A while back, I asked those of you who are blogging about your adoptions in Russia if I could share your writing with the readers of this blog. Many of you responded in the affirmative, so here is what is going on on the Russia family blogroll now.

I'm going to start with the really good news. Almost two years after Zack and Laura at "The Winding Road to Chelyabinsk" first met their son Dimitry they have finally gotten a court date to bring him home! The court date is November 21 and Dimitry will be home on December 12. Laura has been dealing with a whirlwind of emotions, but took time the other day to post a photo of Dimitry's airplane ticket.

Jennifer and Ryan adopted their daughter from Khabarovsk in 2005. Just yesterday, they posted on their blog, "The Stevens Family" that they are filing their application for a second adoption. Congratulations!

Becky and her husband Keith at "Our Little Russian Peanut" are still waiting for a referral in Krasnoyarsk, but they had a nice get-together with some other waiters over the weekend. To make the meeting, they had to triumph over Atlanta traffic and travel all the way to Nashville. But it sounds as if it was all worth it because they got to meet several other waiting families from their agency, as well as one family just back home from a successful adoption. Troy and Rachel at "Journey With The Williams Family" also went to that waiters get-together, but Rachel wound up in the hospital for emergency gallbladder surgery. There's nothing like a Russian adoption to set you up for all of life's curve balls.

Continuing those baseball thoughts, Chris and Danica at the "The Justice Family Blog" are still awaiting a court date in Perm. It's been more than four months since they met the two girls who will become their daughters. And though they recently got an update about the girls from their agency, there's nothing like getting a court date to make the world seem grand. Even if you have teams to cheer for in the World Series.

Also still waiting for a court date: Matt and Julie at "Kouri Family Update". They adopted their first son from Chelyabinsk, and are going to Tula for their second adoption. Joy Ellen and Gerard at "Making Our House A Home" are waiting for a referral and trip one.

But there have been some steps back too. Dede at "Russian Adoption Journal" decided on Thursday that her family will be switching agencies. They had been in process for two years and still hadn't gotten a referral. But Dede is optimistic that her family is making the right decision, even calling her post "A New Beginning".

If you have adopted a special needs child from Russia, or are considering doing so, you might want to check out Marcie at "My Two Boys". She adopted a boy from Arkhangelsk who turned out to be autistic and she writes, lovingly and at length, about her family's efforts to help him. But it has taken a toll on her, which she wrote about very frankly last month when she disclosed that she has been turned down by USCIS for her second inter-country adoption. But even if you are not thinking of a special needs adoption, you may want to read Marcie: She has compiled a great directory of lead-free toys, which she updates daily.

Finally, Lisa Finneran at "lisamikeplus3" has a nice review of Adrienne Ehlert Bashista's new Russian adoption book, "Mishka: An Adoption Tale". And Adrienne has graciously decided to earmark a portion of the book's profits to Ark Angels, Lisa's charity for children in Arkhangelsk orphanages.

Want to be added to the Russia family blogroll? Just send me an e-mail at virginiac@adoptionblogs.com .