Travel Home Day and 1st Day Home

The flying home experience was brutal. Not the flying, we flew mostly with Korean Air and they are outstanding. The airport experience in Vladivostok was not good. We do not have fond memories of that airport. Milo wanted us to be there very early. We left almost 4 hours before takeoff time. I typically would tease him about being so anal about this (being at the airport extremely early). In fact, I teased him about it more than once. As it turns out, it was a good thing. We got there early but had to wait for customs to open. We sat there for an hour until it opened. Then it was a mad rush to get into this small door into the security section. It was like Black Friday in there! We had to get 6 people in (we were first in line by a half hour)and people were trying to cut in front of us. We were one of the first, but then one of the last to get through. We don't know what the holdup was but she worked on our tickets for almost an hour. Everybody else went through one line and got through in the amount of time it took to get us through. Unbelievable! All three kids are going nuts. Finally we get through customs and get to go to passport control. Something was an issue there too! It only took 20 to 30 minutes to get through, but it should only take 2 minutes max. They had to see all our paperwork for the boys to make sure it was all legit. Again, nobody speaks English in the airport so we are all guessing as to what is happening. All three kids are now on melt down and the trip hadn't started yet! Then after waiting about a half hour, we boarded. (Not after getting shuttled 30 feet to the airplane again)

Once on the plane, the kids all did incredible. Silas loved the airplanes and wanted to look out the window most of the time. Even on the 3rd flight, he was happy to be flying. Sawyer did pretty well except when Julie went to the bathroom. Kelsey entertained herself much of the time. It couldn't have gone much smoother for the actual flying. Sawyer slept off an on but not continuously. Silas slept about 4 hours on the 2nd flight and about an hour on the 3rd. However he didn't eat anything. We found out later he was running a temperature. So his attitude was great, especially if you consider that he had a fever. We were all exhausted when we got back. We gave all the kids baths and sent them to bed. The slept past noon. (Weren't in bed until almost 1am.)

When we got to the MN airport, we were greeted by Julie's brother Dave and his family (Necia, Darien and Keona). They had balloons and gifts for us. It was really cool to see them and for them to meet the boys...even if it was a short visit. Then we got home and found an extremely clean house, clean dogs, and welcome home gifts. Thanks everybody! You know who you are. That was really awesome. Our fridge and freezer was filled with food. You all blessed us so much. Thanks a ton.

The first day home was good. Two boys pretty overwhelmed and still tired. They were in a daze like the rest of us. Our bodies don't know what time it is (thus my posting at midnight). They haven't quite been themselves yet. They are doing well but they are very insecure about everything. Happy but insecure is how we would describe them. Silas is terrified of the dogs and loves the cat. Sawyer loves them all and constantly chases them. He is very gentle though. Karen (Julie's mom) is going to be a big help this week. We are trying to spend lots of time with them and there still needs to be meals made and messes cleaned up. The two boys seem pretty well adjusted but are very sad when one of us leaves to go do something. Sawyer mostly just for his mom, but neither seem to like when I'm gone either. It will be interesting to see how transitioning back to work a little at a time will go. Silas copied a ton of English today. He seems to be soaking it in. He is saying words we didn't even know he knew. Course, he doesn't say the words we know he knows. You know? Sawyer is speaking much more now too. They both ate well today and slept the best yet last night. (Course they were way low on sleep!) Sawyer also dove out of his crib somehow. That crazy houdini! He got a little bump on his head, but nothing even mildly serious. The day went very well.

It was a good day, but now it's time to try to get my body back on Minnesota time. We will try to get them to bed before 10:30 tomorrow night!

Thanks to everybody who was praying us through this process. We did it! Gods blessing of two little boys is now complete. We can hardly believe it's over, but we made it!

Please continue to pray for the boys transition as well as Kelsey's transition and our own! There are a lot of challenging times ahead. We are confident that God will see us through those times. He always does. Don't believe me? Go back and read the blog again...starting from the first visit! Our specific prayers for a sibling group ages 3 and 1 were answered. That is how powerful prayer is. Many people have been praying us through this whole process. We appreciate that so much. God's people praying is a powerful thing! This story is a testimony of what God did in our lives. Hopefully you believe in the power of prayer in your life. Do you have a big request of God? Do you believe that God answers prayer? Then ask and believe. We did. And we were shocked at what God did in our lives. But we shouldn't be. God is in the business of doing the unlikely and the impossible.

Thanks everyone for following along. I'll update the blog not nearly as often, but I will let you know how things are going for a while for those that are interested.

Again, we have been humbled, encouraged, blessed and touched by your interest and support.

Nate

Final Day

Here we are. It is our final day here in Russia. Although things have not been bad at all, we are very ready to come home. Right now, nobody has home field advantage. The boys are away from what we know and we are away from our own food, our own beds, etc. They boys will still be starting over when we get home, but at least we will be home. We will have home field advantage finally. We can make food (and buy food that we can read), and do different things with them. We have been doing the same things over and over and I think we are all ready for something new. Nothing has really happened to report in the last couple days. Same schedule, different day. All the days kind of run together.

Silas has been afraid of lots of different things. Dogs, water, big trucks, street cleaners, vacuums, and far away trains. Not sure how he will react to our dogs at home. We think he will love them after he gets used to them. He does love to watch dogs and cats, just from a distance. He also has been extremely whiny. Because he is so small, we think he has been babied his whole life. He expects everybody to bend over backwards for him. That will have to change. Sawyer also has been babied a lot. He wants to be held all the time. When he is crying to be held, Silas is whining about something, and Kelsey is antagonizing...it gets to be extremely frustrating. This happens a lot actually. Still, the boys are doing great. They are really a ton of fun. We are enjoying them so much. Kelsey has done well too, but is finding it really hard to interact with them without one of the boys screaming at her (many times her fault and many times not). This will be a long learning process!

We leave here tomorrow at 3pm (the 24th), this is 11pm on the 23rd for you mid westerners and 10pm for our Colorado family. We should arrive home in Mankato about 11:30pm on the 24th. Weird, I know. But we gain time going back! We have the best possible sinerio for flights and connections if it all works out. Even with great flights and connections, it will take us about 20 hours. So keep us in your prayers during that window. Adults will be tired and cranky and we dont even want to think about what it could be like for the kids. God will get us through. We can't wait to be home. Miss all of you.

This will most likely be my last post from Russia. Thank you so much to everybody who followed along with us on the blog. And most of all, thanks for praying. We are so blessed by our incredible family and friends. Thank you all.

Sincerely,

Nate
(on behalf of Nate, Julie, Kelsey, Silas, Sawyer, and Milo)

Beach Day

There is a beach just a couple blocks from us. Julie and I walked it a few times back in April, but this was the first time on this trip. Everything is Russian so it is really hard to know what things cost and what certain things are. It costs 40 rubles per person to get in. Sounds like a lot but it's really not. The boys loved the water. This isn't the nicest beach here. There is an absolutely gorgeous beach here, but we would need to take a taxi. But this one was pretty nice. The three kids played on the shore and walked into the water. Silas has hated getting his pants dirty or wet up until this point, so we expected a meltdown when he fell in. We assured him it was okay and he was fine. He really loved it. Silas also hates getting water in his eyes and is afraid of sprinklers so we figured Sawyer would be the more adventurous one in the water. Not so. Silas jumped and splashed and had a great time. Kelsey mostly looked for shells. Sawyer wasn't really afraid but not nearly as interested as the other two. Down by the beach was a big bouncy house, so we sent Silas and Kelsey in that. He started off a little scared but ended up having a great time. We came back and got pizza and put them to bed....after their bath of course. Can't skip their coopotsa!

Couple quick funny stories I haven't shared:

1) When we flew into Vladivostok, we got off the plane and were put into a shuttle. That shuttle literally drove 15 feet to the door and let us out. It was crazy. Like something you would see in a stupid movie like Pink Panther or something. All the Americans looked at each other and laughed. It was so unnecessarily silly.

2) Apparently Sawyer is a little Houdini. The first night we had Sawyer sleep in the bed with Julie. I was in the other bed with Silas. Silas tossed and turned all night keeping me up. You have to know that I am a very light sleeper and Julie is an overprotective parent for her 2 year old at this point. Somehow, in the middle of the night, crying is coming from my bed. I pick up Silas to comfort him. Only, it's not Silas. Sawyer somehow got on my bed and was sleeping on the other side of Silas. I am a very light sleeper like I mentioned and was hardly sleeping that night. Sawyer cannot get himself on the bed without help. AND Julie is checking on his every move. How did it happen? We may never know!

That's all for tonight. I added a few more pics so make sure you take a look! Oh, and Julie did much better today. Still a tad sick but we think she is pretty much better. Thanks everybody!

Long Day

Today was a very long day. A very nice day outside but the tornado was inside. Julie needed the boys to sleep last night...and they did. Only, she was up all night again but because she was not feeling well. She took it easy all day. She struggled through it. Sawyer was extremely cranky and Silas was needy and emotional. We tried to keep the kids out of Julie's hair as much as possible. Sawyer took an early nap and they all went to bed early. Kelsey did pretty well today though. The day seemed to go on and on. We made it through though. We are all anxious to head for home.

Pray for Julie as she doesn't want to be sick like last time. And check out the new pictures added! I tried to add video on facebook but the connection was too slow. So the pics will have to be enough for now.

New pics

Nothing really exciting to report today. I know many of you are waiting on pictures, so here you go. Don't miss the family picture all the way at the bottom of the blog page. This is as many as I could get on today. Enjoy!

The pictures don't do them justice of how cute they are!

Nothing more for us to do!

Today we took the boys downtown for the last of our "stuff" to take care of. We got their passports, got their medicals, and got the boys okayed at the consulate. Now our coordinator heads to Moscow for the Visas and finalizing stuff. Nothing more for us to do now. Just sit at the hotel and enjoy the boys...which we have been! We also went to a really cool souvenir shop. It was kinda weird. There were a ton of Chinese tourists in there that went crazy over our "Russian kids". It was like the paparazzi...seriously! They were taking pictures like crazy. They were trying to pick them up, get them to laugh. It was insane. Good thing we had our transporter (taxi driver) to play body guard. Sergei was awesome. He looks like he is in the Russ mafia too. It was crazy. How ever bad you are picturing it in your head...it was much worse.

Silas is a ton of fun. Always laughing, giggling and teasing. He is super small but is extremely active. Doesn't want to be babied at all. He loves playing chase and being tickled. Both boys are extremely ticklish and want to be tickled constantly. Silas has a non-stop motor. Hate to be a stay at home mom with that guy! Sorry Julie, it doesn't get any easier now that Kelsey is heading to school! He loves doing bubbles, loves cars diggers, loves to run, loves to laugh, eats a ton! He won't stay small if he continues to eat at this rate! He hated bath time on day one, but now he is so excited when we say "coo-pot-sa". He is naked in 20 seconds. He just hates getting water in his eyes. Talks quite a bit of Russian but not even the Russian waitresses know what he is saying all the time. He is always smiling. He is an absolute charmer. Everybody loves him.

Sawyer also is fun. Loves to laugh and tease us. Very attached to Julie. He really enjoys me, but after any signifigant span of time (3 minutes) he needs to find momma. He ate a ton the first day but has been much more picky since. Likes to hold bread like a security blanket. He is a giggle box. Always laughing and initiating eye contact. Doesn't say much. Is extremely needy as far as Julie goes. He always wants her attention, so if anybody else is getting it, he cries for it. So there are 3 kids constantly trying to get her attention. Again, that stay at home mom business is going to be great! Julie really will love it. They are all in a very needy period so Julie is exhausted. He has loved bath time. Hated getting in the first time, but since then loves it. Cries when he has to get out. Laughs when he gets water in his face. Chokes on it, gets it up his nose, then laughs. Kelsey found her swimming partner!

It has been great spending time with them. Rough night sleeping last night. Seems to happen often. We are low on sleep but loving it. I hope to get pictures up tomorrow. Thanks for checking up on us everyone!

No longer out-numbered!

I've been outnumbered by the women in my life for the last 5 years, now the tides have turned! Three boys now! Our house is not going to be a quiet one. For those of you looking for a nice quiet vacation, our house is not going to be it! We not only have a very loud and intense 5 year old girl, we now have two loud and intense boys. Good thing I insulated my basement ceiling extra good! Thanks Randy D for talking me into that! Our house is sure going to be fun.

We absolutely love our boys. They are so precious. We couldn't be happier right now. Still stunned by how God worked it out. Anybody would be so lucky to have them, and they end up in our family. God is so incredibly awesome.

Walking down the hall of the hotel to blog every night I pass many doors with crying babies on the other side. It is the most beautiful sound. Not the crying in itself, but what it represents. Many parents going through the same thing we are. Many different excellent parents that are changing these orphans lives forever. We have met so many great people. Some adopting their first and others multiples or they are adopting again. One lady today I met is adopting her 8th - a down syndrome 5 year old. Just awesome. It is so cool to hear those cries. Those cries represent lives changed forever.

Today I was downtown doing all sorts of things in the rain. Paperwork. The most important thing was signing the court declaration. They boys are ours! Tomorrow we need to get their medicals done, pick up passports, and go to the consulate. Thank God we don't need to go to Moscow and that is being taken care of for us! All this will be done when Sawyer is supposed to be sleeping...it may be brutal. That can be the prayer request for tomorrow!

Oh Jealousy

The wait is officially over tomorrow. I need to go downtown and take care of paperwork/visa's and I'm not sure what else early in the morning. Then it will be great to officially have the boys with us.

Kelsey would give you mixed reviews about her brothers at this point. I was pushing Silas on the swing the other day and Kelsey wanted me to push her. She started whining that I liked pushing Silas more than her. I said, "Kelsey, don't be jealous. We need to give him lots of special attention." Kelsey then asked me what jealous meant. I told her it meant she wants what somebody else has. For instance, she wants the attention that Silas has. Kelsey then says, "Yes. That's what I am. I am jealous!"

There has been a whole lot of jealousy on her end. She has been doing pretty well for the most part. We knew going from an only child to sharing her attention with two others would be tough, but it has been harder on her than I anticipated. She loves her brothers but not sharing the attention at all.

Almost up!

The waiting period is almost up. Milo and I went in to downtown for a few more souvenirs today. Train was packed. I got to sit crammed in to a seat with a shirtless guy. What happened to the no shirt, no shoes, no service rule? Come on buddy! The no drinking rule on the train apparently is just a suggestion as well. Just ask the guy across the isle drinking the Jack Daniels. It was a quick trip. We got back and ordered pizza from room service.

Tuesday I go downtown with our coordinator to sign some last documents. I don't even know what I'm signing any more. He is probably signing me up for Jelly of the Month club and having me buy magazines for his daughters' FFA fundraiser or something! Actually, we really trust him but the paperwork was old about 6 months ago. Then Wednesday we have to take the boys to get their last medical checkups so they can be released out of the country. Then we meet with the consulate here (yes they will be here, wahoo!)and then our coordinator will be able to fly to Moscow for us to get the boys Visas and everything else that needs to be done there. After he returns, we get to come home!

Milo has been a huge help. i think he is getting a little tired of the food. He and Julie get the chicken strip basket about every day. I didn't like it the first time, but they seem satisfied! The fries here are great. They rival McDonalds for sure.

Thanks to everybody who is checking our blog. We can't wait to share more with you in a few days...and more importantly introduce you to them when we get back. They are great. We are truly blessed. God's hand is evident in this whole journey.

Waiting Period

We are still in our 10 day wait period so we can't report much at this time. They can still reverse the decision in this period. So we will share much more after the wait period is up. Many pics to be added at that time. For much more detail on what's going on, you can call either of our parents. For church people, I'm going to let Julia know so you can call her at church. I'll probably let Milbretts know as well so they can be another contact in the know. However, I have not talked with either of them yet.

One interesting note from today (although not nearly as interesting as the boys), I had Borscht today. Did i spell that right? Beet soup. For my immediate family who know me well, that is impressive. There was one thing I absolutely hated that my mom made me eat when i was a kid...beets. I have had it once since I graduated high school...and that was when we were eating with the homeless in Denver on our youth trip to Colorado a couple summers ago. I told the youth to eat anything they gave us so we didn't come across as rude. Well, they served beets. And I ate them. I had to! I didn't hate it, but didn't enjoy it really either. So today the special of the day was beet soup. Milo and i agreed to try it at some point, so today was the day. We both liked it. Really! I'm not just saying that. I really liked it. Maybe thats not so exciting for you, but it was a huge breakthrough for me. Some people go through years of therapy for a breakthrough like this! I would even order it again.

Thanks for your patience. Much info about the boys and pictures will come after the wait period is over. Please call one of the above mentioned if you want to know more. Thanks.

Nate

Kelsey meets brother #2

Kelsey met her littlest brother today. She was so proud. She wants to love on him so much...I think she is a little too intense for him. He is so precious. The orphanage workers just adore him. We finally got some smiles out of him. He loves to eat just about anything we give him. I don't think he is going to be picky. He has chunky legs, but I know of a trampoline in Minnesota that is going to tone those suckers up in a hurry! Kelsey is loving the fact that she is "big sister." Already a little jealous at times though. But she has been an only child for 5 years. What did we expect!

We are humbled by all the people thinking about us and praying back home. When I read the Puerto Rico team had a worship time and prayed for us during court, it brought tears to my eyes. My thoughts and prayers have definitely been with my youth group even though we are so far away. We are so proud of them.

Weekend Downtown Trips

Yesterday we took the train to downtown Vladivostok with several other adopting families. We took pictures, looked in some shops, ate at a really nice (but cheaper than our hotel where we usually eat)restaurant. Good thing they had a picture menu! It was maybe the best chicken and vegetables any of us have ever eaten. We haven't been eating much fruits and veggies, so that probably was part of it, but it was sooo good. We spent some time looking into the harbor, got some icecream and headed back. It was a really fun day. We were very tired when we got back, but it was great. It got us away from the hotel which is nice and we got to spend time with all the other families who we get along with really well. There is a real camaraderie with all the adoptive families. We understand what each other are going through. It is really great.

Today we went downtown again. It is cheap to ride the train, so why not? This time just the 4 of us went. First, we got a Cinnabon. Yeah, they had one here, so we had to try it! Then we went souvenir shopping for a while. We headed back to the same restaurant for the exact same meal we had yesterday. Then we hung out at the harbor again until the train came to take us back. It was another nice day. We showered and relaxed a little bit then joined the other families for supper in the hotel restaurant.

Two very nice days together. It was probably the last opportunity we will have to go downtown and souvenir shop, so we are glad we did it. Long day for Kelsey. She is still doing very well. Life will be very different from here on!

Court Day

We made it through court! Again we fought traffic to get there, but we made it on time. The social workers involved in the case however were not on time. We had to wait for them to start. When we got there the interpreter did some last minute prepping for court. It seemed really long but court only lasted about 2 hours. The judge and the prosecutor asked lots of questions. I would say a good number of questions had to do with Kelsey’s adoption and whether we had the finances to care for a family of 5. They also wanted to know what we knew about Russian history and what we would do to help keep the boys aware of their Russian heritage. Overall, court really went smooth. Our interpreter said it went about as well as it can. It was hot in the court room and pretty stressful, but we made it through. At the end, the prosecutor recommended us and the judge decided it was in the best interest of the children to be placed with us. We shook hands with our coordinator and headed back to the hotel. We are excited to be able to check off the “court box” of our checklist.

We are so tense from traffic and court. We could really use a message therapist! Thank you so much for praying everyone! We are now in the 10 day wait period and we won't be able to share much during this time. We will share what we can. Just know we are limited. Thanks for understanding.

Traffic Day!

Today was a very long day. Julie and I left after lunch to go to see Anton. The typical hour and a half drive was almost 4 hours! It rained hard that morning so the roads were even worse than normal. Our translator/transporter told us this was the worst she had ever seen it. There were times we weren’t even moving. She did some illegal off-roading (it would be illegal in the US anyway) through construction zones and it still took that long. It was just plain awful. By the time we got there, our visitation time was supposed to be done. We talked with the social worker while Anton gripped on to orphanage doctor. He did not want anything to do with us. Then they left us alone for about 15 minutes to interact with him. Julie held him while he was always on the verge of crying. If I held him, things would have gotten ugly. She fed him pieces of bread to keep him from crying. He almost always had a quivering lip. If this was any indication of what the beginning is going to be like with him, we have our work cut out for us! Anton was a little bigger than we remembered. He is a pretty sturdy little guy. On the way home it took us 2 and a half hours. It was less stop and go traffic but more bouncing. If I hadn’t taken Dramamine, I would have been in big trouble. Julie and I both felt like we could have used a chiropractor after that ride!

We found out our court time was moved to 10:30am tomorrow. People here are making it sound like court is going to be brutal. They really grill the fathers pretty hard. And court MUST go 2 hours apparently. They are going to try to find something to pick on and then really go at it. Ultimately it isn’t a huge deal, it will all be fine, but they want us to squirm a little bit. So for my praying alliance out there, at 7:30pm Minnesota time on August 4th (it will be the 5th here) we will be in court answering some tough questions. So please remember us in your prayers. Tomorrow is a huge day for us. Thanks everybody!

Kelsey meets brother #1

We got to see Sasha (Silas) today! Milo and Kelsey were able to come too. He was moved from his original orphanage to a summer orphanage. It was only 10 minutes away! He is so small. I guess I was expecting him to grow some in between our two trips, but he seemed to stay the same. He was adorable and remembered us right away. We didn’t have our own room to interact this time. All the kids were outside playing. We took Sasha over to an outside table and we were able to get out some toys to play with. As soon as the toys came out, the other kids of the orphanage flooded our space. I think Sasha liked the attention at first because we were there to see him but after some time he became overwhelmed. This was the first time Kelsey was able to meet her brother. Kelsey did amazing with him. She played with him and was very gentle. After he was overwhelmed, she took his hand and walked him around the playground. Other kids loved her too. She blew up balloons and gave them out. Then she tried playing with them with the balloons. She did a great job interacting with them. She said the few Russian words she knew and just smiled and was friendly. She was so good. Milo was a bit overwhelmed I think. He was doing great with the kids too. The kids wanted his attention and he gave it to them. Several times I caught him with tears in his eyes. The reality of these kids with no homes really sunk in I think. He loved on the kids as long as he could.

It started to rain so we went inside the door and got out his animals sounds book that he loves. Julie went through it with him multiple times. We also got out the goldfish for him to snack on. He really likes them. After a while he started feeding me one every once in a while. I would make a surprised face when he would stick it in my mouth and then he would laugh. Then he started to pretend he was going to give me one, then eat it himself. I would give him a big reaction and he would laugh.

Then all of a sudden it was time to go. They said it was lunch time. Sasha gave us hugs then disappeared into the orphanage. The orphanage director was less than friendly. From his reactions, we are figuring that we will have to wait the 10 day waiting period to have him join us. The plus side to that is that he is only 10 minutes away so it won’t take much to visit him every day.

The rest of the day was cloudy and off and on rain. We walked to a nearby grocery store but it was mostly alcohol. We will have to try to find a better one to actually get food to make lunches. We are looking forward to seeing Anton tomorrow. Although it is an hour and a half drive each way. Milo and Kelsey cannot come tomorrow so they will spend the afternoon together back at the hotel.

Doctors Day

Well, our good nilght of sleep lasted until about 3:30am when all 4 of us were up. We all took Melatonin and fell back to sleep. Actually, I am not sure if I ever did, but we got up at 8:30. We stayed pretty low key all morning and made lunch. Then Julie and I headed to get paperwork notarized and then to the doctors. On the way to the doctors I got pretty car sick. I can go 18 hours of flying and be fine, and then this! Right before my doctors visit?
I was able to get some fresh air for about 20 minutes and I chewed some mint gum and it seemed to help. I was rejuvenated just on time.

Basically, the doctors visits were pretty simple. The phsycologist asked if we were in therapy and if we fought a lot. She signed off. We then had to take our shirts off and have several doctors poke us and ask a few silly questions. I had to breath heavy, touch my nose with my eyes closed, and do one squat. Then it was over. Pretty simple. Julie did not enjoy being topless and having people poke and stare. Can't imagine why!

Milo stayed at the hotel with Kelsey. Kelsey made some Russian friends and played at the playground. They also watched some Little house on the Prairie.

Tonight we ate with a bunch of other adopting families. Some had already had their kids placed with them and others are in about the same place we are. It was a great time of getting to know each other and sharing our our stories of our experiences here in Russia. Kelsey made another friend. He is a 5 year old boy that was adopted from Russia a few years ago. They are adopting again. They should get their next one later this week. Kelsey and this little boy are a great match. They are both really animated and have a lot to say. It was really fun to watch them interact all through dinner and playing afterwards.

Tomorrow we will go visit Silas. Milo and Kelsey get to come to see him. We will see Sawyer on Thursday, but Milo and Kelsey cannot come that day. It is a much longer drive and Kelsey wouldn't enjoy it much anyway.

Then Friday is court day! Our coordinator told us today that our efforts to get a consulate at the US Embassy here in Vladivostok paid off. He said it was because of our letters and efforts that they are providing the service for us. That was cool to hear. We know God had the most to do with it. It is still such great news.

It was a pretty good first day. We haven't seen the sun yet. It has been cloudy the whole time. Hopefully that will change tomorrow!

We made it!

For those of you wondering...yes, a 14 hour flight is as bad as it sounds! Our flight from Atlanta to Korea was brutally long. Flying Korean Air was great though. The flight attendants were really great and friendly, the ride was very smooth, and there is a tv on the back of every seat! You actually get to pick the movies that YOU want to watch! It was awesome. Anybody flying to this side of the world should check out Korean Air.

Kelsey has been an amazing traveler on very little sleep. Not sure how she is doing it, but she has been great. We are all low on sleep and looking forward to a good night sleep tonight. We found out that we have our physicals with the 8 different doctor specialists tomorrow. We also have to get new papers notorized. We will see the boys either Wednesday or Thursday or maybe both. Then Friday we have court. Wont know until then if we get the boys right away or not. I would say there is a good chance we will go home with Sawyer (Anton) that day but not Silas (Alexander.) That might not be all bad.

The hotel is filled with adoptive families this time. Every evening the get together for supper. There were about 6 couples eating together tonight. It is cool to have so many people going through the same thing. It's like a little support group. Everybody is encouraging each other and excited to hear each others stories.

It feels so good to be here. We are really going to try to enjoy ourselves and not be stressed. We know God is in control and that He's got us covered.