Happy Valentine's Day

We are on our own. This weekend we are without coordinator and translator- All by ourselves in Tver.

Our coordinator set up a driver to take us to the orphanage both weekend days. His wife is a worker at the orphanage so thankfully he knows his way and can get us into the orphanage (because they probably wouldn’t open the door for us if we were on our own!) Unfortunately because it is the weekend and they do not have a full staff we were asked to only make one visit a day. We chose to go in the mornings so we can walk around Tver in the afternoons. After a nice (and free) buffet breakfast in the hotel we found our driver Sergi right outside waiting for us. Yay! We got to the orphanage and it was so quiet, and didn’t smell as bad as normal. We saw one of the caregivers and figured out a way to speak English/Russian said Masha/Dasha/Sisters/their birth surname and they figured it out. Down came the girls in the same pj’s I brought them earlier in the week. Not sure if or when they wash any of the clothing, but the girls always seem clean as do the outfits. I immediately went to change them both into the cute Valentine’s Day outfits I brought. They are grey sweatpants and sweatshirts with little pink hearts all over and ruffles on the zipper of the sweatshirt. I added cute long sleeved onesies under, with socks and robezz shoes. I even brought little barrettes too. Dasha is very easy to change, she even helps along. Masha cried bloody murder the entire time and I ended up having to do it piece meal because I did not want a caregiver to hear her wailing. I got some really cute pictures but couldn’t get Dasha to stop for long enough to get a picture of the 2 of them together. We had a great visit. We brought them up to eat and for a nap at noon and got to spend a few minutes in their playroom with the caregivers. Said hello to the other couples daughter and our new friend Y’s little girl. We somehow got across to the caregiver that we would be back tomorrow same time. She asked why not this afternoon, and I was annoyed that we were told not to go for both visits. But, I guess it is true that we should not annoy the orphanage workers by being around too much. And it does give me and Mike time to explore the town and relax a little, as we are wiped out from the week.

Back at the hotel we took a nap and regrouped. I started organizing all the photos and videos I have been taking. Hundreds of them already! We headed out for lunch to our new favorite spot, Fortuna. Unfortunately they only speak Russian and do not have English menus. But, since we have been there a few times already, we had our translator write down our favorite dishes in Russian, transliteration and English and we (mostly Mike) have been practicing for a couple of days. We walked around and explored; it was snowing and very pretty because the white blanketed the town, instead of the dirty brown snow that we saw all week. We got to the restaurant and were able to order without a problem. Only issues were 1)that we forgot to say no cream in the soup (they put this heavy cream, like sour cream consistency in every dish)2) and that on our dessert Bellini’s we asked for honey but last time the honey was warmed and this time it was cold (Bellini’s were still delicious). Once we got back to the hotel we asked the receptionist to write down how you say ‘no cream’ and ‘warm honey’ so I am prepared next time. I’m looking forward to taking my parents there when they get into town.

Before heading back to the hotel we walked over to the supermarket to get some supplies. I bought diapers to bring to the orphanage for the twins. I also saw a bunch of Russian children’s books. I have absolutely NO idea what they say but I picked out 2 that looked cute. One I think is an ABC type book but whatever ABC is in Russian and the other is a story book of some kind with bears. I also got 2 cute coloring books. Stocked up on some water and fruit and headed back to the hotel. The snow was really coming down. Still, everyone was just walking around going about their business. This is just a normal day here in Tver. It looks like we are supposed to get these snow showers daily for the next week.

Mike’s napping now and we will just relax the rest of the day.

My parent’s arrive in Moscow tomorrow afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing them on Wednesday afternoon and showing them around Tver. I especially look forward to introducing them to their granddaughters. Hopefully they will have an enjoyable few days in Moscow touring around while we finish with court.

Happy Valentines Day. Last night was our anniversary- 9 years ago Michael and I had our first date.

Preliminary Court Hearing ~ Friday the 13th

I slept so well last night, I am so happy and feel refreshed and ready for trial.

Early breakfast and a relaxing morning because we know we have to go to court and are super nervous. We looked very good in our suits, if I do say so myself! We picked up Social worker and off we went to court. I took a photo of the court house.

At the court house we met up with the Doctor from Orphanage. We were introduced to the lady who would be our translator; she works teaching English in a local University. The preliminary court hearing is the part where we go over all of our documents and make sure it is all in order. The court room was very small. Lots of fake wood paneling. There is a judge’s bench with three big chairs a small table and chair on both side and 2 rows of benches facing the judge. It was very hot inside. In the room with us was the Judge who sat up high in a big chair above us like a real court room (not sure why I didn’t think it would be like a real court room). There was a secretary next to her acting as a court stenographer, but handwriting notes. Then the prosecutor, who I guess represents Russia (or the children’s interests?). Also in the room were the social worker and orphanage doctor. Since our coordinator has a vested interest in us she was not allowed in the room. So on the benches were it was just us and the interpreter on the bench. We all stood up as the Judge entered. The judge read our rights, asked if we’d like to have anyone removed from the court room (weird!) and then asked us to stand and state our names and address. She proceeded for 1 and ½ hours to go through every single document that we provided. She asked a few questions including ones regarding our mortgage (how does a co-op work?) asked about our Connecticut home as well as about Mike’s law school loans. It took a long time, as there had to be over 150 documents. Each one was translated into Russian and then notarized in Russia so our dossier was so huge that it was overflowing out of 2 giant binders. The funny thing is that she joked with our coordinator after the fact about how it was too much paper. We were thinking…listen B*!@h, you asked for it all!!! Anyway, then the she turned attention to the girls documents and went over their birth certificates, birth mother and family information and any other information like the fact that they had been referred to a Spanish couple before us and were turned down because of concern over Masha’s delays. At first I thought, I can’t believe anyone would turn these girls down, but then I snapped out of it, thank god they turned them down so we can get them now!!! The Judge also said they were offered 10 times to Russian families, but because Russians are only really allowed to adopt 1 at a time, they were never even looked at by a Russian family. Thank god! We then went over all the girls’ medicals and the long laundry list of things wrong with them. The Russians as so overly dramatic! The judge, doctor and social worker had a 10 minute conversation in Russian trying to figure out who was older, as it is shown differently on different documents. Sometimes they write ‘1st twin’ meaning the larger of the twins not necessarily the older of the two. The official documents state Masha was first, but the doctor told us after trial that really Dasha is older. But, because it is written in official documents for the purpose of this trial we just have to leave it that way because changing it would cause delays for us. That is the last thing we want. So, not until I get my hands on all those documents, like the birth certificates will I know for sure.

Lastly, the judge asked me if we loved these girls and if we were capable of caring for them and their issues. I stood and said 100% yes, we will do everything in our power to provide for them. I said that my mother was a specialist in special needs and that we have lots of doctors, teachers, physical and speech therapists in our family that will help us, that we have the financial means to care for them and we will give them everything they need to thrive and become wonderful human beings.

That was it. She set a trial date for Monday at 10 am. Now we have to get through the weekend. Everyone left the court room and they were all happy and chatty in Russian. Mike told me after the fact that he got a little bit nervous when they read the long list of Masha’s issues but as soon as I stood up and said what I did he knew it was definitely the right thing and that Masha was going to be just fine.

We were dropped off at the hotel Volga to change out of our court clothing and to pack our things. We are moving to the Hotel Osnabruck for the next week for court and the 10 day wait. I am excited because I will finally have internet access and English speaking people!

We had our final lunch at 24 Yaca and checked into Osnabruck. It is a much nicer hotel. We seem to have gotten the last room left, and the biggest. It is a duplex with a small sitting area downstairs and the bathroom and the large bedroom studio apartment type thing upstairs. It is really nice for Russian standards (although certainly not a Western style hotel). Only problem is that there are no elevators here. So up three flights of stairs, then we have another set of stairs to get up to our bedroom once inside the suite.

We were excited to see the girls this afternoon and tell them that we are half way through court to becoming their forever family. We had to say goodbye to the other couple who finished court on Thursday. They head back to Moscow this afternoon to wait out the 10 days at home.
It was nice to have quiet time with the girls. We had the private room upstairs near the baby room. It was a great visit.

We returned to the hotel and said goodbye to our coordinator for the weekend. She will be back on Monday at 9:30 to take us to court.

We had dinner at the Osnabruck restaurant. Food is good, certainly better than the 24 yaca. Wonderful seeing an English menu and after 8 pm they had a piano player for entertainment. Kind of cheesy- but a nice way to end a very busy and emotional week.

Here are photos of our new hotel:

Relaxing Day with our Girls!

Thursday February 12, 2009

Good morning. Today was another good day. We headed to the orphanage first thing this morning after going to the grocery store to buy diapers for our girls. We got some more bottled water too. This morning the orphanage was busy with lots of adoptive parents. Another American couple from a different agency and some Russian families. We were told we would be spending time with the girls upstairs. We usually go up to drop our girls off in their rooms but have not spent any time up there. We were put in a room that was really a corridor from the baby room to the hall leading to the girl’s groupa. We saw some of the younger kids and they were cute. Hopefully one or 2 of them will be referrals for the families in our agency that are waiting behind us.

So, it was nice and quiet and we enjoyed being there. We each had our own mats and did not have too many distractions. The caregivers who worked in the baby room next door all came and said hello and loved on the girls. We were told all 3 were in that baby room before they turned one and that is why they all knew their names. We had a fun time playing. Masha was a little fussy and whiny but Mike has the magic touch and she clung to him most of the morning. Dasha had fun with the toys. She especially likes the ‘that’s not my puppy’ touch and feel book. Unfortunately, we were asked to give back the girls an hour early today. For two reasons, one being that there were a lot of adoptive parents visiting that day and it was already our third day visiting. That was frustrating because we just want to be with the girls as much as we can. Also, the doctors in the orphanage are concerned that the visits are overwhelming for the girls, perhaps that are why Masha has been fussy and sleeping more than usual. I am sure this case. It is most likely completely overwhelming to them as it is completely different from their normal routine of never leaving their play room and the other 10 kids they share it with. It is so much more attention than they are used to. But, they are going to have to get used to it so I feel the more time we see them the better.

Anyway- We headed out of the orphanage back to the hotel. The other couple was preparing for trial with the coordinator. We took a walk around town and had lunch with the interpreter and the great restaurant called Fortuna that we went to yesterday. I enjoyed a steak and potatoes, vegetable soup and Mike and I split a divine desert which was a Bellini with warm honey. Delicious! We even got in a 1 hour nap before leaving for our afternoon visit.

We had to spend the afternoon in the lobby but were given a mat for the floor and the orphanage was relatively quiet. Masha again was a little fussy and Michael enjoyed playing with her. Dasha was a ball of energy. I think she is so confined in the group that this is an exciting time for her to explore. I wish I could just let her do that but they are really not allowed to crawl around on the rug or floor in the lobby and keeping her confined to the 5 x 5 mat is no easy task. She knows this and tests the boundaries constantly. As soon as she is free she gets into a racing crawl as fast as she can go. She does look back to make sure you are looking at her and she giggles because she knows I will chase her and put her back on the mat. It became a game we played all afternoon. I was sweating and exhausted by time we had to give them back. Of course I did not want to give them back 40 minutes early but I wasn’t about to argue. We brought them up to their groupa and gave them kisses goodbye. We saw the daughter of the other couple standing by a chair dancing as one of the caregivers played a recorder. It was really cute.

We headed to 24 Yaca for a quick dinner and then met with our coordinator to go over our tactic for the trial. We went through a list of the type of questions she will ask and just the general schedule of events. Afterwords we picked the other couples brain for an hour asking how their trial went. They were so helpful. We spent the night going over our answers and our information. We are nervous but know it will go well. We are prepared.

Congratulations to our travel companions on becoming parents today.
Our turn tomorrow....

What a Great Day

Today was an awesome day. Since the other couple had their preliminary trial this morning we had the orphanage to ourselves. First thing before we went to the orphanage was that we went over to the other hotel to see if we could check into a nicer room for when my parents come into town. We were able to get the largest room, which will accommodate 3 to four people. Supposedly it is a triplex but we did not even go to look at it, we were just happy to move out of the youth hostel known as the Hotel Volga. Osnabruck also has a nice restaurant and internet access. I am psyched. Mike and I will move over after trial on Friday.

We headed to the orphanage with our translator in a separate car than the other couple who took the yellow van with our coordinator to court. We were able to play in the back room and had the place to ourselves. It was really nice not having the other couple there also. Even though their daughter is great and it is nice sharing this experience with them. Just being a family of four and hanging out together was awesome. The room was quiet with very little distractions so we were really able to play with them and get them to focus and relax. Our translator stayed in the room with us and he used my flip video to video us playing. I have almost 1 hour of footage. It will be so valuable to have and I am excited for the girls to be able to see it when they are older. Masha really opened up. She even babbled a little. She said ‘da’ which means yes in Russian but said it a couple times in a row so mike swears she was really saying dada! Which she was not -but it was fun anyway. Dasha was really interactive and we got her to stand and walk a lot. They had been brought down to us wearing the other outfits I had left with them last trip. The onesies (without feet) were 12 month size and huge. I brought footed fleece onesie outfits in 9 month size that Esther had given me from her twins. I was thrilled to be alone to change them. I took everything off of them except the diaper and under shirt. It was great to see their bodies. Both are sooooo skinny, you can’t really tell how little they are when they have all those layers of clothes on. Both have outie belly buttons and no scars or marks on their bodies which was nice to see. I put the 9 month outfits on them and they fit so much better. It was still a little big on Masha but fit Dasha perfectly. They did not have grippy feet so it was a little difficult for Dasha to get herself up and walk around but she managed fine. It was a great morning and we were reluctant to give the girls back to their caregivers for the afternoon nap and meal.

We headed back to the hotel and met up with the other couple to be debriefed after their court experience. We learned a lot and heard about their experience. It is mostly paperwork and answering questions relating to documents on the first day. Sounded stressful but thankfully it was only an hour. We went to a restaurant called Fortuna which is in walking distance from the hotel on a nice pedestrian street. I would have never known it was a restaurant. The retail places here are so weird. Not open with glass windows so you can see inside like we are used to. Just a tiny sign and a side door entrance which looks like you could be walking into someone’s home, basement or whatever. Anyway, you walk in and there is a tiny room with 8 tables. The menu was all in Russian so our translator made suggestions for us. We all got a type of soup and I had a chicken dish which I was told had fried vegetable in it (We are so deprived here of vegetables that whenever we can get them we jump at it) but what ended up coming to the table was chicken over a warm potato salad with mayo. It tasted good anyway, but was just weird. Mike had a specialty dish called a ‘Russian Frying pan’. It was like a pot pie type thing with meat, scalloped potatoes some vegetables covered in cheese. It looked really good. Our translator eats borsht with every meal. It is gross.

After lunch we got in a 1 hour nap and headed back to the orphanage. This time we had to play in the lobby area again but we were left alone for the most part so that was nice. Dasha and Daddy and the other couples husband and her daughter spent the time hunched over walking around with the girls. It was so cute to see. Dasha is walking so well and she is so happy doing it. Masha and I lounged on the sofa and read a book and played with toys. She is very observant and we had a good time. She loves the little bunny that plays music and the book that she can touch the different textures on. The time flew by. We were not ready to leave when the caregivers came down. So we dillydallied and asked to bring the girls up to their groupa ourselves. We spent a little more time and carried them upstairs we put all of them in the playpen and gave them lots of hugs and kisses. The other couples daughter was clinging to dad so tightly she cried when he put her down. It was so sad to leave them. The other playpen next to theirs had about 6 kids already in it. One downs kid was banging his head against the bars. It was really heartbreaking to see.

We left for the night and headed to 24hour cafeteria for dinner. We have officially dubbed the place ’24 Yaca’ because yaca is how you spell 'hours' in Russian, but it sounds like ‘chasa’ in Russian. Mike is learning how to pronounce the names of the dishes he is ordering and we are having fun figuring out words in Russian as we are figuring out that an ‘H’ is an ‘n’ and a ‘N’ is an ‘I’ , a ‘c’ is an ‘s’ and a ‘P’ in an ‘R’ and a ‘B’ is a ‘v’. A whole lot of letters come directly from the Greek alphabet. Lamda, gamma, phi, and pi are just some of the Russian letters that we know from Greek. My sorority days have helped in that area. Off to sleep at 9 pm after reviewing some of our documents for trial. Of course we are now up at 4 am writing this because we cannot sleep any more. Hopefully another hour or 2 before we have to get up for the day.

"We have to Talk"

TUESDAY February 10th
During lunch we got a call from our coordinator that we needed to talk after lunch. Now normally when you hear words like that it means a break up or something bad. We were not eager to hear. We were with the translator today as the coordinator had to spend the day dealing with our documents and meeting with the judge. When we met up with her she told us the Judge requested 3 more documents!!!!! Now, I hate to hear about more documents because over the past 2 months I have been running around chasing after a gazillion new ones. Of course, hearing about this NOW- just 3 days before court is not ideal to say the least. We were stunned and freaking out. Mike was not a happy camper and really just wanted to curse out the judge. We talked him down and assured him that the judge would not appreciate that and we cannot jeopardize our girls! So- we listened, complained, screamed and then figured it out. A frantic call went out to our agency, documents we had here were scanned and the agency is working on the documents. We pay them the big bucks and this is what they need to be here for us for. It is not like we could do anything from here anyway!!!! We were reassured by the coordinator that this is not a problem. We are able to go to court and proceed with the adoption and even get the girls home before the documents get to the Judge. But they have to be done today in order to have the apostille date be before the trial date. SO needless to say this was not a fun afternoon. We were hoping to get in an hour nap after lunch before returning to the orphanage but with all the back and forth we didn’t even have a second to sit down before we had to head back to see the girls for our afternoon visit.

Today is only day 1 and really only morning 1 and we are already emotionally drained (and jet lag doesn’t help)

Our second visit was wonderful. We were able to use the back play room and had the room to ourselves. It was great to crawl around on the floor and play with them without all of the front door interactions and interruptions. Dasha bloomed. We played with a touch and feel book and lots of toys. Masha and Michael enjoyed some fun interaction and by the end of the afternoon we were thrilled to see Masha crawling. Yay! The girls got to spend some time together also and it was nice to see them look at each other and interact, even if it was only to steal one another’s toys or throw things at each other (Masha did the stealing and dasha did the throwing!)

Later in the afternoon we had a brief meeting with the orphanage doctor and the social worker. The Doctor went over the girls medicals one more time and specified items that are on their updated medical. Apparently before a child is adopted they have to have a complete physical. That is great, and we had no idea it was done in December after we met the girls. Thankfully we were told that a number of issues we had heard about from the original medicals have been resolved. They were both deemed physically healthy with some minor delays. We have to remember some of the terms and items on the medicals because the judge will ask us if we are aware of their diagnosis. Quick and easy talk with her (with our coordinator as our translator) Of course not so easy with 2 toddlers in your arms so nothing got written down. Just now as I am journaling and am putting the things on to paper to remember them for court? Then we had our turn with the social worker. She asked if we missed them and if we thought they remembered us; If I was staying home or who else would be taking care of the children, will they have their own room or stay in the room with us in the beginning, if the economic crisis in the US has adversely affected us or mikes’ job. She asked if our families were supportive in the adoption process and a number of other questions like that. Later on our translator said that this was a preview of the questions that the judge will ask at our trial. Before the decision of the court is handed down supposedly the orphanage doctor and the social worker will give their recommendations. So, all in all it went very well. I think they like us and like the fact that I will be staying home with the girls. She specifically asked how I was going to handle 2 at once and if I would have help. They were all impressed that both sets of parents are coming over to Russia to be a part of this amazing experience.

We brought the kids up to their groupa room for a dinner of porridge and bread. Smelled gross. The kids are placed in little kid sized chairs and tiny tables and basically feed themselves. They were given a piece of bread to chew on as they wait in the line to be feed the porridge by a caregiver. They both cried when taken out of our arms. I had to pull Michael out of the room to leave.

We headed back to the hotel. 24 hour cafeteria cheap dinner and then straight to bed. It is 9:45 right now. Mike fell asleep around 8:45. I am off to sleep now. Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and the fact that we do not have to get up so early tomorrow. We are being left alone with the translator for the day of visiting with the girls. Our coordinator is in court all day tomorrow with the other couple. Sending them my prayers and good vibes for a quick and easy trial tomorrow. Also looking forward to hearing all about it and getting a debriefing at dinner. Good night.

We see the Girls today!

We woke up so excited this morning to see the girls. We left at 9:30 to go directly to the orphanage. The smell of sour milk and cooked cabbage was more overwhelming than I had remembered. But, once you are there for a while you do not notice the smell anymore. The girls were brought right to us. They had been dressed in the Hello Kitty outfits that we brought for them on the first trip. This time Masha was in the pink and Dasha was in the Purple. I did not know if they would look exactly the same. I do not think they grew much But their hair is definitely longer. Masha has these adorable curls in the back and Dasha also has some waves. They were adorable. The outfits were still huge on them. The other couples daughter looked great too. The outfit she was dressed in was for 3-6 month olds. So I am sure all the 9 month clothing we bought and were given will still fit them when we get them home. Hopefully not for long though, as I hope they show a good increase in height and weight as soon as they get home.

The girls were just precious. Since we were there a bit early today I think they were both just woken up from a nap so it took a while for them to wake up and interact. But I was thrilled that they both came right to us. I doubt they remember us. We didn’t see them for 2 months. We did leave a small photo album for both but I am not certain that they kept them with the girls or if the girls even got to look at them while we were gone.

We had to play with them in the lobby area but thankfully were able to get a mat on the floor to play with them instead of keeping them confined to the sofa. Masha was very quiet and reserved. Michael had a wonderful time just sitting with her, rocking her, and rubbing her back. He has such a patient touch with her. They played and cuddled. Dasha on the other hand was a ball of energy that I had remembered her being. Now she can pull herself up stand unassisted and walk a few steps before falling over. It is absolutely adorable. She loves taking my glasses off of my face and putting every toy in her mouth. We definitely see an increase in development in Masha too. She is more dexterous and seems a little stronger than 2 months ago. She is still not crawling or standing but I am sure once we get her home and work with her she will catch up.

At 11:30 the Orphanage doctor can in and said the girls were tired. She did not want to over stimulate them on the first visit of the trip. We agreed that Masha was beginning to get fussy and rub her eyes so they took her up for her nap. Michael was devastated. He did not want to let her go. We waited 2 months for the chance to get back her to see them and they had wanted to take her away a ½ hour early than normal. We did not want to be without her. But, we are not their legal parents yet so we have to listen to what the heads of the orphanage tell us to do. We were sad to say good bye but happy to finally see her again and begin the rest of the process. Dasha on the other hand was still a ball of energy so we got to spend an extra ½ hour with her. She loves to play, practice walking and be a silly girl. At 12 ish we handed her back to caregivers and left for lunch. Off to our staple Russian restaurant. I had Salanca soup and some of Mike's pork chop. Here is the restaurant sign:

A Day in Moscow & the 8 Doc Medical Exam

It was really nice to have some free time this morning before officially beginning this trip. Since we did not have to meet the coordinator until 12 noon. We spent the time sightseeing around the Kremlin, Lenin’s tomb, and St Basel's Cathedral which is so cool looking. We had no time to go shopping in the G.U.M. shopping center but it looked really beautiful and I got to window shop a little. Took lots of pictures but it was freezing out, snow on the ground and the streets and sidewalks were basically a sheet of ice. So slippery it was like ice skating without the skates. We saw all we wanted and still had time for a short nap before we had to check out and meet up with the coordinator. Here are some pictures of us acting like tourists:


At noon we packed up the van and headed out. We tried to go down to Old Arabat Street to walk around and eat lunch but traffic was a nightmare and we could not find any parking, even after circling for ½ hour. So we decided to go closer to the Medical center since we were running out of time. We ate at a little Italian Place. Food was good. What we hate and are so not used to any more is the smoking in restaurants. It is so gross.

The American Medical Centers was 2 blocks away and we arrived a little early for our 4 pm appointment. What we were told was a formality and would only take 30 minutes turned into a 2 ½ hour event. We sat in the waiting room and waited to be called in to see each of the 8 doctors. These included a Pulmonologist, infectious disease, dermatologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, addictionist. Most of them asked us one or 2 questions and signed the papers. A couple looked in our mouth, felt some glands, took blood pressure. Nothing exciting. What took so long was the waiting. We had brought with us the results of our blood tests and TB chest x-rays so that we would not have to do those things in Russia. (I have no desire to have Russian needles in my arms). Thankfully the clinic is very new looking, really clean and very American in style. We felt very comfortable and many of the doctors spoke English. It turns out that the doctors had wanted us to bring the actual chest x-rays with us. We only brought the sheet of paper stating the conclusion (that our chest is clear and normal, we do not have TB) they were concerned and wanted to take another x-ray but somehow we talked our way out of having that done. Also, Mike’s blood work did not look complete and they had wanted to take more blood to check for Hepatitis. But once I showed them our Vaccination documents (Thank god I had thought to bring them with me-Mike had to run out to the van to get them out of our documents folder) the doctor said it was good enough. Yay- We finally got out of there by 6:30.

We had brought with us all of the gifts for coordinator and orphanage staff as per our agencies request. Of course our coordinator now tells us that we should not have taken them until the last trip to not be seen as trying to bribe anyone. So, she has graciously offered to hold them in her apartment for us during this time until we need them on the third trip once we are able to take the girls out of the orphanage. Pain in the ass but at least it gets them out of our hands and is one less thing we need to carry with us on the last trip.

We dropped the bags off at coordinators house and headed to Tver. It is night time, dark, icy etc. Took a long time. We finally got in around 11 pm. We are exhausted but starving so off to the 24 hour cafeteria for a quick dinner and now to bed. Exhausted but sooooooo so excited to see the girls tomorrow. I haven’t even had any time today to think about them, what will it be like to see them again, do you think they will remember us? Did the caregivers show them the photos of us that we left for them? Did they use the disposable camera to take pictures of them? So many thoughts running through my head. Well, goodnight. Tomorrow I will hold my daughters in my arms again. Sweet dreams.
Melissa