Random Thoughts

I don't think I ever shared about our day in Archangelsk. The day after we saw our little guy we got up early and flew back to Archangelsk. We had almost a full day, so we did some exploring. It was the first time during the trip that I felt like I was experiencing the country and not just sitting in an airplane/airport or hotel. It was -24 degrees Fahrenheit that day, but we made the best of it. We did some shopping. We took several pictures of the town. Statues seem to be very popular. We had pizza at a restaurant called Uno Momento. That is so odd. A pizzeria in Russia with a Spanish name. Anyway, we walked out on the frozen Dvina River. At supper time the hotel restaurant was hopping with some celebration so we had to eat upstairs in the Sky Bar. I found it interesting that it was really quiet and you were not allowed to smoke. It was a nice day.
Now for the random thoughts. I never ate anything in Russia that I didn't enjoy. I don't know how much of the food I ate was actually Russian cuisine, but it was all good. I had some fresh apple juice twice that was wonderful. I noticed that women wore high heeled boots and skirts despite the extremely cold weather. It was amazing to me, but I guess you have to keep on going. They were all so fashionable and pretty. I felt under dressed most of the time we were there. I have also never seen so many fur coats in all my life. JJ offered to buy me one, but it seemed unnecessary. Russian money is much prettier than American money. There was a Willow Tree figurine in the adoption officials office in Archangelsk. It made me feel much more at home. Of course so did Dr. Pepper from the supermarket in Moscow. I learned that they have machines to haul off the snow from the streets of Moscow so it can be melted in a special facility. Who knew a subway could be so beautiful. There are no subways in the panhandle of Texas, but I have rode a few and the subway in Moscow was so pretty and clean. The escalators made me nervous though. I made Natalia laugh because I told her I didn't like escalators in general and especially not really steep ones. I got my fill on escalators on the trip. I have this fear on being sucked in at the end. I know, it's ridiculous.
Well, we are working on our second dossier paperwork. I really wanted to be done this week, except for the background check and apostilles, but the weather and JJ's recovery threw me off schedule. Nothing feels quite right. I am happy to be back at home, working, going to church, seeing my family and friends, but I have this nagging knowledge that our lives are not quite the way they should be. We left our son in Russia and it is difficult to take at times. So, my last random thought of the day is Isaiah 26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee".