We made it safe and sound! and got to go see the boys!

So, we are finally in our apt. that we will have for our stay in Krasnoyarsk (Kras for short).  It is very spacious on the 10th floor in the heart of the city.  I figured out that we spent 33 hours in airports or on planes, or in a hotel during a layover to get here, and then we lost 12 hours in the meantime.  We got in at 6:05 a.m. today, and were brought straight to our apartment.  It was a beautiful morning with the sun coming up over the hill sides, and shining down on the forests, and the villages.  It was also very cool~~probably a good 60 degrees or less.  We packed for hot summer time, not for these brisk days, so what are we to do?  We left some of the items from our luggage (due to being overweight by 6 kilos in one bag, and 2 kilos in another) in Moscow with our facilitator there.  He was kind enough to bring us an extra suitcase since he saw when he took us to the hotel for our layover, that we had some really heavy bags.  He did not want us to be charged, but we took out our jeans, thinking those would be the last things we would need.  Boy, were we mistaken, at least today.  Today may bring more heat.  We'll see.

We unpacked.  Diester is all about organizing.  I was getting into the food we brought because I was hungry.  We passed the time familiarizing ourselves with the apartment, and skyped with our lovely girls (who happen to be in Indianapolis, which was a total surprise to us).  I love the spontaneity! !   And we skyped with Diester's mom, and filled her in.  It was nice to catch up.  Diester has a niece (with her husband and daughters) who were headed to Japan for his duty in Okonawa flying on the other direction from us at the same time we were heading here.  Kind of neat!

So we are waiting to get a ride to see the boys, and Diester was pacing the floors wondering when our ride was going to arrive.  Just couldn't get it off of his mind.  It was past the time that they were supposed to be here, and he was excited.  I reminded him, as I have to remind myself over and over again that God's word says "Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace og God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." So, we just started praying and thanking God for his blessings on us, and sure enough, the doorbell rang.  They were here~~it is so nice to have that calm in the meantime.

Off to see our little guys.  It was a lovely ride.  The wild flowers that were flowing in the fields along the roadside were so beautiful.  We got there, and put on our lovely blue plastic shoe covers.  And as I was waiting to go to the bathroom (I think there is only one in the whole place for adults), I turned around, and there was R.A. looking my way.  Now, I have to admit that for some reason, I did not have my glasses on, so because of the distance, I had to do a double take.  When I realized that in fact it was him, I started to wave, and told Diester that R.A. was at the end of the hallway.  He was waiting for us as they knew we were coming.  He did give us smiles, and held on tight to us when we picked him up.  Still quite a bit timid~~I think at his age he is trying to figure all of this out in his little mind with his limited scope of understanding.  It was so nice to be able to love on him, and hug him.  It was just a sweet moment.  They did tell him that we were coming, so he knew to expect us, but it had been a while since we had last seen him, so some holding back from him is actually healthy (in my little mind with my limited scope of understanding :-)  )  We headed up stairs to the music room.  There was the little guy~~haircut and all, and in an outfit that was not yellow.  WOOHOO! ! !   He was definitely glad to see us and wasn't afraid to show it.  He immediately went for Diester~~it was precious!  So, here we are and we pull our our fun for the day, which was punching balloons (the kind of balloon with a stretchy string on it, so you can hold on to it, and punch the balloon around.  That was nice just getting them out of the packages ~

I am getting way to tired, and will have to finish in the a.m.  I will highlight some of the great times we had with them today~hopefully tomorrow.

Count your blessings! ! !  Michelle