One more day...

Just one more day until we board that Kras Air plane and head West!!! Unfortunately, we will only make it 4 ½ hours West until we land in Moscow, but at least we’ll be getting closer to home! Although, as anxious as we are to get home, leaving Krasnoyarsk is bittersweet for me. We have really enjoyed our trip and having the opportunity to learn more about the culture our kids were born in to. We have also made some great friends that we will truly miss not seeing every day! As we were shopping for souvenirs and gifts the other day I was very emotional thinking that it may be a very long time before we get back to this city, if even at all. I know my children will be in a much better place, but it still hurts deep inside. Silly, I know….but true.

Alexander playing with his friend, Riley Kate.

We celebrated Victory Day with the Russians on Tuesday. It was pretty much an all day celebration in the plaza outside the hotel. They set up a large stage at the bottom of the steps along the river, and had live music and dancing there most of the day. It seemed to quiet down in the late afternoon. They had more vendors set up along the streets today as well. There was a parade in the morning that we didn’t go to, but some of our friends did and said it was really interesting. The whole focus of Victory Day is on the veterans. There was also a fantastic fireworks display around 10:45 last night. It was the best show I've ever seen! We were able to watch from the lounge on the floor of our hotel.

Joining in the Victory Day celebration!

Marina waving her Russian flags!

Today is filled with packing. It’s not going to be easy getting everything packed up again. 3 weeks in one hotel is a long time, and stuff gets really disorganized after so long. I’m hoping to come home a lot lighter than we came, but with our purchases here, I’m not sure that will happen, even though we did leave a suitcase and duffle bag at the orphanage! I don’t think I mentioned it before, but on our way over from Moscow to Kras, we were 107kg over the limit with our luggage, which equaled about $300 in overweight charges! Ooops! Tonight we are planning to go out to dinner with all of the other American families that are at the hotel. We will all gather at the German restaurant across from the hotel for one big celebration dinner! There will be 15 of us there! We picked up Alexander's passport this morning and we have our airline tickets, so we are ready! We will leave the hotel around 6:30am tomorrow for a 9:00am flight. We are due to arrive in Moscow around 9:30am (with the time difference!)

We thought it might be fun to pass along some information about Alexander, for those of you that have asked. He is between 31-32 inches long now and probably still weighs about 22 pounds, similar to the measurements we received in January. The size clothes that fit him best right now are 12-18 months, and he is wearing a size 4-5 shoe. He is not potty trained, although he does use the potty occasionally and has had some success on the little chair we bought for him. He is rewarded with an M&M each time he goes! He isn’t liking his bath much better yet, but the volume of his yelling seems to lessen with each one! He can scowl like no other, but it is usually quickly followed up with one of his adorable toothy smiles that makes his nose wrinkle! He also seems to have the high pain tolerance like his sister. He said Mama today, which melted my heart. He also knows uh-oh! Oh, how we can’t wait for all of you to meet him! :O)

Bath time just isn't one of his favorites!

Well, da svidaniya from Krasnoyarsk! Next time we post we will be in the Marriott hotel in Moscow, which might feel like the closest thing to heaven on earth after being in Kras for 3 weeks! I know I mention this every time, but truly cannot express how thankful we are that you have joined us (vicariously) on this journey! We appreciate every single prayer on our behalf and ask for a few more for our upcoming travels.

Much love from our family to you.....we'll see you soon! :O)