10/05/04

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Kazakhstan Trip Journal
Updates from home...
Why did the chicken cross the road??
So Emil would not run her over.

Today the little ones tried on the outfits Gramma Marilyn A. made for them. They were complimented all day on their cuteness!!! Karleigh had a pink outfit with a multi colored pastel trim and the cutest hat we picked up for her at the Bazaar, and McCale had a light blue sweater with a multi colored pair of pants. The sweaters were the first thing to fit their arms properly, and the pants came clear up to their chests. Without tops, they looked like Erkle, with tops, ADOREABLE.

Our day started with a trip out to Talgar City where McCale was born. It is a village similar to Ecik and just to the east it is also slightly larger. The town itself sits at the bottom of the large rolling hills, you may have seen in pictures from our first weeks visit at the baby house. We took some of the same very curvy and bumpy streets to Talgar as we traveled on to Ecik. The roads were in severe disrepair and we had to stop several times for oncoming traffic to pass because we would have sunk deep into a pothole in our own lane. As we headed more toward the town itself, the road became less bumpy and pothole ridden and better maintained but older roads. There were many orchards at the foot of the mountain, and again we saw a wide variety of livestock and shepherds. At one point a rooster crossed in front of us, Emil swerved ever so slightly and we missed it, he continued to cross and made his way to the other side. We only had to come to a full halt once to let cattle and a man on horseback through the intersection. We noticed many children making their way to school, others riding in carts pulled by donkeys or filling milk cans with water by the pumps at the edge of the road. One little girl in particular, who was about 9 or 10 and was wheeling a cart down the road with a milk can tilted on its side. I thought of Stephanie, our niece and how much we know she would like to have that chore at home. We are not sure if the water is used to feed animals or if there is no running water in the houses, I think the latter.

The homes we saw, not much bigger than a 15x15 room, often missing windows, and need of some nails and a paint job, all seem to have a small garden and a clothes line. Each family gardens for food as well as flowers. Fall is in full swing now, happening sometime over the past two weeks but there are still flowers hanging in there until the frost comes. The climate is much like Colorado, but the atmosphere reminded me of Italy. The woman selling their fruit and vegetables on the side of the road, wear scarves on their heads and house coats, they have knee socks which often do not coordinate with their outfits and have open toe shoes with bits of sock sticking out through the sides and front. The woman are beginning to wear tight fitting sweaters that don’t fully close at the front and the selection of fruit is changing from ripe tomatoes and watermelon to more onions and potatoes.

As we entered the town, we came upon the hospital complex. A series of rectangular shaped buildings painted white and trimmed modestly. The grounds were kept better than average for Kazakhstan and the walkways/roads were bumpy but paved. At one point Jeff and Emil looked back to warn mom and I about a man hole that was half way uncovered. As we walked toward the hospital a burst of emotion came over me. This was where McCale came to be, his birth mother had been here. I was holding and hugging the little guy as we walked toward the maternity hospital. We took some pictures for him and saw several nurses walking by. My mind could not help but wonder if they had been there at his birth. This was truly one of the most memorable moments of the trip for me. I was very glad we were able to visit the hospital and have a few moments to thank our lucky stars for him.

After the visit at the maternity hospital, we headed to the baby house to drop off our donations. Thank you so very much to the Branches and Halls for helping us get the items that the baby house was asking for. They were very thankful and I know many children will benefit because of your efforts and generosity. As we headed into the baby house McCale kicked it into gear with his smiles and flirting ways. Karleigh on the other hand clung to my mother and a single tear ran down her cheek. She seemed sad to be there and we assured her that she was coming home with us.

We were doubly blessed today to see Chrysten and Ike meet their new son. I will not elaborate because I don’t want to spoil their update. While we presented our donations Emil headed down to get a bunch of peroshkis for all of us. We sat outside the baby house enjoying the fall weather, heard a few roosters crow and had lunch. What a nice day. After lunch we did a quick change of the diapers and headed off to Almaty for the childrens physical required to exit the country.

The kids both received a clean bill of health. Karleigh weighed in at 18 pounds – if you remember a few weeks ago the baby house told us she was 14 pounds – with clothes??? McCale was 17 pounds from 14, so I think we are making good progress in the eating side of things. They were both measured at 25” but we think that McCale is a little longer.

We are now back at the apartment for the night. Mom is reading a book, Jeff’s watching the kids and I’m heading for a nap providing I can get one of the other two to watch the kids playing on the floor for an hour or so.

Thanks to everyone who is helping on the home front, we realize this is much longer than it sounded at the beginning. We promise that these two kiddos are worth every second of your time. They can’t wait to meet you!! We can’t wait for some home cookin and a hug from all of you back in the States.


Love, Colene, Jeff, Karleigh, McCale and Gramma