Cars, Planes and Buses

We have arrived in Moscow! This will be short because it is after midnight here and we just got the girls’ baths and put them to bed. Again, we praise God for his goodness and the ways only He is helping us all. I am thrilled to report that after mid-day Lydia had no more vomiting and Nora shows no signs of sickness. The girls did great on the trip to Moscow. It was so fun to see Lydia’s excitement over the airplane. She is old enough to realize what is going on. She sat by the window and just took it all in. Thankfully, Nora did well too. Towards the end of the trip it was getting hard to contain them, but again…such troopers our girls are!

It was so weird to leave Kaliningrad for the last time. We feel such an attachment to the city and have spent many hours walking around. Also, I got a little emotional leaving our agency rep Natasha and our driver. They have done SO much on our behalf. Natasha bought the girls amber bracelets (90% of the world’s amber is mined in the Baltic Sea by Kaliningrad) and a neat magnet for Brett and I. It was so sweet! We have her email and also emails for the girls’ orphanages and they will all be awaiting pictures and updates (in addition to the mandatory reports for that we are required to do for three years).  Anyway…Moscow feels one step closer to home. The city is big and unfamiliar to us…but the hotel is MUCH more American with things like air conditioning, comfy beds, English speaking staff, etc. Tomorrow we have a doctor coming to the hotel for the girls’ medicals and then Friday we will have our embassy appointment. If we think the girls are up for it, we might try to take them to the Red Square tomorrow. It is about a 20 – 30 minute walk from our hotel. Also, we are thankful for the stroller. Both of the girls do great riding in it. It has been a big help with Nora to keep her more contained. Okay…good night all!