Nasty Day in Moscow

It was a nasty day in Moscow.  The total snowfall for the past two days was almost two feet and then today it warmed up enough to turn into slush.  Dirty, yucky slush.  And to add to that slush there was some nice freezing rain.  It was just gorgeous!  But dad and I ventured out anyway since I was going completely stir-crazy.

But let me back up a little bit.  Last night went really well.  Maggie slept through the night and I actually had to wake her up at 7:15 this morning.  Of course that was great for Maggie but I was still up at 3:00.  At least I went to bed at 9:00 and got about 6 hours of sleep.  I still look like a train-wreck, however, and am very ready to get back home!

After I woke her up this morning, we had breakfast and played at the hotel for a couple of hours.  Although the weather was the pits, we still decided to go ahead with our plan. We walked the 20 minutes over to Red Square and went to the mall to thaw out. I did not wear my long johns and literally had ice crystals on my jeans.  Maggie was nice and warm besides her cheeks since she was in the baby carrier under my jacket.  We burned some time in the mall and then headed to St. Basil's Cathedral.  Ted and I did not go inside on either of our two trips and I so wish that Ted got to see it.  The Cathedral is truly amazing - one of the coolest places that I have ever been.  We toured the Cathedral for about 45 minutes or so and then headed to lunch at a pizza place that Ted and I discovered on our first trip to Moscow.  Maggie was starving too and we all had a great lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel and Maggie immediately went down for her nap without a peep.  She was exhausted from all the touring!  I hung out in dad's room and watched a movie that I had downloaded from iTunes while dad got a massage!  I tried to take a nap but I am just enough adjusted to this time that it wasn't going to work.  I had to wake Maggie up from her nap at 4:00 and we played around the hotel until dinner time.  Dad and I went back to our favorite spot about a block from the hotel.  I was wearing the wrong shoes and stepped in a huge puddle and was soaked through and through.  Dad was sweet enough to go back and get my correct boots so that made dinner much better.

I am now back at the hotel and have been visiting with two other families who have also adopted.  One family is the one I have spent time with most of the week from Jacksonville and today a new family from Texas came in.  They actually adopted from Vladivostok and through the same agency that we were using when we never got a child.  I am definitely going to have to look into that one when I get home. . . .

But for now I think that I am going to call it a day and head to bed.  Ambien is definitely in my future.  Hopefully I can get a better night's sleep tonight.  One more day!!!!!

A few pictures - Day 3

Here are a few pictures from tonight.  Dad and I gave Maggie her second bath.  She is still unsure about the whole bath situation and stood up the entire time. She didn't cry, but she was definitely nervous about it.  Her hair is getting softer and softer as I wash it and dad noticed that it is actually getting lighter.  I wonder how often she was bathed in the orphanage?

Her hair is wet in these pictures.  Although she has a ton of hair, it is so fine that it dries so quickly!  I can't wait for it to grow out so I can get a bow in it.  The orphanage obviously has given her some pretty bad haircuts!

happy girl after her bath!

crawling towards mama

looking at papa

big smile!!!

All Done!

Everything is complete on the Moscow end of things.  Now dad and I just have two more days to hang out until we get on our flights home!  We had to build in a couple of extra days in case anything went wrong in any of the steps that had to be completed this final trip (especially at the Embassy), but thankfully everything went smoothly today.

Last night was not as great a night as the first, but we survived.  She woke up with a coughing fit and refused to sleep in the pack and play after that.  I put her in bed with me and although she slept soundly, I didn't get much sleep.  Thankfully, dad came and got her this morning and let me get three much-needed hours of sleep.  They are really bonding and I am so appreciative of him being here.  He is so great with her and she really loves being with him.  It is amazing how fast she is adjusting to everything!  I am praying tonight goes better!

Vlad came and got Maggie and me at 10:40 to head to our appointment at the Embassy.  There is a ton of snow here and it has snowed all day long today so we left early for our 11:30 appointment.  Thankfully the traffic was not too bad and we arrived at 11:00.  The Embassy was, as it had been described to me, much like the DMV -- a lot of lines and a lot of waiting.  I didn't know what to expect, but that was certainly not it.  The place was full of Russians applying for tourist or business visas to the United States.  There were also 4 other American families getting visas for their adopted children so it was fun to get to talk to them.

The first thing I did when I got to the Embassy was to go through security and then wander around a corridor to the cashier.  There was a long line, but, thankfully, adoptions don't have to wait in those lines and get to go to the front of the line to pay the cashier.  It costs $230 to get Maggie her visa.  After I got the receipt, I turned it in to another window and waited to be called - which did not occur until exactly 11:30.  The Embassy Official (the only American I spoke to at the Embassy which I thought was really strange) swore me in and asked me a few questions - mainly confirming that everything on her visa application was true.  I had to sign a few documents and that was pretty much that.  She gave me all of my copies of the official adoption paperwork and explained to me what would happen once I got to customs in Atlanta.  Then I had to wait for another lady to call me with the "sealed yellow envelope" that I hand to the customs officials.  Those documents are the ones used by Homeland Security to issue her naturalization certificate once we get back.  I have heard so much about this envelope and it was great to finally have it in my possession.

Maggie will have both Russian and American citizenship until she is 18.  When she is 18 she can officially renounce her Russian citizenship or choose to keep it.  This is much more important for boys who are adopted because there is a mandatory draft for all Russian boys at 18.  One thing that was interesting about this dual citizenship is that if we bring Maggie back to Russia, she will have to travel on her Russian passport so we will have to renew it since it expires in 5 years.

Maggie was starving once I got back to the car and luckily I brought a bottle.  She downed it and was out - well before naptime!  She slept about 45 minutes and then was wide awake.  I fed her a late lunch and then got her to go down for a nap at 2:00.  I had to wake her up at 4:00!  She was out like a light!  Maybe a good omen for tonight?  I hope so, but I am not counting on it!!

I just realized that I have not taken any pictures today.  Ted will not be happy with that!  I will try to take some in a little while - can't miss a day of documenting this adventure!! Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support.  We so appreciate them!

Day 2 with Maggie

Today has been a great day thus far.  It is currently 5 til 2:00 in the afternoon and Maggie is down for her afternoon nap.  I am going to try to get about 45 minutes rest, but I wanted to updated the blog as I don't know if I will be able to do it tonight.

Last night went really well.  She actually slept through the night which I cannot believe.  When I told Masha, she gave me a very surprised look and said that it is "completely unheard of."  She woke up at 7:00 but I think that dad actually woke her (but don't tell him!).  He claims that he heard her waking up, but I don't think that she was fully awake.  I didn't really care though since the doctor was coming at 7:30.  He checked her out and all was fine.  She has what sounds like a chest cold, but he said that the breathing thing that we have heard is from the teething - her lungs are clear, ears are great and throat is clear.  Plus, she is not coughing, really.

Another issue that I was really worried about before I got her was her eating.  I have heard horror stories about kids not eating anything and especially not drinking anything at all.  Again, I have been so lucky, thus far.  She is a great eater and has pretty much loved everything I have given her, and although she didn't love the spinach at lunch today, but she still ate it.  She also has taken the bottles without a problem so that is good!  She also loves Puffs!!  She is so pleased when she eats them and claps for herself.  It is precious.

After the doctor left this morning dad and I decided to take her on an outing.  We walked over the Red Square and I showed dad all the main spots.  They have set up an ice rink and what looks like will be some sort of Christmas village in the middle so he could not get the full view, but he loved it.  We also went over to the tomb of the unknown soldier which was neat. Maggie loved being in the carrier and was babbling most of the morning.  It was precious.

The more time dad and I spent with her this morning, the more and more struck we both were at what a true miracle from God she is. She is so happy and fun-loving (with a little bit of a temper so she will fit right in with the Holts!).  She is already adjusted to dad (which is a HUGE deal since she has not been around men at all) and is not crying when I leave the room (but may follow me where I go).  We even took her to a crowded lunch spot today, and she was flirting with the other people around her.  I am in awe of God's blessings on us right now and it makes me cry in wonder and appreciation for all He has given us.  All of the waiting, heartache, etc. was totally worth it.  I am overjoyed.  Now I just want to come home.

As for tomorrow, Masha presented all our documents to the Embassy today for Maggie's visa, and we got the green light.  My appointment is at 11:30 tomorrow and Vlad is picking us up at 10:40.  The appointment will take about an hour and it is right during lunch so feeding her should be interesting.  Please pray that it all goes well. Once that is done, we are done with everything and will just wait until our flight leaves on Sunday.  I cannot wait to get home!!! I am sure that we will find some fun adventures to go on, and I will, of course, be posting. 

 Here are some pictures from today:

Loves her tongue!

playing with her feet!

At St. Basil's Cathedral - it is about 28 degrees here so we are all bundled up!

Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Gotcha Day!

WARNING - LONG POST!!

Today has been one of the most emotional days of my life!  I cannot believe that it actually happened and she is actually a Holt!  My only regret is that Ted is not here with me.  I am glad that he is at home with the other kiddos though and we have already FaceTimed (is that a verb?) with Maggie.

But back to the day.  Let me break it down . . . .

First, Vlad picked my dad and me up at the hotel at 8:40 as planned.  We went to the passport center first (apparently that was always the plan but in my jet-lagged state, I missed that!), where we gave the lady Maggie's passport picture and I signed a couple of documents.  Super easy and not even a wait which was a BIG SHOCK since it seems like you always wait here!  The passport center was in an area of town where Ted and I have not been before - what Vlad referred to as "old Moscow."  The buildings were gorgeous and there were a bunch of very pretty parks.  All the monuments in the parks (well, not all but most) are gone, however, because at the end of communism they were all town down. So you see a bunch of pedestals where monuments used to be.  It is kinda weird but a very obvious reminder of what once was.

Next we headed straight to the orphanage to get Maggie.  Dad loved seeing in person what we had described and he had only seen in pictures.  We were not there long - about 20 minutes.  The workers took the clothes that I brought for her as soon as we walked in the door to get her ready to go.  We went in to see the orphanage director who gave us a few last documents (her baptismal certificate, immunization records, and a few others).  I gave him his gift and left the other gifts for the children, orphanage doctor and orphanage workers with him to give out.  Soon her favorite caregiver brought her in to us and you could tell that she was scared.  They had put on the snowsuit and she could not move! (Don't worry, I took it off as soon as we got in the car!).  Her caregiver gave me the cross that she got at her baptism (it had been tied to her crib) and also gave me three pictures of her before I met her with dates on the back.  She even wrote out her daily menu which I thought was so sweet!  But next thing I knew, we were shaking hands and we were outta there!  As we were leaving I noted that the last two times I had left the orphanage I had been crying because I was leaving without Maggie, but today I could not get the smile off my face!!

Vlad brought us back to the hotel around 10:30.  Maggie was VERY nervous as this point and really didn't like Papa.  She has not been around men at all (except her limited contact with the orphanage director) and I think that he put her over the edge in this very new environment.  Papa decided to head downstairs to the lobby to hang out for a little while and left Maggie to me.  After about 15-20 minutes she started to relax and we started to play.  I got out the toys and I started seeing her smile.  Then I started hearing her laughter.  It was so nice to hear.  She really has not stopped since.

I brought her down to the lobby to talk to Papa and she seemed a little better, but not much.  We came back up to the room and fed her lunch, which she devoured.  I was very nervous about food and had heard nightmares, but thankfully that has not been a problem for us thus far!  I think that she would have eaten more than I gave her but I didn't want to make her sick!!  

After lunch, I decided that she really needed to go down for a nap since she had missed her morning nap.  She was still on 2 naps at the orphanage (10-12 and 2-4, although she would have been transitioning in the next week or two to 1 nap from 1-4).  I decided with all the excitement that she was never going to go to sleep so I might as well try some Benadryl.  At first I thought that I had made a terrible mistake because as the 30 minute mark hit and she should have been winding down, she starting winding up.  I thought that I was in for the long haul, but then she stuck her thumb in her mouth and did a face-plant into the bed and was out.  I moved her into the crib without a problem.  I was planning on taking a nap myself (I only slept about 5 hours last night and am running on fumes), but Masha called and needed to meet with me so I could sign all the documents for the Embassy to get Maggie's visa.

So at 2:30, Masha came up and we went through the long and tedious process of filling out the 8-9 forms required for Maggie's visa.  It took a while, to say the least.  Most of the forms needed all the exact same information - so frustrating.  But I did it with a smile.  I will do anything to finish this process and get home!!  Once we were done, Vlad called and said that Maggie's passport was ready to be picked up.  Masha and I met him at the passport center, which left my dad with Maggie.  I told him to wake her at 4 and feed her a snack if I was not back in time.  I was worried about her reaction but there was nothing that I could do.  I had to be present to get the passport.

When we got to the passport center, all seemed well and we were called right in.  However, as soon as they opened the passport Vlad started talking quickly and a little bit more loudly than normal.  Apparently they had made a mistake and put her last name as "Home" instead of "Holt."  Uh oh.  And Masha needed to take it with her to the Embassy tomorrow to apply for the visa.  After some discussion and red cheeks on behalf of the girl issuing the passport, she re-did the passport with one problem - we had to go to another building about 30 minutes away (because of traffic) to get the Russian seal.  But, as Vlad says, all's well that ends well.  We got Maggie's passport corrected and Masha will go apply for the visa tomorrow!

When I got back to the hotel around 5:00 Papa and Maggie had bonded.  He had to wake her up at 4:00 and he said that there were a few tears.  But he fed her and once he got on the floor with her and started playing she realized that he was pretty fun and she hasn't turned back!  We Facetimed with Cher Cher, Aunt Bean and Ted and Sam before dinner (our time).  Dad went to a small chamber music concert with Vlad and his wife and then ate dinner. Maggie and I had a date in the hotel and then I started the process of putting her to bed.  I even gave her a bath and although she wasn't sure about it she did not shed a tear and I think that she will come to love it sooner rather than later.  I just had to wash that orphanage off of her - there is still more to come off!   Getting her to sleep took a while, but it wasn't as painful as it could have been and I am truly praying that she sleeps through the night.  Of course I can't blame her if she doesn't - I just took her from the only home she has ever known.  But I like to think that she got more love and attention today than she ever has on any other day of her life.

Okay, I am fading fast.  I will leave you with some pictures from today.

Papa as we got to the orphanage

The favorite caretaker bringing in Maggie

Getting her for the first time!

Waving goodbye

Papa holding her for the first time

Back in the hotel room - still doesn't know what to think

There's my happy girl!!!!

Back in Moscow!

I am back in Moscow!! Dad and I flew out Sunday morning (it is Monday night here) via Paris this time and landed at SVO at 4:15 local time.  Vlad picked us up after we went through customs and immigration and brought us to the hotel.  Things look exactly as they were last month when I was here (and also in September!), but Ted is not with me.  My dad has been great company and I think that this is going to be a great trip.

Dad and I got these huge connecting rooms on the corner of the hotel.  When I walked in my room and saw the crib, I almost started crying.  I can't believe that this moment is actually here.  We have been praying for this for so long and God has placed this little girl on my heart like no other.  I know that there is still a long road ahead, but the journey thus far has taught me so much and I know that the Lord has so many wonderful things in store for us all.

So what is the plan, you ask?  Good news is that Vlad was able to get her birth certificate today, without me, thanks to the power of attorney Ted and I gave him earlier in the adoption process.  So, as Vlad put it when he picked us up -- "You are already a mother of 4."  Wow.  Officially, she is ours.  No one can take her away.  Praise the Lord.

With that step done, we will meet Vlad at 8:40 tomorrow morning (Tuesday, November 27) and go straight to the orphanage.  I have all her clothes picked out and will bring everything that she needs.  I also have bags of gifts for the orphanage children, orphanage workers, orphanage doctor (who matched us with Maggie) and the orphanage director.  Once I walk out of there with her for once and for all, we will head to get her passport - her Russian passport.  She is a Russian citizen and will be one until the plane lands on US soil.

I have so many more words running through my head but I am exhausted and hungry.  I slept about 4 hours total in the past 36 hours and needs to eat and head to bed.  I promise lots of pictures, video and explanation tomorrow!!!

Day 19

Today I am thankful for my sweet girl, Ann Park.  She is currently obsessed with High School Musical and it is precious hearing her singing her heart out to the songs.  Of course, I also hear Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, and various teeny-bopper others!!!

Days 16 & 17

These past few days I have been very thankful for my sweet husband.  I have started to stress (what, me stress?) about the trip over to Moscow and about some other things going on in our lives (it's always something, right?) so he sent me flowers just to brighten my day.  And the note simply said "I've got your back."  Love that man.

Today we spent time with Ward at Saint Francis for his First Reconciliation.  Ward was really nervous and Ted showed, once again, what a great dad he is.  He never ceases to amaze me.  Here we are after the sweet ceremony:

And then tonight we are having a much-needed date night.  The last we will have just the two of us before we are a family of 6 (because of Thanksgiving).  He won't tell me what we are doing.  Casual dress is all I really know.  And I know that we will have fun.  Because we always do.  Boy, am I lucky.

Days 14 & 15

Today I am thankful for our great neighborhood.  Yesterday our across the street neighbor who has a little boy Sam's age had Sam over to play all afternoon.  They had the best time.  And today he came over to our house and played make-believe for about 2 hours.  I loved watching it.  I also loved watching about five other kids Ward and Ann Park's age playing in our yard - some climbing the Japanese Maple, others doing gymnastics and some on the swing set.  What a great thing!!

Day 13

Today I am thankful for my parents.  I am thankful for the way that they raised me and I hope that I am doing the same service for my own children.  They gave me boundaries so that I would feel safe and loved.  I never doubted their love for me and that they would do anything for me.  As a parent, I appreciate all the sacrifices that they made on a daily basis that I was never aware of and generally took for granted.  Thank you mom and dad for all you did and all you continue to do!