From Russia with Love

We did it! We've finally made it home with our new son, Ivan Konstantin Schwartzrock.

Nothing has been easy about this adoption but thank God above, we're home safe and sound in this beautiful country we Americans can so easily take for granted. When the plane touched ground in New York on Saturday, October 6th, Ivan officially became a U.S. citizen. We still have more paperwork to fill out, but the first big hurdle has been crossed. The rest is easy... like love and nurture him so that he can grow up into a healthy, mentally-stable adult who adds value to the world and not become the next roof-top killer. Like I said, the rest is easy. (:

Below are some pictures from our second trip. This one is the outside of his orphange. If you click on the picture to see a larger version, you'll notice it looks pretty bad from the outside. Inside, the rooms are clean and the orphanage is well managed. More importantly, the ladies who care for these children do so with love.





Here's a picture of Leah holding Ivan as we "escape"! The day before we sat in court and received the right to take custody. Here we're on our way to the airport.


After leaving Murmansk, we needed to spend a few days in Moscow where we had to get paperwork from the American embassy. Here's a picture of Ivan's first bath as a member of our family.


Moscow has some very beautiful buildings and architecture. It's not cheap, however. This is a picture of Ivan and I going for a strole after dropping $150 on a breakfast for 4 adults and 2 children at a coffee shop. Yikes!



Many, many thanks to all of you who have prayed and supported us over the last several weeks. Thank you very much.