Day 27

Our last day has arrived. Tomorrow our boys will officially become American citizens. The minute their little feet hit US soil, they will be citizens of the United States of America. Tomorrow is a day that we have waited on for quite sometime. We have been very blessed by our time here in Russia. There are many lessons and memories that I will caarry with me for the rest of my life. As much as we have enjoyed our experience here that are several things that I can't wait to get home to:

- Our families who mean the world to us

- Water that you can drink straight out of the faucet. We rely on bottled water here. The maids bring us two bottles every day but we still have to go out and buy more. N has discovered where the water is on the maid's cart and everytime he sees the cart he goes running and snatches us a bottle. For this he doesn't get repremanded but rather praised. I hope I am not raising a cleptomaniac. So our 1 year old is helping keep us well hydrated.

- Room for the boys to run and be free. I am so ready for them to have a little freedom.

- Good old southern food....and Mexican.

- A car to get where I need to go.

- Being able to go out without having to spend 15 minutes just dressing each boy for the cold. I am tired of their ski suits:)

- A washing machine and dryer...I am a little over crunchy clothes. I am ever thankful for a dryer after 4 weeks without one.



Things that I am really going to miss:

- The time that we have had to spend together. The family time that we have been able to get here has been amazing.

- Maid service everyday...that is a fabulous commodity.

- Icecream. Russia has the best icecream ever!

- Free breakfast buffet every morning...and I don't have to clean up:)



I will be ever thankful for this country in that they allowed us to bring these boys into our home and call them our sons. This country has given us the best gift we could ever ask for!

Day 26

As I sit here and type Day 26, I am amazed. I very vividly remeber pretty much arguing with God telling him that yes I felt like he was calling us to Russia, but that was a journey that we just couldn't make. I remeber telling him we couldn't afford it, that we couldn't get away from work for that long, and that, and that Benji and I were just simply not "travelers" so there was just no way that we could be this far away from home for this long. Benji and I are both extreme home bodies so we just couldn't do it. I appreciated the confidence he had in me...but no thanks. Then I felt like he just kept speaking to me and saying "You have to trust me". Did I hear his actual voice calling me from heaven? No...but he was most definately speaking to my heart. I remeber many of nights laying in bed constantly feeling him saying to me "Take the leap of faith and I will take care of the rest". Finally we submitted to his calling and put our faith and trust in him (as we should have from day 1). All of my excuses for not being able to get here have been covered and he has remained faithful to his promise to us. Here we sit thousands of miles away from home with two precious sons that are doing fabulously. He has kept every promise that he made to me and even exceeded all my dreams. In the car ride to the orphanage to pick the boys up there was a beautiful rainbow. It was one of the most amazing things ever. I feel like it was the Lord telling me "see I told you so:)" For anyone out there who may argue that the Lord is not faithful here is our proof otherwise:

Not only have I been blessed with 2 of the most precious boys ever...their daddy is pretty spectacular too! He has been so wonderful with them and he loves these boys so much. I think that this whole process has been a little surreal to Benji up to this point but his daddy skills have kicked in and he is amazing. I can honestly say that if we were counting he has wiped more behinds and changed more dirty diapers that me at this point. He just steps right in and does his daddy duties!

Tomorrow is our last day here. This has been a journey of a lifetime. One that Benji and I could have never ever done on our own. We were carried through this entire journey, and the last leg the Lord sent me an little extra gift in allowing my parents to be here with us. Blessed doesn't even cover how I am feeling right now!

Day 25

We haven't done very much today. We headed out to take the boys to an animal show, but we stopped off at a "straw market" per say. Daddy was in hog heaven because he loves nothing better than haggling. At the last stop he was walking away because they wouldn't take his deal and they came back with a deal even better than what he was asking. When we were leaving Daddy asked Benji what he was haggling over and Benji said "about 50 cents". Ha!!
By the time we left the market we were all so frozen that we just headed back to the hotel. It is brutally cold here right now. They told us this is the coldest Feb that Moscow has had in over 70 years. I love the cold but I must admit I am sick of constantly slipping and sliding. It is a sheer miracle that I don't have a cracked tailbone.
The boys are doing fantastic. D only had one small meltdown today. Today he finally warmed up to my Mama. It takes him a long time to warm up to people. He has had a very good day. And even spoke and English sentence today. There are mirrors in the elevators and he, Benji and Daddy came to the lobby for a bit. While in the elevator he pointed to Daddy's reflection and said "Is that you Pops (sounds more like Powps though)?". The language barrier is very hard with him but we are so proud of how well he is dealing with is.
N hasn't had a bad day yet. He just goes with the flow. He is very laid back and easy to please. He is a very funny little boy though. He keeps us laughing with his facial expressions. The child will eat almost anything. He has a massive appetite. I have no idea where he packs away the food but he loves to eat.
We are 3 days from finally heading home. We have very much enjoyed this experience but we are so far beyond ready to be home.

Day 24

Today we were able to tour Moscow a little, but it is bitterly cold. Our facilitator took us to Red Square today where we were able to see St. Basil's Cathedral and the Kremlin. It is one of the most beautiful sights ever! We had to carry the boys and it was insanely cold so our sightseeing was a little shorter than we would have liked. The boys did great today. D had a little meltdown but it was more from a lack of a decent nap than anything. Once he napped he was in a much better mood. N has had a very bad allergic reaction to something and we are having to be very careful what we feed him right now. We think he has a bad allergy to either chocolate or bananas. He is a serious ladies man. He flirts with every woman that he comes in contact with. We went to a souviner shop today and they ladies that worked there were all over him. They would take turns holding him and he would have hug all over them. It was very funny. D stays right with Benji or I. He loves his attention but he wants it from us not other people.
My daddy is realizing he is far from Kansas here. He ordered mashed potatoes for dinner the other night and a sweet tea (with one refill), his meal ended up being $33. The sweet teas were $12.50 each. Anyone who knows my daddy knows he just about died when he got the bill! We laughed...a lot!
Here is our family portrait at St. Basil's...yes we have our local newspaper with us. Don't laugh!:

Day 23

I just realized how short my last posted sounded. Was it obvious I was very tired? I will apologize for the lack of pictures but we left our camera charger in Kras and are just now able to find a battery for our camera. That battery has to last the rest of the week so we haven't taken as many pictures.
We had another great day. Our appointment at the Embassy was this afternoon. The boys did fantastic. On the way back they both passed out in the car. D has not even had a meltdown today. He has been very happy today....so long as he is with one of us. If I get out of his sight you will hear "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mama, Mama" until he hears my voice. He has really began to let me in the past couple of days where as up to this point he has really preferred to have nothing to do with me. In Kras, he would cry if we put him in the bed with us. He wanted to be in his own bed. Now he is completely fine in the bed with us. Tonight we were laying down with him and I often try to hold or rub his hand. Most of the time he allows me to but doesn't usually hold my hand in return. Tonight, I was holding and rubbing his hand and I stopped for a second. He reached down and grabbed my hand and held it on his own. He is a very sweet little boy. He takes to men very well. He has really taken a liking to his Pops. He is getting to where he likes to be silly. He just feels so much more relaxed than he once was.
N is my little ladies man. The boy likes to flirt. He is a very easy child. He isn't talking very much but he mimicks everything that you do. It is hysterical because he is very animated with his mocking. He has really gotten close to his Grammie. He will go to her in a heartbeat.
Tomorrow we plan on doing some sight seeing. Russia has a very rich history. One that I honestly never cared about but now I want to know as much as possible so that the boys will have a little better understanding of where they were born. But for now...I am hitting the hay because I am pooped. With two toddlers, I don't know if I am coming or going...but I know I am loving every second of it!

Day 21 and 22

Internet is not quite as easy here...or rather with 2 toddlers. The night before we left, N flat refused to sleep. He never a once fell asleep..thus we had a crabby toddler for the first little bit of the flight, then we ahad a conked out toddler. D did wonderful on the flight. The only part he had trouble with was having to keep his seat belt on. He got very upset when buckled in, but did wonderful beyond that.
We got to Moscow and my parents arrived about 2 hours behind us. Words cannot express how wonderful it was to see them. D has had a few meltdowns but they are very short lived. N is very happy go lucky...so long as he sleeps and eats when he is ready. We have just became VERY aware at how attached D is to us. He has really come around with me. The other day while laying down with him at naptime, he stood up on the bed, walked over to me and literally layed down on my stomach and chest. I was shocked, and relished in every second of that moment. He layed on top of me for a good 30 minutes. Benji or I one have to be with him at all times, otherwise he has a major meltdown. I feel so good that he is attached so well. N has attached very well also , but he is a very friendly and sociable little boy so he will go to just about anyone.
They had their first experience in a pool today (indoor and heated...it is -27 Celcius here...your boogers freeze...no joke!) and they LOVED it. We are having such a good time and they are enjoying their Grammie and Pops.

Day 20

Today marks our last day in Kras. We head to Moscow bright and early in the morning. Well...early but not so bright. We have to leave here at 4:30 am...not looking forward to getting the boys (who sleep very peacefully until 8:00-8:30 ish) up that early to put them on a plane for the first time. My parents are meeting us in Moscow so we are looking so forward to seeing some familiar faces.
We have had a great day. D has had a few of his "moments". We notice that they are only in the morning and early afternoon. So come late afternoon and early evening he is perfectly fine. Bedtime, naptime and wake up times are a little hard for him. He gets very sad during those times, but it is ususally very short lived. Benji had to go pick up their passports tonight so I was on my own for a bit. D loves to have his picture taken... and no matter what when he sees a camera he turns on the charm. We have been working hard on him being able to communicate his feelings to us so we worked on "happy" faces and "sad" faces. I took pictures of him doing both and we would show him the pictures and when he saw himself with a smile he says "hoppy" and when he sees his frowny faces pictures he says "sod". I was hoping this would help him to communicate to us when he is sad. However, my genius plan backfired. Now when he wants something and can't have it....we get the very exxaggerated "sod" face. It is really funny but we have created a monster I think. Here are his "hoppy" and "sod" faces:

D has a serious accent..which personally, I adore. He honestly sounds like he is from Brooklyn. He is really starting to say a lot ofthings in English now and picking up on it pretty well. I am very proud of him.

N is as happy as they come. He wakes up with a smile and has a smile pretty much constantly from there on throughout the day...unless he is hungry. He has learned the art of smooching now and wants to kiss us all the time. He doesn't quite get the pucker and smack part so what what you get is a slobbery open mouth with a "click" with his tongue. It is the sweetest. He is very silly and into everything. He has a way of escaping trouble with his big ole' smile and mischevious laugh...we are going to have to work on that.

This picture was much to precious not to post.

That is all I have for now. I do hope to be able to continue to blog once we are in Moscow but we don't have internet in the room there so forgive me if I am a little behind:)