It was a year and a week ago that we landed at the cold, concrete-walled St. Petersburg airport. Walking through clouds of cigarette smoke while our tummies were in knots over simply knowing we were finally in the same city as our children, we knew we were in for the experience of our lives. And boy, were we!
After going through immigration one by one and picking up our bags, we made our way out the gate and into the crowded airport foyer to look for our driver. Andrei! Andrei? Andrei....? It turned out he was given the wrong flight information from our agency and wasn't expecting to pick us up for another hour. Needless to say, our first 45 minutes on Russia soil were a little nerve-wracking!
But! We had our babies to look forward to. We settled in to our hotel (THE best hotel in the world, I will now proclaim, thanks to their phenomenal service) took a look out the windows and took it all in.
We were so anxious to get to sleep, knowing the next day we would finally be able to hold our babies. Finally be able to tell them that they are so loved. Finally be able to have our family together for the very first time. We opened up our laptop and took a look at the pictures of our kiddos which we had found via Russia's online orphan database.
We've never shared these photos outside of our family, so this is a first. These are the earliest photos we will ever have of our babies:
After going through immigration one by one and picking up our bags, we made our way out the gate and into the crowded airport foyer to look for our driver. Andrei! Andrei? Andrei....? It turned out he was given the wrong flight information from our agency and wasn't expecting to pick us up for another hour. Needless to say, our first 45 minutes on Russia soil were a little nerve-wracking!
But! We had our babies to look forward to. We settled in to our hotel (THE best hotel in the world, I will now proclaim, thanks to their phenomenal service) took a look out the windows and took it all in.
(Notice D's lack of facial hair!)
We were so anxious to get to sleep, knowing the next day we would finally be able to hold our babies. Finally be able to tell them that they are so loved. Finally be able to have our family together for the very first time. We opened up our laptop and took a look at the pictures of our kiddos which we had found via Russia's online orphan database.
We've never shared these photos outside of our family, so this is a first. These are the earliest photos we will ever have of our babies:
Alim (Bennett) pictured in his orphanage, no more than 15 months old
Nargiza (Celia) pictures in her orphanage, no more than 3 months old
Beautiful even back then, weren't they? Gosh, we're so blessed to be their Mama and Papa!
1 comment:
What a special treat to pop into your blog and read today! LOVED watching all the videos that popped up too - Celia going to work was just the cutest thing ever!! This year in some ways has flown by, but in others it just seems like Bennet and Celia have been a part of your family forever - you all amaze me in how quickly everyone adjusted!
I LOVE reading your blog - keep it going, girl!
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