Pictures of Alex, Home at Last!

Pictures of Alex, Trip 1 in January

Here are some photos of us with Alex from our first trip in January:

Home at Last

I should be napping along with Alex and Matt, but I'm too excited about being home! Here's a recap of the last couple of days...

On Wednesday we got up at around 6:30 that morning to get ready, have breakfast, finish the last minute packing and get checked out by 8AM. We managed, but Matt had to skip the hotel breakfast buffet while I went down with Alex to eat, so he could get get everything organized.

Off we headed to the airport for our Moscow to Atlanta flight. We prepared for our flights as best we could by packing some snacks, treats, and toys for Alex. I think the flight was about 11 hours long or so. Overall it went pretty well, but there were times that it seemed like Alex was a ping pong ball going back and forth between Matt and I. Our son does not know how to sit still. I think he probably didn't sleep more than 20 minutes during the whole flight though.I'm sure you can imagine how much he despises the seat belts, and much to our fellow passengers dismay, they had to deal with his crying and temper tantrums from time to time. They were all quite understanding however. Alex had many admirers around us despite his spells of crying, so I guess he knows how to turn on the charm. There was a 10-year old girl and her 7-year old brother from Israel sitting in front of us, and they both thought he was so cute and loved playing peek-a-boo with him.

Once we got to Atlanta, we had been warned by others about the process going through customs to take a while, and we were further warned by the Atlanta airport official that the wait for Alex's immigration paperwork to be completed MAY take two hours because there were many people waiting. Well, we had waited about 45 minutes in the holding pen, and while I went to the restroom, our name was called and everything was done - I didn't need to do a thing! So we were able to have plenty of time to make our connection from Atlanta to Minneapolis. Alex finally slept for part of that flight for maybe 45 minutes, however he really lost in when it was time to land and we were getting his seat belt on him. We could see the light at the end of the tunnel though, and we made it through!

Once we got to Minneapolis, we felt so relieved to be home. No more Russian language, no more store clerks rolling their eyes if you didn't give them exact change, no more living in a hotel, no more handwashing laundry, no more brushing your teeth using bottled water, no more being away from Ty - we were home at last!

As we started to walk towards the luggage carousel, I could see in the distance a young boy holding a neon green sign on a stick - I even cry as I still tell this - there was our son Tyler, holding a welcome home sign that he had made for us and Alex. He had the hugest smile ever. It felt so good to give him a big hug and kiss! He had grown a few inches in height it seemed, and grew more independent while we were away - he was acting so grown up. We are so proud of him! We missed him so much! Matt's parents and my parents were also there to greet us at the airport - it was SO NICE to have them all there to share in that moment with us.

And of course let's not forget Alex. He was sitting in his stroller taking all of it in. And he seemed to recognize Tyler from the pictures, and I think maybe it all clicked, that he realized now he was going to be home at last!

We got home to a very neat and tidy home thanks to our moms and had some delicious banana cream pie and then everyone left and we went to bed. Alex fussed a little going down for bedtime, but it went pretty well. I woke up at 3AM and couldn't get back to sleep very easily, because I was so excited to be home, here with our whole family finally together! Ty went to school this morning, but he was wishing for a big snow storm so he wouldn't have to go to school. This weekend we should have some good bonding time together as a family. In the meantime, we're resting up from our trip and excited to hear about other families traveling to Astrakhan in the near future. I'll try to get links to their blogs on the sidebar sometime yet.

It's so cute how I can already tell Alex is looking up to his big brother Ty. He gave him a big kiss today when he got home from school - it's those moments that I live for! It's also so neat how Alex seems to like it when we pray together before a meal or before bedtime. In fact, he has reminded us on occasion if we've forgotten to pray! We are so thankful to the Lord for seeing us through this journey from beginning to end. I'll post more in the days to come, but I'm trying to decide if this blog should end and a new one will begin, or if my blogging days may be over for a while. Stay tuned.

Touchdown in Minneapolis

And I'm not talking about the Vikings. We arrived home safely. Flights were on time and customs went fairly smooth. Best of all it was a fairly tantrum free journey so thanks be to God for answering that prayer.

We'll post more as we have time.

Last Post from Russia

Our visit to the embassy today went smooth and was rather uneventful. We now have Alex’ visa and he can enter the US legally. Hoorah!!! There were 3 other adopting families there with us whom we’d seen at the doctor’s office yesterday. One of the 3 will be on our same flight.

Hopefully this will be our last post from Russia. We’re pretty much packed and ready to go. We are pretty weary as the upset stomachs and loss of appetite have returned but we both managed to choke down a Big Mac tonight and are feeling a little better.

Alex has been pretty stubborn this afternoon but he missed his nap and I’m sure senses something is up with all the packing going on. Patti and I have a little patience left but the tank is pretty low. Good thing he’ll be going to bed soon.

Please pray for safe and tantrum light travel - we, of course, are a little concerned about that but I’m sure we’ll make it - unless Alex manages to free himself and open the cabin door which I wouldn’t put past him.

So we bid farewell to Russia for now and who knows if we’ll ever be back. If you were to ask us today our answer would be “very unlikely” but you never know.

See you tomorrow Ty and say a special prayer for us o.k.? We love you and miss you very very VERY much!

Monday - Doing Better

Well, after our SOS blog entry, things have been going so much better. We can't being to express how much we appreciate everyone's comments and prayers. They are like gold to us. Alex only had one temper tantrum today, and that was right before bedtime. (I can understand that - even as an adult, I don't want to go to bed either, because I'm a night owl.) I'm going to make this a quick entry because I'm crouched on the floor in the dark of our hotel room while Alex and Matt are sleeping.

This morning Alex had his medical, which was quick and to the point. No problems to report. We will bring that report with us to the Embassy tomorrow for his visa interview. (I think I'm getting all of this lingo correct.) We met another couple and their new daughter at the doctor's office who are also leaving on Wednesday on our same flight from Moscow to Atlanta. I just love it when we run into other adoptive families - there is a bond there that is hard to explain.

Today we attempted a walk outside, but it was very blustery and cold, so we didn't go too far. We had dinner at the cafe in the hotel tonight, instead of day 3 of McDonalds. Unfortunately we were still hungry after our tiny sandwiches and gelatin-like tiramisu. Oh well, we gave it a try anyway. I do have to say our morning breakfast buffet here at the hotel is awesome!

Tomorrow our driver comes at 1PM to pick us up for the 2PM Embassy stuff/interview. And after that, it's time to pack! Alex may even be able to help pack. He loves taking a plastic grocery bag and putting as many toys as possible in it, and hooks it on his arm, and waves at us, heads for our hotel room door, and pretends he's leaving with a big grin on his face. Tyler, we're coming home soon!

Attachement Difficulties for All of us

Hi All,

Sunday in Moscow. It’s cold, snowy, and windy. Alex is still suffering from his cough also. Consequently he’ll be staying in today. Fortunately the hotel is quite large and has a lot to look at. On the other hand that in itself creates issues of their own. Children with attachment disorder don’t do well when they face situations where they are overwhelmed. That’s what we’re struggling with. As parents we aren’t used to dealing with a child who exhibits the characteristics of attachment disorder. You can look them up online
here. It’s been a greater challenge than either of us anticipated and it is bringing out some very ugly sides of us which is exactly the opposite of what we need to be showing Alex. So, we would covet your prayers regarding patience, and loving Alex through one of the most difficult times of his life. And in addition to health issues for all of us as we’re recovering from colds, nausea, etc.

Tomorrow a.m. is our dr. visit and we should be done before noon. I sure hope the weather is better so that we can all get out and explore a little. It’s a bummer to be on a once in a lifetime journey half way across the world and not be able to get out and explore a little. Tuesday will bring the Embassy visit for his visa - That’s in the afternoon. Then Wednesday we’re out of here.

I think we’ll patronize the McDonalds again for supper. I got a few staples at a nearby grocery for Alex so we can try to keep his diet somewhat the same. It’s never a pleasure dealing with Russians because they always act annoyed if you don’t understand them. Why can’t they be more friendly and helpful. Who knows why but it’s certainly common behavior. I’m going to relieve Patti from Alex duty. Only 3 more days.

Oh, one more prayer request… Our plane ride home could prove to be somewhat stressful based on Alex’s 2 hour trip here to Moscow. Please pray for it to go well. Thanks!

Greetings from Moscow

Whew, we made it to Moscow! We left our hotel this morning at 9AM, and got to the Astrakhan airport with no problems. Our flight left on time at 11:10AM and we had bulk head seats. Alex overall did pretty good. He had about 4 or 5 meltdowns on the flight. He didn't like having his seat belt on. He took it off at one point by himself. I don't think he ever realized we were flying in the air. I tried to show him outside, but he motioned for me to shut the window blind because it was too bright. When we arrived in Moscow, we had to wait about 45 minutes for our translator and driver to arrive. We were starting to get a little concerned and had our emergency numbers to call, but just then we saw our translator coming through security.

Alex fell asleep in the car on the way to the Holiday Inn Sokolniki. We're on the 19th floor. Matt and I stayed here on our first trip in January. Our translator came up to have Matt do more paperwork to prepare for our interview at the Embassy (on Tuesday if all goes as planned). There was some concern that we were missing some paperwork at one point. Our translator was trying to play it cool, but she finally had to call our regional coordinator who was originally in Astrakhan with us. After a few phone calls, everything got straightened out - WHEW, we were relieved!

After weeks of Astrakhan food or ramen noodles in the hotpot, we were ready for some American fast food - McDonalds is a block away from our hotel! We can even see it from our room. We walked over there and got it to go, because the place was packed! Alex did not like the food at all, so we need a Plan B for him. The french fries tasted about the same, but the Big Macs were missing something and the ketchup didn't taste quite the same, but it was still good!

We wandered around the hotel for a bit, and then got ready for bed. Alex is sleeping in the portable crib that the hotel brought up for us. Tomorrow we don't have any plans. We'll probably venture out around here and find a store for diapers and food for Alex. Have a Happy and Blessed Easter everyone!

Friday- Our Last Full Day in Astrakhan

Here we are hiding out in the bedroom surrounded by suitcases and piles of clothes, while Alex is out in the living room in his crib trying to go down for a nap. I think he can sense an excitement in the air, because he isn’t going down as quickly for his nap as he usually does. It sounded like he was singing some Russian songs from the orphanage.

This morning Matt and I have our appetites back, so hopefully our stomachs will continue to be OK for the remainder of the trip. Alex is doing well and is a good eater, although we are still limiting the foods he eats, or else things go right through him, poor guy!

We wanted to mention that Matt has added a link of a map of Astrakhan on the left sidebar. He marked some points of interest on it - pretty cool!

This morning we walked to the Astrakhan Kremlin. (We’re so glad we bought an umbrella stroller here!) They are renovating the exterior, so there was lots of scaffolding and noise. We wanted to take Alex there however, as one last site to see here in Astrakhan. He was interested in the pigeons - he calls all birds “cuckoos.“ We also stopped at a nearby gift shop and got a few things. Then we stopped at the grocery store, and then headed home for lunch.

It sounds like Alex has finally settled down for his nap. We are so excited to head to Moscow tomorrow morning. We hope the flight goes OK for Alex - please pray for him. He has lots of energy, so it’s hard to imagine him sitting still for two hours. We hope that he sleeps during the flight. We will try to blog tomorrow after we arrive in Moscow. We’re supposed to stay at the Holiday Inn Sokolniki, but you never know - things sometimes change. Thanks to all of you for your comments and emails, especially during this last week - we really needed the support!

Thursday - 1 day closer

Hi All,

Thursday is finally here and that means the end of the week is drawing near. Patti and I are both little weary right now as our appetites are off and we're still fighting a cold, low grade fever, nausea and some diahrea. We're a little better now and hopefully that trend will continue.

Meanwhile Alex is back to his spirited self. I'm noticing a pattern in his temper tantrums that morning are usually worse because mom and dad have more energy to battle but by the end of the day Patti and I usually look at one another our body language says I'm too tired to fight this one with Alex and then we give in. It's pretty tough but we know things will change.

Alex and I went out and bought more diapers and wipes today. They are expensive here. Hopefully we can get out after his nap even if just for a little bit.

The hotel has added a wireless access point in the third floor lounge so connecting is easier - although speed is still poor. But that means if your room is close to the lounge you can get wireless in your room. Our room is far enough away that connections are spotty in the evening but during the day we can access the internet from our bedroom - Nice! We're in Rm 324 by the way.

The weather here is warming up nicely. Yesterday we went for a walk me in my Tshirt and no jacket and Patti without a jacket either. All of the Russians had jackets on. I don't know how they do it. I'd be sweating like a pig - but maybe it's because I'm from Minnesota and 60 degrees is suntan weather. Plus the fact that I have a little fever. Of course we had Alex bundled up. We didn't wan't any babushkas berating us ;-)

Tomorrow will be packing day and I'm a little nervous about it but I'm absolutely positive we'll be ready to go Sat a.m. Please keep our physical and mental health in your prayers. We're so ready to be done with this. At least Moscow will bring McDonalds and English TV - not that we'll get to watch much of it.

Below are the videos we were having problems with. The first is of Alex in the bathtub. He just loves the water - thankfully. It's a good way to pass time. He loves to scrub any and everything with his washcloth. It's really quite funny to watch. The second one is of Alex acting goofy - it's really cute but usually means some naughty behavior is soon to follow.

Wednesday - One More Week To Go!

This morning we walked to a nearby mall and bought some groceries and a few things at the Disney store. It felt good to get some fresh air. It is very sad how on one hand, here is this huge mall with some pretty pricey shops, yet as we walked there, we walked through a pretty poor class area, and saw a homeless man living in a narrow alley using a scarf as a tissue. Alex did pretty well in the stroller, but by the end of the trip, he was ready to get out.

Matt still has a cold, but Alex seems to be feeling better. Matt and I don't have much of an appetite these days. Perhaps we have giardia or some sort of bacteria in our systems, or maybe we're just tired of the food. We bought some 7-Up and Mountain Dew today, along with some chocolate, and that went down just fine!

We are picking our battles as far as Alex's temper tantrums go, but happy to report that he is going down for naps and bedtime much easier. We decided to go back to diapers with him. They supposedly had him potty trained at the orphanage, but it was too strict of a schedule for us, and at first he was having too many accidents. So going back to diapers has really relieved us of some stress, and probably relieved some stress for Alex as well. We continue to learn what his words mean that he uses. We're not sure that they are even proper Russian words, so we are just trying to teach him the English words for eat, sleep, please, etc.

Today has been another warm day (I think in the 60's) and we hope to go for another walk after Alex's nap. We wish we could post more photos or a video that works, but we just haven't had much time.

We miss so many friends and family, especially our dear, sweet Tyler, but we will be home in one week - YAY!

Hi, Just a quick post. Please keep us in your prayers as Alex is proving to be quite a handful and I (Matt) now have a sore throat and a little fever. But we're confident we'll get through this. A week from today and we'll be heading home. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. We'r learning to choose our battles.

We had lunch today at the Krem Cafe. Alex had apple juice and mashed potatoes. Alex of course was mesmerized by the whole experience. We also took a walk to the Peter the Great plaza and Alex got to ride in a stroller with us - at first reluctantly but then he was a more willing participant.

Bedtime for us.

A Warm Tuesday

It's 60 degrees here today! So much for my wool winter coat. We had a nice walk to a cafe down the street for lunch and we are counting down the days until we get home. 9 more days!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! It truly is a happy day because all of us slept better last night. A good night's sleep does a world of difference. Alex didn’t have as much congestion, so his breathing was quieter with less coughing. Otherwise we’re all pretty healthy.

Yesterday afternoon we talked with the two German families that are leaving Tuesday with their newly adopted children. We all gathered in the second floor lounge as the kids played together. Alex, however, stuck pretty close to us, until towards the end he plopped right into one of the other mom's laps! I guess we have some work to do in the attachment area. He calls me by the name of one of the caregivers in the orphanage. It's going to take some time, which we knew it would.

Matt wanted me to share how Alex seems so grown up. He blows his own nose and washes himself in the bathtub, and he also get dressed and undressed by himself. He takes medicine and chews bitter pills without complaining. He doesn’t cry when he gets hurt. I guess all of these things can be common of children living in orphanages. Perhaps some of them are his personality though.

We got the unfortunate news today that we won't be leaving Astrakhan until Saturday (instead of Friday). It seems the airline has changed their flight schedules and we aren't able to get Alex's passport picked up in time to make it on the Friday flight. So we will get picked up on Saturday at 9AM for our flight to Moscow.

We got to go for a short walk before dinner time, since it wasn't as windy today. Alex was so engrossed in seeing the different cars and trucks, and also the dogs and cats. His big brown eyes were taking everything in. He didn't want to come back to the hotel. He sure is a bundle of energy and goofyness in our hotel room. I think Tyler and Alex will have fun being goofy together.

Sunday - Alex's health

Here's a picture of Alex when we were at the orphanage. We'll have to upload some new pics of him:



It is Alex's naptime, so Matt is attempting to put him down and that gives me some time to blog. Alex seems a little healthier today - he's running around and has lots of energy. But unfortunately last night was another rough night. I wish there was more we could do for his cough while he's sleeping. We're going to try propping the mattress up more on one end to see if that helps with his congestion. He doesn't have a fever, and he seems a lot better during the day, so that is good. I wish I would have brought some Mucinex from home to loosen the congestion for nighttime.

His stomach seems to be settling down, now that we've decided to give him meat pie for most of his meals. The grocery store down the street sells it, so we don't have far to go if we need to buy more. If anyone has a good meat pie recipe, let me know. I'lll have to check my Russian cookbook at home. It's basically ground beef and cabbage inside a crust.

I don't think we're going to venture out of the hotel today because of Alex, but hopefully tomorrow we will be able to. Alex continues to teach us his Russian words that he knows, so we've started a phonetic list so we can remember what he's saying, and that's helped out greatly. We try to say Russian phrases to him that we learned, but he usually doesn't respond to them, so either he doesn't know them, or he doesn't understand us. We are also trying to teach him some of the English phrases, as well as teach him his new name. He still responds mostly to Rustam.

Alex loves to roam around the hotel, down the different hallways, lounges and elevators. He also enjoys putting his toys in a plastic shopping bag and then walks around the hotel room. He also likes sneaking up on us and chasing us and then tickling us, or having us tickle him. We're so thankful that he also enjoys bathtime - we've heard other stories where children from the orphanages are scared of water.

We continue to grow more attached to Alex every day, and are excited to bring him home. Of course we miss Tyler too and can't wait to be reunited with him! It sounds like he is having a fun weekend at one of his cousins' house. This is our last Sunday in Astrakhan! We're making the most of things here, but are so ready to come home! The Lord has us in His care, and we continue to lean on Him for strength. This certainly has been an adventure. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Saturday - Day 2 with Alex

Hi everyone! Thanks for all the comments on our blog. We really appreciate it! Alex is taking a nap right now, so I thought I'd post a quick entry. I thought I would answer a few questions that people had posted. Alex is 2 1/2 years old, and Tyler is 6 years old. Alex came from baby home #2. We were able to get photos with some of the staff, but we weren't allowed to take photos of where he slept, ate, and bathed. One of the caregivers really liked Alex a lot (in fact wanted to adopt him, but couldn't), and she was supposed to be there yesterday to say goodbye to him. We wanted to give her a box of chocolates and wanted to ask her some more questions about Alex. Unfortunately she wasn't there. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Last night was a rough night for sleeping, because Alex was so congested. He was breathing very loudly. I think today his congestion is a little better, so hopefully we will all sleep better. We have been sticking to the food that Alex ate at the orphanage, but everything seems to go right through him. We also had to start giving him some decongestant and Motrin for a fever yesterday. His stomach has been upset a lot today, so not sure what we're doing wrong, or if it's the medicine. So please pray for Alex's stomach to feel better, and for his cough and congestion to get better. He's acting OK, but doesn't have the appetite that he usually does, so he hasn't been eating much today. We haven't been able to venture out because of his health. I'm feeling better today thankfully and so far Matt is healthy as well.

We don't have much planned today, except for sticking around the hotel. Alex is so quiet and reserved when we go downstairs in the lobby or restaurant. He just takes it all in. I wonder what's going on in that head of his. When we're up in our room though, he's very verbal and having a blast playing with our empty Coke and water bottles. He also loves his comb and brush. When we lay him down for his nap, he jabbers away in a whispering tone, saying words we don't understand. I think he is calling for some of the staff at the orphanage, or maybe some of his friends.

That's all for now. If all goes as planned, we leave Astrakhan for Moscow on Friday!

Friday - Gotcha Day!

Introducing Alexander Rustam! (Alex for short. Rustam is his given Russian name, and we decided to keep it as his middle name.) We have him in our arms now, forever!

Our morning involved signing some paperwork at a government office to get things going. Then we went to the store to buy 3 cakes for the orphanage and a bouquet of flowers for the director. We also bought some juice, yogurt, and meat pie for Alex’ lunch.

Then we stopped at the orphanage. First we met with the director and some staff to do some paperwork and deliver the cakes and flowers. Some other caregivers got him dressed into his clothes while we finished some things. Then we took some photos with some of the staff, us, and Alex. Then it was time to go! Alex cried about getting his jacket and hat on. Once we got in the van, however, he settled down pretty quick. Our facilitator Galina is wonderful with children, and she was able to talk to him and distract him, to relieve his stress. We arrived at the hotel and the hotel staff warmed up the meat pie for Alex’ lunch. We went up to our room, and he ate a good helping of meat pie, along with some yogurt and a whole banana. He had the biggest smile when I showed him the banana. He was in a really good mood. While I was feeding Alex lunch, Matt had gone with our interpreter to get some medicine for Alex. He has a bad cold/cough, however no fever. We had brought some medicine from the U.S., but we decided at this point, to use the medicine that the orphanage had suggested.

Matt got back and then we tried to settle Alex down for a nap. He doesn’t like the crib, so I lay next to him on the bed, and he finally fell asleep after about an hour. He didn’t sleep very long because of his congestion, but it was better than nothing. Then we played some more, and ate at the restaurant downstairs. Alex loves borscht.

Alex has been in a pretty good mood ever since we got to the hotel, so things are going pretty well. He is much more verbal than we had realized. He has had lots of words for us, and lots of laughs and smiles. He goes to bed at about 9PM and wakes up at 7AM, at least that was his sleep schedule at the orphanage. I better go here, as I am in the bedroom with the door shut and I hear Alex saying Mama. We are tired, but so glad to finally have Alex with us. We are so excited to have him meet his big brother Tyler!

Please pray for Alex’ health, and our health as well. I have a cold and a sore throat. I wish I had more time to go back and refine this entry, but we just don’t have the time tonight! We’ll try to post more tomorrow!

Thursday - Our last day as a family of three!

This week has gone by so fast, thankfully. We had a leisurely morning, and then we went to visit Brother at 3PM. There were no other people in the room aside from us, our interpreter and one of the staff. He was much more himself and was showing off a little bit, because I believe he enjoyed the undivided attention on him. We were able to ask a few more questions to a different caregiver. She had good information as well. We were able to get her name and take a picture of her with Brother.

When we got back to the hotel, our interpreter helped us tell the front desk staff that we needed a crib for tomorrow. We had our last quiet dinner in our room, and then the crib came. One of the wheels broke off as they wheeled it in, so a bit later they came to fix it. Once they left, we were moving the crib, and the wheel came off again. So we have one of Brother’s board books under one corner, to keep it stable. We think it will be just fine though.

Tonight we will stay up a little later than normal so we can talk to our son T, since we didn’t get to talk to him yesterday and we might not have time tomorrow either. He’s going to be a great big brother to his little brother. Tomorrow we won’t have to refer to him as “Brother” anymore and we‘re not going to call our other son T anymore, and we can post some photos! Tomorrow we will leave at 9AM to pick up Brother. We’re excited about Gotcha Day, but also unsure of how he will react to the new situations, as we have lots of errands to run with him in the van tomorrow with our agency interpreter and facilitator.

Thirteen days until we come home! 9 days until we leave for Moscow! We can’t wait!

Wednesday - Day 9 of 10

Today we visited “Brother” at 10:30AM. When we got there, we waited a bit at the entrance, because we were supposed to take him for his passport and visa photos with one of the staff. After a while, we were told to go up to the playroom to visit him, because the staff who was going to go with us to the photo store still wasn’t there. There were two other Russian couples visiting with their children when we got up to the play room. So initially, Brother was very quiet and distracted by the other parents and children. We played with some of the toys in our backpack, but at this point, I think he’s bored with almost all of the toys.

Our visit was over, and our interpreter said we were going to take Brother to the photo store for his pictures. Brother wasn’t too happy about this, because it was almost lunchtime. The staff that got him dressed gave him a cookie and a piece of candy to quiet him down as she got him bundled up. All 5 of us crammed into our driver’s car. Brother held on tightly to his cookie in one hand and candy in the other. He did a good job sitting still for his photos, and then we dropped them off at the orphanage. We were glad we could get the photos done today, so we aren’t rushed with it tomorrow, or Friday when we pick him up.

Then we went to a store to get some more groceries, and headed back to the hotel. I am coming down with a bit of a cold that started late last night, but hopefully it won’t be too bad. I took a nap this afternoon while Matt worked on the computer. We’re not sure what time we will visit Brother tomorrow. Just one more day of visiting - and then it’s called “Gotcha Day” on Friday!

Here are some of the groceries we purchased…


Here are some pictures of our bathroom which someone requested. The drain is very noisy and you can hear water rushing by when someone else flushes the toilet or showers. The bathtub is very high and hard to get into and out of. Plumbing here isn’t quite up to U.S. standards.


Here's a video of driving in the city...

Day 8 of 10

We had a morning visit today with “brother”. We were hopeful that we’d go to get his pictures today but that didn’t work out since another couple were taking their child from the orphanage today and the orphanage official needed to help with that rather than help us with pictures. We may get his photos tomorrow for the passport and visa. We had a good visit overall and “brother” is becoming even more comfortable with us. At one point a button on his vest came undone and he almost was able to button it himself but then he asked Mama for help. He was really enjoying playing airplane and being tossed in the air. He probably doesn’t experience that too often in the orphanage. The last couple visits he has really been testing the boundaries. This is a good sign that means he’s comfortable enough with us to risk getting in trouble.

Only 2 more days and then we get to “take ownership” and bring him to the hotel. Even though we thought he was legally our child apparently not quite so as the Ministry of Education needs to pick up his passport and then give them to CHI (us). So very strange is this international adoption stuff! I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to ask about something but then thought “don’t ask” for various reasons. I’ll be elated when this phase is over.

For lunch today we ate at the Café kameliYa or something like that. It was absolutely delicious. We were actually looking for a different café and settled on this one when we couldn’t find it. It turns out we think it may have been of Tatar ethnicity which is the background of "brother". When we walked in we thought Wow, this is really fancy - I bet it’s going to be expensive. I (Matt) asked if the greeter spoke English which he didn’t but they did have an English menu. After they checked our coats - which is customary - we walked into the restaurant to find we were the only customers there. The lights weren’t even on. We were thinking “what is going on here?“. But they proceeded to seat us and gave us the English menu to peruse. On the menu was chicken chests and fried udder with onions. We’re not sure if it really was udder or if there was a mistake in the translation. I had turkey kabobs, mixed veggies, those mini corn on the cob things, and a baked potato with delicious garlic cream sauce. Patti had a chicken “chest” stuffed with ham and cheese, rice and veggies, grilled tomatoes and grilled zucchini. It was the best meal we both have had on our trip. All this for about $25 which is about average for a meal here in a cafe. Fakusna - Delicious!

Monday: Day 7 of 10-Day Wait

So here’s a recap. We are still here in Astrakhan, and we will visit “Brother” three more days at the orphanage. Then we will be able to pick him up on Friday - hooray! We will have to stay at the Azimut Hotel for an additional 7 days to get “Brother’s” passport. Then we will leave for Moscow on Friday, March 21st. We have some Embassy stuff to do in Moscow, and then we fly out on March 26th for home.

We visited Brother this morning. He was pretty tired at first and had a cough. It was nice to just hold him in my lap for a while. There was another little girl in there who was being visited by her adoptive Russian dad. Brother and the little girl were interacting, and he was even sharing toys with her, so that was nice to see. We had a pretty long visit with him, and wished we could have gone outside, because he kept looking out the windows to the playground area.

After our visit, we relaxed at the hotel and then headed out to a mall called the Astor (not spelled that way in Russian). It took about 20-30 minutes to walk there. It is a three-story mall with clothing, electronics, and a kids store with Disney products, among other things. There is a kids’ indoor play area (I‘m not sure how much it cost), and next to that is a Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor. It looked like they have kids’ birthday parties there.

Clothes were more expensive at this mall, but we did find a backpack for Brother with some Russian cartoon characters on it. He seems to enjoy opening up our backpack when we come for visits, so we figured he would enjoy having his own for the trip home. We of course found another little gift at the store for our 6-year old son T, who is patiently waiting for us to return home. He has been doing so well with his Aunt L. last week, and now with Grandma K this week.

In closing, here is a verse that helps me during this time:

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Thanks again to everyone for their prayers and notes of encouragement! Keep them coming!

Sunday, Day 6 of 10-Day Wait

This is our last quiet weekend! We walked down to the Kremlin and the downtown area and did some shopping. We stopped at some kids clothing stores, as well as books and office products, cosmetics, and a gift shop. Of course we bought a few things for “Brother” and our son “T” (whom we miss a whole big bunch!). They had lots of stores for just about anything a person would need. We found some sandals at quite a few stores, so we may go back once we have “Brother”, to try some on.

There were lots of people out and about. There was a man singing and playing the guitar near the park adjacent to the shops. We also saw another wedding party getting photos taken in the park. (This is not the same park that we were at yesterday. This park is more in the center of the city.) It was probably 50 degrees, but now the sun is behind the clouds, so it’s cooler now.

There was a big fire of some sort off in the distance last evening. We could see the billowing smoke on the horizon. Today as we were walking, there were ashes here and there on all of the sidewalks. It is surprising that the wind would carry the ashes from such a far off distance.

I am proud of us for being so adventurous. The last American family that was here gave us the advice to keep busy, and they were right! It would be easy to stay cooped up in the hotel room, and not want to deal with another culture, but if we don’t get out for a bit, we go stir crazy, and time goes slower. I think tonight we will eat at the hotel restaurant, since the “special” is pancakes this week. They are advertised as having lots of tasty fillings. We’ll see if they taste anything like American pancakes.

Tomorrow we will visit “Brother” in the morning. Da-svee-dahn-ya (good bye)!

Day 5 of 10

Today is the national holiday called Women’s day in Russia. Our interpreter gave Patti a box of chocolates and said in honor of your first women’s day as a mother of two. It was really nice of her. We’ve seen several couples and families out for leisurely strolls today and the whole city seems to be running a little slower today.

Our morning visit went well with “brother”. Many of the normal orphanage staff weren’t around so one of his caretakers was present during our visit. Patti was able to ask numerous questions of her while I played with him. We found out many good things about our new son - mainly that he was very well liked and even one of the staff cried upon hearing he was being adopted.

Apparently he’s a very good eater, sleeper, bather, and follows instructions well. That sounds a little too perfect to me. I’m not so sure some of the caretakers comments weren’t platitudes to some degree. The caretaker said when “brother” heard we were here he immediately dropped everything and started over to where his momma and poppa "visit clothes" were so he could get dressed and come to us. That was pretty touching. Overall we had a really good visit because we didn’t feel like we were being watched by the staff.

After the visit we went out for some supplies. First we stopped in a small shop across the street from our hotel to get some water. After we dropped that off we went for a little longer walk. We found an open air market pictured below. We didn’t buy anything this time but may in the future. Both Patti and I have been to these markets before in other countries yet it was still neat to see.


After this we wandered back toward a small grocery store but first decided to stop in a kids clothing store to look for some clothes for “brother”. We didn’t find any and we were disappointed that all the clothes had English on them and were expensive. We’ll keep looking. After this we stopped and purchased a few groceries. We ran into an English speaking woman who worked at Chevron for quite a while. She was very nice and it was good to hear English spoken.

It’s very warm today so after a nap we may venture out again. Oh, and it’s also laundry day thanks to Patti…

Addendum... Yes, we did venture out again today and found this park like area very close to our hotel. It was crowded with couples and families and even a wedding party.

Day 4 of 10

Hello everyone! It’s Friday, and there are many flowers and tortes about, as Russia celebrates Women’s Day. It sounds similar to Mother’s Day. Tomorrow they have the day off, but many people are celebrating it today around town.

We had a pretty good day today. We went to see Brother at 9:30AM. First, our interpreter Valla had our driver stop so she could get some flowers and a torte for the staff at the orphanage, in honor of Women’s Day. She picked out a pretty bouquet and a torte that was called “Drunken Cherry.” She thought that it had rum in it.

We arrived at the orphanage, and Valla told us to leave our jackets on, because we were going to take Brother to get his photo taken for his passport! A little while later, out he came, bundled from head to toe in winter gear. He looked scared. One of the staff from the orphanage also came with us. The photo store wasn’t very far away. As we drove there, Valla explained that Brother probably thought he was going to the hospital, so that is why he was so quiet and scared. He didn’t cry, but he was breathing heavily, and he held on tightly to Matt’s finger as we drove along. We felt sad for him. It will take a while before he completely trusts us. He does not like new situations.

Once we got there, the whole place was dark. The electricity was out. So we headed back to the orphanage. We will try again on Tuesday to get his picture taken.

Once we got back to the orphanage, we waited in the playroom while the staff got him undressed. He was pretty quiet and seemed tired today. After a little while, a French couple came to visit with a little girl dressed up in a pink dress and a huge pink bow on the top of her head. She came over to Brother and they looked at each other. They are in the same play group we were told. He didn’t seem very interested in her, but we were told that all the girls like him. He didn’t have the little cloth with him today. I wonder if we will see it again.

As I write this we just heard some horns honking and when we looked out the window we saw a wedding party pull into the parking lot. Most people get married on Fridays. It was neat to see.

We may go for a walk in a bit, however it is quite windy and blustery out. I’m glad we have our winter jackets today. We plan to watch another DVD tonight and relax. Tomorrow we will see Brother in the morning, but Sunday we won’t get to see him. We will get to pick Brother up next Friday!

Day 3 of 10

Today was an afternoon visit so we slept in late and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Afterwards we did some computer work and then went for a short walk, then it was time for our visit. We had a very good visit today. There were two other couples there when we arrived but they left after about 30 minutes. They will be leaving for their home back in the U.S. now so they won’t be there tomorrow. After they left, “Brother” perked up and started to show his bubbly side again.

The high point of my visit was a little cloth that he almost immediately started looking for once he came into our room. That’s what the photo is above. We’re quite certain his caretakers have started explaining to him that he will soon be going for an airplane ride. He kept that cloth either in his hand or within reach almost our whole visit. It was precious. At one point he blew his nose in it - it was quite funny. And, at another point he actually spit on the cloth and was using it to wipe up the table and a mirror in the room. I wonder where he gets that from? Gee, I sure am glad we have to wear our sanitary booties and facemasks.

For some reason “Brother” didn’t like the pants he had on today. On two occasions he had as much of a meltdown as we’ve seen as he fiercely tried to pull off his pants. Patti and I had quite the time getting them back on. One of his caretakers was in the room and used a common method of dealing with this…candy. We’ve heard this is a common way to deal with unruly children in Russia.

We went for a walk in the neighborhood, and saw some dogs sitting out in the sun. We just had to take a picture of them.

Tomorrow we may get an opportunity to take “Brother” out of the orphanage to get his photo for his passport. We’re hopeful for that opportunity.

Wednesday - Day 2 of 10 Day Wait

We are really missing our son T. Last night was really hard for some reason, but today is a better day. We watched The Borne Identity last night, to keep our minds occupied.

This morning we visited Brother. We brought a few different toys to see if they would keep him interested. None of them were that great to him. He seemed really tired today. He was also really distracted because there were 2 other families in the room that arrived just after we did. And there were also lots of other adults in the room making noise. It was frustrating. There were probably 8 other adults in the playroom at one time. We tried to make the most of it though. We brought his shoes to try on, but he didn’t want to, so we didn’t push it. We brought a big See N Say toy, along with a Winnie the Pooh musical toy and a cloth puppet book, but none of them were a big hit.

At one point, I was holding him and he gave me a big kiss! Then he reached over to Matt and did the same! It was pretty cute.

After our visit, we went to a big store, kind of like a Walmart, and looked for some clothes and a stroller for Brother, as well as some water and other basics (like chocolate!). They didn’t have much of a selection of clothing. I’m afraid some of his pants we brought are too big. I will have to bring a few more with us tomorrow afternoon to check the size. The store was out of umbrella strollers, so we went to a baby/kid’s store called Banana Mama, and we got the last umbrella stroller! We also bought some tights and a pair of pants. We looked for sandals, but they didn’t have any there. At the orphanage they always have him in tights and sandals. Since he didn’t like the shoes, we thought maybe we should buy a pair of sandals.

We just had lunch in our room - cheese, bread and some sort of salami or pepperoni. We don’t have any other plans today, but we hope to go for a walk because it’s sunny and quite warm. We’ll post again tomorrow!

Tuesday - Day 1 of 10-Day Wait

Here is our final update for today. We had a nice lunch with the American couple and their two new children. This was at the restaurant called The Horseshoe. Natalia was our waitress, and she speaks a little English. She was really kind and helpful. As we walked back to the hotel, the wind really picked up and it started to sprinkle. They say that spring is here.

Later in the afternoon we went to visit “Brother.” There were also two other American couples their visiting children. I wish we could have had more time to talk to them, but we were really focused on “Brother” at the time. They are with a different agency and we don’t think they are staying at this hotel. “Brother” definitely warmed up to us more today. He smiled and laughed a lot more. He liked it when Matt lifted him up and swung him around like an airplane. Maybe “Brother” will take after “T” and like rough-housing with his Daddy and brother T.

As Matt and I commented to each other at dinner tonight, it seemed like Brother’s starting to think, “Hey, these people are fun. I want to spend more time with them.” As we were leaving the orphanage, “Brother” was just in front of us with his caregiver, and he kept looking back at us and waved. It made me sad, because I want him with us. We can’t wait to spring him out of that joint!

Today is Day 1 of the ten day wait, so we will pick him up next Friday. We brought some pants with us today to see if they were the right size, and I guess he is quite short, so we might have to do some safety pins or something to get the pants to stay up on the bottom. If we go another size smaller, they probably won’t fit around the waist. And he is definitely out of diapers - surprising, but true. They have potty time so scheduled in an orphanage, that he may regress a little with that once we have him with us.

This is a picture of our hotel pillow. It’s definitely oversized and weighs a ton! It’s hard to sleep on and would be a killer in a pillow fight.


This is a picture of Matt’s lunch today at the Horseshoe restaurant. They have some chairs that are actually saddles. We sat on plain benches though. The food there is pretty good but a little expensive so we won’t make a habit of going there.


Tonight for dinner we had hotdogs wrapped in some sort of pastry in our room, along with some cheese and bread. Now I think we are going to watch a DVD and relax. Signing off from Russia!

Tuesday Morning

This is Day 1 of our 10 day wait for "Brother." We get to see him at 3PM today! I think we are also going shopping today.

Today we will be having lunch at a restaurant called "The Horseshoe" with the American couple and their children, and also a new mom from Germany with her little boy that came from the same orphanage. Her husband will be coming later this week I believe, to help with the trip home.

We were saddened to hear that the manager of this hotel who is an American originally from Texas is no longer here. He went on to manage a hotel in Vladivostok, Russia (sp?). We did meet the new manager though, and she was very nice. She is Russian but speaks quite good English. She helped us get a hairdryer for our room.

Maybe we will be able to post more later today after our visit with "Brother."

Our Court Date

We started the day with breakfast at the hotel. This is what Matt's plate looked like (scrambled eggs, hot dog, potatoes, corn with broccoli and pancakes):





At 2PM we went to downtown Astrakhan for our court hearing where there are lots of beautiful old buildings. The building where we had our hearing was painted green. Inside, they were doing some construction, and there was lots of noise and dust. It sounded like they were sanding drywall. The room we were in consisted of 6 or so rows of benches and then the area in front where the judge sat. On one side sat the representative for the Ministry of Education. And on the other side sat the secretary and the prosecutor. They were all women. We had our translator Valla next to us, and on the other side of the room sat Galina, our agency representative.

The hearing lasted about 1 and a half hours, and about one hour of questions were answered by Matt. He did a great job! I (Patti) had about a half hour of questioning, and it wasn’t too stressful, of course I was still a little nervous. The judge was not too harsh, just down to business and formal. At the end, she said, you haven’t changed your mind about this child? Of course we said no! Well, the judge left the room for 5 or ten minutes, and then entered again, where she legally declared us his parents! Hooray!




Now our 10-day wait begins. This is a normal appeal period for any court case, as I understand it. We will be granted custody on day 10, and then we will have our little guy with us, as we wait for his passport an additional 7 days. We can’t post photos until we have custody of him, so unfortunately that will have to wait. We will get to visit him once a day for the next 10 days, excluding Sundays.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us. I know the Lord has heard each and every prayer. This verse really helped me last night, as I was getting anxious for the next day’s events:

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Also, we just got back from visiting with the other American couple from our agency and their two kids. They gave us a bunch of food and other things to help us through the next 17 days. They leave late tomorrow, so we will really miss them. They have been a great support to us. As some of you know, we didn’t have a sharp knife to cut our bread or cheese with, but they gave us theirs. We also didn’t have a hairdryer in our bathroom for some reason, and today our translator talked to the manager and now we have a hairdryer! YAY! Stay tuned as our journey continues!

Sunday Update

This morning we got up, had a breakfast of pancakes, potatoes, scrambled eggs and something like hot dogs in the hotel, and then we headed out to see Brother. We had to wear masks over our mouth and nose, and slippers over our shoes. We were able to spend about an hour and a half with him.

He seemed like he had grown over the past month or so. They had also given him a haircut, which made his thin hair look even thinner. They had him dressed in bright striped knickers and tights with sandals, with a plaid shirt and plaid vest. Of course he was shy again and didn’t want to make eye contact at first. Eventually he remembered us though.

We brought out our backpack filled with toys, and he slowly started to warm up to us again. He did some coloring, and we also had a toy phone that he played with. We also had a teddy bear we had brought from last time, and he would throw it every time we brought it towards him. We also had a small cloth ball that we kicked and threw around. That seemed more appropriate to throw than a teddy bear. Matt got him to laugh and smile quite a bit towards the end. We showed him photos from our last visits with him, but he didn’t seem too interested in it. We had the Magna-Doodle drawing board with us again, and he seemed to really like that as well.

We enjoyed our time with him and we are ready to get court done with tomorrow at 2:30PM (5:30AM Minnesota time). It could be an hour and a half long, or more or less. It depends on the judge and how things go. We'll try to post some pictures of our journey on our next post. Please keep us in your prayers.

Back in Astrakhan!

Hi All,

We arrived safely in Astrakhan today. Our journey went as planned. We flew in when there was just enough light to make out some of the city but not as much as we’d like to have seen. Maybe when we fly out we’ll better be able to see the city from the air. We did see a ton of water surrounding the area. We knew this ahead of time from Google maps but it was impressive to see in person. In the airport we met another adoptive parent who was going a different direction and an American missionary. It was good to be able to pass the time while speaking english to others.

When we arrived at the airport our same translator from last time (Valla) and Galina met us. We were of course glad to see them and vice versa. Our driver then came in with a big smile and shook my (Matt) hand and welcomed us. They drove us to a small grocery store to get some basics and then on to our hotel (The Azimut). We were welcomed in the lobby by another couple from our agency who are almost ready to leave. They and their 2 newly adopted children were holding a “Welcome to Astrakhan” banner. It was really nice! Turns out it was one of their birthdays also so we even got some cake out of the deal. Their kids were adorable and were already starting to bond. Their experiences here will prove very valuable to us I’m sure.
We are in a room just down the hall from our last room. It’s warm and currently bat free (or so it appears). The other couple that’s staying here are on their fifth room. We pray we don’t have that same experience.

Tomorrow we see brother again. We’re very anxious for that to happen of course. Since it’s Sunday the visit may be a little different in that the orphanage may be partially “closed” meaning we may need to visit in the lobby and/or outside. Our court time is 2:30 on Monday. Please be in prayer for that to go exceedingly well! For now it's off to bed.