DIARY OF THE ADOPTION ODDESSY

Mary Ann and Keith Farmer of rural Scott City traveled last month to Russia to adopt a child, Logan.

Here are some excerpts from a diary that Mary Ann Farmer kept of the journey.

Moscow, Saturday, April 13:

Culture shock. It (the Russian hotel) doesn't look as good as our first apartment in college.

The bathrooms at the airport are rustic -- no toilet paper, no hand dryers, no hand towels. Also, no toilet seat for women to sit on.

Moscow, Sunday, April 14:

Thank God for CNN, the only TV channel in English.

We found a bar which in Russian is really just a snack shop or small cafe. We bought a Coke and Coke Light at 10,000 rubles each. Forty-eight-hundred rubles equal $1.

The city of Rostov-na-Donu, Monday, April 15:

The ride to the orphanage is treacherous. The roads are bad and the drivers are worse. ... Our driver, Serge, can scare the hell out of you. Come to find out, Serge is also a pediatrician at the orphanage.

(Logan) is very cute and smiles a lot. The doctor says he needs/craves attention.

Rostov-na-Donu, Wednesday, April 17:

You could say I have had a long pregnancy -- instead of nine months of anticipation, it has been 52 months.

My labor started when we left for Russia: 22 hours traveling, seven days in a foreign country, 22 hours traveling home, sounds like labor to me.

Moscow, Thursday, April 18: We drove to the doctor. He examined Logan and declared him a healthy, happy boy with a stuffed up nose.

Cincinnati, Friday, April 19:

By the time we arrived in Cincinnati we looked like hell and smelled worse. Logan smelled like poop and puke. Nice, huh!

Scott City, Saturday, April 20: Logan is worth it all.