We got some more things checked off our list, and that felt good. Yesterday, we finished buying gifts for the caregivers. We decided to do treat bags with regional food items. We also got some treats for Irina. Then we went to Radio Shack and bought a 25 foot network cable. This will give us more choices of where to sit in the apartment while we're on the internet!
Last night, we had dinner with R's mom, and she gave us the cutest ABC bedtime book for Eli. It has wonderful illustrations, and I can't wait to read it to him!
Today, I finished our taxes. I had really been putting it off. I was worried that we would owe, and our budget is already stretched to the absolute limit. We'll be getting a refund! God continues to take care of us, and we are so grateful.
We are really missing our little guy. After reading there has been chicken pox in one of the other orphanages, we hope he is healthy. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
3 weeks
We leave for Moscow in 3 weeks. It's hard to believe. The days are still passing very slowly, and it feels more like 3 months before we get back on the plane.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
adorable outfits
My mom came by this afternoon with THE CUTEST outfits for Eli! I can't wait to see him wearing all these. He will look so adorable! (Thanks, Mama!)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
checking off the list
I was able to check off some things on the to do list today. We sent our visa applications to the Russian Consulate in NY. I put the pictures in our photo album for court. I also mailed a greeting card request to the White House. Hopefully, we'll receive a card signed by the President to commemorate his new citizenship. I thought it would be a neat item for his baby book. From our Congressman's website, I ordered a flag that will be flown over the US Capitol on the day he becomes a citizen. Right now, I'm interested in anything that celebrates his arrival in the US!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
confirmed
We now have flights and apartments reserved for both trips, and we also received our invitation to travel, so we can send our visa applications to the consulate in NY later this week. After waiting for the last few weeks, it felt great to get all that accomplished.
We'll be staying in the Smolenskaya district of Moscow. After being across the street from the Casino on the last trip, we going for something a little more residential and with better views this time. On our 2nd trip, we'll have a fabulous view of the Moscow River. On the 3rd trip, we'll be overlooking a courtyard with trees. I will enjoy that more.
Less than a month now - only 26 days - until we see our Eli again!
We'll be staying in the Smolenskaya district of Moscow. After being across the street from the Casino on the last trip, we going for something a little more residential and with better views this time. On our 2nd trip, we'll have a fabulous view of the Moscow River. On the 3rd trip, we'll be overlooking a courtyard with trees. I will enjoy that more.
Less than a month now - only 26 days - until we see our Eli again!
Monday, March 3, 2008
YAY!
On the emotional roller coaster that is international adoption, we are back up again! We got our court date today - April 2! This was a little earlier than we thought it was going to be, so we are happy. (Our God is great!) I was so anxious about getting our court date today, that I only slept about 2 hours last night, but now I feel so much better having a date and a plan, and especially knowing exactly when we're going to see our little Snuggle Bunny again!
So I've spent the afternoon trying to make all the arrangements. We are not staying during the 10 day waiting period, so we will be making 2 more trips. I booked our 2nd flight, and I just emailed the travel agent to confirm our 3rd flight. Originally, we were hoping to have 3 seats on the flight back with Eli, but it's just too expensive, so we're going to just hold him on our laps and suffer through it. Otherwise, our flights should be ok. We're flying Delta from Atlanta on both trips.
I contacted Peace Travel about the 2 apartments we wanted, and we should receive confirmation tomorrow. I also faxed the form to Peace Travel for our visa support/invitation to travel. We'll be doing a dual entry tourist visa.
So our dates will be:
2nd trip - leave March 29, arrive in Moscow Sunday morning March 30, visit Eli on April 1, court on April 2, fly home Thursday April 3.
3rd trip - leave April 12, arrive in Moscow Sunday morning April 13, take custody of Eli on April 14 (can't wait!), fly home as a family on April 22 (Eli will become a citizen on my aunt's birthday!) Because our 10 day waiting period is over on Monday, this last trip will be a little longer than we originally thought. We'll end up staying in Moscow for 9 nights on this trip, instead of 6.
I'm so relieved to have actually started booking the flights and apartments. Now it feels real. Now we know exactly when he will be with us and when we will be bringing him home.
So I've spent the afternoon trying to make all the arrangements. We are not staying during the 10 day waiting period, so we will be making 2 more trips. I booked our 2nd flight, and I just emailed the travel agent to confirm our 3rd flight. Originally, we were hoping to have 3 seats on the flight back with Eli, but it's just too expensive, so we're going to just hold him on our laps and suffer through it. Otherwise, our flights should be ok. We're flying Delta from Atlanta on both trips.
I contacted Peace Travel about the 2 apartments we wanted, and we should receive confirmation tomorrow. I also faxed the form to Peace Travel for our visa support/invitation to travel. We'll be doing a dual entry tourist visa.
So our dates will be:
2nd trip - leave March 29, arrive in Moscow Sunday morning March 30, visit Eli on April 1, court on April 2, fly home Thursday April 3.
3rd trip - leave April 12, arrive in Moscow Sunday morning April 13, take custody of Eli on April 14 (can't wait!), fly home as a family on April 22 (Eli will become a citizen on my aunt's birthday!) Because our 10 day waiting period is over on Monday, this last trip will be a little longer than we originally thought. We'll end up staying in Moscow for 9 nights on this trip, instead of 6.
I'm so relieved to have actually started booking the flights and apartments. Now it feels real. Now we know exactly when he will be with us and when we will be bringing him home.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
notes from our 1st trip
Today's sermon was interesting. Our pastor talked about how sometimes we don't know why things happen. Sometimes all we know is Jesus. Because right now, there seems to be no good explanation for our court date delay, yes, I felt like he was talking to me.
This post is a little overdue, since we've been home for 2 weeks now (seems like months), but since some of you are about to travel on your 1st trip (Kar, Denise, and Becky!), I thought I'd mention what worked for us.
We did not eat out while we were there. We fixed meals in the apartment instead. I have an allergy to tree nuts, so restaurants can be a problem. But, it turns out, by the time we got back to the apartment in the evening, after spending hours in the car, we were drained and tired, and didn't feel like going back out in the cold to search for food anyway! Katia took us to the grocery store twice, once Sunday right after we arrived, and again on Thursday. We bought bread, cheese, and meat for sandwiches in the car, as well as milk and eggs. R got a microwave dinner that he said was ok. Some kind of shepherd's pie type thing. We brought from home: boil in the bag brown rice, soup, easy Mac, chicken & tuna in the pouches, and peanut butter. We also brought protein bars and granola for our time in the car. We tried to eat protein, so we would have the energy to get through the day, and that worked well. Moscow restaurants can be very expensive, so we ended up saving some $.
things I wish I had taken:
~ I forgot to follow Rob's advice and bring a long network cable. The modem was on 1 side of the room, and the available outlet was on the other. Not convenient. Next trip I'm definitely taking the 25 ft cable he recommended!
~ short sleeve shirt
It was warm in the apartment. I'm cold natured, and even I was warm. Definitely taking one on the next trip.
~ hat
I used the hood on my jacket instead, but then I had no peripheral vision. I could only see in front of me, which was annoying when I was trying to look around and see the sights. I felt like a turtle!
~ something mindless to read, like a magazine
In the apartment, we had Turner Classic Movies, the Hallmark channel, Discovery, Animal Planet, CNN, and BBC World. Not much to watch when I just wanted to unwind. We ended up watching CNN a lot, but that reminded me too much of all the hours we spent in the airport!
things I could have skipped:
~ one little bottle of hand sanitizer would have been enough. Dede mentioned this too.
~ small bottle of dish soap
The apartment had both dish soap and laundry detergent.
~ sunglasses
Anton's car had tinted windows, and the sun didn't shine that much while we were there.
~ pillowcases
I thought it would be nice to have something from home, but the pillows were square, and our rectangular cases didn't fit!
things I was glad that I had:
~ sink stopper
There wasn't one in the apartment.
~ big fuzzy comfy socks to wear at night
~ yoga pants to lounge in at night
~ washcloths
I brought 4. There were none in the apartment. They were nice to have to wash my face. I also took one to the orphanage, because Eli was drooling a lot. And he also spit up on me one of the days we were there.
~ shout wipes
~ tea and folger's coffee singles
~ my laptop
We took it with us, and I wrote emails and blog entries in the car on the way back from the orphanage. It was a good way to pass the time, and I was able to write while everything was still fresh in my mind. I wrote a long journal entry every day, with lots of details. I wrote more than I posted as blog entries, because some of the details and feelings I didn't want to share publicly, but they are now saved for Eli to read when he is older. There's no way I could have captured all the details if I had waited until we returned home to write it.
~ airborne
I took Lori's advice and used it on the plane, as well as 2 days after we arrived. I didn't get sick, even though people behind us on the plane seemed to be coughing a lot.
~ silk long underwear bottoms
Wore them the last 2 days we were there because the weather turned colder, and we were glad we had them. Right after we arrived, we went to Red Square to do a little sightseeing, and we weren't wearing them. The cold air just seemed to cut through our pants, straight to our skin. I remembered what Rob had said about that, so we wore them on Thursday, when we did the rest of our sightseeing, and we were more comfortable. They were thin enough that I didn't feel too warm when we were inside. I didn't wear them in the apartment though!
~ thank you cards
We used them when we paid our driver and translator at the end of the week. I got long skinny ones at Target, so the US dollars would fit inside without having to be folded. We wrote a note inside each, thanking them for taking such good care of us during the week.
~ board books for Eli
We had the "Touch & Feel Farm" book and another board book, and he seemed to enjoy those the most. It was something we could do while he was sitting in my lap, since that's really what he wanted to do. He wasn't as interested in playing with toys on the floor.
~ blanket for Eli
We slept with it so it would have our scent, and then we left it with him on the last day, in hopes that they would put it in his crib.
~ thinner sweaters
Each day, I wore a long sleeve shirt with a thin/medium weight sweater, and I was very comfortable. A heavy bulky sweater would not have worked as well.
Another tip:
Register your trip with the US State Dept., so the US Embassy knows you are there, in case of emergency. It wasn't required, but gave us a little extra peace of mind.
We're so happy for those who are traveling to meet their precious babies soon!
This post is a little overdue, since we've been home for 2 weeks now (seems like months), but since some of you are about to travel on your 1st trip (Kar, Denise, and Becky!), I thought I'd mention what worked for us.
We did not eat out while we were there. We fixed meals in the apartment instead. I have an allergy to tree nuts, so restaurants can be a problem. But, it turns out, by the time we got back to the apartment in the evening, after spending hours in the car, we were drained and tired, and didn't feel like going back out in the cold to search for food anyway! Katia took us to the grocery store twice, once Sunday right after we arrived, and again on Thursday. We bought bread, cheese, and meat for sandwiches in the car, as well as milk and eggs. R got a microwave dinner that he said was ok. Some kind of shepherd's pie type thing. We brought from home: boil in the bag brown rice, soup, easy Mac, chicken & tuna in the pouches, and peanut butter. We also brought protein bars and granola for our time in the car. We tried to eat protein, so we would have the energy to get through the day, and that worked well. Moscow restaurants can be very expensive, so we ended up saving some $.
things I wish I had taken:
~ I forgot to follow Rob's advice and bring a long network cable. The modem was on 1 side of the room, and the available outlet was on the other. Not convenient. Next trip I'm definitely taking the 25 ft cable he recommended!
~ short sleeve shirt
It was warm in the apartment. I'm cold natured, and even I was warm. Definitely taking one on the next trip.
~ hat
I used the hood on my jacket instead, but then I had no peripheral vision. I could only see in front of me, which was annoying when I was trying to look around and see the sights. I felt like a turtle!
~ something mindless to read, like a magazine
In the apartment, we had Turner Classic Movies, the Hallmark channel, Discovery, Animal Planet, CNN, and BBC World. Not much to watch when I just wanted to unwind. We ended up watching CNN a lot, but that reminded me too much of all the hours we spent in the airport!
things I could have skipped:
~ one little bottle of hand sanitizer would have been enough. Dede mentioned this too.
~ small bottle of dish soap
The apartment had both dish soap and laundry detergent.
~ sunglasses
Anton's car had tinted windows, and the sun didn't shine that much while we were there.
~ pillowcases
I thought it would be nice to have something from home, but the pillows were square, and our rectangular cases didn't fit!
things I was glad that I had:
~ sink stopper
There wasn't one in the apartment.
~ big fuzzy comfy socks to wear at night
~ yoga pants to lounge in at night
~ washcloths
I brought 4. There were none in the apartment. They were nice to have to wash my face. I also took one to the orphanage, because Eli was drooling a lot. And he also spit up on me one of the days we were there.
~ shout wipes
~ tea and folger's coffee singles
~ my laptop
We took it with us, and I wrote emails and blog entries in the car on the way back from the orphanage. It was a good way to pass the time, and I was able to write while everything was still fresh in my mind. I wrote a long journal entry every day, with lots of details. I wrote more than I posted as blog entries, because some of the details and feelings I didn't want to share publicly, but they are now saved for Eli to read when he is older. There's no way I could have captured all the details if I had waited until we returned home to write it.
~ airborne
I took Lori's advice and used it on the plane, as well as 2 days after we arrived. I didn't get sick, even though people behind us on the plane seemed to be coughing a lot.
~ silk long underwear bottoms
Wore them the last 2 days we were there because the weather turned colder, and we were glad we had them. Right after we arrived, we went to Red Square to do a little sightseeing, and we weren't wearing them. The cold air just seemed to cut through our pants, straight to our skin. I remembered what Rob had said about that, so we wore them on Thursday, when we did the rest of our sightseeing, and we were more comfortable. They were thin enough that I didn't feel too warm when we were inside. I didn't wear them in the apartment though!
~ thank you cards
We used them when we paid our driver and translator at the end of the week. I got long skinny ones at Target, so the US dollars would fit inside without having to be folded. We wrote a note inside each, thanking them for taking such good care of us during the week.
~ board books for Eli
We had the "Touch & Feel Farm" book and another board book, and he seemed to enjoy those the most. It was something we could do while he was sitting in my lap, since that's really what he wanted to do. He wasn't as interested in playing with toys on the floor.
~ blanket for Eli
We slept with it so it would have our scent, and then we left it with him on the last day, in hopes that they would put it in his crib.
~ thinner sweaters
Each day, I wore a long sleeve shirt with a thin/medium weight sweater, and I was very comfortable. A heavy bulky sweater would not have worked as well.
Another tip:
Register your trip with the US State Dept., so the US Embassy knows you are there, in case of emergency. It wasn't required, but gave us a little extra peace of mind.
We're so happy for those who are traveling to meet their precious babies soon!
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