Married with Children????

We have been keeping ourselves occupied on our down time with either watching movies that we had brought from home, or have been watching Russian television!!!
There are 2 shows that came on the t.v. that got our attention and made us laugh!!!
They have a show that is an exact copy of Married with Children, and also Third Rock from The Sun!! The shows characters are copies from our original shows. We cannot understand the dialog, but we watch them anyways because they make us laugh!!!

We are getting ready to go see Alyssa at 2:00pm again today. Yesterday(Monday) the caregivers brought in her afternoon snack. You should have seen the quantity!!! The children get fed incredibly well!! They brought in a HUGE freshly baked roll along with a cup of warm milk!! I had to break the roll up for her, but that did not stop her pace. She kept on stuffing it in her mouth and chewing. For such a little thing, she can put down the food!!! The warm cup of milk was in a little tin cup. She can hold the cup herself and not spill a drop!!! She gulped it down so quickly we thought that she would spill it..... No spilled milk!!!
We had also brought her a sippy cup of juice and a small snack which she had already ate before they brought in the roll and milk. At first she did not know how to use the sippy cup, but by the second try she figured it out. She did not want to set it down until she knew it was all gone. Keeping this little girl fed will be a challenge!!!

Well, I guess we will go for now. We hope to get a tour of the orphanage on todays visit!! We will let you know how that goes!!!

Thanks for stopping by and checking on us!!!
Julie & Wade

California Pizza Here We Come!!!!

Once again we hit the California Pizza. Actually twice today!!! We went out and had some lunch there, and then after a big shopping spree at the 3 story toy and child's store we went back to get some more pizza as carry out for supper. It is really good pizza. It reminds us alot of being at home. We also get a 10% discount since we are Americans!!!!
The other picture is of a building in Sosnovborsk where the orphanage is. We wanted to show all of the icy and snowy trees and landscape on the drive back. I don't think that the pictures can do it justice. It is incredibly cold, and we wonder when the next big snow will be. We are counting down the days until we pick up Alyssa. I guess we will just hang around the hotel on Sunday and try to stay out of the cold. Only 6 more days until we bring our little angel back to the hotel with us!!!!




Thanks for stopping by....
Love, Julie & Wade

How Cold Did You Say It Is????

Thermals!!!! That is your word for the day!!! If you don't have them, do not go outside. It was -16 degrees celsius today. And that was the high for the day!!!
We did venture out twice today though. We went at 2:00pm again to see Alyssa. It was a really good visit. She did not want us to go. Everyday she is getting more and more confortable with us. We found out today that we will be getting to pick her up next Friday instead of Saturday!!! We are very excited at this news!!!
We also ventured outside to get a bite to eat. We just had to walk across the parking lot, but it still felt like we had walked to the North Pole!!!
Walking is not an easy job with nothing but ice to walk on!! Ice is everywhere. I am just waiting for the time that I hit the ground with everyone laughing!!!
Tomorrow is Friday, and we will get to visit Alyssa then, but not on the weekends. We will be doing some heavy duty shopping though!!! Anything to pass the time without Alyssa!!!!
Thanks for stopping!!!
Love, Julie & Wade

Waiting and Visiting in Kras!!!!

We went again today to visit with Alyssa. She recognized us a little more today. She says mama and papa which warms our heart!!! She is a little shy, but plays alot more when we speak some russian words, or give her something to snack on. She is just soooooo cute!!!! We are counting down the 10 day wait. We have been spending our down time with a great couple that are here with us adopting a little boy in a different orphanage. We have been traveling with them ever since we left Atlanta's airport in the U.S. They are staying in the same hotels, had the same court date and will also be leaving the same day that we leave. It has been such a blessing to have them with us on this awesome journey. They will always be our dear friends for life. We hope to get our kids together sometime when we return to the states. They live in Michigan, so we will have to make it a definite vacation spot!!!!
We are looking forward to going shopping this weekend since we can't go to the orphanage on the weekends. We are going to go to a huge toy store, and maybe the mall. We just ate at California Pizza tonight!!! Yes, you heard me right!!!
California Pizza!!!! We got a discount for being American's. Who would think that we would find this place in Siberia!!!!!!
Well I guess I will go for now..... Keep watching!!!!
Love, Julie

It's Official....We Have a Daughter!!!!

It's official..... We have a Daughter!!!!
We had our court hearing today at 10:30 am. It felt like a long process. We had a small glitch with one document that could have held up the decision until Wednesday, but with the help of our Facilitator, she corrected the error and we were officially told today at 1:00 pm that Alyssa Marie is our little girl!!!!!
The picture above is of us outside of the court building in Krasnoyarsk. It is really cold and snowy here, and we are more than ready to come back to warm Tennessee!!!
We had went and visited with Alyssa yesterday, and she has grown just a little bit. She was a little bit shy, but warmed right up to her daddy when he brought out a snack!!! We will be visiting the orphange tomorrow, and hope to share some more news with you. We will not be posting a picture of her until the 10 day wait is over, which will be on Saturday Nov. 22nd.
We would like to thank everyone for their many prayers. We could definitely feel them all the way around the world to us here in Krasnoyarsk.
Keep watching!!!!
Love Julie

Snowy Krasnoyarsk!!!!!!

We arrived in Krasnoyarsk to alot of falling snow!!!! It is very
cold and we are wondering how much snow we will get while we are here!!!
Our plane arrived on Sunday morning early, and we were very glad to get here.
We are still trying to get connected with wireless internet from our room,
so for now we are in the business center. It is now Monday morning at 11:00am.
We are getting ready to go and see Alyssa at 2:00pm. We will post again hopefully very soon!!! We will be sure to include pictures from Krasnoyarsk and all of the snow!!!!

Hi From Moscow!!!!

We are so exhausted from our long flight. We arrived in Moscow early Thursday morning.
We finally got a good nights sleep on Thursday night. We got up this morning and had our physicals. It took about 3-1/2 hours, but we are finally done with that important step.
Wade had the Dr's laughing!!! He forgot how long we have been married when he was talking to the pyschologist!!!! But we got all of our 8 Dr's stamps of approval!!!
We are getting ready to settle in for the night(Fri) We will be flying out tomorrow night(Sat)for Kras!!!! We will update you further when we arrive!!!! We are counting down the days until we see Alyssa!!!