Home for now & Pictures

We have been home for a week and missing our boys!  Today we went and had pictures printed (203 of them!) to put in a book to show.  I will post some pictures here as well. 

We arrived in Houston last Sunday (10th) about an hour early which was nice.  We got home around 3:00 and met up with Chris' Mom and StepDad for dinner before going to bed (around 8:30).  We both were really glad to sleep in our own bed!  The beds at the hotels were rather hard and not very comfortable (we are spoiled) and Rachael had a hard time with the feather pillows (she will be taking her own pillow on the next trip).

Chris had the week off from both jobs and spent the time resting.  Rachael took off Monday (was a staff development day) but went back to work on Tuesday. 

Here are some pictures we took during the trip (unfortunately we can't post any of the boys):


Chris in the Novatel Hotel in Moscow the first night

 

The restaurant we ate in at the hotel.  Chris had the Meat Lasagna and Rachael had the Chicken Kiev.



Closeup of the sign.....



Chris in the Pur Novolok Hotel in Arkangelsk (we stayed in the same room both nights: Tuesday & Friday)



The Pur Novolok Hotel in Arkangelsk



Rachael with our Assorted Meat Pizza at Uno Momento in Arkangelsk (really good pizza!)



Chris on the small twin engine turbo prop plane on the way to Kotlas
(our pilots were students in training with the instructor in one of the front seats)

 

View from Rachael's seat in the third row on the plane to Kotlas.

 



The entrance to the Cafeteria in the hotel in Kotlas with the hours posted.




Rachael snuggling with the boys' blankets in the sitting area of our hotel room in Kotlas.



Flying over Kotlas on the way home.

 



Rachael relaxing in the hotel room in Moscow the night before flying home.



We will post pictures of the orphanage later.

Thank you for your prayers and support.  Please continue to pray for our children.  Right now we are back in the 'Paper work and Waiting' stage.



A Tale of Two Boys...

This is a tale of two boys that needed a good home with loving parents.

These two boys are currently living in an orphanage in the town of Kotlas, in the region of Arkangelsk in the Russian Federation.  These two boys are ages 2 & 4 and are brothers.  The home that they are living in only keeps children through the age of 3, so one of them would need to be placed elsewhere; unless they could find a home together.

At the same time, a couple in the city of Richmond, in the state of Texas in the United States of America Some wonderful people at an agency found out about the two boys in Russia and told this couple in Texas about them.  The couple were very excited!  Could these two boys be the ones they were looking for?  Could these two boys be the children they wanted to add to their family?  Maybe.  The only way to know was to go visit the children and see for themselves.

So the couple worked hard and made arrangements to travel halfway around the world just to meet two little boys that didn't have parents or a home.  They took time off work and left their dog in a kennel and got on a plane to Russia.

That plane dropped them off in Moscow where they found a hotel to spend the night and took a smaller plane the next day.  In that city they found a hotel to spend the night and took a much smaller plane the next day to the town where the boys live (Kotlas).  Thankfully they met another couple at the hotel that were also traveling to Kotlas to meet children that needed a new home.  Both couples were excited to be able to meet these children that may be theirs one day!

The day finally arrived.  They were going to meet the boys they had heard about.  Sitting in the office/waiting room seemed to take forever.  The voices of children could be heard, are they ours?  Could those voices be the ones of our boys?  A cute little face peeked around the corner.  Yes, it was the younger one!  So unsure, so confused, so sweet.  They were brought in and introduced (but an introduction wasn't really necessary for the couple as they recognized the faces from pictures).  They all seemed nervous.  The children were seated on the carpet and some toys were brought out for them to play with.  Then everyone else left.  The couple and the two boys were left alone.  Now what?  How do people talk when they don't speak the same language? 

Toys are a great icebreaker.  After a few minutes they all seemed to relax.  The little one liked the crayons and coloring books that the couple brought with them.  The older one liked the stickers and kept asking for help in getting them off the page.  Too soon the time passed.  It was lunch time for the two boys and the couple had to leave, but they would be back that afternoon.

That afternoon,  the two boys were taken by Mama & Daddy  (the couple) to the gym area to play.  Boy, did they play!  Daddy worked up a sweat and Mama wasn't far behind!  David (the older one) loves to run around and he kept everyone going.  He really liked throwing the balls and trying to catch them when Daddy threw them at him.  Michael (the younger one) liked exploring on his own.  Occasionally he would interact with the rest, but he enjoyed spending time by himself.  They both laughed and enjoyed the time with Mama & Daddy.

All too soon, the time was up and the boys needed to go (they had a schedule to follow).  Mama & Daddy were sad to say goodbye, but David refused to say goodbye.  Before they left, Mama & Daddy gave the boys the blankets Mama made for them.  They both liked the blankets and carried them as they left.

The next day, Mama & Daddy found out that the boys had been asking when we were coming back; they wanted to see them!  Everyone got to play in the gym again.  They brought their blankets with them when they got to spend time with Mama & Daddy.  Daddy didn't know it at the time, but David kept saying "DaDa............" when he wanted Daddy to do something (like try and fit inside a tube thing so David could roll him around).  He didn't call Mama by name, but that was okay with Mama.  He called Daddy by name and that was fantastic!  This play time was also time for measurements & foot drawings so that Mama & Daddy can start getting clothes & shoes for them for when they get home.  Everyone worked up a sweat again, especially all three boys!  Mama spent time talking with a doctor about their schedules, foods, etc.  This time when it was time to leave, the boys got to show Mama & Daddy their 'groupa' (the rooms they live in with the other children).  It was great for Mama & Daddy to see how nice it all was.  They each have their own bed, the playroom areas, the dining tables they sit at for meals, the bathroom & kitchen area.  A really nice situation for being in an orphanage.  It was obvious to Mama & Daddy that they are well taken care of and loved.   

David refused to say goodbye again, but that is okay for the couple as it isn't really goodbye, but see you again soon......

On the way home....

We are sitting in the lobby of the Pur Navalok Hotel in Archangelsk waiting for our ride to the airport to begin the journey home.  It is currently 11:55 am on Saturday, October 9.  Today we will fly to Moscow, spend the night and fly out on Sunday morning (10:30 am) to Houston (arriving at 2:00 pm; same day).  We are looking forward to sleeping in our own bed!

Our last post was in the same hotel before flying to Kotlas to meet our boys.  The airport we flew out of was a bit smaller than the one we arrived at here in Archangelsk.  The only issue Rachael had with the airport was the bathroom facility.  It was at the bottom of the flight of stairs, was labeled for women, had a sink and 3 stalls (with doors but no locks) and contained running water and toilet paper.  The issue was the fact that the 'seat' was on the floor (okay, it was a toilet shaped basin imbeded into the concrete floor) and you had 2 choices: to squat or to squat.  Apparently she still has fairly good 'aim' but isn't quite as flexible as she once was.  At least it had toilet paper.....

Chris fared a bit better in the men's room.....

The plane we flew on could hold 19 passengers & 2 in the cockpit.  It was an older model with 'storage space' for the luggage in the back section.  We knew our luggage would get on the plane, because we loaded it ourselves.  No beverage service, not even a steward or stewardess (no room on the plane for them!).  If you were thristy, you had to bring it yourself.  The flight was rather smooth for the hour and a half it took to get to Kotlas.  Our ears kept popping because of the pressure in the cabin, but it was okay.  I will post a picture of the view from my seat later.

Once we landed in Kotlas, things started moving quickly.  We met Dimitri at the hotel before we left Archangelsk, as well as another couple adopting from the same orphanage in Kotlas.  it has been great to have another couple to walk through this process with.  They are from Michigan and are adopting a sibling group of 2 as well (boy & girl).  We met Anya (our translator for our stay in Kotlas) and our driver at the airport.  They took us to the hotel to settle in.  Our room was rather nice (and newer) than some of the others in the hotel.  We had a 'suite' that consisted of a sitting room, bedroom and bathroom.  It was really nice to have the water heater in the bathroom!  I think it got hot enough to boil!  The shower was small (about big enough for one person who didn't turn around or bend over too much).

The 'Cafeteria' was one floor below us (we were on the 3rd floor) and pretty decent.  It was basically a corner area that had doorways, a counter to order from and tables with chairs to sit.  The food was good (once we figured out what to order) but wasn't the portion size we are used to (I think we both have lost a few pounds).  We had pork pieces with potatos the first night and pancakes (we call them crepes) for breakfast the next morning.  Once the girl behind the counter figured out our pointing and broken words, she was very helpful!  Yesterday when we went down for breakfast, they didn't have pancakes.  That was all we knew to order, so she brought out a tray with sliced bread that had cheese & meat slices on it to offer for breakfast.  Was pretty good.  Chai was the beverage of choice for breakfast.  Hot tea is always good when you don't know what else to order.

We were able to spend 3 different times with the children at the orphanage, Thursday morning, Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.  We got to spend about 2 hours each time.  We will tell you about all of that in another blog posting.

We ate lunch in Kotlas at Fortune Cafe both days .  Really good food (when it was cooked all the way through).  Anya joined us both times and we all had a nice time visiting.  Anya is an English teacher and was really excited about using and improving her English skills.  We were really glad to have her help us out.

We flew back to Archangelsk Friday afternoon on the same type of plane that took us to Kotlas (We know it wasn't the same because of the seat covers).  Vladimir met us all at the airport, dropped Chris and I off somewhere to another taxi that brought us to the hotel while he took Heather & Brian to the other airport to catch their flight to St. Petersberg.  We both got some sleep last night (finally!) and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast this morning before packing up and settling in the lobby to wait for our ride to the airport.

We will post about meeting our boys and the time we spent with them later.  We won't be able to post pictures of them until we get them home, so be patient as we will all have to wait!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support.  Please continue to pray as we enter this last phase of paperwork and waiting to bring our boys home.  We have signed papers here to start the official adoption process here, but we still have papers to work on at home (INS approval, FBI clearance, other papers to sign & notarize....)

We're Here...

Chris and I have survived the trip so far!  We arrived in Moscow yesterday afternoon (Monday the 4th) and spent the night before getting up early and flyinging into Archangelsk today.  When we got to the hotel in Moscow, we ate dinner at a Tex-Mex themed restaurant in the hotel (Don Pepe) but didn't get Tex-Mex at all!  Rachael got the Chicken Kiev and Chris had the Meat Lasagne.  Good food, but definately not like home!  At least it was a hot meal. 

We didn't get much sleep on the airplane (seats didn't recline much) but we got to watch lots of movies since we each had our own personal screen & controller!  The food was good and we had enough to eat.  Once we had dinner at the hotel & went back to our room, we both were asleep by 7 pm.  We got up around 6 am to get ready since we needed to catch the shuttle bus to Terminal D (the hotel was at the airport) to check in for our flight to Archangelsk.

The flight to Archangelsk was rather uneventful.  We had Americano style coffee (espresso with water added) at the airport before getting on the plane.  They served breakfast (hot tea, orange juice, cheese & chicken 'sandwich' with a small bag of mixed nuts & dried fruit).  Pretty good.

Tomorrow we get to meet our translator (the person going with us to the orphanage in Kotlas) when he picks us up at the hotel here in Archangelsk at noon.  We have a booking for the flight in & out of Kotlas and we will pay for that at the airport (in Roubles) tomorrow morning.  The airport in Archangelsk isn't very big.  We got off the plane, walked down the stairs to the tarmac, got on a 'shuttle' to take us about 100 yards to the drop off point (basically the open gate area) that you walked through and you were in a 'courtyard' area that was next to the street.  We waited for a bit before they opened up the door to the 'baggage area'.  It is a one room building that has a moveable belt for the luggage to go around.  They drive the baggage cart up to a door at the end, open the door & slide the luggage onto the belt.  When they finish unloading the baggage, they close the door & turn off the belt.  Very efficient!

The driver brought us to the hotel & dropped us off.  Thankfully we had a reservation in our name!  We weren't really sure what to expect.  While we were waiting to check in, we met a really nice couple from Detroit that were checking out.  They met a little girl yesterday that they are considering to adopt and were on their way home.  They mentioned an Italian restaurant close by that we are going to check out tonight.

Well, so far that is a brief update of our travels.  We have paid for an hour of wireless internet time and it is about halfway done, so we will update more later, when we can.  We don't expect internet service to be available in Kotlas, so we may not post anymore until Friday.

Thank you for your prayers and support!  We fly to Kotlas tomorrow and spend time with the boys on the 7th & 8th before starting our expedition home.