Well on our last day I find out that the restaurant we have been eating at for the last four days has free WiFi. Who knew? Not me. We we are counting the hours until take off. We are sooooooo ready to come home. I thought I would just keep this short and share some pictures.

See you tomorrow for those in Salt Lake!

Eric, Paula and Tanya

Ok, I know that I said the previous one would be my last but I have some time this morning and now my computer is charged back up. I don’t think that I mentioned to you last time that yesterday morning a doctor came to give Tanya a check up. This is part of the process for the U.S. Embassy. It was good to know that her heart and lungs all sound good and that she seems to be in good health. We were not really concerned about this but it is just good to have it confirmed by a doctor. The only down side of the doctor visit was that he had to come to the apartment we are staying in at 4:40 a.m. Yes that is in the morning. He works at a hospital and he had to go and visit eight children before starting at the hospital. Therefore he had to start early. For him it is a good day as I am sure that each of the eight paid him $100 U.S. dollars so he made $800 yesterday before going to work.

While we were at the Embassy we met several other families that were adopting. One family we actually met at the courthouse in Ivanovo. They were from Kansas City and I believe I mentioned them earlier. We also met a family from Chicago and New York. It was really nice to have extended conversations in English again. Each family has a different story and it is very interesting to hear about how they had come to this point of having a child(ren) from Russia that is now their own.

As for us, we are doing well. I think Tanya and I have broken through the shy/nervous barrier. She no longer just wants Mama but is also comfortable with Papa. We are having fun kicking and hitting balloons back and forth, doing puzzles and playing with her travel size lite bright. Tanya also loves to read. We bought her three books that are in Russian. One is Cinderella; another is the Aristocats and then one with Russian fairy tales in it. She has read all three at least two or three times already. She also reads anything that she sees. Even at the Embassy she was reading the papers about her adoption. Yesterday I enjoyed just watching her as we drove around Moscow. She would sit as close to the door as possible and take in all the sights. She had never been in a big city before so all the cars, tall building, people and signs were fascinating to her. However, she still keeps asking us “When are we going to America?” We finally found a calendar so we could show her what day we will be going home. Another good sign of her comfort with us and particularly me is that this morning when she woke up she came over and lay on our bed next to me. It was the first time she just snuggled up with me.

Tanya is doing very well with communication. She is already learning to use hand gestures to help us understand what she is wanting. We are also beginning to just know what each other is trying to say. However, sometimes Tanya rattles off a long statement and I just look at her and say I do not understand. We stare at each other for a moment and then she laughs and says “Oh Papa”. So far I have not found her getting frustrated with the language barrier so this is good. She does love to imitate so I think she will be doing just fine. She also is fascinated with the telephone. Yesterday we called Paula’s parents and I had Tanya say hello to her Grandmother. She repeated English after me and when Paula’s mother was talking to her she was smiling. I know she didn’t understand but the whole process of just talking on a telephone was fun for her.

Well we hope to see my sister Paula as we connect flights in Atlanta. We have a 3 hour and 45 minutes lay over so after we get through customs we should have time to eat and visit with my sister. It will be good for Tanya to meet her and begin to understand that she has more family than just Paula, Kyle, Abbie and me.

Well this will be my last entry until our return. I mean it this time, as it is expensive to use the Internet in the hotels. This country is way behind the U.S. when it comes to technology and modern creature comforts. When you spend an extended time here you gain an understanding for how fortunate we are living in the United States. I know many people in the world would not agree but I am thankful.

See you in America soon!!

Well we are almost done with everything. Yesterday we drove back to Moscow and began our process here. As of now Tanya can officially enter the United States. We have her Russian passport, United States Visa and will soon have her registered with the Russian Embassy. All this means that we will be able to come home early!! We have changed our tickets to return home on Tuesday instead of Friday. The only bad thing is that we will not get in until around 11:00 p.m. at night. It will be a long day but I know that we will be so glad to get back to Salt Lake City.

Tanya is doing great. We have an interesting ride from Ivanovo to Moscow. About half way Tanya got car sick. I do not think that she has ever driven in a car for that long. After we cleaned her up we went on and she has been fine ever since. We are also staying in an apartment this time because all the hotels are full due to an exhibition that is going on in Moscow. It is nicer than a hotel as it is quiet and we have more room. It is not as convienent as the hotel we are in since we are not as close to shopping and restaurants but it will be fine. We now have three days to kill while we wait to return. I think tomorrow we will either go to a circus or the zoo. Then on Sunday we are going to walk over to the Kremlin and Red Square so that Tanya will have a chance to see this before we leave. Then on Monday it will be a day of relaxing.

I am sorry that this is going to be a shore entry but my battery is almost out and I have to walk several blocks to just get internet access. I will probably wait until we return before posting again but then I will give a good final update on our journey.

Thanks for all of you who are sending us encouraging replies. It really helps.

Well Paula and I are very happy to introduce you to Tatyana “Tanya” Winter. As of 1:00 a.m. Salt Lake City time today Tanya became our daughter. I will say that Paula did much better with this delivery than with Kyle and Abbie. This of course is not to say she was bad with Kyle and Abbie.

Court was an interesting experience. The building on the outside was nothing impressive to say the least. However, inside was actually nicer than we expected. We went into one of the courtrooms, which was about 30’ x 30’ and sat in front of a woman judge. There was a court recorder and a prosecutor there as well. Then there was a representative of the orphanage, Nina the social worker, and the inspector, Gala. Gala was basically like a social service worker in the U.S. She was the one that went to visit Tanya when she lived with her Grandmother and was the one that removed her from the home. We were asked a few times to stand up and answer questions about our work, home, discipline, Kyle and Abbie, etc. They also made sure we had been given all the information concerning Tanya’s background. This lasted about an hour and then we were asked to wait out in the hall. Tanya was not in court with us at first but when we returned to the courtroom she came in with us. The judge asked her if she wanted to move to America and Tanya quickly respond with “Da” (that is yes). At this point the Judge read her decision concerning our adoption and confirmed that the Russian Federation supported our application for adoption and that it was final. I must say that when Paula and I stood there listening to the Judge finalize our adoption it was hard to not cry. Even now as I write this again I can feel my eyes get watery. We had to wait a bit after court to get the official documents and while we were doing so met a family from Kansas City who were here adopting an eleven-month-old little girl. We have received Tanya’s new birth certificate with our names on it now as her parents and her new name of Tatyana Kaye Winter. Tanya’s passport has been applied for and we are told that we may get it tomorrow but no later than on Thursday afternoon. This is great news because it means that we should be able to come home early. At the worst I would say we could come home on next Tuesday but if we get her passport tomorrow we may be able to come home as early as Saturday! Please keep praying about this because your prayers are working.

Since court it has been an emotional experience. To look at Tanya and realize that she is now our daughter is really amazing. We were looking through the picture album that we gave her last summer. We pulled out some letters and found the first one we sent her which was before we had met Tanya. It was dated March 25th, which is almost exactly one year from our adoption date. What a difference a year can make.

We went to the “mall” to have lunch and this again was a treat. As we walked around this mall and passed many stores we kept hearing gasps of amazement from Tanya. It was obvious that she had never seen so many pretty things. Her eyes were wide, taking it all in. Then we stopped at this little food court to have lunch. I pointed to the food to ask Tanya what she wanted to eat. I could tell by her eyes that she had not had a choice of what to eat before. She did enjoy the food and I think our grocery bill is going to go up a bit. Then we went down to the grocery store to purchase some fruit. When she saw the big red delicious apples she said something in Russian and pointed at them with big eyes. Again, I doubt she had ever seen such a big and red apple before. Of course she is eight years old so when we walked by the candy she was very interested in that as well. I think she will fit in well with Kyle and Abbie because the two things she eyed the most where Skittles and M & M’s. I think the one new experience that caught me by surprise was when we returned to the hotel and got in the elevator. We walked in and she had a very puzzled look on her face. When the doors closed and we started going up she jumped. Then when the elevator stopped she jumped again. Her smile returned when the doors opened up. It is really incredible to experience the world with her and to realize how many things we take for granted that others never experience.

This has already been a full day and now Tanya is taking a nap. We will meet with our friend and translator Tanja this evening and then all go to bed. As our journey continues we will share more. I am sorry for how long this entry is but there is so much to share today and it is only the middle of the afternoon.

Eric, Paula and Tanya

After almost six months of waiting we finally were able to be with Tanya again today. It was really good to see her and to give her a big hug. In contrast to our last visit when she ran across the room and jumped into my arms today she was more reserved and went straight to Paula. It was obvious to Paula and me that Tanya was a bit nervous about all that is going on. She was certainly happy to be with us again but the reality of leaving is becoming more real to her. I think that one of her biggest concerns is if she will be able to learn English. We also found out that she did not realize that she would be going on an airplane and that she has never been to Moscow before. The trip to Moscow and the airplane did not seem to faze her too much. The longer we were there the more she opened up with us and became more relaxed. I think it will be good for us to be in Ivanovo for a couple days so she can begin the adjustment. Tanya’s teacher sat with her and explained what all would be happening over the next few days. She also told her that if she was having trouble communicating with us that she could just show us what she needed and we would understand.

It also was clear today that Tanya feels the safest with Paula. While we were with her today she kept Paula in sight. If Tanya left the room, when she came back in she would say “Mama” and go and sit next to Paula. I am glad that she feels so comfortable with Paula as I think this will help in the transition. She did come and sit with me to read through the dictionary that we brought her. However, after stopping her a few times and asking her to say the word in English she decided she would rather sit with Paula again. She did say a few words and I think if we take it slow but steady we will get through the language barrier.

Please be praying for Tanya as tomorrow we go to court at 9:00 a.m. Ivanovo time. As soon as we walk out of court she will be ours and come back to the hotel with us. I am sure that this will be a mix of emotions for her as it means the end of her life as she knows it now but the beginning of a whole new one. It truly is a lot for an eight year old to handle. Pray that Paula and I will have wisdom and lots of understanding and patience with her.

While we were at Holuy I did get to see some of the other children. It is always fun to walk in the room and watch their eyes light up as they were not expecting to see us. All of the ones we saw were happy and doing well. Amy, your little Sergey had the usual smile from ear to ear. He was so happy to get your gift and we have some things for you from Sergey. We also found out that another family has been to the orphanage to begin the adoption of Luda (sorry Doug and Kristy). What was so interesting was that we were told that the family knows us. I asked a few more questions and found out that the family is one that lives in Draper (10 minutes from our house) and I had volunteered at The Christmas Box House with the wife. I guess they had seen our picture while they were there and couldn’t believe it either. I am looking forward to getting back and calling them. So for all of you who have fallen in love with Luda just wait and she will be in Salt Lake City soon. We are also going to be able to get the information about the woman adopting Vika since our coordinator is working with her as well. It will be great for the kids to have some of their friends near by.

One other major event of the day is that today is Abbie’s 5th birthday. We did have a chance to call her and wish her a Happy Birthday earlier. It was really good to here the kids voices and here all about what they have been doing. Let me tell you, they have been busy but having a lot of fun. Thanks Allen and Diane for taking such good care of them. Happy Birthday Abbie!!!!!!! We love you!!!!!

We arrived in Ivanovo on Friday afternoon.  We had been hoping to stay at a new hotel called the Soyuz Hotel but as it turns out we are at the Tourist Hotel that is the same one we stayed at before.  Overall, it is not a bad place to stay but it does limit our ability to access the Internet, so we may not be able to post to our blog as often as we had planned.  We will still try and post an update every couple of days if possible.

While we were back in the
U.S. I was part of a Yahoo group for people adopting from this region in Russia.  One family that posted to that group was a couple who runs a bookstore here in
Ivanovo, Alexi and Tanya.  I told them that we were here in Russia and last night we had the chance to sit down and visit with Alexi.  I was very interesting as we found out that they are pastors of a small home church here and each week go and work at an orphanage here in Ivanovo.  As we spoke it seemed like we had much in common.  They even have good friends who live in
Davison, Michigan which is a small town right next to where I grew up.  Today, Saturday, we are going to go with them to the orphanage they work with and then on Sunday we will join them in their home to be a part of their church. 

We have also met with our coordinators here and know that Tanya has been told that we are here to get her.  I can only imagine what must be going through her mind.  We were going to go and see her on Saturday but apparently there are some children at Holuy who have the flu.  When this is the case they keep the kids apart so that others do not get it and also do not let visitors come in.  Therefore we will have to wait until Monday to see her.  In some ways I think this may actually be better.  Since she knows we are here to get her it may be confusing for her if we come and see her and then leave for a couple of days and then come back and leave again before we can keep her with us.  This way we can go visit her and tell her that the next day people will bring her to us and then she will stay with us for good.  We only hope now that she is not one of the kids who is sick.

Today we also hope to meet up with our friends Tanya and Katya.  For those who do not know, they have been translators for us when we brought teams of people over from K2.  Every since the first trip to Holuy we have become friends with these two women.  I am hoping that we will be able to reach them today and that maybe they can come with us to church tomorrow.  If not I would love to introduce them to Alexi and Tanya as I think they would get along well.

Well we hope that all of you are doing well.  We miss you (most of all Kyle and Abbie) and look forward to being back home again but this time with our new daughter.

Eric and Paula

P.S. Doug and Kristy we know that people here are anticipating your trip in April so get ready you are up next!

Well we have arrived in Moscow. We are at our hotel and as I sit in the lobby writing this I am looking out the window at the Ministry of Education building and Arbat Street (an outdoor mall). It was a good flight with no surprises. Somehow it seems that each time we make this trip the flight seems longer. I would think it would feel shorter now that we know what to expect but this is not the case.

For today our main challenge is to stay awake for another six to seven hours so we can get ourselves on Russian time. This is a challenge since our bodies feel like it is 3:30 in the morning Salt Lake time.

Paula and I both commented about how strange it seems to be here in Moscow and have it feel familiar. I never thought I would find myself in Moscow much less three times in one year. However, as we drove from the airport I recognized many things. It is nice to at least feel like we have the ability to go and have dinner and walk around without feeling lost.

The weather is overcast, rainy and about 38 degrees. There is really no snow to speak of but everything is very muddy.

I will keep this short today as my mind is not at full capacity as well as there have not been any significant events to speak of. Tomorrow we will go to see a doctor here in Moscow and then drive five hours out to Ivanovo City.

So long for now!

Eric and Paula from Moscow

Hi there,

I know that I sent you all a link the other day to my blog. However, that site was not working for me so I am changing to this one. Please disregard the previous site and bookmark this one if you would like to keep up with our adventure in Russia.