Trip 2 - Day 21!! Yay!

It's 10:15am in Moscow. Ilya's down for his morning nap, we're packed, and Pasha will be here within the 1/2 hour to pick us up. We're definitely ready to go home but leaving is bittersweet. We've had a great 3 weeks here and have many memories to share with Ilya as he grows. We are especially grateful for the new friends we have met who not only made this trip tolerable but down right enjoyable as well!

Next post, the good ol' USA!

Paka Paka!
Karyn, Norm & Ilya

Trip 2 - Day 20: Packin' Up

Well, this is it! Our last night in Moscow. Aside from what we'll need to shower and dress ourselves & feed Ilya in the morning, we're all set for our flight HOME tomorrow! Oh, don't worry, the boy will be clothed as well...but minus a few layers than he's been required to wear most of his 14 months!

Please pray for us to have safe & uneventful travels tomorrow. At some point during a 10+ hr flight, you're going to experience uncomfortableness and I pray we're able to make Ilya as comfy as possible.

The picture above was taken May 27, 2008 - - the day 3 lives irrevocably changed forever. The day Ilya left the only home he's ever known to join our family and bless us beyond measure. What an awesome, amazing, miraculous journey we've been on since October 2007. Our road to Ilya has brought Norm & me closer than I ever imagined 2 people already in love could be, and more importantly our relationship with and trust in God has reached a point I never knew possible.

Many people have made many comments along the lines of what a "great thing" Norm & I are doing, and what a lucky kiddo Ilya is to now have us as parents. While we truly appreciate these compliments, neither of us feel like we have done anything great. We are the ones blessed by God to have Ilya as our son. We are the lucky ones! We know that every step of this journey - the good, the wonderful, the bad and the ugly - was orchestrated by God. We hoped for children early in our marriage but in hindsight, we were nowhere near ready to be parents in all the areas that parents need to be strong...from housing, to finances, to careers, to spiritual maturity we were not ready. He chose for Ilya's life to intersect with ours at the exact timing that it did, and for that we are so very grateful and humbled, and never will we stop believing in God's great goodness!

I can't believe I blogged every day of our 2nd trip, and on some days twice! Yikes! I hope I didn't overwhelm any of my readers by giving "too much" information. In case you haven't noticed by now, I tend to ramble when I write. It was important to me, though, to document as much as possible so we can share this with Ilya as he gets older, and also to help families who are either in process or considering pursuing international adoption. If you fall into that second category, remember that no matter the frustration, no matter how many times you suffer from exploding head syndrome, no matter how many times you experience a down day as opposed to an up day, it IS do-able and your reward will be something close to the absolutely cheesy grin I have in our family photo above!

With that said, nothing really official happened today, other than Pasha going to the Russian Consulate on our behalf to register Ilya. Don't ask what that means because I'm not exactly sure, just that it had to be done. We did show up at MOE (Ministry of Education) to have our names taken off the list of prospective adoptive parents, but they decided to shut down their office for some reason so the trip was pointless...except for the flower vendor who benefited from us buying roses from him to present to the MOE staff! Our agency has a power of attorney for us, so they will stop by on Monday to have our names removed. When we returned to the apartment, we just hung out, did laundry, played with Ilya and packed. Pasha is picking us up at 11am tomorrow for our flight. We're supposed to land at Dulles at 5-something and hopefully be home a few hours after that. We don't know what to expect for Ilya's entry into the US and we're obviously hoping it doesn't take long to get through.

On March 21, 2008, the last day we spent with Ilya on our first trip, we left behind some toys for him to play with until we could return to see him again: stacking cups, a teething ring, a stuffed donkey and our family photo album. From March 22 - May 26, Ilya's caregivers would use these toys and looked at that album with Ilya to help reassure him that we would be returning as soon as we possibly could. These 4 items were placed in a plastic bag with his Russian last name written on it, and they were the only possessions Ilya ever had in his entire 14 months. When we picked Ilya up forever on May 27, his caregivers gave us those toys and that plastic bag. It brings tears to my eyes to think that this precious little boy only had 4 things to call "his." Ilya has no idea right now of how many things we've accumulated for him - - how much "stuff" is waiting for him at home. I'm keeping the plastic bag as a reminder to Norm, Ilya and me of the path that God took all 3 of us on to find each other and become a family!

Just for Becky & Keith

How pathetic is this? Our 14 month old was able to find the fountain & we needed him to guide us there! After telling him about our snafu meeting you here, he said he was surprised we made it all the way to Moscow to find him! Oh well, at least we made it even if it was almost 3 weeks late!

Trip 2 - Day 19: Goin' Green!

After everything poor Ilya went through today, I'll be surprised if he still wants to go home with us. His schedule is so out of whack at this point. He's such a trooper though and we discovered how blessed we are to have a son who is willing to just go with the flow & see what the day brings.

Pasha picked Norm up at 10:15am to visit the Notary (again...) but I'm not sure why. We've been so many times, it's hard to keep track of all they why's, but let me tell you, the Notary industry seems to be the business to get into here in Russia! E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. has to be notarized!

After the notary, Norm & Pasha swung by the apartment to pick up me & little man. We all thought the notary would take longer than it did, so when Pasha called at 10:45 to say they would be at the apartment in 20 minutes, I knew I was in trouble. Ilya's nap goes until 11:30 and lunch is 11:30-noon. That meant I would have to wake the sleeping babe and we all know that's rarely a good idea.

Thankfully, our little Trooper is just as happy being woken up as he is waking on his own. I was greeted with smiles, laughter...and jelly legs! His little body refused to do much other than smile at me, which was fine. I packed a lunch to feed him in the car and we were off.

First stop, St. Basil's for our family photo. I thought we were just getting out of the car, running up to St. Basil's, snapping a few photos and returning to the car to head to the next appointment. So, I decided to wait until after the photo shoot to feed Ilya. Norm & I also decided to leave the diaper bag (that had our passports), and all our other stuff excluding kid and the camera in Pasha's car.

Turns out I was wrong about how long we'd be gone. Way wrong! Pasha decided to take us on a mini-tour of the Red Square area as well. We got some great family photos, but this meant that not only did Ilya have to wake up early from his nap, we were now running way late on his lunch.

We left Red Square around 12:45 but it was too early to head to the American Embassy for our exit interview, so Pasha suggested we stop at Mama's Pasta again for lunch. Finally, little man gets to eat his lunch!

By the time we got to the Embassy it was around 2:15. There was a huge line of Russian citizens waiting outside for their appointments but we were able to bypass all of them & go in the entrance for Americans instead. Once we finally found our way to Window 4 on the 2nd floor, we ran into 6 other American couples there for the same reason. The process was painless but not without humor. Window #4 Lady was Russian (or sounded it) and all she said was "Give me your invitation and your money." Um, okay. That's it. No pleasantries, no how ya doin, no congrats on your new son...just give me your money! You had to hear it in her demanding Russian accent to appreciate.

We were out of the Embassy by 2:25 and had to head to the CSS office for some last minute paperwork. Ilya's afternoon nap is supposed to be from 2-4pm, and we didn't even leave CSS until 3:45 and Little Man was awake the entire time. As soon as we strapped him back into the car seat he was out, so he started his nap when he should have been waking from it.

Once in the apartment, he fell asleep & we let him sleep until 5-something. I guess we'll always second guess that decision because bedtime tonight was a big challenge. Very big. We knew he was exhausted from everything he went through today and that he needed the sleep. When h woke up at 5-something, we had him eat dinner, had a great bath, and started trying to put him to sleep for the night at 7:30, as per his schedule. Ilya said to heck with my schedule today, ya'll already messed that way up! He finally fell asleep around 9:30 and I hope he forgives us for today's craziness.

The only official thing we need to do tomorrow is return to the Ministry of Education - the place where this all started on March 17 when we received Ilya's referral. It will be strange and wonderful to walk back in & thank the ladies for helping us find our son. AND...we get to ride in the world's smallest elevator again! We need to make this visit to have our names taken off the list of prospective adoptive families. And then...we're done! After that we just need to pack and get ready for our flight home on Saturday.

Here are a few photos from Ilya's journey to Red Square today. I promise we didn't intend for all of us to be wearing green today. It just kinda happened. Enjoy!

Ilya is standing on the center of Moscow!

Trip 2 - Day 18: How to tell if Ilya's had a good nap!

When Ilya woke from his afternoon, we walked into the bedroom to find this (for the full effect, click on the photos to enlarge!):

We were both dying laughing when we first saw this "do" and I still am. I know Ilya will be VERY upset with us someday for posting this. But really, how could we not? I promise you we did not stick Ilya on the end of a pencil & rub it between our palms to get achieve this look!

Two official things took place in regards to the adoption today, and we were only directly involved in one. Dr. Boris came by the apartment at 7:45 to do Ilya's outprocessing physical and Pasha picked up Ilya's passport this afternoon.

Ilya had a few more firsts today...first visit to a restaurant (2 in one day even, first Mama's Pasta and then TGIF), first stroller ride down Arbat Street, first time in an underground crossing tunnel, first trip to a toy store, and first trip to a grocery store. Yeah, I know that last one's not exactly what a baby dreams of doing, but he was such a trooper the entire day. Norm & I are so impressed with how well he has handled all of the changes we're throwing at him. He is truly a blessing to our family and we fall more in love with him each day!

This evening we met Ron, Dana, Aaron & Kaden for dinner at TGI Friday's on Arbat. It seem so surreal that nearly 3 weeks ago we met everyone for the first time at the same restaurant. Kaden is a little cutie and he has found his way into a very special family! Dana & Aaron are wonderful parents & I am really looking forward to continuing to follow their journey once we're all home. I hope our boys have a chance to meet in person again some day.

Tonight was bittersweet because it may be the last time we see Ron, although I hope that we are able to meet up with him again before we leave. I wish we had a chance to meet his wife, Dinia as well but I truly believe that our paths will cross at some point State side. I know that Dana & Aaron appreciate EVERYTHING that Ron has done for us during our 3 weeks in Moscow, as do Norm & I. I hope Ron doesn't mind but when we speak of Ron and Dinia to Ilya, we'd like to refer to them as Uncle Ron & Aunt Dinia. We honestly feel like they are members of our family now and treasure/value the friendship we have formed with them. Thank you just doesn't equal the amount of gratitude we feel right now.

Here are a few photos from tonight's dinner! The one of Ilya by himself is a full out belly laugh, not a cry.

Trip 2 - Summary of our 1st day together

Pasha picked us up at 12:15 yesterday (May 27, 2008). I completely understand now what Susan is referring to when she says she felt like they were in the Pasha 500 the day she & Randy picked up Artem. Ohmygoodness! I was worried about getting carsick myself, much less Ilya if Pasha maintained the same pace and taking corners on 2 wheels once Ilya was with us. I've been scared by Moscow drivers a few times but never by "our" driver. Yesterday, I was! I think Norm & Pasha were having a great time. Me on the other hand, I was turning as green as Norm's shirt! Please don't think anything bad about Pasha, he was just trying to keep us on schedule and traffic was horrible for him once he left the Vital Statistics office on his way to pick us up. He was trying to make up for time because we needed to be to the Passport Office at a certain time, and he was afraid we were cutting it a little too close. I've never been happier to get out of a car as I was when we finally made it to the orphanage.

Oh, we also had to stop along the way to make copies of our passports, and then at a grocery store to get the traditional cakes, candies and tea. The caregivers celebrate the "sweet life" the adopted children are about to embark on. How precious!

We arrived around 1:15 and gave our gifts to the director and Ilya's caregivers. I wasn't sure what to expect from the orphanage as far as a sendoff for Ilya. I've heard some children are brought to their parents totally naked. Seems a bit humiliating to the children, doesn't it? Other accounts report that the child was at least wearing a diaper but nothing else. In either case, the parents provide their own diapers, clothing, shoes & socks to redress the children. I'm happy to report that Ilya was brought to us completely clothed, even had on the infamous PINK TIGHTS AND PINK SHOES! Ugh! So, Norm held Ilya on his lap as I started to undress him from the orphanage cothes:

Pink girlie shoes with daisies - absolutely gone!

Light Blue Fleece Pants with PINK FLOWERS- gone!

Pink thermal Tights - GONE FOREVER! I promise!

First top layer - a super thick WOOL sweater - gone!

Second top layer - long sleeve thermal onesie - gone!

Third top layer - another long sleeve (but not thermal) onesie - gone!

Fourth top layer - short sleeve (thank goodness) onesie - gone!

FIFTH TOP LAYER - sleevelss tank top - gone!

Sheesh! The poor kid was wiped out after struggling with peeling off all those layers - not to mention his new mama! The funniest thing was that the temp. yesterday was just over 70 degrees. They wanted us to put Ilya's fleece jacket on him as well as a hat. Pasha said "NYET" to the jacket and Ilya said "NYET" to the hat! It was funny but we are so thankful to Pasha for stepping in. Little guy would have baked alive had we kept that jacket on him.

There were actually quite a few caregivers in the orphanage director's office to see Ilya off. They all kissed and hugged him and allowed us to take a few group photos. They also gave us some momentos that we will share with Ilya later in life, one of which is yet another (and different!) photo that was taken of him the day he was born. We feel so privileged to have these 2 photos now. It's rare that adoptive parents get photos from this early in their child's life. His send off was very touching to all of us, and Pasha told me that the caregivers and directors all "like our family a lot and are thrilled that Ilya will be with us forever." So are we!

There was LOTS of drama putting Ilya in his carseat. He did NOT like that at all and we actually had a flow of crocodile tears for a couple minutes. He eventually calmed down and then enjoyed the rest of the ride. I was prepared for projectile vomit, lots of screaming, lots of tears but we had none of it once he accepted the carseat. We were so proud of him! About 15 minutes into the ride we got stuck in traffic & Ilya started getting fidgety. Pasha told me to take him out of his carseat & let him sit on my lap to fall asleep. It was his naptime and he was exhausted. So, I did as Pasha directed and little man was OUT in a matter of seconds. He slept for 2 hrs straight and didn't wake for anything - - not getting out of & back into the car at the Passport Office, not the hideous clanking that happened when we got a flat tire, not the car being jacked up, things being tossed around in Pasha's car, nor the actual tire change itself! Nothing waked him at all!

He finally did wake once we pulled up in front of the apartment building. Good timing! He had a lot of fun exploring the apartment and we were so excited to finally be able to feed him ourselves. He had a pretty good size snack but we're having trouble getting him to drink enough. He at a ton for breakfast this morning and seems to really enjoy his rice cereal and pureed pears.

When it was time for his bath last night, we weren't sure what to expect either. A lot of kids are terrified of the water and it takes some time to adjust to this new idea. Norm took a pair of shorts & sat in the bath with him just in case there was a freak out episode. The first time those little baby feet hit the water he got the cutest little expression on his face of shock, but once he realized daddy was in the water & had survived, he started to settle down. Then the splash fest began and we all had a blast!

Bedtime should have been 7:30 according to the schedule we were given, but Ilya wasn't even giving sleep a second thought until about 7:50. He seemed uncertain about falling asleep in this strange place, so we ended up laying in bed with him until he was out at 8:15. Given his new surroundings and everything he had been through yesterday, I think getting to bed within 45 minutes of his normal time is pretty good! He slept until 3:30 this morning and we could hear him fidgeting around in his bed. He didn't cry, but it was light enough in the room to see that he was confused and maybe frightened about where he was. We brought him to bed with us again to try to help reassure him, and he slept until 6am. We had the big breakfast I mentioned above at around 6:45 and then waited for Dr. Boris to come to the apartment for Ilya's physical. Which, by the way, was no big deal at all.

So, our first day as parents to this lovely 14 month old went pretty well I think. Ilya seems so far to be at ease and having a blast with his new found freedom. Norm & Ilya are sleeping right now, and we have some afternoon activities planned which I'll post about later.

In the meantime, here are a couple glamour shots of our boy's first bath!

Day 17 - Introducing Ilya (take 2)

I tried to post this earlier today. Whacky things happened & for some reason it's showing up at the bottom of the blog, so we're giving it a second try.

I'll post more about our first day with Ilya tomorrow, but just know it was amazing! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our little presentation!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blogger's Mean

I uploaded our slideshow 2 hrs ago & Blogger said it posted successfully. I still don't see it on my blog so I don't know what the deal is. We're leaving now (noon Moscow) to get Ilya. Hopefully the slideshow will show up before we get back!

Trip 2 - Day 16 part II

Quick note about making the slideshow...

If I can't make it through this commercial without getting teary eyed, how much of a mess do you think I was creating the slideshow?!

Trip 2 - Day 16: We Survived!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! As Veterans ourselves, both Norm and I feel especially patriotic this time of year. THANK YOU to all of our Veterans for serving our great nation and protecting the rights and freedoms we all hold so dear. Thank you to the military families who endure so much when their loved ones are deployed. Thank you to those who gave all... We feel very fortunate that in 5 days, our son will be a US Citizen, and he too will know the freedom that everyone deserves!

No more stomach rot - yippee! A huge THANKS to everyone who posted well wishes on the blog, sent us private emails, or chatted with us on the phone and offered much needed pity! It wasn't the best 2 days we've had in Moscow but we did in fact survive.

Moscow had beautiful weather for us today. Since Pasha needed to pick up our adoption decree from the courthouse this afternoon, we had a short visit with Ilya. I don't think he was feeling well at all. His little face felt very warm, he seemed upset, and wasn't really interested in much. He has some toofers coming in, and I hope that's the only thing bothering him. He did perk up when Pasha started playing different ring tones on his cell. We tried to teach him how to dance a little bit, and I'm pretty sure we have the next Dancing with the Stars winner on our hands! I am so happy that we brought some children's CD's along with us. Hopefully this will help to entertain Ilya in the coming days. Please pray for Ilya tonight that he feels better tomorrow. It's going to be a confusing day for the little guy anyway. We don't want him stressed anymore than we can help.


I've been experiencing a wide range of emotions today. Excitement, nervousness, giddiness, and yes even fear. I am thrilled that come tomorrow, Ilya will be with us forever. Yet, I worry. I'm concerned about the confusion and fear he will face in the coming days. We are taking him from the only home he has ever known, and from caregivers whom he obviously loves and is attached to. We know that this transition is in his best interest but he'll have no idea what's going on or why. There will most likely be good and bad days for him over the coming weeks. I pray we will be able to comfort him when he's scared and that he can feel the unconditional love we already have for him. I pray that he too will feel unconditional love for us. I pray he learns to trust us, and that soon he learns what "mommy" and "daddy" truly mean in the life of a child. I pray that I can be at least 1/2 the parent that my parents were/are to me!

I also pray for the children who are left behind, especially those who are close to turning 4 and will face being moved from their baby home to a brand new orphanage with new caretakers, new friends, new schedules, new foods, new beds, new toys, new everything. Each of these children deserves what Ilya will have tomorrow - parents who love and care for them forever, who are there to kiss their boo-boos, to encourage them to do their best, to rejoice in their victories and to cry in their defeats, parents who will protect them from all the hurts they can, who will laugh at their jokes and celebrate their accomplishments. Parent who are just that - parents!


Our journey to Ilya has provided me an opportunity to grow in so many ways, and to be that much more grateful for certain privileges and comforts I realized I often take for granted. There are so many children all over the world who long for simple things such as clean water, food on their plates, parents who love them, homes to live in, families to call their own, toys to play with, clothes and shoes to wear... Please remember these children and pray without ceasing for each of them. Pray for their parents, their caregivers, all those they trust to help them simply survive. Pray that each of these individuals feels the hand of God reaching out to them, offering to help. Pray that they accept the help that only God can provide...

Anyway, when we left the apartment this morning, our bedroom looked like this:




When we returned, it looked like this (note the crib by the window!!):



The stuffed lion is a gift from David, our apartment manager (who, by the way is AWESOME!):



David also delivered Ilya's highchair and a bottle sterilizer w/ 4 bottles:



Speaking of gifts, Becky & Keith gave this to Ilya:



And we're delivering these tomorrow to Ilya's caregivers and orphanage:


David also left us a stack of bedding for Ilya in case we have any accidents, as well as extra towels for our boy and wipes. There is no charge for these amenities, David does it out of the kindness of his heart. To quote him directly, he is "more interested in making sure adoptive parents' final days in Moscow are as comfortable and stress free as possible, NOT making money off of them by charging for things their child will obviously need and they cannot bring."

Norm & I have felt so comfortable in this apartment and it has made the last 1/2 of our stay in Moscow superb! Really, I can't state enough how much we have enjoyed renting this apartment and we highly recommend other families consider doing so as well. Check out Best Moscow Apartments when you're making your travel plans.


So, tomorrow's the day. Around noon we'll head to the orphanage to pick up Ilya, make our way to the passport office, and return to the apartment for our first night as a FAMILY. I doubt I'll get much sleep tonight anticipating Ilya's arrival. The lives of 3 people will change dramatically in a few hours. What a blessing we have all been given!

Trip 2 - Day 15: Stomach Rot - Day 2

We had planned on seeing Ilya today but Norm crawled out of bed at 10am, still suffering from Moscow Crud, Stomach Rot, or the new one Stalin's Revenge! Take your pick on what you want to call it. It's all unpleasant! We decided it was best to cancel our plans on visiting the orphanage. We certainly don't want to pass anything on to Ilya or the other children.

I called Pasha's cell to let him know and he was so sweet. He made me promise to (a) take care of Norm, (b) go to the pharmacy and get him medicine, (c) call him if we needed anything and (d) give him an update tonight as to Norm's status. Around 3pm, Norm finally joined the land of the (1/2) living and joined me in the living room to watch TV. I'm surprised he slept the entire time. I checked on him a few times to make sure he was still breathing and happily he was! It's now 8pm and he's dozing off on the couch again. Poor guy. I really hope he's better in the morning. I know he feels bad about having to cancel our plans and I hope he's not internalizing that too much and making himself worse.

I spent the day finalizing our slideshow for Tuesday, catching up on blogs, reading some new blogs, watching "Growing Up Walrus" about a super cute orphaned walrus named Narius, and packing and re-packing our diaper bag for picking up Ilya.

So as you can tell, not much excitement happening for us in Moscow today. It is so very surreal knowing that tomorrow is the last time we "visit" Ilya, and the next day he will be with us forever. Wow...

Please, keep our little boy in your prayers for a transition that is as easy and stress free as possible. I am so worried about what he will think is happening to him, and how much he will miss his caregivers and friends. The caregivers at his orphanage are all wonderful, loving women. We are honored and blessed to have met them and for them to entrust us with Ilya's care. I pray that by watching our interactions with this beautiful little boy, they have comfort knowing we have his very best interests at heart and that we will stop at NOTHING to provide for his needs and love him forever.

In less than 48 hrs, Ilya will be here - with us, his mama & papa. How much more can 2 people be blessed?

Trip 2 - Day 14 **REVISED**

**Just a quick note about our little Ruble mishap at the grocery store (see below) for those who were concerned about being able to use credit cards or get an ATM. There are PLENTY of ATM's around so you will always be able to get cash quickly if need be (make sure you alert your bank before traveling). Also, I have yet to see a store that doesn't accept credit cards, so you're good to go as far as that's concerned as well (again, alert your credit card co). OUR PROBLEM was not only did we walk out without enough Rubles, we also walked out without our credit or ATM card!! Oopsie!**

I woke up this morning feeling really bad - scary bad in fact - but thankfully it passed within a couple hours and all is well..for now. Let's hope it stays that way! It's not uncommon for at least one member of the adoptive family to have stomach "issues" when they stay in country, and some people refer to this as getting the Moscow Crud. Recently, though, Emily suffered from something similar and termed it "stomach rot" which I thought was kinda funny when I read it. Umm, not so funny when you're living it! I couldn't get the following rhyme out of my head this morning:

"Moscow Crud or Stomach Rot...

doesn't matter what you call it, it's what I've got!"

Oh joy! Norm just announced that he's freezing, has the shakes and his stomach hurts. Fun stuff, let me tell ya! In fact, the poor guy just went to bed and it's not even 10pm here. I don't think we've gone to bed prior to 11pm any night we've been here. Hope he's feeling better in the morning.

We went back to the market today with Ron to pick up a few last souveniers. It wasn't the best day to be walking around outside, it was freezing and raining pretty hard. Ron was a real trooper to suffer through it with us. Thankfully Norm & I had a list of what we wanted so we really weren't there long at all. We felt guilty dragging Ron along with us so after a quick lunch, we headed back to the city center.

Other than getting our caregiver & orphanage gifts ready to deliver on Tuesday, we didn't do much this afternoon. Oh, we did make a quick trip to the grocery store only to find out after all items were rung up that we didn't have enough rubles with us. Slightly embarrassing and VERY DIFFICULT to get a Russian speaking cashier to understand you need some items taken off your bill so you can pay. Let's just say there was a line of pretty unhappy locals behind us, and one very unpleasant cashier staring at us like we had just sprouted 10 extra heads each. We'll make sure not to go to her line again! I really wouldn't suggest other families follow our example on this one. It was not a pretty sight.

We - well I - spent the rest of the day trying to figure out how to edit some scenes from our first trip so I can upload video to the blog to share with you on Tuesday. It's not quite working out like I had planned. Mainly because it's not working at all! I am beyond frustrated at this point and could really use some tech support before I suffer "exploding head syndrome" again. Wow, I haven't had to use that term since the dossier stage!

I have so many pictures I haven't shared yet and I promise I will. I feel like poking a bit of fun at myself though, so I'm going to share another embarrassing moment with you all. Between our trips, I decided to challenge myself and learn the Cryllic alphabet as much as possible. Now, when we spend so much time sitting in traffic, I entertain myself by trying to figure out the signs and buildings around us say. Well a few days ago I was feeling pretty proud of myself and started showing off a bit. So, Norm & I are in the grocery store trying to figure out what all the food labels say and we saw this:

After staring at this for a good 5 minutes or so while Norm started getting a glazed look over his eyes, I finally (and confidently I might add) announce to Norm that it's "cappeletti with shpeenat" (spinach). After nearly 13 years of marriage, I didn't think there was much I could do anymore to impress Norm, but by golly he was impressed! I was beaming at that moment, I know I was! Norm tossed the package into our cart and our dinner was planned. Woo-hoo!

Everyone who reads this blog knows I do not cook. Ever. Not even in Moscow. So as Norm is starting to cook the shpeenat stuff, I hear him yell out "Uh, Kar, wanna come in here for a second?" That's never a good tone, so I cautiously entered our kitchenette wondering what the deal was. He sarcastically asked how well I looked at the shpeenat label and I was slightly offended because as I said above, I intently stared at it for nearly 5 minutes sounding everything out. He says "Uh huh. I see. Why don't you take another look & tell me what you missed."

Okay, Mr. Crabby. I will! And I finally noticed the stuff in the red circle (click to enlarge if you need to):

Mmm hmmm...that would be ENGLISH you're reading folks. Pride is NOT a pretty thing people, it really isn't!

Trip 2 - Day 17: Introducing Ilya!

Wow - this is it! It's 10am Moscow time on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Pasha went to the Vital Statistics office by himself this morning to get Ilya's birth certificate, and to allow me & Norm a little time to relax and sleep in. He will be here between 11am-noon to get us, and we'll head to the orphanage to pick up Ilya. After that we'll stop by the Passport Office to apply for Ilya's passport, and then come back to the apartment for our first of many nights together.

After nearly 13 years, and what we thought were unanswered prayers, in a few short hours we will be blessed beyond words. As the title of our slideshow states, Never Stop Believing! NEVER!

Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. Please, sit back, relax, press the play button below, and meet our son - our love!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Trip 2 - Day 13: Seriously?

I'm all for kids taking music and dance lessons. I think it's great actually. I took piano lessons for quite a few years and still love playing. I'm so happy that is a talent my mom passed on to me. Oh, I also took tap & ballet lessons. Who cares if it the dance lessons were only for 2 months and that I'm as uncoordinated as Elaine on Seinfeld? I still did it and tried to be graceful. Sadly it turned out to be an early lesson on failure for me.


Any takers for guessing what I didn't do during those years of piano and tap lessons? I didn't practice at 11 o'clock at night...ever...unlike our neighbors upstairs! Are you kidding me? Seriously, I really do think there is a much more suitable time of day to practice Chopsticks and whatever tap moves were going on up there overandoverandoverandover last night. Ugh!


Anyway, on to other topics.

We received excellent news yesterday and I can't believe I forgot to pass it on. Our driver, Pasha, told us that he will be able to pick up Ilya's adoption decree Monday evening instead of Tuesday morning, which is a huge obstacle out of the way a day earlier than we thought. Nothing in the adoption can move forward now without that adoption decree, so we are thrilled we'll have it on Monday. That means that Tuesday we will head first to the vital statistics office for the birth certificate, swing by Ilya's orphanage to PICK HIM UP, and then head to the passport office to get his Russian passport. It may not sound like much, but it's about a 2.5 hr drive from vital statistics to the passport office so it will be a long day for our little guy. The trade off is that Tuesday will be our first official night together as a family! Wow...it seems so surreal. It hasn't hit me yet that we are so close.

Our visit with Ilya today was, as always, wonderful. He is such a little character and there is no sweeter sound in the world than his giggles, cooing and full out belly laughs. I am so happy we decided to wait out the 10 days in Moscow. I know many families struggle with whether to stay or go home, whether to visit their child during the 10 days or not due to the finances involved, and so many other things that must be considered when planning for either 2 or 3 trips. For us, our decision to stay AND to visit Ilya as often as we have has been the absolute best decision we could have made. We have been able to witness many "firsts" for Ilya that we otherwise would have missed, our bonding has increased dramatically, and we have that many more fond memories we can share with Ilya as he grows up. Not to mention the fact that we have made excellent friendships with Ron, Becky, Keith, Dana & Aaron.


Speaking of our little Moscow crew...we all went out to dinner again tonight. Becky & Keith are leaving tomorrow to begin the wait for their court date, so we wanted to spend one last evening together to wish them well. Their little Peanut is adorable and we are all praying for a quick court date. Susan's suggestions for the donughts and roasted chicken have all been spot on, so we decided to go to Mama's Pasta since Susan raved about it during her trip. I'll sum our dinner up like this: YUM!!!!! Apparently Mama's Pasta is a chain because we didn't go to the same location that Susan did (our didn't have the blue elephant) but it was excellent nonetheless. Thanks Susan!



Before we met everyone for dinner, we went down to the 4th floor of our building to meet a couple who is heading home with their precious daughter tomorrow. They are with a different agency but live about an hour away from us. Yahoo! It turns out they are renting their apartment from the same agency as we are, Best Moscow Apartments, so our apartment manager was kind enough to introduce us all. We have plans to get our kiddos together once we're home & both babies have adjusted to their new surroundings. I can't wait to see them again once we're home!

Please keep Becky, Keith and the new family we met this evening in your prayers for safe and uneventful travels tomorrow.

Trip 2 - Day 12: Run don't Walk!

We see this road sign everywhere in Moscow and have to laugh. At first I thought they indicated a park nearby with children at play. While that is the case with some of these signs, most of them actually seem to be strategically placed in dangerous intersections that have a crosswalk only and not an underground tunnel for pedestrians to safely cross. Trust me, crossing the street without the aid of those tunnels is a very, very scary undertaking! The running joke in our litle CSS Moscow Group is that the sign should read "RUN DON'T WALK!!"

Today was a rainy, cold, dreary day. We had planned on visiting Ilya anyway and I am so thankful we did. Little Man had a blast and so did we. Since it was pouring outside we were led to yet another area of the orphanage that we had never seen. They allowed us to play with Ilya in a real PLAYROOM and not a hallway which was wonderful. There was all kinds of baby gym equipment, a super cute ball pit, inflatable balls of all colors and sizes, building blocks, a baby trampoline thing, all kinds of stuff to keep the 3 of us entertained. The best part was that Ilya was allowed to sit on the floor in this room and crawl around wherever he wanted. That means we were finally able to get on the floor with him, and be on his level. I loved this and so did he! He's a little laugh monster anyway but today he was nonstop. Oh, it was a great, great day.

The family I wrote about yesterday was there again today, and they were placed in the same room as us for a little while. Ilya went through many of the same responses to their presence as he did yesterday. Anytime they would get near him, he would snuggle closer to us and latch on with all his might. We just continued to hold him close, try to reassure him and redirect his attention to whatever game we had been playing. He was still very clingy with both of us. When his caregiver came to take him for his nap, she came back & told us that poor little Ilya was VERY sad to leave us today. It broke my heart, but I'm comforted knowing that in 5 days he will be here with us forever. I'm also worried because Ilya and this particular caregiver (who Norm & I LOVE) are very close and I know they will both be very sad to leave each other. She is very special to us now, and I hope she trusts that we will give Ilya everything he needs.

Enough of that - - it's bringing tears to my eyes to think about.

Despite the weather, Pasha was in a great mood today as well and had a lot of one liners that had me & Norm in stitches. Some poking fun at Americans (and rightly deserved!) but most poking fun at Russians. Traffic on the Moscow beltway and surrounding roads was insane today and it took us forever to get back to our apartment. Fortunately our ride wasn't that bad thanks to Pasha's sense of humor. Susan, he was wearing the BDU jacket you gave him and he was SO PROUD of this prized treasure! He made sure to show us the patches, his name, everything! He went on and on about that jacket for a good portion of our drive. To see his face lit up like that was wonderful. I think that was perhaps the best present he has ever been given.

The apartment we're in now is located on New Arbat Street, right beside the TGI Friday's. I know this won't mean much to the readers who haven't been to Moscow, but it may bring back memories for the families who traveled before us. This morning I snapped a few quick photos to document our view. Too bad the sun wasn't out, but what we wake up to each morning is spectacular. We're on the 19th floor. I'll try again to get sunnier photos, but for now will share these.

HIGH RISE NEXT DOOR TO OURS:

CITY VIEW FROM KITCHEN:

NEW ARBAT STREET:

OUR GROCERY STORE (open 24 hrs):

SIDEWALKS ARE MEANT TO BE PARKED ON!

Trip 2 - Day 11

Disclaimer: I am exhausted, not using spell check and will likely ramble in this post. Sorry!

Ron invited us, Becky, Keith, Dana & Aaron over to his apartment for dinner this evening and it was DELICIOUS! Why am I not surprised? We also were able to have a video conference call with Ron's wife, Dinia who is still in Alabama, waiting to return to Moscow. Dinia, you would have been very proud of Ron tonight. We had another wonderful evening and are still in awe over Ron's kindness and generosity. We plan on heading to dinner at Mama's Pasta on Friday, as we close out another wonderful week in Moscow and see Becky & Keith home!

Ilya was all smiles and laughter for us again today. Pasha keeps saying that our little guy is always so happy and in such a good mood, which is true. I only hope he continues to be this happy, or better yet even happier once he is with us permanently.

Things got interesting towards the end of our visit with Ilya today, and I hope we handled this correctly. I'm really looking for input from families who have brought their little ones home and have BTDT (been there, done that). There was another couple at the orphanage today, playing with the little boy they met for the first time this past Monday. (They are with a different agency than us.) Eventually they made their way over to us & we all made our introductions. We were playing in a gazebo and I opened its gate so that family could join us. Oh, and prior to them coming over to us, Ilya was acting like he normally does...smiles, laughter, mimicking, finger walking, cooing, etc.

So, this family joins us in the gazebo, and Ilya starts eye balling the 3 of them. Norm & I were both sitting in little chairs and Ilya was standing on the floor, supported between Norm's legs. Norm was holding Ilya's hands in his own, and we both noticed that Ilya started rubbing his little fingers over Norm's hands over and over and over again. Very rhythmically. He was so quiet and so very still. He watched the family from a distance and had no interest in meeting the mom or dad, or even the little boy. Every once in awhile, Ilya would look up at Norm, making eye contact for a very long time like he needed the reassurance that Norm was still there and still the one holding him. Norm would give him a kiss on the cheek, talk to him, hug him close.

Ilya decided he wanted on my lap. When I placed him there, he snuggled as close to me as he could get, and grasped onto my fingers tighter than he ever has before. He wouldn't let go, not that I wanted him to. Like he did with Norm, he kept looking up at my face, making long periods of eye contact. He seemed really...uncertain I guess, about what was going on. I held him as close to me as I could, kept my cheek to his, and whispered that I was right there and always would be. I just continued to hold/hug him, rock him and whisper.

I know Ilya doesn't understand the words yet, but I hope he understood the action. I felt like the new family was somehow a little threatening to him. Like he thought those parents were going to take him from us, or that we were going to play with that little boy and not him. Ilya is normally very social and likes to interact with others, but today he seemed scared or stressed or uncomfortable. I'm not sure what words I'm looking for to describe his behavior, other than very un-Ilya like. I didn't want to be antisocial with this family but at the same time I'm glad our interaction with them was interrupted by a caregiver. I don't want Ilya upset, and he seemed to be uncomfortable or uneasy for whatever reason.

On one hand I'm sad to think that he was stressed today but on the other hand, I'm glad he seemed to seek us out for comfort and reassurance. It breaks my heart to even think that he might have thoughts of someone taking him from us, and I am almost certain that's what the problems was. I'm really hoping this is another step we've overcome in our attachment and bonding process. That we were able to offer him the reassurance and comfort he needed. I'm also hoping we handled this situation correctly for Ilya, and would love input from other families as to what you think Ilya was trying to tell us.

Trip 2 - Day 10

Today was a GREAT day. Perhaps the best yet of Trip 2. Ilya was beyond cute today, and had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt (Norm suffered, but we'll get to that in a bit). We're LOVING our new apartment. The weather cooperated again and it was a beautiful day in Moscow. We’re LOVING our new apartment. We met 3 new sets of friends. We're LOVING our new apartment. We had an excellent dinner. And did I happen to mention we're LOVING our new apartment?

Last night we packed up all our stuff to get ready for today's move. It was a little strange because I would have preferred to be packing to head home, but at least we've reached the 1/2 way point in our trip which feels great. One week from today, Ilya will be here, in this apartment, with us. Yay!

This morning we loaded all our stuff into Pasha’s car, headed to the orphanage, and decided to give Ilya a test ride in his stroller. This was another first for him and while he was NOT happy as we tried to adjust all the straps (we’re newbies after all), once that was situated he really enjoyed our strolls around the orphanage grounds. He lounged back, started kicking his little feet, and what we now call the Ilya Happy Grunts ensued.

Do you remember on the Cosby show when Bill would zerbert Rudy? Well, Norm did that a few times on Ilya’s cheek today and Ilya loved it. Ilya then began to mimic his papa, and tried his very baby best to zerbert Norm’s cheek. Unfortunately for Norm, Ilya’s zerberts were a little…shall we say “wetter”…than his papa’s and Norm ended up with the entire right side of his head and face drenched. Ilya kept trying to do it over and over, bouncing up & down with each attempt, and drool was literally dripping off Norm’s face. I realize this may be one of those “you had to be there” events but at the same time it was one of those disgustingly cute baby moments that we’ll never forget. Ilya was so excited as he tried to do this, that Norm didn’t have the heart to make him stop. I, on the other hand, was enjoying watching this spectacle far too much to step in & save Norm! I’m supportive like that ya know! ;-)

Ilya & our lab Bailey should get a long just great - they're both droolmeisters!

Little man had the cutest hat on today and I can’t wait to share those, and many more, photos with you on Tuesday.

The new apartment is absolutely wonderful. We couldn’t be happier. The apartments we've rented in the past have been rented through Peace Travel. This one, however, is through Best Moscow Apartments. Our apartment manager, David, greeted us with some food in the fridge, a full thing of water, a kitchen nearly as well stocked as our own at home, AC, ice!!, and a wonderful Aussie sense of humor. Oh…and the best part, in our fridge we also found a chocolate “welcome” cake. This man knows how to get on my good side! Have you seen anything more scrumptious? Yummy!

Just in case you want a closer look:

We met up with Ron, Dana, Aaron, Becky, Keith, Leah, John, and Ron & Dinia’s friends the Willats and the Boutee’s for dinner at a great Chinese place called 5 Spices. The food was wonderful and the company even better. Ron has taken EXCELLENT care of the many CSS families in Moscow right now, has gone above and beyond anything we could have ever imagined and we are so very grateful to him for everything. I don’t know that we’ll ever be able to repay Ron’s kindness! THANK YOU!

Since returning from dinner, I’ve been working on projects for both of my jobs & I just realized it is nearly 1am here. I do believe it’s time to call it a night!

Trip 2 - Day 9: Block Party

Any self respecting hockey fan (apparently, I'm not included in this category) knew the importance of Russia & Canada's game last night. Me? I didn't even know there was a hockey game. Go figure. That is, I didn't know until some insane hour when car horns started blaring, people in the street below started shouting, something sounding much too similar to bombs exploding was going on nearby, fireworks were set off which looked like bullet tracers to one very confused and bleary eyed American... Niiiiiiice way to be woken up in a foreign city. Very nice. I thought we were under seige and for a nanosecond thought to myself "Great...and I forgot to register us with the American Embassy on this trip!"
What I thought was the end of the world was actually Russia trying (and succeeding) to win their first world title since 1993, and the defending champions (that would be Canada) trying to win their 4th championship in 6 years. Or so say the articles I googled to find out what in the world rattled me out of bed and caused a few more gray hairs to pop out. I skipped the coffee fix this morning. I had enough of a jolt last night to last me awhile, thank you very much!
I'm the type of person who is up at the first hint of daylight and it's hard for me to take a nap unless it's completely dark. Moscow has my internal clock all messed up because it doesn't get dark here until after 10:30pm, and the sun rises around 5:45 or 6am. So there is actually very little "nightime" for me to sleep in. I'm lucky if I fall asleep here before midnight or 12:30, and then I'm up before 7am. After 21 days of this, I'm just wondering how long it will take me to get back into my normal routine once we're home. Oh, wait a second...I think I can kiss any sense of "normalcy" goodbye now that Ilya's going to be taking over our household! Actually, I can't wait for this to happen.
Last night's little block party did me in, though, and I actually slept till 8:30 this morning, and Norm finally rolled out of bed around 10 or so. It was raining so we decided to chill in the apartment for a bit and see what the weather had in store for us. After we took showers, we noticed the sun starting to peek through so we headed out to the Arbat area again. There is a children's store close to the apartment we're checking into tomorrow, and we wanted to scope it out. We found it, as well as the chicken shack (for lack of a better term) that Susan raved about on her blog. After Norm bought 2 roasted chickens, we headed back to the apartment and have been hanging out ever since. Not much exciting going on around here today. Sorry, folks! Like how I reeled you in to reading this post, though?!
Tomorrow we will see Ilya again, and then check into our new apartment in the afternoon. We'll be staying there through the end of our trip. Our current apartment has been fine, but I'm looking forward to a change in scenery. This is a slide show of what we have called our humble abode for the past 9 days:

Trip 2 - Side Note: Iguana's R Our Friends!

Or they are for at least one guy hanging out at Red Square yesterday. He was walking around with 2 pet carriers and I thought for sure he had a couple little dogs in them. He stopped at a beautiful fountain, opened up the carrier doors and out crawled these 3 iguana's. They didn't bother anyone, didn't really move even except for the little one you see crawling on the back of one of the larger guys. The 3 of them just hung out on the side of the fountain, enjoying the gorgeous day, basking in the sun and obviously letting their ego's get a little inflated with all the ooing and aahing from passersby. Normally I am freaked out by anything reptile but these guys (or gals) were so peaceful I didn't mind them much. That's not to say, however, that I wanted to pet them! I don't think Norm needs to worry about me wanting to bring these particular souveniers home with us!

Inquiring minds wanted to know what was up with the lizards in the slide show, so there you have it boys & girls!

Paka!

Trip 2 Day 8: Moscow Trekkers

These shoes were made for walking...my feet, not so much! At least not on some of the cobblestone streets we encountered today. Youch - these puppies HURT!!

Norm & I tried - notice I said tried - to meet Becky & Keith at noon at the GUM today. We failed. Miserably. I'm not sure how we all missed each other but we did. Becky even has video proof on their blog that they were there...waiting for us...for a very long time. Oopsie!!

More about the GUM (pronounced "goom") can be found here: http://www.gum.ru/en/ If you're traveling to Russia, it will be well worth your time to check this out in person. It's breathtakingly beautiful.

So instead of meeting up with Becky & Keith as planned, we ended up walking around Red Square a bit but couldn't go as far as we wanted because a large portion was blocked off - I think due to the European Football (soccer) Championship game on Wednesday. I guess there are pre-celebrations or something equally festive/roudy going on. My instincts tell me this is a good place to avoid going until after Wednesday!

Since we couldn't walk around Red Square, we set out about the outside of the Kremlin walls, ended up way farther out than we (okay, I) expected to be and then we (okay, me again) started wondering if we'd ever make it back to our apartment. We finally did but a large portion of our "stroll" was off the normal touristy beaten path. Obviously all ended just fine for us but I don't recommend to other families that you just go out and wander without knowing a little more about the neighborhoods you're in. One street in particular seemed a little...seedy...and I wasn't entirely comfortable with our surroundings.

Despite our little mix up earlier in the day, we were finally able to meet up with Becky, Keith, Ron, Dana & Aaron for dinner at My My (moo-moo) Cafe on Old Arbat at 5pm. Cute cow, huh?

We're all going to try to meet again on Tuesday so we can get an update on Becky & Keith's little Peanut, who they will meet tomorrow!

Wow...what a difference from our first trip in March. You know what we saw in March? Mud. Lots and lots of mud, everywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous here now, so I'll leave you with another slideshow of beautiful Moscow in May!

Trip 2 - Day 7: These Little Piggies Went to the Market!

This morning we met Ron, Dana & Aaron at Pushkin Square at 11am to head to the Verniszah Market at Izmailovsky Park. Try saying that 10 times fast!! LOL!

In order to get there we took the green line metro 1 stop from Pushkinskaya to Revolutsii where we switched over to the blue line. From there we went 4 stops to Izmailovsky Park. (Side note for future travelers...technically there are 5 stops between Revolutsii & Izmailovsky Park but one stop was closed, so always know the NAME of your stop, not just the number of stops the map says are in between!)

The Verniszah Market is, in one word, HUGE!! Oh my goodness, it's just a maze of little stands and vendors, crowds of people, lots of Americans which surprised us, and good prices on all kinds of stuff which vendors will typically negotiate with you. From what I understand, this is the largest souvenier market in Moscow. I can't imagine one being larger than this one! There are rows of matryoshka dolls, Soviet military paraphenalia, a flea market, paintings...you name it, it's there! Ron knows a few of the vendors, and more importantly the best chef (meaning he's never gotten sick from eating this guy's food! LOL!), and he introduced us to those he knew. It was a fun day, I'm still stuffed from lunch, and we were able to pick up a few things to bring home with us. I can't say what, though, because that would ruin the surprise for a few people.

We got back to the apartment around 4pm I think, and have just been relaxing. I'm exhausted because I didn't sleep well at all last night. I was having bad dreams for some reason and am hoping tonight isn't a repeat.

Tomorrow Norm & I need to exchange currency again, pick up a few things from the elaborate grocery store across the street, and we might take a stroll down to Red Square. We can get there in about 10 minutes by walking straight down Tverskaya. We can see the towers from here so it really isn't far at all. At 5pm, we're meeting Dana & Aaron, Becky & Keith (who arrived in Moscow today) and hopefully Ron at the My-My Cafe (pronounced Moo-Moo) on Old Arbat. Becky's blog cracks me up & I cannot wait to meet them in person!

We won't see Ilya again until Tuesday. I miss him and hope he's feeling better. Tuesday is also the day we switch apartments to one located on Arbat. I'm not sure what our schedule will be for seeing Ilya past Tuesday.

The slideshow at the top are just some of the many things we say today. I have lots of other pictures to upload from earlier this week, which I'll do a little later. Hope you enjoy!

Trip 2 - Day 6: VEELKA!!

If you're feeling brave, take a stab at what that word means. Otherwise, wait until the end of this post!

Little man wasn't feeling well today. Poor guy! It was even difficult to get laughs out of him when we walked, which is HIGHLY unusual. You may remember I told you that he laughs with literally each step he takes. He's obviously teething, his little nose was very runny and I lost count of how many times he spit up. I felt bad for him and hope this weekend brings him lots of rest and love from his caregivers so that he feels better when we see him again on Tuesday.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Ron, Dana and Aaron. We met Ron outside his apartment at 5:30, and the 3 of us headed towards the Starbucks on Old Arbat to meet Dana & Aaron. The evening was gorgeous and unlike our venture out to TGI Friday's, the weather cooperated the entire time. We would have never found the restaurant that Ron took us to, and let me tell you the walk there was absolutely worth every step we took and then some! The food was amazing, the restaurant was adorable, and the dessert....WOW!!!!! I'll just leave it at that because there are no words that I can write to adequately how scrumptious everything was. Dinnia, if you're reading this your favorites were ours as well and I have to say that you have excellent taste! The website of the restaurant is www.gogol-mogul.ru. If you're ever in Moscow you've got to try this place. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Oh, and the menu is in Russian and English. Even better!

This brings me to "veelka." Dinner was going great and nothing was lost in translation with our waiter. I mean, how hard is it to point to something on the menu! All was going well until we tried to order dessert. Ron recommended the blini with strawberries but said the it's large enough for him & Dinnia to split it. So, we tried to order 3 to split amongst the 5 of us. Well, the waiter didn't quite get what we meant and instead, he brought us 1 blini split into thirds. Okay, not a big deal because each 1/3 was still pretty large. What we needed though was another fork because we were short one and this is where things got lost in translation. We tried to tell the waiter what we needed, and then he disappeared. We could see the little stand with forks on it, but our waiter went nowhere near it. He was gone. When he finally reappeared he didn't have a fork in his hand, so we tried to ask for one again. Mind you, the entire time we're saying "fork" in English. Well, this poor lad thought we were trying to order another blini and he placed that order with the kitchen. Finally, I whipped out my handy dandy Russian translation book and blurted out "VEELKA!!" I'm sure by now you realize that means fork! He looked at us like we were fools, rolled his eyes, asked if we wanted a blini and when we said no, he finally brought the other fork. So that's your Russian lesson for the day.

Tomorrow we're heading out to the market with, guess who? That's right...our new sidekicks Ron, Dana & Aaron! I kinda feel bad though because I talked their ears off tonight about my involvement in animal rescue. Dana made the mistake of asking me what type of work I do with animals and although Norm's groan wasn't audible to anyone else, I know he was thinking "Grrrreat!!!" After that I pretty much dominated the conversation.

That's it for today. Hopefully the weather cooperates during our venture to the market. Becky & Keith will arrive in Moscow tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels for them!

Trip 2 - Day 5: And the verdict is...

DA!!!

Woo-hoo!

Pasha said he would pick us up at 9:30 for our 11am hearing. 9:30, no Pasha. 9:35, no Pasha. 9:40, Karyn really starts to freak because there is STILL NO PASHA! You just never know what cruel jokes Moscow traffic will play on you. I had no idea how far away the courthouse was, how far away Pasha was, if he had set his alarm correctly last night...I checked our phone twice to make sure it was plugged in & working...and of course it was. Finally at 9:45 he called and said (read this in your finest Russian accent) "Kareen, dees ees Pasha. Ieee downztairz. How are you deez morneeng, dear?" Very cute!

Traffic wasn't all that bad at all and we got to the courthouse at 10:30. I have to say it's a beautiful building and I was very impressed with both the architecture and the interior design. They even had comfy, modern chair/bench things to sit on and worry! Just kidding. I actually woke up this morning much calmer than I thought I would. More on that later though.

"S" told us that Dana & Aaron's hearing had started on time, so I started the countdown to our hearing at 11am, which came and went and no Dana or Aaron walking around the corner to announce their news. I know some of their family members read my blog, and I am so happy to have you here! Thanks for stopping by! I don't know if Dana & Aaron have had a chance to update everyone yet and I don't want to steal their moment, so you'll just have to stop by their blog and read for yourselves!

Around 11:45 we were whisked away to the courtroom so quickly that I didn't have a chance to get nervous again. The proceedings started immediately and we flew through everything. Neither the Judge nor the Prosecutor bothered to ask us any questions which is strange. "N" told me later that it's because our speeches were "so good." Cool! At 12:30 the Judge came back into the courtroom and announced that they were granting our petition!

Giving the speech was nerve wracking but not as bad as I thought it would be. Want to know what was by far the hardest part of the day? Listening to the social worker and prosecutor say over and over that "no one was interested in the baby", meaning no biological family members or Russian families who had visited the orphanage had come forward to adopt our son. No on was interested? Oh, really... Hearing that over and over was like a knife being stabbed into my heart repeatedly. I wanted to scream out "Hello? Over here!! WE'RE INTERESTED!" There are tons of family members, friends, blogging buddies, co-workers, business associates and yes, even complete strangers spread throughout the US, across the world even according to my site statistics, who are "interested" in the well being of our son. Never again will those words be uttered about our Ilya. Never!

After court we took the obligatory New Parent Photo on the steps of the courthouse and headed back in to Moscow to yet another notary's office. This time, we needed to sign a Power of Attorney allowing Pasha to do a bunch of running around for us on Tuesday, May 27. With this he will be able to pick up Ilya's adoption decree, passport and birth certificate. Those 3 things are all at opposite ends of Moscow and is literally a full day of running back and forth. Norm & I get to take it easy that day and let Pasha do all the work. No complaints here! Interesting side note about this visit to the Notary. When we walked in it was probably in the 60's outside. Very pleasant. As we sat there waiting, and waiting, and waiting it began snowing, the wind started roaring again and turned bitterly cold! Once we were finally done it was still cold but the snow shower had passed and the sun was out in all its glory! Very strange weather here.

Norm & I are now back in the apartment with our heads spinning, trying to comprehend the fact that we are parents now. Proud, fortunate, lucky, BLESSED parents of such a wonderful little boy. Yes, we have to wait through the 10 days but that's a technicality at this point.

I mentioned above that I was much calmer today than I thought I would be. I owe that to the many, many people who lifted up prayers for us & Dana & Aaron. I cannot thank you enough. There were even some people who commented on the blog or sent me private emails between 3am-4am EDT to say they were up praying for us. Ohmygosh!! I was half kidding when I wrote that post yesterday, but THANK YOU!! We definitely felt the power of your prayers and each and every one is appreciated more than you'll ever know. Now, if I can recruit all of you to pray that hard again when we fly home with Ilya, we won't have any worries at all on our 10+ hr flight! LOL!

So, your prayers are part of what got me through today. The 2nd part was keeping my bearing. My Christian bearing that is. When Norm & I were in the Air Force, maintaining our military bearing was drilled into us from day one. This morning I woke up determined to keep my Christian bearing - - focusing on Jeremiah 29:11 and Revelation 3:8, focusing on the cross, focusing on Jesus, focusing on the reason we chose Peter as Ilya's middle name...(if you need a refresher, read this entry again). When you start to doubt or worry, is it because you've lost your bearing? If so, it really is easy to find again. I certainly did and how wonderful it is to have!