Delays and more delays

It is 8 pm and I'm still in Washington. My flight from Moscow was delayed for 4 hours. That delay made me miss my 5:20 connection from Washington to Charlotte. The next flight they could get me on leaves here at 10 pm. Eventually I will be home...24 hours after I left my hotel this morning. =)

Mommy/Daughter Day

My day started with the drive to Aleksandrov.(I've been spelling it wrong up until now) The farther we got out of Moscow, the more snow was on the ground.

Got to spend about 2 1/2 hours with my girl today!!! She was in much better spirits. She actually played with me. I took a whole tote bag full of toys; finger puppets, a musical glow worm, talking cell phone, books, etc. Guess what her favorite was? None of the above, she loved the tape measure I brought to take her measurements. Go figure!

Baby's got a new pair of shoes!!! Not really hers but at least the boots have gone into retirement.

Riley kept playing with my scarf while I was holding her. I decided to let her wear it for awhile. What a fashionista!

Daddy, look who can stand up now!!!!

Cure for loneliness-retail therapy!!!

Once again I didn't sleep at all last night. My days and nights are completely turned around. It will take me a week once I get home to get my sleep patterns back to normal! Oh well! The good news is that when I headed out this morning on my shopping(not buying)expedition, there were two inches of snow on, and it was still snowing!!!!! I'm really frustrated about all the red tape concerning this adoption taking so long. BUT, I did so want to see Russia in the snow!!

I went to the giant high-end shopping mall called the GUM. Wow!! Couldn't afford anything, but did I ever have a nice time ...browsing. Cartier, Dior, Armani, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vitton were all my friends today. I've heard that the GUM is the butt of many Russian jokes. One I've heard is why would you go to Paris to buy a tie for $900 when you can buy it in Moscow for $2000. Below are a couple of photos of the GUM. Not too shabby, huh?!

This last picture is of the hotel lobby. I was trying to explain to the boys how my window looks out over the lobby and not the street. Now they can see it for themselves

I'm leaving tomorrow at 8 am for Alexandrov. I'll go by the passport office there then I'll get to see Riley at the orphanage. I'll have more pics tomorrow. Brannon, I wonder what she will be wearing?!

Dreary Day in Moscow

It seems that I got a bit of a cold and sore throat from the dry recirculated air on the flight over. I had wanted to hit the GUM(google it) today but with it being 35 degrees and sleeting, I decided to stay in. So there isn't much to tell. No grand adventures or incredible sites for Suz today.

There was one bright spot to my day. I got to video chat with all three of my guys!! Technology is wonderful, almost like being there. Now if I could just work out this teleportation thing....... ;)

All Is Well.

I am safe and sound in my hotel room in Moscow. I actually had the best travel experience so far. Sorry, Mike! This is despite the date. I didn't realize that yesterday was Friday the 13th until a lady in the security check line pointed it out after seeing my boarding pass for seat 13D. :(

I met a really nice woman during the wait for boarding in Charlotte. She was heading to DC (not Davie County), for a job interview. We had a nice chat that just made the time fly by. On the flight to Dulles, I sat beside a guy who was an Eagles fan flying to San Diego, via DC, to see the Eagles play the Chargers on Sunday. He was very talkitive, as well, ...he went to sleep and started snoring. Now that, reminded me of being at home with Mike, so I was comforted by it. :)

As some of you know, I was concerned about having to sit next to a stranger for 10 hours on the flight to Moscow. Can you believe that I had an entire row of three seats to myself!!!! Then when we landed at Domodedovo airport there was NO ONE in line at passport control and customs. I was in the car and on my way to the hotel no more than 45 minutes after we landed!
All I can say is that God IS concerned about even the little things in our lives. To him be ALL the glory!

Me, Myself and I

We have decided that I'll make this trip to Russia alone. It just isn't practical to pay for airfare for two and have Mike miss three days of work when I can take care of the passport and visa alone. Please keep me in your prayers...I'm dreading being alone, especially for the longs flights over and back but I do have the peace of God about doing it. I can't let my surface emotions cloud the peace that I have deep within. I know that even though Mike isn't with me, my savior and constant companion is!

I'm wondering if I need to leave Mike the 10 page "what to do while I"m gone" list that I usually leave with the "boysitter"? What do you think, Krystal? Will Logan's basketball uniform get washed? Will the pets get fed? Will all three of them live on nabs and moon pies while I'm gone?

I want everyone to know that, thanks to Cathy Davis, the Alexandrov Baby Home will be receiving a thousand beanie babies. Cathy, I hope they don't search my luggage at the airport!? Can you see me in a Russian jail for smuggling beanie babies into the Russian Federation?

4 Trips!!

We have found out that we will need to make 4 trips to Russia instead of the three we were expecting. The Passport officials in Vladimir have refused our request to let our adoption coordinator sign for Riley's passport and visa. One of us has to appear IN PERSON to take care of this. That means a 12 hour flight, then a three hour drive to keep a 30 minute appointment in Vladimir, then 15 hours back home.

We will get to visit the orphanage and spend a couple of hours with Riley. Yea!! That will make this seemingly useless 5000 mile trip worthwhile.

It's Never too Early!!

Despite what Mike may think, it is NOT too early to start decorating for Christmas. We started with our two main trees this weekend! As you can see, Brannon and Logan are filled with joy at the prospect of helping. Not!

Last weekend, we got the crib bed out of the attic and put it up in master bedroom. We have been told that babies from orphanages have a hard time transitioning from sleeping in a room full of babies to sleeping in a room alone. Research also says that it helps in the bonding process to have them sleep with their parents for the first few months. So I guess our plan is going to be "hello Riley, goodbye sleep!"

We still have no word about when she will be home. So, to keep myself busy until we get our trip dates.....I'll spend my days decorating for Christmas and listening to the Transiberian Orchestra!