Quotable Riley

I've meant to do some more updates since we got back from Russia, but I just haven't had the time. I'm leaving tonight for the final trip. We have an early flight out of Cleveland tomorrow morning and then a 10 hour layover in Chicago, so Dad and I are going to stay in Cleveland tonight. Please pray for Riley as she's definitely showing some distress over Mommy's impending departure. 

I wanted to share a cute comment Riley made a few days ago. On our way out of Wal-mart, she wanted to  put a coin in the donation container, the kind that you put money in and it spins around before falling through various contraptions. I searched through my purse but couldn't find any change. I told her, "I'm sorry, but I don't have any coins." 

"Well, do they take credit cards?" she replied.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

May 28

Let's start with the good. We left early yesterday morning for the airport in Moscow. Jeff had to spend his birthday traveling, but he got a nice present from the airline. Jeff and I had discussed how lucky we were to have an exit row on the flight to Moscow. We thought we had been spoiled by all the extra leg room. Our seats in the way home were going to be a little more cramped. We were surprised then when we checked in and instead of seats in the middle of the plane, we were assigned to row six. We had been bumped up to business class. Happy birthday, Jeff!

Being a seasoned transatlantic traveler, I'd often looked enviously at those big comfy seats on my way back to the cattle compartment. I wondered about those people who spent huge amounts of money to travel in style. Now I know that occasionally those people are lucky schmucks who are given a free upgrade. Let me tell you what happens on the other side of the curtain. 

After getting preferential boarding, we were offered orange juice or champaign while we waited for the plebeians to board. We also checked out our complimentary travel bags filled with all sorts of goodies. The toothbrush and toothpaste would come in handy later. I'm sure the regulars up in business class were amused at our delight over the fully adjustable seats. Lunch was served an hour or so after take-off. White tablecloths were draped across our tray tables and we had real silverware and china (as opposed to the Barbie cutlery you get in economy.) Our first course was roasted cauliflower soup, hummus with caramelized onions, tomato and mozzarella salad, smoked ham and a dinner roll. By the time we finished this course, I was pretty sure we'd eaten twice as much food as the meal everyone else was getting in economy. For the main course, I selected chicken marsala with gnocchi and steamed vegetables. Dessert was an ice cream sundae. We were also offered a cheese and fruit plate but we had so much to eat, we couldn't possibly eat any more.

After lunch, I put my footrest up, pulled up my personal video screen, popped on my noise-canceling headphones and selected a movie. I watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets followed by Enchanted. About halfway through my second movie, the stewardess brought warm chocolate chip cookies and milk. It was at this point that I decided that if the plane had to circle the airport for several additional hours, I'd be OK with that.

When the movie ended, I reclined my seat, fluffed my pillow and cuddled up with my quilted blanket with the intention of taking a nap. I was so stoked about riding in business class though that I couldn't fall asleep for fear of missing some other amenity. Jeff, however had no such problem and slept soundly for three hours. Oh what an experience traveling international business class! I shall treasure it forever and recall it fondly in a few weeks when I'm crammed into the cheap seats (relatively speaking) for 10 hours with Colin on my lap praying he doesn't have a blowout diaper from the change in his diet. 

When we arrived in NY we grabbed a bite to eat and hung out in the business lounge before heading to the gate for our short flight to Cleveland. I was so excited to be just two hours away from seeing Riley. This is when things got bad. Our flight had been canceled. The ticket rep. assisting us said that it was due to severe thunderstorms. I can say with 99% certainty that that was a load of bovine excrement. There was no rain in Cleveland and only a light drizzle in New York. We had to get a hotel room because there were no other flights to Cleveland that day. Of course, Delta would not pay for the  room because the cancelation was "weather related." I was so mad and tired, I was ready to cry. 

Now comes the ugly part. Our baggage was checked through to Cleveland so we had very little but the clothes on our back. Jeff did have his toiletry kit in his carry-on and I had my toothbrush from my business class bag so at least I have fresh breath today. I have no make-up, no anti-frizz hair products, and my face is erupting with zits after two days of air travel. I smell like Jeff's Old Spice deodorant which I suppose is better than no deodorant at all, and I've worn these jeans so much on this trip, they can walk themselves off the plane. By the time we walk through the door we will have spent 39 hours trying to get home. I just want to hug my daughter, change into some fresh clothes, and take a nap. 

I don't mean to end the posts on our trip on such a sour note. God has been so good to us. He has taken us to the other side of the world to add to our family. By the time Colin is old enough to understand, he will laugh as we tell him the story about our flight home. 

We're Official

May 26

We had court this afternoon, and we are now officially the parents of Colin Patrick. The major hearing lasted somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half. We lost track of the time. Both the judge and the prosecutor asked a lot of questions, most of which were directed at Jeff. The majority of the questions I was asked were about Riley and Colin and my job at the church. It seems there was some confusion as to what exactly a nursery coordinator does. One person was under the impression that it was similar to the director of an orphanage, so I had to explain that we went to a large church and that coordinating workers and caring for the kids just during services was a big enough job to warrant a paycheck. 

We brought a photo album with pictures of Riley, our families, and our home to show to the judge. Everyone seemed interested in the photos of our cats. They seem to be the favored pet in Russia. I was even asked how I thought the cats would adjust to another child in the house. I replied that the two younger ones would be just fine and that the older cat would continue to hide under the bed as always. This brought a chuckle from everyone. 

There were several people in the courtroom to testify on behalf of Colin including the social worker from the orphanage who also testified at Riley's proceedings and a representative from the Ministry of Education. The judge left the courtroom to deliberate after all the testimony was given, and then came back to pronounce our adoption "granted on the grounds that it is in the best interest of the child." It was a relief to hear the verdict even though we had little doubt of the outcome given out previous adoption. We have been told that I can return around the 16th of June to bring Colin home. There is a mandatory 10 day wait period (that's ten business days) after Russian court decrees so we will go home to be with Riley during this time. We leave for home tomorrow.  

Oh, the Boredom

May 25

We have been holed up in this little closet of a hotel room for two days now. It has been raining the whole weekend. We did manage to get out for two brief excursions. There is a pedestrian street a few blocks from our hotel. It is a very nice bricked street with lots of shops. It kind of reminds me of some of the streets in Galway only no one looks and you or smiles. There is a souvenir store there in the basement of a building which we knew about from Riley's adoption. We probably never would have found it on our own, but it seems to be a little secret that gets passed from one adoptive family to another. We went there yesterday and bought a lacquer box for Colin and cheap matroishkas (nesting dolls) for both the Lee and Stewart kids to play with. Today we went back to the store for a magnet and then walked down to the mall. There is a grocery store on lower level so we loaded up on some snacks and get a bottle of vodka - as a gift for someone. The store was not terribly large but there was an entire aisle dedicated to vodka. We had a little sticky note with the name of a vodka that was recommended by a native, and we wandered up and down trying to read all the labels to find it. 

Other than those two trips out of the hotel, the highlight our day has been eating dinner in the hotel restaurant. I know almost the entire staff by name. Tonight the server didn't even ask what I wanted to drink. She just confirmed my usual "Coke Lite" 

This trip had been passing very quickly up until this weekend. Now I'm bored . . . really, really bored. I've read all my magazines and my book and played the DS until it feels like my eyes will fall out. I'm pretty sure I've set a world record of 383 consecutive rounds on one of the Mario mini games. 

I miss Riley horribly. We have been fortunate to be able to speak with her almost every night. She has been very talkative, telling us about playing with Ethan or helping Memaw feed the horses and dog. Mom told me she and Dad bought her a bike helmet yesterday, and she was so thrilled with it, she insisted on wearing it the entire day. I can just picture her sitting down for lunch with the bright red plastic helmet still on her head. 

Tomorrow is out final day of court. I am relieved that this leg of our journey is almost over. I am sad to think that going home to see my daughter means leaving my son behind in Russia, but the end is in sight. I know I will be back in a couple of weeks to bring him home.