We're back

First let me apologize for not updating the blog while we were in Russia, but we never had internet service and the one time we did, we were to exhausted to use it. Where do I begin? This was an exhausting trip to say the least. We left Florida on Saturday and arrived in Moscow Sunday around noon. We then found out that our flight to Novosibirsk was not leaving till 10:30p that night. We decided to check into a hotel near the airport to get a few hours of rest, to shower and to eat. We were also traveling with another family whom we met in the lobby of the hotel later that night. It was great traveling with another family. It helps make the trip much easier and we really enjoyed their company. This is their second adoption, so they were a little experienced which helped. Around 7:30p we were off to the domestic airport in Moscow and on our way to Novosibirsk. We landed in Novo around 5:30a on Monday where we were met by our driver and taken to the hotel. This was not the greatest hotel, but apparently the Sibir was overbooked. We had enough time to shower, change, get some breakfast, then it was off to the MOE. Needless to say, we were so exhausted. We barely got any sleep on the planes the previous two nights. Our baby was in a different orphanage than the other couple, so we got to visit him first. We arrived around 12:30p and talked with the pediatrician for about 20 minutes, then in walks a lady with Bryson in her arms. Shane took him while I finished writing notes, then we were led into the music room. This room was very stuffy and bright, but we sat down on the rug and started playing. The first day was rough for me. I had completely fallen in love and bonded with his referral picture. I had such high expectations that he would walk in the room and I would feel those same emotions, but I didn't which was very upsetting. I didn't feel like I bonded or connected with him. Shane adored him and he favored Shane as well. We played for about 30 minutes when he started getting hungry. They took him and fed him, changed him into something cooler and brought him back to us. By now he was ready for a nap, so we only played with him for about 20 minutes more. On the ride back to the hotel, I was having so many mixed emotions. I was really upset over the whole situation. The whole experience felt emotionally draining. When we got back to the hotel, we were so exhausted and stresses so we laid down. We woke up later that night and called both of our mothers. They were really great in helping me calm down. After the phone conversations, we went back to bed and didn't wake up till 6a on Tuesday.

T & H (the other couple), knocked on door that morning to see how our first visit went. I was explaining to them how I felt and they said that was normal. It made me feel a little better to hear that. We all decided to go get some breakfast. After breakfast, we went to the coffee shop that was across from our hotel to kill some time since they were not leaving till 12:30p and we were not leaving till 3p. I have a funny story about juice at this coffee shop. When we were in there on Monday morning, we ordered apple juice and the girl understood and brought us apple juice. When we were in here Tuesday, we asked for apple juice again (a different girl this time). I guess she didn't really understand us because she put green apples in a blender and made it into juice. Wow was it bitter. Needless to say, we never ordered apple juice here again. After breakfast, Shane and I went back to our room and talked more about Monday's visit. I agreed that I would go there with a positive and optimistic attitude. When we got to the orphanage, they put us in a different room which looked to be a play room and thankfully it was much cooler in this room. We visited with him for about 1 1/2 hours and the visit went much better today. I guess I just needed some sleep and to clear my head. By the end of the visit, we knew he was ours.