Last Full Day In Astrakhan

Well, today is the last full day in Astrakhan. Visiting the orphanage went well and M did not even cry. He was a little quite at first but after he saw the stuffed animals, he was back to his old self. We got to see the director and got the papers that we needed with his schedule and then a few pictures and out of the orphanage forever.
We did not do much today but walked to the store with Kyley and Greg and got a few things. He loves to go outside and when he is ready to go he keeps pointing outside again and again until you are ready to go. When he is in a new situation he gets very quite and wide eyed but is very observant and takes everything in. Here is a picture of his not so sure what is going on look:(we were not moving at the time, just parked waiting for Vika).

Here is another picture that I thought was too cute to pass up. We were getting ready to leave and he likes to try to dress himself. Well, here is how he put on his hat. Too Cute.



For dinner we decided to go to our favorite place one last time – the Chocolate Cafe. We went early and took a cab there and back. And it still took two hours! We came prepared for food for the kids and it went pretty well. I have to be careful with M because as long as there is food in sight he will eat it. Even in the room, if there is something left out on the counter, he will keep pointing to it like he wants to eat it so I have to put it away.
We are all very excited to be leaving tomorrow but it was a bit meloncoly driving through the city for the last time tonight. I will always have wonderful memories here but i am also very excited to be getting back home and being together as an entire family!
Tonights bed time routine took a little longer but I made some break throughs. When it was time to go to bed, I tried to hold him and rock him thinking that this would be good for attachment. Well, he did not want anything to do with that, he would figit and skworm trying to get down so he could play. So I would then put him in his crib for awhile. He would sing and play but never really lay down. Eventually He would try to climb out of the crib, which could happen, so I would pick him up and try to rock him again. After about 35 minutes of doing this routine, he finally let me rock him. He settled down and started putting his thumb in his mouth and eventually fell asleep. It was so nice to have him asleep in my arms.
The thumb sucking brings up another issue I ran into today. When I picked him up yesterday, I noticed that his thumb was split open like really dry skin or a small cut that had not healled. Well, I finally realized today that it was sore because it was the thumb that he sucked on. I brought pacifiers to try to switch him to them instead but that is not going real well right now. We will see.
There was thing that I am trying to figure out how to handle today that I would love input on. M knows when you tell him No what that means and as a two year, he likes to test it but what is weird to me is when he does something that I tell him not to, he starts to laugh. So I make a stern face and tell him no again and then put him on my lap and tell him no and hold him for a little while. The whole time he is giggling and laughing. So I try to get his attention on to something else and he stops laughing and continues on playing. I think that he knows what he is dong is wrong but I am not sure about the laughing thing. Well it is only day two and I have to remember that it all takes time.
I don't know if I will be posting tomorrow because we leave the hotel at 5pm, our plane is at 7pm and we probably will not get to the hotel in Moscow until 10pm, provided we get his passport tomorrow like we are suppose to( please pray for that one to happen). But I will post as soon as I can.

Blessings from Above

Introducing!!!!

Introducing the newest member of the Canestraro Family – Little M!


I wanted to get this posted earlier but when you have a two year old in a room that is not child proof, you do not have much time to sit down and type.

It was a whirl wind morning because there was so much that everybody needed to do get his passport by Wednesday so we did not get to spend much time at the orphanage saying our goodbyes, but we are going to go back tomorrow for that( I hope that he does not freak out thinking I am going to take him back). Since we rushed him out so quickly he was almost in shock, just staring wide eyed. It was a long bumpy ride but towards the end it slowed and and he seemed better. Once we got into the room and he saw the toys that he was familiar with, it was back to his old self.

We had a great lunch and he did pretty good with lunch and the sippy cup. But no nap for him. There was just to much to check out. We went later to get his visa picture taken right around the corner and purchased a new pair of boots for him because his feet had grown and what I brought were too small.He was not thrilled with everything that was going on but was not scared either. He just absorbed it all. Later we went back to pick up the photos and he was very excited about going outside again. He loved watching all the cars drive by on the street.

He has started this singing thing that I just love. He never barely spoke above a whisper but after awhile in the room while he was listening to music, he started saying LALALALALA loudly with the music. I was amazed! It was great to hear because you could tell he was happy.
We met up later with Kyley and Greg and their little girl and had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Of course he would have ate everything on the table so I had to stop him at what I thought was best and hurry up and eat my food so we could get away from the table.

Another first I saw today was him crying. He had never cried or even was upset before. Well, today, after lunch, I tried to take him to the bathroom, they say he is potty trained. I had no little potty or seat to put on top so I tried to hold him. He did not like that at all, and was a little scared. I tried later and he wanted nothing to do with the bathroom at all. In fact, when I went to change his pullup he started crying again until he realized that I was not going to take him to the bathroom. Even tonight, I had put him in the crib and tried to get him to lay down but he was just standing right up and thinking he was funny. I had was getting ready to go into the bathroom to change and wanted to tell him where I was going. Well, the only word he understood was potty and quicker then anything he laid right down. I am hoping that when we get home and start using the little potty, he will not be afraid of the bathroom anymore – something to work on.
Then there is the two year old, I am going to see how many times I can drop this and get mommy to pick it up. About two is my limit and then it goes Paka, Paka(ByeBye). Unfortunately he has three older siblings that have wore Mommy out on that one.
So, to end up the day as I have been typing, he sang his LALA song for awile and then started sucking his thumb and now he is fast asleep about right on time for bedtime. Here is hoping that he sleeps through the night. What a marvelous day. It is still hard to believe it is all real. Thank you all again for the wonderful prayers and encouragement. God Bless.

Day 10!!!!

I can not believe it! Day 10 is here and gone. We tried to keep busy today. Slept in some and had a late Breakfast. Then we went for a long walk probably about 5 hours with a stop at subway for lunch. It was amazing how much subway was like home, even the tables were the same. We were trying to go to a region museum of Astrakhan and found it but it looked like it was under construction. A wonderfully sweet woman tried to tell us how to get to another museum with the little English that she knew. We somewhat understood but did not think we would find it. Well, as we were walking by the park area near the Kremlin, Kyley recognized the russian word for museum so we went in. Again we were greeted with smiles as we asked if anyone spoke english. They did not however we managed to fingure out how much we should pay. It seemed to be the WWII museum that we heard about because everything was focus on the war but also included WWI. There again was this wonderfully sweet woman that was trying to show things to us and explain certain things. We did not understand but really appreciated her effort.
We took a walk along the Volga again, one of the most beautiful places in Astrakhan. Then back to the hotel for a little rest and back out for our walk to dinner. We were going to try another restaurant that we found out had an english menu, Kamila's but unfortunately, they were having a private party tonight so we could not eat there. Thankfully plan B was to eat at the Chocolate Kafe again. Our normal waitress greeted us at the door and they even gave us a free dessert of fruit and chocolate. I guess you can get that kind of treatment when you eat there three times in one week.
Well, I am all packed and ready to go in the morning to get little M. It is still so hard for me to believe that I get to take him out of the orphanage. I have a toy he likes for the car ride and the cloths I am going to change him into. All the cloths he wears must stay at the orphanage. Again, I can not believe that this day is almost here. This is the day that all the effort and paperwork and stress and tears and aches have gone towards, boy is it worth it.
I am glad that we walked so much today, it wore me out so that I will sleep good tonight, otherwise I think that I would be so excited that I could not sleep at all.
Pray for an easy transition. I am starting to get more concerned about the language barrier but we will do our best.
Have a blessed Monday!

Day 9(Last Visit)

Today was the last visit before I get to pick up Little M! I do not get to see him tomorrow because it is Sunday but Monday morning, Off we go to get him out of the orphanage. I will have the translator explain to him but I do not think he is going to get it right away. I know today we were playing and someone came in and talked with Galina for a few moments. He immediately stopped what he was doing, got real serious and just watched this person. After she left, he went right back to smiling and playing. I can tell he enjoys being with me and I think he was thinking he was going to have to go back. What a surprise on Monday when he never has to go back.
Today was really busy. Orphanage visit, a visit to a baby store to pick up some diapers, etc. A visit to the grocery to get some food for the kids and then back to the room for a late lunch. And then it was laundry time. I was exhausted after hand washing, rinsing and laying out the cloths I needed washed. I really do appreciate my washer and dryer so much more.
We went for an evening walk to Creme Kafe. We really like these places to eat but there are only three that we know for sure that have English menus(we are not adventurous enough to deal with only Russia menus) besides our hotel and we would like to have more of a variety but I don't think that is going to happen. We probably only have one more night out anyway. We are not sure how the kids will do with eating out, especially Kyley and Greg's little girl so Monday and Tuesday may be in the room – we will see.
Another wedding tonight and we laughed as we came back to the hotel. We could see inside to the dance floor and what so you think we saw... Women and children dancing and men outside smoking, almost like back home. Oh another thing to add to my list of things to remember.... The size of the napkins about ¼ of what we have at home.
Well, finally a short blog entry! Off to check email and to bed. Have a great day!

Day 8

Day 8
Well, I think this was the best visit yet with M. At first I was a little worried on our way because we stopped somewhere we had never been before. It was just Galina and myself and she told me to stay in the van. The building had a blue medical type cross on it so I starting getting worried that they put M in the hospital. Well, after about 5 minutes she came out with some papers and off we went, boy was that a relief.
Today he has no fever and was much more full of energy. But I think the best thing was his smile. Usually, when he comes into the room, he comes over, gives me a hug and goes right for the toys. No real facial expression – good or bad. But today, he was smiling before he even entered the room – ear to ear! He then came running over to hug me. It was wonderful! He definetly wanted me to hold him more today, which was fine with me. I could tell his mouth must still be sore because, he would sometimes struggle when swallowing but he seems 1000 times better. I will get to see him tomorrow at 10am and then hopefully take him with me on Monday!

Went out on my own this afternoon, the other families were visiting their kids. Just walked to the Mall/Grocery for more internet and phone cards. Thankfully, I got the english speaking guy today, He is very nice. I managed to exchange some more dollars for rubels on my own and then back to the room for lunch.

I was thinking about starting a list of things that I might forget once I leave here. Little things that will not mean much to anyone else except for those who have travelled to Russia and specifically Astrakhan. Here it goes:
*Remember how many times you would have to turn the key to get your door open. And then have to do the same thing on the otherside to lock the door once you were inside.
* Remember the horns honking and decorated cards driving down the street but on Friday Afternoon
*Remember never to walk down the street and look at the city. If you do not keep your eyes on the ground, you are surely to trip and fall.
*Remember the dogs and cats walking down the street. Especially the ones that knew how to cross the street with you and the adorable black and white puppy at the Astor that I would have loved to take home.
*Remember the heels that women would wear and how they never seemed to be limping from the discomfort. I never saw any of them trip on the street – boy were they good!
*Remember the Quail eggs in the salads
*Remember the room key on the large wooden key chain. At least I would know when I dropped the key.
*Remember that Lays did not make good flavor choices for their chips is Russia, SourCream and Mushroom, Crab and BBQ and Steak Flavor.
*Remember how we always specified to the taxi driver that we wanted to go to the HOTEL Korvet, so that they did not accidentally take us back to that ship. Always carry the hotel bussiness card on you.
*Remember to be careful on the steps because they are not all the same height
*Remember the smile that a waitress would have when we were NOT seated at her table. I always felt so sorry for the Russian waitresses that did not speak english but were stuck with us.

Well that is it for now, I am sure that more will come to me. Hopefully, those of you who have been here before, had an enjoyable time walking down memory lane.

We went out to dinner tonight with Andy and Kathy. For their last night here we went back to the Chocolate Cafe and had another fabulous dinner. For sure this is our favorite place. It will be sad to see them go. It is so strange how we all get so close in such a short period of time. We have only know each other for 5 days but it feels like much more then that. We joked that it is like camp. We even thought of getting T-shirts made that say Camp Astrakhan.
I have to take time out to thank you all again for your prayers. It really means the world to me.

God Bless

Day 7

Not much new today. The same old same old. Breakfast, a little walk. We did finally stop in this store that we thought was a bookstore and had a great time. I found a couple nursery rhyme board books for M that we can not read but have great pictures. I am sure he will appreciate having them when he is older. I also finally went across the street to the open market. There were some fresh fruit and veggies that looked good but I really was not up to the effort involved in trying to communicate the price. It was just a real interesting experience that I will probably never have back in the US.

I spent the afternoon in the room just doing little odds and ends. No visit today but I did find out that M is doing better and I will get to visit with him Friday morning! I am hoping that is a good sign and that I will get to take him home(or at least to the hotel) on Monday. I am trying to get a list together of all the things that I need to do before we leave. I am starting to have those moments when I think, “I better do this now or I will never get to do it before we leave.”I guess that means we are coming to the end of our stay. I do have to repeat that it is amazing at how time does pass quickly here. You would think that it would drag on and on but the day is broken up enough that before I know it, it is time for our walk to dinner. Then it is back to the hotel and getting ready for bed. It is hard to believe that it has been 11 days since we left home(for the 4th trip that is) and that I will be home in 9 more days!

The Robert's will be leaving on Saturday and talked to their referral today about being adopted and she wants to be adopted! It is just so wonderful to see things working out. We went to San Pizza again for dinner. Dinner for us is a several hour endeavor. First, we either walk there or call a taxi. That could be anywhere from 10-30 minutes. Then we get our orders in quickly but it talks awhile to get our food, longer then in the US in most places. Once we are done eating, we have to remember to ask for the bill. We usually get talking and forget to ask, they never bring it to you unless you ask. Then we ask them to call a taxi. That is another 15 minutes for them to come.So we usually leave around 6:30 and get home around 9:30. It is long but very enjoyable to be with other families that understand everything that you are going through.

Can't wait to see M tomorrow, I hope he has bounced back quickly. Hopefully only two more orphanage visits and then he will be mine(ours).

I pray that you have a wonderful day and that God will shine His wonderful face upon you!

Misty

I wanted to take a moment out of my own life and mention Misty. Some may have noticed that I have a link at the top of my blog page that says pray for Misty. I don't know her or her family, in fact I only came to know about them through a blogging friend. But She had been battling brain cancer and has now left this earth to be with her heavenly father. If you want to see how a wonderful strong faith can keep you going, read her husband's blog. No matter how difficult I think I may have it at times, there is always someone else out there who is struggling more so I focus my prayers on this wonderful family as they walk a path that none of us could even imagine. Please take some time to pray for them and especially their little girl Olivia.

Day 6

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I was a very tiring day and once I returned back to my room, I just needed to go to bed. You know we never do too much here; my schedule at home is always on the go; but nevertheless I get tired. I think that it is the emotions that really wear you out.

So first the good news – We are expecting to Leave Astrakhan on October 1st and be back in the US on October 4th!!!!! - 6 days earlier. There is a huge celebration that I may have mentioned before. It is the 450th year celebration for the City of Astrakhan. It starts October 1st through the 5th and it is going to be very busy and there are going to be many people coming into town. So Galina has been able to get the passports processed quicker then normal. We are so grateful for her dong that. Six days does not seem that bad but it is like an eternity when you are away from home. In fact, I mentioned today that I do not know if there was anywhere in the world that I would like to be at for three weeks or more.

Now for the not so good news. Little M was sick and I did not get to see him today. They say that he has an oral infection called stomatitis. I am not sure what it is comparable to in the US but he has sores in his mouth and Galina purchased a certain medicine that they use to clean his mouth. Unfortunately I might not get to see him until Saturday and they are unsure if I should take him with me on Monday. Since we are leaving Wednesday they thought it might be better to leave him in the orphanage Monday and Tuesday because he would be there with a doctor and they could make sure he is well before we leave on Wednesday. I am not thrilled with that at all but I also would not want him to get sicker when he was with me either and then have no doctor. So time will tell. Just pray for healing and that I do not get sick either. In fact Vika was saying that she was glad that I was going to get to leave Wednesday, meaning that I am leaving earlier and can get him home to a heathly enviroment sooner. But I just laughed and said that they are glad to see me go because they never know what is going to happen next with me! HAHA!

Otherwise the day was a little gloomy. Rain and old in the morning so no real walk that morning. We did walk in the evening, it had cleared up by then and took Andy and Kathy to the soverneir shop and then on to dinner at the Chocolate Cafe. We really like eating there, it is really good food and a great atmosphere. Once back to the room, I was able to change my flights to the US and my hotel rooms in Moscow(went very smoothly considering all the trouble I have been having). What is great is that I had to change my flight to arrive in the US in Atlanta and not JFK so I get to be on the plane with Kyley and Greg back to the US. I am sure that they are wondering when they are going to get rid of me, but they have to put up with me a bit longer. They have solved my major plane delimma... how do I go to the bath room on the plane? Do I take him in with me? Do I chance it when he is asleep(assuming he will sleep)? Now, no worries.

Keep up the prayers because this trip is not over and those flaming arrows keep heading my way.

God Bless

Day 5

Ok, it is officially the half way point of the 10 day wait. Highlights of the day were first the continued wind that they have here. The computer said 27 MPH with gust up to 36 MPH. It was also overcast and sprinkling. Since the heat does not get turned on until mid October, my room(no carpeting just tile) is getting cold so for the firs time in the four trips we have made, I am actually cold in Russia - go figure.

On our walk today we stopped by the Azimut. I wanted to get pictures that I did not get the first time we were here. We checked inside and the lobby is looking like a regular hotel. It was the best part of the hotel before do I could not understand why they were redoing it and not the rooms but it looks really great now!

Today's visit was not well. Just because Micah is sick again. He is never fully healthy but today, you could tell he had a sore throat and a slight fever again but he was just really lathargic? We played some but you could tell he was not feeling well, so I tried to just hold him and rock him and sing to him. I want so bad to just take him back and give him medicine. I know that they have meds there but the germs just get passed around and not until I get him out of there will he have a chance of getting better. So pray that he will get better and that will stay well for the next 6 nights that he has there.

Possibly more good news, There is a potential that we may get to come home early!!! More news tomorrow on that so pray!

Thank you all for your support in words, prayers and help at home with my family. THere are no words that can express the gratitude that I have for you all. It is so hard(when you are a control freak) to be half way across the world and in little control of anything - at home and in Astrakhan. So you all have made it so much better for me. THank you, Thank you, Thank you!

Today we got to see God match another family together(hopefully). It is amazing how many times when you are on a path that you know God wants you on but things just do not seem to be working the way you thought it should and then God reveals His plan and it could not be more clear and more amazing - Oh we of little Faith and Oh God of Great Promises!

May God Bless all your lives as He has so graciously blessed ours.

Day 4

Today started pretty much off the same, I think someone noted on their blog a reference to “Ground Hog Day” Well, it is true. You do the same thing over and over again for 10 days. And then I am sure that once I get Little M it will be more exciting but the routine will be the same day after day. Even though it is repetative time still seems to go by fast. The great thing about Breakfast this morning is that the Eggs were actually fully fried! At the hotel, Breakfast is included but you do not order off a menu or there is no buffet. They just bring you what they have. Usually, it is fired eggs, bread, yogart, cheese, sometimes some meat and coffee and tea if you want it. The thing is the eggs are always sunnyside up and very runny. Now I like then that way but poor Kyley could not eat them. We tried yesterday to ask for scrambled but we just got runny eggs with the yoke mixed up. So Kyley was thrilled today. We also had another treat, Andy and Kathy brought Peanut Butter with them! We were talking last night about how we were trying to find it at the store but there is none to be found here. Andy and Kathy said that they had brought some so at Breakfast, we had peanut butter on our bread! It does not take much to excite you when you are out of your comfort zone.
So off to another power walk but only for two hours today. Spent most of our time in the Kremlin area. They are working on restoring it and it is really pretty to look at. I got to go into the church today. It is very ornate inside and I slipped in a picture. I do not feel bad about being disrespectiful because they have little gift shops just inside the church. The paintings are very pretty. We then worked our way back in the wonderful wind. The thing we noticed the other day is that the dogs that run wild around here are very good about crossing the streets. They will stand near a crowd of people waiting to cross and when they move, so do the dogs, it is pretty funny to watch.
In the afternoon, it is calling home and internet catch up and then off to a visit. I started to think about if the hotel is charging me for the phone usage for a local call for my dial up. That could be really bad if they are. I will have to have Vika ask them for me. Today's visit was a little shorter but the testing has begun. He may be delayed physically and in his speech but mentally he is a sharp two year old. First of all he would spend his entire time have me hold him above my head so that he can take his favorite puppet and hold it over the puppet stage. So being the nice Mom that I am, I agreed to do that a few times but I would then put him down and and lead him away, well he started the leg collapsing thing so that he would fall to the ground, hoping that I would let go and then he would try to make a quick escape back to the puppet stage. I caught on quick and would not let go but boy is that so two year old behavior! The next was when he was paying with his stacking cups, one had fallen far from where we were playing so he picked it up and started tapping on the table, etc. as he walked. However, as he came to the TV, he stoped, held up the cup as to hit the TV and then looked at me to see what I would do! Of course I sternly said Nyet and walked toward him, he did not try but I could see in his eyes how he wanted to. Oh the two's!
The rest of the night was off to Sans Pizza for dinner and back home. Please pray for guidance for Andy and Kathy in their decision. Well off to bed and hopefully I can get up a little earlier.
Please pray for Russ and the kids as they try to get adjusted to the new schedule with Daddy being home. God bless you all in your lives and that God's peace will be with you.

Day 3

Today was the day I was worried about because there was no visit to see Little M and we were on our own. But it went very well. I usually sleep in and get up in just enough time to get ready for Breakfast. I usually meet with Kyle and Greg around 9 - 9:30 am. After that I hung out in the room and went through emails etc. We then went for a 4 hour walk around the town. It is still pretty windy here. Friday was the first day of pretty high winds and they are suppose to continue through Tuesday. It is really hard to walk with the wind because it is do dry and dusty here that the dirt just blows in your eyes. Anyway, we made it all the way to the MegaStore that had a Subway restaurant in it and then headed back. There is a tradition here for couples that marry to take a pad lock and put on on this bridge. I got to see the Bridge today and it is pretty neat. Some locks are fancy and other just simple with the names written on it.
After our walk, I called home and talked to Russ – he got home safely but very tired. Skype will work but with dial up it breaks up a lot so I decided to us Skype to phone home and it is only $0.02/minute the cheapest we have seen. It works ok but I would still love to see them. Kyley and Greg have offered to let me use their internet access to use Skype so maybe after I pick up Little M I will do that so he can see them and them him.

Another family arrived then in the evening, Andy and Kathy. They are so sweet. We spent all dinner and then some talking and filling each other in. It is so very nice to have company here.

It was very late and I was tired so I called home once more to talk to my little girl who was not home earlier, and then off to bed. I was too tired to blog so that is why this is posted on Monday. It is three days down and 7 more to go until I can hold Little M in my arms forever.

God Bless

Day Two

Well, I now have internet in my room. It is dial up but that is better then nothing and better then taking my laptop to a restaurant and type while I am eating. I was able to Skype with the kids today(somewhat). THey were very fuzzy and there was much delay but when you haven't seen your kids for awile, fuzzy is good.

I was thinking while I was waiting for the page to come up that I don't think I have given everyone the updated time line. It takes to long to change my tickers so I will just give you the info now. First there is a 10 day waiting period after court, I think it is for appeals. So the titles at the top of my posts are what day we are in of the 10 day. Today is day two down! After the 10 days little M will be ours. I will pick him up from the orphanage on Monday September 29th. We then apply for his passport so that we can fly to Moscow. Unfortunately it takes 7 days to get his passport so we should get that on Monday October 6th and fly to Moscow on October 7th. We then have to take him to get a medical exam, register with the US embassy and have an appointment to get a visa for him to enter the U.S.(he will have a Russian passport). We are then planning on flying home October 10th! Russ's birthday! The best present I think that we could give him.

In thinking about all the time that is ahead of me, it seems like forever, but surprisingly each days passes pretty quickly. Yesterday I spent time visiting with little M, oraganizing the room and taking a walk. Today was very eventful,at least for me. Woke up and had breakfast and went right away to visit Little M. THen off to the back to exchange more money, picked up the Smith's and went grocery shopping(this was great because I now have a stove in my room so I could purchase pasta and soups!). The afternoon was spent hooking up to dial up and catching up with emails and Skyping with the kids. THen off for a walk with the Smith's to dinner. We wanted to try La Vanilla, a restaurant that others suggested. THey still do not have an english menu, so after several minutes of trying to translate the menu on the spot, we gave up, asked to take the menu with us(that was not easy) and went around the corner to the Chocolate Restaurant. It was so nice to have an English Menu. Their food was also very good. Since it was quite cool here, we all decided to have Hot Chocolate at the end. I was a little dissappointed when the very small cup came out, but one we realized how thick and rich it was, that little cup was a lot. It was like drinking a melted Hershey's Bar, I actually ate it with a spoon. THen we came home by taxi and now I am blogging. No need to try to go to bed early. THe hotel has a large party room below. Last night and tonight there have been weddings. Since my room is now over the party hall, I can hear the music more then I would like. It is not to bad but enough to make it difficult to sleep. Last night it ended at 11:30pm, which was great - we will see about tonight.

Tomorrow is Sunday and no visits so we will see what we can do to make the time pass.

I can not end without a little update in Little M. Today he is starting to feel very comfortable with me. We were playing with the bubbles and I have been trying to get him to blow them. Well, today, he decided to take the whole container and carry it around. He kept tipping it and I did not want the bubbles to spill so I kept reaching for it, but he would just push my hand away. Then there is the puppet stage. It is more like a partition. He loves this little blue rabbit puppet and wants me to hold him up so he can put the puppet over the top. I have to be careful because I am afraid that it will fall over on him. But after holding him for several minutes, he gets heavy, and I get tired. I would try to distract him on the otherside of the room with other toys, but He would slyly sneek away and head right for that stage. It is going to be an exhausting 8 more days if I have to keep lifting him up. We go over pictures of the family in hopes that he will be able to say his siblings names by the time we come home.

I hope that things are going well and that the Buckeye's won this week. It will be wonderful that Russ will be home tonight for the kids. I am hoping that I will get a post tomorrow with a recap of the week that I missed. It seems that there are many others traveling on 1st and 2nd trips now or soon - that is so wonderful! God Bless you all!

Day One

Well today was an early start, at least for Russ. He was picked up at 5:30 for the airport to start his trip back home. It is amazing that we have been traveling since September 4th and he will get back home September 20th - He has spent a total of 4 days at home and 2 sets of 2 days each in Astrakhan in that time. I know that he will love being home for the long haul and hopefully let his body get adjusted to one time zone.

Today we(Kyley and Greg and I) went for a walk. We had lost electricity at the hotel and thought that we could get away for awhile. Well we came to find out that most of the city was out. It was extremely windy and walking was difficult because all the dirt was blowing in our eyes and hitting our legs. So our plans to go to the bank and the store did not pan out because of the loss of electricity.

I got to see little M today and we had fun. He has a cold and was running a fever yesterday but seemed better today. Our visit was short today and when Vika asked him if he was ready to go eat, he shook his head no! Yea, I won out over food - but he still had to go. He definitely is expecting me when he comes in the room now and it just seems natural to be together. I do have to say that it is hard to get in my head that he is really our son now, I am sure that it will not really sink in until I get to take him home.

Tomorrow will be a morning visit, hopefully some grocery shopping and I think I will be able to get dial up working tomorrow! That sounds so weird to be excited about dial up but the internet is always down in the hotel and I now have a room with no internet(but a great kitchen and large table to eat at( no coffee table for lunch). We are trying restaurants with free wifi for dinner so we can check our blogs and emails so I am hoping that I can start doing it from my room and possibly Skype with the kids. Anyone that is on their way to Astrakhan, bring a laptop with an phone jack, and plan on buying a phone/internet card(150 rubels(about 6 dollars) for 10 hours internet - Pretty good.

I will start creating a recap of the past week and post soon. We have another family arriving on Sunday for their referral - it is so great that all our many visits that we have been here, we have had other familys with us. What a blessing.

Hope to post soon. Thanks again for your prayers. Love your comments.

Hey kids - we love you very much take it easy on Grandma and Grandpa! Love you Mom and Dad more then words can say.

Family of 6

Yes, It has finally happened! We are now parents to a wonderful little boy. Court was great! I think that two times is a charm for us. Can't talk much because we are at dinner at Sans Pizza - THey have free wifi. The hotel does not have us in a room with internet but it doesn't matter much because it is usually down anyway. So my hope is that I will be finding restaurants to eat at with wifi and will be able to keep everyone posted. I want to say thank you to everyone for your prayers. They were felt and court was wonderful it went better then we could ever imagine. God is good and has blessed us immensely. Russ will be starting his trip home tomorrow so pray for safety. THankfully I will be here with Kyley and Greg, they are wonderful company. THey also had a successful court today. It has been a great day all around.
Again thank you all continue your prayers and have a blessed day. Now off to celebrate!

God Bless - Russ and Monica

??????????????????????

Hello all! We are alive and well and back at home. We had severe technical problems in Russia and were not able to post again until we got home. I have the title as is because there has been so much going on that I do not even know where to start. But to sum it up things have not been on the upside. Basically, we went to court on Monday and it was postponed! I could not believe it myself. I feel like everything has been a bad dream and I am hoping that I am going to wake up soon.

Basically there was some paperwork that we did not have that the court wanted. So within 5 minutes of starting court, it got postponed. It has been rescheduled for September 18th. We should have the paperwork today and be back in a plane on Monday for our court. The good news is that we were planning on coming home this time so this has helped us to process things quickly. The bad news is that most of our dossier expired between 9/8 and 9/18(ccourt) and we do not know if the judge will have an issue with it. So we have spent an enormous amount of time and money on the phone trying to get things going while we were still in Russia. It also means that, if court is successful, we will not get to bring him home until October 10th, everything is pushed back 10 days. We have decided that Russ will come home immediately after court and I will stay the entire time. Our kids have been through so much and we can not ask them much more, especially since we haven't been able to Skype with them like we planned.

Also I want to give my Mom the Mother of the year award! Not only has she had to take care of my three kids, running them to school and activities. But she has been instrumental in helping get our paperwork updated and to top that off, in the middle of her running around for me she was sick and found out that she had a sinus infection. Now that is motherly dedication. I love you so much!

So, I have 4 days to get paperwork, reschedule planes and hotels, unpack/ repack for a longer trip, get more money and spend as much time with our kids as possible( the whole reason we were coming home in the first place)! Oh! and try to get our computer problems solved. Just a note to everyone out there who loves Apple computers, Russia is not ready for them! We have had so much problems and we think it is related to our macbook. So we are going to bring our Windows based laptop this time and pray that we can get things to work.

Needless to say, blogging has not been high on my list so I do not know if I will get to post again before we leave, or while in Russia for that fact but I ask for prayers, prayers and more prayers! Prayers for strength, for perseverance, for a loving heart and that we will glorify God with a loud voice through it all!

Blessing to you all. Thank you for the prayers!

Back in Moscow

Sorry to all of you who regularly check our blog. I did not get to post before we left, just very busy getting last minute things taken care of. We got off on Thursday and our flights went well. I was able to sleep a little better on the flight this time(don't think Russ did). It was nice becaue this flight had indivdual screens for each person so you can watch what you want when you want which makes it really nice. This helped to make the time go by quickly.

We arrive in Moscow on Friday, slept, called the kids, slept some more and then went out for another walk around the sights. Had dinner and then went to bed(for 10 hours). We are now at McDonalds for a low cost breakfast and the Free WiFi. We are leaving around 3pm Moscow time for Astrakhan. So more traveling. Our hope is that we have the same room as last time because we have all the computer settings already in the laptop, that way we can et up and running quickly. We are using a different browser this time and hope we will be able to post and check emails. If you do not hear from us, that is probably why. We will be back in Moscow on Tuesday and home Wednesday night. I am really beginning to hate(I do not use that word much) travelling. On the way over, I kept thinking to myself, I can not believe I am going to have to go through this one more time( and in another week and half)! I just keep thinking how nice it will be to see the kids for thoses few days.

COURT! Now that is what is constantly on our minds for the last few days. In case we do not get a chance to blog again, Our court is at 10am (2am EST) on Monday. Please pray, pray, pray! We just ask for wisdom in our answers and kindness of heart in the judge. I have never had to be in court before and the first time in a foreign court is a little nerve-wrecking.

Another prayer request is that we get to see our little boy tomorrow. Normally, the family gets to see their child the day before court but with it being Sunday, we are not sure. It has only been 6 weeks since we have seen him(we know others have waited much longer) but it is still hard and we can not wait to see him again.

Well, we have finished our Egg McMuffins and our back to practice for court until we get picked up. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and a special message of love to our brave kids who are so kind to let us go for this long trip so we can bring love into the life of a precious little boy.

God's Blessings to you all,

Russ and Monica