I have taken up smoking.

Second hand smoking, that is.

I can't help it. It's the thing to do here, and apparently, it's allowed everywhere. People smoke in the hotel rooms, walking down the street, while using the bathroom, in the airports and in restaurants.

Just the other day, Adam and I went to a little coffee shop. As the waiter greeted us, he said "would you like to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section?" We said non-smoking and he pointed us toward a group of 5 tables in the middle of the large coffee shop that were set aside for people like us.

To be quite honest, I'm not sure why they even suggest having a non-smoking section. It's like having a no peeing section in a swimming pool, because just like pee in a pool, there's no stopping the smoke from mixing with the clean air and ending up in your hair, on your clothes and in many unfortunate circumstances, in your mouth.

So instead of feeling the need to take a shower and rid myself of the constant smell of smoke, I decided that I would just join them. And really, I am feeling a little stressed out so what better time to try second hand smoking than when sitting in the back of a smoke filled taxi?

(Cough...cough)

And that's when our translator turned around and said that the taxi driver was wondering if I was feeling well.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just tell him that I'm smoking his cigarette. By the way, do you mind asking him to crack his window or something, because my eyes are about to burst into flames."

I can't be quite sure whether it was due to my first attempt at second hand smoking, or just the stress of driving in Russia that gave me a serious case of the Congo Come-Aparts but it wasn't long before I realized my urgent need to find a bathroom. Since it all started shortly after nearly hitting a pedestrian crossing the street, I am going to assume the latter and advise you to bring along Pepto Bismol if you ever find that your very life has been put in the hands of a Russian taxi driver.

Case in point:

While driving illegally down a road that is used solely for electric buses, our driver had to make a mad scramble up a 3 foot snowbank, spinning out the whole time, in order to miss the oncoming bus. Pepto Bismol

Trusting that our taxi driver knew where he was going, only to turn onto a busy road full of speeding oncoming traffic. Pepto Bismol.

Driving down the road at 60 mph only to look out the window and realize that the car beside you is so close that you could reach out your hand and slap the other driver. Pepto Bismol.

Watching our taxi driver cross 6 unmarked lanes of helter-skelter Moscow traffic in order to drop us off at the US Embassy. Pepto Bis...Oh I give up. Can somebody please light up a cigarette? I think I need a smoke.

We arrived in Moscow late Wednesday, and after dealing with a child who screamed for three hours of our four hour flight, we walked into our apartment feeling emotionally and physically spent. And guess what we saw waiting on the counter for us...



I suppose they didn't get the memo though because I'm a second hand smoker.

There's this story in the bible about a woman named Naomi.

Actually, it's more about her daughter-in-law, Ruth, but I like Naomi's side of the story, so I am going to focus on her instead.

The story begins in Ruth:1
1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

If the story ended there, I would be pretty disappointed. After all, here is a woman who lost everything of value to her when her husband and sons died. And aside from her faithful daughter-in-law, who left her homeland in Moab to return to Bethlehem with Naomi, she held very little hope for herself and her future. In fact, she even asked to be called Mara, meaning bitter, as she was convinced that God had caused this great injustice to happen to her.

Hopeless.

Bitter.

I can't imagine a more depressing way to live than to spend ones life that way. And I think it's safe to say that God would agree. That has never been His plan for our lives.

It wasn't until Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem that Naomi was able to see the story for what God intended it to be. A story spun from deep longing and personal heartache made whole through a kinsman redeemer named Boaz.

Ruth 4
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"

11 Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

16 Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.

Beloved. Redeemed. Naomi.

God continues to weave a story of redemption into each of our lives, and today we finally get to see the face of another child redeemed by Him.

Introducing: Naomi Elaina Snyder (aka: Lyudmila)

Did you know that my birthday was on St. Patrick's Day?

I turned 30.

For as long as I can remember, I have had green pancakes on the morning of my birthday. It's a tradition and something I look forward to. But this year, since my birthday fell smack-dab in the middle of our trip to Russia, green pancakes never even crossed my mind. That is, until Adam handed me a small envelope on the morning of my birthday, filled with green construction paper pancakes that Isaiah made for me the night before we left for Russia.

I was told that Isaiah worked really hard on making my pancakes look just right.



I think that was one of the best birthday presents I have ever received.

As I ponder my 30th birthday, I can't help but want to share something very significant with you, because it shows how God's plans for us rarely turn out to be the plans that we set for ourselves.

When Adam and I first looked into adopting from China, we learned that China requires all adoptive parent's to be at least 30 years of age. At the time, we were in our early 20's, so we knew that it would be a while before we could start the process. It has been my dream since high-school to adopt a little girl from China, but 2 years ago we felt the Lord calling us to adopt from Russia instead, and as we researched Russia's adoption program, we learned that we were qualified. We decided to go for it, and submitted the required paperwork.

Fast forward nearly 2 years, and we are now completing the work that God placed on my heart almost 14 years ago. But here's where it gets interesting, because what I thought could not even be started until I was 30 years old is now being completed on my 30th birthday.

It's amazing what God does when we put aside what we think is in our best interest and submit to His will.

By the way, we had our third court hearing today and it went very well. We are happy to announce that we are the proud parent's of L. Hallelujah! We have to wait until Monday for the judge's decision to go into effect, and once that happens, we will finally be able to introduce her.

Oh, and I suppose I should also tell you that the 10 day wait period was waived!!

I must say, 30 is looking pretty darn good.

We had our second court hearing this morning, and it went just as we expected. It took us 10 minutes to go over the court formalities and tell the judge that the document she requested has not arrived in Novosibirsk yet.

Our WACAP representative explained that it should arrive on Tuesday, but that she would need to have it notarized, so she asked for a court date to be set for later in the week. The judge was gracious enough to squeeze us in to her busy schedule on Friday morning at 9:30, and for that we are grateful, as she could have set the court date for the following week instead.

It took us a good week, but our jet-lag has finally subsided. We spent the afternoon walking around downtown Novosibirsk, eating pizza and shopping at the nearby supermarket. It felt great to do something other than hang out in our hotel room playing solitaire and fighting the urge to fall asleep.

Speaking of sleep, I think it's time for me to go to bed.

Anna

There is something that I want you to know: I am homesick.

To those of you who have known me since I was little, this will come as no surprise. It is something I have struggled with since I was a child, attempting to spend the night at my best friends house, only to go home crying in the middle of the night because I was homesick. I don't like this about myself, and as much as I wish otherwise, I can't get rid of it. It's my nature. It has been woven into the very fabric of my being, and it will always be something that I carry.

This 2nd trip to Russia has been a source of anxiety for me since we first started the adoption process and I learned of the possible length of time that we would be here. But somewhere in the back of my mind I always thought that since I was being faithful by separating myself from my children, my home and my comforts, that God would in turn grant us favor by making the process as smooth as possible, waiving the wait period and allowing us to get home without delay.

But God did something the other day that at first left me shocked and devastated because from my point of view, He didn't hold up to His end of the bargain. The bargain that I placed on Him, and that in hindsight, I realized, He never agreed to.

I knew there was a reason for this delay, but I didn't want to see it. I wanted to be angry and I wanted to cry. And so I did. I wallowed in my own self-pity and cried until my nose was raw and my face was red and puffy. And then I cried some more.

I was afraid of not knowing how much longer I would be separated from my children and my comfortable life and it broke me.

And then the most amazing thing happened as I sat on the bed, wiping my eyes and wondering if God could fully understand my heartache. My eyes were suddenly opened to the realization of the price Jesus paid as he died on the cross, being separated from God his Father, in order that we might draw near to him. It was in that moment, through my own separation and hurt, that God allowed me to experience a tiny shred of the heartache that Jesus endured on Calvary, all because of his great love for me.

And for you.

I sometimes think about the cross
And shut my eyes and try to see
The cruel nails and crown of thorns
And Jesus crucified for me.
But even could I see him die,
I could but see a little part
Of that great love, which, like a fire,
Is always burning in his heart.

"It is a Thing Most Wonderful" by William Walsham How

There have been so many times that I have struggled with my homesickness and wished that it wasn't a burden I would have to carry. But today, I have learned that what I have thought to be a burden all along, is in fact a gift from God. A gift that has been woven into the very experiences of my life that are coming together in a grand design, and are being used to point to Him.

I apologize for not updating you earlier on our court hearing, but we have had a lot of emotions to deal with.

Let me just start by saying that our court hearing did not go as planned. We have had some unforeseen complications with paperwork, and the judge has scheduled a second court hearing for us on Monday. We will find out then if a third court hearing is necessary to resolve the paperwork issue.

During our court hearing, the judge decided that she wanted additional paperwork that has never been requested before. As you can imagine, this was a very unexpected request for both us and WACAP staff, as the judge gave no mention of requiring this document when she looked over our paperwork 1 week ago. As of right now, the paperwork has been prepared and is being sent to Novosibirsk. While we can't be sure, we do believe that this request is stemming from recent allegations of a child adopted from Russia who was abused by his American parent's.

We have another court date scheduled for March 15th, but it is highly unlikely that our paperwork will be received by then. As a result, we are expecting to wait for another court date to be set so that the judge can review the paperwork. We are hoping that this third court date will be set early in the week so that we can proceed with our trip with only a slight delay. However, as this entire adoption process has been laden with one frustration after another, we are not expecting things to go as we hope.

This was very discouraging news for us so please keep us in your prayers. We will update you as we know more.

In the meantime, we are enjoying our visits with L. She is getting more comfortable with us every day. We especially love hearing her belly laugh as she is being tickled, and her constant smiles are very encouraging.

Anna

But I must admit that we are not fully put together yet.

We arrived in Moscow late Monday afternoon and were taken directly to the American Medical Center where our blood was drawn in preparation for the following days medical examination. After that, we were driven to our hotel where we cleaned up and then slept off and on for the night.

On Tuesday morning, German, our WACAP representative in Moscow, took us on a tour of the area surrounding Red Square. Here are some of the pictures we took:

Kremlin


This is the bell tower entrance to the Kremlin. Red square is filled with the chiming of the bells every quarter hour, and it is really beautiful. However, I was slightly disturbed by the fact that we were standing directly over the spot where many people were executed during Ivan the Terrible's reign. I would like to go home now.


A Big Red Building. Due to the fact that what I really wanted to do at this point in the tour was crawl in bed and sleep, I was not concentrating on the name of this beautiful building. But it is very big and very red, so there.


St. Basil's Cathedral


After our tour, we were taken to the American Medical Center to complete our medical checks, where we saw 8 different specialists over a period of 5 hours, most of that time being spent in the waiting room. After all the checks were completed, we waited for another 90 minutes for all of our paperwork to be processed. We finally left at 8:30 pm. Our flight out of Moscow left at 11:55pm, so we made a quick stop at our hotel to pick up our bags, and then drove to the airport to catch a red-eye flight to Novosibirsk.

We arrived in Novosibirsk this morning at 7:00am. After resting for a few hours, we were picked up by our WACAP representative who took us to the baby home to see L. This made the whole trip worth it! We had a lot of fun playing with her, and were quite surprised that she wanted us to hold her for the majority of our visit.

Tomorrow will be a busy day, as we will be visiting with her twice, and between those times, we will be preparing for our court hearing that will take place on Friday.

That's about all I know for know. Please continue to pray that our 10-day wait period is waived. As for me, I am going to bed!

Anna

Psalm 94:18-19
If I should say, "my foot has slipped,"
Your lovingkindness, Oh Lord, will hold me up.
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul.

I stumbled upon this passage yesterday, and it spoke directly to my soul. I drank up those words like I would a glass of ice water on a hot summer day.

My thoughts calmed.

My anxieties stilled.

I was refreshed.

As I sat in the quiet morning, my thoughts churned and I was consumed with worries.
How are we going to get everything done withing the next few days?
How long will we be gone?
Will the boys be okay?
What if the wait period isn't waived?
Will our bags be too heavy?
Do we have everything we need?

"When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your consolations delight my soul."

My thoughts are calm.

My anxiety still.

I am refreshed.