Goodbye for a while

We said goodbye to Nicholas today. Assured him that I would be back to bring him home soon. Through Sveta, our translator, who has been so sweet these past few weeks, we told Nicholas that we were going home to get his things--his suitcase, with his clothes, toothbrush/toothpaste, pjs. I asked him if I should pack a swimsuit for him for playing in the water ("da"/yes), shorts? ("da"), markers ("da"), a puzzle ("da"), candy ("da!").

We also put the light blue, silky blanket that Grandma Barbie sent, on his little cot. The caregiver, my favorite one (Mama Vieira), was in the dorm room when we were doing this and warned us that when it goes thru the laundry, it would get the orphanage stamp on it. All the better, another memory for him.

Anyhow, got to pack now, very hard to leave, and not much for writing. We did have a lovely Kazakh lunch today at a round low table outside with shear curtains draped all around us and exquisite food. We, including Sveta and Aidar, the driver, were all reclined afterwards on the pillows and could have easily gone to sleep but Isabelle was prancing about like a fairy, in and out of the shears.

I really hate to leave. The weather is beautiful, flowers in bloom everywhere, the city is bustling... but I have so much to get done at home, beginning with Nicholas' health insurance, 3 weeks of mail, and wrapping up the school year for the girls. And we miss our friends dearly.

Thanks for all the love and support. Tomorrow we're off to Astana, Kaz (the new capital of the country), then connect to Frankfurt, overnight in the airport hotel (whoopie), and on to our beloved Chicago where we arrive shortly after what is midday there and midnight here!

Next post will take about a week is my guess. Thanks again for all the comments and prayers!