Fun Dip

I neglected to mention snacks in my other posts of Trip 2 memories. You may recall, prior to the trip I was warning Jim away from my snacks, to try and preempt any attempt by him to make off with the last half of my only granola bar. Well, this trip he actually packed some snacks himself. Now, to each his own when it comes to snacks...but I try to use a little bit of strategy when picking my snacks. I have trail mix for energy and protein, Fiber One bars for...you know, fiber...and Mentos for those bad-breath moments after sleeping on the plane.

As soon as our plane departed on Trip 2, I looked over to see Jim's snack strategy. He was sitting there (5 minutes into the trip, no less) eating Fun Dip. For those who may not remember Fun Dip from their childhood, it is a bag of pure powdery sugar that you scoop into your mouth with a little stick/spoon that is also made of sugar. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Me: What is that??
Jim: Fun Dip!! It's great! Nothing better than Fun Dip! Do you want some (holding out the little sugar stick he's been licking)?
Me: Uhhh. No. I think I'll pass.
Jim: slurping noises
Me: Is that really the snack that you thought would be the best thing to take with you to Russia? Pure sugar?
Jim: Sure. It's great!
silence
Jim: You're going to blog about this, aren't you?
Me: I'm already composing it in my head.

At least it gave me something to think about on the flight. I sat there imagining our plane crashing on a desert island in the middle of the ocean, and us trying to survive on Fun Dip. My only hope is that the sugar-induced coma would ease the pain of our starvation. Remind me never to sign up for a show like Survivor with Jim.

Trip 2 Memories, Cont'd

One other nice thing about this trip was meeting other adopting families, and even a couple who was there for his work (in mining). That also made such a difference in our experience. We had people to eat dinner with, joke with, and compare stories. One of the couples was Julie and Tim, adopting a 4 yr old boy and a 2 yr old girl, and they had the same court date we did. The night before court, Jim and I confessed how worried we were about court after our translator, Lena, told us again that the judge would not understand our desire to have more than 2 children (she told us "In Russia, we have maybe 2, but mostly just 1 child."). We were really concerned at that point that we would get this far and get rejected in Court. The next morning during the long van ride to court, Tim handed us his notebook in which he had written a Bible verse:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

Tim told us he had been thinking about our fears about trying to explain why we want three, and he woke up at 4am with the memory of this bible verse. So he looked it up and wrote it down for us. We were both so touched by this. We couldn't believe that Tim was thinking about our issue before his big day at court to adopt two himself! I know getting up at 4am could also have been related to the time zone changes, but still, it gave me some goose bumps to think that it popped into his head like that. And it did help give us confidence in what we believe to be true - that when it comes to our children, two was even better than one, and three will be even better than two. And I think going through life as siblings, having three will make them stronger in so many ways. I always loved being part of a family with four children myself. (I did try to explain to Lena that I was the third child myself, but she didn't seem too impressed.)

I am also thankful to Tammy, the wife of the man working at the mine. She was so personable and brave. Every day she walked the streets of Novokuznetsk by herself, mapping out restaurants and markets and points of interest, finding which restaurants had English menus or English speaking people and which had free Wi-Fi. Keep in mind that she can't read or speak Russian, so most of the signs mean nothing, meaning she actually had to go into many buildings in order to find out what they were. She even rode a bus by herself to check things out (I think I might rather have died first). She ended up giving her fabulous travel guide to an adoptive family to use and pass on to others. We never, ever would have found the restaurants with English menus without her. Our translators could have helped, I'm sure, but no one really goes out of their way to map out options for you on these trips, and the agency provides absolutely no information on restaurants or points of interest. The pictures above show the Beerhouse (OK, we could have read that sign, but we never would have walked far enough to find it) where I was able to use the Wi-Fi to update our blog and send emails, and the Liverpool which had an English theme and we had a nice steak dinner. God bless Tammy the intrepid traveler!!

Miscellaneous Trip 2 Memories

One thing I'd like to say is belated Happy Father's Day to my father, Jim's father, and of course to Jim. We were all a little disconnected on Father's Day this year. Jim, the newly father of three, was on the marathon trip home from Russia and, ironically, not able to be with any of his three children. Jim's father was being Grandpa (and being the man of the house while we were away) to his grandchildren, which I suppose is kind of like re-living fatherhood all over again. My father was also enroute home from a trip, and not able to see or hear from any of his 4 children. It was a strange one, to be sure. But the fathers are all so important, rest assured they were not forgotten. I am so thankful to Jim for being such a good father that he is willing to travel three times to Russia (bearing in mind that he is not a traveler, has no desire to be a traveler, and does not enjoy the "adventure" of traveling). I credit him with putting our judge's mind so much at ease during our court hearing that she had no question that he would be a great father to Owen. Jim's father we are so thankful for being here for the kids at home, and holding down the fort (not to mention cleaning our stinky trash cans!). And my father, I'm thankful for all the ways he has helped me and been a wonderful dad. Without him instilling in me a love of travel and a curiosity about the world, I probably would never have come to Siberia to meet Owen. And I'm still waiting for him to finish his novel about Russia that he outlined so many years ago, when he was exploring his fascination for the country and it's history.

So more about Trip 2....Owen's baby home goes to what they call "summer camp" every year during the summer, so that is where we visited him this time. Summer Camp is about 40 minutes outside of the city, and involves a drive into the hills (which, according to our translator, are "just like the Swiss Alps". I was not going to argue that point...). The funny thing is, the Summer Camp home seemed almost identical to the winter home to me. But to be fair, it did have a nicer outside area for playing. And they seem very enthusiastic about the kids being able to breathe fresh air outside of the city, and being outside. I think it is just nice that they even care about things like that. They seem to really want to give these kids the feeling of going to the "dacha" for the summer, and that is a big part of the Russian culture.

You may notice that the weather is slightly better than the weather in Feb/March. It was so nice to be there during this time of the year. It was mid-70s and pleasant (aside from the mosquitos, and the hotel maids who seem to have a strange sense of humor by leaving the windows open in the room every day...windows with no screens). It did rain some, but there were other times when the sun was shining and it was almost balmy. This makes SUCH a difference in the general ambience of the place. Not to mention our moods. It was so much better than the Siberian Winter. Plus, they have really long days. Now, this probably did not help our bodies to the 13-hr time zone difference, as it could be 10:30pm and still look as bright as if it was 5pm at home. I'm not sure what time the sun rose, but it was early enough that it felt as if there was no night at all (and we were up pretty early for plane rides and court trips). It was an eerie feeling of the day never ending, in more ways than one. White Nights is what they call it in St. Petersburg where there is a celebration. I think maybe the nights are even shorter in St. P than Novokuznetsk.

Sweet Success!!

Sweet success in Court! Yesterday we went before a judge in Kemerovo City, and she approved our request to adopt baby Owen! It such a sweet relief. We were worried before court. Our translator again scared us by telling us quite sternly that the judge would NOT understand why we wanted to adopt a third child. We tried explaining ourselves to the translator, and she just shook her head No, and said "she won't understand." So we had ourselves worked up a bit, and the 3 hour drive from Novokuznetsk to Kemerovo City in the rain was dismal. But court went very well. Her first question, directed to Jim, was why we wanted to adopt, and Jim made a passionate speech that appeared to resonate well with the judge. The rest of it was quick and easy, and they approved the adoption request. We stepped out of the courthouse and the sun was shining, and all was right with the world. It really felt like a weight was lifted, and we were almost giddy. The 10 day waiting period was not waived, but we didn't really expect it to be and at that point it didn't seem to matter.

I will post more later about Owen. We have been able to visit him twice now. He is even more adorable than we remember. His eyelashes are the longest I've ever seen on a baby. He warmed up to our cheerios and snacks this time. But he is very worried about us. I don't blame him. When I try to speak a few Russian phrases to him, he shakes his head vigorously "No". Even he knows my Russian is no good. In some ways I do wish we could stay here for the 10 days and visit him more before we spirit him away to a strange country. I know he is going to be terrified. But...I have the feeling that even 10 days of an hour a day will not make him much less terrified. And we are really wanting to go home and reassure Liam and Natalie (and Grandma and Grandpa) that all is well.

All in all, the trip has seemed a lot easier than Trip 1. I think we knew more what to expect. Plus, we are in a better hotel and better location, and have met some other adopting couples and Americans. Jim brought his own granola bars, and I have been stealing his Slim Jims. All is well.

I still don't know if we can post pictures of Owen until the 10 days is up, so I'll wait...although I'm dying to share.

Killing Time

Some summer snapshots.

The other day I was relaying to Jim a story from someone else's blog about Russian adoption. He said "I can't wait until I don't have to listen to these stories anymore."

I don't really agree. I think I'll probably read these types of blogs for a long time, because I find some of them inspirational and some of them a little scary, but all very interesting. But I do know what he means. I am ready (and I know he is as well) to just "live it" and no longer think about adoption and Russia 24/7. I am ready for it to stop being someone else's story and to just start being "our family". I'm ready to just take snapshots of a family together without it having an underlying theme. I'm ready!

Summer is Here

School's out for the summer!

It is hard to believe that Kindergarten (for Liam) is over. It was a good year, and he was sad to see it end. He dressed up for a Kinder Awards day last week. Every kid got an award, but they gave out about 5 different types. Liam received a Roaring Reader award for his reading efforts. That was really great, because he has come a long way this year and I can tell that his enthusiasm for reading has really blossomed lately.

I think the summer will go quickly even with no school, however, because of all the Russian trips and Owen coming home.

I am feeling a little anxious about the trip all of the sudden. I know, it's not just a trip this time, it's a Court Date and then very shortly after, a new baby. Not helping my anxiety is that half of us have been sick with a nasty summer bug. Natalie started it off, and then 5 days later I got it. I won't go into details, but ooohh, it was a naaaasty one. I have been knocked out of commission for days. And I think it is the first time in my life that I have gone more than a day without an appetite. At all. I'm like, "Oh, have I not had anything to eat or drink in 24 hrs? I didn't notice." Seriously, that never happens. Usually after a good stomach flu I am ravenous a day later. This thing seemed to actually destroy my ability to find food or drink even remotely appealing.

So anyway...now my anxiety is high with all of the What Ifs. What if Jim gets it before we leave...or Liam...or Grandma...or we carry something to the orphanage...or we get quarantined in Moscow...the list is endless.

With all of that going on in my head, my body has not been doing a thing. I can't seem to get moving. Not even a thought about packing yet, and we should really be prepared with baby stuff "just in case" the infamous 10 day period is waived (which we hear is ONLY happening in dire cases of medical emergencies...which probably means ours WILL be just to surprise us since we're planning on 3 trips).

I have so much still to do...so why am I blogging??

Lessons Learned

As I prepare for the upcoming trip, I am thinking back to our first trip, and the lessons learned.

First and foremost, I am going to pay much closer attention to what I put in my carry-on this trip, because I know, without a doubt, that the bags under the plane do not always take the same trip as the people aboard the plane. Electric converters/adapters will be going in the carry-on.

I will also be stuffing snacks into Jim's carry-on, just in case he did not learn his Trip 1 lessons well. Many have heard this story already, but I'll tell it again to make my point. Jim is not an adventurous eater. At all. He has no interest in sampling local delicacies, or absorbing local culture through food. Given a choice, he would frequent McDonald's for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This wasn't an option in Novokuzetsk, however. So Jim was hungry. And he did not pack snacks. I packed some Slim Jims (yuck, I know, but the man is picky about snacks even, and these were the only things that got a sort-of thumbs up) for him, but those were in the checked bags. So at one point while we were in Novo, I broke out my Fiber One chocolate/granola bar. One of the few snacks that made it into my carry-on (I figured I'd just pack a few in carry-on, and then I'd have access to the others in my checked bag once we arrived). For the record, I was hungry too. Not because I won't eat local food, but because I'm hungry a lot. If I think I don't have easy access to food, I will undoubtedly be hungry.

So anyway...before I dug into my Fiber One bar I asked Jim if he wanted to share. I only asked because I knew he would say No because he hates granola bar kinds of things. And he said YES. He wanted to share my one and only snack. What?!! Being the dutiful wife, I broke it roughly in half (OK, maybe my half was slightly bigger...) and gave Jim half. I expected the usual negative remarks. Instead, after finishing that 3-bite morsel and licking his fingers, Jim sat back against the bed with a sigh like he was in heaven and remarked, "Oh my God, THAT was the BEST granola bar I've EVER had!!!" So, I say now, "Hands off my granola bars this trip, buddy! You'd better pack your snacks well, because this time when I'm down to my last American mouthful of chocolate and granola I may just run into the bathroom, lock the door, and eat it all myself!"

So, what other lessons.... Oh yes, I will remember that room service is not necessarily easier. In Moscow the lady who brought our food would only take cash - couldn't charge it to the room - and was quite belligerent after we paid her. After much back and forth - our back entirely in English, and her forth entirely in Russian, we called down to the front desk and they translated for us. She was telling us our bills were counterfeit. Oh! Of course! No wonder we didn't understand each other. It never crossed my mind that she was trying to tell us we were dealing counterfeit bills!! We ended up paying for it at the front desk, where they looked at the bills and said they didn't know what she was talking about. Perhaps she wanted US dollars, I realize now.

Let's see...more lessons... Don't be alarmed if there are groups of Russian men downing vodka at the airport at 5:30am like they are at a Friday night happy hour. With any luck, they will pass out and snuggle with each other shortly after take-off, and sleep quite peacefully. I wish I'd taken a picture of them curled up so sweetly together.

Phone access...I swore to myself that this time I would not rely on calling cards that 1) have directions written in Russian, and 2) that only work after a very specific pattern of waiting and listening for dial tones and dings on an antiquated hotel phone. This time I'm going to rent a cell phone specifically for Russia that they will deliver to us in Moscow at the airport. Hopefully it will work better. Jim, I'm sure, will take his beloved iPhone, but I'm afraid it will be way too expensive. If I find out once we get home that we were charged thousands of dollars because Jim was surfing the internet on his phone while we are there and it incurred roaming charges....grrrrr.

I'm sure there are other lessons, but these are just a few that come to mind. Although I'm nervous about court and nervous about the trip home with a new baby who is in total shock about what is happening, I do feel a bit more calm about the travel this time. Knowing at least somewhat what to expect is nice.