A short flight & one long flight home

morning temperature: Moscow -21 C, -5 F
day temperature: Denver 24 F

It's 4am, Corbin & I are up getting ready. We wake up the kids at 4:30 & finish throwing things in bags. The kids are both like zombies. They are up, getting dressed, brushing teeth, packing their suitcases, but seem like they're not quite awake. By 4:45 we are in the lobby waiting for our driver. At 5 am we are in the car on the way to the airport. By now, we are used to L's catatonic state whenever we ride in cars. At least it doesn't seem so odd this time because it's so early.

Of course, we arrive at the airport in full snow gear so, upon entrance we strip the kids down to just their clothes, sneakers & a jacket. Everything else gets packed in the last empty bag. The kids have got their backpacks. We ask the airline employee to translate to them that we will leave their suitcases here & they will arrive in America...it's a stretch, but we are prepared to carry them on if need be. Luckily, they're only half-awake so they don't seem any more distressed, then they are already, about leaving their suitcases.

Now on to customs. We take the escalator upstairs & the kids are falling over! They are searching for balance & unsure what to grab. We realize this is probably their first escalator ride! I can't say it was a ton of fun, but we made it up w/o either of them crying. The line for customs is short for families, which is great. We just want to get through this airport & onto that plane! Our turn...the agent takes her time looking at our American passports. She doesn't speak English. She begins to look at the kids Russian passports & asks questions. Of course, we still don't speak Russian so she gets nowhere. She calls a supervisor on the phone & we wait. The supervisor asks us if we speak Russian. I answer no, but L does. I understand enough to know that she asks L if we are her parents. She answers no. What? I try to not look alarmed & smile...what else can I do? The supervisor asks O the same question & he gives the same reply. Really? She comes around from behind the counter & bends down to talk w/ the kids. In different words she rephrased the same question. We finally get a yes from L-yahoo! Then O repeats what his sister said- relief! She asks us in English if we have paperwork in Russian from the court. Yes, yes, yes we do! Please read it, read all of it, we need to get out of here! We are extra cautious because of the pending adoption ban for Americans adopting Russian children. Everyday things seem to be getting worse, not better. If we wait any longer & we may get stuck here...and miss Christmas! Praise God all is in order & the supervisor lets us through. Hopefully, this will be the last snag.

We buy some snacks; I grab a coffee; we board the plane. The kids are excited for their first plane ride. Eventually, L crashes out next to me for about an hour. O hits overdrive at that point. It's still early morning & the other passengers are not thrilled that we keep taking pictures of O. He is laughing & is totally impressed w/ all of the things he can do w/ the travel pillow! Literally, he crashes hard the last 10 minutes of the trip. We try to gently wake him, but instant meltdown occurs & we decide it's better to deal w/ cranky sleepy kid when the plane lands than hysterical crying kid now.

We have landed in Frankfurt, Germany. We get a bite to eat, walk a bit to stretch our legs. We were warned that if we missed our flight & had to stay the night, we would then need to go to the Russian Embassy. The kids will become American citizens when we touch down on American soil. Until then, they are Russian citizens. Russians need a visa to go to Germany, but a stop-over is fine. Again, everything goes smoothly...until we board the plane. We realize that our seats are not together. The airline employee says that we need to wait until we board the plane to change this. They let us board first because we have small children. Then they tell us to wait until the rest of the passengers have boarded to change our seats...it seems like there should be an easier way. This airline is German, which leaves an interesting situation because our family speaks English or Russian, but not German :) Eventually, they can get us 2 seats here & 2 seats there.

We get settled in our seats. It's chaotic & I can't find where they put Corbin & O. L seems alright, so I don't make a big deal of it. She is excited to see she has a tv. She turns it on, off, on, off, volume up, volume down, changes channels, plays music, etc. for 20 minutes. By the time she looks around, she realizes that we are in the air climbing. In a split second, I can see sheer panic come over her. She is pale, she is clammy...oh yeah, you know what's coming. I search the seat pockets. Don't they have these airsickness bags in every seat? You know the ones that are always in your way that you never need...well, now I need it & I need it now! I look over to see her cheeks bulging & her hands covering her mouth! I'm in a panic, too! I press the attendant button. I'm still searching & I can't find bags anywhere! I press her attendant button- why aren't they coming? A mom across from me realizes I need help...she speaks German, of source. I give her the int'l sign for puking & she hits her attendant button & begins searching for those bags, too. Backup is the airline magazine...doesn't work well :( but, I can't wait anymore. It's spilling everywhere. We head back to the bathroom. I find 2 airline attendants in their seats & they tell me we need to sit down. Apparently, the seatbelt sign is on...I am so frustrated there are no nice words! I give them the int'l sign for pukage & get L to the bathroom. Of course, she's all done, but at least I can throw away this magazine.

We get back to our seats & I inspect the damage...we have just begun a 9.5 hour flight w/ no extra clothes. Amazingly, there is no damage! Not on the seat, not on her clothes...I'm utterly amazed. The attendant comes over to give us wet towels. She mentions that there are airsickness bags...don't even start! I explain my dilemma. Recently, they decided to put these bags in the new 2nd pocket behind the tv...information that would have been useful earlier :) she is very sweet & finds us seats closer to Corbin & O, so L can see them. She checks on them regularly during the remainder of the flight. O spends most of the flight napping on Corbin. I spend most of the flight talking the ear off of the guy beside me. L spends most of the flight switching activities every 5 minutes for 9.5 hours. I have been rattled ever since the vomit incident & it doesn't subside until the last hour of the flight.

Finally, we arrive in Denver. On our way out of the terminal, there are huge glass walkways. We can see the Colorado plains & snow covered mountains. I get teary. We did it! We made it! We are finally home! I look down at L. She is home, too & it feels anything, but home. I had so many things I wanted to tell her, but it took all I had not to cry. In the end, I managed to point out the windows & say "America!" & put a fake smile on.

Customs, Immigration & finally out the glass doors to see the faces of our friends & family. There were friends w/ their biological children & their adopted children. There was Grandma, Grandpa, brothers & sister. This is where our new life begins. One journey is completed & our next journey begins.

Slowly, we will find our new normal.