Hi everyone. Sorry we have not updated the site sooner, but things have been a little busy. Thank you for checking back. Well where do we start; I guess with the details of our last trip.
As you all know we departed St. Louis on Thursday Dec 12th for Moscow. The flight to NY was busy, but non-eventful. Our flight arrived at the LaGuardia airport in New York, but our Moscow flight was departing from the John F Kennedy (JFK) airport. That meant we had to change Airports, luggage and all. Traveling for a party of "4", and 2 of the party being infants we had a number of suitcases. The airport change really was not a problem, we walked out of LaGuardia and right into Spring like temperatures about 60 degrees. We waited for a taxi and headed for JFK. The taxi was nice, it gave us a chance to see a little piece of NY. This may seam like a crazy thing to do, but this was the only way we could arrive in NY with enough time to spare before our flight to Moscow. We timed our flights to close together on our first trip and we ended up missing our flight (huge hassle). Once we boarded our flight to Moscow we settled in and tried to get some sleep. I don’t know who we were trying to "kid" there would be no sleeping not when your on your way to pick up 2 of God’s most precious gifts.
We arrived at Moscow Friday afternoon December 13th and met up with our interpreter. The drive through Moscow to our hotel was so beautiful with the snow and decorations for Christmas. We arrived at our hotel and completed some paperwork that we would later need at the US Embassy. Jeff and I decided to take a nap and have dinner later in the evening.
Later that evening Jeff and I walked a few blocks to TGI Friday’s for dinner. Yes, it’s hard to believe you would find a TGI Friday’s in the middle of Moscow. The nighttime air in Moscow is just a little cold, but we were both dressed for the weather. If you ever plan to travel to Moscow in the winter make sure you bring very warm clothing. I would suggest layers and boots because the streets are messy from all the melting snow. After dinner Jeff and I walked around the area outside the hotel looking at all the Christmas lights, the city was absolutely beautiful. The next day we spent sleeping until 1:30 in the afternoon, a much-needed rest. We planned to meet up with our interpreter around 3:00 that afternoon. Jeff and I cleaned up and went down to the hotel lobby to wait for her. The hotel had a few very nice restaurants and a nice lounge where we spent many hours enjoying nice warm cups of tea. I don’t know what it is, but when I am home I want nothing except coffee, but in Russia the tea is very appealing. We headed out around 3:00pm and walked around Moscow. It was so relaxing to do a little shopping. That night Jenya took us to a very nice restaurant where we had authentic Russia cuisine. This was something we asked Jenya to do for us. We really wanted to experience Russia and how better to do that than by sampling the food. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed the remainder of the evening. Sunday morning Jeff and I had breakfast at the hotel and packed for our evening train ride. We arranged for a late check out with the hotel, that was around 3:00 in the afternoon. Since we were returning to the hotel on Tuesday we asked the hotel to hold our luggage and souvenirs that we would not need in Nizrthy. The hotel did this with no extra charge. We met up again with Jenya and had a late dinner at a local establishment and came back to the hotel to wait for our departure to the train station. We sat around the lobby of the hotel had some tea and play cards, it was nice. It gave Jeff and I some time to talk and dream about our future. Leanna and the driver arrived around 9:15 P.M. and we all left for the train station.
We settled in our train cabin and had a snack that was prepared for us and tried to get some sleep. We knew that Monday was going to be a big day both physically and emotionally.
We arrived in Nizthy at 5:45 am. If I could say one thing about the rail system the departure and arrival times are exact we did not experience any variation. Once in Nizthy, Dimity picked us up and took us to the hotel. We showered and reviewed our court questions and tried to relax. We both didn’t really know what we were feeling, happy, scared, nervous, and anxious. It was just the weirdest thing to have all these emotions inside you at one time. We both got it together and went downstairs to the café to have breakfast. Around 9:00 a.m. Dimity picked us up and we headed for court. Once in the courthouse we were directed to the room where court would be held and within 15 minutes of our arrival court had begun. We supplied Dimity with a picture book we put together for the Judge to see. The pictures consisted of our house, the children’s room, family, friends and our neighborhood. We did not go over board with this book we really tried to keep it simple, the Judge really seemed to enjoy the pictures and the future the children would be having.
Court – where do I begin. What an overwhelming experience. For anyone who finds himself or herself in this position I will tell you just relax everything will be fine. Jeff offered to talk first at court, and how relieved I was for that. We decided to answer the questions that the Judge wanted to know as a story. The questions that are asked really make telling the story easy. Don’t worry about not staying in order of the questions, as long as you include it somewhere. If you happen to miss a question the Judge will ask you later. The Judge we had was a lady and she seemed very nice and very caring. Jeff did a great job telling the story, but I had a more difficult time. Both our stories were the same except for our family information. I started the story off great, but my emotion got the best of me and I started crying. I had to pull myself back together, and go on. So what I am saying don’t worry if everything doesn’t go exactly like you want it to, it will all work out fine. Once we finished answering all the questions and telling our story we were asked to wait outside the room for the court ruling. The Judge did not take very long to make her decision so we had the court approval within 10 minutes. It was the HAPPIEST moment of our life. We had waited so long to have children and now here we were parents of 2 beautiful children. The only thing we wanted to do then was go get our babies. We had to wait a little while so Leanna could get all the court documents for the baby homes, so Jeff, Dimity and I went for lunch. We visited a pizzeria in town that was owned by a gentleman from NY what a coincidence. Dimity received a call from Leanna and we were off to get the babies. We picked Ethan up first since he was farther away from the city. We picked him up around 2:00 P.M. They brought him to us and he look so small. He hadn’t changed much since our last visit. We quickly changed his clothes and talked with the doctor before we were on our way. From there we went to pick up Sophie. The ladies brought her to us and she seemed to have gotten a little bigger. Her big blues eyes still glowing. After introducing Sophie to Ethan, her new brother, we changed her and left for the hotel with our kids. We stayed in the hotel getting acquainted with the children until our train left for Moscow.
The Train ride was just a little challenging. Ethan was not feeling very most of the night, so we concluded that he was probably suffering from colic, and probably a little scared. He cried from the time we left the hotel until we arrived back at the hotel in Moscow. Everyone trying to sleep in that train car should request a refund because I don’t know how anyone was able to sleep. The boy has some really strong lungs. Once we arrived at the hotel we cleaned up and prepared for our appointment with the medical examiner. We arrived at the examiner's office with no concerns just a formality. However, to our surprise that’s not what happened. One of the tests for Sophie had to be repeated. The test being repeated meant staying another day in Moscow and having to rearrange all of our flights and hotel. It also meant notifying everyone back home that we would be delayed, not returning home until Thursday. So we left the examiners and headed back to the hotel feeling pretty depressed. Luckily Jeff and I packed for the unexpected. We packed enough food for the babies to last 7 days even though we new we would only need enough for 3 days. It definitely was a load to carry, but I’m glad we had it, because we would have been without. The kids ate considerably more than we originally anticipated and it’s not like here where you can run down the street and shop at the local Grocery Store. There are a lot of conviences that we take for granite in the States that you don’t have in Russia. Jeff and I took the ready mixed formula and the powder mix, along with cereal. We decided to bring both types of formula, because we were not sure if we would always have a chance to purchase water.
Once we returned to the hotel room we settled in and began making our calls. Within a couple hours and a few more dollars we had all of the reservations changed and family had been notified. We played with the babies and enjoyed the rest of the evening. The next day we were scheduled to go to the US Embassy. We arrived at the Embassy around 10:30 a.m. Thanks to Leanna we did not have to wait very long. There is a short line that everyone must go through before entering the Embassy. They have guards who check your bags, it’s like the airport "Security". Once inside there were signs telling you where to go in English. Like I said earlier thanks to Leanna for setting our appointment we walked in told them we had an appointment and we were helped immediately. The waiting room was filled with other parents and lots of babies. We checked over our paperwork and everything was in order so within minutes we were on our way. We went back to the hotel and the maids had cleaned our room and really took care of us. When we left that morning there was 2 nesting dolls on the desk, when we returned Natalia (our maid) had added a boy and girl doll. We thought that was so sweet and thoughtful. Natalia also gave us numerous towels, bottles of water and changed the sheets on both cribs. She really took care of us. That night we packed our bags for home. The next morning we were scheduled meet Leanna and the driver around 9:30 a.m. We were so excited and worried about the trip the next day that Jeff and I didn’t sleep much. I was up taking my shower at 5:00 a.m. and he quickly followed while both babies were sleeping. The children woke around 6:30 we gave them breakfast and called for the bellmen. Carola was nice enough to loan us a couple of baby carriers. Let me tell you don’t leave home without one. With having 2 babies this is the only way we could get around. The babies seemed to really like them. Since we were early we enjoyed walking around the hotel with the babies that morning waiting for Leanna. The hotel was surprising; everywhere you looked there was another couple with a baby or 2. It was really nice talking to everyone about their experience. Let me say this, we were lucky to have everyone at Future working for us. Many Many other people we talked to had to do several things on their own or drive many miles instead of taking the train.
Jeff and I had a relaxing cup of tea while the babies slept in the baby carriers. We figured that would be the last relaxing moment we would have until we reached home, and we were right.
We arrived at the airport in time to pick up our tickets and get through passport control with no issues. Once at the gate we decided to feed the babies and Jeff went to get us something to snack on. The folks at Delta could not have been more accommodating. They set it up so Jeff and I both had an empty seat next to us for the babies and their stuff. They even came and picked up Sophie and walked around the plane with her, what a relief for Mom. The babies both did really well on the flights. Ethan slept much more than Sophie, but I think that was because of his age. He is still sleeping more than she is. Sophie didn’t cry, but she was restless and tired of being held. We think all in all the kids did great. Once we landed in NY our babies became US Citizens and that was a weird feeling. Jeff and I walked off the plan and the first thing we said was; Welcome to the USA, your new home baby Sophie and baby Ethan, and gave them a big kiss. Getting through customs in NY is no problem, just have you paperwork handy and they pretty much take care of the rest. By the time we departed for St. Louis we had been up for about 24 hours and it was about 2:30 a.m. Friday morning for the babies even though our watch said Thursday evening 6:30 p.m. There was a very nice lady on the flight from New York that sat next to Jeff. She helped him with Ethan. She was a grandmother herself. She showed Jeff a different position to hold Ethan that he really liked. Sophie finally took a much needed nap.
We were feeling very fatigued and sleeping walking off of the plane when we arrived at Lambert. We had been awake for over 30 hours. But knowing we were almost home gave us the strength we needed. We have to say. …Walking out of the concourse and seeing our cheering family and friends waiting there to greet us was one of the best feelings we have ever had!! J
It was so wonderful to see everyone, and know we were now home… Sophie and Ethan got to meet a lot of new family and friends that night.
Jeff’s parents and sister were waiting to greet us at home, it was wonderful to see them. They stayed a few nights to help with our new "family" while we caught up on our rest.
It was a wonderful experience. Thankfully everything worked seamlessly with Future. Family and friends were so very supportive; it is something we will remember a lifetime…
Please check back soon for new information.
This page was last updated on December 16, 2003