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

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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