Moscow to Krasnoyarsk March 1 - 2

For those of you not into details- skip to the bottom for the short version-

Hey all, after checking out of the hotel, eating a fabulously expensive lunch at the German restaurant in the hotel, we made it safely to the airport and are now settled in here in Siberia.

The flight over was excellent. Tim and I were concerned about this leg of our journey due to the age and cramped nature of the last Aeroflot flight we had. We were overwhelmingly thankful as we boarded a new plane Saturday night. It was pure luxury compared to our other flight.

Our seat traveling companion didn’t speak English. I kept feeling a prompting from God to show her our son’s picture. I kept ignoring it thinking it was just me. After praying a little more about it, I finally showed her- I said, “Te moi sin.” This is my son. She nodded- Harasho- good (PS- this is very phonetic spelling for Russian- I know it is terribly wrong, but so is most of my Russian- so if you know what I am trying to say- you probably speak more Russian than me J) One of the pics was of the sign saying Sosnovoborsk. We were struggling to communicate questions with sign language, so I whipped out the dictionary my little sister gave me for Christmas, and for the next couple of hours, we had a blast talking to each other.

My new friend Katerina, is an accountant from Berlin going to visit her son and 3 grandson’s somewhere in Krasnoyarsk Kye- she still had a 13 hour bus trip ahead of her. She’s staying for 21 days, so we’ll just miss her. She’s an evangelical Christian and is delighted to continue praying for us as we have court on Tues. I’d ask you all to lift her up in prayer, too, for a great time with her grandchildren, and safe travel back home.

We got off the plane here in Krasnoyarsk just after 5:30am local time. We all loaded on the bus for the trek across the runway, and were dropped off very close to the exit. It is a different experience- you go outside first, then around the corner where the parking lot it and then back into the other side of the building to retrieve your baggage.

Elena and Sergey were standing there, outside, waiting for us. It was great how God honed all our senses to them- we made our way straight to them. Jeannette, Thomas and I waited in the van while Sergey, Elena (sometimes also called Yelena), Tim and Greg went for the bags. We made our way safely to the Hotel Krasnoyarsk, got our rooms and tickets for breakfast and said goodbye to Elena and Sergey for a little while.

Tim and I came up to our rooms and unpacked. Boy, did that feel great!!!!! We had left everything packed and in the Ziploc baggies while we spent our couple of days in Moscow. I detest the unsettled feeling one gets when one lives out of luggage. So, the first thing we did- empty all the bags, and stash stuff away to make this our home for the next 2 weeks.

Did you catch that- 2 weeks. We are in a small room with a queen and a half bed- not quite a king- but bigger than a queen. We have a great view of the Yesiny River and the courtyard in front of the Ballet/Opera house. It is really quite nice. Not the luxury of the last hotel in Moscow- but less than ½ the price, too!! The furniture is reminiscent of dorm furniture. Not really expensive, but serves the purpose just fine. We have a nice fridge as well as a tv, with one English speaking channel.

In 12 days, we will be moving into a small suite- 2 rooms- one the size of this room for us, with a second smaller room with a couch, crib and some more storage space. Why in 12 days? Because that’s when we go from couple to family!!!!! How incredibly exciting is that? I can hardly believe it. It’s almost like dreaming you can fly. It has seemed so real for so long, yet it will finally become real, for real.

So we finished unpacking and went to breakfast. We were able to join Jeannette for a little while. Thomas had already hit the hay. He has done so well traveling halfway across the world. I think he feels almost as much excitement as we do. After Jeannette left to join her family, Tim and I sat and sipped another cup of coffee and tea.

Then, to our great joy and amazement, in walked Chris and Penny and their 2 sons. It was so incredibly good to see them. We had been hoping they would be coming to breakfast. They had only had their sons for less than 36 hours and already looked so comfortable. They made this look so easy!! What great parents they are from the get go!

Breakfast tickets are purchased when you check in. we had thought about just doing oatmeal and such- but we can get a great breakfast in, meet up with all the other adoptive parents here and not need as much for our lunch. There is quite a variety. Not everything is familiar to us, but we’ve been a little daring with each meal and tried something new. Penny’s little guy, just a month younger than ours likes the porridge. If you like oatmeal- similar- but they make it from many different sources- oats, wheat, mullet, meal, corn, etc. Each day seems to be a different type.

We went back to the Goeppner’s room for several hours and they told us what it was like visiting the boys, what the first night was like, the schedule, what they had seen of our son, and just the usual catching up. It was soo good to be able to spend time with them. They are excited because Chris’s sister and brother-in-law are coming in the morning to spend a few days with them and the boys and fly back home with them.

We walked to the store last night with Greg. Tim and I were making a valiant attempt to stay awake until bedtime last night so we could get accustomed to time change more quickly. After 36 hours, we finally fell in bed around 8:30 last night. After a few awakenings, we got almost 11 hours of sleep. Yeah for us!

The grocery store is very packed with such a diverse amount of things. They do have peanut butter!! And a lot of baby and children items- like Nestle’s chocolate milk in the little drink boxes J and all the cereals and formula items. Nice to know to keep your weight down in your luggage on the way over. We had fun getting around only knowing how to say please and thank you and having no clue what anyone was saying to us. We used a lot of hand motions- and now have some sliced bologna (maybe) and cheese to go on our bread for a quick lunch one day. Last night we had delightful PB&J sandwiches on bread that would make our Haiti team at home feel right at home. I don’t think other countries use as much gluten and stabilizers as we do in the states. But not bad!!

OK- I know it has been a few days since we posted- thus these exceptionally long blogs- but I figure you’d like to know. I know I loved hearing the details. So, I’ll continue to give folks the choice… hehehe.

We leave in a few hours to go to the baby home and see Sergey. I don’t think even I have enough words to describe how I feel, so I’ll just tell you I am beyond excited. I am praying I don’t dissolve in a puddle of tears (of joy) when I see and hold our son again. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!!

We are going to the German Restaurant tonight with The Goeppners, the Kushs and hopefully the Dini’s! I may have a lot to tell you about tomorrow, too, especially since we have court tomorrow!! The Dini’s and the Swingle’s will go together for appointments at 1000 and 1200. This will be Monday evening at 2200 and 0000 (for those military buffs) EST. If you are up and are willing to pray, we will take all we can get.


Short Version:
Arrived safely after a great flight. Ran into the Goeppner’s- they’re doing great- going to see our son in a few hours. Very excited about that. Dinner tonight at the German restaurant with everyone. Court tomorrow.