Nothing would have prepared us, children of the cold-war era, to find ourselves years later with a wonderful Russian-born daughter and bereft of a piece of my heart - left behind in the centuries-rich "land of the Czars!"

My husband, Rich and I, had raised four sons and longed for the joys that a daughter could also bring.  We spent two years researching the subject and two months after we began our state homestudy for approval to adopt, unbeknown to us, a baby girl child was born in a faraway land.  This little baby would become our daughter six months later.

Fortunately, we chose a wonderful agency, (researching the background of any agency is very important) and two months after receiving our INS approval, we were off to Moscow during the dead of winter!

Winter in Russia became as cold as -25 degrees below zero while we were there.  Despite the cold, the exotic setting and the culturally-rich surroundings made for a wonderful experience.  While there we saw many sights including, Red Square, The Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, Russian Public Exhibition Center, Moscow Circus, and our favorite outdoor flea market, located a few miles outside of Moscow.

At Dawn - The Russian Exhibition Center/Moscow

The Red Square

St. Basil's Cathedral

Streets of Moscow

The Moscow Metro