*New to us* Photos of Lina!!

Oh. My. Gosh.  Words cannot express how excited I was to receive these photos in my FB messages!!  I can't speak much about the source yet, but trust me, after we get Lina home I will be singing their praises!!!  These came from a volunteer who worked in her orphanage at the end of this past summer.  Can we say PRECIOUS???

Melt. My. Heart. <3  Can't wait to bring you home, babygirl!!  

Day 5: COURT!! Though I wasn't sure I was going to make it to court...

March 15th- Beware the Ides of March!!  Those were Mike's words when we first found out our court date.  I'm not a very superstitious person, but I admit I was just an eensy weensy bit on edge.  But so far all had been going well on our trip and I wasn't really feeling nervous at all about going to court.

We get up around 6:45 AM to get showered and ready to head down for breakfast, allowing ourselves plenty of time before our meeting with our facilitator at 9:00 AM just before heading to court.  I showered, got dressed, and then all of a sudden... I felt HORRIBLE.  Lots of abdominal pain.  I felt hot and sweaty all of a sudden.  I went to use the bathroom.

Sitting there a few seconds (sorry for all this bathroom talk) I started feeling extremely light headed, nauseous, and like I wasn't getting enough oxygen.  As hard as I was breathing, I felt like I was suffocating.  I start having dry heaves.  If I had anything in my stomach it would have been gone, but you may recall we really had nothing much at all to eat the day before.

I can't sit up any longer.  I make my way back out to the bed and collapse- trying to catch my breath.  Mike asks if I'm ok and I shake my head no.  I can barely talk.  My hands and feet are all tingly.  I'm thinking to myself- is this my nerves??  I really didn't think I was that nervous!  Why is this happening to me?  This has never happened to me!  Then the abdominal pain kicks back in.  Gotta get back in the bathroom.

Sit there a couple seconds and all the same feelings come back.  Can't breathe.  Nauseous.  Light headed.  Must. Lay. Down.  Make my way back to the bed.

How in the world am I going to get myself out of this hotel room let alone downstairs for our meeting or to COURT???  There is just no way I can do this.  I had visions of Mike going down to meet our facilitator, bringing her up to the room, and calling an ambulance to take me to the hospital.

After laying there a couple minutes, I decide to try to eat a peanutbutter cracker.  Maybe if I ate something I would feel a little better since I only ate a couple protein bars yesterday along with a couple other little snacks here and there- nothing at all substantial.  Though with my abdominal pain, the last thing I really wanted to do was eat.  But I did.

After one cracker I felt a little better so I went ahead and ate another.  Sat up in bed for a couple minutes to see if I could tolerate sitting up now.  Then decide I'm ok to go downstairs for breakfast.  I really needed to eat.

We go down to the breakfast buffet and I put a few bland things on my plate- a blini (very thin pancake), a couple pieces of potato, a slice of bread.  I take a small bite and the abdominal pain is coming back.  It's worse.  I only stomach a few bites of food and have to get back up to our hotel room.  Finally (sparing the details) I felt much better.  Not 100%- stomach still had it's issues, but I at least felt like I could function.  We go downstairs for our meeting.

After Mike practiced his speech (we didn't have time to get through mine) and reviewed some possible questions from the judge, we headed out.  Court was a few blocks away- I didn't realize how close it was, nor that we would be walking.  So glad I didn't plan to wear heels!  The sidewalks were covered in thick bumpy ice- the walk was a bit treacherous, but we made it.  Go through the security scanners, walk into the quiet court room, and wait.

The two social workers we saw at our visit the day before were seated on the left side and we sat to the right- our translator seated between Mike and I, and our facilitator directly behind.  After a few minutes the prosecutor walks in and takes her place.  Our translator leans over and whispers to me, "She is a good one.  She doesn't usually ask a lot of questions."  One little sigh of relief!  My stomach is still churning.  Praying I make it through.

The judge enters from a staircase behind her seat and we rise.  All the official stuff- rules of the court, introduction of the court staff.  Mike is then instructed to go to the podium and make his speech.  I was so nervous for him, knowing how anxious he has been, but he did a GREAT job.  Got a little emotional toward the end, but kept it together.  He shared a photo book containing photos of the three other children with DS who were adopted from this region- the judge seemed very interested in these photos, flipping through the album a few times.  He shared a photo book I made on Shutterfly containing photos of us, our family, our home inside and out, and photos from our first trip visiting Lina.  He also shared photos of her decorated bedroom.  After his speech, the judge asked him some questions, and then the prosecutor asked a couple questions.  All questions asked were questions our facilitator had prepared us for, so he was very confident in his answers and didn't hesitate at all.

After Mike's turn it was then mine.  When I got to the podium I got really nervous a quick second, took a deep breath, and began.  Once I started talking I felt more at ease, though the judge was making a LOT of eye contact with me and I was trying to keep my look of cool, calm, collected, confident, and caring.  When Mike spoke, she was busy looking through our court documents and photo books he presented, so she didn't make too much eye contact with him.  I had all her attention.  Toward the end of my speech I shared a couple photos of the kids holding pictures they made for Lina- one being the footprint butterflies they made to decorate her room.

The judge seemed really touched by this- she even motioned to the prosecutor to come look.  She didn't offer any of our other photos or albums to the prosecutor, but she wanted her to see this. :)

She then asked me a few questions after I was finished speaking, and the prosecutor asked one or two questions.  Again, pretty much all questions we had been prepared for, so I too was very confident in my answers and spoke without hesitation.  My turn done.  Whew.

Next, the social worker from the orphanage got up and spoke, reflecting on our visits as well as describing Lina and her development.  She was extremely supportive of our adoption in every statement she made.  The judge asked her a few questions, and then the social worker from the government agency got up and gave her speech.  She too was fully supportive of our adoption.  The judge asked her a few questions, and then it was the prosecutor's turn to speak.

The prosecutor was also fully supportive in her speech!  She explained that with all the opportunities available in our home and in our community, this would be the best for Lina.  She had not one negative thing to say.  Praise God!!  We were feeling pretty confident after her speech.

The judge then left for a brief recess.  We asked our translator what she thought and she was confident we should have a good result.  During the recess, the prosecutor got up and grabbed the photo books off the judge's desk and took them back to her own.  She smiled as she flipped through all the pages.  This totally warmed my heart. :)  The judge showed no emotion at all on the outside, but I'm sure we struck a soft spot in there, especially with those butterflies! ;)  After the prosecutor finished looking through them, she handed them back to us, but first the social workers wanted to see. :) So they had a peek too, also smiling.

The judge returned about 5 minutes later.  She gave her decision.  As soon as I heard her say (or heard our translator say ;) ) the adoption was approved- the tears started coming.  I welled up and tried to contain myself as she continued speaking about all the legalities of the 30 day wait, of how her new birth certificate will be printed with the name Polina Mae Livingston as we had chosen. <3  Ecstatic.  After she finished speaking, she left the room, and Mike, our translator, our facilitator, and I all embraced.  Mike and I then hugged each other tight, both crying happy tears.  We did it!!  Lina is ours!!!

As we walked out of court, I looked at my watch- we hadn't been here but 2 hours.  That is record FAST for  court proceedings in this country! We had heard stories of other families sitting in court about 8 hours, and only the one family before us in this region who got through in three.  It truly could not have gone any smoother.  We are so blessed!!

We headed back to the hotel to take a breather, grabbed some dinner (the hotel restaurant was open this time, Hallelujah!!) and headed back to the train to begin our long journey home.

The scenery leaving Lina's region- much more remote than the big capitol city we came from...

We passed by a little town from time to time, but mostly just all snowy fields.

One of the many train stations we stopped at along the way

With a group of policemen congregating outside

After we arrived back to the capitol city and met our driver, we stopped for some breakfast since we were several hours early for our flight- train arrived at 6:30 AM and our flight departed at 12:35.  When our driver asked if we wanted to stop, I took him up on the offer since I didn't want to chance going through what I went through the day before!

Some Baskin Robbins inside the cafe (no, we didn't eat any):

And chips which were part of our lunch on our flight

And of course we couldn't board our flight without just a little drama.... ;)  We had plenty time to spare- arriving at the airport around 9:00 AM and had to wait for the airline counter to open before we could get checked in and go through security.  Once they opened we got to the counter- as the girl is printing out our boarding passes she sees we were flagged for an extra security check at the gate.  She was quite confused, saying to another woman behind the counter, "But they are American!?!"  Apparently the TSA from the good ole US of A decided to choose us for extra security screening before we could board.  Only us, right?  Sheesh.  

So we get through passport control and security, and head to our gate.  After we are standing around for a while, a man starts bringing out all these large partitions and making a huge wall around the whole waiting area.  After he gets it all set up, he makes everyone clear the area "for security purposes".  Oh boy.  All this for us?  There was a smaller area sectioned off right by the doors leading to the ramp.  The girl there had this odd looking scanning device and a bunch of plastic gloves.  Yikes!!  What in the world are we in for???  

We make our way to the back of the line after they made everyone move out of the waiting area (we were right up front before, of course).  Every single person had to have their carry on bags hand searched before they could board the plane.  We weren't sure if this was standard procedure for a direct flight to the US since we had a layover in Germany on our first trip home, and had to go through separate security screens through that airport before we could board our connecting flight.  But since Mike and I were flagged, we got to go to the "special" little area sectioned off with the scanner lady.  

We first have to stand up and hold out our arms while she swipes sections of our skin with a small piece of paper.  Then she inserts the paper into the scanner.  She does the same, swiping each compartment of our bags, and thoroughly inspects our shoes.  Oddly, she didn't really look into our bags searching for materials we weren't supposed to have, like the half empty bottle of hand sanitizer they swiped from someone else's bag.  The scanner was used to detect explosive materials.  Thankfully they didn't find any! LOL  We weren't really concerned about this extra security check since we had nothing to worry about.  There were two other people flagged on the flight as well that had to be searched.  All seemed to go fine.

Goodbye, {snowy Eastern European country that shall not be named until we get our daughter home}.... We'll be back in a month- hopefully not as snowy!  Can't wait to bring our baby girl HOME!!!

Day 4: Court prep and visiting Lina!

Our train arrived in Lina's region around 7:30 AM... we get checked in at our hotel at 8:10 and are told to meet our facilitator and translator back down in the lobby at 9:00 to go to the orphanage.  Mike wanted to grab a quick shower so we skipped breakfast and opted for a protein bar instead.

Back on the road.... The roads in the main city where our hotel is located were pretty clear- a little slush here and there but not bad.  But the farther we drove, the worse the conditions became.  I really wish I had snapped some photos of the deterioration of their condition.  This was one thing I was concerned about for this trip- remembering how bad the roads were leading to the orphanage when we were here on our first trip- before there was any snow and ice.  I knew fair well that there would be no road crews going out to this remote area to treat any of these dirt roads.  Thankfully it wasn't quite as bad as I had anticipated.  Cars here have snow/studded tires so they handle much better than ours at home would.

It didn't take long for the roads to become snow covered, but they did appear to be treated with salt/sand/dirt.  Something brown. LOL  But as we trekked on maybe an hour into our drive, there was no treatment other than being packed down by the previous cars traveling by.   Another half hour and there were two ruts where one car's tires could pass through.  Oh how I prayed no one else would come the other way because there was nowhere to go!  But we had no worries there- for this area is so remote that there really isn't any traffic to be concerned about.  At all.

After a little slipping and sliding toward the end of our commute, we made it to the orphanage.  Whew!  We first go to the director's office to meet with her before going to see Lina.  I gave her the shopping bag full of new clothes we brought for the children as well as a box of toothbrushes our dentist had donated.  She was much appreciative.  She asked if we had any questions for her- my only question was regarding what she would want for a donation to the orphanage when we return for our third trip to bring Lina home.  She showed me a couple catalogs with texture boards- large boards to be installed on the wall of Lina's groupa so the children can manipulate and feel the different textures.  Since this is something that obviously won't fit in our suitcase to bring with us, our facilitator told us this is something we could definitely order in the city.

Next, the director warned us that Lina will probably be scared when we see her as she won't remember us since it has been 4 months since our last visit.  We then walked down to Lina's groupa.

When we first walked in the room- the first thing I saw was three little girls with CRAZY hair-do's!! The caretakers styled their hair all the same- with a bazillion pigtails all over their little heads- I about died!  Quickly we saw little Lina who gave us a big smile when she saw us and immediately sat down in a chair to wait for us to come to her.  She knew who we were!  She knew we were there for HER! :)  <3 Melt. Our. Hearts.  She even leaned forward for me to nuzzle noses with her as I had done four months ago.  The director and social workers were amazed that she had remembered us after all.  We headed up to the psychologist's office for our visit just as we did before.

The two social workers followed to observe how our visit went, for they would be testifying in court regarding our relationship with Lina, how she reacts to us and how we react to her actions.  One social worker is from the orphanage and the other is from the government agency that oversees adoptions.  Both ladies were very nice and gave us our space- they didn't stay in the room too long but hung around just outside the door.

And a photo of the back of her head so you can see just how *intense* the hairstyle was ;) and see that I really don't have a moustache LOL

Lina spent a good portion of our visit sitting on my lap, and I was perfectly content with that! :) She drew a bunch of pictures in the sketch pad we brought.... One of the social workers peeked in after a little while to see how we were interacting- Lina was still sitting comfortably on my lap and we were looking through a photo book I brought containing pics of us, our house, the kids, and photos with Lina from our first trip.  She enjoyed pointing to the people and trying to copy the kids' names.  She was quick to point out mama and daddy. :)

I also brought a babydoll for her- part of my thinking was to see how she treated the baby which could indicate how she will react to Evan.  When she first picked up the doll she immediately cradled it in her arms and rocked it gently. :) Such a sweet little mama!  She then took it over to the sliding board.  She held the baby's legs and made the baby climb up the ladder (SO cute) and then she slid down the slide with the baby.

She did pause to tend to the baby's needs- putting the pacifier back in her mouth, and she was insistent on tucking the baby's dress into the diaper. hee hee!  She did that a few times- dang dress just wouldn't stay in!  I also brought some little baby bottles for the doll and she first wanted to try to drink it herself (since it was the kind you can see the liquid) and then fed it to the baby.

Fixing the binky that didn't want to stay in her mouth

She enjoyed playing with the rope lights a little while- this black cord has a switch that controls the lights and she knew just how to work it!  Mike and I were a little concerned when she wanted to play with the electric cord but she quickly proved she knew what she was doing. ;)

These are pretty much the only photos we got- we knew this would be our only visit with her this trip and wanted to soak up as much as we could.  I did get this short little video of her playing with the rope lights:

As you can see she has no problem expressing what she wants! :)  She seemed so much bigger than the last time we saw her- I swear they must have fed her twice as much while we were gone.  Our visit went by very quickly and it was soon time to head back to the hotel.

On our way back to the hotel, our translator read our speeches to our facilitator who offered us feedback on subjects we should include and some things we could shorten.  She also asked us a bunch of possible questions the judge could ask- questions she has asked other families who have gone before us.  This gave us ideas of what more to include in our speeches, and gave us time to think about how we would answer these questions if she asked us.  It was a little overwhelming but a HUGE help to us.  She assured us that we had *wonderful* documents, and that while they were very nervous for us, hopefully all would go well.  This still is kind of uncharted territory for Lina's region- we are only the fourth family to pursue adopting a child with Down syndrome from this region, and the first family was denied, having to then go to the Supreme Court to appeal the decision in which they won. :))  The second family to go to court here had to come back to court a second day to provide more documentation.  The third family finished court in record time- a mere three hours.  

We had no idea how our court session would go, especially since the judge never requested any updated documents from us.  Typically in Lina's country- court documents are only valid for three months.  We prepared our documents as soon as we got home from our first trip- back in November.  By now our documents are all 4 months old.  Usually the judge will make requests before court regarding which documents she wants updated or if she needs more documentation whether it be regarding finances, home ownership, or anything else, and families bring these updated documents with them to court.  We were hoping she wouldn't decide at the last minute that she wanted something and we would have to try to contact someone at home to try to get something for us.  It has happened in the past.  So many unknowns of what to expect!  

We arrived back at our hotel and were told to meet our facilitator at 9:00 the next morning to go over more court prep, and then head to court- to begin at 10:30.  We noticed when we entered the hotel lobby that there was dance music playing in the restaurant- there was a private party so the restaurant was closed.  We went up to our room for a granola bar and some peanutbutter crackers, snacks we packed from home for such occasions, mostly for lunches.  

A couple hours later we came back downstairs- party still going strong.  There was a little cafe/bar next to the restaurant, but all the tables were full.  Ugh.  We tried one or two more times and just gave up.  Protein bar for dinner it is... just like breakfast.  We edited our speeches some more and practiced reading them to each other, and then settled in to bed to try to rest up before our big day!!

Tomorrow's post:  COURT!!  Yes, there was some drama in the morning...

Court trip, Day 3: Sight-seeing and departing for Lina's region!

Before I get started on this post Iwant to wish you all a Happy World Down Syndrome Day!! :))  March 21st is a special day to honor those who carry 3 copies of the 21st chromosome- get it, 3/21? ;)  Before Evan was born I never knew such a special day existed, but my life is all the better for it and we will celebrate every year here on out!!  And when we get Lina home, twice the reason. :))  I blogged about World Down Syndrome Day on our family blog found HERE, including lots of pics. ;)

And now, back to our Eastern Europe Adventure!!

So to catch you up- we departed from Dulles Saturday night- arrived in country late Sunday morning with the 10.5 hour flight and 8 hour time difference... and it was about 2:00 or 2:30 by the time we made it to our hotel.  Monday was medicals, and Tuesday we head out for Lina's region.  But our train doesn't depart until 6:30 PM, so we had a whole day to ourselves.  We relaxed a bit and then took a stroll through the city to pick up a few more souvenirs.

You may recall on our first trip I shared photos of the underground walkways to cross busy streets:

Upon first approach, I was a little nervous of what we would find inside these tunnels but I was pleasantly surprised, and on this second trip I was brave enough to whip out my camera and take a photo.

I couldn't believe it- little shops lined the wall- they looked like vending machines barely big enough to squeeze a person inside. I don't know how those people can work inside them- literally room for the width of one person to stand (I don't even know if they had room to sit!) and sell their wares... hats, scarves, jewelry, matryoshka dolls.  Not for the claustrophobic!

We get to the street with all the little souvenir shops and find this sight:

A walking bouquet of flowers... playing a recording of a musical advertisement.  No head, no arms, just a bunch of flowers with legs.  There was another at the other end of the street as well.

A view down the street

An interesting building- we didn't get close enough to figure out what it was...

Matryoshka dolls, anyone?

This is just a small selection of what we saw.... and pretty much the only souvenir you will find.  We had to laugh at these:

Barack Obama on a matryoshka doll.  Who woulda thought?

I did find a beautiful souvenir for Lina- we had already bought her a matryoshka doll on our first trip, but I couldn't resist this beautiful traditional headdress.

After our shopping was complete we headed back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby until our driver came to take us to the train.

We were excited that it was actually still light out when we boarded the train this time- back in November it was already dark at 6:00 so we couldn't enjoy the view... it was also still dark when we arrived in Lina's region at 7:00 the next morning.

Our cozy train compartment

(yes, that's a mirror on the door)

Home sweet home for the next 12.5 hours!  

Leaving the big capitol city

some apartment buildings

Pretty sunset (through a dirty train window)

When we arrive Thursday morning- it's straight to the hotel to check in, and then off to the orphanage to see Lina!! 

Court trip, Day 2: Medicals

So after a night of *trying* to sleep, we had our next adventure awaiting- going for our medical exams.  Part of the adoption process in Lina's country involves adoptive parents getting exams by 8 different specialists in country to assure we are indeed healthy enough to care for an adopted child.  We first had to get physical exams and bloodwork run here in the states, and bring those results with us as well as chest x-ray films.  But it seems that physicians in Lina's country do not trust American doctors, so they insist on doing everything again themselves just to be sure. But since everything had to be done in one day- they trusted the results from home long enough to give us approval, and if anything happened to come back otherwise, our approval would be null and void.

We meet our driver at 9:30 am and head out to pick up our translator who will accompany us to all our appointments.  We arrive at the medical building shortly after 10:00.  This building is apparently under high security- we first entered a small building outside the big iron gates surrounding the medical facility. We had to show our passports and then pass through a turnstile to leave that small building and walk to the entrance of the medical building.

We enter the building and immediately take our coats to the coat room- Lina's country is big on coat rooms. ;)  All those fur coats around to take care of, I suppose. :)   They are also big on plastic booties.

People here seem to covet sparkling clean floors.  Whenever you enter a building, there is *ALWAYS* someone there mopping the floor.  And in several places we have seen people use these plastic booties, from the psychologist's office in the orphanage, to the airport going through security, to this medical facility.  And I'm talkin' spike heel boots and all!

So after we paid our hefty fees for our exams, we headed off to the first physician- an internist/general practitioner.

We took the elevator up to the 8th floor and waited out in the hallway.  These doors lead to each physician's office/exam room.  The red light indicates when they are busy with a patient, but don't let that mislead you thinking no one must enter when the light is lit.  People have no problem knocking and walking right in, whether it be other physicians/nurses or other patients.

After a couple minutes it was our turn to go in- we walk in to an office consisting of two desks- one for the physician and one for the nurse and/or receptionist. There was also an exam table and small privacy divider.  With the internist- she took our blood pressure, listened to our heart and lungs, asked if we were on any medications....  After a few brief questions we went back out to the hall and waited for her to write her report and give her stamp of approval.  Then on to the next.  We went up and down different floors to various other doctors and specialists- pulmonologist, dermatologist, neurologist, psychologist, infectious diseases specialist, and oncologist.  But this only totals seven, what about 8?  The psychologist also signed off on the narcotics/drug use line as well.  He was the only male- all the other specialists were female, as we've learned most physicians (as well as judges) in Lina's country are female.  I found that interesting. :)  

The pulmonologist reviewed our x-rays after they were re-read by their own radiologist (apparently American radiology reports don't contain enough information and they need more writing).  She was sure to give us our own copy of their report when she returned our x-rays to us (too bad they aren't written in English LOL).

The dermatologist examined our skin looking for any signs of skin cancer- we simply took off our shirts and that was it.  The oncologist did the same as well as checking our lymph nodes, and I also had to remove my bra for a breast exam.  She asked about any family history regarding cancer.  We removed our shirts for the internist as well, and that's about as *personal* as it got.  The infectious diseases specialist asked us if we received our childhood immunizations against measles, mumps, etc. etc., if we ever had tuberculosis or had ever been exposed to anyone with Tb.  

The neurologist's exam was kinda humorous to us- it seemed more of a sobriety test.  We had to stand up, hold our arms out straight, close our eyes, and touch our nose with each index finger.  She checked our reflexes and then had us smile so she could check the symmetry in our faces.  My only guess is she was seeing if either of us had suffered a stroke? That was all I could think of really.

The psychologist was an interesting man... made me feel a little uncomfortable the way he was looking at me, like he was studying and trying to figure me out... I just looked right back and answered his questions with confidence.  He asked about my experience raising a child and a few other questions I can't recall off the top of my head... didn't take too terribly long.  Mike's questions were a bit different pertaining to his employment and providing for the family.

We also had our blood drawn again for the same tests we had taken back home, but to confirm the results are indeed accurate.  

We felt like we just returned from the war with the way our arms were bandaged up- the gauze was spread out much more when she rolled it around and around and around... it was SO tight- my arm was going numb! I kept trying to stretch it here and there, and after a couple hours it wasn't quite as bad. LOL

After all our exams we returned to the waiting room for our paperwork to be completed- after each physician wrote their reports and gave their stamp of approval, the medical director had to give her stamp of approval next to each of the other stamps as well as one at the bottom.  Our forms were quite decorative by the time we finished- we were there about 3 hours total when all was said and done.

I tried to rotate this photo several times but apparently it just wants to remain sideways!  But anyway.... WE WERE APPROVED!! :))

Court trip: Day 1

Whew!  We just returned home Friday night from a whirlwind of events- so much to share!!  I won't hold you in suspense- LINA IS OURS!!  :)))  But let's start from the very beginning because we had quite the adventure....

Leaving for the airport- Saturday, March 10th.  Our drive is about an hour and a half to Dulles and I made a reservation at a nearby hotel for our parking since it is substantially cheaper than parking at the airport.  We used a different hotel than our first trip since the shuttle runs every half hour 24/7- the first one only ran once an hour.  Flight departs at 4:55 PM so we left the house at noon to arrive for the shuttle around 1:30 to get to the airport around 2 and have 3 hours to get checked in and through security, and hopefully grab a bite to eat for dinner.

Well, this hotel was a little further of a drive so instead of taking an hour and a half it was closer to 2 hours by the time we got to the desk and checked in.  The shuttle was there... but JUST filled so we had to wait for the 2:30. Ugh. Not good.

We arrive at the airport around 2:45, wheel in our luggage and find the most ginormous line ever to check in.  When we came for our first trip we were leaving on a Friday so the lines were very short. This time we left on a Saturday- BIG difference!!  The line wasn't budging either. We. Were. Scared.  This line would take at least a couple hours to get through, and then there's security... how would we make our flight???

All of a sudden the line moved.... and moved QUICKLY.  It must have shortened by half by some miraculous event.  Didn't seem quite as daunting anymore.  After a little while longer they asked for all people going to M***** to go to the front of the line.  Even better!  Or so we thought...

We get to the automated self check-in.  I place my passport on the scanner.  Won't scan.  Try again.  Won't scan.  Try Mike's.  Won't scan.  The scanner next to us opens so they have us scan there- it worked.  Whew! But... oddly enough- when I scanned mine- both our names showed up for the reservation, yet their computer could not find our reservation in the system.  You've got to be kidding me!!!  We were told to move to a different line- behind an old lady and what appeared to be her daughter, talking with the man behind the counter.... she had completed whatever she was doing yet still hanging there chatting and asking questions....   Finally we get to the counter.

This guy moves at a snail's pace. I wanted to jump across the counter and type myself so it could go faster.  Finally after much more waiting we get our boarding passes.  Off to security!

Quite the line at security too..... waiting... waiting to get through passport control.... Waiting and waiting to get through the security screening.  By the time we get through there was no time to stop to eat dinner as we'd planned- our first trip we were through so quickly that we had over an hour to eat dinner and still get to the gate an hour early for boarding.  This time- we had about 40 mins until departure.  YIKES!!

We rush to the gate- the plane is already boarding- no one is left in line even!  We quickly check in and board the plane.  I have no idea what we would have done had we missed our flight!!!  We breathed a huge sigh of relief once we were seated.  And now our 10.5 hour flight to M*****!!

Our flight was pretty uneventful thankfully- departed on time... just a little turbulence here and there but nothing too major... flight was quiet though we really didn't get much sleep.  So cramped.  We arrived Sunday morning at 11:50 AM local time- which is 8 hours ahead of what we are used to at home, so our bodies were thinking it should be 3:50 AM.  TIRED.  Our driver is there to meet us after we get through passport control and collect our luggage, and he takes us directly to our hotel room- about a 2-hour drive.  I couldn't help but fall asleep on the way.  I did manage to snap a few pics before I dozed off ;) Don't mind the poor quality- between the fast driving, not so great quality of roads, and dirty car windows- doesn't make the best environment for taking photos.

Traffic, traffic, and more traffic.  Yes, it snowed on and off our entire trip... and all those cars to the right are double parked.  Parking is absolutely INSANE here!!  

Yes, people regularly park up on the sidewalks.

Apparently it's just fine for the tail end of the car to stick out in the middle of the street if they can't get up on the curb, too!

Lots of public transportation... and weaving around it!

Some familiar sights

This was the first McDonald's built in Russia and is the largest in all of Europe (this was as close as we got)

We get all checked in around 2:30 and log onto Skype to wait for the kids to wake up at home. We had a great routine our first trip and it continued very smoothly this trip as well- Skype around 3:00 PM our time, 7:00 AM at home when the kids are getting up and ready for school.  We were so thrilled our busy schedule allowed us to be available at this time everyday! :)  And even better- our hotel room this trip overlooked the lobby with the free wifi- so we were able to get a signal in our room without having to walk all the way downstairs and chat in the big open and echo-ey room. ;) 

 After Skype we grabbed some dinner in the hotel restaurant and came back to our room to get some rest.

Their teaspoons are smaller than ours, and their soup spoons are equivalent to our serving spoons!  They do know how to serve up some DELICIOUS tea here... even if it costs over $10 for a pot! LOL

Next day's adventure: MEDICALS!!