Our adventure to HOME, and other stories...

Luda was up early Wednesday morning, and I was up at 4:45 am. She had found, from somewhere in the house, a red Bosco Russia hat that she wanted to present to me, fur lined and all. She admired my Bosco shopping bag from the other day and so I am sure that is why she searched the house for something Bosco. I wonder whose hat she gave away! I snapped this last minute picture of Luda and Ian and then we were out the door, taking the first steps towards home.

Olga and Kostya were outside well before the scheduled pick up time. I don't think I mentioned that on Embassy day, the phone at Nastia's apartment was dead. I had been told the driver would come for us at 11:00. So naturally, I went downstairs at 11:00, where I promptly got semi-hollared at by Olga, who was all consternated that she could not (1) get the code that Luda gave her to work to open the downstairs door, and (2) that she could not get through to the house phone. She was like, "...well I never...I mean I have been calling you and calling you....you have made me so nervous...." and on an on. In my mind, I was like, "....LOL, and every single thing you have told me has been inconsistent, or a lie, or total BS...and well - I NEVER!" Oye.

After she stopped harping, we pulled off and settled in for the hour drive from downtown Moscow to Domodedov Airport. By 9:00 am we would be on our flight to Frankfurt. Praise Jesus! I was SO INCREDIBLY TIRED!
As for our little orphan no more, our little miracle boy Ian, he was also SO INCREDIBLY TIRED. He has never had to fall asleep in a car, or sitting up, so you won't be surprised that he does not know how to do that. Thus, the early am car ride was a bit of a struggle for him, he was intermittantly crytting and yelling and I was like, oh muh gosh, here we go, my WORST fears are about to be realized. He's going to freak out on the plane. Err, um and then he fell asleep in the car, 5 min. before we arrived. SUPER! I had to wake him up and he was NOT having it.

We got to the airport and I had this sickening feeling of elation that we were LEAVING and TERRIFICATION (is that a word? who cares, sounds good right there), that Ian was going to loose it on the plane ride home. I remember once when Ari was about a year old. He literally SCREAMED and CRIED the ENTIRE 2 and some hour plane ride from Ohio to Atlanta. He could not be consoled. It was a living nightmare, and I was having them sorta flashbacks people, of my next 16 hours to come.

We pulled up to Domodedov and Kostya and Olga helped me into the airport. OYE VEY! I am SO happy to be gone from under Olga's "care," if you can call it that. She is a fusser, and more often than not, her fussing made everything harder. At the airport she INSISTED on helping me put my bags onto the security belt at both check-in locations. This was NOT a help to me, it made it harder because she's like 60 or more in years and cannot and should not be lifting ANYTHING more than a bouquet of flowers.

Enter, a weight problem. They sent my first bag down the belt before they had weighed my second bag, so when the girl told me I needed to remove 2 kilo's from my bag or pay $150 EUROS (which is like $10,000 American Dollars!), I was like well, I don't think that is going to work honey, as you just shipped off the only other bag I could have put those 2 kilos (which I have no idea how much that is in dirty clothes weight) in. She sent me to the Luftansa desk to pay. The woman there was WAY frustrated with me as I had disturbed her sleep. She and I fussed and then, the patron saint of overweight luggage descended upon us and she simply took my boarding pass and WAIVED the BAGGAGE FEE!

Maybe this trip home wouldn't be so bad?

Olga left, sorry, I admit, no fan fair as in the Elena vain, but I did thank her and give her a hug and wish her all the best. She is after all, the person who made it possible for us to be leaving two days early and that turned out to be SO critical for us, especially for me, I was tanking in Russia, fast.

We had about an hour for breakfast before we had to get to the gate. Ian flipped. He had had it. He started to act out majorly. He refused to eat, he yelled and screamed, he would not sit, etc...I tried to enjoy a coffee since I knew I needed some caffeine in order to deal with him on the plane (no falling asleep Gretchen, cause he'll be in the cockpit if I let my eyes off of him). Did I mention Ian HATES seat belts? Yea, he screams when you put them on, so I had that to look forward to. Sweet.

We boarded, the LAST seats in the back of the plane. This flight to Frankfurt was going to be 2.5 hours. We settled into our seats, which was dramatice because they had Ian seated in the row one AHEAD of where I was seated (oh if only that could have been true, a nanny on the plane!). The person that was UNSEATED because of it, was so confused when I tried to explain to him why a little whiney kid was in his seat, likely because he only spoke German. I guess my frantic hand modeling, pointing to me and then Ian and then his seat, my seat, and the empty seat, must have look real weird to him. ATTENDANT CALL button was pressed and thankfully, they figured it all out, in German.

So, now, the moment you have been waiting for. HOW DID IAN DO ON THE PLANE? This time, there was no patron saint, no angels hovering over. It was the right hand of God. I promise you that Jesus had to be sitting in the aisle next to Ian because...

THE CHILD WAS THE ABSOLUTE PICTURE OF PERFECTION for not only that first flight, but for the ENTIRE flight HOME! That's right, I was yee of little faith. HE DID IT, he was an angel. People remarked to me, in fact ALL the people that were seated around us on the 9.5 hour ride home, on what a GOOD BOY he was. It was the most amazing thing to watch. He just sat there and played with a little bag of toys, for 12 hours. Thank you whoever invented these baby snap rings! I got them the day before we left and he LOVES them!




He slept maybe 1 hour and after the breakfast on the flight out of Russia, he refused to eat anything. He did drink, so that kept me from too much worry. Potty was a little bit hard in that small space, but he did it and never even needed the Pull Up that I put on him just in case. I got a pic of him the short time he slept on the plane.





the last 20 min, as we approached Atlanta, he lost it. Crying, trying to get out of the seatbelt, etc...I didn't even care at that point, I just tried to comfort him although I was crying too, so that must have been weird for him. About 3 hours from landing, I got a massive migraine headache. So, I was totally fried by the time we landed. We had also had a little mishap in Frankfurt, but thankfully the GERMAN POLICE gave me back our passports!

We landed at 3:40 pm and spent the next 2 hours in US Immigration. That was fun. Ian passed out right as we were leaving immigration.





about 5:40 pm we emerged from the arrivals point and then....

Met by Ari and Craig and some other friends and family, I was SO, in fact NEVER SO, happy to be home. Craig took over Ian and I got to hug and talk to my Ari. It was a great homecoming and Ian was excited. He remembered Papa and they had some special moments bonding there are the airport.

Ari was TOO excited that Ian was home, it was SO cure to watch!

We were home. Officially however, not until Thursday, August 25th, due to Ian having a whole body rash and scabies, which I am so lucky to have contracted from him and the orphanage, that we had to seek out urgent care straight from the airport, and then find an all night pharmacy (closest one 15 miles from our house) and then apply the stuff, and THEN we could sleep, I think it was 1 am.

I had promised Ari he could sleep with his mommy, that could not happen after the diagnosis so Ian and I bunked together and papa with Ari. Not the first night home I imagined, but home none the less, slept in my own bed with at least one of my sons:) This is real life.

NOTE TO future families: BUY scabies cream and apply it to your child even if you look at them and do not think they have it, it might not show up for a few days. Application won't hurt them, or you! I regret not bringing the cream when I had that question in my mind, but I just said, ah, forget it, his orphanage is pretty clean. LOL, a clean orphanage, I'm an idiot.

Since then, we've had one full day home with Ian. He is doing well! No problems really except when Daddy and I took him to the mall this morning to buy shoes and clothes. He's testing Daddy, which is hilarious to me because daddy is now the softie! LOL.

Craig shot a little bit of video of Ian eating lunch. It captures that laugh I was trying to tell you about before, the on purpose one where Ian is like - this is so beautifully absurd to me! Lunch time with no limits, all the food I want, no screaming of other kids, no curt caregivers, no flies, no slop to eat, no one trying to snatch things from me, more if I want more. HE IS HAPPY.

Ian and I rode along to take Ari to school yesterday morning, but we did not go in. We will today, when the new normal really begins, as Craig took off from work yesterday to be at home with Ian. Today Ian and I will be alone together all day, and it will be this way for the next few weeks until I go back to work and Ian starts school.

Ari and Ian have not really spent any time together yet, but they did have an exchange in the car on the way to school Ian saying his words and Ari just darn excited that he was finally home. TOO CUTE!

We will be laying LOW LOW LOW until October 8th when we will be having Ari's birthday and Ian's welcome home party. It should be a blast, we have rented a jumpy place and the theme is carnival, complete with face painters and ballon animal makers and a cake that looks like a box of popcorn!

I may post a one week update, I may not. I'll try. Life is busy here, there is lots to be done now to get Ian ready to attend school. MANY doctors to be seen and surgeries to be scheduled. Bonding to be done, learning, sharing, growing together. In September, we will close this blog for good and launch our NEW family blog! I'm SO excited about it! and I hope when the time comes, you'll hop on over to that yet to be named blog, and stay with Ian on his journey.....

OF A REAL LITTLE AMERICAN BOY.

Ian is one less, and there are 147 million more to go. How do you change the world? ONE AT A TIME - click here to HELP Heidi come home, a little girl with Down Syndrome in Ian's former orphanage, in his same groupa. The Peterson Family are just beginning their journey so they need all the prayers and financially blessings you can share.



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Location:Home, USA