23 Days and Counting

Yesterday I took Evan to our local pharmacy for his Visa photos.  He was so excited, he walked up to Martina at the photo counter and said, "I'm here for my passport picture!"  She started laughing and then I gently reminded him it was a visa photo and that he already had his passport.  He did a great job standing still and did his best to not smile.  I still don't understand the Russian request (or culture) of asking for a photo without a smile.  Pretty hard for a seven-year-old who can't wait to meet his new little brother.  His was definitely cuter than either mine or Jose's.


Visa application:  CHECK!  Jose fedexed our passports, visa photos, and Russian visa application (and another big check) to Go To Russia, a company that specializes in assisting with travel visas.  


Airline Tickets:  CHECK!  Jose also worked out our travel arrangements with an awesome travel agent.  While we will be taking the long way around (Tampa, to DC, to Moscow to Vlad), the good news is, it was less expensive than the short way around (through South Korea) and we get to see Moscow!  I kept saying to Jose, "I just can't imagine us making two very long trips to Russia and not getting to see Moscow."  Who knows how many years it will take us to get back there.  With family in Spain and Michigan and many other favorite places we love to travel, I just don't see Russia near the top of our list any time soon.  Maybe when little M is a teenager.  We'll depart June 17 and due to the time difference, arrive on June 19.   Happy Father's Day!   


We'll then get ourselves settled into the Vlad Motor Inn for about three weeks while we journey through doctors appointments, our court date, visits with little M, our ten-day waiting period, and more paperwork to get a Russian passport for little M.  After that, the four of us (God willing) will board an airplane and head west toward Moscow where we'll do the necessary work to obtain a visa which will allow little M to enter the U.S. with us.  We'll spend six nights in Moscow and hopefully we'll be capable of communicating enough with  little M to be able to survive a little sightseeing.


All this AND the final Oprah Winfrey show in one day.  It's been a very good day in spite of one of my favorite shows ever ending.