Day #10? I've already lost count...

Hello from sunny and warm Siberia. The weather is very nice. It gets hot during the day..near 30 C. Our last two visits with Segrei were very fun. He is definitely recognizing us and is all smiles. Besides the visits, the days are very long. We spend most of our time trying to stay awake during the day so we can sleep at night. The square out in front of the hotel is always packed with people until 2 or 3am. It's a festival that doesn't end. I think 8 months of snow will do that to people. The TV here is very interesting. We have 20 channels, 17 in all Russian, 1 in German, 1 in French and our only English speaking channel is The Bloomberg Channel...100% stock market talk...... After this trip I am going to get a job as an investment banker. I now know more than anyone should know about the overseas markets and the effects of the US dollar against the Yen. We have seen the Russian version of "Married with Children, The Nanny, and Cash Cab". I spend a lot of time watching "Friends" and "Spongebob Sqaure Pants" dubbed in Russian. Help! The picture attached is of one of the bridges here in Kras.

Love - Rick and Marcie

DAY #8 - Checking out Kras

Hello Everybody - Thanks very much for all the kind words. We love reading them every night before we go the bed. The next 10 days we get to visit Sergei for a couple hours in the afternoon. (except weekends) Today before our visit we explored the city of Krasnoyarsk. The city is very big with a lot of old soviet looking buildings. We found a grocery store, a Subway sub shop, a "Kentucky Fried Chicken", and a very nice children's store. I attached a picture of one of the interesting items at the grocery store. The visit with Sergei today was great. We got to take him outside and we no longer have anyone watching us. We had him laughing and babbling. I also found a toy hockey stick and he showed me a few of his moves. He also recongized Marcie as his "ma-ma". It is sad to leave him after the visit, but everyday we get closer to bringing him home.

Love - Marcie and Rick

Day #7 -- Court

We are now parents of a 10,100 gram, 77.5 cm bouncing baby boy :) The judge approved our adoption! We now have a 10 day waiting period before we get him for good. After a sleepless night, and a few nervous hours at the courthouse, the judge, prosecutor, director of the orphanage, and a couple other people said yes to our request to adopt Sergei. Over two years of collecting paperwork, running to Detroit, calling St. Croix, etc.. all came down to one judge and us sweating in the basement of a building in Siberia. Thank you to everyone for their prayers. :) The picture is of the happy parents in front of the courtyard.

Love - Rick and Marcie

Day #6 - Our visit with Sergei

Today we got to visit Sergei for the 1st time in 6 months. It was great to see the little guy. He is much bigger than the last visit. He is taller, walking and has a bunch of teeth. He was a little shy at first, but warmed up to us pretty quickly. I even had the chance to play a little catch with a baseball. No hockey sticks... Tomorrow is the big day. We leave for court at 9am Tuesday. That will be 9pm on Monday for you guys, so make sure you say a little prayer before bed. :) Some of the questions are tough and to say I am nervous is an understatement. I didn't take a lot of photos today because I was working the camcorder. I did attach one picture (although not a great photo) I will post more once the hard part is over.

Love - Rick & Marcie

Hello from the future...

From the Kermlin to Krasnoyask in 13 hrs. (couple hour ride to the airport, 4.5 hrs in an airplane, and another 4 hr time change) We are officially 12 hours ahead of Michigan. The flight from Moscow was rough. Lots of turbulance, and the "chicken" made me ill. We are just settling in our hotel room for an 18 day stay. Tomorrow (Monday) we get to visit Sergei. The attached pictures are: A really big canon inside the Kermlin in Moscow and a picture from my seat on the way to Krasnoyarsk. The pilots, I refer to as Mavrick and Goose decided not to watch the weather radar and fly thru a bunch of big storms. The bright red spot in the picture I believe is a burning oil well? It was the only signs of life between Moscow and Kras. Hope everyone is doing well.

Love - Rick and Marcie

We Made It...

Hello - only a short 11 hour plane ride and we arrived in Moscow. We left the house at 6pm on Wednesday, and made it to the hotel at 8pm Thursday night. Our flight on KLM was nice. They lost both baby strollers (ours and our friends) but dropped them off this evening. Today we spent all day (Friday) at the American Clinic. 7 doctors and 4 hours. So far so good. Tomorrow we take a red eye flight to Krasnoyarsk. The medical work we did today is required for court on Tuesday. The weather is cool and rainy. Although any time not at the clinic was spent inside sleeping. I will try to log on again once we arrive Krasnoyarsk on Sunday.

Dasvadanya! Love Rick and Marcie

2 Days and counting.....

Only 2 more days until we leave. We are currently trying to figure out how much stuff we need to pack, and how we are going to get it all on the plane. We are leaving on July 9th for about 30 days... Click the map to see where we are headed.