We've Come a Long Way, Baby!

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.

(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!

Last Full Day in St. Petersburg

I can’t wait to be home where I can prepare my own food and actually eat when I’m hungry and finally get our kiddos on a proper routine. Today is our last full day in St. Petersburg. I love the city. I love the people. I don’t quite love the weather. But I love that this place has now been ingrained into our family history. Nevertheless, there’s no place like home.

We leave tomorrow evening to take an overnight train to Moscow, where we will go to the American Embassy to apply for their Visas. I probably won’t be able to get online tomorrow, but will do my best once we’re in Moscow.

Today was a good day. Celia is feeling better I believe. Both kids, however, are demanding more intimate, one-on-one time. This is definitely wonderful, particularly with adopted children. However it makes things a little difficult. I think because neither of them had ever had to share us with another child before we brought the siblings together, it’s another adjustment we’re going through. Add on to that the facts that they are grieving the loss of everything that was familiar to them and that this is the first time either of them have experienced parental love, and I can see why they would be so protective over the attention they receive from us. C won’t let me get two feet away from her and B isn’t a fan of either Mama or Papa giving his sister too much attention. When they’re on their own, however, they get along increasingly well. B fed his sister some Cheerios from his snack catcher. He even will share toys with her—those he associates with her, but not so much with the toys that are “his.”

We actually were able to eat between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. today! Woot! Derek went out and picked up blinis for us. My goodness, they are DELICIOUS! Both Derek and I were expecting each one to be the size of a sushi hand roll so Derek ordered nine (thinking we’d have what was left over for dinner). We were mistaken. These yummy pancake treats we huge! We sampled the mushroom, chicken, ham and cheese, sweetened condensed milk and sweet cottage cheese and jam filled blinis. Mmmm… I wish we had tried this place sooner!

I’m off to try to get some shut eye. There’s not much of that these days! Here’s some photos from today:

To get out of the hotel room, we’ve taken to walking the halls

And looking out our favorite window

We had fun with balloons

Bennett likes to tackle Papa

They opened their new toy, which our friends bought for our kiddos for Christmas

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Santa stopped by St. Petersburg today and brought presents to our sweet babies! I’m sure they don’t understand that these presents are particularly for Christmas, as they have received many new toys to play with over the last few days, but Mama and Papa sure got a kick out of them opening their stockings.

Santa also surprised me with two presents that one of his elves snuck in a suitcase. I suppose I didn’t make it on the naughty list after all.

This morning was difficult for me. Our sweet little girl’s tummy got even worse and she had a bad case of diarrhea. I was beginning to really stress about C’s health. There was even a fleeting moment when I thought that perhaps she is in worse hands with me than with the caregivers at her baby home. Surely they would know exactly what to do and have just what she needs to make her feel better. Self-doubt is a terrible beast isn’t it?

However, when Derek had to leave for an hour and a half to pick our kiddos’ passports and our babies refused to take their afternoon naps, God certainly showed his mercy on me. I have been seriously praying over the last few days that the fear and insecurities over my job as a mother would leave me, and God is so faithful. It occurred to me as I changed poor C’s diaper four times in one sitting that I need to focus on one thing at a time. Whatever I can do in this moment, I need to do my best at that. (And Derek might have mentioned that to me once or twice…) So, I changed those diapers and then B's (just one for him—though a very full one!) and enjoyed each minute as it came with the kiddos.

Some new—but very dear—friends invited us to dinner tonight, in celebration of our Christmas. Earlier this morning I seriously doubted that we would make it. C was sick, I was showered but felt I looked awful, and we were exhausted from lack of sleep and skipping lunch three days in a row. However, God gave me the extra boost I needed while D was away. He also spoke through my children to urge me on. At one point, Bennett took his and Celia’s coats and such and took each piece, one by one, to the door. I guess we were going out! B and C later played on the stack of soft bundles.

Dinner was fabulous. Being the very first time eating out with the kiddos in a group setting, we didn’t know what to expect. But they were fabulous! Sure C got fussy a few times and B (once he got over his fear of being in a new place with a bunch of unfamiliar people) was not quiet. But they were great! It was really good to get out of the hotel—something I hadn’t done in several days. (What day of the week IS it…?) Our sweet friends and the wonderful group of friends who they introduced us to definitely made the best Christmas even better!


Merry Christmas to my friends and family at home! This is the first Christmas I will not be able to talk with my parents, which makes me a bit homesick. But I know everyone understands. Friends and family, we miss you all so very much and can’t wait to bring the whole Hunter clan home! We love you!

Running on Fumes

Well, we made it! We got in to St. Petersburg--but barely! If we would have traveled through Frankfurt, as we usually do, chances are our flight would have been severely delayed (70% of flights out of Frankfurt were either canceled or greatly delayed today). And if we would have come in through Dusseldorf yesterday as we did today, we would have been stranded, as all flights were canceled out of that airport just yesterday. Praise God we made it!

Our driver let us swing by Bennett's baby home for about 30 minutes. Of course it was well worth it! His face lit up as soon as he saw us. He was all giggles and non-stop play for the full 30 minutes. He even started saying more words than we have heard him say before. We are not sure if they are Russian words or just sounds, but either way it was beautiful to our ears.

As I, Derek, finish writing Kat's blog because I think that she just passed out in her Borsht, (Traditional Russian Soup made with beets), we thank you for continuing to follow our journey. In less than 48 hours, the children will be with us forever.

Snow, Sun and Smiles

We began the day at 9:15, when our translator came to pick us up. The sun had just began to rise and we were off to see B! At the suggestion of our translator, we saw B for a longer period of time this morning and planned on seeing C in the afternoon.

Usually, we see C for 45 minutes, drive to B’s baby home to see him for 45 minutes, get in an hour of site-seeing, eat lunch, visit with C for 45 minutes to an hour, drive once again to B’s home and play with him for a final 45 minutes to an hour. (Whew! Are you tired just reading that?!) However, today we thought it best to spend a larger block of time with B. At his age, it takes more time to break down the barriers and sometimes feel that just when we’re making a breakthrough, it’s time to go. So we spent a good hour and half, hour and forty-five minutes with him this morning. I would say it definitely paid off!

We started our play time outside, at the request of his caregivers, since they usually get a set amount of time each day to play outside. We were equipped with a red plastic shovel and a HUGE snow suit, green mittens and a pink hat for our little guy. Yes, a pink hat. All bundled up, we ventured off into the snow.

We took a walk around back where we stopped to play with his shovel. He wasn’t too interested. I took out his favorite toy—the stacking cups—to see if that created a better response. He loved watching Mama dig in the snow with the cups and make the snow fall as I was pouring it out. B wanted to get involved too, however the green mittens that were sewed onto his snowsuit were sewed on the wrong hands. The poor guy wasn’t able to really grasp anything. We took a look around, scoped out the play area to see who was around and took off his gloves (GASP!) so that he could play.

Side Note: Russians like to bundle up their children—and I mean bundle like you’ve never seen! They shouldn’t go anywhere outside without a hat, no matter the weather. And heaven forbid if you can see any piece of skin other than their cheeks while outside in the Russian winter! As I mentioned in my previous post, renovations were being done on the entrance we usually used to get to his group. The work created a draft in that section of the baby home, and because of that, every time B was taken out of his group’s main room and down that inside stairwell he was made to wear a winter hat despite the inside temperature being above 80 degrees.

It takes a real man to wear pink. Just ask my husband!

 
Back inside, we played more with his stacking cups and the toy truck which we had brought and left on our first trip. We also noticed that his outfits yesterday and today both included items that we had donated on our last trip. We thought that was sweet! His favorite thing to do today…? Get his belly tickled! He just absolutely LOVED that and laughed and laughed and laughed! There is nothing like the sound of your own child’s laugh, is there? Surprisingly enough, he also really liked getting his nose cleaned up. Unfortunately, because it is so hot and so dry in the baby home, he had a nose bleed from the dry air. We had to clean him up a few times and each time smiled and giggled as if we were playing a game! What two-year-old loves getting his nose cleaned?!


After visiting B we were off to meet with another representative from our agency who prepared us for court as we ate lunch. She went over the basics of what to expect and explained who would be present in the court room. It’s nerve-wracking when you think of it. I mean, how many mothers have to go before a judge before they can be parents? (Oh the exceptional lengths we as adoptive parents go to for our children!) I’m sure everything will be just fine, but still… Please say a prayer for us…

On the way to lunch, the sun came out! Believe me when I say that it is a rarity here in St. Petersburg this time of year. Our translator explained to us that the sun fully comes out from behind the clouds only three to five times in November and December. What a blessing we were in for! We stopped real quick to check out the palace square, where we saw the magnificence that is the Winter Palace! It’s breathtaking, really. Especially in the snow.

 

After lunch, some souvenir shopping and a quick walk around the square, we were on our way to C! Okay, I know I’m biased, but she truly is one of the most beautiful little girls I have ever seen. Scratch that, THE most beautiful. Hey, I’m her mama (almost!), so I can say that! Seriously though, practically everyone she comes in contact with is just smitten with her and so taken by her beauty. That’s our girl!

 

Today, C liked take the puffs that Papa and I would put between our lips and munch on them herself. It was a great bonding activity with very close interactions for all three of us. She loved playing peek-a-boo with the blow-up beach ball with Papa. Her smile is so precious! She got fussy once or twice and my motherly instinct told me that she just needed to be held. I scooped her up and was proven right. Her smiles came right back! She’s definitely a snuggler.

All the Hunters had on pink today!

C is not walking yet and is unsteady on her feet if left to stand by herself, but I’m sure with some more one-on-one attention, she’ll develop and grow like crazy! Just like her brother. B isn’t talking much. His caregivers did admit that he doesn’t too say many words yet, which does put him a little behind, but that’s okay! We’ll work on it. I’m sure in just those first few weeks we’ll see so much development among all four of us! One of his caregivers did jokingly say that he doesn’t speak in full Russian sentences yet because he’s saving up his verbal skills for learning English! She said, why waste time on Russian! Hee hee hee…

Derek and I won’t get out to see the kids tomorrow morning, as our court hearing begins at noon and we don’t want to risk being late. Friends, please say a prayer for us and for our children that court goes well. It is my heart’s desire—and I truly believe God’s will—that Derek and I become B and C’s parents and give them the personal love that they so fully deserve.

Less Than 24 Hours Until Court!

Quickly checking in before we head out for dinner...

Our court hearing tomorrow is at noon, or 3 a.m. central time. We have a wonderful woman who works for our agency representing us and translating for us. In addition to her, there will be the judge (female), a prosecutor, the two baby home directors and two social workers each representing one of our children. The social workers and baby home directors will be asked to testify regarding our petition to become B and C's mommy and daddy.

Please say a prayer that the hearing ends favorably and the judge agrees to God's plan of bringing our forever family together.

Blessed Reunions

It’s so good to be back with B and C! We’ve missed them so much over the last month and a half, so our reunions were nothing less than fabulous!

I woke up this morning not feeling well. Not well at all. Derek was worried I wasn’t going to make it to the baby homes, however it would have to take one heck of a bug to keep me away! We had the wonderful and FREE! breakfast buffet to give us the fuel for our face-paced day. (Since we are unlike most adoptive families in that we are adopting two at once—and not only that, but two in two different locations—our days are usually jam-packed.) Then we were on our way to see our babies!

I got so nervous on the way to see C. I was practicing my Russian—“NEE BOISS-ya” (don’t be afraid) “fsyoh ha-ra-SHOH” (everything is okay)—in preparation for what may have been to come. All bundled up, we walked in through the baby home’s gate and up the path to the main door. We noticed an evergreen decorated with ornaments and twinkle lights near the snow-covered playsets out front. As our driver manually entered the code allowing us to enter the baby home, I felt my heart begin to beat faster. We set down our bags, put on our flimsy blue plastic booties and took off our coats. Was I sweating because I was so anxious, or because it was 80 degrees inside? Probably both. We walked the three flights of stairs to her group’s playroom, where we waited for our C…

Once the caregivers saw us, their voices went up an octave and I could make out “Oh! N____!” (her current name) “Mama!” and “Papa!” as they were hurrying back to get our baby. And then they brought her. My first thought? There’s my beautiful baby girl! I’ve missed her so much! My second thought? She’s grown so much! Her face has matured in just the few weeks since we’ve last seen her. Her outfit was familiar to us. It was one she wore as a dress during our visit in October, which now looked more like a long sweater. It was so good to have her back in my arms. Indescribable, really. I’m not completely sure if she remembered us, but she warmed up to us so quickly that I think she might. One of her favorite “toys” is still the black camera lens cap. She put just about everything in her mouth—which has at least three more teeth since we last saw her!—except the teething toy we bought her. So much for good intentions! There was another couple in our room for several minutes with the boy they plan to adopt with the help of our AMAZING agency. I was chatting with them, getting to know them, when I felt something being moved about on my hand. C kept trying to hand me her stacking cups to get my attention so that I was focused 100% on her. What a princess! I was happy to oblige of course!

Then we were off to see B! A short 20 minute drive later and we were at his baby home. We couldn’t go in through the door we usually use, which takes us to practically directly to his group’s room due to renovations. Our driver took us in through the main door, so we stopped in to see the baby home director and pediatrician. She called to have B’s caregivers get him ready and bring him down to us. While we waited, she educated us a little on what the judge has been asking adoptive families in court. “What makes you qualified to be parents to two children?” (being a teacher would help me there, hopefully saying that I teach a weekly class to two-year-olds will be something…) “How have you interacted with them?” (I think the baby home directors will have good things to testify for us on that one) “Will you discipline your children?” “What are you plans regarding work and taking care of the children?” “Are you financially able take care of two children?” etc…

The doctor also informed us that after our first visit with B every one of his immediate caregivers and his physical therapists said that our visits with him made a very positive impact on him. He has thrived so much more since our encounter that short week. Due to the one-on-one attention we were able to give him, he has become more outgoing and confident and has been more interested in trying more “excelled” tasks. Yay! That is such great news for a Mommy to hear!

And then the door opened…

Quite frankly, I was expecting tears. What we got was a timid (I wouldn’t even use the word scared) little boy. Our B! He had a haircut since we last saw him, though his beautiful, shiny black hair was as thick as ever—just like his Papa! He took his stacking cups from our bag in one hand and Papa’s hand in the other and we headed off to the playroom. He wasn’t as rambunctious as he was when we left him more than a month ago, but we did get to see an equally wonderful side to him—his cuddly side. B just leaned up against Papa or lay on Papa’s stomach for most of the time, his cute little hands so close to Derek’s face. B did much on some Gerber puffs (big surprise!) and even played his “Give one to Mama!/Give one to Papa!” game. Gosh, I love that boy! What produced the biggest smiles was when I tickled his belly or gave his belly loud kisses. He loved that and I, in turn, loved making him happy like that.

After our morning meetings with our children, we visited St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the third largest domed cathedral in the world. It was a beautiful house of God with breathtaking mosaics, painting, columns and more.

That's Derek and our translator in the foreground.

For lunch we went to a great place we had visited on our first trip, though this time we were joined with the other couple (on their own first trip) and our driver/translator’s wife, who we had the pleasure of working with during the last two days of our first trip while her husband had to take a quick trip to Moscow. It was just a great group of people! After lunch (and our driver being pulled over by the Russian police for a traffic violation! Eek!), we were able to make one visit each to see our babies again. I can’t get enough of those kiddos!

We got back to the hotel around 6:30, stopped to chat with the couple who are on their first trip who incidentally are staying at the same hotel, and Skyped my parents to fill them in on the day’s events (who will then fill in Derek’s parents, since they don’t have access to Skype this week). After that we braved the cold and walked to one of our favorite Russian eateries, Stolle, where we had our “usual,” meat pies and tea. Mmmm…

Tomorrow it will be more of the same and I can’t wait. At some point tomorrow, we will meet with another of our agency’s employees to prepare for court. The woman who will educate us on what’s to come was actually the one who began the agency more than 20 years ago with the help of the main director who lives and works in the Sates. We’re definitely in good hands. The best, in our opinion, when it comes to adoption agencies. But… I’m still nervous. I wonder what would happen if EVERYONE had to go before a judge and prosecutor before becoming parents…

Love you all! For those who requested, no, demanded that I blog each day while we’re gone, I hope you approve!



Back in the Homeland

We made it! This trip seemed much more difficult for whatever reason. I'm completely spent from hours upon hours of flying and layovers. I'm hoping the headache I've had for the last several hours (or has it been a day...?) goes away before tomorrow morning. Nevertheless, nothing is going to stop me from showing my excitement to see our kiddos tomorrow!

Our driver/translator was waiting for us just outside of the St. Petersburg airport's customs area with a huge hug and a "So glad to have you back!" We just love him. He hustled us outside into the bitter cold Russian air and into his compact car. He drives just as wild well in a foot of snow as he did back in October.

St. Petersburg is absolutely beautiful during this time of year! I'm afraid I'm too tired and out of it to do the city justice in my description at the moment, but believe me—it's magical. Of course, the fact that B and C currently live here add to the "magic!" What we Americans would consider Christmas decorations are up: decorated pine trees, tall fake trees waiting for the finishing touches before being lit, icicle lights twinkling on the sides of buildings. However, all of this is done in celebration of the "New Year," according to our driver. I can’t wait to better appreciate it when I’m more awake!

Our driver will pick us up just after 9:00 a.m. tomorrow to take us to see our babies (first one, then the other). It would be fantastic if they remember us, but even if they don’t it will be such a blessed reunion! Possible happy or frightened tears and all!

Good night friends! (Or, good afternoon to you in the states!)

Thank you!

I wrote a blog while waiting for one of our flights today. I'll post it below, but when Derek and I came home (just a short while ago) and saw what was awaiting us, I knew I needed to post something a bit more important.

We are two of the most blessed people to have such amazing friends and family. Derek and I are planning a yard sale for this coming weekend to raise some funds that will help us complete our adoption of B and C. When we opened our garage door and saw all of the donated items already present, I was just so overwhelmed with emotion and complete gratitude. For people to go ahead and get things started while we were meeting our children... I just can't even explain how meaningful that is... We are so unworthy of all that God is blessing us with through each of you (I don't even know who all donated things yet!) and through our perfect angels in Russia. I will be eternally grateful. I wish there was a better way to express my thankfulness to each of you... When we came into our house, there was a basket of muffins for tomorrow morning and dinner in the fridge. Derek said he even thought someone planted flowers into one of our long-forgotten flower pots outside! Thank you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And now to what I was originally going to post:

Well, we’re back in Tennessee. While it’s great to be on US soil, I feel like a part of me is still in Russia. Of course I mean the kiddos, but I also mean St. Petersburg itself. It’s hard to describe, but I feel like that city is another “home.” It is now part of our family’s heritage and feels as such just as much as Chicago, my hometown. I love the people, the history, the food, the rich culture, the climate, and so much more. It is definitely a place that we will return to as a family years down the line.


Our trans-Atlantic flight had television monitors that displayed flight information such as outside temperature (-77—yikes!), speed and miles yet to go. With each passing mile, I felt the threads from my heart—which have been created and tied to our children—pulled tighter and tighter and the separation grow harder and harder.


But there is so much to do to prepare for their arrival, so keeping busy will be good. For the last few months, Derek has been great and researched several adoption grant possibilities for some financial assistance. Now that the adoption process is practically set in stone, we will apply and see what happens. We are also planning a yard sale for this Friday and Saturday, which—thanks to amazing friends—will feature A LOT of items. Please pray that buyers show up! Derek wrote a heartfelt letter, in which we asked if anyone was willing to donate some items. So many of you have offered to do so! I am so overwhelmed with gratefulness for everyone’s loving and giving heart. A few have suggested that I post the letter on the blog. I will do so in a post tomorrow. Our address is listed there (at least until I am able to make this blog public) for those of you who can make it!


In addition to the logistical stuff, there is fun stuff to be done as well! Their room is painted, but we still have to furnish and decorate it. It will be so fun doing that now, since we know their personalities. Oh, and clothes! I can’t wait to pick out cute outfits! Derek’s already said it’s going to be hard not to buy things for them every time we go into a store. Oy! Envelopes, Derek. Envelopes!


Well, I’m beat! (I feel I’ve ended nearly every post this way. Sorry about that.) We had to wake up at 2:15 a.m. St. Petersburg time (5:15 p.m. central time) after just three hours of sleep for our 6:30 a.m. flight. Interesting reason why we had to get up so early actually: Our hotel was on a small island between two of St. Petes’ rivers. The only way on and off the island are via bridges that are drawn up during the night to let the barges go through. I believe they go up at 2 a.m. and are brought down at 5 a.m. For those that need to get on or off the island between those times, there is a short 15 minute window starting at 3:00 a.m. during which the bridges are down. Our driver for that day lives east of the island. Once the bridges were brought down during this short gap if time, he raced onto the island, picked us up at our hotel on the west side of the island (which is about 5 miles east to west and 2 miles north to south), and made it just in time to cross the main bridge on the south side. Whew!

So, 22 hours of travel later, we've been up for 29 hours and are physically and emotionally exhausted. I'm going to bed one thankful friend and longing mommy.

Powerful Chompers and Laser Rocket Arms

Today started with me finally getting a drinkable cup of coffee. I like my coffee stronger than most Americans, but this Russian coffee is stout! Half a cup of this coffee mixed with half a cup of hot milk finally did the trick! And thank goodness because I didn’t sleep well at all last night.


We were picked up at our usual time to go see C. After carrying her to the large playroom, we were joined with two other adoptive families—one of which is a family adopting a boy and working with the same agency as us. It was wonderful to see C so interested in others, yet able to return her focus to us and be her bubbly self. She even shared some of her puffs with the boy! (However, when it was her turn to start snacking, she mistook my hand for a puff and bit so hard she left a mark that is still there now! Yikes! She likes her puffs!)

When we met with the chief pediatrician, she indicated that C had just started crawling. Well, she sure was crawling like a champ today! We got the biggest smiles and giggles from her when she pulled herself up holding Mama’s or Papa’s hands. What a big girl! And she was so proud of herself, as she should be.

C pulling herself up with Mama’s hands to help her

After visiting her this morning, we went to the Notary, where we signed official documents stating that we met and got acquainted with our referrals and that we “like them very much,” and we would like to proceed with their adoption. This will be filed in Moscow and then we wait for our court date. Our in-country coordinator prepared us for the fact that it is not likely we will have them home before the end of the year. :-( It won’t keep me from praying for just that, however.

During the kiddos’ lunch and afternoon nap, we visited The Yusupov Palace (where Rasputin was killed) and its gorgeous state rooms. Because of the orate antique parquet floors, I was required to put booties on over my heels. Nice. Though, nothing unfamiliar as we have to wear plastic-bag-type-booties every time we enter either of the baby homes.

We saw B this afternoon. Let me first say that both Derek and I prepared ourselves before we left for Russia that there would be a good chance that B would cry and cry at every visit. When meeting with the director of his baby home, we were informed he does not like change very much. Imagine our surprise when after we walked into his groupa’s room, he walked over to the edge of his play pen, waited for the caregiver to lift him up and out, and took my hand right after I offered it to him. We were able to take him all the way down to his playroom without any tears this time! B definitely became more comfortable and confident around us. He didn’t mind walking and playing around the room. He LOVED throwing the ball with Papa! His smile would get so big after a great throw—and there were many. He has a great arm!

We noticed he’s also very particular with certain things and really likes things a certain way. (hmmm….sounds familiar….)His stacking cups had to be in the right order, once the music on his Baby Einstein toy stopped, he had to press the button to make it start immediately again, and when it was time to go he had to help put the toys back into my bag. He’s just so precious!

I realized today that I truly love nothing more than seeing these kiddos smile and laugh. Each time I see a toothy grin or hear their giggles I feel like I’ve won the lottery. Maybe this is a “Mama” feeling…?

Checked In!

After three plane flights and 1.5 hours of sleep, WE ARE HERE! Despite being absolutely exhausted when we touched ground in St. Petersburg, I had butterflies in my stomach thinking that we are in the same city as our kiddos! However, I still don't think the magnitude of what is about to happen over this next week has sunk in. Maybe after a few more hours of sleep. Maybe tomorrow morning when we go to the Ministry of Education and officially receive our referrals. Maybe on the way to the baby home(s). Maybe we when get to hold them!! :-)

Our room here in St. Petersburg is amazing. Our driver (and possibly translator too?) requested a corner room for us, so we have a marvelous view! Check it out:

(Okay, I don't think the video works. I think it's too big... We'll try to figure something out later. But take our word for it, it is beautiful here! Even with the rain)

We meet our in-country coorinator in about a half an hour. She'll meet us in our room and go over what to expect this week, particularly tomorrow. After that, we may walk down the street (with our coats, it's chilly and rainy here!) to a place our driver recommended for dinner. Known for it's "pies," he said, which I'm guessing are not for dessert.

We don't have Internet in our room, so we are accessing it in the hotel lobby. We hope to have the chance to update you guys as much as we can! We love you all and are SO thankful you are all on this journey with us!

A Week From Today

A week from today, we will be in St. Petersburg! We will be in the same city as our kiddos! We will be breathing the same air! We will be (I'm guessing here) a short 30 minute drive away from either of them! Oh my goodness!

Our plane will land around 3 p.m. St.Petersburg time, which is about 6 a.m. Central Time. So by the time most of you are out of bed next Sunday, we'll be on our way to our hotel! We'll spend the first day adjusting to the time difference. We'll be greeted at the airport by our driver, who will be with us the rest of the week. He'll most likely take us to a store and help us pick out some snacks and bottled water for us to keep at the hotel. (Still not being 100 percent familiar with the Russian alphabet, who knows what we would pick up if we were on our own!) We have been advised NOT to drink the water in Russia. After we get settled into our hotel, our in-country coordinator will come to visit us and brief us on our wonderful and exciting week to come.

Most likely, we will go to the Ministry of Education (a governmental body in Russia) first thing on Monday morning and will OFFICIALLY receive our referrals. From there, we will be off with our driver and translator to the baby homes to meet the kiddos!

We still need to finish packing!!!

Real Quick Post Just to Say...

WE HAVE TRAVEL DATES!

While we thought we would leave for trip #1 (of 3) earlier than this, at least we have dates! We leave home for St. Petersburg on October 9. Let the chaos begin! ...as if it hasn't already!