We're Here in Moscow

Well, we made it! It was a long trip, but everything was fine and we arrived safely. Flying Delta was much more enjoyable than flying Aeroflot! For one thing, there was no one sitting in the two seats behind us, so Steve moved back a row. We each had two seats to spread out in, and that made a huge difference! Also, instead of having an overhead movie, each seat had its own screen just above the tray. On this screen we could watch movies, TV shows, HBO shows and movies, play games (trivia, solitaire, chess, etc.), listen to music, or watch the path the plane was taking across the Atlantic. Each person could choose whatever they wanted, and combining all the movies, TV shows, and documentaries, there were probably 30 choices. I mostly watched movies while cross stitching Katie's stocking, and Steve did almost everything. He only played solitaire briefly because when he poked at the screen, he moved my whole seat. In addition, the headrests could angle forward to rest your head, and one complimentary alcoholic beverage with dinner was included. All of these were just little things, but they added up to make an enjoyable flight. Steve and I both rested, but I don't know that either one of us slept.

After deplaning, we waited for over an hour to go through passport control before getting our luggage and meeting up with Andrei. We drove straight to the orphanage, but Katie had just fallen asleep 5 minutes earlier for her nap, so we went to our apartment. This apartment location is better than last time's, so our drives to the orphanage should be about 30 minutes instead of an hour. We unpacked and took a nap before Andrei picked us up again at 3:30 to go to the orphanage. We played with Katie for about 2 hours, and she must be feeling more comfortable with us because she showed us her ornery side! If she didn't want to do something, she would arch her back and lay on the floor. She didn't actually fuss or pitch a fit, but she was making herself clear! She loved the seesaw again, and this time they had a little plastic swing in the room, which she loved even more. We also played a made up game where she would plop on my lap, I would stand her up, and she would plop again over and over. She got the giggles pretty good with that one, too. She ate lots of goldfish crackers, and according to Andrei, she said that she would be waiting for us tomorrow when we return (how sweet!). We gave her a little outfit today, and when she went back to her room, you would have thought she was a model on a runway. She was so cute! We also brought donations for the orphanage that we will deliver tomorrow: clothes for the kids (from our house) and fragrance samples for the workers, which were donated from Dillards.

We came back to our apartment, found a deli to buy a few things, and ate dinner. We're now getting ready for tomorrow, because Andrei will pick us up at 8:30 to go see Katie, and we're just a little bit tired. We love spending time with her, and we are just so anxious to bring her home. Lots of love to you all!