Today is the first day of the 10 day wait before we get Alex. We woke up around 4:30 this morning. We are still trying to get acclimated to the time change over here. It did not help that last night we took a three hour nap at 4:00. I guess we were so tired from the process and needed sleep. Anyway, around 5am we worked out. We walked down the hall to the stairwell and went up and down about 6 flights for 30 minutes. We came back to the room after walking the halls for a few and got the rubber bands out and put in the DVD. It is a 30 min workout. It was good, nice morning exercise.
After a light workout we went downstairs for breakfast. I was so excited, they had these fried chicken or beef mush things. I had them the last time I was here they are great. I finally got some protein, everything here are carbs. We got some tea to go, and headed back to the room. We read everyone’s e-mails and notes (keep them coming) and took showers and decided to got out. It is about -20ish again and the temp is dropping. We walked back down to the toy store, which is about 5 or 6 blocks away. Last time we went down there we only went in the upstairs, come to find out it is 3 floors. We went down in the basement and found a stroller and a potty for Alex. They were pretty cheap so it was worth while to go ahead and get them here rather than Moscow. We came back to the room and the maids were cleaning, so we dropped the stuff off and headed back out.
It is amazing after you are outside for a little while you kind-of get used to the freezing weather. I have learned that Russians don’t walk around looking mad cause they don’t like us or anyone for that matter, it is because their faces are frozen that way. I have met a few people out that are very nice and laugh it is just to cold to smile outside, your mouth would freeze open, and that would just look funny. We went to the grocery store and bought a few more supplies for the next day or so. We try not to buy too much so that we have and excuse to go out again. We also got some tips on a few stores that we may want to visit in the next couple of days. And we did find a few places to eat.
We came back to the room around lunch time and searched for things to do. We decided to play cards and eat dinner in the bar around 4-6pm but in between we did not know what to do. Well we decided to listen to one of the sermons from Church of Brookhills. Before we left Dee Dee downloaded about 6 random sermons of David Platt’s to listen to while in Russia. Well I don’t know what you all believe but Dee Dee and I do believe in God and believe that sometimes he is speaking to you if you are listening. We today we did not have to try real hard to listen. The first random sermon I chose for us to listen to was a sermon about adoption. It was incredible, I want to challenge everyone who is reading this to take one hour out of there day and listen to this sermon. It will give you insight into where we are coming from as parents and your relationship with God and Jesus. I am not normally one to preach but this is really good. Please go to this link http://www.brookhills.org/media/page_audio_chrono_2008.htm and choose (Free as Sons on 12-21-2008), you really will enjoy it.
Anyway after bible study Dee Dee and I played cards for a while, I think she beat me in Rummy about 6 hands/games in a row. I don’t think I want to play anymore with her. We just got back from dinner and now are going to watch a movie and try to stay awake until 9 so we can sleep all night long. It has been very difficult today to find things to do. We get so bored. So if anyone has any great card games or fun ideas you think we can do to kill time let us know. We are open to suggestions.
Thanks
Brad
DD’s input:
First off, for the morning exercise, we go up and down and up and down stairs that are not up to code on the height and some of them even slope the wrong way. One step might be really short and the next really tall. You really have to be careful, but we are desperate to get our heart rate up even if it is for just an hour a day. As we were going up and down the stairs (these are the emergency exit stairs, not the main stairs that most people use) we see poo poo on about every landing. It looked like maybe cat poo…I just really hope it isn’t a big rat that is living in the building…ICKY! This morning after the steps, we did the rubber band workout again and it was pretty hard. We do not have much space, so Brad and I moved the bed up next to the wall so we had a couple of more feet of room. It is pretty funny watching us “step touch” to the video in a 5’x 5’ space. I made sure to shut the curtains b/c if anyone saw us, they would think we are crazy. We have an office building about 30 yards from our window and you can see everything that they are doing over there.
On the breakfast buffet, they have about 5 potato dishes (potato pancakes, potato squares, potato muffins, mashed potatoes…you name it and they have it if it is a potato). Most of the rest of the meal includes a lot of different kinds of breads and pastries. Brad and I eat a bowl of cereal every morning just to throw something semi healthy into the plate of carbs. The cereal is good, but they keep the milk at room temperature. Matter of fact they do not like their drinks cold here at all. I had white wine in the bar tonight and it was room temperature. (Bob – You would not like it at all.) I do not think they even know what an ice cube is over here…Dusty would go broke.:) I guess they are so cold from being outside that they do not want to have anything to with the cold when they drink.
We are starting to get cabin fever and we get really bored. We are going to try to stick to a schedule so we can plan our days better. We might start trying to workout twice a day instead of once and that will take up another hour. I have never tried to waste a day like I do here. If I could take a pill and wake up 10 days later, I would do it. I would be MUCH happier if it were warm outside and we could really go explore. Our interpreter did tell us that there is a ski slope about 20 minutes from here and she said it was one of the best in Russia. Maybe we can talk our driver into taking us…That might be a little difficult since he doesn’t speak any English. Oh well, keep the e-mails coming b/c they really help lift our spirits.
DD
After a light workout we went downstairs for breakfast. I was so excited, they had these fried chicken or beef mush things. I had them the last time I was here they are great. I finally got some protein, everything here are carbs. We got some tea to go, and headed back to the room. We read everyone’s e-mails and notes (keep them coming) and took showers and decided to got out. It is about -20ish again and the temp is dropping. We walked back down to the toy store, which is about 5 or 6 blocks away. Last time we went down there we only went in the upstairs, come to find out it is 3 floors. We went down in the basement and found a stroller and a potty for Alex. They were pretty cheap so it was worth while to go ahead and get them here rather than Moscow. We came back to the room and the maids were cleaning, so we dropped the stuff off and headed back out.
It is amazing after you are outside for a little while you kind-of get used to the freezing weather. I have learned that Russians don’t walk around looking mad cause they don’t like us or anyone for that matter, it is because their faces are frozen that way. I have met a few people out that are very nice and laugh it is just to cold to smile outside, your mouth would freeze open, and that would just look funny. We went to the grocery store and bought a few more supplies for the next day or so. We try not to buy too much so that we have and excuse to go out again. We also got some tips on a few stores that we may want to visit in the next couple of days. And we did find a few places to eat.
We came back to the room around lunch time and searched for things to do. We decided to play cards and eat dinner in the bar around 4-6pm but in between we did not know what to do. Well we decided to listen to one of the sermons from Church of Brookhills. Before we left Dee Dee downloaded about 6 random sermons of David Platt’s to listen to while in Russia. Well I don’t know what you all believe but Dee Dee and I do believe in God and believe that sometimes he is speaking to you if you are listening. We today we did not have to try real hard to listen. The first random sermon I chose for us to listen to was a sermon about adoption. It was incredible, I want to challenge everyone who is reading this to take one hour out of there day and listen to this sermon. It will give you insight into where we are coming from as parents and your relationship with God and Jesus. I am not normally one to preach but this is really good. Please go to this link http://www.brookhills.org/media/page_audio_chrono_2008.htm and choose (Free as Sons on 12-21-2008), you really will enjoy it.
Anyway after bible study Dee Dee and I played cards for a while, I think she beat me in Rummy about 6 hands/games in a row. I don’t think I want to play anymore with her. We just got back from dinner and now are going to watch a movie and try to stay awake until 9 so we can sleep all night long. It has been very difficult today to find things to do. We get so bored. So if anyone has any great card games or fun ideas you think we can do to kill time let us know. We are open to suggestions.
Thanks
Brad
DD’s input:
First off, for the morning exercise, we go up and down and up and down stairs that are not up to code on the height and some of them even slope the wrong way. One step might be really short and the next really tall. You really have to be careful, but we are desperate to get our heart rate up even if it is for just an hour a day. As we were going up and down the stairs (these are the emergency exit stairs, not the main stairs that most people use) we see poo poo on about every landing. It looked like maybe cat poo…I just really hope it isn’t a big rat that is living in the building…ICKY! This morning after the steps, we did the rubber band workout again and it was pretty hard. We do not have much space, so Brad and I moved the bed up next to the wall so we had a couple of more feet of room. It is pretty funny watching us “step touch” to the video in a 5’x 5’ space. I made sure to shut the curtains b/c if anyone saw us, they would think we are crazy. We have an office building about 30 yards from our window and you can see everything that they are doing over there.
On the breakfast buffet, they have about 5 potato dishes (potato pancakes, potato squares, potato muffins, mashed potatoes…you name it and they have it if it is a potato). Most of the rest of the meal includes a lot of different kinds of breads and pastries. Brad and I eat a bowl of cereal every morning just to throw something semi healthy into the plate of carbs. The cereal is good, but they keep the milk at room temperature. Matter of fact they do not like their drinks cold here at all. I had white wine in the bar tonight and it was room temperature. (Bob – You would not like it at all.) I do not think they even know what an ice cube is over here…Dusty would go broke.:) I guess they are so cold from being outside that they do not want to have anything to with the cold when they drink.
We are starting to get cabin fever and we get really bored. We are going to try to stick to a schedule so we can plan our days better. We might start trying to workout twice a day instead of once and that will take up another hour. I have never tried to waste a day like I do here. If I could take a pill and wake up 10 days later, I would do it. I would be MUCH happier if it were warm outside and we could really go explore. Our interpreter did tell us that there is a ski slope about 20 minutes from here and she said it was one of the best in Russia. Maybe we can talk our driver into taking us…That might be a little difficult since he doesn’t speak any English. Oh well, keep the e-mails coming b/c they really help lift our spirits.
DD
4 comments:
Day one mom and dad!! You can make it a few more days for the special little guy you are bringing home!!....BTW, at least you have snow to play in, all it does here in BHAM is rain every other day..... Alli is doing great. She seems to be in better health in the mornings these days. We should know the sex of the baby in a few weeks. Maybe it will be the little Andrew Dee Dee had her dreams about:).....Talk to you guys soon. Stay warm!!!
Dwayne
I think we went to that ski slope! Well in the summer they obviously aren't skiing...they use the lifts to take people up for panoramic photos. Then...they had a zipline going down the slopes. The zipline looked a little shady as did the rickity rollercoaster going through the woods:) They called the place the "Fun Park." I wonder if that is the place they are talking about! I am sure skiing is a safer route down than the zipline!
I'm trying to remember what we did for fun...we played LOTS of card games!!! We also took lots of walks...but it was 90F in July! If I think of anything fun I will let you know. Congrats on court!!!
Tammy
15 questions...write down 15 questions you might not normally ask in conversation. It's fun b/c it creates random conversation!
Alexander speaks a little English and he understands green $$ so maybe he can take you on some kind of tour or to the ski slopes! You're almost there to the never ending action once Alex comes to the hotel so rest up while you can!!!!!!!!!
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