Can't wait to get home!

It has been a L O N G two days here!

First - the Embassy interview - we went to the US Embassy on Wednesday afternoon to get EasternStar's Visa. The way it works is you drop off all of your paperwork the day before and you make an appointment to come back the next day at 2:00 to pick up your paperwork and Visa. So, at 2:00 we entered the Embassy and followed the signs - and the other people with babies - to the adoption room. The room was hot and small and not very kid friendly. There were plastic chairs lining the walls and in rows in the center of the room. A great place to hang out with 15 other young kids for 90 minutes, right? First we went to the cashier to pay for the Visa and then we went to another window to put our name on the list.

The room was packed! It was awesome to see so many new families! You always here how hard Russian adoptions are getting and sometimes it feels like no one is getting anywhere. It was awesome to see so many families getting their dreams to come true. Most of the children were girls (!) and there were several that were right around EasternStars age (15 months). There was another group of children around the 20 - 24 month range and the cutest 3 year old! There were probaby 12 - 15 families there. I can't speak for the health of the other children, but everyone was very happy. For the first 20 minutes or so. And then the room got hot, and all of the children were missing their naps.....and everyone got (more than) a little cranky!

It is amazing how tied these kids are to their schedules. You can almost set your watch to it. 8:00 - breakfast. 10:00 - morning nap. The Embassy interview was right in the middle of EasternStar's afternoon nap and she *still* hasn't recovered. Hence, the L O N G days that we've been having. She is *so* tired but she will not sleep! 8 (

On Thursday and today we hung around the hotel and did some souviner shopping. There has been a music festival on Red Square everyday this week and today was the first day that we could get semi-close to St. Basil's to take the "required" picture of the child in front of it. I've already packed the camera and the cable, so I won't be able to post the picture until we get home.


Speaking of home, we are so ready to be there! We are tired of washing our clothes in the bathroom sink and our tummies are sick of eating restaurant food. We miss our own beds and our washing machine and our fridge with nice cold water. Of course, we also miss TinyDancer and our two puppies - that goes without saying. I wish that I could go to sleep and wake up on Sunday morning in my own bed! I hope that our flights tomorrow go quickly and smoothly. We only have 2 hours from touchdown to take off to make it through customs, etc in Dulles. Wish us luck!!