Packed and Ready for Moscow!!

We are packed and ready for Moscow tonight. I am writing this with our whole family together here at the computer. We leave for the airport at 4:30 am Wednesday morning. Alyssa is trying to type which makes things interesting. We are extremely excited to leave for Moscow. We will be there for 8 nights getting the final paperwork done to head home. We will be visiting Red Square a few times with Alyssa, and hope to post a few pictures of our time in Moscow. We fly home on Thurs. Dec. 4th. Keep watching the blog!!! We will post when we get to Moscow tomorrow!!!
Thanks for stopping by.
Love,
Julie, Wade & Alyssa

One More Day In Krasnoyarsk!!!!

We can finally say that we have only one day left in Kras!!
It seems like it has been a long road since our court date. The weather outside is just too cold to be out there and enjoy yourself. We have had snow flurries this morning, and the wind is quite brisk!! We took Alyssa outside for just a few minutes but it is just too cold out there. Right now she is down for her nap so I have a few minutes to catch up the blog. Unfortunately our computer will not let us upload any more new pictures off of our camera, so I have included a couple from earlier. We may have to try to use the business center if we want to add any brand new pictures. Our laptop has some kind of error on uploading photos.
Last night was once again a difficult time to get Alyssa down to sleep. She is terrified of the crib. I have to cradle her to sleep and then put her next to me for the night. When it is nap time it is no easier either. We are very anxious to get to Moscow. We will have something to do almost everyday before we come home.
We leave for Moscow early Wednesday morning. We will visit the U.S. Embassy on Friday after Thanksgiving, and then the Russian Consulate on Tuesday next week.
We will be flying back home on Thurs. Dec. 4th.
We will be posting more pictures when we get to Moscow if not before.
Please keep Alyssa in your prayers as she is trying to adjust to life in this "great big new world".
Love,
Julie, Wade & Alyssa

Look at Her Now!!!

We thought that we would post a few pictures everyday of our journey so far while in Krasnoyarsk. It has been an amazing road. Wade went with our Facilitator today to finalize getting Alyssa's Russian passport. We should be able to pick it up on Tuesday. We will be leaving Krasnoyarsk early on Wednesday morning.
Wade just got back from bringing us California Pizza for lunch and dinner!!! Alyssa is taking her afternoon nap so I thought that I would put in a post.
It is hard to believe that we only have 12 more days before we go home. It will probably be here before we know it. Alyssa is a busy body and loves to play. The other couple that is traveling with us also picked up their son yesterday. He is so beautiful. Alyssa got to meet him last night and today. She is a little bit timid around other people and she always makes sure that we are within arms reach of her. She continually babbles and laughs when we play, and I think that there is no better joy for us than to see her laugh!!!
We look forward to coming home to introduce her to all of you.
Please keep us in your prayers while we continue our stay in Russia.
Thanks again for stopping by...
Julie, Wade & Alyssa

GOTCHA DAY!!!!!

The day has finally come!!!! Today was Gotcha Day!!! We are finally a forever family!!! We waited for the minutes to tick away today. We did not leave our hotel room until the time had come to leave. We left the hotel bound for Sosnovoborsk at about 4:30pm. The drive to Sosnovoborsk takes about an hour with heavy traffic. The baby home is located there. It is a relatively smaller community than Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk has about a population of 800,000 people, but Sosnovoborsk is probably about a tenth of that maybe....
When we arrived at the orphanage Alyssa was waiting for us in the music/playroom that we always visit with her in. The Director was there with her waiting for us. We had to take off all of her clothes and put on the ones that we had brought her. She seemed like she was really ready for us to take her home. Before leaving we took pictures with the Director and also pictures outside on the step before we left.
Alyssa did pretty well all in all on the trip back. However with it already dark outside she did not like the oncoming cars with their lights shining in her face. She would not sit still even in my lap. I finally decided to sing to her knowing that she loves music. I am soooo glad that I tried it.....It worked!!!! I had to sing Jingle Bells all that way back to Krasnoyarsk. About half way there she fell asleep in my arms. I continued singing though hoping that it would keep her calm. She did not get sick in the car and we are greatful for that!!! When we got back to the hotel we prepared her some food in the room, and she seemed to settle right in. We played with some of the toys we had brought from home and also some that we had bought at the toy store. We put her down for bed at about 10:00pm. She moved around and around in the crib for about 30 minutes but finally fell asleep. She is sleeping soundly as I am writing this post.
We are so excited to finally introduce you to our precious little girl that we call our "Little Russian Princess"!!!!
Please keep our new family in your prayers as Alyssa adjusts to a new life with her mommy and daddy!!!
Keep watching our blog and I will try to post daily about the rest of our journey home to the U.S.
Love...Julie, Wade & Alyssa

Counting our Many Blessings!!!

Even though it is not yet Thanksgiving, both us and the other couple that are with us have had great conversations about the many things that we miss from home. Food is probably one of the big topics!!! We cannot wait to have a great big hamburger when we get back to the States. We realize just how much the small things mean to us when we are so far from home. Our list includes: Great hamburgers, fries & milkshakes; our own bed; brush your teeth with tap water; more than 1 channel on t.v. in english; 50 degree days and nights; underwear and clothes that are not stiff after handwashing & hanging to dry; picking up the phone to call family & friends; putting ice in our drinks; driving; a smile or wave from anyone you meet; being able to read any sign, book or food items...... We could probably go on and on and on!!!!
We do however have many blessings here as well. We have become the parents to the most energetic, sweet, cute, mind of her own, giggling, timid, curious, amazing little girl that we would ever ask for. We are so very blessed with this little girl that the Lord has given us. We are also blessed to have all of you praying for us, and for being with us on this long long journey!!!!
Tomorrow we cannot wait to share this little bundle of joy that has been brought into our lives!!!!
Thanks for stopping by...
Love, Julie & Wade

Where is Walmart when you need it???

Today we went back to the kid's store to buy Alyssa a stroller. We knew that the price was very expensive from when we looked at them on the weekend. We were asking ourselves where is Walmart when we need it?? The price of this stroller was 2690 rubles!!! Which in U.S. dollars works out to be about $103.00 !!!! We are talking about a collapsable umbrella stroller here!!! We had thought about bringing one with us from home, but we knew that we would be charged by both airlines going in. We know that it will be extremely helpful to have it though, especially in the airports coming home.
The weather has warmed up a little bit today. It was overcast but at least you could go without a hat and gloves in the afternoon. When the sun goes down it is a totally different story!!!
We also did a little grocery shopping today. We have been trying to save some money by eating breakfast and lunch in our room. We have a supermarket around the corner from our hotel. We have bought juice, milk, bread, jelly, fruit, chips, snacks, Pringles, tea, instant soup bowls and soft drinks. You can find just about anything you need at the store but we have a hard time reading the names of what the product is. Pictures on the products help a great deal. We have been eating our dinners out at either the hotel restaurant, the German restaurant across the parking lot or California Pizza. We also bought a few things for Alyssa. Diapers, wipes, milk, yogurt and also a little toothbrush that I forgot to pack!!!
We had a great visit with Alyssa today also. She loves the sippy cup with juice, and the look on her face when we were getting ready to leave said it all. I think that she is about ready for us to take her home!!!!
2 more days and we get to bring her with us!!!
Thanks for stopping by...
Love, Julie & Wade

Passport Photo Day!!

Today we had a wonderful surprise when we got to the orphanage!!!
They told us that we were going to take Alyssa to get her passport photo taken so that we would have it for her passport!! One step closer to bringing her home!!!
We had to bundle her up with many layers. She did pretty good in the car. We only had to drive a couple of minutes to the photographer. She held onto our hands while looking out the front window. She had not been in a car before except when she was first brought to the baby home when she was born. She had a very stern look on her face, but she handled it quite well. She did sway back in forth to the music that Sergei our driver had on the radio. She really loves music!!!
When we returned to the orphanage after the picture, we got to tour her area in the baby home. We took many pictures which we will share with you very soon!!!
We are looking forward to tomorrow when we can say that we are halfway done with this long trip. We really enjoy visiting Alyssa everyday. We learn something new about her little personality with every visit.
We will go for now....
Thanks for stopping!!!
Love, Julie & Wade