So....I guess we need another quote to end this post......
"A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn. ~Author Unknown"
Asia/Europe Continental Border
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Paper Updates....
Well its been a few weeks and we are still completing paperwork to finally bring home our boys. The room is getting ready, painted and decorated and the house is being hung with pictures of the boys already. Yes, I am a little presumptuous, but so be it. I can't stop looking at their pictures, can't stop watching their videos and wondering what they are doing now. Aunt Kathlyn is already planning a shower ! Not too much to add to the blog right now other than the paperwork is coming along. My part is very close to being done, waiting for the Home study agency and the Adoption agency to contribute their part. I guess I am just quicker with paperwork...I have a reason to be. So, today is just a quick update. Accountant stuff is together, medicals are moving along. Got a real surprise today when the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) told me they want $100 for each doctor's certification, and we have 8 doctors. WHAT A RACKET this is !! I told the adoption agency so they can alert future APs of this added expense. Monica Gagne from Golden Cradle came over Monday to update our home study and look at hte boys' pictures. She was so happy for us, and she is a great social worker ! What a pleasure to work with.
So....I guess we need another quote to end this post......
So....I guess we need another quote to end this post......
Saturday, March 20, 2010
The Furious Paper Chase for Pasha and Sasha
Well its been a few weeks since we arrived home and I must admit that the paperwork chase is going rather well. I really hate to say that and curse myself, but there...I said it. Appointments are scheduled and things are moving along and pictures of my boys have already been hung up throughout the house.
First we had to tackle the 8 Doctor Medicals....yes, - eight different doctors. I know its silly and here in the US we don't go to Oncologists just for 'check up' , but maybe that's why socialist medicine is so broke ! Then, of course, the Psychiatrist that signs off on your 8 Doctor Medical CANNOT do your adoption evaluation....no he's just an M.D. , they need a Psychologist to do your evaulation that you are ready to adopt. Yes, More silly paperwork. I think that everyone in the USA should go through this before they can get pregnant....it would avoid a lot of unwanted pregnancies !
So we get fingerprinted again, by the Sheriff's Department. Thank God we have an in there because apparently several families told me that the fingerprints were a pain for them to try to get. We did ours electronically and now that they are in the system, we can print them out whenever we have to re-new. Ekat only wants 3 month old fingerprints, so ---yes----every 3 months we have to re-send them to the FBI. The Medicals too....because some people can go crazy in 3 months ---especially doing their paperwork !
Anyway, we trudge through the game they make you play, it empowers the judges and makes them feel like they are doing something better for the children, when in reality we all KNOW that the best thing for these kids is getting them into a home and out of the orphange.
The orphanage is clean and they do care for the children, but they don't get that one on one experience, the education of a family, the love, the food, the learning. It just isn't possible with that many children.
I guess the part that I don't understand is WHY do you pay a HOME STUDY agency over $1700 to do a home study, evaluate your readiness to adopt, look at your finances, check your documents, and inspect your home...if ALL this silly paperwork does the same darn thing. Russia loves redundancy!!! The Phase Two Documents (after referral) are just a repeat of the Phase One Documents (before referral). Even down to the passport copies.....HUH??? What did I change my passport? !! Oh and did I mention that if your name appears different on ANY document, they will make you re do the document. And by different I mean, one might have a middle initial, another doesn't. One might have a space between La and Monaca and another one might not !! Pathetic ! I actually had to contact the Grand Cayman Office of Vital Statistics and have them REDO our marriage certificate so it was EXACTLY like our passports. Luckily they are are much more cooperative then many others and the woman I have dealt with there has been an awesome pleasure ! At least some countries can be.....Must be the British influence.
So, that's the upadte for now, and we are moving along. I will let you know when we finally submit our paperwork for translation and judge review. We can't get a court date until the judge reviews it, inevitably will change some of it and make us redo it, and then possibly give us a court date within 6 months.
So our boys don't know why we left, no one is playing with them, and we sit with our videos and pictures and wait to save them from the fate of so many orphans and bring them to a place where everyone cannot wait to greet them !! Especially Mama and Papa !
First we had to tackle the 8 Doctor Medicals....yes, - eight different doctors. I know its silly and here in the US we don't go to Oncologists just for 'check up' , but maybe that's why socialist medicine is so broke ! Then, of course, the Psychiatrist that signs off on your 8 Doctor Medical CANNOT do your adoption evaluation....no he's just an M.D. , they need a Psychologist to do your evaulation that you are ready to adopt. Yes, More silly paperwork. I think that everyone in the USA should go through this before they can get pregnant....it would avoid a lot of unwanted pregnancies !
So we get fingerprinted again, by the Sheriff's Department. Thank God we have an in there because apparently several families told me that the fingerprints were a pain for them to try to get. We did ours electronically and now that they are in the system, we can print them out whenever we have to re-new. Ekat only wants 3 month old fingerprints, so ---yes----every 3 months we have to re-send them to the FBI. The Medicals too....because some people can go crazy in 3 months ---especially doing their paperwork !
Anyway, we trudge through the game they make you play, it empowers the judges and makes them feel like they are doing something better for the children, when in reality we all KNOW that the best thing for these kids is getting them into a home and out of the orphange.
The orphanage is clean and they do care for the children, but they don't get that one on one experience, the education of a family, the love, the food, the learning. It just isn't possible with that many children.
I guess the part that I don't understand is WHY do you pay a HOME STUDY agency over $1700 to do a home study, evaluate your readiness to adopt, look at your finances, check your documents, and inspect your home...if ALL this silly paperwork does the same darn thing. Russia loves redundancy!!! The Phase Two Documents (after referral) are just a repeat of the Phase One Documents (before referral). Even down to the passport copies.....HUH??? What did I change my passport? !! Oh and did I mention that if your name appears different on ANY document, they will make you re do the document. And by different I mean, one might have a middle initial, another doesn't. One might have a space between La and Monaca and another one might not !! Pathetic ! I actually had to contact the Grand Cayman Office of Vital Statistics and have them REDO our marriage certificate so it was EXACTLY like our passports. Luckily they are are much more cooperative then many others and the woman I have dealt with there has been an awesome pleasure ! At least some countries can be.....Must be the British influence.
So, that's the upadte for now, and we are moving along. I will let you know when we finally submit our paperwork for translation and judge review. We can't get a court date until the judge reviews it, inevitably will change some of it and make us redo it, and then possibly give us a court date within 6 months.
So our boys don't know why we left, no one is playing with them, and we sit with our videos and pictures and wait to save them from the fate of so many orphans and bring them to a place where everyone cannot wait to greet them !! Especially Mama and Papa !
From the rocking horse to the rocking chair, Children keep teaching us about being human.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Outside Days at the Orphanage #5
Thank God ! Finally two days to take the boys for a walk in the cool air, albeit bundled up like eskimo puppies. What a great time to bond to them and watch them take in the sights and sounds around them. A car passes and gets Pasha's attention, a dog barks and Sasha wants to look at him and try to figure out what it is. Have no fear Sasha, soon enough you will KNOW what dogs are when Tara and Beau get a hold of you two !
We arrived into their room #1 to pick them up. By now we are known and roam the orphanage ourselves and go get them ourselves from their care takers. We come into their room and their smiles get big and their eyes lighten..WOW, what a rush to see them recognize us and be over joyed to see us. Pasha won't even finish eating because he can't take his eyes off me ! We take them and the care takers allow us to dress them in the 5 layers of clothes to go for a walk outside. Poor kids couldn't move, but we were glad to get them into the fresh air for a bit. We strolled outside the gates into the play ground and sat with them for a while and pointed out all the sights around us. Little kids laughed and played in the snow covered playground and Sasha and Pasha loved to watch them.
Don't think for a second we weren't trying to figure out how to get across the border with these kids while we had a chance....but then reality set in and knew we weren't the criminal type. So we continued to walk around the orphanage outdoors and stroll through the snow with snow tires in these strollers that compete with a small Ford. Turning isn't easy but strolling over the snow piles and through the mud is cake.
So we maximized our time outdoors and exceeded the one hour limit of fresh air they set on boys by about 30 minutes; ok, we aren't criminals but we are rule breakers!
We go inside and peel off the 5 layers of clothing and try to dry the sweat that formed a pool on their backs by now. A cartaker passes and watches us undressing the boys in the lobby area and she motions to us and says something in Russian. Through sign language and smiles we interpreted that she was saying that Sasha has the exact same face as us and truly looks like our child.
Yep, he does and yep, he is our child...soon. The similarities in the looks, the eyes and even the tongue sticking out like Joe does, was almost comical. Could God have picked a better match for us?
So back to the imfamous room to play for the next several hours, where Pasha lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw his binky come out of Joe's backpack. You never thought an infant could scooch his butt that fast to grab something. At 14 months old on the 26th of February, these boys were doing everything the so called experts say they should be doing. They played wonderfully, laughed, smiled, walked assisted, chose toys and ate them accordingly, but the animal crackers and teddy grahams were not a hit..too strange for their tastes right now.
It was a bitter sweet day on Friday because we knew tomorrow would be our last day with the boys for a while. We couldn't explain to them why or where we were going and that just killed us. We would be back and we weren't abandoning them, but there was no way to make them understand that.
So we enjoyed the hand holding, the walking and the laughing as much as we could.
Pasha would love to empty the toy bins onto the floor until he selected just the right toy to bang on the floor or play 'en garde' with mom; and Sasha would hold on shakily with one hand on the bin and the other searching for Joe or my leg for reassurance and wait for his brother to toss him a toy as well. They want to walk and they loved to move around with the one on one attention they got all week from us.
Joe was just a treasure to watch with the boys, you could see he was definetely a proud Papa; His face glowed like a pregnant woman.
Pasha loved to swing and play 'weeee' and you pretended you were dropping him backwards. His laugh filled the room and soon Sasha knew that it was safe as well to play this game, although he preferred swinging in circles until Mama got dizzy.
Sasha game of choice was walking with Papa and bending only to grab and drop the occasional toy to put in his mouth with a free hand. He would play the tree of music that Jeni and Jason had left in the toy room and he loved the tiger and the lion that were attached to it.
So we ended another few days at the orphange and tomorrow will be our last before we begin the ridiculous paper chase the judge in Ekat makes you do and probably redo. There is no sense to it and it doesn't help to try to make any. We are just two of thousands that have travelled this road before us for the prize at the end of it. Several people have told us that these boys are so luck to have us, but we have to set the record straight....we are the blessed and lucky ones, without doubt.
Don't think for a second we weren't trying to figure out how to get across the border with these kids while we had a chance....but then reality set in and knew we weren't the criminal type. So we continued to walk around the orphanage outdoors and stroll through the snow with snow tires in these strollers that compete with a small Ford. Turning isn't easy but strolling over the snow piles and through the mud is cake.
We go inside and peel off the 5 layers of clothing and try to dry the sweat that formed a pool on their backs by now. A cartaker passes and watches us undressing the boys in the lobby area and she motions to us and says something in Russian. Through sign language and smiles we interpreted that she was saying that Sasha has the exact same face as us and truly looks like our child.
Yep, he does and yep, he is our child...soon. The similarities in the looks, the eyes and even the tongue sticking out like Joe does, was almost comical. Could God have picked a better match for us?
It was a bitter sweet day on Friday because we knew tomorrow would be our last day with the boys for a while. We couldn't explain to them why or where we were going and that just killed us. We would be back and we weren't abandoning them, but there was no way to make them understand that.
So we enjoyed the hand holding, the walking and the laughing as much as we could.
Joe was just a treasure to watch with the boys, you could see he was definetely a proud Papa; His face glowed like a pregnant woman.
Sasha game of choice was walking with Papa and bending only to grab and drop the occasional toy to put in his mouth with a free hand. He would play the tree of music that Jeni and Jason had left in the toy room and he loved the tiger and the lion that were attached to it.
So we ended another few days at the orphange and tomorrow will be our last before we begin the ridiculous paper chase the judge in Ekat makes you do and probably redo. There is no sense to it and it doesn't help to try to make any. We are just two of thousands that have travelled this road before us for the prize at the end of it. Several people have told us that these boys are so luck to have us, but we have to set the record straight....we are the blessed and lucky ones, without doubt.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
More Pics and Scenes...
Daddy even has the little couch potato Jack up and walking around.
Jack loves to be rocked like he is falling...He cracks up !!
Noah Alexander looks like a chef in his nightcap....getting ready to work at the restaurant big guy?? NOT !! 
The boys were even better today. By about the third hour of playing though, you could see they were getting tired. That's to be expected. This is more stimulation then they get in a week ! They love to look out the windows and point at the birds. These two are gonna give beau and tara a run for their money. Noah Alexander is ready to run, not just walk. He loves to get up and walk around but he looks for your hand or your leg at all times to comfort his anxiety. One quick fall and he cried in Daddy's arms for a few minutes and then he was off again.
Jack Pavel has his mommy, his ducky hat and his binky...who could ask for anything more !
The boys were even better today. By about the third hour of playing though, you could see they were getting tired. That's to be expected. This is more stimulation then they get in a week ! They love to look out the windows and point at the birds. These two are gonna give beau and tara a run for their money. Noah Alexander is ready to run, not just walk. He loves to get up and walk around but he looks for your hand or your leg at all times to comfort his anxiety. One quick fall and he cried in Daddy's arms for a few minutes and then he was off again.
Jack Pavel loves to be hugged, rock and swing. He's the roller coaster man, that we can see already. They both love music and of course, they love to put things in their mouth. The binky's were a life saver and Jack loves his. He two fists them both ! Jack will walk for a few minutes but then he gets back and starts crawling. He figures, I can do it this way faster mama and off he goes !
They are making general cooing sounds and Noah even does a Nunzio clear your throat sound..scary. I think they need some good loving and grandma food !!
Days Two and Three at the orphanage
Days two and three now become routine for the boys and us. They recognize us when they are brought into the playroom and they are opening up more and more with each passing hour. Alexander (Noah) is definetely the walker of the pair. He loves to move and move ! Pavel (Jack) is the lap potato. he loves to be held and swung and rocked and his laughs are becoming bigger and bigger. They tried animal crackers for the first time...the jury is still out on that one. We will need grandmom to work on some meals that they will love and eat up for sure ! They like to take toys from each other, especially Pavel from Alexander and the binky is a HUGE hit with Pavel !! The Ipod with the 150 kids songs was a great idea. It adds background music and the kids like it alot.
On Thursday we are going to be allowed to take the boys for a walk outside for about an hour. The weather has warmed to about 38 degrees during the day and it is beautiful, crisp, clear walking weather. The snow is melting into a slushy mud that stains your pants, but now you match all the other Russians with their mud splashed pants !
The playroom is ungodly HOT.....like hotflash hot ! We sneak a window open every now and then and hope they don't catch us ! They love their heat in these buildings.
The little old man at the front door snuck us up early into the playroom when we arrived at the orphange. He snuck out his key and let us into the playroom until the boys arrived. What a sweet heart !!
The boys are really adjusting well and it kills us that we have to leave them for several months to start the ominous paperwork chase. We got our list from Olga last night...doesn't look to bad...or do I speak too soon ?!!
The Sharing and understanding by families...
Jeni , Jason, Thomas in his new clothes with Joe and I and the twins !! Yeah Thomas !! Freedom !
Beth and her soon to be son Jake. Beth had court on Wednesday to officially adopt Jake. Everything went well after an exhausting day at the court and in two weeks, Jake officially goes home with her !! Yeah Beth !!!
Jeni and her son Thomas. Jeni and Jason were here from Minnesota picking up their 4th child, Thomas. He was overwhelmed by all the new things in a hotel and all the people, but we now how much love and care Jeni and Jason and their other kids will give. Yeah Jeni and Jason !!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Monday March 1st in Ekaterinburg
We woke Monday morning feeling much more refreshed and relaxed and made our way down to the American breakfast the hotel offered all its travellers. Lidia picked us up at 930am as promised and took us to the Ministry of Education, where we received our official referral of the twin boys, Pavel and Alexander. We signed and accepted our referral and made our way to the orphange #5, in the city, and a short drive from the hotel . Dr. Oleg Togayev, Chief Pediatrician of the Medical institute in Moscow and our independently hired Doctor, was already waiting for us at the orphange and reviewing the children's extensive medical files.
We entered a snow covered yard and a up the steps to the hall of the orphange. We were give blue hospital booties to cover our shoes from the outside dirt and made our way to the second floor playroom where Dr. Oleg was waiting for us and where we sat for a few minutes before they brought our boys to us.
That initial moment when the care givers walked into the room with these two tiny little boys, our hearts stopped. They placed them on the carpeting and we approached them slowly and knelt to say hello. They looked scared, confused and overwhelmed by the people and the atmosphere of the room. This was all new to the 14 month old twins and new to us as well.
We brought out some of the toys, including a musical dog that quickly became the hit of the playroom.
Our American friend Jeni was in the room with their son Thomas, and we said hi and shared some toys between the kids. It quickly became clear who of the twins was the socialite, laugh a minute, ants in the pants, boy...Alexander (Noah). He warmed to us immediately and laughed and giggled as you tickled his belly that hung out from the shirt that was clearly too short for him. Pavel (Jack) was going to be more work, and he studied us and made us "prove" ourselves to him. I found out that I could win him over and get a smile by tickling his toes !!
But he still cautiously smiled and studied us like we were lab mice. Dr. Oleg did an exstensive exam on each of the boys after consulting with the orphange doctor about their Medical Files. he Said he was VERY IMPRESSED on how thick and extensive the medical files were and he had never seen that in an orphange. This news put us at ease. Dr. Oleg did cognitive, physical, and sensory exams on both the boys, and we did our own studying, photo taking and video at the same time.
Pavel (Jack) was interested in the puzzle I brought and amazed me by trying to imitate me and put the pieces back together. Pretty advanced for a 14 month old...then of course, in infant fashion, he put the puzzle in his mouth.
Both boys could walk assisted while holding your hand, could stand for a few minutes on their own, followed toys, resonded to their nicknames (Sasha and Pasha) and looked for dropped objects. They laughed, smiled and played like typical 14 month old boys.
After several hours (about 3) Dr Oleg formed his evaluation and gave us our much needed news about the boys and our pending adoption.
In summation....The only thing these boys need is loving parents, a good home and care and interaction. There is no more risk with these twins then with any adopted child. There was absolutely NO sign or indication of FAS (which was a relief) and their bio mom actually received pre natal care at about 27 weeks. Rare for Russia and made Dr. Oleg very surprised and happy.
Dr. Oleg's eval was what we needed to hear, as we had already fallen in love with the boys.
Of course they were a bit underweight, nothing that a few months with grandmom wouldn't fix and they will need the standard months of adjustment from institutional life to home life, but we knew that they would thrive outside the orphange.
although the care and medical at this orphange is the best in Russia, institutional life is still not for any child. The unfortunate part is that this region of Ekaterinburg takes about 6-8 months to complete adoptions, so that's a long time for us to be apart from our boys both emotionally and developmentally.
We left Day One on cloud nine knowing that we have just passed the next hill of adoption and officially announced that we were adopting Pavel and Alexander as our sons ! 3/1/10, mark the date...it will be just one of many miraculous ones to come. !
We entered a snow covered yard and a up the steps to the hall of the orphange. We were give blue hospital booties to cover our shoes from the outside dirt and made our way to the second floor playroom where Dr. Oleg was waiting for us and where we sat for a few minutes before they brought our boys to us.
That initial moment when the care givers walked into the room with these two tiny little boys, our hearts stopped. They placed them on the carpeting and we approached them slowly and knelt to say hello. They looked scared, confused and overwhelmed by the people and the atmosphere of the room. This was all new to the 14 month old twins and new to us as well.
We brought out some of the toys, including a musical dog that quickly became the hit of the playroom.
Our American friend Jeni was in the room with their son Thomas, and we said hi and shared some toys between the kids. It quickly became clear who of the twins was the socialite, laugh a minute, ants in the pants, boy...Alexander (Noah). He warmed to us immediately and laughed and giggled as you tickled his belly that hung out from the shirt that was clearly too short for him. Pavel (Jack) was going to be more work, and he studied us and made us "prove" ourselves to him. I found out that I could win him over and get a smile by tickling his toes !!
But he still cautiously smiled and studied us like we were lab mice. Dr. Oleg did an exstensive exam on each of the boys after consulting with the orphange doctor about their Medical Files. he Said he was VERY IMPRESSED on how thick and extensive the medical files were and he had never seen that in an orphange. This news put us at ease. Dr. Oleg did cognitive, physical, and sensory exams on both the boys, and we did our own studying, photo taking and video at the same time.
Pavel (Jack) was interested in the puzzle I brought and amazed me by trying to imitate me and put the pieces back together. Pretty advanced for a 14 month old...then of course, in infant fashion, he put the puzzle in his mouth.
Both boys could walk assisted while holding your hand, could stand for a few minutes on their own, followed toys, resonded to their nicknames (Sasha and Pasha) and looked for dropped objects. They laughed, smiled and played like typical 14 month old boys.
After several hours (about 3) Dr Oleg formed his evaluation and gave us our much needed news about the boys and our pending adoption.
In summation....The only thing these boys need is loving parents, a good home and care and interaction. There is no more risk with these twins then with any adopted child. There was absolutely NO sign or indication of FAS (which was a relief) and their bio mom actually received pre natal care at about 27 weeks. Rare for Russia and made Dr. Oleg very surprised and happy.
Dr. Oleg's eval was what we needed to hear, as we had already fallen in love with the boys.
Of course they were a bit underweight, nothing that a few months with grandmom wouldn't fix and they will need the standard months of adjustment from institutional life to home life, but we knew that they would thrive outside the orphange.
although the care and medical at this orphange is the best in Russia, institutional life is still not for any child. The unfortunate part is that this region of Ekaterinburg takes about 6-8 months to complete adoptions, so that's a long time for us to be apart from our boys both emotionally and developmentally.
We left Day One on cloud nine knowing that we have just passed the next hill of adoption and officially announced that we were adopting Pavel and Alexander as our sons ! 3/1/10, mark the date...it will be just one of many miraculous ones to come. !
Travel to Russia...Feb 26, 2010...FINALLY !
We left the Philadelphia airport at 610pm on Friday with no problems. We were anxious, ready and excited all in one. An uneventful flight on Lufthansa with plenty of room to stretch out as the flight wasn't full. Joe of course moved over one seat so we could sleep comfortably and managed to get the one drunk on the plane behind him that repeatedly grabbed at his head in his sleep and argued with himself. Too funny ! Leave it to Joe.
First notable difference between American and foreign carriers...more legroom, they feed you twice, and wine and beer is free ! A definite plus to travelling Lufthansa, besides being able to leave from PHL.
We arrived in Frankfurt on time with no issues at 8:30am and had lots of hours to kill before our 10pm flight to Ekaterinburg. A bus (yes , I said bus) took us to the terminal from our flight and from there we asked a Lufthansa rep where to go to explore the city a bit. After a few more directions ( No problems, as everyone spoke English) we found a baggage check to leave our carryons and proceeded to the local train into town to Haptendof Station. (that isn't how its spelled but its how we pronounced it !) We quickly found a on/off sightseeing tour bus and proceeded to explore Frankfurt for a while. Neat city, very industrial, not too cold, and busy. After about 4 hours of exploration in Frankfurt we hit the let lag and sleepy wall !! We couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. We found the train back to the airport and got a small bite to eat (no choices other than Bratwurst, even at McDonald's) and then found a small terminal on the basement floor of the airport that reminded us of Tom Hanks' movie. We took our stolen airplane blankets and each took a bench and tried to re-charge our batteries. Apparently, some other passengers followed our lead and this area quickly became the sleeping center in FRA airport.
Finally at 1010pm we boarded the bus to take us to our plane to Russia. A modern and comfortable 747 where they again, feed you and give you free beer, wine and soda. We were the ONLY Americans on the flight, but I sat next to a nice girl that we chatted with and Joe was beside a Mother and Son who were amazed that we were from AMERICA ! A quite flight for 5 hours to Ekat from Frankfurt and we slept a few more hours before we arrived in Ekaterinburg at 7am local time. 10 hours ahead of the East Coast.
The airport was quiet, spotlessly clean and stark white, and mostly glass. yes, I almost walked into a glass wall...go figure! We proceeded to passport control and presented our visas without question and as promised Lidia and Yuri were waiting for us after customs with the DI EDUARDO sign clearly written.
Into the Lada (the Ford of Russia) we went and off to a quick and easy ride to the Park Inn.
We noticed that Ekat had trees like Georigia Pines and the snow was packed tightly like a blacktop, so cars could easily drive and manuever on it without issue.
Knowing we were exhausted, Lidia and Yuri said goodbye and promised to pick us up at 9:30am for our first trip to the orphange. We welcomed the room and the bed and napped for several hours before meeting our American friends in the lobby at about 700pm.
Jeni and Jason are here from Minnesota adopting their 4th child, and you could not ask for better people or better resources. They know the ropes and they are gladly sharing them with all us PAPs ! A few hours later Beth Hurley, from Boston, also joined us. She was here for her court date on Wednesday. We laughed and shared stories and marvelled at how we were all at the three different stages of Russian adoption and knowing and empathizing with the road that preceeded the one we were all on.
Off to bed for a long and rewarding Day One on Monday March 1st !
First notable difference between American and foreign carriers...more legroom, they feed you twice, and wine and beer is free ! A definite plus to travelling Lufthansa, besides being able to leave from PHL.
We arrived in Frankfurt on time with no issues at 8:30am and had lots of hours to kill before our 10pm flight to Ekaterinburg. A bus (yes , I said bus) took us to the terminal from our flight and from there we asked a Lufthansa rep where to go to explore the city a bit. After a few more directions ( No problems, as everyone spoke English) we found a baggage check to leave our carryons and proceeded to the local train into town to Haptendof Station. (that isn't how its spelled but its how we pronounced it !) We quickly found a on/off sightseeing tour bus and proceeded to explore Frankfurt for a while. Neat city, very industrial, not too cold, and busy. After about 4 hours of exploration in Frankfurt we hit the let lag and sleepy wall !! We couldn't keep our eyes open anymore. We found the train back to the airport and got a small bite to eat (no choices other than Bratwurst, even at McDonald's) and then found a small terminal on the basement floor of the airport that reminded us of Tom Hanks' movie. We took our stolen airplane blankets and each took a bench and tried to re-charge our batteries. Apparently, some other passengers followed our lead and this area quickly became the sleeping center in FRA airport.
Finally at 1010pm we boarded the bus to take us to our plane to Russia. A modern and comfortable 747 where they again, feed you and give you free beer, wine and soda. We were the ONLY Americans on the flight, but I sat next to a nice girl that we chatted with and Joe was beside a Mother and Son who were amazed that we were from AMERICA ! A quite flight for 5 hours to Ekat from Frankfurt and we slept a few more hours before we arrived in Ekaterinburg at 7am local time. 10 hours ahead of the East Coast.
The airport was quiet, spotlessly clean and stark white, and mostly glass. yes, I almost walked into a glass wall...go figure! We proceeded to passport control and presented our visas without question and as promised Lidia and Yuri were waiting for us after customs with the DI EDUARDO sign clearly written.
Into the Lada (the Ford of Russia) we went and off to a quick and easy ride to the Park Inn.
We noticed that Ekat had trees like Georigia Pines and the snow was packed tightly like a blacktop, so cars could easily drive and manuever on it without issue.
Knowing we were exhausted, Lidia and Yuri said goodbye and promised to pick us up at 9:30am for our first trip to the orphange. We welcomed the room and the bed and napped for several hours before meeting our American friends in the lobby at about 700pm.
Jeni and Jason are here from Minnesota adopting their 4th child, and you could not ask for better people or better resources. They know the ropes and they are gladly sharing them with all us PAPs ! A few hours later Beth Hurley, from Boston, also joined us. She was here for her court date on Wednesday. We laughed and shared stories and marvelled at how we were all at the three different stages of Russian adoption and knowing and empathizing with the road that preceeded the one we were all on.
Off to bed for a long and rewarding Day One on Monday March 1st !
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