Airplane Rides and New Home!

Sorry for the delay in posting! As you can imagine, we have been busy at home getting adjusted to being a family of five.  So far, things are going fabulous! Better than I would have expected. It is so amazing to realize we are living the reality of something we have been working on, praying for, and dreaming of for nearly 2 years. 

We flew home on Thursday, the 25th.  I won't lie, flying home with a 3 year old (plus 2 other kids) on a 12 1/2 hour flight isn't fun, especially when he doesn't speak your language. That makes it hard to explain the need for seat belts and other airplane safety. But, we survived and learned to swallow our pride with the not-so-nfun looks we got from other passengers.  After a long wait in customs, Nikita was declared a United States Citizen and we drove home from Houston with three kids sleeping in the backseat. 

Nikita seemed at peace immediately when we got to our house. I think he recognized his room from pictures and had a look of pride on his face as he took it all in. I think he understood on some level that his room was his room: something he has never experienced before. I checked on him about 20 minutes after putting him to bed that night and he was sitting in bed, holding a picture of Brent, himself, and me in one hand and a book the orphanage nurse gave him in the other, grinning with a look of total joy.  This brought big tears to my eyes. 

This morning we attempted to go buy him some shoes. The pair I bought to take to Russia did not fit and he has been wearing a pair of Dylan's old shoes since we got him. They are worn out but he is so attached to them, he insists on wearing them constantly, even insists on sleeping in them!  The shoe store ended up being a pretty crazy experience. He was upset to take off the shoes and refused to try on new ones.  And, of course, we don't have the words to explain to him that he can keep the old shoes. It ended up being fruitless anyway, because the store was out of shoes in his size. So, for now, he is wearing Dylan's shoes and I'm ordering online from now on! 

 Watching Nikita experience life is so much fun. He squeals with joy and claps at bubbles, something my other kids had lost interest in by the time they were his age. He experienced the first Bowen "family movie night" involving pizza and Madagascar 3. He is enthralled with all the toys in the house, and especially loves the play kitchen. And, he has been smiling almost non-stop since he came home. Seeing the joy on his face brings me such joy. I know without a doubt God sent him to live here and be a part of our family. This is where he belongs.

Our biggest challenge is the language barrier but we are making progress. He is already picking up the language some, mostly repeating things Maddie and Dylan say.  We have also been using sign language, which he appears to already know.  He calls me "Mom" now, instead of "mama" and Brent is "Dad" instead of "Papa".  Maddie is usually "Maddie" and Dylan is either "Dylan" or "Brat" (the Russian word for brother, which we find very funny!)  He also has learned "all done", "more", and can say "Sasha, come here" when speaking to the dog. 

Here are a few pictures from life so far, since leaving Moscow. 

The whole family, leaving for the airport in Moscow!
I love seeing all of us together.



My attempt to get a picture of the 3 kids in their big sis,
big brother, little brother shirts at the airport.
Couldnt get them all looking at the camera.

Nik is pretty attached to water bottles, so major drama occurred
when he had to throw this away in airport security.  We had no way
to explain to him the problem or that we could get him more water
after security.

Airplane!





Sleepy car ride home from Houston...

Special surprise waiting for us in the garage when we got
home! Thank you to the Jones Family!

Discovering his new home...



Bedtime story for his first night in his new room!

Meeting Sasha, the dog!

Meeting grandma!

Thanks for the cool hat, Lora! I love it.

Three kids having breakfast!

This kid loves to eat!

 

 

Worn out and ready to be home!

I wanted to post a short blog on today's events. We pack up and head out early tomorrow, fly to Houston, and drive to Dallas, so tomorrow will be a big day.

We began our day with a visit to the US Embassy to finalize all we need for Nikita to travel and for his US Citizenship.  They also informed us that when he is between the ages of 18 and 28, he should avoid any trips to Russia or he could be forced to serve in the Russian army. Good to know. We will tell him to avoid Russia if he backpacks around Europe in college.  On a positive note, dramamine seemed to keep Nikita from getting carsick and I'm hoping that will save us on the airplane tomorrow too. 

After the Embassy visit, Brent left with our translator to head to a government office and bank.  This entire adoption has been full of suprises (most of the stressful nature), but when we got Nikita, we found out he had a bank account with some money it it and we were able to collect that money while we were here. Apparently, this is very rare (it was a governement stipend for his needs after he graduated from the orphange as an adult and they don't normally release it to adoptive parents).  We view this as an extra little blessing from God. 

Brent being gone until 7pm dealing with that left me alone for the first time with 3 kids! Very tiring! Nikita is starting to "test" us some.  I think most can be attributed to language barriers, but I have to be firm on certain things (ie, running through the parking lot not holding my hand or refusing to wear a hat in 30 degree weather or refusing to stay in bed). But, I think we made some headway and Maddie and Dylan continued to be AMAZING with all of it. Even the adoption agency interpreter commented that she could not believe how loving Maddie and Dylan are.  We are so blessed. 

I anticipate that it will feel a bit like having a newborn for awhile as we adjust and figure out new routines and how to connect and communicate with Nikita.  We appreciate prayers with this.  Its going to be different than the struggles we had with Maddie and Dylan at age three, and we are going to have to learn the best ways to parent him.  I am trusting God to guide us through this... He has brought us so far and know he will help us moving forward.

Here are a couple of pics from today! Thanks for the love, prayer, and support! Please keep it coming as we begin the next phase of being a family when we come home tomorrow!

Cold, Caps, and Communication

(Brent writing....)  It was cold, damp, and dark in Moscow today.  We woke up from a semi-restless slumber to our first "free" day as a family.  Breakfast and play time in the morning were relatively low key.  The kids really enjoyed just running around and playing together.

There is a playground area in the middle of our block of apartments, so we decided to bundle up and play outside for a while.  This resulted in our first communication breakdown of the day.  Because of the cold, we wanted to put a knitted cap on Nikita to cover his ears.  This meant taking the baseball cap away and putting on the warmer hat.  Nikita refused to wear the knitted cap and was very agitated at our efforts to convince him that it was too cold for the baseball cap.  We ended up just taking the knitted cap and putting on his hood over the baseball cap.  Nikita was a bit hesitant at the playground.  His orphanage didn't have a playscape like the apartment and I don't think he had ever gone down a slide before.  It was cold enough that there were periods of light snow flurries, so it wasn't long before Nikita began to shiver.  We remembered that at the orphanage, they really bundled up the kids way more than what we thought was necessary, so we decided that he was a layer too light in his clothing.  We all went up stairs and decided that we would bundle up more and then attempt a longer walk to a more developed area where there were shops and restaurants.  This lead to communication breakdown number two.  The bundling process was met with tears that we couldn't discern the reason for.  He couldn't explain his feelings and we couldn't explain the situation.  We ultimately decided that we would put off our walk until after lunch and try again later. 

By mid afternoon, we had finally worked up to giving it another shot.  We were able to get everyone bundled up and get out the door.  We had a really nice walk with the family.  Nikita has not really seen the city before, and we were in an area where it felt like the 'real' Moscow.  Nikita had a lot of new experiences.  We walked by a kids store and decided to go in.  Nikita was so surprised at all of the toys.  Surprisingly, he wasn't prone to grabbing a lot of toys, but was instead so excited just to see what kind of toys exist.  He would walk from section to section pointing and talking.  I will admit it was an exceptionally good toy store and Dylan was just as excited as Nik.  All we bought was pull ups and a toilet seat for potty trainers, but everyone was happy nonetheless.  Our next stop was a restaurant.  Again, a first for Nikita; he loved everything that was put in front of him.  Nik will clearly be our first truly non-picky eater.  On the other hand, getting him to stop eating when he has had enough proved to be a bit tougher.  We had our first negotiation session, so I guess children are born as attorneys in every culture.  When it became apparent that his three year old frame could not sustain another fettuccine noodle and still make it home, Ann-Marie leaned over and said "dva (2) more bites".  Without hesitation he held up three fingers.  I guess he understood that!  Explaining the concept of a doggy bag also proved difficult.

Our walk home was a bit tougher as you can imagine.  It was already getting darker and colder and everyone was tired from a long day.  Although Moscow is a fairly pedestrian friendly city, we still had a few moments where we felt like we were playing a game of 'Frogger' with rush hour traffic while juggling children.  Nikita's last 'first' of the day came on the way home when a dog ran down the sidewalk (leash laws don't seem to apply in Moscow).  After his initial shock, he ran up the sidewalk toward Ann-Marie anxious to describe his encounter with a real live 'sabaka'. 

Today left several impressions.  First, the language barrier will prove to be difficult, but not insurmountable.  Second, Maddie and Dylan are amazing ambassadors of love.  Third, dollar gloves from Target are not adequate for truly cold weather.  Fourth, we still need prayer, and lots of it.

A little play time after breakfast.  Why Ann-Marie bought a Spurs hat for him to get attached to I'll never know!

"Are you sure about this!"

I can't caption this

Our long walk

Brent - "Please, not the Play Dough!"

Let's go eat!

Tomatoes, yep.  Olives, green and black please.  Cucumber, Red Peppers, bring it on!  Fettuccine, more please!  Wait, let me get this straight.  You just sit here and people keep bringing food?!  What is the catch?

More pictures...

Here are some of our favorite pictures from past visits that I didnt post online because we weren't supposed to show Nik's face!

The Day is Finally Here!

What a day! As I write this, I have to admit that the day still seems somewhat surreal.  Dylan asked me at one point if he was dreaming and then wanted proof that I knew this wasn't a dream!  Maddie just kept saying, "I can't believe today is today!" I am very glad we made the decision to make them part of this trip.  It is proving to be a great bonding experience for us all. 

Nikita is now ours! Brent and I just put three kids to bed.  He was a bit upset about being in a new place once bedtime came but has settled down and is falling asleep. I just poked my head in to check on him and he blew me lots of kisses! I love him so much already.

Our day began, in typical fashion of this whole experience, with an hour delay in leaving to get Nikita due to "worse than normal" traffic.  We arrived at the orphanage around noon.  After unloading Maddie and Dylan, we were told they couldn't walk into the orphanage with us. A nice but non-English speaking nurse quickly appeared to watch them.  God was with them for sure, because they rose to the occasion and stayed with her without the panic I would have expected at being separated from us all the sudden with a stranger in a foreign country. 

Brent and I were rushed into an office to get paperwork and Nikita.  Sadly, there was little in the way of formal "good byes" for Nikita.  In fact, little time was given to us to reconnect. He was pretty much handed to us and we were told to hurry to the car because it was "better for him" (and our driver, who was running behind schedule due to traffic).  I felt so sad for Nikita. It was emotional for him and tears were shed.  While a home and family is better for him, saying goodbye to the only home a 3 year old has ever known is heartbreaking. 

Nikita calmed down in the car after being offered some candy and had the chance to meet Dylan and Maddie for the first time.  He began to warm up to them and play with them. Unfortunately, this was cut short by a bad case of motion sickness (thank goodness, I brought him a second pair of clothes!).  We had been warned of this with him, as it is unlikely he has been in a car more than a few times in his life.  After getting cleaned up, he fell asleep in my lap for the long drive to a passport office to get his Russian passport.  Maddie and Dylan were troopers in this. The events of the day, mixed with traffic, did not allow time for lunch or bathroom breaks. They hung in there and were great in the car, especially considering we didn't have car seats (or seat belts!) for them in the van we were riding in. 

When we arrived at the passport office, I woke Nikita from his nap and the real connections between all of us began.  Now that he was feeling better, he seemed more ready to really meet his brother and sister.  The three of them were all giggles!  I was amazed at how quickly they connected. Dylan, very responsibly, has taken on a "big brother" role with Nikita and Maddie has been taking awesome care of him too.  After getting the passport, we drove to the apartment (and, unfortunately, dealt with another round of motion sickness).  Nikita took a bath, the kids played, we ate our first dinner as a family.  It was the perfect evening.  Nikita was already repeating English words and phrases and speaking more than I have heard him at any of our orphanage visits.  He also has been smiling and laughing more than I have ever seen.  He calls Dylan "brat" (Russian word for brother) and refers to Maddie by name. I am Mama and Brent is Dada. Nikita is full of love and is a very brave boy to be facing all the changes he is facing.  We love him already. 

We have a "free" day tomorrow while his visa and citizenship paperwork is processed at the US Embassy.  Then, we go Wednesday to get paperwork there before we fly home on Thursday. I will continue to post pics and update on our next couple of days. Prayers are appreciated as we continue to adjust and bond.  My biggest concern now is the motion sickness, especially with a 12 1/2 hour plane ride ahead of us.

God is good and we are in awe at his faithfulness to Nikita and our family in this journey. 

"Not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."  Psalm 115:1-3





Introducing: Peter Nikita Bowen! He is one VERY happy boy full of smiles
with his brother and sister!  We are overjoyed!

Maddie and Dylan at the orphanage

Two very special women who love Nikita and are telling him
goodbye.  The woman on the right said she has cared for him
since he was 6 months old.  They helped him
pick flowers to give to us. 

Tears were shed as we were hurried into the van to leave...

But a grin quickly emerged...

 

And then, Nik started to feel a little sick...

And fell asleep in my lap. 

Dylan kept trying to think of ways to help Nikita
feel happy. He is going to be a great big brother!

Feeling happy with "Dada" at the passport office.

I LOVE these kids! I get tears in my eyes looking at this picture
of them holding hands. God is good!

Brent and the kids looking at a book the orphanage nurse gave
Nikita before we left the orphanage. 

Fun in the bath!

Putting on PJ's after cleaning up!

Coloring in the apartment kitchen while I cooked dinner!
Nikita LOVES hats and is currently in bed wearing this
one that I brought for him. 

Exploring Moscow...

We had a great day today exploring Moscow with Maddie and Dylan. While its disappointing that we didn't get to see Nikita today, I am actually glad we got this time for the four of us to get to see Moscow together. Maddie and Dylan did great. We went to red square, toured St. Basil's cathedral, bought souvenirs and some keepsakes for Nikita, and rode the subway. I really enjoyed seeing Moscow through the eyes of Maddie and Dylan. It feels great to have our family together on this trip. And, tomorrow, is the BIG DAY! None of us can wait!

Inside a large, upscale mall in Red Square, which
oddly enough, was where the destitute came for rations
during Soviet times.

St  Basil's Cathedral

Brrrr...

Yummy!