We're Home

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.

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.

Merry Christmas from The Spohrs

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!

Benjamin Babbles

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.

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.