On our way

It's been a rough last few days! Sunday evening I started feeling a little sick. By Monday morning we realized I had developed full-blown strep throat...fever, chills, headache, achy, swollen tonsil mess. We had tea and honey available along with a limited supply of ibuprofen, but by mid-afternoon I was sick enough to worry Bryan. Luckily, by naming him as the petitioner, we only needed him to complete the legal aspect. Luke was able to help me take care of the tiny tornado (um...new nickname!) while Bryan accompanied Andrey to the police station and did the footwork for Esther's passport. They also took a detour to a pharmacy where they had a fun time with Bryan explaining to Andrey what was wrong and Andrey trying to translate it to the pharmacist. They came back with a small arsenal of home remedies...the equivalent of ibuprofen, some throat lozenges and a rather nasty syrup you gargle with that tastes like black licorice, but apparently is even nastier than strep! Tuesday Bryan and Luke went to exchange the money Luke raised through donations for rubles. Esther and I went along for the ride and we finally found "too much". Too much fun, too much new, too much world, too much...everything. While the guys went in to do the money exchange, we stayed in the car and that was apparently the last straw. The idea of being confined was fine as long as the vehicle was moving. Stopping was NOT approved. That started the fit. By the time the guys got back, we were in full out meltdown. That being the case, we decided to let the guys continue the diaper buying expedition on their own and elected to take the shortest route back to the hotel! A snack and nap and by evening we were both in good enough shape to venture out on a much slower walk to buy some souvenirs (she conned a magnet out of one of the street vendors pointing at everything) and some snacks. Very "foreign" feel - like stepping into a completely different world. From the cobblestone walking street lined with vendors selling souvenirs and handicrafts to the bakery we stopped at for homemade chocolate dipped marshmallows for the kids to the street performer sitting on the bench singing folk songs with her accordion to the KGB era van we weren't brave enough to take a picture of (there was a policeman in full out body armor with it...and I swear I expected the van door to open and guys in riot gear to pile out. Whatever the sketchiest 1970's van in your head is, paint it pale green, armor it, add a few old Soviet era signs and you have either the sketchiest or most legit van I have ever seen.), definitely "not in Kansas anymore". That was about how much excitement Esther and I were up to and we definitely slept good that night! Luke, on the other hand, has handled the whole trip with a "going to Russia is perfectly normal" attitude. That kid gets excited over the oddest things - his Russian bottle of Sprite, a sign that looked like a moustache, the Russian flag. It's very structured excitement. Our hotel had VERY sketchy internet service, but the video I posted on Facebook actually came from Tuesday night...behold the power of a good nap! Wednesday we found worried girl. We started packing up the hotel room where we spent the first part of out trip. Have you ever gone on a trip and watched your pets as they noticed the preparations? They know something is going on, something is changing even if they can't understand it. She stood off by herself and sucked her thumbs and watched us pack. There is just no way you can explain to a 2 year old that the packing up includes THEM! Even though there is no way for her to really grasp the concept, the fear of being left is still very real. We we able to get her passport before we left, so she now has her very own Russian passport. The ride to Moscow was about 3 hours given the traffic....thankfully about half of it was during her morning nap because we found our meltdown anytime she was awake! Her fit did give us a good view of her teeth and we were...er..."happy" to find out she's also getting molars during this whole transition. It might be a very long 17 hour trip home... We arrived in Moscow yesterday afternoon. We have a tiny flat on the 19th floor of a building in downtown Moscow, about a 10 min walk from the Embassy. She seemed to relax a little once we were out of the car - the idea that she as still with us seemed a little more concrete apparently when we unloaded everything. Even in the car she insisted on having everything that she recognized as her's - her hat, her coat, her shoes - ON at all times. She was a sweaty exhausted mess by the time we made it here. We made it here in time to call the boys - much better Internet here included in our room (this isn't a hotel, but a short term apartment rental) and free international calling. We hadn't had wifi for a few days, so we haven't gotten to keep in contact much with them at all. We also skyped so they could see their sister. Bryan and Luke took a walk to find a grocery store since here in Moscow we have a kitchen and we're basically on our own. Today we walked to the doctor to have Esther's checkup for her visa. A long, rather cold walk that my still swollen tonsils didn't really appreciate. We met a man in the wait area that was there having the same checkup for his son - a little boy about 7 years old who had just been adopted for a region outside Siberia (another overnight flight from Moscow!). The doctor told us what we already knew/guessed - essentially healthy, teething and her nose issues are probably stemming from that. We passed a Burger King on the way back and Luke was really excited about that (even though we never eat there at home), so after dropping Esther and me off at the apartment, they walked back and got burgers and fries for lunch, Wichita actually tasted surprisingly amazing since I've pretty much been eating soup and coffee (and sometimes even that I could swear was made out of shards of broken glass!) for the last few days! Andrey delivered our paperwork to the Embassy and Bryan (he's the petitioner, so only he has to go but we probably all will accompany him. There are some strict safety standards we were warned about, much like an airport. No cameras, cellphones or liquids top the list.) will go to tomorrow for the meeting. We have lots of downtime today and tomorrow, so hopefully we'll take a walk this evening (now that the clouds are looking a little less ominous) through the historical district (complete with a not so historic Hard Rock Cafe...). Tomorrow we talked about possibly going to the zoo which we also walked past today. The location of this apartment is kind of neat. We are right on the main road through Moscow Center. From our window we can see the Embassy. Three times today we have witnessed major police escorts block off the street and escort people through. Not sure who has come and gone - but usually a police patrol of 4 or 5 cars followed by a limo sandwiched between armored vehicles holds someone pretty high on the totem pole! There was also the line of black hummers that seemed pretty formidable! On a sad note, ths afternoon we said goodbye to Andrey. He picks up another family tomorrow and so he set up his girlfriend (remember me saying he's allowed us some liberties he doesn't normally let families have this trip?) to meet us at the Embassy just in case we have any problems. He asked if he is ever in the States if we would let him contact us, so hopefully someday he'll be able to come visit. Apparently he has had problems getting a visa before - for a single man to get a visa in Russia is apparently very difficult since he has no "ties" to return to. Andrey was awesome - we would have chosen this agency just to get to work with him. Well, I think that gets us up to speed. Tomorrow we do the visa and Friday evening it should be delivered to us in time to catch our flight at 11:50. Please pray for: Esther's visa to go smoothly Me to continue to feel better Esther to make the plane ride without screaming the whole way - I can handle fits on the ground. Fits in the air surrounded by poor unsuspecting seat mates are totally different. These are knock-down, drag out type fits - kicking, hitting (poor Luke who had to sit next to us on the ride to Moscow!), screaming, sweaty, stiff as a board. Worse case scenario I plan on handing her off to Bryan and pretending I don't know them! "Sir? Is there something I can do to help your daughter?" ;-)