Here's a quick entry just to let you know we're home.
Benjamin traveled superbly over two flights to Minneapolis. He fell asleep on the way from Amsterdam, and didn't wake up again until after we landed. He's had a great time exploring his new home so far. Next step- get adjusted to a new schedule.
We'll post another update when we're all well rested.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Day Pictures from Moscow
Very few words this time just pictures. This should be our last post from abroad. Next update will come from the warm confines of our home. Can't wait.Thanks for all your comments, they really helped us along this long, long way.
My Christmas Column
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas? In the Chuck Spohr household, we uphold a tradition that is relatively new to us and the rest of the world, but it appears to be a growing trend. Why right here in our hotel, all the way across the world, in the middle of Russia, much to my amazement, I have seen it celebrated again. Without further ado, here is a picture of it in all its splendor.
I give you “The Christmas Column.”
This new symbol of Christmas represents equality from top to bottom. Not a single bough in this display thinks it’s greater than the other. Oh sure it doesn’t look like anything you’d ever find naturally occurring in the forest, but maybe this symbol is what the season is really all about; all God's creatures being treated equally.
Not so long ago, my Mother was shopping for an artificial, replacement tree, when what did her eyes behold, the Christmas Column. I don’t think she even realized what she stumbled upon at first. Truthfully, I don’t think the manufacturer did either. For in this product they have created a symbol of Christmas that shares equality with practicality. The “footprint” of this column is no bigger than yours or mine. Kids love it too, for even a small number of presents around this tree looks impressive.
Furthermore, I think you are all aware of the catastrophes that can occur with your typical tree. A father has to face his fears every year placing a star atop the tree. Those long limbs at the bottom leave a father hanging perilously out from the ladder and over the tree as he tries to delicately place the star or angel on that lone branch.
Yet another problem this column solves, is young ones practically getting lost or snared by a sappy branch as they go searching for that last little present. And I hesitate to even mention the unsightly "plumber" view we get when Dad or even Mom venture into the unknown to plug in that always just long enough string of lights, or to water a dying tree.
Line a few columns up, and you have a Christmas wall. Or look at what our hotel did here. They put a column next to a support column. Walk in the door and your greeted by a column. Walk past a marble column and much to your delight you find a Christmas Column. Coming at it from the other way is just as pleasant. No long limbs at the bottom here to cause the fire marshall, or whatever the equivilant here in Russia is, any worry. Just good clean Christmas fun.
So this year join the Spohrs, and even some Russians, in this new Christmas tradition and get yourselves a Christmas column. Heck, why not get two or three.
Merry Christmas!
I give you “The Christmas Column.”
This new symbol of Christmas represents equality from top to bottom. Not a single bough in this display thinks it’s greater than the other. Oh sure it doesn’t look like anything you’d ever find naturally occurring in the forest, but maybe this symbol is what the season is really all about; all God's creatures being treated equally.Not so long ago, my Mother was shopping for an artificial, replacement tree, when what did her eyes behold, the Christmas Column. I don’t think she even realized what she stumbled upon at first. Truthfully, I don’t think the manufacturer did either. For in this product they have created a symbol of Christmas that shares equality with practicality. The “footprint” of this column is no bigger than yours or mine. Kids love it too, for even a small number of presents around this tree looks impressive.
Furthermore, I think you are all aware of the catastrophes that can occur with your typical tree. A father has to face his fears every year placing a star atop the tree. Those long limbs at the bottom leave a father hanging perilously out from the ladder and over the tree as he tries to delicately place the star or angel on that lone branch.
Yet another problem this column solves, is young ones practically getting lost or snared by a sappy branch as they go searching for that last little present. And I hesitate to even mention the unsightly "plumber" view we get when Dad or even Mom venture into the unknown to plug in that always just long enough string of lights, or to water a dying tree.
So this year join the Spohrs, and even some Russians, in this new Christmas tradition and get yourselves a Christmas column. Heck, why not get two or three.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 24, 2007
It's a Merry Christmas in Moscow
Greetings from Moscow! We are so happy to be here. We had a successful flight. We are blessed with a child that travels well, so far anyway. We have found that when Benjamin is in a new and strange situation he gets pretty quiet and just sits and takes everything in. That is much of our success with the first flight. We’ll see how crazy flights 2 and 3 get. Ed and I had some adventurous mishaps traveling for the first time as parents, but we, our son, our baggage and all of our important paperwork managed to make it.
One part of the trip that still makes us laugh is Benjamin eating a sucker. The Dr. said it would be a good thing for helping with the pressure on his ears. I reckon we figured he would eat just like us, but no. Here is how it was different:
· Saliva and sucker juices drooled instead of swallowed.
· Using sucker to test soundness of forehead.
· Sucking whole hand at the same time as the sucker.
· Enjoying the stick for an hour or so.
This was most likely his first sucker.
We are staying at a Holiday Inn. We feel like we are in the lap of luxury. We are not ones to mind roughing it a bit, but we were happy to have the 2 weeks in Novosibirsk come to an end and start heading home. Since this is a Western-style hotel, it is a nice transition place for Ben before seeing and hearing America. We turn on English TV now and then for the sound and there are a couple of other American couples we have met. Tomorrow we along with another family will be doing some sightseeing. The American Embassy is closed on Christmas Day, so it is a day off for us, as it would be at home too.
It’s sure exciting to be celebrating Christmas with our new son.
One part of the trip that still makes us laugh is Benjamin eating a sucker. The Dr. said it would be a good thing for helping with the pressure on his ears. I reckon we figured he would eat just like us, but no. Here is how it was different:
· Saliva and sucker juices drooled instead of swallowed.
· Using sucker to test soundness of forehead.
· Sucking whole hand at the same time as the sucker.
· Enjoying the stick for an hour or so.
This was most likely his first sucker.
We are staying at a Holiday Inn. We feel like we are in the lap of luxury. We are not ones to mind roughing it a bit, but we were happy to have the 2 weeks in Novosibirsk come to an end and start heading home. Since this is a Western-style hotel, it is a nice transition place for Ben before seeing and hearing America. We turn on English TV now and then for the sound and there are a couple of other American couples we have met. Tomorrow we along with another family will be doing some sightseeing. The American Embassy is closed on Christmas Day, so it is a day off for us, as it would be at home too.
It’s sure exciting to be celebrating Christmas with our new son.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Off to Moscow
Dear readers,
We're off to Moscow tomorrow. We have a late morning flight and get into Moscow around mid-afternoon. It's been a pleasure getting to know Novosibirsk, and though we're anxious to leave, we feel really fortunate to have spent so much time here with Benjamin and his hometown. The people we've worked with here are a treasure and we hope to see them again some day.
Here's the hard news for you all. We have no idea when we'll be able to update this blog again. We've heard the internet access in Moscow is terribly expensive and/or hard to find. One of our friends from our first trip to Russia went through Moscow last week with their new son, they're constantly blogging their story too, and they went through Moscow last week.
We have a lot to do to get ready to leave tomorrow. We have lots of luggage and now we have to fit a little boy in somewhere.
You know he's really not as little as we thought. He's already filling out a fair share of the clothes we brought along and the bigger clothing, which we almost left home, looks just about right. We're also finding that our arm strength is being seriously put to the test. I'm sure all of you experienced parents out there know what it's like to have all that active weight in your arms. I forgot how much heat a kid can put out too, not to mention some of the other stuff he puts out. Did I just go there? Sorry. I told Linda I wasn't going to document any bathroom situations, but that was pretty close.
I'm off to our room. He's probably ready for dinner. Food seems to be the answer to all his problems. I wonder how long he'll keep it up.
There's some new pictures on the post below, and here's another one.
We're off to Moscow tomorrow. We have a late morning flight and get into Moscow around mid-afternoon. It's been a pleasure getting to know Novosibirsk, and though we're anxious to leave, we feel really fortunate to have spent so much time here with Benjamin and his hometown. The people we've worked with here are a treasure and we hope to see them again some day.
Here's the hard news for you all. We have no idea when we'll be able to update this blog again. We've heard the internet access in Moscow is terribly expensive and/or hard to find. One of our friends from our first trip to Russia went through Moscow last week with their new son, they're constantly blogging their story too, and they went through Moscow last week.
We have a lot to do to get ready to leave tomorrow. We have lots of luggage and now we have to fit a little boy in somewhere.
You know he's really not as little as we thought. He's already filling out a fair share of the clothes we brought along and the bigger clothing, which we almost left home, looks just about right. We're also finding that our arm strength is being seriously put to the test. I'm sure all of you experienced parents out there know what it's like to have all that active weight in your arms. I forgot how much heat a kid can put out too, not to mention some of the other stuff he puts out. Did I just go there? Sorry. I told Linda I wasn't going to document any bathroom situations, but that was pretty close.
I'm off to our room. He's probably ready for dinner. Food seems to be the answer to all his problems. I wonder how long he'll keep it up.
There's some new pictures on the post below, and here's another one.
Some pictures
No car seats for our journeys here. Ben sits comfortably in Dad's lap.
"Hey, what happened to the Bears on Monday night??"
I like to eat!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday Morning
Ben had a great first night. He slept 9 straight hours and woke up at 6:00 AM. We took him out of his crib and for the next hour or so he just wanted to be cuddled. Boy did mom and dad like that! He is a cuddly boy.
It seems the paperwork stuff went well yesterday. We really were't that involved with it. We were probably only out for about 1-2 hours and really only needed to be there to sign our name. The good news is with that being done, we are trying to get home a day earlier than planned. I talked to our travel agent this morning, and he's trying to get us on a flight to Moscow this Sunday. If that works, then we'll try to leave for home on the 27th.
Benjamin managed to fall asleep in the car for a good half hour or more. It's too bad he didn't tell us that meant he planned on skipping his regularly scheduled afternoon nap. Linda and I were both exhausted from the previous night. That night was just a bad combinatoin of us being ill and Benjamin being with us. Though he slept, we really couln't help but watch his every move, so the result was very little sleep for us.
So when we got back to the hotel, we went back and forth with him a little as we tried to get him down for a nap. When that didn't work, I took him down to the lobby for an hour or so while Linda rested and then we switched off- I rested while she entertained Ben. He sure seemed tired, but there was no way he was napping.
We decided we would go out for dinner at a little cafe type place in the local department store. It seemed like kind of a risky decision at the time, but at that point we wanted to make sure he would stay awake until bedtime. We got him suited up and then hiked over there and ordered some food.
Right next to this cafe is a kiddie pay-and-play spot. It's kind of like what they have out at IKEA except it's not free. Benjamin loved it. Then our food came and he screamed at the top of his lungs all the way to his high-chair because he didn't want to leave the play area. We stuck a spoonful of borscht in his mouth and all was right in his world again. He ate practically everything we put in front of him and still didn't seem completely satisfied. We decided to order some ice cream. Much to our surprise he didn't go for it. He made really ugly faces when we put that cold stuff in his mouth.
Last night he was a little more resistant to go to sleep, but once we finally succeeded, he slept until 6:00 again. He is squirmy in his sleep. At one point he was sideways with his legs sticking out of the crib. Thankfully he didn't wake up when we moved him.
So far so good today. Ed and Ben are here playing. (I took over typing.) Ben seems tired. He is getting cuddly again. We are trying to keep him on the schedule he had at the baby home and that puts nap time another 2 1/2 hours away, after lunch. We'll see how it goes. I didn't bring that camera down, so we'll post some pictures later.
It seems the paperwork stuff went well yesterday. We really were't that involved with it. We were probably only out for about 1-2 hours and really only needed to be there to sign our name. The good news is with that being done, we are trying to get home a day earlier than planned. I talked to our travel agent this morning, and he's trying to get us on a flight to Moscow this Sunday. If that works, then we'll try to leave for home on the 27th.
Benjamin managed to fall asleep in the car for a good half hour or more. It's too bad he didn't tell us that meant he planned on skipping his regularly scheduled afternoon nap. Linda and I were both exhausted from the previous night. That night was just a bad combinatoin of us being ill and Benjamin being with us. Though he slept, we really couln't help but watch his every move, so the result was very little sleep for us.
So when we got back to the hotel, we went back and forth with him a little as we tried to get him down for a nap. When that didn't work, I took him down to the lobby for an hour or so while Linda rested and then we switched off- I rested while she entertained Ben. He sure seemed tired, but there was no way he was napping.
We decided we would go out for dinner at a little cafe type place in the local department store. It seemed like kind of a risky decision at the time, but at that point we wanted to make sure he would stay awake until bedtime. We got him suited up and then hiked over there and ordered some food.
Right next to this cafe is a kiddie pay-and-play spot. It's kind of like what they have out at IKEA except it's not free. Benjamin loved it. Then our food came and he screamed at the top of his lungs all the way to his high-chair because he didn't want to leave the play area. We stuck a spoonful of borscht in his mouth and all was right in his world again. He ate practically everything we put in front of him and still didn't seem completely satisfied. We decided to order some ice cream. Much to our surprise he didn't go for it. He made really ugly faces when we put that cold stuff in his mouth.
Last night he was a little more resistant to go to sleep, but once we finally succeeded, he slept until 6:00 again. He is squirmy in his sleep. At one point he was sideways with his legs sticking out of the crib. Thankfully he didn't wake up when we moved him.
So far so good today. Ed and Ben are here playing. (I took over typing.) Ben seems tired. He is getting cuddly again. We are trying to keep him on the schedule he had at the baby home and that puts nap time another 2 1/2 hours away, after lunch. We'll see how it goes. I didn't bring that camera down, so we'll post some pictures later.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Oh Sweet Child of Ours
Privyet.
For those of you who get a little teary eyed easily, you know who you are, you may want to grab your box of tissue. Don't worry they'll be good tears.
We got him.
You'll have to forgive me if I get a bit sappy in this post, but hey, it's a pretty big day for our family.
He's upstairs asleep in his crib right now. He fought it like I suppose any normal toddler would, but he couldn't resist Linda's motherly charms and fell asleep in her arms as she rocked him. I was sitting closely by watching his eyelids fall shut. Once his thumb detatched from his mouth, we risked moving him to his crib. No problem. I waited for awhile longer, and then feeling pretty confident that he was soundly asleep, I asked Linda to turn on the light so I could take his picture.
We picked him up today around 4:00. His caretaker quickly stripped him and put on his new clothes. Boy does he know the drill. The precision with which they worked together was really quite astonishing. At least to us it was.
Healthwise, Linda and I are both fighting some pretty serious congestion right now. At the end of the day we both look like we are ready to lead Santa's sleigh. I'm hoping it just an allergic reaction to something for me. If so, I'll be fine tomorrow. Linda has been fighting it all week, so hopefully this is just the grand finale.
Of course Benjamin's health is the most important at this point. The Dr. at the baby home tells us that the children have very weak immune systems due to their lack of exposure to the outside world. They tend to catch this junk quicker than normal and the consequences tend to be more severe. If he's congested when he boards the plane on Monday, well, well we're praying that he won't be.
He was coughing just a wee bit today and his nose was just a little runny. The Dr. said that was normal and she wasn't worried about him catching anything from us, based on Linda's exam yesterday. She still said not to kiss him too much, wished us well and then said we hope to see you back again real soon to adopt a girl.
Benjamin looked a bit terrified on the car ride back to the hotel. Welcome to our world kid. Our driver is crazy. Every driver here is. We are very glad to have Ben with us now so we won't have to make that trip again.
When we got back we explored the hotel with him a little and then went to our little room. He got bored with that pretty quick, so we paced the hall for awhile. He would always start to pout when we back to the room, but we distracted him as best we could until dinner time.
We fed him at the Dr. recommended time. Then stripped him for a bath. Of course he promptly peed on the floor. He enjoyed his bath- even wanted to get back in after Mom decided his time was up. We got his pjs on him though and then let Brown Bear work his magic.
We got his schedule from the Dr. earlier in the week and have managed to stick to it in the few short hours that we've had him. He's scheduled to wake up at 7:00 tomorrow morning. Ouch. We haven't been up that early since we left MN.
Place your bets on how long he sleeps tonight. He looks like a little angel as he sleeps right now, but I imagine he'll be pretty scared to wake up in a strange place tomorrow. We'll be right there to comfort him.
Tomorrow is a pretty big day for us too. There is a lot of paperwork that needs to get completed so we can fly out of here on Monday. Nina and Gendrich are pretty confident that they'll be able to get it all done in a day. They typically plan on three days. We'll be able to catch the later flight on Monday if necessary.
Well if any of you experienced parents out there have some good advice for us. Now's the time to share it.
Well I wanted to keep this brief so I could hurry up and get back to my family. I'm quite used to talking to many of you on a regular basis though and we have so much to share with you all, that I knew I was going to get a little long winded here.
Goodnight.
For those of you who get a little teary eyed easily, you know who you are, you may want to grab your box of tissue. Don't worry they'll be good tears.
We got him.
You'll have to forgive me if I get a bit sappy in this post, but hey, it's a pretty big day for our family.
He's upstairs asleep in his crib right now. He fought it like I suppose any normal toddler would, but he couldn't resist Linda's motherly charms and fell asleep in her arms as she rocked him. I was sitting closely by watching his eyelids fall shut. Once his thumb detatched from his mouth, we risked moving him to his crib. No problem. I waited for awhile longer, and then feeling pretty confident that he was soundly asleep, I asked Linda to turn on the light so I could take his picture.
We picked him up today around 4:00. His caretaker quickly stripped him and put on his new clothes. Boy does he know the drill. The precision with which they worked together was really quite astonishing. At least to us it was.
Healthwise, Linda and I are both fighting some pretty serious congestion right now. At the end of the day we both look like we are ready to lead Santa's sleigh. I'm hoping it just an allergic reaction to something for me. If so, I'll be fine tomorrow. Linda has been fighting it all week, so hopefully this is just the grand finale.
Of course Benjamin's health is the most important at this point. The Dr. at the baby home tells us that the children have very weak immune systems due to their lack of exposure to the outside world. They tend to catch this junk quicker than normal and the consequences tend to be more severe. If he's congested when he boards the plane on Monday, well, well we're praying that he won't be.
He was coughing just a wee bit today and his nose was just a little runny. The Dr. said that was normal and she wasn't worried about him catching anything from us, based on Linda's exam yesterday. She still said not to kiss him too much, wished us well and then said we hope to see you back again real soon to adopt a girl.
Benjamin looked a bit terrified on the car ride back to the hotel. Welcome to our world kid. Our driver is crazy. Every driver here is. We are very glad to have Ben with us now so we won't have to make that trip again.
When we got back we explored the hotel with him a little and then went to our little room. He got bored with that pretty quick, so we paced the hall for awhile. He would always start to pout when we back to the room, but we distracted him as best we could until dinner time.
We fed him at the Dr. recommended time. Then stripped him for a bath. Of course he promptly peed on the floor. He enjoyed his bath- even wanted to get back in after Mom decided his time was up. We got his pjs on him though and then let Brown Bear work his magic.
We got his schedule from the Dr. earlier in the week and have managed to stick to it in the few short hours that we've had him. He's scheduled to wake up at 7:00 tomorrow morning. Ouch. We haven't been up that early since we left MN.
Place your bets on how long he sleeps tonight. He looks like a little angel as he sleeps right now, but I imagine he'll be pretty scared to wake up in a strange place tomorrow. We'll be right there to comfort him.
Tomorrow is a pretty big day for us too. There is a lot of paperwork that needs to get completed so we can fly out of here on Monday. Nina and Gendrich are pretty confident that they'll be able to get it all done in a day. They typically plan on three days. We'll be able to catch the later flight on Monday if necessary.
Well if any of you experienced parents out there have some good advice for us. Now's the time to share it.
Well I wanted to keep this brief so I could hurry up and get back to my family. I'm quite used to talking to many of you on a regular basis though and we have so much to share with you all, that I knew I was going to get a little long winded here.
Goodnight.
Are You Warm Enough?
We leave in an hour to pick up Ben. In the mean time, I thought I would share this story. For those of you that know me well, you know I am a bit squeamish. A mouse in our house has been known to send me up on furniture. I know as a mom I am going to have to give this up. Benjamin will be bringing all kinds of things home and I am going to have to deal with it.
Well, today was my first test, of sorts. Mom, if you have worried at all about me being sick here in Russia, you needn’t. Nina is my other “Mom.” She arranged for the doctor visit yesterday. I never mentioned that when we were hiking in the forest Nina actually insisted that we switch boots for a while. (I didn’t really pack the right shoes for a long walk through a snowy forest.) Today she called and told Ed that she was bringing me a fur coat. She has been insisting that I must keep warm. No amount of Ed’s protests that my coat is actually quite warm would dissuade her. A half hour later she showed up with the fur coat. Ed went down to meet her in the lobby and brought it up to me. Not the luxurious, soft fur coat that I see on streets, but I gave it a try. I pulled it on. I even put the hood up around my face.
Then Ed said it. “Nina said it is made of rat fur.”
What!! I had that coat off so fast and began protesting that surely Ed must be teasing me. (He likes to tease me like this.) But looking in his eyes I knew he was serious. “Water rat fur,” he said.
Yes, folks, there is a rat coat hanging in our hotel room. Actually, after thinking about it some, we think it must be beaver, not muskrat. I'll have to ask Nina. I know I’ll have to give up my squeamishness for Ben some day, but still I don't know that can bring myself to put on that beaver/rat fur coat again. 
Well, today was my first test, of sorts. Mom, if you have worried at all about me being sick here in Russia, you needn’t. Nina is my other “Mom.” She arranged for the doctor visit yesterday. I never mentioned that when we were hiking in the forest Nina actually insisted that we switch boots for a while. (I didn’t really pack the right shoes for a long walk through a snowy forest.) Today she called and told Ed that she was bringing me a fur coat. She has been insisting that I must keep warm. No amount of Ed’s protests that my coat is actually quite warm would dissuade her. A half hour later she showed up with the fur coat. Ed went down to meet her in the lobby and brought it up to me. Not the luxurious, soft fur coat that I see on streets, but I gave it a try. I pulled it on. I even put the hood up around my face.
Then Ed said it. “Nina said it is made of rat fur.”
What!! I had that coat off so fast and began protesting that surely Ed must be teasing me. (He likes to tease me like this.) But looking in his eyes I knew he was serious. “Water rat fur,” he said.
Yes, folks, there is a rat coat hanging in our hotel room. Actually, after thinking about it some, we think it must be beaver, not muskrat. I'll have to ask Nina. I know I’ll have to give up my squeamishness for Ben some day, but still I don't know that can bring myself to put on that beaver/rat fur coat again. 
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Thank you!!
Thank you for all of the comments – the greetings and get well wishes were much appreciated, especially yesterday.For me, most of Day 9 was spent in bed. My healthy day on Tuesday must have been the calm before the storm. I had a lot of sinus pain and a low fever all day. Nina arranged to have a doctor visit last night. I was nervous like a kid for this visit! I think I was envisioning some stern, large, Russian man. I am not sure where I got that Russian doctor stereotype, but he was a perfectly nice, normal guy. It was a little weird having a doctor exam in a hotel room, but Ed was there and all in all everything was just fine.
He prescribed me a whole bunch of medicine from my nose, ears and throat. Most importantly, he declared that I am not contagious and we definitely get Ben tomorrow. By the time he came – actually, I think just minutes before he came – my fever left. That really was an answered prayer. For the most part I am feeling fine again and am ready to take on our energetic son!
Another happy thing about yesterday is that they let Ed visit Ben. On Monday and Tuesday we were both banned because of my sickness. I am so glad that at least one of us got to see him. Ed said that for about the first 15 minutes or so he was pretty quite and seemed about to cry. Ed said he thought Ben was looking for me. (Could it be true??!! Maybe he is thinking "Where's Mom?" in the top picture.) Eventually he turned into his happy self and was running around and talking up a storm! He looks like he is going in fast motion in this picture. He was bold and Ed needed to keep his eye on him constantly. I think he is ready to be part of our family. I can’t wait to see him today – and every day after that!Love,
Linda
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
We Miss You Benjamin
No Benjamin today either. That has got us both feeling a little foul. The Dr. at the baby home decided that we couldn't see him today, so even though Linda is feeling fine, here we sit at the hotel. They have to be very careful at the baby home about these types of things, but that doesn't make us feel any better. We're told we'll get to see him tomorrow. I feel like a kid waiting to open my Christmas presents on Christmas Eve. I've seen them there for weeks and I just want to have them.We don't have much control right now. The judge decided we had to wait 10 days. Now the Dr. can decide if we get to take him out of the baby home before the 10 days are up. Either way, no paperwork will process until Friday, and we are hoping for the 1-day turn-around so we can head to Moscow!!
We're pretty tired of the hotel. I suppose we would be a little "stir crazy" at almost any hotel for two straight days. Linda was asked to not leave the hotel. I shouldn't complain though. They have everything we need here. Mostly I need beer.I just took a long walk around the city. I stopped into a few shops, mainly just to warm up a little. I found some restaurants I hadn't seen before so maybe we'll stop by one of those tonight. We think the fresh air will be just fine. The cold air over here forces you to step quickly, which gets the blood pumping, which seems like a perfectly healthy thing to be doing at this point.
And now for some random thoughts...
If you read our blog today, post a comment. Even if it's just to say "Hi." We're really curious to know how many people are reading, so think of this request as something similar to signing a guest book.
Monday, December 17, 2007
No Ben on Day 7
Well, I regret to say that Benjamin is not with us this evening. At the ballet last night I didn’t conceal my aching head quite well enough – and Nina knew I was not feeling well. She called today and said that the doctor had asked her if Ed and I were healthy. She had to tell the doctor that I was not completely healthy and the doctor said that we could not take Ben today.
I suppose it is for the best. The last thing I want to do is pass anything to Ben. The doctor said that these kids don’t have strong immune systems because they are so rarely outside the baby home. We want what is best for Ben, so we’ll wait. I am feeling much better today, so maybe tomorrow will be the day.
This afternoon we rearranged our room a bit and had a crib brought in. Boy, you really don’t want to move furniture around in a hotel too much! It is pretty scary to see what is underneath. We have a pretty tiny room with two single beds and many small dressers that take up a bunch of space. It has more of a dorm room feel than a hotel. In fact, it is more like a frat house dorm room. I'll leave it at that.
Ed did some grocery shopping and we are now all stocked up on toddler food. At least I hope we are. It's hard to tell what's what when you can't read a single label. It will be interesting! I hung out at the hotel all day. Hopefully one day of no cold air will make for a quick recovery.
More cultural silliness: Some 7th grade humor for your morning. Occasionally we turn on the Russian version of MTV. A popular commercial is for the American gum Hubba Bubba. Here they pronounce it Hooba Booba. Occasionally Ed or I might say "Hooba Booba" out of the blue when we need a laugh.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Day 6 is Sunday
Here's Benjamin enjoying a book. He actually sat through a whole reading of "Brown Bear" tonight. Usually he just forces the book closed and then tosses it somewhere, but tonight he seemed genuinely interested. Maybe he's getting used to our strange language.We had a lot of fun with him today even though our time was short. We shot a few videos of him, but of course we left the cable at home that transfers the video to a computer. In a pinch, we can shoot a little video with our "still" camera.
This morning we went to church at a local Catholic church. Nina had one of her students escort us to the church. We met her on the first trip to Novosibirsk. Her name is Irina, and she enjoys speaking English with us Americans. She is from Kazakhstan, but goes to school here. The mass was in three different languages. We didn't understand any of them. I did recognize the Lord's Prayer, spoken in German.
We had lunch today at an authentic Russian "PECOTPAH." That's how you spell restaurant in Russian- or at least it's close. Once in a while I can actually read a sign over here. The food here was really good. We both had soup. The picture of the soup to the left is what I had. It consisted of diced ham, olives, dill, sour cream and a slice of orange. There's probably some other stuff in there too. Linda had perogies filled with cherries for her entree. Very good.We did end up going to the ballet this evening. We didn't have tickets when we arrived, but with Nina's help we managed to score a couple of seats for the going rate. The ballet was sold out, but like any somewhat major event, there were people with extra tickets looking to sell. The opera house here is quite spectacular. I'd have to say it's one of the most impressive structures here in Novosibirsk.
The ballet itself was outstanding. The whole production was top notch. I really kind of figured that I would be nodding off before the first curtain, but I found it to be quite entertaining. I took a picture at the very end. Two of the three ladies sitting to my left had their cell phones ringing during the production, so I felt right at home.Well time to get some sleep. I just wanted to make a quick entry here, but of course it takes longer than expected.
Linda isn't feeling the best tonight. She really hopes she is not getting sick. If she is we probably won't be bringing Benjamin with us tomorrow. So let's hope a good night's rest will have her feeling better in the morning.
Ed
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Day 5. Saturday Night's Lively
We're down in the hotel lobby again letting you know what we're up to. It's Saturday night and this place is busy. We went to bed early last night and slept in today. After breakfast we relaxed some more. Nina wanted to take us cross-country skiing today, but we declined her offer. Linda just isn't feeling the best- sore throat and a bit of congestion has her down a little. Instead we watched "Seabiscuit" and played some cards. Nina loaned us a few DVDs and the horse movie was one of them.
So that means we had all our wits about us when we visited Ben today and we needed them. He seems to be putting us to the test more and more as he gets to know us. There are many things that he likes to do, that we kindly ask him not to do, like rattling the parakeet cage, pulling the leaves on the many plants and throwing wooden blocks clear across the room. He also smiles more, giggles more and is just generally more engaged or "in the moment" with us.
He seems to know when it's time to say "goodbye" too. The last two nights as we packed up to leave he became very cuddly.
We were hoping to go to the ballet tonight at the local opera house. Novosibirsk actually has the biggest opera house in Russia. We got there too late however, because of the sucky traffic, so we're hoping to make it tomorrow night. Men in tights- can't wait.
I'll have to submit an entry about the traffic some day. It really is unbelievable. The trip to the baby home is at least a half hour each way and we can't wait to make the last trip. We may get to take Benjamin back to the hotel with us on Monday, so our last trip to the baby home might be soon.
Linda's Cutural Snapshot
Smoke, Rats and Fur – they are everywhere
Smoke: Many people in Novosibirsk smoke, and smoking is not banned from restaurants and other places like it is in the States. We are often in smoky rooms here.
Rats: Stuffed rats, glass rats, rubber rats – they are on sale everywhere! At first I thought it must be fascination with the movie Ratatouille, but then as a sales person tried to sell me very life-like rubber rat she explained that 2008 is the year of the rat, which is very important to many Russian people.
Fur fur everywhere. Ed already mentioned this. It is cold here and there are lots and lots of fur coats. If there is any ethical protest, we haven’t seen it. Nina says there isn’t. “Of course not. Fur is warm.” Fur is for everyone and for everyday.
Day 4
For those of you interested, we never posted our Day 4 activities.
Day 4 we spent walking around Novosibirsk. We visited a very small museum and a very small gallery. The first was a bark museum. Sounds weird, but bark art is very popular here. Many pictures, boxes and other art are made from birch bark. During our first trip I bought a little birch box for Ben that has the Novosibirsk coat of arms on it. After the bark museum we stopped at a gallery of local Novosibirsk artists. Even if we had found something we liked, it is very difficult to take art out of the country. You have to have a lot of special papers to do so.
Finally, we visited St. Nicolais chapel. Many of you saw a picture of this chapel from our first trip. It is set at the east-west center of Russia. If was erected to honor the Romonovs, who turned out to be the last Czars of Russia. Then, of course, we visited Ben. Ed wrote about that visit already.
We ended our day at a Georgian restaurant. We saw the place earlier in the day and it looked intriguing, so we planned on eating there later. The food was good, but we got smoked out. The hostess seated a couple of chain-smokers next to us. These two guys barely stopped smoking while they were eating. We really missed our smoke free state while we had dinner.
We have more pictures of this place and the food we ate. Remind us to show them to you when we get home.
So that means we had all our wits about us when we visited Ben today and we needed them. He seems to be putting us to the test more and more as he gets to know us. There are many things that he likes to do, that we kindly ask him not to do, like rattling the parakeet cage, pulling the leaves on the many plants and throwing wooden blocks clear across the room. He also smiles more, giggles more and is just generally more engaged or "in the moment" with us.
He seems to know when it's time to say "goodbye" too. The last two nights as we packed up to leave he became very cuddly.
We were hoping to go to the ballet tonight at the local opera house. Novosibirsk actually has the biggest opera house in Russia. We got there too late however, because of the sucky traffic, so we're hoping to make it tomorrow night. Men in tights- can't wait.
I'll have to submit an entry about the traffic some day. It really is unbelievable. The trip to the baby home is at least a half hour each way and we can't wait to make the last trip. We may get to take Benjamin back to the hotel with us on Monday, so our last trip to the baby home might be soon.
Linda's Cutural Snapshot
Smoke, Rats and Fur – they are everywhere
Smoke: Many people in Novosibirsk smoke, and smoking is not banned from restaurants and other places like it is in the States. We are often in smoky rooms here.
Rats: Stuffed rats, glass rats, rubber rats – they are on sale everywhere! At first I thought it must be fascination with the movie Ratatouille, but then as a sales person tried to sell me very life-like rubber rat she explained that 2008 is the year of the rat, which is very important to many Russian people.
Fur fur everywhere. Ed already mentioned this. It is cold here and there are lots and lots of fur coats. If there is any ethical protest, we haven’t seen it. Nina says there isn’t. “Of course not. Fur is warm.” Fur is for everyone and for everyday.
Day 4
For those of you interested, we never posted our Day 4 activities.
Day 4 we spent walking around Novosibirsk. We visited a very small museum and a very small gallery. The first was a bark museum. Sounds weird, but bark art is very popular here. Many pictures, boxes and other art are made from birch bark. During our first trip I bought a little birch box for Ben that has the Novosibirsk coat of arms on it. After the bark museum we stopped at a gallery of local Novosibirsk artists. Even if we had found something we liked, it is very difficult to take art out of the country. You have to have a lot of special papers to do so.
Finally, we visited St. Nicolais chapel. Many of you saw a picture of this chapel from our first trip. It is set at the east-west center of Russia. If was erected to honor the Romonovs, who turned out to be the last Czars of Russia. Then, of course, we visited Ben. Ed wrote about that visit already.
We ended our day at a Georgian restaurant. We saw the place earlier in the day and it looked intriguing, so we planned on eating there later. The food was good, but we got smoked out. The hostess seated a couple of chain-smokers next to us. These two guys barely stopped smoking while they were eating. We really missed our smoke free state while we had dinner.We have more pictures of this place and the food we ate. Remind us to show them to you when we get home.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Good Night
Well we just got back to the hotel. We are very tired, but I still wanted to run to the lobby, log on, and check for comments and emails.
Unfortunately, I forgot the camera upstairs and it has the pictures of Benjamin I wanted to post. Forgive me. I'm too tired to make another trip up and down and up.
I can tell you that our time with Benjamin is wonderful and better each passing day. He shared his voice with us a bit today. Not much mind you, but the moments when he does are a treasure to us. It is a significant sign to us that he is warming to us, even if it is just a little. I mean can you imagine being thrown into a room with two people who speak like, well like we must be from outer space or something. To trust us you would not be quick to either. Sorry, channeled Yoda for a second there.
So when we wake up, we will post lots of pics.
Ed
Unfortunately, I forgot the camera upstairs and it has the pictures of Benjamin I wanted to post. Forgive me. I'm too tired to make another trip up and down and up.
I can tell you that our time with Benjamin is wonderful and better each passing day. He shared his voice with us a bit today. Not much mind you, but the moments when he does are a treasure to us. It is a significant sign to us that he is warming to us, even if it is just a little. I mean can you imagine being thrown into a room with two people who speak like, well like we must be from outer space or something. To trust us you would not be quick to either. Sorry, channeled Yoda for a second there.
So when we wake up, we will post lots of pics.
Ed
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Don't Tell PETA
Fur is everywhere in Siberia. I've never seen so many fur coats.
We thought it would be fun and funny to go to the local department store and try on the latest in Russian head gear.
I wanted Linda to model some Russian evening gowns for you all too, but we probably pressed our luck far enough on the first photo shoot.
Ed
We thought it would be fun and funny to go to the local department store and try on the latest in Russian head gear.
I wanted Linda to model some Russian evening gowns for you all too, but we probably pressed our luck far enough on the first photo shoot.
Ed
Travel Plans
Before I even start let me say:
Come on Ahlgrims!! Where are those Bears votes!!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system, let me share with you our travel plans. Our 10 days are up on Thursday the 20th. We get our court papers on the 21st. Once we get them, Nina, our interpreter, has 2-3 days worth of paperwork to do. She is going to try to get it done in just one day. We are still staying in Novosirsk over the weekend, but are now planning to head to Moscow on Monday morning, rather than waiting until the 26th. This will allow us to leave Moscow on the 28th rather than the 30th, and we have a flight out of Amsterdam that same day. That gets us home 3 days early!!
Now, for some cultural silliness. This entry doesn't really warrant the title "cultural snaphot," but I'll get some of those in, too, in the coming days.
As we were waiting for the train out of the Siberian forest at a little station in the middle of nowhere, a single engine drove slowly by. Ed started pumping his arm up and down. (Do you remember doing that to passing trucks when you were a kid?) To my great surprise, the engineer then blew the train whistle!! I guess there are some gestures that are universal. Nina and I were cracking up.
Come on Ahlgrims!! Where are those Bears votes!!
Okay, now that I have that out of my system, let me share with you our travel plans. Our 10 days are up on Thursday the 20th. We get our court papers on the 21st. Once we get them, Nina, our interpreter, has 2-3 days worth of paperwork to do. She is going to try to get it done in just one day. We are still staying in Novosirsk over the weekend, but are now planning to head to Moscow on Monday morning, rather than waiting until the 26th. This will allow us to leave Moscow on the 28th rather than the 30th, and we have a flight out of Amsterdam that same day. That gets us home 3 days early!!
Now, for some cultural silliness. This entry doesn't really warrant the title "cultural snaphot," but I'll get some of those in, too, in the coming days.
As we were waiting for the train out of the Siberian forest at a little station in the middle of nowhere, a single engine drove slowly by. Ed started pumping his arm up and down. (Do you remember doing that to passing trucks when you were a kid?) To my great surprise, the engineer then blew the train whistle!! I guess there are some gestures that are universal. Nina and I were cracking up.
Day 3
We stuck close to the hotel today and did some shopping. I ended up buying another hat. The first one was practical for the cold. This one I think was a result of all of the hat-trying-on that Ed and I did. (We’ll post some pics of that later.) I now have a Russian-style fluffy hat with ear flaps!! (It was a cheap one.) Hopefully I’ll actually wear this one in MN.Today was a great Ben day. This afternoon we met with the head doctor of the baby home and she went through Ben’s schedule and diet with us. We feel well informed to take over.
Then we got to play with Ben. He is just waking up from his nap at 4:00 and was again pretty reserved when we first met him, but by the end of our time together he was really playful. He definitely remembered the chase game from two days ago. He started the game by looking back to be sure we were watching him, then went to the same door where I would grab him before. When we grab him we toss him up and hug him and kiss him. It is a good time to be physical and cuddle him. By the end of the night he must have done it about 20 times in a row! Every time I put him down he ran for the door again. I was getting tired! His smile and giggle make my heart melt.
Ed and Ben had a little tea party. Ben really liked sitting in the little wicker chair. The doctor said that the kids have tea parties and set the table as part of their social training, since they are not in a family learning these things. All in all we have been very impressed with the care Ben is receiving.Ben also played with blocks and took some pretty good spills as he ran around. No crying tonight. The biggest news is that we heard Ben’s voice tonight!! Up until today he has been silent (except for giggles). Today we heard “arf arf” when he picked up a doggy, and some other babble sounds when I was holding him. Pretty cool.
Maybe it is wishful thinking, but I do think we are really starting to create a bond. When we say goodnight he makes great eye contact and seems a little sad to go. We are so excited for the day that we get to take him home with us!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Today is Day Two
Novosibirsk is a modern city in many ways; traffic control is not one of them. Minneapolis' worst traffic snarl couldn't compare with the one that got a hold of us today. Alright, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but this "jam" did keep us away from Ben today, so the end of our day wasn't what we had hoped for by a long shot.
Our schedule for seeing Benjamin is 4:00 - 6:30 pm. Not a huge window in the grand scheme of a day, and that's probably why we have been able to be so active on this blog. Aside from blogging we've been getting to know the city a bit in our free time, but today it backfired on us.
We were having a completely enjoyable day until the traffic problem. We did go to the Siberian forest and had a good time walking around in the woods until it was time to go and catch the train back. The train ride was fun and gave a good glimpse into a Siberian's everyday life.
Everything took a little longer than expected however, so we got back later than we wanted to. We have to cross the Ob River to get to Benjamin's home. As far as we know there are only two bridges that allow you to do this in Novosibirsk. Anyway, if one of them becomes a "parking lot," like the one we were trying to cross most certainly was, the other one does too. 1.5 million people, two bridges; you do the math.
We will not fail you tomorrow Benjamin!
Ed and Linda
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
A Quick Explanation
So I actually started this blog before we ever knew who Benjamin was. Bart, our dog, was on my mind at the time I guess, so I used him as the mascot for this blog. I pretty much forgot about this blog until we got over here and decided to give it a try again.
Boy am I glad we did. Not only are we documenting our story here a little bit, but we are staying in touch with our wonderful friends and family back in the States. The first thing we do every morning is run down to the lobby to check for new comments and emails. Boy were we disappointed to see that we shut that function off last night.
You may have noticed the video of Bart jumping off the dock. Maybe someday we'll teach Benjamin to do the same thing, except he'll probably be jumping into our arms instead of swimming back to shore with a stick in his mouth.
We'll post Wednesday's adventures later today. I think our representative is going to take us to some college town in the Siberian forest. I think it's about a half hour from Novosibirsk by train. And of course we'll be visiting Benjamin again too.
Ed
Boy am I glad we did. Not only are we documenting our story here a little bit, but we are staying in touch with our wonderful friends and family back in the States. The first thing we do every morning is run down to the lobby to check for new comments and emails. Boy were we disappointed to see that we shut that function off last night.
You may have noticed the video of Bart jumping off the dock. Maybe someday we'll teach Benjamin to do the same thing, except he'll probably be jumping into our arms instead of swimming back to shore with a stick in his mouth.
We'll post Wednesday's adventures later today. I think our representative is going to take us to some college town in the Siberian forest. I think it's about a half hour from Novosibirsk by train. And of course we'll be visiting Benjamin again too.
Ed
Oops. We turned "comments" off
In an effort to make it easier for people to post comments, we seem to have blocked everyone from commenting. Please give it a try again.
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Day 1 of 10
We had a nice first day of our wait in Novosibirsk. I (Linda) am not over jet lag yet and was awake to stay by 4:00. I tried for 2 more hours to sleep, but gave up at 6:00. It was a nice, long, relaxing morning. We certainly don't have all that many of those at home, so we will enjoy them here. We stayed in the breakfast room reading, talking and blogging until it closed at 10:30. Then we hit the town.
It is pretty cold here. The temperature itself isn't so bad, but the wind really bites the face. We walked around quite a bit and then went to an art museum. They have a really nice collection. At 3:45 we were picked up at the museum and headed over to the baby home. It was great to see Ben again!
At the start of our visit he was reserved, but very quickly relaxed. He really likes putting blocks in a box and then taking them out. He plays on his own at first, but then interacts with us more and more. He really likes the run-away-I'm-gonna-getcha game. I love that game, too! He would walk several steps away and then look back at us. Then I would start the chase and he would giggle. He has a great giggle. We tried to capture that on video - check it out. :-)
We heard his first cry tonight! Wow. He had a toy of another girl that was being visited and we asked him to give it back to us. He didn't want to! When we finally got it from him he really cried. This was the first time he has cried around us and it was good to hear. He didn't have a tantrum or anything, just a normal kid cry. Then Ed said "Horshesh peet?" (Do you want a drink?) and he stopped crying immediately! He really likes water. I forgot to bring his sippy cup tonight so he was soaked by the end of our visit, but he really wanted that water.
I just checked my watch and am amazed that I am still awake at 9:25! Maybe my jet lag is coming to an end. More to add tomorrow.
Love,
Linda and Ed
It is pretty cold here. The temperature itself isn't so bad, but the wind really bites the face. We walked around quite a bit and then went to an art museum. They have a really nice collection. At 3:45 we were picked up at the museum and headed over to the baby home. It was great to see Ben again!
At the start of our visit he was reserved, but very quickly relaxed. He really likes putting blocks in a box and then taking them out. He plays on his own at first, but then interacts with us more and more. He really likes the run-away-I'm-gonna-getcha game. I love that game, too! He would walk several steps away and then look back at us. Then I would start the chase and he would giggle. He has a great giggle. We tried to capture that on video - check it out. :-)
We heard his first cry tonight! Wow. He had a toy of another girl that was being visited and we asked him to give it back to us. He didn't want to! When we finally got it from him he really cried. This was the first time he has cried around us and it was good to hear. He didn't have a tantrum or anything, just a normal kid cry. Then Ed said "Horshesh peet?" (Do you want a drink?) and he stopped crying immediately! He really likes water. I forgot to bring his sippy cup tonight so he was soaked by the end of our visit, but he really wanted that water.
I just checked my watch and am amazed that I am still awake at 9:25! Maybe my jet lag is coming to an end. More to add tomorrow.
Love,
Linda and Ed
Monday, December 10, 2007
The Countdown has begun. 10...
We're just finishing up having breakfast on Tuesday morning; not your typical American continental breakfast here. My favorite part of the whole breakfast buffet is the black coffee. "It's darker than midnight on a moonless night."
(There's a Russian souvenir in our suitcase for the first person who can add a comment to our blog that can correctly identify from where that quote comes.)
Speaking of darkness, the days are noticeably shorter here. The sunrise was at about 8:45 this morning and the sun sets at 4:00 pm. Siberia is really beautiful right now. It seems like it snows just enough each day to keep the city looking fresh and white. The hoarfrost covering the trees is beautiful as well. It's a winter wonderland for sure.
We'll visit Benjamin this afternoon just as it's getting dark. We'll do our best to get some more photos of him for tonight's update.
Thanks to all for the wonderful comments and emails. This has been a fun way to keep in touch with you all from such a great distance.
Love,
Ed and Linda
(There's a Russian souvenir in our suitcase for the first person who can add a comment to our blog that can correctly identify from where that quote comes.)
Speaking of darkness, the days are noticeably shorter here. The sunrise was at about 8:45 this morning and the sun sets at 4:00 pm. Siberia is really beautiful right now. It seems like it snows just enough each day to keep the city looking fresh and white. The hoarfrost covering the trees is beautiful as well. It's a winter wonderland for sure.
We'll visit Benjamin this afternoon just as it's getting dark. We'll do our best to get some more photos of him for tonight's update.
Thanks to all for the wonderful comments and emails. This has been a fun way to keep in touch with you all from such a great distance.
Love,
Ed and Linda
We're parents!I
Well sort of. The good news is that the judge approved our petition to adopt Benjamin, the bad news is that she did not waive the 10 waiting period liked we had hoped. Bummer.
So we're going to be here awhile and almost certainly won't be home before Christmas. We took this news a little harder than we expected we would. I guess we had rather high hopes based on other recent families all getting their 10 waiting period waved. Oh well, the end result is all that really matters, and another few days over here is something we can handle.
The court process was a bit odd. We met with a translator yesterday who "prepped" us with information about the whole process. She gave us examples of the kinds of questions we would be asked, told us a bit about the judge, and other people that would be present. She gave us good feedback on what would be appropriate to mention and what would be best to omit.
The court proceeding seemed very brief. What is strange is that the judge never looked at us, not once. I'm not sure if she really looked at anyone else in the room either. She was a very stern looking woman, and asked us only one question I think. Our translator said that was because we did such a good job in presenting ourselves. Hard to say why the judge then made the decision she did. Frustrating for sure.
Our translator/representatives were not very happy with the judges decision either. We had brought a small gift with us for the judge, but they did not even want to give it to her after the hearing. They will do everything within their power to get us out of town the minute our 10 days are up. That's good. They'll probably be pretty sick of babysitting us by then.
We'll visit Benjamin every day now until we finally make the last trip to go get him and take him with us. I think this wait will actually make the transition to being with us a little less traumatic. He'll feel a little safer leaving his home if he knows us a little better.
Well we're tired after a long emotional day. We just got back to the hotel after dinner, and Linda is actually sleeping in the chair next to me as I sit in the lobby and type away.
The computer battery is about dead here too, so I think all three of us will go up to our room and try to recharge.
Good night for us, Good morning to you.
Ed
So we're going to be here awhile and almost certainly won't be home before Christmas. We took this news a little harder than we expected we would. I guess we had rather high hopes based on other recent families all getting their 10 waiting period waved. Oh well, the end result is all that really matters, and another few days over here is something we can handle.
The court process was a bit odd. We met with a translator yesterday who "prepped" us with information about the whole process. She gave us examples of the kinds of questions we would be asked, told us a bit about the judge, and other people that would be present. She gave us good feedback on what would be appropriate to mention and what would be best to omit.
The court proceeding seemed very brief. What is strange is that the judge never looked at us, not once. I'm not sure if she really looked at anyone else in the room either. She was a very stern looking woman, and asked us only one question I think. Our translator said that was because we did such a good job in presenting ourselves. Hard to say why the judge then made the decision she did. Frustrating for sure.
Our translator/representatives were not very happy with the judges decision either. We had brought a small gift with us for the judge, but they did not even want to give it to her after the hearing. They will do everything within their power to get us out of town the minute our 10 days are up. That's good. They'll probably be pretty sick of babysitting us by then.
We'll visit Benjamin every day now until we finally make the last trip to go get him and take him with us. I think this wait will actually make the transition to being with us a little less traumatic. He'll feel a little safer leaving his home if he knows us a little better.
Well we're tired after a long emotional day. We just got back to the hotel after dinner, and Linda is actually sleeping in the chair next to me as I sit in the lobby and type away.
The computer battery is about dead here too, so I think all three of us will go up to our room and try to recharge.
Good night for us, Good morning to you.
Ed
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Sunday Night
We just got back from the baby home. We had a great time with Benjamin tonight. We took him out to get his passport photo taken, then went back to his place to play. He was certainly smiley and giggly this afternoon. And his tongue was sticking out at least half the time. Pretty cute.
He's changed a little bit since we were last with him. The most notable change is probably the rate at which he moves and the skill with which he moves things. We were only mildly disappointed to see that he had recently received a haircut. Last week we received photos of him with this blond curly hair. Now his "do" is buzzed.
We both pretty much fell asleep on the car ride home. We're back at the hotel now, and I just came down to the lobby so I wouldn't fall asleep in our hotel room. I'd like to stay awake until at least 10:00 so that I can get on schedule over here.
We have a little preparation to do before our court appointment tomorrow. We met with our court translator this afternoon and she went over some of the questions that the judge and prosecutor are likely to ask us. It's nothing that we need to be too worried about, but we will probably still worry. Tomorrow is a big day for us no matter what, so we pray that it will go as well as possible.
By the way, the "PDA" couple I mentioned in the last post had to be in the mid 50s, but carried on like they were teenagers.
We love the comments. Feel free to email if you wish. So far access has been pretty accessible.
Ed
He's changed a little bit since we were last with him. The most notable change is probably the rate at which he moves and the skill with which he moves things. We were only mildly disappointed to see that he had recently received a haircut. Last week we received photos of him with this blond curly hair. Now his "do" is buzzed.
We both pretty much fell asleep on the car ride home. We're back at the hotel now, and I just came down to the lobby so I wouldn't fall asleep in our hotel room. I'd like to stay awake until at least 10:00 so that I can get on schedule over here.
We have a little preparation to do before our court appointment tomorrow. We met with our court translator this afternoon and she went over some of the questions that the judge and prosecutor are likely to ask us. It's nothing that we need to be too worried about, but we will probably still worry. Tomorrow is a big day for us no matter what, so we pray that it will go as well as possible.
By the way, the "PDA" couple I mentioned in the last post had to be in the mid 50s, but carried on like they were teenagers.
We love the comments. Feel free to email if you wish. So far access has been pretty accessible.
Ed
We're in Novosibirsk
Well after a long trip we're here. Our plane landed Sunday morning at about 5:30 am Novosibirsk time. That's 5:30 pm CST. We were greeted by our two contacts, Nina our interpreter, and Gendrich our reprensatitive. They filled us in on all the "goings on" of this trip, and we did the best we could to take it all in. They got us straight off to our hotel where we checked in and got a good couple of hours of rest followed by breakfast and a shower.
We are now sitting down in the lounge of the hotel, getting a little www time in before we meet a court representative/translator at 2:00. She'll go over the whole court process with us, and then we'll meet Nina and go to the baby home around 3:30, TO SEE BEN! Benjamin will get his passport photo taken today. So we hope to get him styling before the big picture.
Our trip was pretty uneventful really so that was nice. All planes were on time, and all baggage managed to find us on the other end. We sat behind a real "lovey-dovey" couple on the way from Amsterdam to Moscow. Their affections seemed to intensify as the trip wore on the bottle of whiskey was consumed. The flight attendant told them it was not proper to "byob." So they were slighty a little more discrete after that, with their alcohol consumption that is. Their love for each other was expressed with rapid fire kisses from time to time and much running of the hands through the hair and other "PDAs."
Anyway, Linda can't believe I'm typing so much, and quite frankly neither can I. I mean this is really "journaling," and as much as Sara and Martha like to do that, I've always snubbed that.
Perhaps we'll check in again before we go to bed again tonight and even upload a picture of Ben.
Love from Novosibirsk!
Ed and Linda
We are now sitting down in the lounge of the hotel, getting a little www time in before we meet a court representative/translator at 2:00. She'll go over the whole court process with us, and then we'll meet Nina and go to the baby home around 3:30, TO SEE BEN! Benjamin will get his passport photo taken today. So we hope to get him styling before the big picture.
Our trip was pretty uneventful really so that was nice. All planes were on time, and all baggage managed to find us on the other end. We sat behind a real "lovey-dovey" couple on the way from Amsterdam to Moscow. Their affections seemed to intensify as the trip wore on the bottle of whiskey was consumed. The flight attendant told them it was not proper to "byob." So they were slighty a little more discrete after that, with their alcohol consumption that is. Their love for each other was expressed with rapid fire kisses from time to time and much running of the hands through the hair and other "PDAs."
Anyway, Linda can't believe I'm typing so much, and quite frankly neither can I. I mean this is really "journaling," and as much as Sara and Martha like to do that, I've always snubbed that.
Perhaps we'll check in again before we go to bed again tonight and even upload a picture of Ben.
Love from Novosibirsk!
Ed and Linda
Friday, December 7, 2007
Almost ready to go
Well Linda and I are sitting at our local coffee shop not talking to each other, and not even sitting at the same table, as we get our last internet fix in before we head for the airport. Our internet service has been down at our home, so we've been running over here when we need to.
I'm just putting a post here quick to more or less test out my blog setup. I've restricted the access so you'll have to be invited to view it. If you know of someone who you think might benefit from some good random posting, this might just be the place for them.
Actually, we hope to use it in order to update you all from time to time on our journey around the world and our journey to becoming parents. We are so thrilled to be leaving today on our way to get Benjamin. It's almost hard to believe I just typed that.
Anyway, time to leave the coffee shop and our Minneapolis life behind for awhile. We'll post again when we have time and can figure out access.
Bye for now.
Ed
I'm just putting a post here quick to more or less test out my blog setup. I've restricted the access so you'll have to be invited to view it. If you know of someone who you think might benefit from some good random posting, this might just be the place for them.
Actually, we hope to use it in order to update you all from time to time on our journey around the world and our journey to becoming parents. We are so thrilled to be leaving today on our way to get Benjamin. It's almost hard to believe I just typed that.
Anyway, time to leave the coffee shop and our Minneapolis life behind for awhile. We'll post again when we have time and can figure out access.
Bye for now.
Ed
Friday, June 1, 2007
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