More detail for you....

Okay, we found a café with wireless internet so I can finally take the time to update this blog and post some pictures. So much has happened. Here’s a quick travel log.

We arrived safe and sound on Tuesday, May 27th. No problems at the airport and all luggage arrived with us intact. I have never been so relieved to see anyone as I was when we walked out through passport control and saw our interpreter, Natalia, waiting for us.

Day two was our visit to the orphanage. After a bumpy two hour ride with no seatbelts (we just had to say our prayers and then not think about oncoming traffic), we arrived at the orphanage. Kristina was watching out the window for us as were several orphanage workers. It was so good to see her. She told us that she had never doubted that we would come, even though it had been a whole year. That’s faith.

Day three, first no hot water and then no water at the apartment. Fortunately, both issues were resolved by the end of the day. Dean and I had to appear at the Ministry of Education in the morning and then we went to the Hermitage for the day. It is an amazing place and so big! A couple of blisters later, we were at the apartment.

Day four, Friday, May 30th, was our court date. I don’t usually get nervous but I was nervous for this. Fortunately for us, our judge was very gracious and friendly and everything seemed to go smoothly. The court’s biggest concern was how we were going to support such a large family (four children). The average here is one, maybe two, kids. Apparently, we resolved the judge’s concerns because she gave us a favorable verdict. And the first hurdle of this trip was crossed.

Kristina was allowed to come and stay with us after court. We thought she would have to go back to the orphanage when Dean left on Tuesday, June 3rd, but she was allowed to stay. She seems to be doing very well. We do a lot of pointing and guessing and I have added a few words to my very limited Russian vocabulary but we’re getting better at communicating. Kristina seems to loosen up every day. Last night, she was down right silly. She was dancing to Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana music (thank you to Sidney who unbeknownst to me downloaded one of her CD’s to my computer). I bought her a book to teach English from a Russian perspective yesterday. It gives has words, phrases and pictures and shows how to say them phonetically in Russian and gives the Russian equivalent. She’s doing very well with that. And she loves Looney Tunes. I brought some DVD’s from home and she watches them every morning while we wait for the interpreters to arrive.

We have done a lot of sight seeing. Honestly, I would prefer to just hang out at the apartment somedays but I know Kristina gets bored. We have books and some Russian movies we’ve watched but otherwise, not a heck of a lot to do at the apartment. So we sight see. Yesterday, Kristina was sick of museums and palaces so we just took a cruise on the canals and the River Neva. It was honestly, one of the best days yet. I think, if it was up to Kristina, we’d ride the metro all over the city (she loves it), take a daily river cruise, watch Looney Tunes and read. She likes to eat at cafes as well but is always checking the bill to make sure we didn’t spend too much. If a café or restaurant is too expensive, she doesn’t want to go back to that one. Maybe she can teach some lessons to my kids. She will eat anything. We have breakfast and supper at the apartment and so far, she has eaten anything that has been put before her.

Well, there’s the update in a nutshell. Dean is home safe and sound. Kristina and I probably have another two to three weeks. We finalize everything at the court on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 10th and 11th, and then we have to get Kristina’s visa. Because the 12th is a holiday (why don’t Americans have more holidays?), nothing can happen with the visa until the 16th but I hope that goes quickly and we can be off to Moscow on the 17th or 18th. I’m ready to come home. I’m ready to see my kids and husband, I want to drink water from the tap and I want chips and salsa.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support thus far. It is so appreciated. Things have gone very well and I know it is because you are all praying for us!

Below are a few pictures to update you. The first was taken after court on the 30th. Olga, the director of the orphanage, is with us.

The second is from the top of St. Isaac's. The third is of Dean in his fine new Russian hat before he left for the United States. The fourth is of Kristina and I at Pavlovsk Palace. I was trying to look Russian since we had bought a Russian ticket (no smiling in pictures).