STAY TUNED
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I hope to get the rest of the photos and videos on here, at least in raw form, over the next few days. I think I'm getting over my post traumatic stress disorder from the trip and can now face looking at the video again. :)Regarding Comments, I had to set those to require approval before showing up on the site because spammers have discov... read more

AIRPORT ARRIVAL
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Some pictures as we arrived in the airport. There was a great welcoming party there! We've never had an airport welcoming party before!... read more

RIDING THE METRO
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We're going to attempt to ride the Metro subway to history.com/topics/red-squareRed Square today. Wish us luck. The exits aren't numbered, they are listed by name ... in Cyrillic. Of course, the overhead announcements are in Russian. One helpful thing is that the announcements are in a male voic... read more

STILL IN MOSCOW
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We're in a different hotel, the ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/Moscow/mowso/hoteldetailHoliday Inn -- Moscow Sokolniki , for the rest of our stay. This is the one that was originally reserved for our return from Astrakhan. It has a reliable internet connection, costs less per night than yesterday... read more

TO THE EMBASSY
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Our last stop before the airport on the magical mystery tour is the Google.com/maps/place/EmbassyoftheUnitedStates/@55.7560229,37.576976,17z/data!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x46b54bcacb7fc963:0xc2075a0e27388e24!8m2!3d55.7560199!4d37.5791646US Embassy . They will make Elizabeth a US citizen and a registered Repub... read more

CAN'T LEAVE EARLY...
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

... but at least it's all over. The Embassy visit went fine. Delta said that the only way we could take the available seats on earlier flights was to pay $2800 extra FOR EACH ticket. We said no. Unless someone wants to donate that to us, then we'll call them back. :) As it is, we can't leave until Sunday as originally planned.... read more

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE'S UPDATE
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I went ahead and paid for the 24-hour internet connection from the room. It wasn't even double the cost of one hour. I also swapped out the flaky cable and that seems to have fixed the connection problem. Wrong. I had to call the techs back to fix it. The hotel sure did send up some techs quickly to check it out. Tara and Elizabet... read more

MOSCOW UPDATE CONTINUED
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We're in Moscow.Bill already summarized our trip here. I do believe that I am fully initiated into the sisterhood of Mothers. I have changed an exploding poopy diaper in an airplane bathroom, with turbulence! I'll spare you all the details, but let's just say, I will be burning our clothes from that trip. Internet access is very expe... read more

RIDING THE METRO, PART DEUX
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

All three of us went to history.com/topics/red-squareRed Square this time. I'm glad Tara was able to see it. Elizabeth was fascinated, too, but probably won't remember a thing. We then had lunch at sbarro.com/Sbarro in the ht... read more

JUST ANOTHER WEEK TO GO...
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

... maybe less! That cheers me up. That's assuming everything goes as planned ... and it WILL. I believe in positive thinking (when I'm desperate, anyway, because it leads to positive actions, which lead to positive results, or at least your chances are better). I don't always practice it, but I try. It doesn't always work, but i... read more

PICTURES OF OUR LIFE IN ASTRAKHAN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Tonight is our last night in Astrakhan. So, I thought I'd post some pictures of where we've been living for the past 19 days. We've had many battles over clothing. She thinks I put too much clothes on her. In the hotel room, she wears her thermals. But, she loves her boots. So, she often walks around in her thermals with her snow ... read more

BACK IN MOSCOW (12/18/2007)
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We made it this far! The plane ride was terrible for several minutes when we had to fasten our seat belts, which Elizabeth did not want to do. She SCREAMED loudly for quite a while, ticking off everyone nearby. Luckily, part of it was drowned out by the sound of the jet engines revving up and taking off. After that, she pooped her pants (I think... read more

51-1/2 HOURS
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

That's how long before we leave Astrakhan for Moscow. Not that we're counting or anything. The bad thing about these in-country flights is that they don't use jetways, those expandable tubes that protect you from the weather as you get on and off the plane. You are out there exposed on the tarmac, which is no fun in bad weather. ... read more

HERE'S YOUR UPDATE
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Everyone is wanting an update! Well, we're parents of a two-year-old now. No time for updates!She is keeping us busy. Her favorite things to do are: play in the sink, play in the tub, and play in the toilet. She is a waterbaby! One of the things we were warned about an adopted child from an orphanage was that they may hate baths and it wo... read more

SLEEP, WHAT A CONCEPT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I slept on the floor most of last night. It's a little after 7 a.m. here. Elizabeth refuses to sleep in her crib, even though we're told that's what she slept in at the orphanage. So, she sleeps with us in our bed. That bed is barely big enough for just me and Tara. Anyway, Elizabeth can go to sleep in the bed, but whenever she wakes... read more

NOTHING MUCH TO UPDATE ABOUT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

She's just driving us crazy. Luckily, Tara is taking the brunt of it. I had to get out and walk around town in the freezing cold, just for the sake of getting out. I was at least useful, coming back with some groceries. Elizabeth's sweet as can be and very playful most of the time, but she turns on a dime. The main problem is just kee... read more

BOWEL MOVEMENT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I like a headline that demands attention!It's official, I'm a parent. Elizabeth had her first bowel movement since we've had her, and it was on my watch! Tara was unable to put Elizabeth down for a nap while I was out walking around town looking for groceries and sundry items. Once I returned, Tara decided to take a nap h... read more

MORE PICTURES (12-09-2007)
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Here are some photos from today of the hotel and the closest major street to us. We didn't get very far on our walk because it was too cold.titleAzimut Hotel front href/images/azimut-466b1aac58965763a8eb270037c30fc4-483x644.webp... read more

THE FIRST HOURS OF PARENTHOOD
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Oh my gosh! She's a handful!Well, we left the orphanage without much incident. She told the orphanage staff that she wanted to leave in the car. But, she refused to let me or Bill hold her hand or touch her other than put her snowsuit and boots on. The orphanage director walked her out and then Vika, our interpreter took her from there. S... read more

SHE'S OURS
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp We have her in the hotel now. I tried typing that sentence earlier but she shut the computer down as I was typing! I... read more

PICTURE OF US BEFORE COURT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

titleBill and Tara before Court href/images/bill-and-tara-before-court-ce4654969ca069c70e624f0b52e53253-1229x938.webp ...from several days ago, the... read more

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp We visited Elizabeth again today. We caught her when she was in the music room with all the other kids in her age gr... read more

SHE'S WARMING UP TO US
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp We had her laughing, smiling and giggling today. I pushed her around on the three-wheeler, then flew her around th... read more

IT'S GOING TO BE A GOOD WEEK
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp That's all I wanted to say. :)We had a shortened visit with Elizabeth today because we had to first stop by the ph... read more

SATURDAY MORNING
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp Tara made a good guess earlier. She thinks the orphanage caretakers are telling Elizabeth that we will be taking her... read more

THE DAY AFTER
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp Well, we're much more relaxed now that we've gotten past the court appearance. The problem now is getting El... read more

MUCH BETTER VISIT TODAY
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp Elizabeth (a.k.a. Masha) was much happier today. We were told that the orphanage caretakers probably were... read more

SUCCESS!
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp As you probably read below in Tara's post, our court appearance went very well. Ten days from now we will offici... read more

WENT FOR A WALK
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp ... in the freezing cold, we were THAT bored. I'm starting to hate this place. There's just nothing to do wh... read more

AND THE JUDGE SAYS
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

She's ours!It's official! Elizabeth is ours. The court hearing went very smooth. It took about an hour and a half. There was a judge, prosecutor, a rep from the Child protective services, and the Minister of Education. They had a lot of questions about our parenting style, our finances and guardianship of her in the event of both our ... read more

IT'S SHOWTIME
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We leave in an hour for Court. I just got back from breakfast. Tara did not join me because she can't eat, she's so nervous. Gotta go get dressed. Wish us luck!... read more

RUSSIAN BUREAUCRACY
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Oh... my... God. Do not EVER lose that document they have you fill out on the plane before you land! Stapling it to your forehead would be less painful than what Galina, Liena and I went through today. Vika was tending to the other couple, Nancy and Joel. Anyway, we just spent ALL afternoon standing and sitting in line at the Immigration departm... read more

RUSSIAN ADOPTION CONSULTANT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I've taken a job here as a Russian adoption consultant. The hours are long, and the pay is in barter, but you gotta do what you gotta do, seein' as how I can't leave the country. :)But seriously, the childrenshope.netChildren's Hope office in Brentwood, TN has an opening for such a job. T... read more

COMMENTS WELCOME
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I set this blog so that you can now add your comments anonymously without logging in. So, comment away! I was afraid that the requirement for a login was keeping people from participating. Now you can go crazy because you're anonymous. Just watch your language! Elizabeth is reading this, too ... some day. :) Email me if you have a problem us... read more

BACK IN ASTRAKHAN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We made it to Astrakhan, but I've lost my immigration form that goes with the passport and visa. It's just a little sheet that they have you fill out on the airplane before you land. If I'd known it was so important, I would have stapled it into the passport instead of just sliding it in there. It's not the end of the world, but ... read more

IN THE AIR AGAIN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Sunday, November 25, 2007, 5:00pm CSTWe're in the air on our way back to Moscow. Delta Flight 46. The current in-flight movie is Evan Almighty, which we saw on one of our other flights to or from Moscow last time. You know, when you jet back and forth like we do, you forget exactly which flight it was. :) I guess it's rentable, but ... read more

BEET SALAD
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/images/adoption-video-frame-e223ada9010e2644f23f2d61d3af4921-1024x707.webp The time stamp on these blog posts are in US Central Time, not Russia time. It's 6am Sunday morning here... read more

MWEH YEDDUM V AEROPORT ETA OOTRA
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

You probably guessed what that means: We are going to the aiport this morning. It's probably not grammatically correct, but I ain't got no time for linguistic correctitude. :)Unlike last time when the cat kept waking me up, this time I was able to get a good night's sleep. I was up at 5:30, but I got a good seven hours. It helped ... read more

TUESDAY (11/27/2007)
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Time flies when you lose nine hours. We fly to Astrakhan this afternoon. This morning, we'll be having the free breakfast that the hotel offers. Then we'll exchange our dollars for rubles (before the dollar devalues even more). I could've done that yesterday, but I ... just ... didn't ... feel like it. :)They don't get a l... read more

BACK IN MOSCOW (11/26/2007)
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We made it. The flight was horrible. I think I slept about 30 seconds out of the 11 hour flight. It was not a full flight, and half the people around us were able to take up two or three seats, but we weren't quick enough. The other movie on the flight was imdb.com/title/tt0435705/?refnmflmgact58... read more

INTERNET ACCESS
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I'm wondering about internet access now that we've tentatively planned to stay in a weekly apartment in Astrakhan instead of the hotel the entire time. We'll probably want/need that internet access for the sake of something to do. Normally, we could go sightseeing, but when it's below-freezing outside, that doesn't sound fun.... read more

SKORA MWEH TAM BOOJUM
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Translation: We'll be there soon. This time next week, actually. I really want to be able to communicate with our daughter Elizabeth when we get there. I've been playing titleUPDATE: I think this is the one hrefpaypal.com/xclick/businessbobkatjane%40&item-nameRussianforAdoptiveParents-tape&item-... read more

ROUND TWO
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We've received our court date. We're haggling with the airlines now. One round-trip ticket for one adult costs a little over $800. One one-way ticket for our daughter's flight home with us costs $1,600!! I suggested just buying our daughter a round-trip ticket (which would be only $900) and not using the return portion of it, but T... read more

BACK IN ATLANTA
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We're in the Atlanta airport now! Good to be on US soil, except that they keep mentioning George Bush (... as in the Houston Airport). :) It's 1:45a.m. Moscow time right now (5:45p.m. EDT), but I'm not tired. I'm anxious to catch the flight to Nashville. Customs and security here in Atlanta is sooo much smoother than Russia, th... read more

WE'RE HOME
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

OK, now we're home! I'll try and do a trip summary tomorrow after a good night's sleep ... in my own bed. Tara says she feels like Dorothy, There's no place like home!... read more

ANOTHER GREAT VISIT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We're feeling closer and closer to our child, especially after today. And I think we passed the test of having the psychologist there, observing. She was pretty cool, actually. She didn't stay the entire visit. I think she could see that Tara, the child and I are all getting along well. She'll be observing again tomorrow, but we... read more

THURSDAY IN ASTRAKHAN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

First things first: Our little girl is warming up to Tara. She gave her a kiss yesterday, I think without even being asked. Now, for some more random thoughts:Before I forget to mention it, I need to tell you what happened Tuesday. I think it was Tuesday. My whole sense of time is pretty messed up. Anyway, it was a momentous day. Yeah, yea... read more

LAST VISIT FOR A WHILE
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We'll be leaving in a few minutes for our last visit to the orphanage this trip. I'm practicing asking for my baggage back from the hotel baggage room. Baggage actually sounds like boggage. Please is pa-ZHAL-sta. Fascinating, I know. I thought about getting a parting video shot of the lobby as we sit here waiting for our ride. But th... read more

WEDNESDAY IN ASTRAKHAN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We just got back from today's first visit with the child (we're not supposed to mention her name online). We'll be going back this afternoon. In the meantime, Tara's trying to catch up on her sleep. She had woken up around 5 this morning. I was able to sleep until almost 8. The girl (hopefully soon to be known as our... read more

GREAT VISIT
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We had a great visit with our little girl this morning. There were no observers. That happens this afternoon. Vika mentioned we should think about showing more affection in front of the observers. It's more in line with how Russians treat their kids. We're fine with that. We like kids so much, we flew half way around the world to have on... read more

SIGHTS OF ASTRAKHAN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

I'm attaching pictures we made of Astrakhan and our room. We are staying at the Hotel Azimut in Astrakhan. They are going through major renovations right now. It's kind of funny to see the interior design mix. The lobby is decorated in Art Deco while the rooms are decorated in traditional Russian decor like lace curtains, handblown gl... read more

IT'S A GIRL, IT'S A GIRL
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Oh My Gosh what a difference 1 day makes! So, we have a beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed, 2-1/2-year-old girl!First, the obvious question: What happened to the 4-year-old boy? We don't know. After 2 trips to the Minister of Education, and two interviews, they gave us a referral for this girl. It's been so difficult gettin... read more

WHAT A DAY
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Where to begin... The original plan was for us to go to the Minister of Education and submit our dossier and then formally receive our referral. What really happened:Galina called the ministry this morning only to find out that they were closed in the morning supposedly because there had been a death within the ministry (I'm assuming a... read more

WE'RE IN ASTRAKHAN
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

After a nerve-wracking trip to the airport and getting through the airport security we finally made it to our plane. We were told that our Rep, Galina, would be flying with us. We never saw her until we were already on the plane. She was one of the last passengers on the plane, she saw us and gestured to Bill. He figured it was Galina. Her seat ... read more

CHECK-OUT TIME
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We check out in an hour. We got a nice free breakfast this morning, then went back to that grocery store and managed to pay the right amount for the right kind of water (still, not sparkling, which is hard to find). Sec... read more

IT'S ONLY MONDAY?
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Monday -- 1 Oct 07 -- 6:37PMzzzDRAHST-vueet-ya, DRAHST-ya, BREEV-yet ee DO-bree-dyen from Astrakhan! I just (phonetically) said Hello, hey, hi and good afternoon (even though it's now evening here) in Russian. I couldn't remember how to say evening.We visited the Ministry of Education today, the people who decide who lives and ... read more

FIRST TIME IN MOSCOW
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Well, we made it to Moscow!After a long plane trip, we managed to get through passport control and customs with no problems. And all of our luggage made it!Our CHI Rep and driver were late getting to the airport and we were worried, but they did eventually show up. We got our first taste of traffic, and let me go on record to say -- I will... read more

LINKS TO ALL HOLMES FAMILY ADOPTION POSTS
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

/pages/this-time-next-weekThis Time Next Week -- I'm happy to say that this time next week, we will be in Astrakhan, Russia! We leave the States on Friday, September 28 and arrive in... read more

WE'RE IN MOSCOW
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

We'll be spending the night in Moscow, after all, and flying down to Astrakhan tomorrow afternoon. I was stressed out without an internet or even a usable power connection. But I'm obviously connected now. I had the power converters, but not the three-prong-to-two-prong adapter that I have plenty of at home. We ran into another cou... read more

TUESDAY (10/2/2007)
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

Just some random notes this morning. There's a real /images/russian-stray-dog-77c8f21a813c84af25762034a83957ef-300x225.webpstray dog problem in Russian cities; or, at least Moscow and Astrakhan. A lot of people even apparently let their dogs run loose. They're almost all large dogs. The small o... read more

IN THE AIR
( family / adoption / holmes / travel )

28 Sept -- 3:55pm CDT -- We're in the air on our way to Moscow. A little bit of good news is that it's only a 10 hour flight instead of 12 as we had thought.... read more