When in Rome....

Saturday we participated in a Russian Banya, we blogged about what we anticipated it would be, so let me make a few clarifications, corrections and additions. There were 12 of us that participated, we started out by going to a private room which has a big recreation area, a sauna room, a shower/bucket area, a changing room, and a bathroom. We changed in to shorts and then went in to the sauna--the hottest sauna I have ever been in. There are 3 tiers, the higher up you sit the hotter it gets, so we were staying on the bottom tier. After working up a good sweat we went out to the shower/bucket area and you pull a chain and the bucket dumps ice cold water on your head, to cool you down! Then you run back to the sauna to warm back up. Then someone comes in and beats you with Banya branches (oops not a banya tree!), which are actually Birch tree branches.

We took lots of breaks and ate a bunch of great snacks in the rec room (fruit, chips, soda, chocolate, Kvoss {Russian drink}, and cookies).

Sunday we met with our translator to give her paperwork for Lukes visa and passport, yipee! Then we went to the Goldman's for dinner. Their friends from church came over and the husband, Igor, made homemade borscht--yummy!

Unfortuntately, I (Danette) caught a cold over here. We visited Kostya today, he was expecting us, so I tried to stay back and let Papa do all the feeding, playing and hugging! No small feat! We are going to wait to visit again 'til Thursday, so hopefully I will get well by then--and not pass it to Mark.

Enjoy the photos from our last few days--keep the comments coming we love them!

First Car Ride

Today we had our first car ride with Luke, it was a very special moment for us as parents. Kirill drove us, along with his group leader, to the passport photo office in Troitsk (about a 25 minute drive from his orphanage). He was such a big boy, he let me set him on the chair and he smiled for the photo, but the man taking the picture said don't smile! Then we got to take him on a little walk while the photos were developed. He held my hand, walked right along with us and looked at the snow with us, such a good boy.

We got back to the orphanage at the time our visit is supposed to end, but they let us stay an extra hour so we could play. We had brought two tangerines and some juice and forgot his cookies at the hotel. He ate both tangerines as fast as I could peel them and then ran over to the backpack and jumped up and down, looking for more to eat! Papa to the rescue--he had Kirill zip him over to a little kiosk store and bought a whole bag full of goodies. Luke grabbed it from him when he walked in with it and started tearing in to the bag of crackers and tea cookies. He ate and ate! Mark bought us a snack, too, and he asked him to bring it to me and he said MAMA! here!!

We left at 1pm so he could take a nap and we made our way back to town just in time to rest and get ready to go see the Nutcracker ballet with 'the gang'. It was beautiful and the girls really enjoyed it, the boys....well....let's just say they made it through!

Tomorrow we will take part in a special Russian bonding experience. It's called a Banya and you go with friends and sit in a sauna and then you either roll in the snow or plunge in to a cold pool. Then they lightly smack you (seems like a contradiction in terms, huh?) with Banya tree branches. There are lots of snacks and drinks and it is supposed to be a really good time. We'll post some photos of it tomorrow when we get back. Til later, have a great day, we're headed to bed :-)

Beautiful Snowy Day

It was a beautiful snowy day here yesterday, lots of snow and very, very cold at least -10 even though the forecast said 4! We went to visit Luke and he was a very active 3 year old, eating everything and into everything :-)
He certainly likes to ham it up for the camera now.

He will also look in the mirror and say Kostya eee (and) Mama eee Papa!

Mark reads his Curious George book to him and he says GEEOORRGGG! and smacks the photos of the monkey with a stuffed monkey he has in his hand!

Mark took some really great photos on the way there, the scenery was just breathtaking. We also took some photos of some our favorite cottages in his town.

This one was taken just outside his orphanage in front of the tree where we took our Christmas picture last year.

On the way back we stopped in the forest and Kirill took some photos of us.

These last photos are of the trip home, the trees absolutely glistened in the sunshine, and the churches in the snow were so beautiful.

Today we had a wonderful day of rest and tonight we are going out for a celebration dinner with the Platters and Kirill and Nadia to an Italian restaurant.

Tomorrow it's off to see our boy! Love to all!

It's Official!

We had a successful court appearance! Our son is offically Luke Konstantin Richard Robb, praise the Lord!! We will now do the 10 day in country wait. We will spend a week in Moscow and will fly home to the states on December 24th, Christmas Eve--we can't think of a better day to be home. We get in to St Louis around 9pm, we'd love to see some friendly faces when Luke touches US soil and becomes a US citizen.
Thank you all so much for all the prayers for our family during our extended court time.
We love you.
The Robbs, now Mark, Danette & Luke

Court Continued

We answered questions for two hours at court today, and all things considered it went very well. Unfortunately, a paper we had notarized and given to our court rep a few days ago got lost, so they continued court until tomorrow when we can bring a new copy. We went to the notary and got the new copy as soon as we left the court house, so we are prepared to bring it in the morning at 9am. At that time the judge should issue his final decree.
Our orphanage director and our inspector both spoke with favor of us and how well we have bonded with Luke. The director said that she talked with him and asked him if he knew that we are his parents and he said 'yes, I love Mama & Papa.'
While we had hoped to complete court in one appearance we are so thankful that God gave us the words to answer the questions and that He has brought us this far.
We will post again tomorrow as soon as we can.

The Lord is Enough

While we are waiting for our court time at 2pm today we think about and rely on passages from scipture. Here are some we are strengthened by if you all want to read them along with us.
1 Peter 5:6-10
Phillipans 4:6-7

No matter what the out come of our court appearance today we KNOW it is God's will, and we praise Him for it.

We realized a long time ago this was not just about our family but this jorney has been about many other Christians growing in their faith thru watching these trials and tribulations. We can not thank you enough for your kind words and your prayers. They have meant a lot to us over the last 3 years. I hope in the end, no matter the outcome you all will continue your walk with the Lord and grow everyday. Remeber today is His will and there is a reason why we are here and you are following this so intently. I wish I could say it is because of the desires of our heart that brought us here but more and more we realize we had nothing to do with this. We are used as an arrow from His quiver to deliver His message. Even though this path has been very trying, it has been nothing short of miraculous in our lives and we cannot begin to thank the Lord enough for this window of opportinity we have been granted to glorify His name. While going thru this I am reminded of a a phrase our Jewish friend told us once......" Lord This is Enough" meaning if the outcome is not as we desire then Lord this has been enough. It was enough to lead us out of Egypt, it was enough to part the Red Sea and if nothing else is done, this has been enough to sustain our trust in the Lord. Even though our traditional Jewish friend and us have two different beliefs, I still like that phrase and I think about it often.......Oh and by the way Dan, Jesus lives....I tought you would like that!

Day of Prayer & Preperation

We are spending today in prayer and preperation for our court appearance tomorrow. We are now having our appearance at 2pm local time (3am Missouri time). We think this is because our translator teaches on Monday mornings.

This morning I got to go with the girls for a spa day and it was a really nice treat. We got pedicures and massages, a great preperation for my mind and body!

When I came back to the hotel I quizzed Mark with anticipated court questions as he had been studying while I was gone. He will quiz me one more time before we turn in for an early night.

Here are our prayer requests for tomorrow:

Favor with the Judge

Successful court proceeding completed in one appearance

For God to give us wisdom and the words to answer the Judge's questions confidently

To be Kostya's forever family

Our friends Scott & Lynn, Kara & Dwayne, and Pastor Andre will be gathering together to pray for us during our court time-we are overwhelmed at their love and support.

Thank you all for your prayers for this special day for our family.