FINALLY!!!

Whew! Finally we've arrived in Penza!

Saturday morning was hectic but normal for the "last minute” routine Jason and I have grown accustom too. We got on our 1pm flight with time to spare relaxed in our seats, ready for talk off and then the pilot announces the mechanics need to check out some items and we'll be taxing back to the jetway. UGGHHH! NNNOOO!!! We cannot miss the connection in Chicago to Moscow!! It brought me back to my flight attendant days when people were upset about missing connections and I would have to calm them down. God was so good again though and had the plane in the air within 45minutes and we even had time to spare in Chicago. The flight to Moscow wasn't that full so we had room to spread out and try to sleep. We maybe got a total of 3 hours of sleep on the plane.

We arrived in Moscow and our friend from International Guardian Angels Adoption, Oleg was there to pick us up. It was great seeing a helpful friend after a long day and night of flying! We drove into Moscow and went directly to the Courtyard Marriott City Center where my parents will be staying when they arrive in Moscow on March 14. It is new, clean and really nice looking. It is also walking distance to Red Square. We sat for a while in the hotel lobby, Jason had an espresso and Oleg and I talked about paperwork. I kept noticing people with flowers everywhere and asked Oleg what the occasion was? He said the Sunday after Ash Wednesday is Forgiven Sunday and people bring flowers to each other, etc... I love that holiday!!! I want to celebrate Forgiven Sunday!

After the hotel we drove around for a little bit looking at sites. There were a lot of festivals everywhere because of the holiday. It was so hard to stay awake. I kept closing my eyes and would feel myself falling asleep. We went and ate at My My, which is like a Le Madeline, Moscow style. I had pea soup and Jason had chicken and beet salad. It was very good. We went o exchange money before we got on the train and we had one last Starbucks before heading to Penza. I have a picture of the Starbucks cup with my name on it.... it says Stephenie....but you would never know it. I also ordered all by myself and she totally understood me. I guess there's a universal language for coffee.?

The train was the same one we took last time and it was very clean and nice. All we wanted to do was sleep though! As soon as the "train hostess" checked our tickets and passports we were out! The problem is I woke at about 3am and could not get back to sleep. I watched a movie on my computer, played "Deal or No Deal" on Jason's phone, and still was wide awake. I think it about the time I was crunching on the Sour Cream and Onion Chips that Jason woke up. We finally brushed our teeth and talked for a little while before arriving in Penza at 8:30am this morning.

Tanya and Sasha were at the train station to pick us up and I was thrilled to see them. Seeing Russia on your second trip is much friendlier than your first. It is great to have familiar sites and faces to see. We checked into our hotel, (The Rocea) ate a breakfast of eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, dark wheat bread, yogurt and coffee. Tanya ate with us and we talked about our day. I went up to shower, which felt terrific, then Jason came up to get ready and then we headed to Kutnezts to see Lex.

It is a two hour car ride and the snow was coming down hard. Sasha was being a crazy driver passing all the big semi's. He would pull over and clean his windshield when it got so bad he could see anything. Crazy!

We arrived at the orphanage and saw some familiar faces again. The same sweet social worker and thorough Dr were there. Lex's caregiver brought him in and he said "HERE I AM!!!, All dressed up for you". He had on the usual Russian garb, sandals with funky tights, shorts and a crazy shirt. They had also given him a terrible crew cut with a couple of LONG stragglers of hair left hanging in the back....maybe we can grow a rat tail?? He was a little shy at first, Jason and I played with him while the ladies discussed the paperwork. He was very determined to fix one piece of a broken toy car. They said he does that a lot. He will direct his attention on a task and stick to it until it is complete. They also said he cleans and organizes his toys all the time. Gabi will love that!! They can start an organization company. They should start at my house!

His entire medical checked out okay and his blood work was all negative. Awesome! Next, we bundled him up to get his visa and passport pictures taken. We found out he will have dual citizenship unless he decides to change that later in life. Interesting! He did great in the car... no motion sickness. He was being brave until the man at the photo shop picked him up and put him on a stool. He sat there for about one minute and then started crying. He really didn't make a noise, just a funny face and tears. We calmed him down and he took a great picture. I loved riding in the car with him on my lap. He is going to need a lot of hugs and holding.

We arrived at the orphanage and they unexpectantly allowed us to see his "group rooms". His group was just getting up from naps and after he neatly took off his boots, placed them in his locker, and then put on his slippers he walked in his room and announced "I'm back, but I'm leaving tomorrow!" That made me happy to know he is excited on some level about leaving his comfort zone. He gave Jason and I big hugs and even blew kisses to us then went to see his friends.

Tanya needed to see a couple of older kids at an orphanage on the way home so we stopped and saw them. They were 3 boys about 14 that seemed very well behaved and polite. There was also a girl that was 7 and she was adorable and wanted to sit, lay or be as close to me as possible. It was good seeing these kids and I pray they can find a family to love them. We arrived at the hotel around 7pm Penza time and were ready to eat dinner. Jason and I dropped our stuff at the room and headed down the walking street in search for dinner. Scott Werntz had told us about a potato place down the street so walked down and had dinner there. It was quick, cheep, and tasted good! We’re still not sure what we had on our potatoes (we thought it was mushrooms and onions), but when we tasted it, we think it was liver and onions. We told ourselves it was a special, Asian mushroom cuisine that had a thick texture. We walked around the mall for a little bit, saw some young kids mooning each other and then headed to the room. (We later saw a kid being halled away by the police, and wondered if it was the same one!)All in all, it has been a successful journey so far. Thank you all for your prayers, we can feel them over here! Thanks also to our sweet friend Sandi Walker from Keystone (hey Keystone!) who wrote out a verse a day for us. It has been wonderful to read during these past two days. We love you all, especially our precious Gabi and JR, who we miss tons!!! Jason and Stephenie