Lots To Do

I leave one week from today.  Still lots to do.  A friend gave me a lot of stuff for the little man.  I greatly appreciate her generosity, now I have to find a place to put it all!  That, with packing, getting his bedroom and playroom ready, child proofing, etc. I'm busy, but it's all good.  

Going to the Yankees Opening Day tomorrow, should be fun but cold and damp as a winter storm approaches tomorrow night.  It will be a good way to get me in shape for the cold weather in Russia.  Happy Spring!!!

Court Date

Today CHI called.  My court date is April 14th.  I will be going to Moscow on April 6th. so I can visit the little man several more times before court.  Lots to do before I go, I'll post again soon. 

Happy Spring!

Today, the first day of spring is my favorite day of the year.  It is truly a 'new beginning'.  I hope you all have a great spring!

Next Steps

Just a brief update since I've been home for a week now.  The CHI staff in Moscow is working with the court to determine my next steps.  Hopefully I'll get a court date quickly.  I should hear something from CHI soon.

Home

I made it home last night, it took just over eighteen hours door to door.  We had a delay in Moscow due to snow and then they had to de-ice the plane.  Once we took off it was a pretty smooth flight.  Leaving Kennedy Airport, we ran into a lot of traffic, it made me feel like I was still in Moscow!

Now I have to wait for a court date, I'll speak to CHI this week to get their feeling on when they think it might be.  Of course, as we all know, nothing is really predictable in this process so it's basically wait and see what happens.   

Moscow City Tour

This morning I went on a complementary Moscow city tour that CHI provides to adopting families.   My tour guide was Olga, Olga trains other tour guides so you can imagine how much she knows.  Since I went to Red Square on my own the other day, we decided not to go to Red Square and to see some other sites that are not normally included in the tour.  The tour included a Russian history lesson because a lot of the buildings we saw were built, torn down and/or rebuilt after a war, revolution or change in leadership.  Olga also took me to a shop to buy some Russian souvenirs.  The tour was very nice except for the weather, it was very cloudy and windy so the pictures are not great but I did enjoy the tour.

After the tour we went to the Notary, a process that normally takes no more than an hour, usually less, took us over four hours.  Ultimately the documents were prepared properly and I signed them.  Then an hour ride in traffic back to the hotel.  When I got backto the hotel, I went for a walk until it got too cold to be outside.

Tomorrow I come home and wait for a court date.

Some pictures from today's tour and a little bit of what Olga told me.

Me in front of the Kremlin.

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.  It was originally built commerating the victory over Napoleon.  It was demolished in 1931 to make way for Stalin's Palace of the Soviets.  The palace was never completed and the foundation of the building became the world's largest outdoor swimming pool.  We went inside, the art work, the alters and design are spectacular. 

The monument of Peter the Great.  Apparently this was originally comissioned by the United States to be a monument to Christopher Columbus but the United States did not like the monument so the artist put a new head on it and here it is.  Notice that the ship looks like a Spanish ship.

The Novodevichy Convent was built for Nuns from high ranking and royal families.  At one time there were 10,000 peasants to tend to the needs of the Nuns.  It is adjoined by a cemetary for the rich and famous, war heroes and politicians.  You have to be approved by the state to be buried in the cemetary.

The tall building in the back of this picture is one of the Seven Sisters.  They are a group of skyscrapers built in Moscow, each with a huge star on the top that can be seen from very far away.

Posted at 7:21 PM.

Playing with Crayons

Today was the last day I'll see the little man on this trip.  He warmed up quickly today and went right for the toy bag.  After he ate his Cheerios we played with the crayons for a while.  His playing with crayons includes drawing some lines, taking them out of the box and putting them back in and dropping them on the floor for the other kids to pick up, repeatedly!  Everytime he dropped them, the other kids would come running over to pick them up and hand them to me, apparently he thought this was great so he kept doing it.  We also discovered that the little man can dance!  There is a couple from Spain at the orphanage adopting a boy and a girl, siblings.  They had a little music toy which he spent quite a bit of time with while their daughter played with the crayons.  It was nice to see him playing with the other kids.   

Tomorrow morning I get a tour of Moscow city, I'm looking forward to it.  Then it's off to the Notary to sign the papers that will begin the court process to bring the little man home.  Another busy day!

Posted at 6:25 PM.

Cheerios, Bubbles & Red Square

Today went well, the little man warmed up a lot faster than yesterday.  His focus today was primarily on Cheerios and bubbles.  After the Cheerios were gone and he checked the container many times, he started playing with the other toys.  When it came time for the bubbles, he decided he had to do it, he wasn't entirely successful but he was determined and he seemed to be having fun.  He blew (more like spit) the bubbles at me, at the plants, at the stuffed animals, at everything he could think of.  Besides the bubbles, the most fascinating toy was the Cheerios container, next time I may leave all of the other toys home and just bring Cheerios and bubbles, it may work!

I got back to the hotel about 2:30 PM so I decided to venture out.  I took the Underground to Red Square.  After getting a little bit of Russian food, a made to order bilini with cheese and mushrooms, I went over to Red Square, the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral.  Here are a few pictures:

The Kremlin from the distance.

A small church in Red Square.  The funny thing is I opened the door and walked into what appeared to be some sort of service, so I said a prayer.  There were about 15 people singing, incense burning and a woman selling souvenirs.

Red Square from the distance.

 The Spasskaya Tower, part of the Kremlin.

An ice sculpture of St. Basil's Cathedral.

And the real thing, St. Basil's Cathedral.

Posted at 8:42 PM.

Orekhovo-Zuyevo

Things went well today, I went to the Ministry of Education for information about the little man and then to Orekhovo-Zuyevo.  Orekhovo-Zuyevo is the region where the little man lives, it is an industrial city in the Moscow Oblast located about 60 miles or so outside of Moscow. With traffic, and there is a lot of it all the time, it took us almost 3 hours to get there today.  I was able to meet with the orphanage doctor and then spend a couple of hours with the little man.  He was happy and playful and seemed to enjoy our time together.  Right now I am waiting for some more information which I hope to get tonight. 

Tomorrow's plan is an early day at the orphanage, I'm being picked up at 8 AM to go visit him.  I expect it to be another busy day. 

If yor're interested in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orekhovo-Zuyevo.

Posted at 10:26 PM.