We made it! This picture is of Mom and me outside the baby home in Kashin...

Well, we finally checked into the hotel at 3:30 AM. Needless to say, it was a very long trip. We were told that today would be a free day for us – no planned outage or trip to the baby home. However, we woke up at 10:00 AM to the room telephone... Luba asked if we wanted to go to the baby home today. Of course, I said YES!

Mom and I scrambled to get ready. We hadn't even opened our suitcases the night before, because we were so tired! I got ready first and walked to a nearby supermarket for the necessities: diet coke (coke light), bottled water, fruit, bread, salami and cheese. We made little sandwiches quickly and hit the road. Mom slept most of the way this morning because she didn't sleep last night on the long drive to Tver.

During the ride to Kashin, we heard that there was heavy snow in Tver... more on that later. We arrived at about 2:30 PM with Masha and Alexey. The staff brought Grace into the office quickly and she started to whimper. I picked her up and she stopped pretty quickly. She wanted to be on my lap the entire time. She woke up from her nap just before we got there.

We played with the purple monkey immediately! She loves it! It looks like it was kept in the director's office in between my first and second trips, and she gave it a big hug when she saw it and immediately began pressing the paws to make the music start. Mom and I had packed a few bananas for a snack in the car and we asked if we could feed it to her. They said yes, that she often eats bananas.

The inspector was at the baby home for this visit, so most of the time I was answering questions in preparation for court. I am concerned about court and am not taking it lightly. She asked if I own my home and I said that I own just over 20% and that I pay the mortgage monthly. Apparently this is not well understood by Russians, since no one owned property during communism. In Moscow, our guide said that mortgages were just starting to become available. So, I'm going to call the CHI St. Louis office and ask them the appropriate way to answer that question. I keep thinking to myself that I wouldn't be on my second trip if I wasn't qualified to adopt. I think court is just a formality, but I will take it seriously and do my best. Alexey said that my judge is male and can be provocative. Simply put, the inspector said that I need to work on my answers and be more ready for court! Mom said she would help me, too. Yikes!

Grace was quiet and never smiled during the visit, which is the same as Trip One. She made a lot of eye contact with me and Mom. She really liked that banana and ate a whole thing – slowly. She took some pretty big bites and chewed slowly. I couldn't get her mouth open to count her teeth, but she only had six teeth a month ago so we need to make sure to give her soft food. She wouldn't let me put her down on the floor. She didn't really like being the center of attention but she never hid her face.

I think she is an inch taller and her hair has grown since the first trip. I wish I would have brought some clothes to try on, but we'll make due with what we have. We're planning on shopping tomorrow, anyway. Dad asked that I buy some diapers in his name and leave them at the baby home – I know that the baby home will need and use the diapers quickly.
We also played with some soft, fabric, stacking toys and with a fabric book that my nephew, Ryan, let me borrow. Grace really liked the book because it has velcro pieces that she can pull and a buckle to play with. Thank you, Ryan!

Just like the last trip, one of the hardest things is letting go of control. We are at the mercy of our hosts and cannot choose our schedule. For example, I was hoping to go to the baby home to visit every day this week – except Friday which is my court day. We visited today for a little over an hour. I know that I shouldn't have been, but I was surprised when they took Grace from me. Of course, I kept an outward smile and said “paka paka” (bye-bye) in order to keep Grace from sensing my frustration.

During the journey home, I immediately asked when we would be coming back to visit and Alexey said Friday after court. My heart sank and I was very hurt. I couldn't beg for more visits because he had just rescued us 12 hours before and I didn't want to look like an over-bearing American. (I think the reason that they took us to Kashin today was to make up for their late pick up last night.) Now I regret that decision and am coming to terms with the lack of authority. Mom often reminds me that I need to develop patience and this is just one of the many reminders that I will have in the next 18 years. I'll be OK. I'm working on my deep breathing exercises!

Another example of lack of authority is which day we will pick up Grace and which day we travel to Moscow. Of course, I want to pick up Grace immediately after court, but there is a possibility of bad weather, late court appointment, or the baby home director may think that we would arrive too late in the day. If that is the case, we'll have to wait until MONDAY to pick her up! DEEP BREATHS! Mom keeps telling me to go with the flow – EVERYTHING is very different here due to culture and economy. This trip is character building and I am building patience – even if I vent about my complaints in this blog.

We met another couple from CHI: Dave and Vicki are from Missouri and here on their first trip. We ran into them while they were on the common PC near the lobby – I said “hello” and they replied in English! Yipppee! A taste of home – it's great to share with fellow Americans! Alexey said that a single woman and another couple would be arriving later in our visit, too.
Dave and Vicki said that they were told that the children in their orphanage (not Kashin) don't get fruit very often, so I'm glad that Grace was getting bananas. The director also said that she eats smashed apples.

I mentioned the snow earlier in the post. The drive home from Kashin was slow because there was about four inches of snow on the roads. I didn't ask about snow plows until we got to Tver. Alexey said that there weren't very many snow plows and they don't use salt on the roads. Suddenly, we saw three big, beautiful, new snow plows driving in a echelon pattern on the main street in Tver. Alexey said “Look! There are all three of our snow plows – the only three in Russia!” It was pretty funny! He is a very good driver and I trust him completely, however, it's still pretty scary watching the on-coming traffic weave across the center line and squeeze in between us and a trolley on rails. Very exciting!

The forecast is for more snow on Wednesday, February 12. I guess it's a good thing that Mom and I have a free day – it's a very long trip to Kashin, and we need to rest. We'll walk, explore Tver, and shop. We have an appointment in the hotel's turkish bath and sauna at 4:00 PM. That should be fun. And, we'll have dinner again with Dave and Vicki. I hope their day goes well and their long drive to their baby home is safe.

I also hope that all of our friends and family in the US are doing well. We are thinking of you often during our trip and miss you. Take care... Cheryl and Kelly