayers and support. You all have made it all possible.

Ken Robin Aaron and Deniss

Still Traveling...but alls well that ends well

DOG TIRED DEFINED The Dog and Cat Show

It has been a while since I posted anything of signifigance. I told you all I would be home Wednesday night. Well guess what... I lied. well not really. We landed at JFK in Pew York. yes I spelled the word correctly, at 3:35 PM Valentines Day. It was anything but a sweetheart of a time. It was looking good because we had cut 30 minutes off the trip from Prague to New York. Well 6:45 we were allowed to get off the plane. It was 8:45 when our bags came to the claim area, along with bags from nine other international flights. Customs officials were very nice. They told us to get our bags and keep moving and do not stop, just hand us your declaration form and move on. OK next time I want to smuggle something in I know to do it during an ice storm.



OK now it is about five and one half hours after we landed and two hours after my flight to ATL had taken off so I went to search for a Delta representative. Believe it or not I found one almost immediately and no one was in line. Oh great my luck is changing. NOT. She informed me she was closing and someone would open the counter the next morning at 8:00 AM. I asked what I was suposed to do since I just came in on an international flight. She told me where to go, not there Tony, but just as bad. I was in terminal 4 with three heavy suitcases of my dirty drawers and socks, two carry ons, a heavy coat and the begining of an attitude, after being informed to go upstairs catch the air train to terminal 3, then back down stairs to ticketing. Sounds easy enough, OK, but it is snowing and wind gust of just under 100 MPH, did I mention I lied occasionally? Well I got as far as the door when an irrate Delta agent informed me no one else was allowed in the building. I asked where to go, well to make a long story short, I visited four more Delta locations only to be told there was nothing they could do, in a very rude way and eventually Robin got an answer from one of the Delta Direct lines that all they could offer was standby since we missed our flight and there were no confirmed seats available until Sunday, which by the way is when the next snow storm is due to return. Not accepting this, we stood in yet another line until three employees anounced they were tired and going home, they had been on duty since 11:00AM. OK right I understand work rules and your shift ends and you have to do as you are told, but don't announce it to 200 people that have been traveling for 24 hours.



We were dog tired so we threw in the towel got a cab to a hotel and crashed. After getting some rest we rented a car and started driving home to ATL. Along about Baltimore I finally got through to Delta reservations. We had been calling for the last 12 hours and not getting through. I got lucky after 45 minutes on hold and a voice said may I help you. Well it scared me and I droped the phone but luckily I did not lose my connection. I was checking to see if by chance I could get a flight out of Richmond to ATL. None on Thursday but they had one on Friday at 6:45 AM, but there was a catch; first you went to Cleveland then Cincinatti, Nashville then ATL, well that would not work for two reaasons, one if I kept driving I would be home before that flight finally got to ATL, so we checked various cities and finally BINGO<>

Dog tired defined by the cat:

Not a good river for ice skating...but when these guys want something to do you never can tell. BTW our driver said he has lived here 15 years and never seen the river freeze this way or this early.

Soccer, excuse me FUTBALL, anyone?

This is the day we arrived in Likumi. I think Deniss was happy to see us , but you be the judge.

More Pics

This is a home hockey rink made by the kids at Likumi, notice someone has a black eye. The above sign was being held by Deniss as we drove up to the gates of the Orphanage in Likumi.

I will post more pics when I return home. We have to be at the airport at 5:00 AM and it is now mid night and the sleepy bird is calling.

Pictures

Just a few pictues of the area.

C) The river at a standstill, Locals say they have never seen the river do this, It usually freezes smooth. (Double click all picks for a larger view) L) Our hotel room was drafty, now I know why.

The End is Almost Here...maybe

Well today was the big day. We went for our recomendation from the Orphan Court, which has been responsible for Deniss since 1998, to see if they would vote in favor of the adoption moving forward. YES! It was a unamious vote in favor of moving forward with the adoption process. Now it is time to hurry up and wait again. We will be traveling back to ATL tomorrow, Wednesday I believe it is and be arriving home about 9:00 PM.

The purpose of the last two weeks was for the Orphan Court staff to determine if this adoption is in the best interest of Deniss. It was a joyous moment when the votes were cast and smiles were shown by all. We were very encouraged by the way the staff treated Deniss and his new family throughout the whole process. The Director of the Orphan Court told us he would do all in his power to speed the process up. Paper work was filed with Family Court while we waited. If they can find the Judge that makes and writes the final decision in the next few days I will be back In Latvia the first part of March, and then twenty one days later I will return and do the embassy paperwork and bring our new son home to America. He will be an American citizen with his new name that he chose for himself. Deniss Fomins Hartzog. He is very proud of his new name and family.

After all papers were signed and we were finishing up with our business, the Orphan Court Director requested that LeAnn of New Horizons for Children, the agency we are using, to please try to find more Americans to adopt these Latvian children. You cannot believe how I was feeling when he said that. And rumor has it that there will be at least fifty children from Latvia on this summers hosting program. Please pray that this comes to pass, because is that not why we the Hartzog's are where we are now. Thanks all for the prayers and support.

We have also been informed another family has their hearing coming up on February 23rd. They will be adopting three children and already have four bio kids. Amazing. I have just checked my email and someone had read our blog that is adopting from the same home that Deniss is in and is not part of our group. Small world and thank Al Gore for inventing the internet.

I could tell you these last two weeks have been easy but it would be a lie. I know how Deniss felt not hearing his native tongue for days on in. It is very hard trying to survive in a country that you do not speak the language. You are staying in the best hotel, and only hotel the town has to offer and can't get basic services such as a meal from the open restaurant in the evening. The waitress would say " not working" fifty percent of the time we went in for dinner. There was one other restaurant within walking distance that we could eat in. It was a nice place to eat, the food was good, but we were never sure what we ordered. I told Robin it was either pigeon or rabbit. She ordered what she thought was a chicken plate and it turned out to be fish, at least that what we think it was, it could have been spoiled pigeon. It was also very inconvienient to walk to this place when the temperature hovered between -10 and 0 F almost every evening. It snowed the first few days we were there and then the sidewalks turned to ice, and were very slippery. We made it this far with no serious slips or falls, at least no bumps or bruises to show for the slips.

Inconvienient yes. Was it worth it? You tell me when we arrive home and we tell you of the many joyous experiences we have had with Deniss, his friends and caregivers. Zenta the orphanage director, and another young man named Edgars, took us on another trip to Riga on Sunday. We had a very nice meal then the boys were able to ice skate for a couple of hours. No Robin and I were wimps and sat back and watched. It was so cold out that the windows inside the car froze over as we traveled to Riga. I know I keep drifting back to the cold, but I will tell you, -5 to 0 is warmer in Latvia than 25 in ATL. Go figure but it is. The cold did not bother me near as bad in Latvia as it does in Jawga.

It is almost midnight here so I will close for now, so I can get up at 4:00 AM and catch the plane back to Jawga. Love all you guys and girls, keep those cards and letters coming.

Last post for a while. We go to Orphan court in the AM. Please pray for us. There are many indications that I will be back in Latvia by 1st of March. If this is so Deniss will be in USA before the end of March. So far our family is the only one not experiencing problems.

Saturday night was a very tough night. Martins (a friend of Deniss') came to visit and was drinking, He was using his brothers passport to buy alcohol. He wanted to take Deniss but we said no. He left but called many times during the night to try to talk to Deniss. The last time was %:00 AM on Sunday.

Cant finish the Gestapo has spoken.

It is bone chilling cold

We met with the Orphan Court yesterday. Deniss had to sign his papers and choose what name he wants to be called. It is with great pleasure to annouce his new name will be DENNIS FOMINS HARTZOG. We have never discussed this subject but this is what he chose on his own. The director told Deniss he was very happy for him and the Hartzog family.

Our friends the Moore's had their final hearing this morning. All went well and the twins have been approved for adoption by this family. The director for the Orphan Court said he would be their advocate for Adoption Court. They were told today that they may return as soon as March 6 for this hearing. Well that lets me know we will probably be coming about the same time, because our hearing is Tuesday AM. We will then leave here and return to Riga for the night. We will fly out Wednesday AM and be in Atlanta around 9:00 PM.

Time has really flown since we have been here. We miss everyone and will be happy to get home but not to leave Deniss Hartzog behind.

It is so cold where we are they have closed the schools, the heaters will not keep up. As most of you know I cannot stand the cold. The first week it did not bother me. Now that a real cold front moved through it is getting to me. Last week in the afternoons it was in the low 30's F and snowing, this week it only goes to the very low teens and single digits. It is too cold to snow. I went out for coffee this AM about 9:00 and it was 0. The end of my nose actually had the skin peeling off before I returned in five minutes.

Tony The train is the 4:10 Xpress from Riga. LOL

Trip to Riga

We got up at 6:30AM Tuesday and caught a bus to the train. We took a two hour train ride to Riga. Then we took a taxi and arrived at the Lido, famous Latvian attraction. By now it was 11:30 so we had lunch at a very big buffet. The food was good and filling and we enjoyed it very much.

We took the kids to the ice skating park and Deniss had a bad fall. Yes more bruises and a bad headache, but he did not stop. They skated for two and one half hours and finally gave it up.

We took a taxi to the train to begin the long journey home. The train was a shocker. We were treated to an X rated videos all the way home. Oh yea this is Europe. There was no control to shut off the trash so we had to not watch and try to keep children from watching. Deniss and I slept most of the way and Robin and Peggy tried to keep the twins occupied.

We finally returned home at 7:00 PM and were exhausted and frozen. Another cold front moved through and it is between -5 and -8 C.

Got to close out for now Deniss wants to move on.

More later and hope pictures soon.

Well we made it through the weekend with flying colors. Learning more of the culture as days go by. We learned the hard way restaurants do not open on Sunday evening. Deniss and I made a quick trip to the Beta for some junk food and sodas. We are in a very small hotel room with no cooking facilities. Oh well live and learn.

I have some pictures to post but that will have to be another day, by luck of the draw I got and old computer that does not have a USB port so I am stuck.

Tomorrow we are going to Riga so I will not post again until Wednesday. The hotel Internet is closer to working, but as they say...maybe tomorrow. I come to the library to post on the blog. I came earlier today but they made me get off the machine and share with the other American family, their two girls and Deniss. It did not matter that there were four unused computers, it is one per family. Well Deniss has a library card and now I do two so we can eliminate that problem. They do not realize that we are related since I am American and he is Lativian. Oh what we will do to communicate.

We had a call from our lawyer and will have our home inspection on Friday before 1100.What this is they come and see how we have been getting along and make a decision if we are compatible. Please pray for us, but best do it before you go to bed or else you will have to get up at 0400.

Deniss is fine and talks more every day. His favorite color is still white so we bought him some new tennis shoes today, yes white. He talks about America and the summer past a good bit. He enjoys sitting in the room with us at night and talking and just visiting. He does not get quite so frustrated now when he cannot say or think of the word he needs. He is a great help in the restaurants when we have to order food and it makes him feel good to be able to help.

Well I will close down for now but hope to be able to add pictures on Wednesday. Something to think about is how did Deniss get that black eye? What is that net he is standing by? And last but not least what are those huge white blocks on top of the river and where is the water?

Hope all have a good day and God bless you all.

Jekabpils we are here

We arrived on Thursday. Deniss andZenta met us at the gate to the orphanage. Deniss was holding a sign very similar to the one we had to welcome him to the USA. They were very excited. They fed us a nice lunch and then the lawyer and Zenta had business to take care of, so Deniss took Mam and Poppy on a tour of the grounds and buildings where he lives. He has pride in where he lives and the surroundings. It was all very beautiful(even though it was run down) in the new snow that is on the ground. ( Pic later when we have Internet at the hotel, it is not working but they say maybe Monday).

We left shortly after our tour to go to the Orphan Court. It was an unsettling experience having nine of them in the room and only two of us. Many questions were asked, and I guess the most important one was did Deniss have a problem living with a Christian family. He was asked if he had been forced or promised anything in exchange for the adoption. All is well in the end because they voted in favor of us having custody for two weeks. Some time next week they will come check us all out with little or no warning, and give us the results.

Today we met the Moore's from Marietta(they are adopting twins) and had lunch then came to the library to use theInternet. It is very hard to do anything in Jekabpils because of the ice and snow. We will take a two hour train ride on Tuesday to the capital city of Riga, and the two families will spend the day in Riga.

Good food is hard to find. There are only 2 restaurants that we have found and both are fairly expensive. The hotel includes breakfast in the room rate. We are not sure what we eat but there are English peas at every meal. No menu at breakfast, just what they stick in front of us.

Got to cut it short. There is a long line for the computers and I am soaking in sweat. Very hot inside and bitter cold out. Much more later.