Trip 2 - Day 9: Block Party

Any self respecting hockey fan (apparently, I'm not included in this category) knew the importance of Russia & Canada's game last night. Me? I didn't even know there was a hockey game. Go figure. That is, I didn't know until some insane hour when car horns started blaring, people in the street below started shouting, something sounding much too similar to bombs exploding was going on nearby, fireworks were set off which looked like bullet tracers to one very confused and bleary eyed American... Niiiiiiice way to be woken up in a foreign city. Very nice. I thought we were under seige and for a nanosecond thought to myself "Great...and I forgot to register us with the American Embassy on this trip!"
What I thought was the end of the world was actually Russia trying (and succeeding) to win their first world title since 1993, and the defending champions (that would be Canada) trying to win their 4th championship in 6 years. Or so say the articles I googled to find out what in the world rattled me out of bed and caused a few more gray hairs to pop out. I skipped the coffee fix this morning. I had enough of a jolt last night to last me awhile, thank you very much!
I'm the type of person who is up at the first hint of daylight and it's hard for me to take a nap unless it's completely dark. Moscow has my internal clock all messed up because it doesn't get dark here until after 10:30pm, and the sun rises around 5:45 or 6am. So there is actually very little "nightime" for me to sleep in. I'm lucky if I fall asleep here before midnight or 12:30, and then I'm up before 7am. After 21 days of this, I'm just wondering how long it will take me to get back into my normal routine once we're home. Oh, wait a second...I think I can kiss any sense of "normalcy" goodbye now that Ilya's going to be taking over our household! Actually, I can't wait for this to happen.
Last night's little block party did me in, though, and I actually slept till 8:30 this morning, and Norm finally rolled out of bed around 10 or so. It was raining so we decided to chill in the apartment for a bit and see what the weather had in store for us. After we took showers, we noticed the sun starting to peek through so we headed out to the Arbat area again. There is a children's store close to the apartment we're checking into tomorrow, and we wanted to scope it out. We found it, as well as the chicken shack (for lack of a better term) that Susan raved about on her blog. After Norm bought 2 roasted chickens, we headed back to the apartment and have been hanging out ever since. Not much exciting going on around here today. Sorry, folks! Like how I reeled you in to reading this post, though?!
Tomorrow we will see Ilya again, and then check into our new apartment in the afternoon. We'll be staying there through the end of our trip. Our current apartment has been fine, but I'm looking forward to a change in scenery. This is a slide show of what we have called our humble abode for the past 9 days:

Trip 2 - Side Note: Iguana's R Our Friends!

Or they are for at least one guy hanging out at Red Square yesterday. He was walking around with 2 pet carriers and I thought for sure he had a couple little dogs in them. He stopped at a beautiful fountain, opened up the carrier doors and out crawled these 3 iguana's. They didn't bother anyone, didn't really move even except for the little one you see crawling on the back of one of the larger guys. The 3 of them just hung out on the side of the fountain, enjoying the gorgeous day, basking in the sun and obviously letting their ego's get a little inflated with all the ooing and aahing from passersby. Normally I am freaked out by anything reptile but these guys (or gals) were so peaceful I didn't mind them much. That's not to say, however, that I wanted to pet them! I don't think Norm needs to worry about me wanting to bring these particular souveniers home with us!

Inquiring minds wanted to know what was up with the lizards in the slide show, so there you have it boys & girls!

Paka!

Trip 2 Day 8: Moscow Trekkers

These shoes were made for walking...my feet, not so much! At least not on some of the cobblestone streets we encountered today. Youch - these puppies HURT!!

Norm & I tried - notice I said tried - to meet Becky & Keith at noon at the GUM today. We failed. Miserably. I'm not sure how we all missed each other but we did. Becky even has video proof on their blog that they were there...waiting for us...for a very long time. Oopsie!!

More about the GUM (pronounced "goom") can be found here: http://www.gum.ru/en/ If you're traveling to Russia, it will be well worth your time to check this out in person. It's breathtakingly beautiful.

So instead of meeting up with Becky & Keith as planned, we ended up walking around Red Square a bit but couldn't go as far as we wanted because a large portion was blocked off - I think due to the European Football (soccer) Championship game on Wednesday. I guess there are pre-celebrations or something equally festive/roudy going on. My instincts tell me this is a good place to avoid going until after Wednesday!

Since we couldn't walk around Red Square, we set out about the outside of the Kremlin walls, ended up way farther out than we (okay, I) expected to be and then we (okay, me again) started wondering if we'd ever make it back to our apartment. We finally did but a large portion of our "stroll" was off the normal touristy beaten path. Obviously all ended just fine for us but I don't recommend to other families that you just go out and wander without knowing a little more about the neighborhoods you're in. One street in particular seemed a little...seedy...and I wasn't entirely comfortable with our surroundings.

Despite our little mix up earlier in the day, we were finally able to meet up with Becky, Keith, Ron, Dana & Aaron for dinner at My My (moo-moo) Cafe on Old Arbat at 5pm. Cute cow, huh?

We're all going to try to meet again on Tuesday so we can get an update on Becky & Keith's little Peanut, who they will meet tomorrow!

Wow...what a difference from our first trip in March. You know what we saw in March? Mud. Lots and lots of mud, everywhere. It is absolutely gorgeous here now, so I'll leave you with another slideshow of beautiful Moscow in May!

Trip 2 - Day 7: These Little Piggies Went to the Market!

This morning we met Ron, Dana & Aaron at Pushkin Square at 11am to head to the Verniszah Market at Izmailovsky Park. Try saying that 10 times fast!! LOL!

In order to get there we took the green line metro 1 stop from Pushkinskaya to Revolutsii where we switched over to the blue line. From there we went 4 stops to Izmailovsky Park. (Side note for future travelers...technically there are 5 stops between Revolutsii & Izmailovsky Park but one stop was closed, so always know the NAME of your stop, not just the number of stops the map says are in between!)

The Verniszah Market is, in one word, HUGE!! Oh my goodness, it's just a maze of little stands and vendors, crowds of people, lots of Americans which surprised us, and good prices on all kinds of stuff which vendors will typically negotiate with you. From what I understand, this is the largest souvenier market in Moscow. I can't imagine one being larger than this one! There are rows of matryoshka dolls, Soviet military paraphenalia, a flea market, paintings...you name it, it's there! Ron knows a few of the vendors, and more importantly the best chef (meaning he's never gotten sick from eating this guy's food! LOL!), and he introduced us to those he knew. It was a fun day, I'm still stuffed from lunch, and we were able to pick up a few things to bring home with us. I can't say what, though, because that would ruin the surprise for a few people.

We got back to the apartment around 4pm I think, and have just been relaxing. I'm exhausted because I didn't sleep well at all last night. I was having bad dreams for some reason and am hoping tonight isn't a repeat.

Tomorrow Norm & I need to exchange currency again, pick up a few things from the elaborate grocery store across the street, and we might take a stroll down to Red Square. We can get there in about 10 minutes by walking straight down Tverskaya. We can see the towers from here so it really isn't far at all. At 5pm, we're meeting Dana & Aaron, Becky & Keith (who arrived in Moscow today) and hopefully Ron at the My-My Cafe (pronounced Moo-Moo) on Old Arbat. Becky's blog cracks me up & I cannot wait to meet them in person!

We won't see Ilya again until Tuesday. I miss him and hope he's feeling better. Tuesday is also the day we switch apartments to one located on Arbat. I'm not sure what our schedule will be for seeing Ilya past Tuesday.

The slideshow at the top are just some of the many things we say today. I have lots of other pictures to upload from earlier this week, which I'll do a little later. Hope you enjoy!

Trip 2 - Day 6: VEELKA!!

If you're feeling brave, take a stab at what that word means. Otherwise, wait until the end of this post!

Little man wasn't feeling well today. Poor guy! It was even difficult to get laughs out of him when we walked, which is HIGHLY unusual. You may remember I told you that he laughs with literally each step he takes. He's obviously teething, his little nose was very runny and I lost count of how many times he spit up. I felt bad for him and hope this weekend brings him lots of rest and love from his caregivers so that he feels better when we see him again on Tuesday.

Tonight we went out to dinner with Ron, Dana and Aaron. We met Ron outside his apartment at 5:30, and the 3 of us headed towards the Starbucks on Old Arbat to meet Dana & Aaron. The evening was gorgeous and unlike our venture out to TGI Friday's, the weather cooperated the entire time. We would have never found the restaurant that Ron took us to, and let me tell you the walk there was absolutely worth every step we took and then some! The food was amazing, the restaurant was adorable, and the dessert....WOW!!!!! I'll just leave it at that because there are no words that I can write to adequately how scrumptious everything was. Dinnia, if you're reading this your favorites were ours as well and I have to say that you have excellent taste! The website of the restaurant is www.gogol-mogul.ru. If you're ever in Moscow you've got to try this place. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Oh, and the menu is in Russian and English. Even better!

This brings me to "veelka." Dinner was going great and nothing was lost in translation with our waiter. I mean, how hard is it to point to something on the menu! All was going well until we tried to order dessert. Ron recommended the blini with strawberries but said the it's large enough for him & Dinnia to split it. So, we tried to order 3 to split amongst the 5 of us. Well, the waiter didn't quite get what we meant and instead, he brought us 1 blini split into thirds. Okay, not a big deal because each 1/3 was still pretty large. What we needed though was another fork because we were short one and this is where things got lost in translation. We tried to tell the waiter what we needed, and then he disappeared. We could see the little stand with forks on it, but our waiter went nowhere near it. He was gone. When he finally reappeared he didn't have a fork in his hand, so we tried to ask for one again. Mind you, the entire time we're saying "fork" in English. Well, this poor lad thought we were trying to order another blini and he placed that order with the kitchen. Finally, I whipped out my handy dandy Russian translation book and blurted out "VEELKA!!" I'm sure by now you realize that means fork! He looked at us like we were fools, rolled his eyes, asked if we wanted a blini and when we said no, he finally brought the other fork. So that's your Russian lesson for the day.

Tomorrow we're heading out to the market with, guess who? That's right...our new sidekicks Ron, Dana & Aaron! I kinda feel bad though because I talked their ears off tonight about my involvement in animal rescue. Dana made the mistake of asking me what type of work I do with animals and although Norm's groan wasn't audible to anyone else, I know he was thinking "Grrrreat!!!" After that I pretty much dominated the conversation.

That's it for today. Hopefully the weather cooperates during our venture to the market. Becky & Keith will arrive in Moscow tomorrow. Please pray for safe travels for them!

Trip 2 - Day 5: And the verdict is...

DA!!!

Woo-hoo!

Pasha said he would pick us up at 9:30 for our 11am hearing. 9:30, no Pasha. 9:35, no Pasha. 9:40, Karyn really starts to freak because there is STILL NO PASHA! You just never know what cruel jokes Moscow traffic will play on you. I had no idea how far away the courthouse was, how far away Pasha was, if he had set his alarm correctly last night...I checked our phone twice to make sure it was plugged in & working...and of course it was. Finally at 9:45 he called and said (read this in your finest Russian accent) "Kareen, dees ees Pasha. Ieee downztairz. How are you deez morneeng, dear?" Very cute!

Traffic wasn't all that bad at all and we got to the courthouse at 10:30. I have to say it's a beautiful building and I was very impressed with both the architecture and the interior design. They even had comfy, modern chair/bench things to sit on and worry! Just kidding. I actually woke up this morning much calmer than I thought I would. More on that later though.

"S" told us that Dana & Aaron's hearing had started on time, so I started the countdown to our hearing at 11am, which came and went and no Dana or Aaron walking around the corner to announce their news. I know some of their family members read my blog, and I am so happy to have you here! Thanks for stopping by! I don't know if Dana & Aaron have had a chance to update everyone yet and I don't want to steal their moment, so you'll just have to stop by their blog and read for yourselves!

Around 11:45 we were whisked away to the courtroom so quickly that I didn't have a chance to get nervous again. The proceedings started immediately and we flew through everything. Neither the Judge nor the Prosecutor bothered to ask us any questions which is strange. "N" told me later that it's because our speeches were "so good." Cool! At 12:30 the Judge came back into the courtroom and announced that they were granting our petition!

Giving the speech was nerve wracking but not as bad as I thought it would be. Want to know what was by far the hardest part of the day? Listening to the social worker and prosecutor say over and over that "no one was interested in the baby", meaning no biological family members or Russian families who had visited the orphanage had come forward to adopt our son. No on was interested? Oh, really... Hearing that over and over was like a knife being stabbed into my heart repeatedly. I wanted to scream out "Hello? Over here!! WE'RE INTERESTED!" There are tons of family members, friends, blogging buddies, co-workers, business associates and yes, even complete strangers spread throughout the US, across the world even according to my site statistics, who are "interested" in the well being of our son. Never again will those words be uttered about our Ilya. Never!

After court we took the obligatory New Parent Photo on the steps of the courthouse and headed back in to Moscow to yet another notary's office. This time, we needed to sign a Power of Attorney allowing Pasha to do a bunch of running around for us on Tuesday, May 27. With this he will be able to pick up Ilya's adoption decree, passport and birth certificate. Those 3 things are all at opposite ends of Moscow and is literally a full day of running back and forth. Norm & I get to take it easy that day and let Pasha do all the work. No complaints here! Interesting side note about this visit to the Notary. When we walked in it was probably in the 60's outside. Very pleasant. As we sat there waiting, and waiting, and waiting it began snowing, the wind started roaring again and turned bitterly cold! Once we were finally done it was still cold but the snow shower had passed and the sun was out in all its glory! Very strange weather here.

Norm & I are now back in the apartment with our heads spinning, trying to comprehend the fact that we are parents now. Proud, fortunate, lucky, BLESSED parents of such a wonderful little boy. Yes, we have to wait through the 10 days but that's a technicality at this point.

I mentioned above that I was much calmer today than I thought I would be. I owe that to the many, many people who lifted up prayers for us & Dana & Aaron. I cannot thank you enough. There were even some people who commented on the blog or sent me private emails between 3am-4am EDT to say they were up praying for us. Ohmygosh!! I was half kidding when I wrote that post yesterday, but THANK YOU!! We definitely felt the power of your prayers and each and every one is appreciated more than you'll ever know. Now, if I can recruit all of you to pray that hard again when we fly home with Ilya, we won't have any worries at all on our 10+ hr flight! LOL!

So, your prayers are part of what got me through today. The 2nd part was keeping my bearing. My Christian bearing that is. When Norm & I were in the Air Force, maintaining our military bearing was drilled into us from day one. This morning I woke up determined to keep my Christian bearing - - focusing on Jeremiah 29:11 and Revelation 3:8, focusing on the cross, focusing on Jesus, focusing on the reason we chose Peter as Ilya's middle name...(if you need a refresher, read this entry again). When you start to doubt or worry, is it because you've lost your bearing? If so, it really is easy to find again. I certainly did and how wonderful it is to have!

Trip 2 - Day 4 Do you have plans @ 2-4am EDT?

We visited with Ilya for about an hour today. It was another great visit full of laughs, smiles, hugs, kisses, walking...and more spit up on dad. So far I've been able to dodge that bullet but I know my day is coming!

We left the orphanage at 1:30 and spent the next THREE HOURS in Pasha's car trying to make it to a photo place to print some additional pictures for court tomorrow. I was getting pretty nervous with all that time sitting in traffic because we were supposed to meet with our court translator "N" to go over what to expect to have happen tomorrow. As it turned out, she too was stuck in traffic so she ended up meeting us in our apartment at 5:30. It only took about 40 minutes to go over everything we needed to know, and she gave us a homework assignment to write our speeches. Ugh... This was NOT a fun task and I truly hope that what we prepared will "wow" the judge.

After "N" left, we met Ron at Pushkin Square and the 3 of us walked over to the TGI Friday's on Arbat for dinner with: Emily, Dave & baby Zach; Denise, Mike & baby Joshua; and Dana & Aaron. It was wonderful to meet finally meet everyone in person and Mike really helped to put my mind at ease regarding court. So thank you Mike for everything you said tonight! Your son is beautiful and we were so impressed with how well he did with all the excitement at the restaurant!

It was pouring when we left TGIF, and Norm, Ron & I had a pretty long walk ahead of us. The wind was unrelenting as well and I got back to the apartment a popsicle. Here's an example of how soaked we got!

So, court for Dana & Aaron is at 10am Moscow time tomorrow, and ours is at 11am. If you find yourself unable to sleep, you could lift up a few prayers for all of us between 2-4am EDT, as that is the time frame of Dana's hearing starting and ours ending.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your support, encouragement and prayers. It's hard to believe that in 12 hours, 12 years of hopes and dreams of becoming parents could be reality for Norm & me!

Paka,

Karyn & Norm