It is official! Tomorrow we will sign paperwork to officially adopt Alexander Roy Lindholm! I am currently sitting in a very small closet at our hotel just overwhelmed from the afternoon we have just had.
I suppose I could start at the begining. We landed in Khabarovsk Russia yesterday afternoon on a very bumpy runway, infact the runway was also the taxi-way. Customs was no problem and as we were walking out the door to meet Katjia, our translator, we heard, "Lisa?" Galina, Tamara, and Evelina were all there to meet us too. (I will explain them at a later date.) We exchanged some money and were off to our hotel. The hotel is quaint. Only 16 rooms and the bed is very low to the ground. The furniture is something of a flea market find, but comfortable.
We took a walk around the city to find the place the other families are staying at, but with no success. We are able to decipher some of the signs, but really need to study our cyrillic alphabet.
Had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Russian food really is something to be desired for. Derek's fried trout, with head, was not as appetizing as it sounded. Although, the ice cream is wonderful! No... I only had a taste. I am not going to press my luck.
We had a very nice breakfast, also in the hotel and while eating, we got the call from Irina, our facillitator. Andrei the driver would be at the hotel at 12:45 to pick us up and take us to the orphanage. He was right on time. The orphanage is very close to our hotel, but there is no way we could find it again. We had to wait a little while in the van because Irina was finishing up at court. We went in and had to put cloth botties on our shoes to keep the dirt out. The orphanage was very clean and everything was painted pink! We were ushered into a small play like room and asked to wait. I was off in my own little world when a woman came in holding the most beautiful little boy I have ever seen. Hey! I know that face! It was Alexander!!! He was handed to me and of course I began to cry. Then the brought in Elena, the other little girl for the other couple with us. Both just cute as can be.
So a little about Sasha. He is very serious. Calm and very relaxed. He is just learning to sit up on his own and all boy. Has a little scratch on his forehead and a little bruise on the back of his head from that learning to sit up. We gave him a few toys to play with and he of course chose the car chewy. We brought it back to the hotel to put in the fridge for tomorrow. We were able to go to his group and feed him lunch. That was an experience. He eats a porridge like food and we feed it to him with a regular spoon. He also drink tea from a cup, but with assistance of course. The caregivers are wonderful and take very good care of these babies. Of which there are about 10 in his group.
After lunch we went back to the play room and Sasha began to break out of his shell. What a ham! He is just in love with his daddy! We then were able to hear his medical information. He is very healthy and I will tell you all about that when we get home. We also discovered that he is ticklish! Auntie G you will be proud to know we brought the space spiders with us. And he loves it. Just laughed and laughed.
We met with the orphanage director, Olga. What a remarkable and charming woman. You can tell how much she loves these children. We gave her the orphanage donations and she was entirely grateful. So we pass that on to all of you who helped with that.
After the visit with the director is was time to go. Too short of a visit, but I will cherish every moment. Tomorrow if the weather is nice we will go for a walk outside. We get to do lunch again and change diapers if needed. I wish I could stay all day and just help these women who work so hard to care for these precious babies.
I will say goodbye for today. We are off to meet with another family and take a walk around the city with Galina. We miss you all and can't wait to come home and show you the photos.
Blessings to everyone!
Lisa