Trip 3, Day 1: The long journey to Novo

Sadie and I left the SLC airport Saturday morning. We were so excited to get going!

First stop: JFK airport in NYC. The only time Sadie has flown on an airplane was when she was about 5 years old, so she doesn’t remember much. The force of the magnificent aircraft exhilarated her as it lifted up into the air, and even more than that…the beautiful blue sky above the clouds.

Sadie took this picture with our iPad. As we lifted up above the gloom, I thought about the poor families of the victims of the Newtown school shooting. It’s hard to feel celebratory this week when so many families in Connecticut are feeling such pain and despair right now. But as I looked out on this beautiful scene, I was reminded that, no matter what hard times we face in our lives as mortal beings, there is always beauty and serenity that exists above the clouds. Our Heavenly Father is always there.
OK, not to change the subject, but I was very relieved to exit that first plane. A big, stinky man had been sitting in the seat next to me. Nothing like inhaling B.O for 4.5 hours. Ay ay ay! I needed some fresh air!
Our flight into NYC landed late and our next flight was scheduled to leave from a different terminal, so we had to run far and fast! We ended up just as stinky as that man. Ha ha! Lucky, the flight from NYC to Paris was delayed by a half-hour. After all that running, we were just fine.

We flew on AirFrance to Paris, lucky to ride on a very nice plane with in-seat movies and great food. Sadie loves eating out and trying new foods, so she has really been enjoying the variety of culinary experiences that have been offered to her on the airplanes.

Our layover in Paris was very short, so we again had to run through the airport. Luckily, the flight from Paris to Moscow was only 3 hours long. We both slept pretty well on that flight because it was after midnight, Utah time.
We checked into our little capsule hotel room as soon as we landed in Moscow and settled in for a much-needed, four-hour nap. Ahhhh thank goodness for that place. I can’t imagine sitting in a chair for 7 hours waiting for a flight when you’re already so tired. It was worth every penny.
As we were boarding our flight to Novo that night, I was surprised to see two familiar faces! Elder and Sister Gunderson, one of the senior missionary couples that we spent time with last trip, were on the flight! They were just returning from a visa renewal trip to Helsinki. They invited us to come have dinner with them tonight. We’ll have to see if we are feeling brave enough to take the long walk in the sub-zero temps. I did promise Jeremy that I would take Sadie out to experience the city a little, even though we would be in extreme coldness.

One more fun surprise on this flight. When we sat down in our seats, I couldn’t help but notice a bunch of tall young ladies who were settling into the seats around us. Several of them were speaking English. Two of them sounded very American. Turns out they were! They are here for 8 months playing professional basketball.They were excited to meet us, as well. It’s not often you see fellow Americans here. They were very interested in hearing our adoption story and asked lots of questions.
We arrived in Novosibirsk at 6:15 am. Our driver, Nicolai picked us up from the airport. We walked outside and the cold nearly took our breath away! We immediately felt our lungs hurting and the tips of our noses stinging. HOW do people walk around day after day in these temps? Siberians are TOUGH people!


After we hurried into Nicolai’s warm car, he drove us to the Doubletree Hotel, where we’ll stay until Wednesday afternoon. Our coordinator, Anna came at 9:00 and had me sign a paper that she’ll take to the passport agency today to apply for Hazel’s passport. Interesting that I don’t have to be there in person. They just have to see my “visa registration” from the hotel that proves that I’m here.
Sadie and I enjoyed the YUMMY breakfast buffet that’s offered here at the Doubletree.
I just might have dropped a muffin or two into my bag to save for lunch. Ha ha! We have no desire to venture out in that cold today. Sorry, Jer. It’s not happening.

Can you feel how cold it is by looking at this picture? This is just outside our hotel.

Anna let us know that the director of Hazel’s baby home would like us to come pick her up at Noon tomorrow.  Wow. Tomorrow, I become her mother for real’s! Not just on paper, but in person. It’s interesting. It doesn’t even feel “surreal” like you’d think it would. It just feels normal and right. That’s sort of the way this whole adoption has been, though. She’s been missing from us. We’re just completing the steps to bring her to our family, where she belongs. It’s going to be so nice to have her home. To feel complete.

Time to get out of this smoky lobby (why do they allow people to smoke in buildings here?  UGG!) and have a nap. Because I can.

Tomorrow is the big day. See you then!