$750 dollars worth of paper work out again

Bonjour! Privet! Aloha! Hello!

I am sitting here after a long day watching a Russian television show based almost word for word, characters etc on Married with Children. Must say the Russian version is entirely more entertaining than the one we had here.
It is good therapy after spending more money on paper work. Today's tally: $750 dollars, stamps and over night. We have one more legal document in a week or so, which must go to the capital, however for now we are hoping so hard core that the documents, which arrive tomorrow at the agency will be the one's to get us on the list for a court date!

After cleaning and organizing some of the rooms in my house, still have over half to do, I am a bit exhausted. It seems there are no vitamins good enough to help the situation.

I realized I am lacking a bit of information on our blog of details in our experience in Vladivostok. Most likely due to my paranoia of putting anything out there, however I will add in a few details here and there.

Today's details:
It was rush, rush when we were in Vladivostok. I remember the day we had to visit the MOE. It was located in the city, where we winded around into an alley. There were military guards and women dressed very nicely; long skirts, beautiful heels and colorful sweaters.
We felt like, well I did most of the time as I am so short, 5'1, I was jogging behind our coordinator. He was thin, tall, dressed stylishly, about our age and a speedy walker.
The elevators were amazingly small, like the size of a regular bathroom stall, and 4 of us squished in as it took us up four flights. I loved the elevators, I must say, old and yet quaint.
We waited for about 30 minutes in front of the elevators while our coordinator set up our interview time. The interview lasted about five minutes. We were in a small room with three desks, three women, our coordinator and interviewer.
Simple questions were asked about our lifestyle and home.
We were then rushed off to get to the orphanage, about 70 - 80 minutes away where we passed birch trees after birch trees. There was a little old woman selling beets and sitting in a beach chair. If you looked about 30 feet behind her in a patch of trees, there were seven men sitting around a small fire.
While in the car, I took video of the pretty surroundings, trees, hills and ocean. There was always something to see, even large military trucks we passed.
The baby home is located in a nice small town with posh looking cafe's, which served the most delicious coffee and Italian pizza breads. Hmm. I kept trying to pick the cheese and tomatoes off Michael's plate. It was laced with roasted garlic.
On another day we went to an American looking restaurant, which took after the Hard Rock Cafe a bit, American memorabilia, Elvis, guitars, framed photos, and old westerns running on a television. Nice restaurant, good pizza. The only unfamiliar thing I found was that the lights to all of the bathrooms are on the outside of the bathroom and there were no stall doors. Michael commented that people were looking at him strangely when it took him waaaay tooo long to find the light switch.
The director at the baby home was extremely sweet and made sure we had as much time as possible with our little one. From what we heard from others, time could be a strain, however we had 4 days, two hours each day, which we found was a good thing.

I read many other parent's blogs and I know there are many "to be" parents and I would like to mention a couple of items if you are one awaiting your first trip to Russia or thinking about adopting from Russia:

1) Russia is a beautiful place. Historically, Russia has been through so much, the people have struggled and yet they have also preserved so much of their culture, which they are very loyal and close too. It is a good idea to travel to Russia with an open heart and move with their rhythm while you are there. The saying, "When in Rome...." and this should be your utmost goal as you are their guest and they are willing to share their children with you and give you the opportunity to love and take a Russian child to your country.
2) Do not go in thinking, "I am doing a favor for Russia", think of it as a two way street, as I know most of us have been through so much to get where we are, think of it as they are giving you a child and you are loving a child who needs a family.
3) Please, if you can give your child one of the most important things in this process, integrate their culture within yours. Both cultures are something to be treasured, just like at the Disney ride, "It's a Small World". It really is.

I am not lecturing, just giving ideas and hope as I have read a couple of blogs out there and I am saddened to say, "surprised by the content".

For us, and I can only speak for us, we are waiting on our toes, sometimes get teary over the beautiful videos people have put out there of their adoptions, and we are thankful to the support of our fellow bloggers, who consistently get us through this bumpy road of ups and downs.