September 11, 2004

Hello from the Green City! Its hard to believe we have only been here two days! Today was just as thrilling as yesterday! We were up and out by 7:45am heading to Ecik. The view was just amazing, the sky was clearer today and we could see the snow capped mountains. It was brisk this morning, but the day warmed up and we even ended up with a little pink on our cheeks.
We spent the day with Pat Rotman, her sister and Serik! He is a real joy and full of spunk!! Gulnara drove them, and Emil took us to Ecik. On the way out, I was trying to count animals, but couldnt keep track! You will see by some of todays photos there is quite a potpouri of livestock out in the country. We saw donkeys, both pulling carts and just simply grazing at the side of the road, goats walking along and being walked w. leashes, many many dogs, one jogging up the road like he had his own lane, chickens, sheep, horses and a variety of cattle w/ and w/o horns. Its so wonderful that the fields are not all fenced in and commercialism has not yet taken over w/ advertisements, etc. As I was looking out into the fields that meet the mountain base, I could see herds of sheep/cattle and a shepherd on a horse with a dog. This seems very simplistic, but to me it was very thought provoking, what a wonderful way of life!! Nothing is wasted here, the bottoms of bottles are cut off and used as bowls or small cups, papertowels are provided in a smaller size to avoid waste, etc. Along the roadside many merchants wheel their goods for sale, empty liter pepsi bottles are filled with milk and offered for sale with eggs and brooms made of tree branches. The merchants will use anything to transport their goods, make shift wheel barrows, wagons with handles that have been soldered on, sometimes with large wheels to jack up the back. Each day for the next week (give or take) we will enjoy this trip to Ecik. I am hoping we can stop and buy a few things from the farmers, Emil will negotiate for us. The watermelon that we shared yesterday was about .50 tenge and the loaf of bread Jeff purchased was a quarter!!!
Before I move on to the update on the kids, I feel its very necessary to tell you that although the description above makes it sound like we are in no mans land - please know we are NOT! We have all of the amenities of home - minus our dear pets, and can find and buy anything we would need. If I would have known how easy it would be to get groceries, supplies for the kids, etc. We would have travelled a good 100lbs lighter, and with the travel time and physical and mental drain of getting ourselves here, that would have been more like a ton.
Now, for the good stuff. Karleigh and McCale were just as wonderful today as yesterday. Not a tear or whimper as they were handed to us. Gulnara said the caregivers were suprised yesterday how well the children came to us - and how happy they seemed. Well that makes four of us, let me tell you!! It was a very natural handoff - it felt like they were ours and thats the way it was supposed to be. No tears, no anxiety, just two little babies and two parents with exploding hearts.
We were able to feed them again today, bowls tucked under their chins and high speed spooning into their mouths. McCale did great today - Jeff had him on his knee and he just slurped it all down like a little birdie in the nest. Karleigh ate well too, but we had a little more resistance from her. All in all they ate their bowl FULL of kashi and had a little milk and juice.
The caregivers kept coming in and looking at Jeff, kind of in disbelief that he was helping. They would then say something to each other and leave. A few minutes later, the same. Finally we found out that they were saying how well Jeff was doing with the little guy and how much they really look alike. Jeff was wearing an olive colored shirt today that looks great with his eyes, McCale also has some olive coloring in the center of his eyes and the shirt enhanced it for both of them. They looked like two peas in a pod, especially when McCale snuggled up into Jeff's neck to relax and bask in the glory of a full tummy!
Karleigh was very alert today with her big eyes and lashes taking it all in. She gave us several big smiles with her mouth wiiiiiide open and her four pearly whites showing. My goodness, its amazing what a smile can do to your heart. Karleigh was cooing alot more today too. She especially likes it when Gulnara speaks to her in Russian in then tickles her belly. I have to work on the accent so I can get that one down for the flight home.
The babies are both on the small side. I think they will fit in 3-6 month clothing for a short while longer so Im glad I packed accordingly. Its hard to tell exactly how small they are though as they are both wearing two layers and undershirts by the time we get to see them. I will try and get some measurements tomorrow.
After our two hours at the baby house, we all rode up into the mountains to a state park where they have horses, a ranch and a fish hatchery. The views were spectacular!!!! They allowed us to fish in one of the man made pools, Serik, the fisherman of the day caught 6 very nice rainbow trout and Pats sister caught one. Jeff and I shared a pole and didnt even catch a single fish!!! So, I guess that blows the saying - shooting fish in a bucket is not always true. After the fish were bagged up, we brought them to a counter where they were weighed and cleaned. Then they were prepared on the spot and we had the most wonderful picnic consisting of fresh fish, fries, boiled potatoes and cucumber and tomatoe salad. Jeff had a sausage sandwich and a couple hunks of the .25 bread. We also enjoyed ice cold Amstels. It was so beautiful and it is a memory I tried to burn into my mind.
Tonight we had dinner with the Rotmans and Serik, the happiest little fellow I know! He was so cute, he shared his pasta with each of us, handing out one noodle one at a time. Im so impressed with Pat's parenting skills and her handle on the Russian language, she is going to just be the best mom (again) and is perfect for him!! Serik really wants sunglasses, he took a turn today with all of ours, perhaps tomorrow if he is good. For tonight, he wore moms in the dimly lit italian bistro, taking care to wipe them periodically on his shirt and perch them on top of the ole' crew cut when he was talking to us.
Finally, after dinner in the first floor of the RAMSTORE, in the Italian/Sushi place, we headed upstairs to pick up a few more staples so that we can eat in if we choose. If I tell you that store has everything, I would be lying...it has MORE than everything. Again, I urge all of you coming here to pack light and buy here!!!! Less money, less weight and lots of unique choices. We had no problem going alone, Im also pleased to tell you....what we thought was a package of butter - WAS! : )
Good night or good morning, depending on your side of the world!!