"What's a typical day like?"

Our typical day starts really early, like 4:30 because we’re still not completely used to the 11 hour time difference. Mostly its Isabelle who wakes the rest of us. We take our time getting ready and then go for a walk. We’re in the center of town so there are parks, fountains, lots of people, trolley cars. At 9:45 am Sveta, our translator, and Edor, our driver, pick us up.

Takes about 10 minutes to get to the Baby House. We cross over a lovely river to get there. When we arrive we walk into the Baby House, a large baby-blue colored building. It usually smells like whatever is being served for lunch that day. Sometimes it smells like minestrone; others, it’s more like onions. We go up to the third floor, to the “locker” room, a sunny room with little light blue lockers on all sides.

Usually Nicholas Peter is waiting for us in there with a caretaker and Elena, a little girl that is also being visited right now by a couple from California. We get hugs and kisses. Then Nicholas quickly changes into his outdoor clothes and outdoor shoes and puts his indoor stuff away in his locker. He is fast and totally independent. All the kids are so compliant. From an early age they are taught to do things for themselves. The BH is so well organized. I got to peak into the bathroom the other day and saw that each child has a long, narrow cubby. Each cubby is numbered and has a cup with a toothbrush in it, a hand towel hanging on a hook, and a comb. Nicholas is number 10.

We usually take a ball or some other play thing that we bring for him outside to one of several play areas. We swing, play ball, tickle, cuddle, look at books, try to teach him a few words in English, learn a few words in Russian…sometimes we take a little walk around the whole outside of the BH. Elena and her parents are outside too, so we talk with them too. Each of us has an interpreter and driver, so its quite a spectacle. We see the groups of other kids come out to play or the little ones, just to stroll. Today we saw 15 two year olds with two caregivers venture out of the gates of the Baby House and walk around the outside of the fence, where there’s lots of green grass. They hold hands and walk two-by-two and its just the cutest thing you ever did see!

At 11:30 am visiting time is over. We have hugs all around and say “Paka” (bye-bye) to Nicholas and tell him if Mama or Papa will be back in the afternoon. We then go to lunch, so far we’ve had excellent Chinese, to be expected I guess since we’re so close to China! And we’ve had great pizza at the Pizza Blues which also has an indoor ball pit & play area with babysitters! We take our time, after all we have nowhere to be! Then we get dropped off back at the apartment, bolt our 2 doors, talk about safe! And usually try to do a little laundry. I say a little because the washing machines is about the size of a toaster. Ok, a microwave. It’s great for undies, but two pairs of jeans fill the whole thing. Then we check to see if anything is dry on the balcony. Katrina does some school work and Isabelle usually goes to sleep. We try to update the blog, email, etc.


Then at 3:45 Sveta and driver are back to take either me or Justin to visit Nicholas again. The second visit is from 4-5:30 and is pretty much the same routine but much more one-on-one time. We’ll bring photos of home, or markers and paper, that kinda thing. Nicholas is really a happy kid so he get a thrill out of a piggy back ride or playing in the dirt with a lollypop stick. I’m starting to see that God’s plan is for us to learn a lot more from him than he from us!


Back at the apt, whichever one of us stayed watches a movie or reads, or today, for example, Justin took the girls to a small zoo nearby. Really small, like 8 animals! And Justin always has his Blackberry to keep him busy. It seems to buzz periodically. I’ve now learned that if I make a buzzing noise before speaking, I’m much more likely to be heard. Ha!

After the second visit, it's dinner time. It takes a bit longer to cook & clean up after dinner. We have one knife, two bowls, a sink the size of a typical "bar" sink, but in many ways I'm finding less really is more. I better save those insights for another post or I'll run out of time on the internet card!

New Digs

Here are a few pictures of our upgraded apartment… we’re now in the center of town. Thank goodness we’re here in May. I get the feeling it’s freezing 5 months out of the year and stifling another 5 months.

I’ve spared you a photo of the outside of the building. To the extent Ronnie Reagan and the rest of TJ’s crew deserve credit for winning the Cold War, one visit here could turn us all into Republicans (chilling, I know). Still, the new apartment is a wonderful oasis with a TV that actually gets CNN in English.

Nothing says welcome like Soviet era asylum green.


Fountain outside our building



The girls playing nicely


Soviet dairy spokeswoman: Miss May

Build-a-Bear

We haven't gone for today's visit yet, but I wanted to share this. Yesterday we gave Peter a stuffed dog that we had made at Build a Bear (the make-it-yourself stuffed animal shop). He absolutely loved it--it wears at t-shirt that says "I am loved." All the children gathered around him to see it (and a couple tried to pull it from him until the caretaker intervened!). Then, this morning I got a message below:

Build A Bear Workshop is promoting adoption/orphans for the month of May. They have chosen JCICS as it's charity partner for their yearly "Stuffed With Hugs: Hugs Sweet Hugs" campaign. On May 19th anyone can go in to their local Build A Bear Workshop and make a bear for FREE. That bear will then be sent overseas to an orphanage or children in foster care. If you have a child, you know the joy and comfort a stuffed animal can be to them. More info available from Adoptions Together at adoptionstogether.org.

Picture worth a thousand words...

When we arrived at the Baby House this morning, Peter's group was at the playground. His friends saw us first, and started calling, "Peter, Peter!" Then out of the crowd Peter came running toward me saying "Mama, Mama!" and gave me a big hug. God is so good. I couldn't believe my ears and eyes.

All Peter's little friends are so excited for him. I still feel bad for little Sasha though. He was so sweet trying to win us over. But when I asked if we could take two, the Ministry of Education said it was not permitted. I hope he'll have a family soon--he's blond, blue eyes, cute, skinny, and very affectionate. I imagine it won't be long. But when he turns 4 in couple of months he'll move to the orphanage for older kids. Must get some sleep now...we're almost adjusted. Thanks for all the love and support!

If you're so inclined, a prayer request we have is for protection thru the rest of the bonding period, and the court appearance that should happen in about two weeks. Many adoptions seem to get caught up on some legality or timing issues just when all seems to be going smoothly. And "a praise," we are now in a fantastic apartment right in the center of town--a totally different experience. It's modern and clean with so much going on right outside. We got to admire the Friendship Day celebrations from our balcony and were told to expect fireworks after dark. So tired though, we might sleep right thru them~

Our little boy

It’s Tuesday morning and yesterday we made a successful first trip to the baby house. All adoptions in Kazakhstan are meant to be blind, meaning the adoptive parents aren’t supposed to have any sense of who they’re adopting (beyond gender and rough age).

So as we pulled up to the baby house, we were reminded to feign ignorance as the little boy whose picture we’ve had for months came into the room . This was a very special time for the girls and me. The orphanage has been calling the boy Petr which is not his given name (having been abandoned, the orphanage received custody of him and named him). We intend to name him Nicholas, so I’ll stick with that name henceforth.

Nicky came walking in so confidently, but small for three. He has very light brown hair like Katrina’s, very thick like mine. He has brown eyes like Stephanie and Isabelle, and is very gregarious like Sophie (lil’ miss chit-chat). He sat on my lap and gave me a tight hug, so tight and he wouldn’t let go.

Shortly after they brought in another boy, Sasha, which bummed me out. Believe it or not, even at the tender age of 3 these kids seemed to have a sense they’re in a bake-off. At one point, Nicky seemed to show this sense of awareness, when, while sitting on my lap he suddenly burst into tears. He dug his face into my neck, sobbing. Poor little man. It was like he had been missing us all his life.

I wondered how many times Nicky and Sasha had been subjected to batting their eyes and looking cute for prospective parents. How frequent were these sessions and were the kids really aware of what was happening? And if they were, how would affect their developing psyche? Would it make them more resilient or more insecure?

I couldn’t help feeling I should have considered this difficulty and insisted we see kids privately—one at a time. Further, I regretted not fully considering Katrina’s feelings. My 8 year old was visibly shaken from the realization that only one of these children would be adopted and the remaining kids would hope to catch-on with other families.

Still, as the afternoon moved on, everyone’s spirits improved nicely. I’ve attached some photos of Isabelle playing with Nicky and today we’ll return in both the morning and afternoon. I can already tell this morning that Katrina is 1000 times better—she seems to feel a sense of service with Nicky and the others during our visits these weeks.

First Impressions

This is my initial post to our web log, and you’ll quickly see my style is different than Stephanie’s. I’ve promised her not to be overly cynical or profane--so as not to sully the spiritual nature of our quest to adopt a son. Still, I expect even a cleaned-up version of my random thoughts will offend some… perhaps amuse others. If you count yourself in this first group consider yourself warned.

It’s our first morning in Oskemen, Kazakhstan. The city is in the uppermost northeast corner of the country, near it’s boarder with Russia, China and Mongolia. I’m listening to Ray LaMontagne’s album, ‘Till the Sun Turns Black as we prepare to make our first visit to the orphanage (baby house they call it). The music is a perfect soundtrack for the melancholic tenor of the city, and I’m so grateful to Nick Greiner for his referral (and Bill Samson for seconding the endorsement).

Being here reminds me how much for which we’re to be thankful. The apartment building would pass for a Hells Kitchen tenement. I’m afraid to let my kids in the elevator or outside. The smell of diesel fuel and burning garbage mix in a way that coats your throat, so you’re not sure if you’re getting sick or if it’s just the poor air quality.

Still, the apartment itself belies the building and neighborhood: hardwood floors, fairly clean and sufficient amounts of hot water. With a bit of luck, we’ll get upgraded to a more modern apartment in a better part of town tomorrow… someplace near a park and where I can get a cup of coffee without threat of being mugged. In either case, I’m sure I’ll never forget the time I’m spending here. Beyond the obvious reason, I’m getting more quality time with Katrina (8) and Isabelle (3) than ever. I have memories of traveling abroad with my Dad at Katrina’s age and I’m sure she’ll remember these weeks.

I’m looking now at a photo of the boy the orphanage has named Peter. He’s a Caucasian boy of three we think. No one knows much about him though. He was abandoned at the trolley station close to the orphanage about 15 months ago. The caregivers named him Peter and if we succeed in adopting him, we intend to name him Nicholas, a name we like for several reasons--not the least of which is our fondness for the aforementioned Nick Greiner.

That’s all for now… more after we’ve made our visit to the baby house and can find an Internet café to make this blog post.