Becoming the 4 McCaffery's

SNOW & APRIL & EASTER 2007

2007-04-10T12:32:00.000-04:00

Honey& Grandpa Dave & Boys

The boys and their "loot"
Dying Eggs with Honey

Bunny Cake Makers

The McCaffery's Easter 07'

Sam and Ian, the best looking of our crew!!

Well, in Monument, Colorado we searched for eggs in our basement as snow decided to make it's way down the mountain once again before allowing Miss Spring to move on in. Our boys didn't mind, they had a blast and were quite excited to put their "loot" into their banks. We also had a nice week-end as Honey and Grandpa Dave we're still in town and helped the boys make an Easter Bunny Cake, dye eggs and simply spend some quality time together. Here are a few photos from our day!!
Paka-Paka

PHOTOS ONE YEAR LATER from Karaganda to Monument, Colorado... April 3 2006 & 2007

2007-04-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

My "babuskha," who I call "Honey" is visiting with our family right now and we are having a fun time together...

After we practice swiming without life jackets, our teacher, Mr. Charlie lets us play tag with life jackets, it's tons of fun...

A little coloring before my brother wakes up and Mommy makes us some scones, cantaloupe and strawberries.... April 3rd, 2007

PreCooked Easter Egg Cookies, Mommy let us eat some of the cookie dough and was it good..... April 3rd, 2007

APRIL 3rd 2007, Monument, Colorado
" BROTHERLY LOVE and Breakfast"

APRIL 3rd 2006, Kulenshak Orphange, Karaganda, Kazakhstan...
" Overwhelmed"

April 3rd 2007 A year ago today we met Sam for the first time in Karaganda, Kazakhstan

2007-04-05T16:07:00.000-04:00

Wow, I can't believe a year has passed since we met Vitaly Borisovich Cernovsky. Now simply known as Sam. Sam has grown so much since we first met him, physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. We are very pleased with all that he has achieved in such a short time. He has a heart of gold and the bset laugh I've ever heard. My favorite about bringing Sam into our family is the bond he shares with his brother, Ian. They are like two peas in a pod. I really think having us go to Karaganda as a family was such a blessing for both of them. They have yet to say unkind words to one another and never has Ian wished for Sam to go back to the "detsky dom." In fact if Sam is being disciplined Ian always make certain that I will never send Sam abck to the "detsky dom." I said, no siree, Sammy will "zigdah" (always) be a part of our family. I have no siblings so I'm always a bit cautious about how they are to one another. If they do get a bit ornary to one another I remind them both what a privilege it is to have a brother and to be part of a family, as they both know some children are not that fortunate!! That usually puts them in their place!! He, He,He.

They are both enjoying life in Colorado. They both attend a montessori school just up the road 5 days a week 3 hrs a day, but are in seperate classes so they have some "alone" learning time and then in the afternoon they have their together time. Sam will have one more year in preschool in fall of 2007 to give him the best possible chance of succeeding in academic life in America. and Ian will attend Kindergarten. This way we'll give them both a chance to "shine" in school and have different friends, but always have eachother for support and comfort. They are taking swimming classes and love spending time in our backyard swinging, digging for rocks, kicking balls and just being carefree little boys. This is not to say they don't do a fair share of work as well. As an example, they must put their clothes right-side out in the hamper nightly, clean up their playroom daily, asked to be excused from the table, clear the table, say grace, use proper manners and we remind them daily how fortunate we are to have one another, enough food, a home, a safe place to live and play, clean clothes, etc. Things most American families take for granted!! Here are a few recent photos, one of Sam and Ian on their first meeting of one another and then 1yr later!!!

Ok, it won't let me post photos, I'll try a new post to enter the photos...aaah

Enjoy!!
Paka-Paka
Nell

Pictures from Dec 2006 and Jan 2007

2007-02-03T13:24:00.000-05:00

I've been having trouble adding photos lately to blogger, which is a bummer. Anyhow here a a few from the holiday season, swimming class and helping Daddy to become a Lt. Col in the USAF!!!

Happy 2007

2007-01-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

Happy 2007!

We've had a great 2006 and 2007 looks bright too, so no complaints here. My 3 boys went back to the East Coast for the Holidays. Of course we would have all liked to have gone together, but we waited a bit too long to purchase tickets and then the kennel we like to use did not have availability for our nearly 12 yr old rottie. Thus, Mama stayed home. Mama was looking forward to a bit of a break and planned on doing home improvement projects, visiting museums, shopping at a leisurely pace and simply enjoying not being accountable to anyone. While I missed all 3 of my boys I think it was a good experience for all of us to be a part for a bit so that all of us could truly appreciate how fortunate we are to have one another. So, after dropping my gang off at the Colorado Springs airport, I headed to a fancy outdoor mall, and window shopped, I also had a grown-up dinner at PF Changs and truly enjoyed my alone time, still, I was very happy to get a call from my boys a few hours later as they waiting in the Dallas airport. The next day was horrid, a major snow storm hit Colorado and needless to say our driveway is downhill and we did not have a snow blower at the time. Literally the majority of the 12 days apart I spent shoveling and shoveling and shoveling, while my 3 boys had a mild Xmas in Mass. They had a wonderful time with their extended family. Sammy saw his cousin Delia once again and enjoyed spending quality time with his Grammy's , Grandpa's and Auntie's and Uncles!! Here are a few recent photos from the holidays, the snow storm and simply a nice photo of my two hansome men!!

Our boys are doing wonderfully together and Sammy is making great strides socially, educationally. Most people have no clue he is adopted, they just figure he's about 1.5 or 2 yrs younger than Ian, due to his size. He's at a 4yr old level at English reading and comprehension, so we're quite pleased with his progress. He even corrected his ESL teacher for not using proper grammar!!! Right now both boys are attending a Montessori preschool and making great strides, although it costs and arm and a leg, it's right up the street, so that's nice for Mama.
Hopefully next Fall they'll attend the public school down the road, Ian in Kindergarten, Sammy another year of preschool!! The boys are also taking swim lessons at the Air Force Academy Fitness Center and love it!! They also tried ice-skating and enjoyed that as well!! Ok, right now blogger won't let me post pictures go figure!!

Keep checking back for more posts!

Paka-
Nell

Sammy and Ian meet a new friend from the North Pole

2006-12-17T10:56:00.000-05:00

Wow, reindeer in Palmer Lake, Colorado! Our boys received a special treat from their Daddy yesterday. The had a chance to visit with a reindeer in the town next to ours!! Actually, a co-worker of Tim's raises reindeer, but the boys thought maybe the reindeer came down to visit from the North Pole. The boys were quite pleased to be able to touch the reindeer and give him some apples!! Sammy, our silly one, thought he too could be a reindeer someday!!!

I'm happy to say while our boys enjoy Christmas and all of it's hooplah, they are also learning about Hannukah and lighting the Menorah in rememberance of those long ago who simply wished to give thanks to G-d, and prayed the oil in their lamp in their temple would not extinguish itself. I'm so thankful our children are eager and happy to learn about many different religions and customs from around the globe. The idealist in me believes that if one or two children are taught to be more tolerant of others it can only help to make the world a better place.

Although we now have completed our family. I can't help but think of all the children in Sammy's group at Kulenshak in Karaganda, Kazakhstan and around the world who are still hoping to becoming part of a family!! Hopefully a few more older toddlers and older children around the world we be adopted next year!!

Happy Holidays to all!!

More Turkey Photos

2006-12-12T01:58:00.000-05:00

Blogger would not let me add the photos by the sculptor and as they are so cool, I had to try again!!

Turkey Week-end Photos from Prescott, AZ

2006-12-12T01:44:00.000-05:00

Hello! Just a few photos of our Thanksgiving week-end in Prescott, AZ with Honey and Grandpa Dave. The 12 hour drive was a bit long for all of us, but it was well worth it as well al had a ton of fun! Honey and Grandpa Dave finally met Sammy and fell completely in love! The boys enjoyed playing with Honey and Grandpa Dave's doggies, Shayna and Chotzke. They also liked trying to play a saxaphone, riding in Grandpa Dave's race car, looking at the plane Grandpa Dave is building and take a nature hike in the woods behind their home. We searched for havalinas, a.k.a., warthogs, or in chidren's movie talk, "Pumbas", but had no such luck!! Honey stuffed us to the gills and the boys had a ton of fun doing crafts and simply spending time with their extended family. There is an amazing sculptor who lives just down the road from my mom and we've added a few of his sculptures as well!!

It's funny how Karaganda, Kulenshak on the one hand seems like a lifetime ago, and yet, part of me would like to go back for a visit, not a 54 day visit mind you, but a visit just the same!!

Paka-
Nell

The Cog Railway to Pike's Peak

2006-11-20T14:20:00.000-05:00

Hello! Just a few more photos prior to the holidays of some family fun we had two weeks ago. We took the Cog Railway up Pike's Peak. Eventhough we could not go to the summit as the winds were a bit too strong, the views from 13000ft were amazing. We were so far up we passed the treeline. The boys enjoyed the ride as did mommy and daddy. Here are some of our photos!!

Happy Halloween

2006-11-01T22:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Hallowen from Colorado!!

It was a balmy 20 degrees last night for trick-or-treating, so all of our pictures are inside prior to their preschool activities! Ian is our S.W.A.T. policeboy and Sammy is our little Dragon!!!

Sammy's 5th Birthday

2006-10-25T09:43:00.000-04:00

Sammy's 5th B-day was Oct 24, 2006 He chose pink,red, and black balloons and wanted his cake to have cherries on it and candy cows!! He seemed to enjoy this American "way" of celebrating his birth!! He loved all of his presents but his favorite was his "fighter airplanes", aw, don't worry Daddy he still thinks it's cool you fly the really big airplane!!! I'm not certain who was more excited for Sam, Sam or Ian??

Recent photos

2006-10-25T09:32:00.000-04:00

These are some recent photos of our boys since we moved to CO in Sept of 06'. Last time Blogger wouldn't let me post photos, so I'm hoping this w0rks...

Feeling more and more like a true family

2006-10-22T00:06:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've written. Things are really starting to come together. This is not to say we still have some things to work on, but as Sam's grasp on the English language improves so does his overall behavior. Don't get me wrong, he is a great child, he has an amazing spirit for a child living in an institutional enviroment for so many years, but at some point, that can no longer be "an excuse" for behavior and character issues. Sammy finally really understands the importance of being kind, thankful, and why we can't lie. He also loves his preschool, having his brother and being in a family in general. He is my jokester, he has an infectious laugh and loves to smile and be silly. My favorite thing about having 2 children is watching my boys bond. I have no siblings so I'm amazed in general to watch them, but my hubby says he's amazed at how much they truly love and care for one another. We have yet to have any physical issues or the "I hate you" type conversations. Mostly, they really enjoy each other's company. They love living in Colorado, as do we. Looking at the mountains from our backyard daily is quite a privilege, and they also love their preschool and our neighbors from Ireland and their 3 labs!! Our doggie is showing her age, but has mellowed a ton and loves being by the boys and still limps down the stairs to let any truck or dog know that she still is the queen though nearly 12 yrs old!!

I've been reading various people's blogs and some of it really makes me start to laugh, as I think back to some of the crazy, annoying and almost comical things I had to deal with while in Karaganda, but as hard as it was to live there for 54 days, I wouldn't trade it, it's made me stronger and much more thankful for all that I have simply by having the luxury to be born in the United States. I also had the luxury to meet some really great people, both local inhabitants and fellow visitors from America and abroad. Well, our Sammy turns 5 on Tuesday and is excited to be able to pick out his own cake and balloons. We had our first real snow fall the other day and Sam was so excited to play in the snow, he said they were not allowed to play in it in Karaganda at the Detsky Dom. Well, I hope all is well with all of those families and friends I meet while in Almaty and Karaganda!! Here are some fun photos of our little men

:)Paka-Nell

Good and Bad News

2006-08-14T16:21:00.000-04:00

The good news is that Sam does not have any major illnesses like HIV/Hep B etc. The bad news is that he did test positve for TB. His chest Xray came back negative, which is good and he loves his liquid version of INH, he states it tastes like Strawberry. He's a trooper and it doesn't seem to phase him. Still, of all the things that could be going wrong with him physically, this is minor and so we're very thankful.

On the emotional/psychological end, we're going through a tough period of lying, taking with out asking and simply not listening to his mother. The hardest part about dealing with this is that he simply knows better. Now I'm no fool and I know he was obedient at the detsky dom simply as a form of survival, but it's frustrating to see the good side of him and then to watch him regress daily. Luckily he does not have "push over" parents. He told me last night, he took with out asking simply because he wanted to. I told him, that is his choice, but he knows his choice means he loses all of his privileges for the day. I know I've had 4.5 years to teach Ian respect, and the importance of telling the truth and being thankful, but it still amazes me that Sam can be incredibly greedy and lack empathy regarding his poor choices. I know it will get better as he learns this mama will not budge whenit comes to learning how to become a thoughtful and thankful person who has a strong character nor give in to his tantrums or poor character trait choices. It's just hard because then both Sam and Ian suffer as they loose time to be together due to Sam being in time out of simply having to loose the privilege of being able to play with Ian do to his constant lying, or taking without asking or simply choosing not to listen to me. At first I felt like I was screwing up some how, but I have a friend who adopted a girl from Romania, and to this day, of her 3 girls she still struggles with these issues. Oh well, I guess it doesn't help that I've been a single parent for 8 plus weeks, still I know it will get better and honestly, when I'm really tired of dealing with Sam's bullshit I look at Ian and how much he loves and cares about Sam, and it reminds me of the kind of mother/person I need and should strive to be. The photos of our the boys last day of "summer school"

Another Saturday in Mayberry...

2006-08-09T14:06:00.000-04:00

Greetings Readers from Mayberry, oh, I mean Dover, Delaware. We've had a bit of a heat wave lately so to beat the heat, we've either done a ton of indoor crafts or ran in the sprinklers! Both of our boys loving doing so! We also went to the local Peach Festival last week, where the boys got a taste of homemade peach ice-cream, played with some farm animals and thought it was way too cool that we got to park our car right next to the orchard!!

We all miss Daddy, but we're happy to report that our home finally sold in this "buyer's" market and we will close in late October. We think we have may found a great home for us in Monument, CO. with a view of the mountains and still within our price range, so keep your fingers crossed!! We're going on being apart from Daddy for nearly 7 wks now, and it's taken it's toll on me a bit, but the boys are doing really well with it, which is all that really matters right now!! I'm so proud of how well my boys are treating one another, I often feel their bond is tighter than bio siblings because they "know" how special and lucky they are to have found one another!! Ian makes certain when Sam is misbehaving and I'm a bit frustrated that I'm not going to "send him back to the detsky dom in Kazakhstan." I reassure him and Sam that I love him and that his is part of our family always and forever, even on the days he may not wish to do so!!!

We've also been blessed and that all of Sam's major blood tests have come back negative, we're still waiting on TB, and I think he may test positive for TB which wouldn't surprise me a bit with the standard of living in the detsky doms and the amount of people and germs and lack of updated cleaning supplies and plumbing. Still, in the big scheme of life, that's minor, and I'm just happy that he seems quite well adjusted and loves to learn! Ok, enough bragging rights, here are some more recent photos!!!

We Met Sammy 4 months ago today...

2006-08-02T19:21:00.000-04:00

Wow, I can't believe it was 4 months ago today, well in Kaz it's already the 3rd, so I guess I can still say "today." Anyhow, I still can't believe he's been a part of our lives for only 4 months. It now seems like he's always been here. This is not to say I want to repeat the process any time soon. I will not sugar coat my feelings about our experience in Kaz in regards to the adoption process and proceedures. That being said, as much as I detested staying the entire time, being seperated from my husband and other son, I know it helped with the bonding process for Sam and I as mother and son, and for Ian and Daddy to get some quality time together prior to Ian's world "changing" forever. I was always thankful to live in the US of A, but never more so than after this trip on multiple levels. We have been home a little over 2 months and it has been fun, crazy, and of course stressful at times. We finally sold our home and will be moving to Colorado Springs in late October. My husband moved to CO, the 3rd week of June, so I've been going "solo" since then. Don't feel too bad for me though, it could be much worse I could have to work and I do get a bit of a break as the boys go to "school" 5 days a week 3.5 hrs a day and love it!! We also get to go to the same school for regular preschool for 2 months as well, so I know that will help Sam even more so!! Sam and Ian are for the most part amazing together. I always double check with my husband if there minimial bickering is "normal" brother stuff or bigger issues, he says he's amazed at how well they get along, as am I. They are both quite thankful for one another and share hugs and kisses daily. My favorite thing is that they feel true remorse when the other one is getting repremanded. If anything I'm having the hardest time adapting. Besides being mentally worn out by the end of the day, I feel a ton of guilt about not having quality one on one time with each of my boys. I know Sam is coming from one of many, so becoming one of two is a huge improvement, but I still think individual time is very important for his overall growth as a person. Ian is doing amazingly well, not that Sam doesn't have a lot of new challenges to deal with, but so does Ian, to go from the main attraction to 1 of 2 I thought would be much worse, to have to all of a sudden have everything he has had become his brothers as well, must be hard, heck as adults it's hard to share let alone at 4.5. Still, for the most part, Ian seems to enjoy helping Sam and sharing with him If anything Ian sometimes doesn't understand that Sam can be near him but might not want to play together. With Tim being gone it's been a bit hard to do individual time, but we do so in 2 1/2 incriments daily for books and working on preschool skill sets. Some other things I'm amazed at are how eventhough Sam and Ian aren't bio brothers they share opposite strength's and weaknesses. I'm also amazed at how much more Sam tests my wills. He disobeys more than Ian ever did, but I must remember he has never had the opportunity to "act out" and know that someone would still be there to give him unconditional love. Of course I give him the love, but he also still has to be accountable for his actions, so that gets a bit old over all, but then after the bit of drama, I still get a ton of love so I can't complain. Ok, I've got to go and read some books before night night!!!

Hope you like the photos of Ian and Sam

Paka-

May 25, Thursday Finally Home

2006-05-25T17:00:00.000-04:00

Yikes, what a journey.. The good news, we're home safe and sound and everyone is doing quite well. Sam and I took Ian to school today and then went to Walmart for groceries et all. He was amazed at how big it was and that he could ride in the cart!! I can't say how thankful I am to be home. We had a big scare on Tuesday morning as I awoke to our hotel room door being ajar and no longer possessed my passport, $700 cash, credit card, military id card and some tenge. Tuesday day I was a wreck, trying to get a new passport in order to have our exit interview to get home. Sam was great, just went with the flow. It was a nightmare I then had to lie to the police and say I "lost" my passport in order to get some paper that had to be turned into the Min of Educ. to get a new exit visa, etc. I would not recommend staying at the Hotel Kazzohl, as they're attitude towards everything was poor. It's too bad because it's so close to the TSUM and cafes. Our flight from Almaty to Frankfurt was uneventful and as always the staff of Lufthansa were great Sam slept for about 4 hours of the trip, but I was still restless and had a bit of a tummy ache so no sleep for me. We then hung out in the Frankfurt terminal for 7hrs. I thought I would be able to go to the USO, but because Sam was not yet a cititzen we could not leave the terminal to walk outside a mere 100ft to the other terminal where the USO was located. There were not too many seats open in the main terminal so finally we sat in an extra car that the airport uses to help elderly people reach their destinations. We then found a different McDonalds where we could eat lunch and watch the plane for hours. I met some nice people while waiting. A mother with 3 of her 7 children waiting to depart for Nigeria, a man from Ghana, and 2 nice men from India who shared their seat with us at Micky D's.

The next flight was easy as well, but I think we may have had a head wind because it took about 7.5 hrs to return home and when we left it was only 6.5 or maybe daylight savings or something like that. Anyhow, Sam was the star of the plane, very well behaved. I spoke to a nice woman from Germany the majority of the flight and we had no problems whatsoever with customs or immigration. We then headed to Auntie Robin's house for a bit as the traffic in NJ was horrendous and spent a few hours with some extended family. That's about it!

Thanks for reading!

Homeward bound at last!

2006-05-23T19:16:00.000-04:00

Hello all
This is Tim. For all of you that have been keeping track of this adventure, I received a call from Stephanie tonight. She is the wife of an American man (Jack) that was helping Nell and Sam jump through the last few hoops before they could come home. She called from Michigan to tell me that Nell and Sam were in line to check in for their flight. They were scheduled to depart Almaty around 0300 (around 5 pm for us on the east coast), so hopefully she'll be in Germany in a few more hours. I have no doubt she'll update the blog during her 7 hour layover. For those of you who haven't been to the Frankfurt airport, it is one of the better airports to explore if you are forced to have such a long layover--it has hundreds of stores and restaurants as well as several train stations that Ian enjoyed exploring. I'll let her continue her blog when she gets there. Thanks for all your support!
Tim and Ian, waiting not so patiently for the rest of our family to come home

Monday 22nd

2006-05-22T11:47:00.000-04:00

Hello from Almaty, I'm Europe, ok, it' s not that nice, but so much better than I anticpated! I actually had a hazlenut latte today!! It was SO good! I met a women from NY today who is adopting a little 16 month old girl. Aidianna. She's a spitfire and her mom is a ton of fun!! She went to a very remote region and has had it 10x worse than I have in regards to living conditions et al. We had a nice day walking around a bit, having a coffee at an outdoor cafe and then eating our deli salads like savages as we had no utensils in our hotel. We both have our Embassy appoints at 1500 and are on the same flight to Newark. Not to much to report except that Sam is blossoming every day into a wonderfully kind and polite little boy!!! He's made such strides in his language skills and social skills, I'm truly amazed, as well as won over many people's hearts!!! Plus, he's a ham with a wonderful laugh that keeps me smiling when I've just about had enough of "living abroad" Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well for tomorrow. Sam's passport is arriving tonight from Karaganda and that makes me very nervous. I know with adoption you need to go with the flow and while I think we've done that most of the time, I"m no longer feeling "giving" about things "slipping dates, etc." I'll just hope for the best and if we have to stay a few more days so be it, at least it's in a decent size city with English menus and a nice foo-foo supermarket. Yes, at this point, it's all about the food!! But come on, for those who know me well, when isn't it!!!

Paka
Nell

Sunday May 21

2006-05-21T09:54:00.000-04:00

Oh my goodness, can I just say how nice Almaty is. I've met a great group of people adopting from this region and man do they have the good life. Great supermarkets, restarants galore, with English menus and tons of trees and a beautiful skyline of the Tien Shien mountains, I thought they were the Himalayas, whatever their name, they are breathtaking. It's hard to believe Sam and I are hop, skip, and a jump away from China. Almaty feels much more European, and today when we passed Prada, Armani, Gucci, you could have sworn you were in Europe. This afternoon, my internet pal, Mary from Dublin, organized a grand get together of various couples and individuals adopting and we met at Mad Murphey's Irish Pub, the food was great, but can you believe they did not have any Murphey's available. I met a couple from Serbia, now living in Canada, 2 couples from N. Carolina, Julie, formally from MA. who now resides in Tampa, and another women from Springfield, MA. The families here are very spoiled in their living standards and choice of food, shopping extra. Sam loved being by the 2 babies, who were 9 and 12 months and looked like 3 and 6 month old children. Both very bright and alert and adorable. Sam was so gentle and when one of them cried, he said, "it's ok baby" He of course melted everyone's heart and once he giggled it was all over, his laugh is just so infectious. We then walked to the TSUM and hit the supermarket. I'm amazed that the majority of the people are as thin as they are because they have a ton of ornate desserts and yummy food every where. While at the grocery store Sam once again was able to steal some hearts as our clerk gave him some plastic toy and he was so elated. She told me she was so pleased that I spoke a bit of Russian. We then walked "home" to the hotel and tonights big entertainment is reading some fluff novels that I received from Anjanette and Mary. Keep your fingers crossed that Sam's passport arrives tomorrow and all goes well at the embassy on Tuesday. We are very excited to go home. But I tell you this, staying in Almaty for nearly 8 wks would have been a piece of cake compared to Karaganda. Still, we wouldn't have had Sam, and I wouldn't have been able "see and experience the REAL Kaz lifestyle."

Sat May 20th

2006-05-20T09:42:00.000-04:00

Hello from Almaty. It's quite warm here and I'm very thankful the hotel has A/C. Not too much to report today. We had a nice breakfast, hung out in the hotel doing puzzles, leap pad, magna doodle and then headed to the supermarket for some basic lunch and dinner supplies. it was much nicer and bigger than the one in karaganda, but a farther walk than when we were in Karaganda. Later in the day we met up with the Blewers in the hotel Kazakhstan, which looks fancy in the lobby, but the rooms are nasty. We had our last dinner together at a chic trendy cafe that doubles as an internet cafe and enjoyed our last night together. I will miss them terribly as they were a godsend to have in Karaganda while I was missing my 2 boys at home. They will have a 23 hour layover in Amsterdam and will visit with the Molon family who were also in Karaganda. Tomorrow I plan to meet up with Mary, a fun Irish gal who has quick wit and loves to laugh, so I know we'll have fun and her pal, Julie, who is just beginning her "alone" time in Kaz waiting to take her wee one home!! Monday is my only free day and I plan to shop a bit, as I will be bringing home my jeans and my Guiness t-shirt and my baseball cap as none of my other clothes are worth salvaging. I gave most of them to the orphange and the few that I have with me in Kaz, I'll leave in the park by the Hotel and I'm certain they will be used by someone! Well, I need to get Sam in the bath. Thanks for reading and thinking good thoughts from so far away. It really does help to read all of your comments!!

Night Night

Friday May 19th

2006-05-19T10:45:00.000-04:00

Hello from Almaty! We've had a busy day, but are so happy to be on our way home. Sam had a great first flight and only was nervous to enter the plane and loved it once we were inside. We sat next to an artist who like most people, adored him, and had him sit on her lap numerous times. She also drew him pictures of animals and he to name them in English and Russian. Sam has started to turn down food, which is a great sign. We were able to take him to the Dr. Apt. today and all is well. He will have to get a few shots back in the US, but I was expecting as much. We also filled out our US Embassy paperwork and will visit the Embassy on Tuesday as his passport will be arriving on Monday night. We then take the 0310 flight from Almaty to Frankfurt on Wednesday and arrive home the same day around 1515. A long day, but so very happy to be going home earlier than anticipated! Met up with the Blewers today and walked around in the TSUM and found many nice momentos! Don't worry Daddy I didn't buy the store, just researched a bit. Had dinner in some open air cafe and they had an elaborate menu in English and Russian, reasonable prices, and easy to find. There will be no picutures for a while as I'm on the hotels computer and i can't be bothered to down load, etc. It's quite hot here, but our guides have asked up to go up into the country side tomorrow and get a better view of the Himalayas and to some resort, should be nice as a change of scenery. My friends leave Sunday, so really I'll only have Sun/Mon to explore and then home, yippee!!

Paka from Almaty!!

Thursday May 18

2006-05-18T12:44:00.000-04:00

Our last day in Karaganda has been a strange one. This morning it was sunny and warm so we decided to walk to the Trash Park and kick the ball. We haven’t been to the Trash Park since Mother’s Day, and I was amazed at how horrible it smelled. Either I have just gotten used to the gas smell or it was simply much more potent this morning. A nice Kazakh women came over and started to ask Sam something in Russian and then he just looked at me and she then asked his name. Her English was quite broken, but still better than my Russian, but we managed to communicate without real difficulty. She told me there was a family in her building adopting a child and preceded to give me there phone #, apartment # and building code #. She either owns the apartment or knows who lives there on a regular basis because when I spoke to the couple, they have never met that women. The sky turned black and it started to rain. Sam was perplexed as to why we would have to leave Trash Park after only 10 minutes or so of ball time. I tried to explain to him it was raining and that the ball would get too muddy and then we’d get too dirty, but it didn’t fully register and the tears came running down. Not a temper tantrum, just utter sadness about having to leave the park. Poor kid. It really started to pour when a nice Kazakh women decided to pull us into the bank with her as she felt we simply could not get caught in the rain with out a raincoat and umbrella. I’m thinking to myself, the rain is the cleanest thing I’ve seen/felt in the last month and a half, but I played the gracious tourist and came in with her. The storm subsided after about 10 minutes and we were on our way home. I decided to give the American’s a call and I’m certain I startled them a bit as in the States you would never have a ½ conversation with someone you have never met. This is their first trip outside of the US. They live in Lake Charles, LA. and are both PT’s. This is there first child and he’s a nine month old boy, William, who currently resides at Nezabudka. Here’s the funny part, before we got off the phone I never caught there name. I’m due to call them after their second visit, but won’t get a chance to meet up with them as I’m going to meet Elena and her son at some indoor playground. How sweet, Elena called me, how she got my number I know not, but I enjoyed her company immensely on our walk home last night and how kind that she thought about us having our last night here alone and asked out to do something. As much as I am ready to leave Kazakhstan like yesterday, I will be sad to leave the kind people who have befriended me while in Kaz.. I wish Elena could get a job at MAPS in the States or some other multilingual/multinational company so that her daughter and son would have more opportunities and she too could live a more comfortable life. The best lessons I've learned while in Kazakhstan was to be more thankful, more appreciative and to work harder at everything I try to accomplish in my life. I met Elena for dinner and Sam had a blast at the indoor playground. He played for an hour and then had some pizza, once again my conversations with Elena were wonderful. I know I have made a dear friend. Thank goodness for email!! Chingis and Olga stopped by with all of the official paperwork on Sam as we head out tomorrow morning for Almaty. Looks like I may get to go to the medical exam tomorrow and maybe the US Embassy on Monday, which means I could even try to take the Tuesday AM flight home, which would be wonderful! Keep your fingers crossed. I found out that on Sam’s new birth certificate his name reads Samuel Vitaliy, McCaffery. We had thought it was Vitaly, and actually we seem to use the nick-name version the most, Vitalik, so who knows what his actual passport will say?? Who cares all I know as of May 15t, 2006 the Republic of Kazakhstan views him officially as our son!!

Wednesday, May 17th

2006-05-17T12:38:00.000-04:00

The weather has changed dramatically, for the worse, it’s 30 degrees colder, windy and rainy, which means no walk for Sam and I, which in turn means we’re house bound for the day. We have found a Russian channel that was having a rhythmic gymnastics competition and Sam loved to watch them dance with the ball. It’s a nice break from the news and it’s amazing what these young girls can do with their bodies. I love how they, and ballerinas, can make the most difficult moves seem effortless. Of course, with the bad weather, comes the sporadic power surges for the lights and the television, so I made sure I took my shower first thing today for fear of the hot water not functioning. We are going to dinner with the Blewer family at their hotel tonight as they leave for Almaty tomorrow morning. Sam loves their daughter, Reagan, and it will be good to see them once again. I’m still hoping to leave on Firday morning for Almaty, I talked to Anjanette and I guess there are no night flights to Almaty, so the best I can do is for Friday. She also said there are no hotel rooms available this week-end, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. I know the other American families that left yesterday were given the option of a crash pad at an apartment in Almaty while they had a 14 hour lay-over. So I’m hoping if worse comes to worse and there are no hotels, possibly there will be an apartment available to rent on a day by day basis. Blogger has been a bit of a pain lately as it won’t let me post photos lately. I’ll try to post some today, as I know it makes reading the blogs much more fun and interesting.

Had dinner tonight with Ronnie, Anjanette, Reagan, Olga, Luda,(Olga’s daughter) and Elena, (Anjanette’s translator) We ate at the Hotel Cosmonaut where the food was quite tasty. I had Thai Fried Rice, but nothing was fried and it was delicious. Sam had white rice, and cut up meat and apple that I brought from home. I know that sounds and is tacky, but I figured if Anjanette has been doing it for Reagan for 3 wks, I could do it with Sam for one night! Sam of course was well behaved and Anjanette gave him 3 toy cars so he was in heaven!! After dinner I knew that Olga lived in the opposite direction from where I needed to go, so I figured Sam and I would take the #6 van to our apartment. This would have been no problem had the street that the Cosmonaut is located not been completely closed off to all traffic. Our driver had to literally drive through the city park to find some back road to gain access to the hotel!! He was driving his Honda minivan as if it were a Hummer.

Elena said she’d walk me to the next bus stop and I was game as Sam and I hadn’t walked as of yet because of the rain earlier in the day. Elena, from MAPS, is awesome, so sweet and kind, speaks English very well and gave me a true insight about life in Kazakhstan now and when it was part of the Soviet regime. She stated that although Kazakhstan has a long way to go things are much better now than before. Now people have a chance to do better, but still it’s a struggle. People now often joke about 2030. 2030 is they’re slogan/goal to have their country be like the US as far as standard of living and general infrastructure. As an example they use military time, so people will make jokes and say, ah, it’s 2030 and we’re still living as we are, what’s the deal?? She says most people are not very confident this will happen, but overall life has improved a great deal. She says she can remember a time under Soviet rule where you could easily have gone to prison for making such a joke about a political goal/party/person in the govt. She said she has never been “hungry”, but that her mother and grandmother had known real hunger in the Ukraine just before the WWII. She also said she can remember a time under the Soviet Regime where if you went into a grocery store all you could by was flour,sugar, bread and eggs and if there was meat or cheese available, you would have to wait in long lines for several hours. She stated the worst time she has experienced was right when the Soviet Union fell and they had one winter when there was no gas, no electricity, or hot water, except sporadically. In her apartment, she only had these things from 0300-0600 so she would have to get up, take a shower, cook for the day and turn on the heat full blast and hope it would keep the house warm enough for the day. She remembers her daughter having to do her homework by candlelight and with mittens because it was so cold. She also says there is a definitely separation from Russians and Kazakhs, in regards to higher level jobs and relationships. Friendships a-ok, dating and marriage, that’s a different story. It was almost a bit too surreal as she was speaking of all of this and stating how improved everything was and yet we’re walking down a sidewalk that is half dirt, half potholes, next to decrepit apartment complexes, as cars and buses whiz by spurting mass amounts of exhaust fumes, and old babushka’s are sweeping the streets with brooms made out of sticks.

The good news is that Sam and I will be on a plane to Almaty on Friday morning and hope to get everything done by Tuesday afternoon so that we can catch the Wednesday 0115/0145 flight to Frankfurt and be Westward Bound!! YEE HAW!!! Again, I won’t feel comfortable until Sam and I are air bound and en route for Deutschland, but wow, would it be great to be in the States one week from today!!! I hope to be able to post some photos today

Tuesday May 16th

2006-05-16T12:05:00.000-04:00

The day started out cloudy and by early afternoon the sun was out, but I was not in the best of moods. The entire group of American’s I had met by Trash Park #3 departed today. I will miss our daily laughs about Karaganda, our adoption experience, and watching our children enjoy each other’s company. We did not leave the house til 1400, not that there was anything to do, but Sam managed to keep busy with puzzles, magna doodle and leap pad and puzzles. Just wait til he gets to America and he sees how fortunate he and his brother, Ian are to have so many books and toys, and access to a library and decent parks and a safe clean house, etc. etc..

Can I just say how much I want to be back home. Not just in my own home with my family, but in America. I’m about ready to lose my mind. Hopefully we’re still on target to be out of Karaganda either Thursday night or early Friday morning. My goal is to try and get us out of Almaty at about 0100 next week Wednesday vs waiting until next Saturday. I know it’s only a few days difference, but for those of you reading this who have already traveled and for those of you who have not yet gone, believe you me, a few days, a few hours makes a HUGE difference. Let’s see, the high lights of the day are that we once again went to the park to kick the ball. We did meet a nice young woman and her daughter and her grammy at the huge waterfall and they couldn’t believe our son spoke a bit of understandable Russian and understandable English. She also couldn’t believe he was from the detsky dom and still had such a nice demeanor. Go figure! That’s our Sam, the charmer! We also went to Mario’s pizza for no real reason except for the fact that we didn’t have to eat the same meal over again and I didn’t have to do the dishes in the yellowish- brown water. I know my tone is a bit snooty today, but I’m just so over being here for this long. There really is no reason the process has to take as long as it does and it definitely does not benefit the child or the family to either have to make two trips or to have to split up your family so some can go home and some need to stay behind. All I know for certain is that Sam is well adjusted and very excited to go on airplane and go home to his Daddy, his brother and his doggy, as I am!!

Monday May 15th

2006-05-15T12:04:00.000-04:00

We woke up this morning at 0930! Sam went to bed around 2100, but after typing a few emails, posting to our blog and finishing reading my “fluff” novel, I could not fall asleep, by this time it was already 2330. I played solitaire for about ½ hour and still none the sleeper. By 0200 I was wide awake. Eventhough I was able to talk to Tim and Ian earlier, I felt a bit sappy after reading my “fluff” book and simply wanted to tell Tim that I was crazy mad in love with him. I hadn’t even planned on talking to Ian, as I really just wanted to make it short and sweet. Ian wanted to talk and was very pleased that he and Daddy had already gone to the park and McDonalds. He also had a giggle when he told me he had chocolate milk and some sweets. What a cutie pie, then it was his traditional, “I love you, bye”. It so nice to hear him in good spirits! Even though I have dreaded every minute away from my husband and son, I know it was good for Tim and Ian to have some simply Daddy and son time and good for Sam and I to truly connect as Mother and son. Sam is doing really well, his vocabulary increases daily and seems to be enjoying being a regular child with ups and downs. Even with his downs, he is growing. Now when he doesn’t listen or breaks the rules and has either sit in the chair or stand against the wall, he’s angry and has no problem letting me know via crying vs. in the beginning when he could either sit or stand for long periods of time and literally look right past you. We talk about the mistake he’s made and I make certain to always tell him that I had to teach Ian the same way and that I still and love him very much. Then, with a hug and a smile, all is back to normal once again.

I received a call from Chingis, our in country coordinator, today, stating that all went well at the court house and we’ll need to go and get Sam’s passport photos taken today at 1400. Of course it’s now 1430 and a month ago this would have drove me insane, now I know it’s simply par for the course in Kazakhstan. I’ll call him at 1500 to verify that we’re still going and then we’ll hope for the best. After that we’ll take a walk down to the TSUM to get some $$$ as the ATM at our local grocery store is broken and look for a US Flag bandana for Sam. Jo and Agnes bought won for Tanya and I thought it would be too cute for him to wear it when we touched down in Newark!! I forgot to mention yesterday that Sam can now complete all 4 of his mini puzzles by himself!! Granted they only have 16 pieces in them, but for a child who more than likely hasn’t been stimulated that often I thought it was a great accomplishment. We did actually go and get Sam’s passport photos taken. Of course, we’ve taught Sam to say “cheese” when your photo is being taken so that we can see his nice smile. This concept is not shared in this former Soviet Republic as photos are still quite stoic and grumpy looking. Sam was then rewarded with 12 photos of himself with nice happy smiles, he was elated, as was I; the photographer, not so much!! That afternoon we then took a walk to TSUM to find his stars and stripes bandana/doo-rag and we finally found it and an ATM that would take my card so that I can have enough tenge to pay for my ticket to Almaty, our driver and translator and the last few days of rent. In the early evening we had dinner, took a bath and read some books, nothing to exciting, but again, another day down, one less day to go!!

Sunday May 14

2006-05-14T12:44:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a night last night. We had about 5 calls in the middle of the night, all in Russian, all wrong numbers. By 0400 I had had enough and unplugged the phone. Of course I then regretted that action when I checked our email that next morning and read that Ian wanted to wake me up on Mother’s Day to tell me that he loves me very much! He even tried staying up until 2100 but then finally he fell asleep. I love that little boy more than I can ever express to him or to anyone else. Although I am very sad not to be with both of my boys, I like the sound of that) I am very happy to witness the overall growth that Sam exudes daily. As I’m writing this Sam just came over to investigate what I’m doing and asked, “Mama please kiss” 5 kisses later, he’s still smiling. What better a gift for Mother’s Day than for a mother to witness the transformation of her son from a person devoid of showing any sort of emotion to a wonderful, happy, and well adjusted child capable of receiving and giving love.

Chingis, our in country coordinator came over to collect the rent and to explain next week's schedule regarding receiving Sam’s new passport, birth certificate and adoption decree. Chingis said I could even possibly have an appointment at the US Embassy in Almaty on Friday, but if not, I definitely should be in Almaty by Friday night!! Yippee, the sooner to Almaty the better. Perhaps we’ll even be out of Kaz before the 27th. I’m not holding my breath about any of this, because I have witnessed to many times many delays within the Kaz bureaucratic system. I’ll just hope for the best! Chingis, made it clear about making certain we did our yearly post placement reports and stated that until Sam is 18, perhaps one of their government officials may come to visit us and see how Sam is progressing. I highly doubt that would ever happen, but if it did, so be it, because we know we can and will give Sam a great life, both in terms of standard of living and having the opportunity to become part of a family and thrive as a person. He also asked if I would email a picture a picture of Sam monthly to see that he’s ok. I’m thinking to myself, whatever, but, then again, if my following of the “rules” enables more people to adopt some of these children, older children like Sam, then it’s the least I can do. Plus, I love taking pictures of my boys!! Well, it’s sunny out and that means we have to hit the park and enjoy the day!!! We did just that! Once again we walked to the big park with the lake and played soccer in the grassy area!! We had a blast, I love to hear Sam say, “goal.” We then sat next to the lake and enjoyed a bit of sun and watched the boys swim in the very cold and very dirty, trashy, water. Sam said, “Mama, silly boys.” We also walked passed by the giant fountain to get to the park today and many children decided it was a great makeshift swimming pool as did the pigeons!! We then headed back to Trash Park. It was early evening and the park was packed and today had a very strong smell of gas and burning trash. Most of the American’s will be having court tomorrow and then leaving Tuesday morning, so this was the last time we would all see one another. The park was also packed with Kazakh kids, so it was nice to see so many people having a nice time, despite the horrid conditions of the park. Jo and Agnes came back from a few hours of shopping alone. Jo then secretly handed Sam a “sveetok, a.k.a, a flower”, and then had him hand it to me for Mother’s Day. How sweet was that!! Kuddos to Jo!! We took a photo for posterity’s sake at Trash Park. Unfortunately you can’t get a good feel of how nasty trash park truly is because you can’t see the nasty pipe that Sam and I are sitting on, and we’re blocking the view of 1 of the 6 or so dumpsters once again on fire. Sharon, Ivan’s mom, was nice enough to give us her extra Flintstone vitamins, as Ivan is going back to the detsky-dom until she’s allowed to come back and pick him up and more than likely he would not receive them on a daily basis if he were to bring them back with him. We then ventured back home for a breakfast style dinner of oatmeal, bananas and banana yogurt, yum, yum and a few books before night-night. We did receive a call from Daddy and Ian. It was great to hear Ian’s voice and I could tell that all was truly well, without me. This was a really good sign, well it’s 99% good, and 1% hard for his Mama to take because she misses him 99% and is only ok with all of this about 1% of the time. But, that's another day down from Asia, hope all is well with you and yours.

Saturday, May 13

2006-05-13T12:56:00.000-04:00

Today marks our 15th day after court, which means that the court “officially” recognizes that Samuel Vitaly McCaffery is really part of the McCaffery Clan. Yippee! That means that next week we’ll work on getting Sam’s new birth certificate, adoption decree and passport, that much closer to being “home.” If all goes well, 2 weeks from today we’ll be flying towards the West. Yahoo!! Today was wonderful, Sam slept til 0930, 13.5 hrs!!! That boy has the strongest bladder on the planet!! It was a sunny day and I knew we would once again need to hit the lake park for some ball time!! We had another picnic lunch and watched the BBC World. He loves to say “dot com.” I also watched an English speaking wanna be, “This Old House” on Al Jazzeera or some other random Arabic channel. The Arab channels crack me up because on the one hand they say they want their women to be modest, covered up from head to toe and then on their soap operas they have them in sexy clothing with make-up, go figure!! Sam helped me hang up our laundry and then we packed our tote and hit the road to the park. It had to be 80 degrees. It’s nice because it’s a dry heat, like Phoenix except, it’s definitely NOT Phoenix!! Anyhow, it was great to be outside for hours on end. We met up with the Blewer family and the kids had a great time on the “carny rides” and kicking the ball in the sand. Later in the evening, the Buchanans came over so that Ryan could try to IM his friends back home in MA. Sam and Tanya had fun being able to talk in Russian a bit, and she, just like Sam, loved the Leap Pad. They, Ryan, Tanya and Sam played hide and go seek at least 20x and had a blast. You have to remember our vast castle is a mere 500 ft and there are only so many places to hide. Regardless, the kids made the best of it, while the parents laughed once again about their various Kaz adventures. I’m really going to miss the Buchanans, they’re great people and a ton of fun!! Sam went to bed 2 hrs late and I’m certain he’ll be wiped out as we spend a good 3 hrs in the sun and we all have a bit of a sun burn!! Well, that’s it from Asia!! Oh, Robin and Erin, I am very envious that you are in Cabo sans Delia, so live it up and have a nice froofy drink for me, ok have many froofy drinnks for me!!! Today’s photos are of Sam and I at the park, (not, it won't post), of Anjanette sliding down with Reagan and Sam, and finally, of Sam and Reagan enjoying the mini-roller coaster. Sam adores Reagan, they both lived at Nezabudka and are only a few months difference in age., I wonder if he remembers her from there or if he’s just testing out his “playa” moves while he’s still young!! He,he,he…… Night –Night.

Friday May 12

2006-05-12T11:20:00.000-04:00

After posting to our blog last night I realized it was only the 11th and not the 12th, what a bummer. Last night I did not sleep well, towards morning I had many mini-nightmares. Then to come to the realization that it was “still the 12th” was not too grand! Although we did have another sunny day, we did not leave the apartment until noon to go and pick up another Nursat card and some fruit and bread from the supermarket. Sam loves going to the supermarket. Since I was internally in a bit of a bad mood, I decided I needed to do something goofy and I decided we would have a picnic in our living room. Sam enjoyed it immensely and thus my mood improved. Thank goodness he is a very easy child over all. How we were blessed with two wonderful children I know not and had he come with a ton of “issues” staying the entire time would have been truly trying.

Agnes called to say the kids were at Trash Park and invited us down to play. By the time we got to the park they had gone in for a bit, but Sam and I still had fun pretending we were Beckham and Pele! We played for about 40 minutes until Agnes came back down and we walked once again to Asia to window shop!! It was quite warm and Agnes invited Sam and I up for a drink. Oh how I wished it were a margarita and I was on a beach in the Maldives, but just having good adult conversation and laughter was a good runner up There son, Ryan, had made a list of what he’d miss and not miss about Kazakhstan, and we were all in tears at least 10x. They received some great news that they will have their court date on Monday. While I’m extremely happy for them, I’ll be sad to see them leave as they have made my trip so much more enjoyable. I’m so glad they live in MA. It will be great to see them down the road and laugh about old times and to marvel at the improvement in our children’s English language skills and overall development. Plus, I’ve always wanted to visit Salem, MA. Yes, they do have a black cat and yes, Halloween is crazy and fun in Salem!! I had asked the same two questions myself!!

After hanging out at the Taj Mahal for a couple hours Sam and I headed home for dinner, a few books and bed. Not too terribly exciting, but it was a sunny warm day and that makes all the difference for me!! 6 weeks ago today we left Newark for Kaz. I hope to talk to Tim and Ian this week-end. I miss them very much! Being apart from both of them for nearly two weeks has been very, very difficult. Today’s pictures are of silly Sam with my travel pillow on his head, and of Karaganda’s alternative to trash pick-up!! .Oh, before I forget, the bad news of the day is that my friends, Anjanette, Ronnie, and their daughter, Reagan, had another really tough day. The soon to be son, Bennett is in the hospital with what they say is bronchitis and due to Kaz’s bureaucracy they will only get to visit him once or twice and maybe not til Monday. Please think good thoughts for them and give your own children or pets extra hugs tonight and be thankful you and yours are healthy. Night-Night.

Thursday, May 12

2006-05-11T11:32:00.000-04:00

Today was the first nice day we’ve had in Karaganda in two weeks. It has finally become warm enough to wear pants and a shirt without a jacket. Of course the locals probably thought I was crazy and that Sam would have pneumonia or bronchitis by the end of the day due to my lack of layering with 3 jackets, a scarf and tights under his pants, as if it was 20 degrees. I’m sure Sam’s wearing of my baseball cap either backwards or to the side like a “baller” didn’t help us to “blend” in any better either!! Oh well, so be it!!

Today we took a walk to the TSUM to compare prices on souvenirs vs. the Asia store. The Asia store won hands down. So, I think I’ll check back next week to see if they’re product has changed or decreased in price and get some more goodies for folks back home or wait until the TSUM in Almaty as Tim said they had a ton of things. We then walked down to the park with the lake. Many of the water fountains are now working and it with the warm sun, it was great to be outside regardless of the amount of air pollution, trash, and dirt. We decided to kick the ball at the beach but then moved a bit inland to the semi-grass tree area to keep Sam out of the sun as I forgot his hat! We did that for about an hour and half. We even got a bit of a sun burn on our noses!! Sam is a magnet for making new friends; I think people love hearing him speak English and laugh at my Russian!! Anyways, it makes me feel better to see these native stoic people smile a bit, regardless if it’s with me or at me!! We then ventured to the grocery store and a small shop above the grocery store that sells make-up. I bought a cheap shinny lipstick and lip pencil for about $3.00 as my lips feel as if they just might fall off due to the dryness her in Kaz., The sales lady was nice, but I can’t wait to get back to America where you can either shop without someone constantly following you or starring at you, (because each shop is all of a 12x12 space) and where I can touch a product and examine it. Here you’re meant to feel like a child even though you’re the one with the cash interested in purchasing their merchandise. Of course we went to the supermarket and Sam had to pick the aisle with his “tavanish” or friend and they smiled and talked a bit prior to our checking out!! It’s quite cute!! Children and parents don't seem to show that much affection in public or real social interaction here so I think they think it's a bit odd and at the same time nice that I constantly talk to Sam and ask him to help me load the groceries or pack the groceries regardless of how much time or effort it may take.

After that it was a bit of school time, working on letters, numbers and colors. We then had an hour of books and it was off to bed! Not to exciting today, but every day done, means one more day closer til we’re leaving on a jet plane to the West. Yippee!! Night-night!!!

Wednesday May 10th

2006-05-10T11:33:00.000-04:00

We woke up this morning to sunny skies. What a nice surprise! Agnes called to see what we had planned for the day. I told her after I finished writing my daily column for the NY Times and sending it to my editor lickity-spilt via dial-up internet, our day was completely open. We met outside the Assorti Café at around 1115 and walked to a small shop called Asia, or that’s what we American’s call it, as that’s what the Cyrillic letters resemble. Anyhow it’s on the same street as the TSUM and has many souvenirs at decent prices. I bought a large ornately painted stacking doll set with 7 dolls for about $20.00. They also had dombres, hand painted crafts, and amber jewlery, which I’ve been told is very chic here. Jo and Agnes nearly bought out the store today; last week Jo bought a dombre there and it is so big he has to send it back home via DHL. Sam noticed them as well and said, “dombre” and made the sign for guitar. I may try to find a small one to put on a shelf on his bedroom wall. He was already given some handmade crafts from his little friend at the detsky-dom, so I thought maybe a small doll set and either a yurt or a mini-dombre would make a nice Kazakhstan themed wall shelf for his room. We came home at lunch and have been working on our colors and words. The only words he has trouble remembering are his colors. He can point to them no problem whatsoever; our newest game is “in Ruski karova, in English cow” to anything he can point to. Even though he cannot make full sentences, his comprehension is amazing for a boy who has only heard English for 5 weeks. So far the best thing of the day has been Sam’s longing for cuddling. Today he just wanted to be held and snuggled and kissed for a good 5 minutes. I kept double checking that he was “ok” and not “grustno” sad, and he just smiled and said “ no, no silly mama.” We just may go outside to our nasty courtyard and kick the ball in the dirt for a while to pass some time. Our big plans for the evening are to walk to down the street two blocks and have dinner at Assorti Café with Jo, Agnes, Ryan, and Tanya. Dinner turned into a party with 14 Americans in a very small restaurant. It was a nice night out and then Sam and I came home got into our jammies and read Rumble in the Jungle. After I tucked him in safe and sound the phone rang and I figured it was either my Dad or Beth, nope it was my Aunt Louise, from CA. It was a nice surprise to hear from her! I’m certain some of you readers are wondering why I didn’t say it was Tim. He would like to call, but I asked him not to as I’m a softie and it’s really too hard for me to talk to either him or Ian without crying and I figured that would already make a tough situation worse. Well, I need to go write my sweetheart an email so it’s time to say goodbye! Today’s photos are at the Assorti Café, one of Sam and I and of the Buchanans; Jo, Agnes and Ryan and little Sam popping his head out!!. Scrap the photo of Sam and I as it won't post!!

Tuesday May 9th

2006-05-09T22:44:00.000-04:00

We woke up this morning planning on attending the “big parade”, celebrating the end of WWII, but it never happened. We were told it would go down the street where TSUM is located. I met up with Anjanette, Ronnie, and their daughter, Reagan at Café Ankara around 1000 and we decided to walk around inside the TSUM to waste some time before the parade started as it was a bit chilly. The Blewers bought a new digital camera and we found a play area where children are dropped off while their parents shop. We of course did not leave our children. Sam had a great time sliding into a pool of balls, shooting a basketball into a hoop, swinging on a ladybug swing, and playing in a playhouse. He seemed very please to have different toys with which to play.

We then ran into some more Americans who happened to be Missionaries who have lived here for 10 yrs and are sad about returning to the States in June. 10 years! I was ready to go home after 10 days!! Still, they were very nice and it turns out when Anjanette was here adopting Reagan, she went to their mission’s main house for Thanksgiving. What a small world! We gave up on the parade by 1215 and walked to Mario’s Pizza for lunch and it was as yummy as ever. We then parted ways and Sam decided he needed to go potty about 6 blocks from home. We made it home safe and sound, because finding a public bathroom it is very difficult to do and when you do, you need to pay for them and they don’t often come with toilet paper!! After making our daily trip to the grocery store the hours slowly passed by reading books, coloring and watching some BBC World. As I was reading Sam is book before night-night, I happened to peek at my watch and noticed in Dover, it would be 1000 and Ian would be at preschool. I thought about how much I miss taking him to school, walking hand-in-hand to class talking about what he hoped the day would bring. By 1000 they usually are saying the Pledge of Allegiance. I remember last September when he came home one day after school and said the whole thing. I was so proud of my patriotic 3.5 yr old.

While I’m so happy Sam is thriving, I miss being Ian’s mother. I miss everything about him and our lives together as mother and son. Straight up, I just don’t want to be here anymore. Even though I know it was the best thing to do for Sam, I know it was not the best thing to do for Ian, and having to make that decision will haunt me for a very long time.

That being said, I wanted to leave today’s blog on a positive note. I love the bread and mandarin oranges in Karaganda. Also, the wrought iron work on the windows and buildings is quite ornate and beautiful.

Photos of the day are of the post office with a banner celebrating the Victory Day in 1945 and Sam at the TSUM slide. For those of you coming to Karaganda reading this. The play area in the TSUM is located in on the 2nd floor near the rest rooms, in the SW corner of the building.

May 8th Photos

2006-05-08T22:08:00.000-04:00

Monday May 8th

2006-05-08T11:12:00.000-04:00

Although I dread the morning, I love hearing Sam’s sweet voice whispering, “Mama” each day. This morning we had breakfast and then headed out to the trash park prior to visiting the grocery store and video store for some batteries for the Leap Pad. The good news is that I was able to buy 4 new AA batteries, which have gone up 40 tenge a battery since last week. The bad news is I need a Phillips screwdriver to open up the battery case. I’ve tried a fork, a spoon, a butter and steak knife and have had no luck. I’m hoping one of the other American families may have a Swiss Army knife with them because if we lose Leap Pad, Sam will be quite bummed. Leap Pad has been a great learning tool for both of our boys and a must for anyone adopting a toddler. Sam has made a new friend at the grocery store as we seem to always have the same check-out person and she and Sam have cute mini conversations in broken English and Russian.

While walking to the trash park we noticed that the main drag, Blvd Mira, was closed for some sort of giant running/walking race that will be taking part sometime today. Tomorrow is another national holiday, so perhaps it’s in relation to that, I have no clue. All I know is that it was nice to walk down the street without the heavy smell of exhaust and enjoy the blue sky and sunshine among the blooming trees. Sam has become more brave when riding playground toys and wishes to often go higher or faster. His English is also improving to 3 or 4 word phrases. He also understands much more complex phrases and sentences. For example, I can ask him to put away my pillow on my bed and he can do it, or I’ll ask him to put the bag of groceries on the table in the kitchen and can do that as well. It’s quite amazing to watch his level of comprehension improve daily as well as his overall disposition. Sam still loves Spiderman and I draw Spidy often on the Magna Doodle. He also loves to wear the Spiderman underwear I brought for he and Ian and sing, “Spiderman, Spiderman, spins his web because he can, oh yeah, we love Spiderman.” It’s hilarious!!

This afternoon we attended an informal birthday party for Karina, who turned 9. She will be living with the Huntington Family of Winchester, MA, and will become their 4th child. She seemed quite pleased with her simple gifts and much more social than when I first met her at the pancake party. Their apartment is tres chic compared to our Ghetto Fabulous home away from home. After we had cake and ice cream we then headed out on our long walk to Hotel Cosmonaut to visit the Brewers. The walk took us about 45 minutes through the park and many people seemed to be off work and getting ready for tomorrow’s national holiday celebrating their liberation from Germany while part of the USSR and their “independence from the USSR.” All of the American families plan on meeting as a group tomorrow morning to sit and watch the parade. Just look for the baseball caps and the women not in stillettos with blue jean and that's where will be. Hopefully the weather will be nice! While at the hotel Sam was a saint and a stud. He was very polite and very loving to his Mama; giving kisses to me just for fun. He also asked to kiss their daughter Reagan, 3 times. She finally gave in and let him kiss her hand. It was too funny. It’s was about 1845 by the time we left the hotel and I didn’t want to 1) walk through “Gorky Park” alone and 2) make Sir Chubby walk another 45 minutes as I knew we still had to get through dinner and bedtime, so we took the bus back home, or better put, a jacked-out van. It was all of 25 cents and a pleasant ride, for me, but Sam was petrified. As I put him into the van a kind women held on to him as I hopped on and he lost it. He cried for about 5 minutes and then was fine. Poor kid!! We then came home had dinner, a bath, a story and then night-night. Now I can start a “fluff” novel Anjanette gave me so I don’t have to play scrabble against myself or solitaire until I fall asleep at night.

Funny notes about Sam: he is the gassiest child I have ever seen or better put heard. We need to buy stock in Beano now!! That being said, he always says, excuse me, which is hilarious when you’re in a 12x12 room with 8 people and he has said excuse me a mere 10x in 5 minutes!! He can not sound out the letter H to save his life, but his English is much better than my Russian so I should hush up on that one. Whenever I ask him to put on his shoes, he always brings me mine. Too sweet!! Unlike Ian, he loves getting his hair rinsed in the bath. I can pour the water right over him and not only does he not cry, he laughs and giggles away regardless if the soap has entered his eyes or not.

Thanks to the big man upstairs for giving us two wonderful boys to enhance our lives and the world. Today’s photo are Reagan and Sam in the Turkish Bath and Sam walking through the park with a stick looking like the All-American Boy that he is and will become!!! PS. Special kudos to my dear friend Beth who keeps me laughing and smiling a mere 5 or 6000 miles away by her daily phone calls. Your friendship and phone calls really enhance my day to day existence and life. Merci beaucoup!!

pictures won'tost will try again later

Sunday May 7th from Kazakhstan

2006-05-07T11:34:00.000-04:00

I went to bed last night terribly homesick. I listened to far too many sappy songs on my Ipod Shuffle. Once I heard True Companion by Marc Cohen, I completely lost it and missed Tim beyond belief. I envisioned holding his hand while walking around our subdivision at dusk while both of our boys were racing their tricycles down the street. It was picture perfect in my mind and I would have given anything for that to have been reality vs. wishful thinking.

Now back to reality. Hmm…What can we do today? We might meet up with some of the other Americans this afternoon for some bowling, but if not, I think we’ll take a walk and then head to either a souvenir shop or for our regular walk to the park, which on the week-ends has “carny” rides and games!! Yippee. Well, we did meet up with the other Americans but we did not go bowling. We took a nice walk along the lake and visited some of the carny rides for little tykes. We then walked to the market for a few items. The best thing of the day was when Sam grabbed my hand in the park and kissed it for no reason whatsoever and smiled. I had some pistachios with my dinner and Sam decided the shells would be great things to count. Tonight we went up to 20!! Sam loves to watch soccer. I took a break from the BBC and turned to the Russian station which had a soccer game on and the boy went hog wild. This is awesome because the boy can kick the ball like Pele. He also kept saying “no hands, yes feet” and thought it was hilarious that soccer players can use their heads to bounce the ball. Overall the day has been a rough one emotionally. Sam is doing well and thinks everyday is wonderful, where as I am honestly dreading getting up each morning as I’m just bored out of my mind for the most part and incredibly homesick for the US and my everyday structured life style. Well, that’s it from Kaz. Ian, I hope you like your doggie in a bee costume photo!! I miss and love you Buddy!

Right before I posted this I saw your post from home. Ian,you look so hansome and cool in your colonial attire!! Of course more tears are now flowing but they are tears of joy for how wonderful you are and how proud Mommy is of you for being the great boy that you are!!

2006-05-07T10:49:00.000-04:00

Hello from the USA, where Tim, Ian and Tim's mom (Grammy Mim) have been dealing with strep throat. Ian was feeling well enough to participate in Dover Days--Dover DE's annual celebration of colonial times. Ian and members of his class did a great job at the Maypole and looked wonderful in colonial attire. Ian has been absent from school and only made one day this week due to his strep, so we weren't sure what he was supposed to wear. We found out 2 hours before that he was supposed to be dressed up in colonial attire. This is what we were able to throw together in 30 minutes. It all worked out fine except that Grammy is coming down with the same symptoms her boys had earlier in the week. Hopefully we'll all be better soon.

We all miss Nell and Sam and can't wait for their arrival back home. We're proud of Nell for hanging in there when she so obviously wants to be home. I know Sam will aprreciate his time with Mama. The house is still on the market so we know they'll have a nice home to come back to. Ian is handling it well although his sickness has thrown off his normal routine a bit. We'll get it back to normal before the sheriff (Nell) returns. Thank you all for your thought and prayers for Nell and Sam. They are appreciated.

Saturday May 6th

2006-05-06T11:25:00.000-04:00

This morning I felt very pampered having Joe cook Sam and I thick, tasty pancakes, pears, bananas, and great coffee, along with a few other families adopting various aged children in different orphanages within Karaganda. Meeting Jo and Agnes and some of the other American couples has been a real G-d send for my sanity. It makes my day 100x better to be able to talk to adults on a regular basis. It’s also nice for Sam to be able to speak a bit of Russian with children in a relaxed environment vs. at the detsky-dom where I believe he felt as if his every move was constantly being watched and in turn could never truly relax or speak freely with us or his “roommates.” Sam woke up this morning at 0530 and was a bit sad that he couldn’t get up and play. I asked him if he wanted to lay in either Sam’s bed or in Mama’s bed and he played the I can’t speak and I’m going to pout attitude so I carried him to his bed, kissed his forehead and said, “night night.” He fell back asleep til around 0830. No toy this morning to greet me as I awoke, he must have been hungry because he was very eager to put my pillow on his chair for breakfast time as our poor little peanut can barely reach the table. When I told him no and tried to explain to him that we were going to eat breakfast at Tanya’s house in broken English and Russian hee got all teary and pouted for about 5 minutes until I told him to get his shoes on and that we were going to Tanya’s papa’s house. The kids and the adults both had a great time at the pancake party and then we hit the Trash Park for about 20 minutes and met Sharon and her son, Ivan and played ball for a bit. It has yet to warm up, which has been a bit frustrating as being outside helps both Sam and I enjoy the day much more. We came home and I gave Sam a bath and then we had a great lunch. Sam’s English comprehension and and spoken word improves daily. I’m hoping Tim will really notice a difference in 3 weeks when we return home. Yes, in 3 weeks from today Sam and I should be on a plane for Frankfurt and then Newark! Everyone keep your fingers crossed. In addition to Sam’s great strides in language, he has made amazing strides in showing emotion, and enjoying love and affection. He gives kisses daily without being asked to do so and it’s good to see him smile and giggle daily. He’s also a ham and I have a feeling he’ll be a real jokester once he conquers the English language. I quasi-watched two interesting programs on BBC World today. I love BBC World on the week-ends as they have great 1 hr documentaries on various topics. Today’s included the growth of Dubai and the Palm Islands and their plan to make the largest hotel and glitzy area, like a super Las Vegas for the Arabic World. It looked pretty cool. Then there was a great story about an Israeli man David Bandiboin. He believes through music, essentially the learning and playing of classical western music both Palestinians in the occupied areas and Israelis have a chance to harmonize and understand one another better. While it’s was a bit on the sappy side, it’s always nice to see/hear about stories where people still use the power of human kindness and compassion to learn and solve issues vs. slander and force. Today Sam was a English talking machine. He kept pointing to pictures in our Russian/English Picture Dictionary and saying, in English Please. It was great to see his quest for knowledge. He also has almost mastered counting to 15 with no help. We took a quick walk to the market to pick up another Nursat Card and get some potato perogi and frozen broccoli and ran into Jo, Agnes, Ryan and Tanya as well as Sharon and her son, Ivan. They were looking for the Assorti Café. Of course Tanya picked up Sam and wanted to take him with them to dinner being the mean Mama that I am, I made him come with me!! While walking home from the store, I caught a glimpse of and elderly women, probably in her 70’s. At first, I thought she was a man, because she had on men’s shoes and a blazer and then I noticed she was wearing different colored gloves and walking in the direction of our giant trash cans and was about to go dumpster diving. I know this happens all over the world but to see it happen in front of you, while you're with your child as your returning home from the grocery store with no real cares in the world was another. I opened my grocery bag and ripped our flat bread in half and simply gave it to her. She smiled and walked on. Sam seemed a bit puzzled and I simply told him some people have “nyet food” and you need to try and help others less fortunate than yourself when you can, just as we’ve taught Ian. I spoke to my friend Anjanette today and things are going pretty well for her clan. I must admit, for as much as I’m ready to leave Kaz, I’m thankful that we have had some extra freedoms that other families have not. While some families have been promised to have a court date within 6 days of their bonding period, others have been told you will go to the orphanage visit 2x/day and go back to your hotel and apartment and go to the grocery store only as needed. They have been told it’s not in your best interest to speak to other Americans a/o explore Karaganda. So, how the heck are these people suppose to tell their children where they’re from, what their culture was like, the positives, the negatives, etc. That seems ridiculous. I’m glad Jo and Agnes have found a “souvenir” shop that has both Kazakh and Russian items for sale, as I would like to get one or two mementos from his homeland. While I’m very happy Sam is growing and thriving on multiple levels, I really miss Ian, his companionship, his conversation, and his sweet kisses and hugs. Today's photo is from the Pancake Party. Their apartment is full of these gigantic stuffed animals that you would win from playing gams at a State Fair or something .

Friday May 5th

2006-05-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Cinco dey Mayo!! Oh how I wish I was at a little cantina along the Riverwalk in San Antonio drinking a fine margarita on the rocks with salt and Grand Marnier while snaking on chips, salsa, and guacamole. Sam slept from 2200- 0800. We once again started our daily by snuggling with Leap Pad and Magna Doodle in Mama’s bed and then had breakfast around 0845. After breakfast I watched the news a bit and noticed that the VP was in Astana today as the EU is looking for other suppliers of gas. Russia seems to be monopolizing the playing field in both production, and distribution. I guess Kaz has a decent amount of gas and oil and would like to run a pipeline by passing Russia to Europe. Good Luck to them! Anything to help boost their economy and standard of living sounds like a good move to me! This morning Sam had two bouts with sadness. We’re working on teaching him he needs to ask for something vs simply taking it and then giving you a sneaky smile. Now I really don’t care if he puts on my baseball hat, but I need to teach him that you simply can’t take something because you want it, or if it’s not yours. He took my hat and I asked if he asked first and he gave me that blank stare of “I’m a detsky-dom kid” and when I made him put it back he pouted for a good 10 minutes. I thought it was done, so when I asked him to do a puzzle and he acted as if he had never seen or done one, I knew he was still pouting and after another 10 minutes of moping and my announcement of Mama and Sam Vitalik are going to the grocery store and he was a-ok.. We went to the grocery store, Sam loves to help push the cart and put our items into the cart. My favorite salami stick was sold out, but I took a chance and bought another version from the same company, and it was just as tasty for 100 tenge less. Wow, what a risk taker I am these days. Sam still has a hard time not being where food is at all times. So I make him play in the main room while I prepare the food. Still he can’t help but stand at the very edge and stare as if it was his last meal. Again, I really don’t care if comes into the kitchen and watches me prepare the food, but he needs to understand that when either Mama or Papa ask him to do or not do something he needs to listen to us and simply do it. . So, he pouted once again and after a few more minutes of sulking all was well as I asked him to come to lunch!! We went home and had a fancy lunch of bread, cheese, salami, black olives, pistachios and a mandarin orange, it was very “yum, yum” as our Sam would say. . Ian, you’d be so proud of your brother, he loves to put his coat on the way you learned how to do so from school. Your brother also loves to blow bubbles and still likes to sing the Spiderman song!! We then played some ball and headed out for our daily walks. We went back the same way as yesterday and took some photos and then walked back to the Trash Park where I met Jo and Agnes and after a bit there son Ryan came down and played a bit. They were locked out of their apartment. Ryan is so sweet. He’s 13, a really nice guy. This is going to date me a bit, but he’s like Lloyd Dobbler in the movie, Say Anything. Jo brought his coffee and coffee maker from home and I had a great cup of coffee up at their “home”. My first coffee since mid-March, wow, was it great!! They then invited Sam and I to stay for dinner. Their soon to be daughter, Tanya, loves Sam. She wants to give him everything and help him do everything. She even wanted to feed him his yogurt. She’s a very caring girl and I really hope we stay in touch and get to visit with them whenever we head back to Mass. Talk about a small world, Agnes, grew up in Malden, MA and Tim’s dad has lived there for years. By 2130 Jo wanted to go to the market across the street from our house and insisted he walk us home. We’re going to there house tomorrow morning for a “bellini” party. Pancakes for all, it should be fun!! Oh, and their apartment, it’s like the Taj Mahal. It’s 3 times the size of ours and has a European feel. I could easily live there for 2 months. I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow. Today's photos Tanya and Sam @Trash Park, Sam spinning @ park, note pipe pumping g-d knows what, a side street in Karagnada, Belly Boy and Mama, Soviet Art, Muslim architecture, Sam and some toys.. Paka

Thursday May 4th

2006-05-04T11:33:00.000-04:00

Sam woke up late this morning at about 0750. He came in to my room with Ian’s plaid flannel pj’s and gave me a sweet, smiling “Mama.” It was nice, but instantly I thought of Ian. I saw those PJ’s and missed my morning routine with Ian; receiving many hugs and kisses and just snuggling for about 5 minutes before he “truly” wakes up. Still, while my mind may wonder throughout the day, I must stay focused on life here in Karaganda. It’s a bit warmer than yesterday, but misty vs. sunny. We’ll take a walk after lunch to get some exercise and waste some time and hope the weather improves a bit. This morning we’ve read some books, used magna doodle, played with the ball and worked on color recognition. He’s also jumped off the couch into the blankets for a bit and while this would occupy both boys for at least an hour a week or so ago, today it only held Sam’s attention for about 10 minutes. I think he really misses having Ian around, even though he can’t express “missing” someone nor can I give it a sign and truly explain the concept to him. The good news is he said he’d give Papa a kiss when we get to Amerik, as he calls it. I also trimmed his hair around his ears, the texture is so fine, Im hoping it will thicken with a proper diet. Those were to highlights of our morning.

Even though it was overcast, Sam and I took a long walk. We always do at least an hour/day, but today we were outside for a good 3 hrs. We took Blvd. Mira in the opposite direction of the TSUM. I found a great building that looked more Middle Eastern or something that could have been out of the Ottoman Empire and another building with a mosaic of Soviet political Art, with the classic Soviet Symbol of the Hammer and the Sickle. Of course this was the day I didn’t carry, my camera, but tomorrow I’ll snap a few for the blog. It’s interesting to watch such polar opposites within a country. On the one hand you have many people who are openly Muslim, covering their head, their style of dress, etc. and then just down the street you’ll have a man openly spit in front of stores or in front of women walking with their children while sipping on an open beer and think nothing of doing so. I’ve also noticed nobody really walks their dog on a leash or cleans up after their pet when need be. We also visited a smaller grocery store, not really a grocery store, more of a corner market, which had some meat that quasi-resembled the deli-section back home and smelled delicious. We also meandered off the main drag to some of hidden alleyways and side streets. I like to see more how “real life” exists in Karaganda and wonder how the older folks think life is now vs. as part of the former USSR. Don’t worry Dad, it’s safe and I almost feel you cringing as I write this!! I’ve never felt threatened or have ever felt scared to walk anywhere in Karaganda. It just saddens me to see all the dilapidated buildings, decaying streets and mini-playground areas in such need of repair and full of trash and dirt in many of the courtyard settings of most of the apartment complexes around time. We found a few mini-playgrounds during our walk where at least 1 of the 3 toys could be used and so we’d play a bit and move onward. The sun popped out during the end of our walk and then I began my quest for a cheap coloring book. I was running low on paper for our crayons and figured Sam could use a new “toy. " I think even Magna Doodle maybe getting a bit old day after day, but not Leap Pad, thank goodness. I thought I remembered seeing a coloring book on Blvd. Mira in a small market/shop, but then I noticed we were close to Trash Park #1, where the boys loved to play, or so I thought. We did find a working swing set and one of those things you spin around and jump on while it’s spinning. A few minutes later a girl around 9 and her father came by. She said hello, in a very strong accent and we said hello back Her father said I spoke English well and I thought to myself I should I’ve been speaking it for 30 plus years and simply smiled. Turned out they’re from Salem, MA. We gabbed a bit and then another American family came over and they’re from Winchester, MA. Turns out this is the same family Tim had met in the grocery store about a week ago. They too, are adopting and older girl, about 8. It was great to have some real conversations and laugh about all the trials and tribulations regarding adoption and life in Kaz for its inhabitants as well as for us foreigners. Tanya, the soon to be daughter of Jo and Agnes from Salem is a sweetie, she loved Vitalik and loved playing and taking care of him while I gabbed with her Dad. Both families also have their bio children with them and we plan to all get together for dinner in the next few days or at least meet at the Trash Park once again.

The day only got better, I found a great pad of paper for Sam with a dog on the front for 30 tenge and he was so pleased! We then saw a Boxer puppy in our courtyard and Sam was very excited but then terrified as it jumped up at him and tried to lick him as all puppies do. I tried to show him it was a sweet dog, but he was not buying it. Speaking of dogs, I miss ours; she’s old, cranky and neurotic at times but she is extremely protective and loyal to our family and I miss her following me around. We were not in the apartment for more than 5 minutes then one of my good friends called from the States, I couldn’t believe it, it was so great to talk to her. Thanks Beth, I loved laughing with you and miss you a ton. Another 5 minutes pass and my Dad calls, just to say hello, as he does each day, which was great and then the biggy, my dear sweet hubby called. It was great to talk with him, but really hard to say goodbye. He’s been busy with Ian, who is doing well, but got strep throat once again and was at the emergency room last night til midnight getting meds, but this morning was up at 0630 snuggling with Daddy and content to watch cartoons. I’m glad to hear despite his sickness he is doing quite well. Not lamenting my departure whatsoever. Sam was in awe to talk to Papa on the phone and Tim could tell his English has improved just from Sunday, so that was good to hear! Sam had a huge smile after he talked to Papa. He thinks the phone is pretty cool. Tim is pretty busy with work and trying to keep the house in order as it’s on the market. Tim needs to report to work by June 30th. We have yet to decide whether I’ll stay with the boys and the hound in Dover until the house sells, or if we’ll all leave together regardless of the housing selling. On the one hand I’d love for us all to be together, on the other, Sam and I don’t get home til the end of May and I’d like him to enjoy the place we’ve been showing him as our “dom” for as long as possible. So who knows, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!! Oh, I"ve become a gammer since Tim left. We just bought a laptop prior to this trip and in addition to pinball and solitaire there are these games that you can try out for a bit prior to purchasing and that's what I do to stay sane at night. Again, I'm so thankful for my IPOD!!
Thanks for reading-

May 3rd

2006-05-03T11:18:00.000-04:00

Well, my wish came true and it was sunny today, so we took a nice long walk. We walked t the TSUM. In route to the TSUM we always stop at the “Grand Restaurant” because it has 2 lions out front. This is because we read, “Rumble in the Jungle” at least 3 times a day, and we have to stop and visit with the lions and find their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, tongue, and big paws. We went to the grocery store across from the Tsum and bought some bread and a banana just in case we couldn’t find Café Ankara. We then took the underground walkway to the TSUM and found two pair of socks for Sam for 90 tenge, what a steal! I only left him 2 pairs of which I can’t find one. How a sock could get lost in a mere 500 sq. ft. I know not, I just know I can’t find it! We found Café Ankara and while the picture of the hotdog and fries looked yummy, in reality it was not. Sam thought it was fine, but then again what won’t Sam the Bull eat. I’m glad I had the extra bread in my pocket, to nibble on as we took a stroll through the park. At the park we went to the slide, fort, and see-saw section that the boys loved to play on while they were both here.
We then walked home and stopped by the market to see if I could by another nursat card but the women was not at the kiosk. We then hit the grocery store to pick up some bread and fruit for dinner. Starting Friday the weather is supposed to be come more temperate according to www.theweatherchannel.com. This will enhance our walks and hopefully decrease my stir craziness by being able to visiting both the “trash park” and the lake park. But honestly, how many times can we do that in the next 2.5 weeks? I can sense Vitalik is becoming bored as well and I don’t blame him. Still, he's a much happier and more affectionate child than he was a month a go and that keeps me going when the "poor me's " come creeping in.

I’m going crazy. . I personally would not recommend staying the entire time if you a) are adopting an infant under 1 yr, as all they really know is the detsky- dom and they won’t be as broken hearted about you leaving as you will be; b) if you have another child that has to go back without you that is over the age of 1 yr. While I know Ian is very safe, content, and happy with his father and his Grammy Mim.. I am not. I can honestly say this is the best and worst decision I have had to make in my entire life. Honestly, this is really hard. I don’t have a car, I speak enough Russian to NOT look like a loud, bossy, proud stereo-typical American, but I can’t go into a store and truly ask for anything with adult phrases. Though I must say most people have been quite pleased and surprised that I can and do try to communicate in Russian with them and with Sam. I miss feeling clean. I miss standing up in my shower, being able to drink water out of the faucet, cooking in my own kitchen, going to the grocery store and being able to know what everything is and have a variety of foods from which to choose. While I know Sam will add much joy to our family in the months and years to come, right now I really miss my old life prior to him. I miss being with Ian everyday, I miss my home, my husband, my daily routine in little old Dover, DE. While I know staying with him was the right thing to do for him as an individual and for him to transition well into a family setting, I’m angry, not at him, but rather at Kaz’s lengthy adoption process and how it’s forcing our family to be spilt apart during the time we need to be together the most. I completely understand the need to have the 14 day bonding period, but the whole process could easily be done in 1 month vs. 2 months; enabling the child and the family to really start bonding in their native country and living their “new” lives. Ok, enough anger.

On a good note, my friend, Anjanette and her hubby, Ronnie have found their son. Their daughter Reagan is having a tough first day as becoming a big sister is not a wonderful as she anticipated. This is hard on her Mama, I tried to reassure her it will get better each day, but she and I know that torn feeling you is horrendous. I also received a nice call from my father. His daily calls really do make my day just a little bit better. Sam also has been really great this afternoon. Sam was very affectionate today, I received about 10 kisses for no reason at all. That’s a pretty big accomplishment from a month ago today when we first met him and he wouldn’t even really make eye contact. I thought of Ian many times today, but I lost it when I started to run the bath and smelled his oatmeal scented bath wash. I miss him so, so much!! Well, it’s off to lotion Sir Chubby and read some books prior to night-night! Well, Sam the Ham, decided to model the up and coming fashions here in Karaganda, prior to putting on his pj’s and reading books. Those are today's photos. Of course he loved the book, but never likes going to bed at night, doesn’t fight it, just gives you the cold shoulder routine. I’m 99% certain he’ll be in by 0715-0730 tomorrow morning with a smile and the Magna Doodle and once again all will be well. Actually, he just asked for a drink of water and after that I got a kiss, lucky me!!

Tuesday May 2nd

2006-05-02T10:11:00.000-04:00

Posted the pictures early this morning and read a quick email that Tim and Ian had made it safely to Auntie Robin’s house in New Jersey. Ian slept 3 hours in the hotel in Almaty and then Tim and Ian had 4 seats to spread out a bit from Almaty to Frankfurt. Ian slept the entire flight, I assumed Tim slept most of it as well, but when I read his latest email he said his flight from Frankfurt to Newark was horrendous. He had a high fever and chills He thinks he has full blown strep throat. Ian had it before we left and I had extra bottle of anti-biotics I brought along just in case of a relapse while in Kaz. Tim felt really crappy for about 5 days here in Kaz and drank the whole bottle of anti-biotics , so we thought he was in the clear. Guess not. Of course I have the bag of meds here with me in Kaz. I feel horrible knowing he felt like complete and utter crap and here I have the Tylenol that could have reduced his fever in no time. Plus, I just wish I was there to comfort him, be it making sure he got some rest, some soup, was warm enough, whatever. Ok, I miss my husband a lot. Ian’s tonsils looked inflamed as well and complained a bit about his throat hurting but never any other symptoms. Hopefully both Tim and Ian will both see the Dr. on Tuesday. I know Ian is excited to get back to preschool and I would hate to have him bring in an unknown sickness due to traveling. I’m very thankful he and Ian are able to rest up at Auntie Robin’s for a day before heading home to Dover. Poor Auntie Robin and Uncle Erin will be bombarded with numerous questions and tidbits of information as Ian is a jabber-jaw and very inquisitive.

The snow has melted and the sun comes out periodically but it’s still quite cold. Regardless, we will take a walk this afternoon after lunch for some exercise and relief from being cooped up in our cozy but small “home.” Overall Sam is doing great. He still pouts a bit if he doesn’t get what he wants. For example, he went to bed later than usual last night because we went out for a late dinner and had to walk home etc. I gave him a bit of coloring time and then one book before bed. He was not pleased with only having one book and having to go to bed in general and pulled the “I’m not going to look at you or give you any form of emotion” and so instead of getting frustrated or angry I simply kissed him on the forehead and said, “night-night.” The next morning Sam walks into my room with a big smile and I know all is well. He’s still a wise guy in that sometimes he doesn’t want to have “learning” time and plays dumb. This used to drive me nuts, now I simply have him sit in the time-out chair or lose a toy for a while and then we go over our lessons. He loves Leap Pad, but doesn’t want to use it so much as a learning tool vs. a toy. Oh well, too bad. I think we’ll start off slow with 15 minutes of “school” time every 2 hours or so, and work up from there. He needs to see learning and fun can be intertwined. I think when we get home and “re adopt” him we may need to change his birth date by a year. I really don’t think he’s 4.5 yrs old, for a multiple reasons. My biggest concern is that he has a equal chance at succeeding in the US educational system and if that means changing his birth date so that he’s mentally, socially, psychologically and physically ready to begin school, well, so be it.
Sam and I took a 1.5 hour walk and found some small homes vs. standard Soviet apartment housing. These houses were by no means nice, but it did give the city a more residential feeling. We did see an elderly Kazakh man dressed in all of his native clothes which was cool. We then went to the grocery store and Sam picked out some canned vegetables, peas and carrots, in addition to our staple of corn. These veggies are imported from Budapest, the carrots look ok, but the peas are an army green vs. kelly green so I hope he still likes them. They smell way too much like Ian’s baby food of peas and green beans and still to this day that smell just makes me gag. He was also very excited that he was able to pick out the color of the toilet paper. He’s a bit over tired and silly right now. He got a time out for not listening, but after 5 minutes all is well once again. I figure after dinner we’ll do a little leap pad and books and then to bed. I miss home the most at night. I really wish I could give both of my state side boys a big hug and kiss. Let’s hope some sun and warm weather comes east for Wednesday.

Photos from May 1st

2006-05-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

May 1st

2006-05-01T11:43:00.000-04:00

Ok, only 26 more days to go! I can do it! It’s Labor Day here in Kazakhstan and in most of Asia and Western Europe. I’m not certain if we’ll be able to meet up with the Brewers tonight for dinner as I’m not certain if Mario’s will be open due to the holiday. Bummer! Last night I could not fall asleep. I kept wondering if Tim and Ian departed safely. I did receive an email stating they had a nice day exploring Almaty and that Almaty was much nicer than it seemed a month ago, cleaner air, some green grass and a view of the mountains. Vitalik woke up around 0300 and came into our room as if it was 0730 to snuggle and draw on Magna Doodle. I explained to him in a soft, gentle, voice that Vitalik, the sun, and Mama still needed to sleep. I thought I might get some gruff, but our little man fell fast asleep once again until 0730. I really missed Ian this morning. I couldn’t help but think of him while folding his plaid flannel P.J.’s or while Vitalik was in the bath, it just seemed wrong, not having both of them in their together. I think Vitalik missed him a bit too. For some reason today we’re able to get some French and Italian channels and I feel so much closer to home. It’s very strange, but I can’t stop thinking in Italian while I’m here. I saw an Italian commercial on the TV when we first got here and felt so relieved that I could truly understand what they were trying to convey vs. watching the Russian channels and maybe catching every 50th word or so. Even though it’s again quite chilly and overcast we’ll have to take a walk just to get out of our expansive 500 sq feet abode. Taking a walk each day is not only for Sam’s tummy, but for my mind. Today we went to the Halik Market which contains our grocery store, an ATM and small shops. I had Sam walk around a bit, not knowing at that time if we would be walking to Mario’s. Turns out we are going to meet the Brewer’s around 1845, so I’m certain Bull will need a nice snack prior to eating pizza. The boy could eat his own pizza, but since yesterday morning I’m watching his food intake a bit more and tonight he’ll have to share with Mama. I bought him an adorable winter cap like the one he wore when he was outside at the Detsky Dom. It’s was a whopping $2.40 cents and it will be a nice keepsake for him down the road. He has been playing with his yellow ball all morning. It’s actually Ian’s as we left his purple one at the Detsky Dom. You’d think I gave him a pot of gold. He did take a break to do a bit of Leap Pad, his favorite toy by far. On one of the pages there’s a place where you point on a camera and it’s says, “Everyone say cheese” and I’m not certain why but he chooses to say “I buy cheese.” Right now he cannot make the “H” sound and has a bit of a hard time remembering the names of colors, but can count to 10 like a champ! We met the Brewer Clan at Mario’s Pizza. I’m so glad I bought Sam a new hat today as it’s less than 30 degrees here. We had nice brisk walk to Mario’s and I enjoyed some good conversation with Ronnie and Anjanette, and their daughter Reagan is a cutie-pie. Hopefully they’ll have a great day tomorrow at Malutka and find their son after a week of searching for him. Sam, the little “fresser” that he is had 4 pieces of pizza, a fruit roll-up, and a peanut butter cracker. I know he would have stuffed more in his cute chipmunk cheeks had I let him. We then walked home in the snow, yes, I said snow!!! Yuck!! It’s May, it should be warm and sunny!!! We stopped at the grocery on the way home to get some bread just in case tomorrow is simply too cold to go outside. Today’s pictures include: Sam showing off his new hat, Sam and I at Mario’s pizza, and Sam on a bench on Blvd. Mira as snow flakes are falling. I miss Ian a ton. I miss him saying, “Mama I just want to give you a kissee!!” But I’m thankful he’s almost home! Daddy, give my sweet Ian a kiss and I’ll give a “palute” to Vitalik from you!!. After 6 attempts to post some photos, I quit,I'll try again in the AM.

Sunday April 30th

2006-04-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

My dear husband and sweet son left this morning around 0700. I miss them immensely already and it’s only 1030. The good news is that Vitalik does not seem to mind a bit. I think it will hit him in a few days, but for now he seems content to have free reign of all the toys that Ian brought from the US and our Kazakhstan toys which consist of: water bottle caps, clothesline ropes, and empty water bottles. I just tell him over and over again in a mixture of Russian and English that Papa et Ian went das vidanya in a samiliot to America to our dom because Papa had to rabotayeah. So far this morning, we’ve played with Leap Pad, Magna Doodle, ropes, caps and clothespins. Even though it’s a bit chilly and overcast we’ll venture out to the grocery store for a few supplies and maybe take a walk this afternoon to stay sane. I watched a bit of the news and there was an interesting clip on the Congo and its numerous crises due to its civil unrest. It was quite heartbreaking and it’s hard to imagine so much hatred and bloodshed exists within a country with such an amazing and breathtaking landscape and people longing to enjoy their homeland. As I was about to turn off the TV to go and vacuum, I flipped to a Russian channel with a cute sabaka that caught Sam’s attention. He loves dogs, and always kisses the picture of our Hanski-Panski when we look at our photo album about our home and our family. Anyhow, it’s some cute artsy film about a man who is a magician and depicts just how much he loves his animals; his beloved goat, cat, and dog..

I’ve already started crying 3x while thinking about Ian. When Sam started playing with his ropes, I thought of how Ian loved to make his “lovee traps” while he was here. Before he left he told me "it was going to be alright, that he loved me so much, and gave me a kiss on my hand like in the book, “The Kissing Hand.” Knowing I won’t be receiving a mere 100 or so kisses and hugs each day will be very difficult for this Mama. Though Sam is giving and enjoying kissees more often each day. While I think it was very beneficial for both the boys to be an equal part of this adoption journey I’m so thankful Ian will be able to return home to his “normal life.” A million thanks to his Grammy’s for allowing this to be a possibility. Right now Ian and Tim are in Almaty wasting time til there 0145 flight to Frankfurt. I hope they get some sleep either at a hotel or on the plane. Ian can’t wait to get to Frankfurt for McDonald’s and I must admit a regular diet coke vs. coca-cola light and a biggie fries sounds might good to this American Girl!

Let’s see, our day, well, we went to supermarket across the street and Vitalik was very excited about having a choice about which cereal and oatmeal packets he’d like to eat. He also liked being able to put the groceries into the cart. I was happy to see that although it was only his second or third time in a supermarket he didn’t go crazy and try to touch and take everything he saw. We then went home and had lunch. It’s still really hard for him not to either be in the room where I’m cooking or not to simply watch me cook from the hallway. But as soon as he’s done, he’s ready to go and play. He says Grace with us, it’s pretty simple. “God is good, God is great, let us thank Him for our food. Amen. But it’s quite cute with his accent. The sun popped out for a bit in the afternoon so I figured we had to go out for a bit; but also because our light in the bathroom, or more honestly described…{ the light bulb dangling from exposed wires and a rusty connection burnt out this morning,} so we then had a quest to fulfill. Our quest took us on a journey for nearly 3 hours. I make Sam walk everywhere as I figure it can only help to give him better tone in his limbs and he’s a little “sveenya” with a very “bolshoi” belly so I can’t carry Bubba all around town. We walked to the TSUM, and went into a few stores. He did very well holding my hand and staying near me with out his hand being held. I found one pair of jeans I thought we’re cool but not only were they 120,000. tenge. Remember, it’s only 124 tenge to $1.00. I think my husband would think they sat a “little” too low on my hips for this 35 yr old Mama to wear to preschool or to the grocery store!! We then ventured into a shoe store. I’m amazed at how expensive the clothing and shoes are here; especially due to the poor quality of the tailoring of the garments and shoes. In addition to the dirt and dust it’s no wonder most citizens of Karaganda only have a few outfits and don’t’ change their clothes that often.

We then came home and I called my Texan friend who is staying at the Cosmonaut and is having a less than stellar adoption process. She is hilarious and a G-d send as it was so nice to gab and laugh in English with someone who knows exactly what I’m going through. With all of the drama she’s enduring, it put me in my place about my woes of being here another 4 wks. We’re going to meet up for dinner tomorrow night at Mario’s Pizza.

Vitalik and I then made a really fancy meal of black olives, ramen, and a banana; yes, we’re living large in Karaganda. Oh yes, I then had a 65 cent beer with dinner. Those who know me well know I’m a beer snob. I’m more of a Shiner Bock, Alaskan Amber, Leine’s Red type girl vs. a Miller girl. Still, this Miller of Moscow beer I splurged the 65 cents on was a nice treat for me on the day of Daddy and Ian’s departure. Sam and I then hit the couch to read some books, and Sam started to drift off to sleep and by 2115 the boy was in bed. It’s now 2200 and I’m about to go and read a Tale of Two Cities. Please keep Tim and Ian in your thoughts and prayers as they venture back home. Pop-Pop, thanks for all your calls, it definitely make each week pass by more quickly. Paka-

Fri & Sat April 28 & 29

2006-04-29T11:56:00.000-04:00

Well, its official, Vitalik is officially Samuel Vitaly McCaffery. I have mixed emotions about this day. Although I’m glad Sam is ours, it was bittersweet having his farewell party at the Detsky Dom. While I’m certain his roommates enjoyed the party, food and fun, I’m also certain they were a bit envious and sad that they have yet to be chosen and may not ever find a forever family. We took a taxi to court. It was hilarious. This roly-poly man with sunglasses cranking his stereo with house music pulled up to the apartment. No need to turn down the radio to find out where we need to go or if Aika’s cell phone rings. His driving tactics were amazing. How we made it in one piece is beyond me. Court was in a cinder block building on a dusty road that looked more like a housing complex vs. a courthouse. The interior was gloomy, dark, and dirty. Our courtroom had its own private jail and the power wasn’t working for the majority of our court proceeding, which was a-ok by me as it kept the room semi-cool. Our court hearing was quite long but not antagonistic by any means. Ian felt it was taking far too long and fell fast asleep while the judge was speaking and slept for a good 1.5 hrs. Our judge was young and thus very careful to address every issue and every legal document. She then took an hour to make her decision. As we left the courthouse we met up with my on-line friend A. Brewer, and it was so nice to see a friendly face and speak English. Unfortunately, A.Brewer and her family are not having a good start to their adoption process here in Karaganda and we wish them all the best. We hope to meet up with them on Saturday night for some pizza, beer, and good conversation. Before court we were told we would not have the party after court but maybe a different day and we’d buy the orphanage their “gift” a different day as well. Come on, this is Kazakhstan, and there are no set rules or plans, so after court we dashed home, got the gifts, headed to the supermarket and then to the detsky dom. Of course this was the day the batteries in my camera died and I shorted out my battery charger, but we did get some candid shots and most of the musical his classmates performed on our video recorder. I began crying at least 5 times while I was there because I felt guilty for only taking Vitalik. There are 2 older children, a boy and a girl, perhaps both, 6 or 7 that have pulled on my heartstrings since we have been here. Whereas most of the children are kind and friendly in his group for hopes of treats or possible adoption, these two were different. Even after they knew we were there to adopt Vitalik, they were still always kind, smiling and truly interested in trying to talk to us or show us things. Of his group I think these two would have the best chance of finding a family via a summer program as their personalities are kind, mellow, and respectful. We had many champagne toasts with the Director, Olga, Aika, and various caregivers. Even if we did not have Aika to translate their thoughts and wishes, I’m amazed how (through facial expressions and body language) we could tell these women truly cared about Vitalik and knew that our heart was in the right place with him as well. I felt just awful as we were walking out of the destky dom for the last time, knowing how many more children will forever remain inside those walls. Saturday morning we woke up to grey and wet skies. We later found out from Olga that there is snow in Western Kazakhstan, I hope it does not visit us here in Karaganda. Not too much to report. We went to a notary’s office signed some more paperwork and that was about it. We walked to the Assorti Café the owner is quite nice and likes to converse with us which always makes our visit a bit more pleasant. She was amazed the boys were the same age and she was pleased to see they behave so well and likes to here Sam speak English. I’m certain Sam and I will be visiting her often in the next 3 wks that we’re here in Karaganda. Looks like Sam and I will plan to leave Almaty for the states on May 27 or 28th. I’m certain tomorrow will be a bit of a rough day for Sam and I, but we’ll just push through as needed.

Apr 26th

2006-04-27T11:16:00.000-04:00

We have all been waking up late these days, 0800. The boys go down around 2000 and are usually asleep by 2030. We, of course are bored out of our wits, because we then are stuck in our bedroom for the rest of the night. We do have good couple time as we giggle about the silly things the boys have done during the day or our daily frustrations about living in Kazakhstan. I’m really going to miss Tim and Ian. I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning knowing we were one more day closer to their departure. As my relationship with Sam improves I’m less nervous about spending an additional month in Kazakhstan. I just want to have everything go smoothly and get out of here as soon as we can. Tomorrow is our court date. We were supposed to go with the Orphanage Director and pick out a “gift” for the Orphanage, we even asked our translator about it and still, we have heard nothing. I’m certain it will be left until the last minute as will buying Tim and Ian’s tickets to Almaty and the groceries needed for the party at the Orphanage after court. That’s just how things seem to work here in Kaz. This morning, Tim went and bought our lawyer and the judge some “gifts”, V.S.O.P. Hennessey and some Cigars. The boys and I hung out at home and colored, played with beads, and giggled. I think we’ll venture out today, if only for a walk as it seems to improve everyone’s mood. Maybe we’ll even head over to “trash park” for some fun in the dirt!! Vitalik took a nap around lunch time so Ian and I had a picnic lunch on the blankets in the main room of our apartment. I was starting to go a bit stir crazy so I took a short stroll around 1500 and it was a bit warm for pants and a long sleeve shirt so I don’t know how natives can wear sweaters and coats without sweating to death. When I came back, the boys wanted to jump off the couch again. It kept them entertained for an hour so that was nice. I clicked through our ever so limited TV Channels and watched a bit of of a really poor Dubai soap opera and BBC World over and over again, while Tim played Free Cell. We then went to the Assorti Café for dinner and took an early evening stroll, which was nice, as I love that time of the day no matter what part of the world I may be in. Can I just say how thankful I am that Tim got me an IPOD shuffle for my 35th birthday? I love having my favorite tunes from various periods in my life to lift my spirits when I’m feeling a bit blue or homesick. I’m enjoying Sam’s company more and more each day as he becomes more attached to all of us. As much as I detest having to stay here for a month, I know it can only strengthen our bond so I’m hoping that will keep me grounded when I want to pull my hair out due to frustration or boredom.

26 Apr 06

2006-04-26T21:50:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention the sweet thing Ian did last night. After Vitalik had his bit of drama for the evening and was put to bed, Ian rolled over to him, kissed his hand, and had his spider puppet, “taranchi” come and give Vitalik a kiss too! He said, “I wanted him to feel good.” What a sweet boy. It gives me hope that someday they’ll truly trust and love one another as all family members should. Although the day has been sunny, we have yet to go outside and its early afternoon. This is not to say we haven’t kept busy. The boys both spent some time on “the chair” the official time-out place in our grandiose apartment in the morning, but by lunch they we’re the best of friends. Believe it or not, Mama is allowing her boys to jump off the furniture into a huge pile of blankets. Of course, this is a big hit with the boys and it’s helping them to bond as brothers. Plus, we’re all aware of our limited fun activities during the day, and if it helps to pass the time and improves the boys relationship; how can I say no?? Daddy has been trying to figure out the best way home for Ian and himself. Right now, he arrives in Almaty at 1030 on Sunday morning and then they don’t leave Almaty until 0145 Monday morning. We just found out that the flight then has a stop in Astana prior to departing for Frankfurt. Tim is trying to figure out a way to simply jump on the plane in Astana vs. flying south to Almaty only to fly back north over Karaganda and back to Astana.

Tuesday April 25th

2006-04-25T12:29:00.000-04:00

Sorry no pictures yesterday, we tried but after 3 failed attempts via Blogger on our dial- up internet service we called it quits. I’m hoping tonight to have better luck and to post many photos, including a few of our ever efficient helpers who decided it would be nice to hang some of our clothes on their homemade clothes lines vs. using the metal drying rack that came with the apartment.. I also forgot to thank Pop-Pop and Grammy Mim for calling the other day and making us feel a little closer to home.
Another sunny day had us venture outdoors all afternoon. We drug out the double wide stroller and lugged the boys down the very non-stroller-friendly Karaganda sidewalks and walked from our apartment, around the big park, all the way to Sam’s first orphanage, Nezabudka, and the Hotel Cosmonaut. Amazingly, the boys feel asleep during the bumpy ride and double side-by-side strollers must be scarce in Kazakhstan as we received many puzzled looks this afternoon. The Hotel Cosmonaut was quite nice. The concierge, a beautiful young woman with a cute bob-haircut and beautiful Russian ice-blue eyes was very friendly and spoke broken but quiet understandable English. The rooms were an ample size and quite clean. The staff was very friendly and the hotel itself had many quasi-Western amenities; a work-out area, a beauty salon, and a nice restaurant as well as some nice greenery areas outside where children could run around and their parents would feel safe allowing them to do so. We were considering having Sam and I move there after Tim and Ian depart, as it would be nice to be around more adopting Americans to swap stories, frustrations, laughs, etc. Unfortunately, living in a small room with no real space to play, no stove and/or microwave with which to cook, or having a washer just wouldn’t be feasible with a 4 yr old boy for 3 weeks! I also like living across the street from the grocery store and the park is about a 10-15 minute walk away. Sam and Ian act more and more like brothers every day vs. simply roommates. Most of the time they like to parallel play but when we have them play alone in the main room they seem to have a blast. They also like to be a bit silly at meal times. As an example today’s meal time tomfoolery was having Ian wear his napkin, (a dish towel) around his head like a babushka or Moses. Vitalik then had to do so and decided his looked better as a scarf. Sam loves to copy anything Ian does. Sam really likes it when he does something that Ian thinks is really cool. It’s going to be a bit of a reality check for both of them once we get home and live in a real home again with real rules about what’s appropriate and what’s not. For some reason Sam is still interested to see if our rules and disciplinary tactics might change. So each day, usually towards nighttime he tests them and each day he figures out that we are not pushover parents and although we give a ton of love and support, we also expect our children to be kind, respectful and thankful children

Monday, 24 April

2006-04-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

Hello, it was another sunny day in Karaganda and a bit warmer too, which is always a bonus in my mind. We didn’t venture out of the house until about 1430 and took a walk to the big park with the lake. The boys drew with sticks in the sand and played kick the empty Coke bottle while watching 3 Kazakh boys swim in the very cold and very dirty lake. They seemed to be having a great time. All the power to them by making the best of what they’ve got! I was envious of all of the runners enjoying an afternoon run in the sun. I know not being able to run on a daily basis has added to a bit of my grumpiness about being here for what seems like forever and a day. I really miss my daily runs amongst the Amish Farms. I miss my extended family, my friends and my daily life in the United States. We found out today Tim and Ian will depart early Sunday morning for Almaty. They should arrive in Almaty around 1030 and don’t depart for Frankfurt 0145 Monday morning, so I think they’ll have to spend the day in a hotel or be quite bored in the Almaty airport for hours on end. We had read that there was an evening flight that they had hoped to take, but no such luck. It’s really sinking in that I’ll be leaving Ian for nearly a month. Don’t get me wrong, I love Tim with all of my heart, but we are accustomed to leaving one another on a regular basis due to his job. Now my Ian, well, I’ve never been away from him for more than 2 days in his entire life. I will miss him dearly and although I know he will be safe and happy to be at home with his Daddy, his Grammy Mim and his Honey, his friends from preschool, his house, his toys, etc.; as a mother I feel a great sense of abandonment about leaving him for so long. After our afternoon jaunt we headed to the Assorti Café 2 blocks down the street for dinner around 1800. We ran into about 4 or 5 American families either beginning or ending their second trip. I believe the majority of them are adopting infants. One couple had their son, Calvin, with them. He was a little peanut, but adorable and very inquisitive. It was the first time we had seen and spoke with Americans for more than 30 seconds, which was nice. I can see where having some American companionship would greatly enhance the adoption process while in Kazakhstan. In some ways it may be easier just having the 2 of us here. I plan to really hone in on his sign language and English as well as working on proper behavior within a family environment. A quick question for any of the Kazakhstan yahoo group readers: has there been any news on the adoption of Liam and Aidan, they were on the RocktheKaz blogspot or the Hunt adoption blog? There was also a nice story about a family adopting 3 older girl siblings from Livinsky Orphanage in Karaganda? Any news would be greatly appreciated as our internet connection is so dang slow I never get a chance to surf and get updated on how families are coming along. Time to go as it’s nearly time to tuck our boys into their lavish sofa sleeper for night-night!! Paka-

A day at the park, 23 Apr

2006-04-23T23:29:00.000-04:00

Today was a nice day for the most part. Even though it was still a bit brisk, we decided we would take advantage of the sunshine and walk to Mario’s Pizza for lunch and then walk down to the big park with the lake and let the boys run around a bit. Mario’s was, as always, delicious but then again after multiple meals of cereal what wouldn’t taste yummy? Of course this was the one day we didn’t haul around our camera, which turned out to be a bit of a bummer later in the day. While walking to the park we noticed the “carny” rides were working. We could all use a bit of fun so we headed to Fantasy World. Both boys had their first taste of cotton candy and loved it, as did their Mama. They also had their first Bumper Car experience, but were more interested in driving their cars vs. bumping into one another. We then went outside to enjoy the sunshine, music, and the Giant Ferris Wheel. Sam did not enjoy the Ferris Wheel whatsoever and while it didn’t come close to our level of safety standards it was nice to get a bird’s eye view of the city of Karaganda. Sam is generally fearful of things he hasn’t experienced before. He is not afraid to run full-speed into a wall, was afraid of being within 10 feet of the lake or more than 5 feet off the ground. He is quickly realizing that we’ll keep him safe in these ventures though. After watching Ian on a ride, he was willing to try it out himself. He never got the guts to jump on the trampoline ride, but he’s getting braver. It is strange that so many things are “firsts” for him, even though he is 4 yrs old. It’s fun to watch him experience things. Sam is acting more and more like a child vs. a robot. He shows much more emotion, both positive and negative. I think going from no real attention or intellectual stimulation to as much as we can give him as a family has been great for him and he treasures it greatly. Unfortunately, he still has a bit of the institutionalized personality in him and he is somewhat afraid that his new found attention will leave, thus he tends to still cling to one person or game for a good part of the day. On a lighter note, Sam is a ham, who has a wonderful laugh, smile and cracks us up daily, but he definitely doesn’t like being told “no, having to wait his turn, etc.” He’s a smart little guy and likes to see if we’re going to be consistent with our rules and discipline and to his dismay we are. It’s funny to think that having your child act out is a good thing, and while we’re not jazzed at going through the terrible 2’s once again, (even though they were quite mild with Ian) we don’t get as frustrated or upset about it because we know it will pass and in just a short while he’ll be a well-mannered, fun-loving, respectful boy just like his brother. As always I love my daily trips to the grocery store. I get to practice a bit of Russian and the workers are always so helpful and kind. I decided to venture out and purchase one of the dried salami looking meats, but I wanted to make certain I purchased, beef vs. pork or horse!
So, I politely ask Please, malinkee ruski, (a small amount of Russian) da karova (yes cow=beef) nyet sveenya (no pig=pork) They laughed and smiled but knew what I was getting at and handed me a long stick of meat and I hoped for the best. Surprisingly both boys enjoyed the salami, as did Tim and I. It will be nice to have some meat, cheese and bread as an added meal to our limited cuisine while in Kazakhstan. We hope to venture out once again tomorrow and hope to add some new photos. PS. Thanks again to everyone who adds notes to the blogs, sends us emails and gives us a bit of home while we’re so far away.

April 22nd

2006-04-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

Once again it is cold and rainy here in Kazakhstan, thus yet another day inside our humble abode. We all woke up late this morning about 0830, one less hour for us to be climbing the walls. Sam loves anything ‘banan.” Banana yogurt, Banana oatmeal, or just plain Bananas make his day. It’s very difficult because Ian is losing weight and Sam is simply too chubby, yet we can’t give Ian more food and Sam less for fear of Sam thinking we’re punishing him. Plus, anytime anyone goes into the kitchen Sam is there in a nano-second thinking some sort of food is on the way. Once it’s just Sam and I, I’m hoping the weather will be more temperate so that we can take long walks and do more outside activities at the park to pass the time and decrease his belly. I’ll also be able to regulate his food a bit more. Thank goodness both of Ian’s Grammies are great cooks, so I know they can fatten him up a bit. The big news of the day is that BBC World, our only channel, actually has interesting programs on the weekend vs. their limited news program that repeats itself every ½ hour. The sad fact is that we watch it over and over again just to hear some English and watch some TV to help pass the time. It’s now 6 hrs later and we have yet to leave the house as it’s been a bit rainy and chilly. The boys amaze me, I’m internally going crazy and they seem to be having a ton of fun playing with soda bottle caps, clotheslines, clothespins and plastic “slinkies” that Olga purchased for them yesterday. Today, they have made many secret traps and are improving their cap flinging skills. Sam is making some emotional progress in that he gets a bit frustrated when he needs to wait for his turn or stay by his Daddy when his Daddy needs to speak to Ian alone. Not that we’re happy that he sometimes gets cranky, but we figure it’s better for him to show positive and negative emotion vs. no emotion whatsoever.

April 21st

2006-04-21T23:37:00.000-04:00

Once again it’s cold and gray in Kazakhstan. In order to stay sane with 4 people in a 500-600 sq ft. apartment we have to think of goofy games to pass the time. This morning’s activities consisted of bath time, which Sam adores so much so that he can be undressed in less than 3 seconds, no exaggeration. The next game was named the “Icky Sam Shuffle” It started out simply as the boys running to Mama in the chair and then Mama lifting them up in the air a bit, but then Sam turned into Icky Woods and was a dancing machine with many silly faces; it was hilarious. Our photos today consist of Daddy taking his turn and giving the boys much better rides than Mama could give. Sam is definitely going to be the next linebacker or offensive lineman for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He reminds me a lot of Rudy Rudebacher from Notre Dame. His fortitude is amazing and he is also a little comedian--what a wonderful combination. Ian is definitely our serious and sensitive one, though he has an amazing imagination and loves to tell us stories. If you looked at the two of them, you’d think Ian was the one who has been living in the Orphanage. Poor Ian is too slim; it’s good his Grammy Mim and Honey are coming to take care of him and his Daddy as I know they’ll both be well fed, loved, and spoiled!! It’s interesting to watch the boys together, even when they become annoyed with one another, within 5 minutes they’re secretly checking out what the other one is doing and within another 5 minutes they want to play with each other once again.
We had our interview with the social worker this afternoon; it ended up being Ian, Nell, Tim and our translator Aika sitting across a conference table from 4 very serious looking people. They asked us about 10 questions: how long we’ve been married; if we would leave the same inheritance to our new son as Ian; why we’re adopting etc… One lady, who is apparently the deputy of the director (the director was on vacation), was very caught up on the fact that we are adopting despite the fact that we are capable of having more biological children. She kept shaking her head negatively and speaking Russian with a look of disbelief in our answers. We’re not sure if she ever believed us, even though we tried to convince her that he would be treated equally. She just couldn’t understand why anybody would do that. I guess it’s cultural—we’ve heard that very few Kazakh people adopt—if they aren’t able to have a biological child, many won’t consider adoption as an alternative. I think that’s sad for the children. At then end, the deputy director (not sure if that’s her actual title) asked if anybody had any more questions (in Russian of course); the other three interviewers shook their heads no, then spysibo (thank you) and das vidanya (goodbye). We didn’t get any feedback at all, so I guess we “passed”.
While waiting for our interview, we met the Rose family briefly. They had their interview before us. We wished we had more time to talk with them but they were being led out as we were preparing to go in for our interview. Since most of the American families are adopting infants, we haven’t seen many Americans here—just a few at Johnnie Walkers—but we didn’t get to talk to them before they left. Infants are in a different orphanage called Nezabudka, where Vitaly was until he turned 4 yrs old last fall. Older children are not adopted as often as the infants, so we didn’t run into any adopting families at the orphanage where Vitaly was. Although we understand that many people want to adopt younger children, there are so many wonderful children at the other orphanages too.

20 Apr 06

2006-04-20T21:57:00.000-04:00

Hello All
We don't have anything new except that our coordinator called last night and confirmed our court date is 28 April at 3PM. That erased some of the hope we had that it would be earlier, but this is what he told us to expect from the start. The only potential issue is the expiration of the license of the US adoption agencies that did our home study. The home study was done almost a year ago, and since then, their license came up for renewal (31 Mar 06). They renewed it, but just got it back from the state of Delaware last week. Since Kaz viewed this as an expired license, we had to have them FedEx a notarized and apostilled copy of the new license to our coordinator here. Our coordinators handled this, but it makes us a little nervous that it will be lost in the mail. Kaz wants everything notarized and apostilled, even if it came from a federal or state government to begin with. It's better to be safe than sorry, so we'll have the new license (hopefully) by our court date.
We were also told that our interview with the social worker (who will testify at court) may be this Friday afternoon, but we won't know until 1PM Friday. Otherwise, it will be next week. Thanks for all the support we've received. We will try to reply when we can.

April 19th

2006-04-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

Once again we took a walk around town and decided to visit the department store across the street from the TSUM. I’m thankful the weather is nice enough so we can take a walk each day or I’d go nuts sitting in our apartment watching BBC World over and over again as it’s the only English speaking channel we have. Our days are incredibly boring, but each day the boys are becoming better brothers and Vitaly is becoming more secure about becoming part of our family and becoming his own person as well. We have no real news to report. The highlight of the day was walking to Mario’s Pizza for dinner which was once again delicious and cheap. We might get really adventurous and ride a bus tomorrow as both boys are very excited to do so, plus it might help to pass the time.
Tim’s turn to narrate:
The bus is very very cheap—20 or 30 TG (about 20 cents) per person, but we haven’t found a route map anywhere. We haven’t even seen a city map, although we haven’t tried to ask for one either. Most of the locals take the bus everywhere. There are big city buses that only come every 30 minutes and other vans and minibuses that come more often. We think the smaller buses are privately owned like taxis and they’re a few cents cheaper. Some are diesel and some are electric, but they all look pretty old and are always packed with people. You can barely see light through the windows as they drive by. It may be an adventure.
We’re still waiting for our interview with a social worker, which we thought would be last week, but they were apparently too busy last week. Now, we have no idea when it will be. Our coordinator has told us we will go to court next Friday, but he also said “no later than next Friday” which leaves a glimmer of hope that it will be sooner. If it isn’t until Friday, Tim and Ian will probably stay with Nell and Sam until Sunday evening then leave Karaganda to catch our originally scheduled flight out of Almaty at 0145L on Monday. It will be a long day of travel, so I hope Ian will sleep on the plane. He didn’t sleep at all on the first leg last time, but slept the entire second leg. We have a 6 hour layover in Frankfurt to make the day even longer. Not quite long enough to go to a hotel, but way longer than ideal. The obvious issues are getting tickets to Almaty, changing Nell’s return flight (she will now stay for the entire process) and getting Sam/Vitaly a one-way ticket to the US. Nothing a few phone cards can’t solve, but we have to take a total guess at when they’ll be able to come home. Nell has to wait 15 days for the court’s decision to be “final”, and then wait in Karaganda for the paperwork (adoption decree, birth certificate, Kazakh passport etc) to be complete before going to Almaty. Unfortunately, these things have to take place in series--one after the other. We can’t start on the paperwork until the court decision is finalized and Nell can’t go to Almaty until the paperwork is complete. Once in Almaty, she has to meet with a doctor and the American embassy to finalize some things on the American side. Then they can finally come home. We can’t count on anything being overly expeditious (a lot of things are based on a number of “business days” which are only Tue-Fri in Kazakhstan), so the whole thing could take a month after Tim and Ian depart. Guessing on a departure date for Nell and Sam is tough, so we’ll probably end up having to change the tickets again on some later date. Leaving Nell here is certainly not ideal, but we all agree that it’s better than sending him back to the orphanage after living with us for 3 weeks. Every time we mention the “Detsky Dom” (orphanage), he freezes up and gets really nervous. I’m not sure he’d trust us again if we put him back in there after he lived with us for this time. On top of that, we need to sell our house, buy a house in Colorado and move by the end of June. All that makes sitting here staring at the apartment walls even tougher. It’s worth it though.

More waiting...18 Apr 06

2006-04-18T21:23:00.000-04:00

Not too much to report today. It was a bit windy, but we still took a walk to the big park which has some older rides and was full of paths and trees. The park itself isn’t open for the season yet, but the vendors and workers were busy cleaning up lots of leaves and trash. The boys were able to run around a bit and it was good to be outdoors. By American standards, it is certainly unsafe. Most of the equipment is missing boards etc. It took a lot of parental oversight, but the boys were able to climb on some of the things. We also stopped by trash park and they boys played once again and enjoyed themselves among the never ending dust and dirt. Thank goodness we have a washing machine!! It looks like a lot of people are cleaning up the outside areas and the grass is starting to grow—I think the dust problem will decrease as the dirt and trash are replaced by grass and plants. We are all really bored and seem to be climbing the walls waiting for the days to pass. Eating the same meals over and over again is getting a bit old as well. Everyone has had their moments of grumpiness, but we’re all trying our best to grin and bear it!! The boys spent most of the down time playing with their new toy cars. They also love bath time every other day—they’d like to do it more often, but it takes so long to get hot water back after a shower or bath that we can’t all be showered until 11AM if they take a bath after breakfast. Well, I wish I had some really fabulous news to report, but no such luck, maybe tomorrow. Paka (Bye)

Monday April 17th

2006-04-17T20:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry if yesterday’s post sounded a little grumpy. I have been going a bit stir-crazy the last few days as we haven’t left the house much and with 4 people in less than 600 sq ft, it gets a bit crowded and starts to drive me a bit nuts! The weather is improving daily. That being said, I am glad I did not bring any clothes that I won’t feel guilty about throwing in the trash once I return home in mid-to-late May. I am very thankful for the sun and warm weather, but I feel like I’m living in Steinbeck novel with all the dang dust!! My dad called last night; it’s great to hear a bit of home each week, as I rarely hear English except occasionally in the grocery store. Every once in a while, Kaz really gets to me and I b-tch to myself about this place or Tim and I laugh about our meager existence these days. In the end, we’re all learning to become a family of 4 which like everything has it’s ups and downs--thank-goodness it’s mostly ups. Today we ventured out and walked to the TSUM--a big building full of small shops. I may venture into some of them when it’s just Sam and me. It’s still so strange to not have access to anything. We’re so accustomed in the States to being able to go to a store, pick the product that we need and purchase it. Here you can look at everything behind glass panels and they may or may not have it, which can be a bit intimidating at times. Sam rode his first escalator today and was a bit nervous; he also heard his first bell tower clock and that threw him for a loop as well. We also had a bit of home as we went to Mario’s Pizza Shoppe. The pizza was quite good, though much different than in the US. Tim got us 2 pies and a ½ litre of pepsi for the 4 of us and it was about $10. He also purchased another pepsi for 86 tenge and instead of 14 tenge change, he got a stick of gum, not a pack, but a stick. I guess you had to be there, but it was hilarious. Granted its 129 tenge to the 1 US dollar, but just the thought of gum for change had us giggling. We walked home through some of Karaganda’s side streets and saw numerous apartment buildings and various “trash parks” as Ian likes to call them, and of course, we had to play at yet another one! The boys got their first “present” from Papa yesterday two toy race cars and they were in heaven for hours. We found out yesterday that our court date is set for Friday 28th of April. We’re hoping it will get moved up as we have completed our 14 required days of bonding. If it did get moved up Tim and Ian would still leave on May 1st, it would just mean that Sam and I would have less time in Kazakhstan alone.

Easter Sunday 4/16/06

2006-04-16T20:56:00.000-04:00

Last night, the boys went to bed with no crying whatsoever. Now the question arises: who snores the loudest? Today Sam woke up either a bit sleepy or sad. He did not like the fact that Ian was on the truck that he usually drives. He also didn’t like that Ian had the rings that Sam usually holds in his hand. He tried to grab the rings from Ian and we told him, “No Vitalik, you need ask Ian with your words, you need to say please.” He tried to work us over and wouldn’t budge. So we let him through his pity party and went on with our morning routine. Of course he was torn between staying grumpy and joining the rest of us for breakfast. Of course, Sam chose to come to breakfast. I received a smile because I forgot to put his spoon in his oatmeal and I knew all would be well. We went to the Children’s Theatre today. We were able to take 6 children from Sam’s class, we had hoped to take all of them, but I don’t think they have any sort of bus and since no one uses car seats or seatbelts for that matter, it probably was better they didn’t all get crammed into one vehicle. All the children seemed to enjoy the show and then we bought ice cream cones for everyone and they were very pleased. We had hoped to sit with them in the sun and eat together, but it was already 12 and since lunch is at 1215 or 1230 they went right home. Even taking them to the play made me feel a bit guilty, having them see all the other children attending with their parents must have really hurt their hearts a bit. Ian is very homesick and I don’t blame him. I think Vitalik’s world is blossoming while Ian sees his as a bit depressing as he misses the comfort of home; school, a nice house with all of his toys, a big back yard where he can play, a safe neighborhood to ride his bike, etc. Honestly, I’m surprised he lasted as long as he has before missing the creature comforts of home, as I was missing them the second we landed in Kazakhstan!! The boys are in the bath now and soon to bed. We will find out on Tuesday when our court date will be. Tomorrow ends our official 14 day bonding period. And while we hope our court date will be earlier than the 28th, we’re not holding our breath. The only good thing about the whole process is that Sam is learning each day what it means to be in a family.

Saturday, 15 Apr

2006-04-15T21:34:00.000-04:00

Last night we had a bit of crying again from Sam. After about 15 minutes, I went to pick him up and give him a hug and put him back down but as soon as I was about to put him down he was already snoring away. I think he just needs a bit of reassurance that we’re still there. Our sleeping situation is far from ideal. The boys have to sleep on a pull out sofa that isn’t very comfortable and we’re in the next room on a futon that is starting to wreak havoc on both of our backs. Toady started much better than yesterday, Vitalik was more at ease with us and acted more like a son than a visitor. He enjoys both giving and receiving affection and is starting to speak more words. He has no interest in books at this time, but I think that will change down the road as he seems to enjoy doing or trying to do everything Ian does. I feel in love with Sam today. I was having a really hard time with the fact that for the first 2 wks I was not “in love” with Sam. I knew I cared about him, and wanted to protect him and keep him from harms way, but I honestly couldn’t say that I loved him. I think it was due to the fact that I am a very emotional and touchy feely person and even though I read about how institutionalized children don’t like to make eye contact, or give/accept affection, it was still very hard for me and Ian to bear. I now know in my heart that everything will be okay down the road, even if that road will be a bit bumpy at times. I just wanted to speak about having those feelings because it really concerned me that I could be such a sappy person and yet not feel “true love” for my beloved Sam right away. This afternoon we ventured out to the “Trash Park.” The boys had a great time sliding down the slides and climbing over semi-broken playground equipment. I call it Trash Park because not only is there an abundance of litter but because the apartment complex trash bins are located next to the park and are either overflowing or being burnt vs. being taken to a local dump. Still, it was great to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. On the way home we stopped at the supermarket to pick up some mini chocolate milk boxes for the boys and Sam was in complete and total awe. I went back to the supermarket solo to purchase a few more things. For all of the things I don’t enjoy about Kazakhstan, their people make up for it once you break the initial barrier. I have a friend at the supermarket, a Kazakh grocery clerk who likes to practice her English and help me with my Russian. I think I may stay the entire time with Vitalik as I fear leaving him for the 3 or so weeks will cause him to reconstruct the walls we have been bringing down. This will be very hard for me as I have never been away from Ian for more than 2 days. I know he’ll be safe and happy with his 2 Grammy’s and his Daddy, but I will miss our special daily routines. I adore Olga our Orphanage liaison and she has given me her home and cell phone numbers and promises to check up on me and stated I can call her day or night. Having access to a computer will help me feel connected to home as well. I feel better knowing I can get by on my very limited Russian, and most things are either walking distance or a quick bus ride away. Plus, with the nice weather, there’s always “Trash Park and Dilapitated Disney to keep us busy!!

Newsflash….. Sam did NOT finish all of his food. He even offered it to us. Dinner tonight was quite fancy, fish sticks, pears, and bread and butter. We’d like to think he was just being the thoughtful boy that he usually is, but more than likely he didn’t care for fish sticks and figured that was the best way to get rid of them. That’s ‘it from this side of the world. I’ll attach some photos of Trash Park and Sam, in awe of cooking some bacon.

PS. We hope everyone has a Happy Passover and Happy Easter!

Friday, Apr 14th

2006-04-14T21:39:00.000-04:00

Last night went better than expected. We had crying for about 15 minutes, we think from shear fright. Ian did his best to comfort Vitalik. He told Sam not to be afraid, that there were no monsters, no fires, no strangers or trap doors in our apartment and then kissed him and held his hand. We left them alone and they were both very quiet for 15 minutes. We went to go check on them and Vitalik was still awake. We kissed him goodnight and then 10 minutes later he was snoring and Ian wanted to be closer to him and within minutes they were both sound asleep. Friday was very boring in my mind but the boys had fun with empty soda bottles, water bottles, and mama’s overnight bag. I’m having a hard time staying indoors all day. The weather is getting warmer, but there are not a lot of child-friendly activities available at this time. Sam again tried to push our buttons, but we made it quite clear that although we love him dearly and shower him with affection he still needs to mind us and be respectful at all times. The boys are improving daily about looking out for one another and seem to be enjoying each other’s company more and more. Both boys still love bath time and Vitalik loves to get clean, brush his teeth and put lotion on. Vitalik also loves to be in the kitchen whenever I’m washing dishes or cooking food. Not to much to report today, our big excitement for the week-end is our plan to go to a life-size puppet show. We are providing tickets for 6 children in Vitalik’s group. It will be nice to see some of the children once again and it makes me happy to know we’ll be shedding a bit of happiness their way.

Our first overnight

2006-04-13T21:35:00.000-04:00

I forgot to mention how much of a style manic Vitalik was. Daddy loves it when he wears his little pink corduroy pants and matching hot pink boots with hearts on them, so much so that he had to take a photo of them!! Look out Delia Mae, Sam is a fashion wonder in his own right!!!  Actually, hopefully starting today Sam will live with us until the court date. Yes, it’s official--if all goes well Vitalik will someday in the near future be Samuel Vitaly McCaffery, a.k.a. Sam, the Bull. I think we’ll simply call him Vitalik until he has a clear understanding of English and his new name, but he is definitely a Sam. I wish you could hear him speak; Tim just melts when he says, “Pease Papa or Papa in a questioning-like tone when he’s trying to scare him during the “boo” game. Vitalik was once again a style maniac in his faded Levi’s and some turtle neck with yet another heart on it, Daddy was oh so pleased. He said he didn’t want to stay the night tonight, so we’ll see how things go. Once again he was stoic and Ian then grabbed his hand and they walked down the stairs to the main hallway where Vitalik began to walk rather quickly as if to say, “Let’s get out of here Ian.” Again it took him about 10 minutes and our playful Sam returned only to face his first disciplinary action. He had no interest in staying on his chair for time-out, we moved him to the bedroom and there Daddy made him wait and then he was cold to Papa for about 25 minutes and then was once again A-OK. We were due to meet Olga at the Notary @ 1200; at 1245, Ika knocked at the door and said it was time to go. She explained to Sam that it was only for a quick trip and we’d be back home, so he was less nervous, but still a bit quiet. After signing away our lives, and giving up our passports for the day, we returned to the apartment for many games of “BOO”, Leap pad and Magna Doodle. I can see how this is going to get very old as there are no outdoor activities and it’s not as if we can go to Chuck E. Cheese or Story Time at the Library. I’m really bored and feel a bit trapped in our cinder block abode today. My big excitement for the day will be to walk across the street and purchase the ingredients for spaghetti, yippee!!! Off to do more puzzles. Well, we were told we had to go back to the Notary’s Office as we needed to give some more Powers of Attorney to our translator and coordinator; earlier in the day we did it for our lawyer and orphanage representative, Olga. We meet Ika and Sasha at 1715 only to find out Olga still has our passports and has not given them to Ika. I’m not worried about Olga having our passports, as she’s a sweet as can be, but it’s just another example of needing to “go with the flow” while in Kaz, thus, no 2nd trip to the Notary today. Maybe tomorrow or maybe not!! The weather is starting to be pleasant once again, though the natives still dress like its 20 degrees. We took Sam on a short walk around the block and he was a bit fearful and at the same time intrigued with all of the new stimuli. He likes wearing my baseball cap and to ring the doorbell while Ian opens the steel door with our castle-like key. Poor Sam is still overwhelmed by food, overwhelmed he can watch it being cooked, that it is in amply supply and that he can have more if he wants. He also eats every scrap that is given to him. We’re trying to decrease his initial portion size and make him wait until Grace is said to commence and then he may not be excused until everyone has finished eating to try and show him that eating is enjoyable and not a race against the clock. He was shocked Ian could leave some spaghetti in his bowl and not receive any sort of discipline. I had to show him that we’ll simply keep the extra spaghetti and put it in the fridge until tomorrow. He was terrified to put on his pajamas, even after Ian changed; perhaps he thought he was going back to the detsky dom. I’m not certain how bed time will go this evening, keep your fingers crossed.

April 12th

2006-04-12T20:36:00.000-04:00

We thought we were going to meet with the social worker today, but like most things in the workings of Kazakhstan judical system, nothing is ever a certainty. That’s a very frustrating concept for most Americans and type-A personalities like myself, still every day gets better with Sam. I think we’re quite certain his name will be Sam. He looks like a Sam to us, mostly we call him Bull, as he will eat everything and anything and nothing seems to slow him down or frustrate him. Our son now possesses two distinct personalities, that of an orphanage child and that of a young child becoming part of a family. Today we went to a park with a man-made lake and run down amusement park. The park wasn’t open yet, but it was good for the boys to get to run outside a bit. The lake reminded me of Altus except that it wasn’t 100 degrees and this lake was full of trash. It was nice to see people out taking walks, running and riding their bikes. Still Vitalik was stoic, our translator Ika was with us. Even though she is very kind, I think he still associates her with the Orphanage and thus will not become the same little boy we love to see and play with from 10-1800. As soon as he entered our apartment our son emerged. Laughing, smiling, and speaking much more. He now loves to play the “boo” game with Ian and Papa and will of course, roar, like a lion, just like his brother. I’m so glad the stoic boy leaves once he comes to stay with us during the day, but I feel bad that as soon as we get ready to go back to the detsky dom, the stoic Vitalik arrives once again. It really makes me wonder about leaving him for the 3 or so weeks. As much as I’m ready to go home, the thought of him building all of his walls back up to defend his sweet little self, just tears at my heartstrings. They told us Vitalik had a bath yesterday so when it was time to have Ian take a bath, we weren’t certain if he’d want to bathe or not. As soon as Ian clothes were off, Vitalik wanted to join in. They love their bath time, just bonding as brothers and practicing pouring water into coke and diet- pepsi 1 liter bottles. It’s also nice to see Ian want to have things done just for brother or simply to share with brother and Vitalik is always good to return the favor.

Oh, we tried to have eggs, bacon and cereal last night for dinner, but the eggs just looked and smelled different, so I once again made up my dinner to-go food bag and set it outside of the garbage can and sure enough it was gone in the AM, just like the beef salami. Our bacon was SO good, I can hear my rabbi denouncing me already, but I can’t help it, I love bacon and shellfish. Tonight we may just go out again or have some muesli, bacon and fruit, our new staple. I also wanted to thank everyone for sending us email and little messages via our blog site. We love reading them each morning and it’s very frustrating that our internet is so slow that we can barley get our blog published and check our home email account in under an hour. We do appreciate you reading about our adventures and sending us notes from home. Janiece, I promise to wake up earlier and send you an email. Beth and Jeff, we really miss our neurotic Baby-Dog coming to greet us each morning. And to the family member of the Hunt Adoption Blog, we hope Karina, Riley, and Mom and Dad are doing well and will be stateside soon!! Also, I hope the 3 older girls from Livinski are homeward bound and I’m hoping the parents of Aidan and Liam are on their way back to Kazakhstan from Austin. PS. I love Shiner Bock!!!

Tuesday, 11 Apr

2006-04-11T21:18:00.000-04:00

We went to the Orphanage to see whether Vitalik would spend the day with us or if we’d have to visit with him at the Orphanage. Luckily, he could come home with us again today. Today he really enjoyed watching me wash the dishes and tried doing so himself. He also is in total amazement of being so close to so many different kinds of food. He’s better at keeping his food on his plate vs. hoarding it all in his hands but he does still eat it quite quickly. It’s also hard for him to only hold one crayon at a time; in the beginning it was due to his fear of them being taken away, now it’s more to test us, as he smiles his little sneaky smile while he arches his shoulders. Again the big hits of the day have been paper air planes, lasso ropes, and shaking partially filled water jugs. We may venture out for a stroller ride this afternoon and try to find a semi clean playground. He’s excited to have a banana later in the day. The boys do well playing together and sharing Mama and Papa’s attention. Vitalik also loves to copy Ian’s every move. We tried once again to get Vitalik to rest, but to no avail. We did have a bit of a bonding time and we tried to get him to relax by watching The Lion King 1 1/2. Poor thing, he can’t seem to relax, he had no interest in the movie, but rather to covet his string and make certain it was in perfect condition vs. being bundled up. He so wanted to fall asleep on me, but I think he’s just to excited and still a bit nervous about his new surroundings. I’m certain some of his obsessive-compulsive issues come from his rearing in the Orphanage, but hopefully we can get him to let relax a bit when he is finally ours and in our home and our surroundings on a regular basis. We took off his green shirt and put it up on top of the couch and he constantly had to check to see if it was ok and if it was folded well. Poor thing, I’m glad he’s a neat freak like his mommy, but not to that extent. He speaks more English daily as well as speaking to us in Russian, which is great. Our food choices are growing a bit thin--tonight we’re getting all crazy and having eggs and bacon and cereal. There are some hot dog looking sausages and some hard salami type meats, but no true deli meats to speak of and what I wouldn’t give for a spinach salad with raspberry & walnut dressing!! No new pictures today, just some of the Orphanage and apartment.

Our first home visit

2006-04-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

Today was Vitalik's first visit to our apartment. He was here from 10AM to 6PM which is a lot longer than our previous 2 hour visits. The car ride went a lot better. He didn't cry at all. When we were in the car, he was very alert--we don't know if he was tense or just taking in the outside world he never gets to see. After a peanut butter and jelly and corn lunch, the boys got a bath. Possibly the first bath for Vitalik. He was scared to go in, but quickly realized it was a fun adventure and both boys would have liked to be in there all day, but we ran out of hot water. After naptime, we promised we would have him take a nap. Vitalik refused to nap, much to Nell's dismay. His mischevious side came out--always checking for approval with a smirk before sneaking out of bed. Not that we blamed him, but we didn't want him to get in trouble for being tired later at the orphanage. Both boys are getting much better at sharing and seemed to enjoy themselves, with minimal conflict over certain toys. Vitalik doesn't really show affection yet, which is hard for us, especially since Ian is so affectionate. He does accept hugs and kisses and will give them if you ask, but I don't think he really knows what that means. We don't know if he is excited to see us or just excited to get a break from the orphanage. I am sure all will be well with time. We don't know whether we'll be able to bring him to the apartment today (Tues) or not. I guess we'll find out when we get to the orphanage (aka baby house).

Sunday 9 Apr

2006-04-09T20:56:00.000-04:00

This morning we met with our lawyer, who is the father of our translator and coordinator. He was very nice and explained to us the “proper” answers to the questions that may be asked of us in court. Some caught us off guard, others seemed fairly typical; of course we’d like to answer them the way “we” feel they should be answered, but this is not our country and we need to do what we need to do to bring our second son home. Yes, we said a few posts back that we’d have a name for him. We still do not. Ian likes Owen, Tim likes Sam, and I’m not in love with either of them. We wish we would have a better grasp on his true personality prior to giving him a name, but by Wednesday afternoon, he will have one as we have been informed that will be the day we’ll need to make it official! Our visits to the orphanage are becoming a bit bland. It’s just simply getting a bit old sitting in the same room, with the same puzzles, crayons, etc. We just can’t wait to bring him back to the apartment and have him experience family life vs. being under constant supervision. I think he’s enjoying himself more, but he is always conscious of his surroundings and if he is acting properly. I have yet to hear a child cry in the orphanage and there are a few who speak a bit of English and like to practice with us as we leave and enter each day. I’m going to ask Olga, our orphanage liaison person if we can go back into Vitalik’s group and take a group photo. I still need to get some photos of the Orphanage. I enjoy my talks with Ika each day about life in Kaz vs. in the States. How life has changed for the better and for the worst in post-USSR republics. Some aspects of our lives are incredibly the same and others vastly different. To me Karaganda and the bit of Almaty that I viewed reminds me of a mixture of the Bronx in regards to the air pollution and trash and any European city except that there has been no restoration to the apartment buildings and government buildings for hundreds of years. I’m happy to report besides the initial stoic response from eye contact with people, people that we’ve actually met have been very kind and helpful. I wish many more Americans could travel abroad to less affluent places to see how truly fortunate we are in regards to the everyday simplicities we possess.

The boys did really well this visit, they played well together and separately without coaxing from anyone. I think Ian has made the realization that life with his brother will be great and that our love for him has not diminished one bit even though the amount of attention may be divided at times. I think even though Vitalik is about 2 months older than Ian, Ian will definitely be a big brother and protector--that’s just his style. We found some more food to eat. We found sunflower seeds and pistachios and Ian will eat both, which is good as I was a bit worried about his protein level. I cooked up some ground “beef” or we’re hoping it’s that, to add to our pasta sauce. It smells normal, but we’ll have to wait and see. I also bought some eggs and pre-wrapped bacon, so we can have a big breakfast/meal instead of constantly have Honey Nut Cheerios. We’ve now switched to the Moscow version of Honey Nut Cheerios and Ian loves those as well. I also found some Raman type soup and that seems to be my staple. They had some huge fish, no lie it was 2ft long, scales and all in bubble wrap at the grocery store yesterday, I so wanted to see someone carry it out of the store!! It has been really cold that last 2 days, some stereotypical “ruski” style hats have been worn about but mostly they’re random colors to accent everyone’s black/brown coats. Ian is in love with Herbie the Lovebug and can’t wait to turn on Delia’s toy that sings the love bug song. The big excitement for next week will be to go to the department/everything store a buy a few gifts for the judge and secretary and our lawyer. Perfume for the secretary and some Cognac for the men. We are hoping the weather warms up a bit so we can take the boys to some “carnival-type” fun park and perhaps just take some walks in the stroller. We’re feeling a bit cooped up. Our driver and translator will take us anywhere, but it feels a bit strange to have to depend on others to get around and we feel a bit guilty that there lives revolve around carting us to and from the orphanage especially on the week-ends when we’re certain they’d rather be with their own families.

Our second visit went well, the boys played together and alone and Ian tries even more to teach Vitalik and ask him questions about his opinions on certain subjects. One sign of living in Orphanage is his ability to tune things out. Sometimes while he’s doing a task and we say his name 2 or 3 times, he simply tunes out things to concentrate on the task at hand. We can only imagine how chaotic it must be at times and what a young child must do to find some inner peace. He did make a pretty bead necklace and was quite happy to have his picture taken in his newest creation. Of course he immediately put it in his pocket for safe keeping and would check all around prior to taking it out and playing with it a bit. We tried to show him he can trust us by having him hand the necklace to us, we look at it smile and give it back and thank him. He had fun using stamps today and loved washing his hands. We’re not certain if he likes us taking on more of a caretaker role or if he felt relieved we got off the ink prior to returning to the group so he would not suffer any disciplinary action. I took some photos of his bathroom and while I’m not impressed with the newspaper toilet paper they do try to keep them “clean” by having separate combs, toothbrushes and towels. They seem to clean things with straight bleach but in Orphanage bathrooms no one flushes their toilet paper et al; it goes into buckets and then gets thrown out when need be. While my logical mind can understand that it may be a necessity due to the wear and tear it may have on their older sewage pipes, the thought of the germ spreading contamination does get to me a bit. We found out we will meet with the child advocate/social worker on Wednesday, hopefully that will go well. We’ve been “instructed” numerous times on our “proper” answers and all should go well. We did learn today that after Vitaly (Vitalik is more of a nickname) becomes officially ours, and we must return to the States he will live with Olga until the paperwork is ready and I can come back either to Karaganda or Almaty and bring him home. This makes me feel better as I adore Olga and know in my heart she will treat him with love and respect. A neat thing happened today, Vitaly came running after us after our afternoon visit had ceased and came to give us more hugs and kisses, which was neat to see. We will be able to take some photos and videos of his group, but more than likely not until our court day party as they don’t wish to cause any extra pain and sadness to his group mates. I’m so proud Ian wants to include them in our visits as well, as he does have one of the biggest and kindest hearts of any child or adult I know. I know it would be hard for me as well, hanging out with all the children on a regular basis. I want to give them as much affection as I can, perhaps decreasing the pace that the majority of their hearts will harden due to their living situation and overall existence by not having a family or any true close bonds. My lighter comments for today’s post is that our water in the apartment has two-- settings Icelandic and Volcanic and I can only wash my hair every 2 days as the water makes it feel like either straw and I can’t get through it with a comb, brush or weed-whacker. Natural curly hair and Kazakhstan water do not make such a good combo!!

2006-04-08T20:49:00.000-04:00

Yes, its good Tim wrote yesterday because I was in no mood to do so. I just woke up annoyed. Annoyed that there is no grassy area outside where Ian can play, annoyed that the car exhaust is doing havoc on my eyes and Ian’s nose, annoyed that my second son is in desperate need of a bath and has to wipe his backside with newspaper vs. toilet paper. It was one of those mornings why I could see why so many people turned to alcohol or cigarettes to deal with their daily existence. Then our visit in the morning was a rough one. It’s really hard trying to bond with a new child to have him learn to trust us and enjoy our company and still make certain your own child feels safe and secure in his position with in his current family. It gets better each day, but with the mood I was having, the whole situation just annoyed me. By lunch all was well, I stopped being the spoiled American traveler and instead of being annoyed, was thankful, that I have a safe, clean, and friendly environment in which to raise our boys. We still can’t decide on his name. I think Samuel will be the winner, and we’ll simply call him Sam. I like the way Ian and Owen sounds, but he simply looks more like a Sam. It’s really hard to find something that flows well with Vitalik and McCaffery. Tim feels it’s really important to keep his given name his middle name. I’m just hoping he doesn’t have a negative association with it as it was from his birth mother who abandoned him. We meet with the lawyer tomorrow, so by Sunday’s post he’ll have his official name. So far so good as far as last night’s “organic” chicken is concerned. I think as “ethnic” as I’m willing to go is the pot-sticker type perogi looking things in the frozen food section of the grocery store. I found some nutella and feel like I’m in 7th heaven!!

Today’s morning visit went much better. Vitalik saw us coming down the hall and ran to us with a huge smile on his face. It’s great to see him ease up a bit. Life is very structured for him and he’s very cautious whenever he sees a caregiver or hears Russian. The children are so disciplined, a bit too much, and you know that’s saying a lot coming from me; as compared to most American families we rear Ian in a somewhat strict and discipline manner. We played ball as a group and then began coloring and doing Lego’s as a family. It was really nice. Vitalik loves being held more and more and seems to like soft little kisses on his super soft cheeks and neck. His shoes would fall off while we were dancing and it’s as if he was afraid someone would see that he didn’t have them on properly so we’d have to stop and then we’d start back up with more lovees. He’s becoming much better with signing and I think it will really take off once he starts “living” with us in the apartment vs. being in the orphanage. I’m going to try to take some photos of the Orphanage today. I feel like we’re whisked in and out quickly, but I’ll just take my camera along on my daily bathroom run!! Playing in the same room is becoming a bit old, but each visit is better for all of us.

Our interpreter took us to a DVD rental place today. I picked out a few from the pictures of the actors and could tell that one was the newish Herbie movie. Ian really enjoyed his afternoon movie between visits and keeps telling everyone he is Herbie the Love Bug. DVDs are only 1$ a piece. Eat your heart out Blockbuster! Ian did a great job initiating play with Vitalik during our afternoon visit. Vitalik seemed a little down or tired in the afternoon, but he is so disciplined to be agreeable, we couldn't determine what was wrong. We asked "are you happy?". He nodded yes. "Are you sad?"...yes again. He seemed to say yes to everything. I guess that is common with the children at the orphanage. We had a pizza dinner planned with another American family but that fell through. We were going to go anyway but our interpreter and driver are very nervous for us to be alone. The driver was going to wait outside while we ate our unplanned dinner, but he had other things to do. So we ate more pot-stickers in the apartment. Ian had fruit, oatmeal and cereal--his mainstay so far. Nell and I stayed up and watched "An Unfinished Life", picked for the picture of Morgan Freeman. It's tough to stay up since Ian's bedroom is the living room, so he got to sleep in our room until the movie was over. It is becoming a lot like groundhog day--we hope to be able to bring Vitalik to the apartment soon. Thanks for the emails and comments. We really enjoyed Grammy Mim's phone call in the morning. I guess the phone works!

Friday 7 Apr

2006-04-07T21:16:00.000-04:00

Hi all. This is Tim—Nell fell asleep without adding to her saga, so this will be short and sweet. On Friday, we received the last of the medical reports on Vitalik. He has been given a clean bill of health. What a relief! Visitations went pretty well. Vitalik is getting used to being held. On the first day, he was scared to be held, then he began to tolerate it, but yesterday he really seemed to enjoy being held by Nell and giggled the whole time. Ian has been a trooper but occasionally gets sad because he isn’t getting 100% of our attention. Last night, we went to a café to eat. I ordered the Dijon Schnitzel (they have an English menu), but I received a hamburger-looking patty with red peppers on mashed potatoes. Exactly what I expected except there was no Dijon or schnitzel. I guess we have to learn more Russian. Ian ordered dessert pancakes which turned out to be crepes with cream, fruit and jelly—he loved it! Nell liked her chicken but all of the food here is “organic” and does not look at all like meat we are used to. We are still trying to determine what part of a chicken it came from. We hope to start bringing Vitalik to the apartment to visit soon, and then will ask to keep him overnight a few times next week. We’re a little nervous with the language barrier, but I am sure we can work things out with our interpreter if necessary. Vitalik is learning English, but he always whispers when he speaks English. My favorite is when he says “please Papa”—it sounds like “tupees papa”. He is repeating everything we say, in a soft whisper, but I am sure he doesn’t understand what the words mean. He is making much better eye contact, which was a concern earlier in the week. Although we were enjoying some mild temperatures, Saturday will be more like winter. Temperatures are supposed to drop to -10 degrees C. Luckily all the buildings we have visited set the heat very high.

April 6th

2006-04-06T21:16:00.000-04:00

We only got to spend about an hour today with Vitalik during our first visit. Sasha, our driver had to wait for some paperwork at the DOE and thus was late. We still had a great hour with our new little friend. Each visit improves his trust of us and his longing to smile and be happy. He is no longer afraid when we pick him up, and actually likes it, and he’s better with us giving him hugs and kisses. Bless Ian’s big heart, he keeps asking to play with the other children in Vitalik’s group. A few came by our room today, and the look on Vitalik’s face made it very clear that he didn’t want any one invading on his private time. All the children in his group are so kind, and friendly. They like to say the Amerikins, Talya’s Mama and Papa. Already being a mom, I long to give them affection as well, but I also understand why they want us to stay separate as I can see how it breaks their hearts to know we aren’t there to take them to their forever home. We thought we were going to meet with the lawyer today to finalize paper for court and thus needed Vitalik’s new name. Tim’s vetoed my traditional Irish names and I’m not to into his monosyllabic choices, so for now, we’re thinking it will be Either Owen Vitalik McCaffery or Samuel Vitalik McCaffery, and simply call him Sam. He looks like a Sam, but to me Sam McCaffery, sounds like some cheesy salesman, but I also like the sound of Ian and Owen. Who knows, there’s always Seamus Flynn…. I ventured out today for an afternoon walk and became quite saddened by the general living conditions of Karaganda. Some of the buildings are quite lovely if the money was available to refurbish them, but most of the buildings are quite decrepit and run down. There is no grass and the pollution from the cars and buses is horrendous. Mostly what saddens me is the trash; it’s not just littering, but garbage from homes everywhere. I found an area that had some run down metal playground equipment, but it would still have been fun for Ian had there not been so much trash and garbage. I was fearful there might be glass hidden under the leaves. I also think it’s sad, even though this may sound a bit ethnocentric that people don’t smile more especially since once you start to speak with them they are very kind and nice. This afternoon we went back to the Orphanage and played for a bit inside with balls and then we were able to play outside on their playground which was old but still fun. I thought we were going to go out with their group, but their group then decided not to go out, I hope not due to our going outside. Of course they bundled Vitalik as if it was 20 degrees, but we all had a good time. I played with a few other children, but their caretakers were quick to tell them to leave us alone. Vitalik let me help him a bit on some of the toys, but has no interest in holding hands. He gives us hugs and kisses before leaving but has to be prompted. His caregiver did say that he now waits for us to come, which is good to know he is enjoying our company. It was good to see the younger children having fun regardless of their living/playing conditions, but you could see the wear and tear it has taken on some of the older children. It’s hard to enjoy spending time with Ian and Vitalik knowing so many other children are lonely and would love the simplest form of affection, like a smile, a handshake, or a simple compliment. Uncle Erin, do you like me at the helm???? .

Weds, 5 April

2006-04-05T19:25:00.000-04:00

Here are a few photos from our home away from home. We live on the first floor corner of the apartment building. We live off Blvd. Mira, which I was told means peace. It has a ton of trees and hopefully will bud soon and get some green into our world. Next is the first door of 3 to get into our apartment door. Ian is a budding scientist in our down time from visiting the orphanage. He uses the rope we brought for our clothesline to find out what will weight it down and what won't. He also makes traps, mostly "lovey" traps for us. He's really into being a spy these days, which is hillarious since we're in the former USSR. Both of our boys love to do crafts and investigate things as you can see from some of the photos above. Notice how Vitalik will not let go of his ball on while watching Daddy help fix his "samilyot" airplane. We were glad to get a nice photo of Vitalik with us actually smiling. You should be able to double click on each photo to enlarge it, we just kept them small for an easy upload.

We’re all almost on a normal sleeping schedule, though we need to wake up around 0600 so that we can dial-up to the internet and add posts to our webpage, read our emails and surf a bit. Ian is in love with his morning breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios and yogurt. Thank G-d he loves yogurt, because all we can find for him to eat here is oatmeal, yogurt, canned corn, milk, cereal and apples and bananas. The fresh fruit selection is limited in regards to quantity and quality with vegetables being even scarcer. I have yet to find fresh carrots and spinach. The two yellow and orange bell peppers we purchased were close to $4.00. Other items are incredibly inexpensive like bread, milk, yogurt, cheese, Tide, and treats. We purchased something that reminds me of pot stickers or dim sum’s shu mai, but we’re not certain what type of condiment to sprinkle on them. I tried balsamic vinegar and that was good, Tim likes them plain, and I found some no-brand soy sauce that we’ll have to try tomorrow night. There are also good breads that have meat and cheese or veggies and cheese in them, but we have yet to purchase any of these. We’ve also decided everyone wears black, brown, or navy because it hides the dirt. The water is less than clear and let’s just say that our white /light colored clothing has a slight tinge to it. Still, we’ve found the people to be very helpful if we try to ask for something and our translator, driver and orphanage coordinator are wonderful. Today we met with Vitalik’s Dr. at the orphanage and she told us about his history. He has no siblings, his birth mother is a single woman from a broken home who lived with her mom and sister and one day took off and then dropped Vitalik back home @ 3months and then disappeared. Vitalik’s Grandma tried to raise him the best she could but in 2003 she brought him to his first baby house and explained her situation and asked that if he were to be adopted to be notified that he went to a good home. This made me feel good and Olga promised me she will pass on the news that if all goes well, Vitalik will live well with a family that will cherish him forever.

Everyday our visits with Vitalik get better and better. He is still shy, but very caring and thoughtful. Yesterday we bought each of them a ball. We left Ian’s at home today and when Vitalik saw that Ian didn’t have a ball during our visitation, he ran back into his caregiver to ask for a ball for Ian too. He also went to get some Lego’s when Ian was a bit sad that he couldn’t play ball as well as Vitalik. He laughed much more today and smiled a ton. He’s a little ham and I think all will go well down the road. Vitalik is very independent and if he falls down or bumps his head, he just keeps on going. He also is very resilient and doesn’t seem to mind if he can’t accomplish something on the first try. I think this is due to the fact that he is simply so glad to have had the opportunity to be given the chance to play on his own uninterrupted. He’s warming up to our hugs and tickles and being picked up, but isn’t quite certain why we do these things. So the boys will be good for each other in that Vitalik will teach Ian to keep going/trying when things get tough and Ian will teach Vitalik how great love can be and how to show it and receive it. Today we’re off to watch a musical put on at the Orphanage. We hope to bring Vitalik’s group some fresh fruit sometime soon, as they don’t seem to receive any. I think we’ll bring him home to the apartment next week and I can’t wait to give him a proper bath, hair washing and clean his ears. He loves to play and loves being able to drink fresh water. Wow, this trip has made us thankful for so many things we have at home, but also we’ve learned we can do without a ton as well. I’ll try to post some more photos of where we live and of our little man soon. We were hoping to see the musical today by Vitalik’s group, but the music teacher didn’t show up, so we had a bit of a longer visit and it went well for the most part. We were bad parents and forgot to bring Ian’s ball to the orphanage and Vitalik cherishes the ball we gave him and loves to keep it close, even when we’re doing another activity like coloring or working on a puzzle. He is slowly realizing that once we give him something it is his and we won’t take it away. He has been using his please, more, and drink signs, and says please, more and mama, papa, and Ian in the most adorable accent. He still likes to say spysibo, thank-you in Russian. Today we worked more on taking turns and sharing the ball. It went well overall and when he didn’t want to give Ian his special ball from us, he again went back to his room and brought Ian his favorite ball from Monday. It’s hilarious to hear Ian say, nyet spysibo, for no thank-you. His giggles and smiles are increasing and his trust for us as well, it has been great to watch. Ian was a bit sad that he pushed him out of the way to get the ball. It’s hard for Ian, because he has been taught that pushing is unacceptable. When Vitalik does it, we tell him it’s wrong, but we also explain to Ian why he probably does it and that slowly we will correct his behavior as well, but first he needs to be able to trust us. Ian sees it as Vitalik getting to break the rules. So today I made certain to correct Vitalik for pushing and for touching the camera after I asked him not to do so. This way Ian could see that there will be no favorites in our home. We all crashed about 2000 and then the phone rang; it was a friend I met on the internet who had her court hearing today. She was hilarious to talk to and is very happy to be going state side very soon. She adopted a girl who is 6 and we’ll meet for dinner on Saturday. Well I need to hit the hay…. Thanks for reading our daily novellas.

April 4th

2006-04-04T21:19:00.000-04:00

4th of April
We woke up this morning at 0400, and finally got on the internet to update our webpage and answer some emails as we just purchased our Nursat card. We feel like we’re living in antiquity as we have to use a dial up internet service. The best bang for your buck with the Nursat card is from 0200-0800. We then hung out and waited to go and visit Vitalik at the Orphanage. He was excited when we got to his room and of course had to get the plane and some bouncy balls with which to play. Vitalik is going to be a great soccer player as his kicking ability is amazing. He also possesses incredible fortitude and resilience when it comes to figuring out objects, toys, etc. He also doesn’t seem frazzled when he doesn’t figure it out the first time. Both Ian and Vitalik loved that I brought paper and crayons as they both love crafts. He also loves to look at his book about our home, Ian’s friends, and mostly our “sabaka” Hanski-Panski, a.k.a. Baby Dog. He started to smile much more and we even heard him laugh. He feels the most comfortable with Tim. We brought an apple and goldfish and you would have thought we brought the fanciest pastry know to man. We taught him, “please”, “more”, “drink”, and “thank-you” today with sign-language and he even said please, more, water and papa in broken English it was too cute. Ian does really well and then becomes a bit overwhelmed. I think it’s a bit hard to share mommy and daddy, but mostly, he wants Vitaly to feel as comfortable with him as he does Vitaly. He also is still off on his time as he is ready for bed by 1500 but we still have to have visitation from 1600-1800, so by the end of the visit, he’s not at his best. I’m hoping this will change in the next couple of days. We took Vitalik in a car to buy him a few outfits and shoes for when he comes to stay with us at the apartment. He is terrified of cars, after putting on a ton of clothes, tights, corduroys, shirt, sweater, winter coat and boots, and hat, he started crying to no avail. Children only come out of the Orphanage to see the doctor, and since he had just been to the Dr and had bloodwork done, getting in with us was no fun. He was ok once we were in and going and enjoyed going to the store, as for us, it was no fun as it was once again 100 degrees in the store. Although it appeared to be one store, it was really multiple stores that have individual check-outs. Clothes and shoes are a real rip-off compared to home. We went back to the Orphanage and the boys played with their toys and we were able to take one photo with Vitalik where he actually smiled. Tomorrow we meet with the Dr. and Thursday we’ll meet with our lawyer to finalize things and we’ll have his official name.

First days in Kazakhstan

2006-04-03T18:23:00.000-04:00

Again sorry for the long post. It took us a couple days to gain internet access.

Photos: Ian's power nap at Hotel Kazhol. It was cute to see him in a crib again, our street sign in Almaty, our hotel, we were on the 5th floor right in the middle under orangish arch, and the view from our hotel window....

Sat April 1st

Sat in the USO in Frankfurt, Germany for nearly 6hrs and enjoyed the break. Ian met some nice soldiers for whom he made crafts. Ms. Pat’s goodie box has been a life saver! Our flight from Frankfurt to Almaty was uneventful in that Ian slept the entire way, which was great because we all needed some sleep. Our service on both Lufthansa flights was wonderful. Thoughtful and efficient waitstaff and the food was quite tasty as well. Landing in Almaty was fine, customs was fine no shake downs, all I can say is that the workers were somewhat sullen or simply chose not to smile, perhaps due to cultural differences or perhaps because it was 0130 when we arrived and of course our little buddy was going strong after his 6hr power nap!! We met Igor and Nikolai and “Jack” at the airport and then they took us to the Hotel Kazhol, which was a bit run down, and some of the clientel we’re perhaps “working” vs. sleeping, but the beds were comfy and breakfast was plentiful and tasty. Our only real problem is we were overcharged for our tickets for our flight from Almaty to Karaganda, but I think we’ll be able to work something out, if not, still we arrived in Karaganda with no problems, so I’m happy. My only real complaint about Kaz is the amount of litter and smoke. The parts of Almaty we saw werre simply poor and run down, it didn’t help that it was overcast and raining either. We discovered the mountains after our 5hr nap and they were beautiful.

Sun April 2nd

Spent the day sleeping and taking a walk in Almaty, which is not pro-stroller. Could not find a grocery store to purchase non-bubbly water for Ian, so we had to drink water from the mini-bar, which was still cheaper than what we’d pay for water in the grocery store at home. I’m very thankful we had no “issues” in the Almaty airport with luggage or shake downs. Ian loved that we got to ride a bus with no seats to the plane. The plane was much more spacious than I anticipated and more comfortable except that everytime we’re indoors it’s at least 95 degrees! It was funny how on the airplane, there were no safety videos, the overhead compartments have no doors, the waiter didn’t care if your carry-on’s we’re stowed correctly beneath the next seat and once the plane took off it was free reign. A little boy would run up and down the aisles as his mom simply read her book and had no fear about other people getting mad or “playing with him” People are on the one hand closed and yet very loving of their native children, I was amazed.

We were met by Chingis, his sister, Ika, our translator, and Olga, who speaks some English and will work with us at the Orphanage and Sasha our driver. Ika’s English is amazing and she’s stunning. Chingis is nice and Olga seems like a nice grammy figure. Sasha is quiet so far. In Karaganda, we simply got off the plane and then they wheel in your bags and you show them your claim ticket and your done. It was a ghost town. We traveled a long road surrounded by grassy plain into Karaganda proper. Our apartment is huge by Soviet standards and is quite cozy after you walk through the dingy hallway and through our blue steel door. I’m very pleased with our home away from home while in Kaz., especially since it’s $50/day. Our only fear is that our court date might be very close to our departure date which is not what we had anticipated. But we’ll have to wait and see. So far we have had a great adventure and our son is an amazing traveler. He loves every part of the trip, even things we as a adults might get frustrated about, he simply rolls with the punches and is happy simply to be together.

Monday April 3rd

I woke up and took a bit too long in the shower/tub and now Daddy will have to wait for hot water. Ian slept well and is now eating his quality breakfast of a day old “squishy” apple which he loves and goldfish. I think we’ll lose some pounds here. We’ll venture to the Supermarket today and we’re off to the Orphanage in about an hour. We have yet to find out Vitalik’s true health status and still remain hopeful. More to report later..

We met up with Olga, Ika, and Sasha around 1000, an hour after they said they’d met us. Olga is sweet and stated how nice I looked, we laughed as I stated a shower can do miracles… We first went to the supermarket which is literally across the street from our apartment and there is also a bank exchange which is nice. The supermarket has everything, some things are very cheap, milk, yogurt, water, coke, tide, other things are expensive, fruit, veggies, and meat and cheese are about the same. We then purchased some yummies for Vitalik’s group at the Detsky Dom. I’d say there were about 12 kids in Vitalik’s group and they were from 4-6 yrs. We saw Vitalik and he came to us, but only because we had treats. He is very shy and did not open up to us too much. Tim got him to smile a bit and of course Ian wanted to play with him at once and was a bit disappointed that he didn’t want to play with us. Daddy tried to give him rides in the air, and he became very scared. He has only been in a car 2x and found it quite fearful. He’s a peanut, a good 6 inches shorted than Ian, so at least I know Ian’s clothes will fit him. The director of the orphanage was very nice, and has been waiting for us for a long time, she thinks that after a few days, we can bring him to the apartment and stay with us to better the bonding process. The orphanage which means little camel, I can’t remember the name as of yet, something with a K, The orphanage is nicer than I expected, they live in family groups, each group has big bedrooms-- for one for boys one for girls, a bigh wash room, a nice play/eating area and a homework room. My heart went out at once to so many children in Vitalik’s class. We both loved this little girl, who was Kazakh and delayed in speech and but full of life and smiles. She loved doing string crafts like Ian and playing ball and receiving hugs. The older boys were nice too, they shared with Ian well and they liked to put on plays. I was amazed at how disciplined they are when it comes to putting away their things and helping each other. One older child put a bib on the special needs child and I also feel for a older boy with a crossed eye as he was kind and just pulled on my heart strings. We’re to go back to the Orphanage today in a bit and we then plan to eat a nice dinner at home and then hit the sack. We went back to the orphanage and met with Vitalik just as a family. He took us to his room and we played a bit with this special airplane of his and it was interesting and a bit heartbreaking. The good news is that he is acting like any 4 yr old would act who didn't speak someone else's langauge and goes from being 1/12 to 1/2. He is very curious and likes to try and figure things out for himself and does not give up when he doesn't get it the first time. Ian of course wants to help him and play together with him and being a lovey child wants to hug him and be close by him at all times. Vitalik still a bit unsure and growing up in a culture that is not overly affectionate and being 1/12 not used to receiving so much attention. I had a really hard time watching Ian trying so hard and not having Vitalik return his love, but I understand why. He has a special bond with Tim already. He loves to take Tim's wedding ring and try to twirl it and hold it as if he was holding a million dollars. It was also the first time he had ever been able to play with toys at will and for a long period of time His health seems typical of orphanage children, poor skin tone, fragile hair, but noting a healthy diet and exercise can't cure. They don't go outside too much as there is no real grass to play and the air is not too clean. Of forget my last post about losing any weight, the supermaket has everything and many more treats, thank goodness I brought my pilates tapes. Ian is a great traveler and loves all of our adventures, he loves our key to the apartment, as it looks like something from the middle ages, or to him, it's a "spy key" and our steel door to our real door of the apartment has to do with being a spy and going on special missions as well ,too funny. Well, I've got to run, we'll try to post some pictures tomorrow. Thanks for reading and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers...

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

2006-03-31T09:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe today is the day we're finally on our way. Last night we drove up to NJ where we stayed with Auntie Robin, Uncle Erin, and cousin Delia. It was nice to spend some quality extended family time prior to our embarking on our long flight to Kazakhstan. Ian had a great time with his cousin Delia and Auntie Robin made him french toast, his favorite!!

We arrived at Newark Liberty Airport around 1330, the weather was wonderful and the line for Lufthansa was very, very long. We must bave looked clueless because after 3 minutes of waiting, a worker from Lufthansa came and told us to give him our passports and boarding passes. Within 10 minutes we by passed 200 people and at least an hour of standing in line. Customs was very swift and our flight to Frankfurt went really well. Ian did great and the staff at Lufthansa were great and so was our dinner and snacks. In our mind it's 0200 on Saturday morning, but we're all still going stromg at the USO in Frankfurt. Ian has met some fellow soldiers for whom he has made some crafts from his goodie box given to him by his teachers at The Little School. Sorry Ms. Pat, Ian could not wait til he got on the plane to use some of his crafts!! He loved them too much!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed the second leg of the journey goes well. I must say I'm so pleased I invested the whopping $10 rummage sale dual stroller it has been a blessing for Ian for us to take a break from carrying our carry-ons!!

Feeling Hopefull

2006-03-27T18:00:00.000-05:00

Received a copy of a letter from the Dr. at the Orphange to our coordinator with an official seal, stating child "is healthy, not contagious and everything is good to go." Still, we are cautious and had numerous tests done to him today and will receive the results from our Lawyer/Coordinator in Kaz on Monday, the day that we are to visit our little man!! We're hoping for the best, but know nothing is for certain at this point. Still, we're excited simply to be starting our journey to become a family of four. We received our laptop today and my hubby is like a kid in a candy store!! I think we'll crash at my sister-in-laws house on Thursday night as we leave from Newark at 1615 on Friday afternoon. Thanks again to Auntie Robin, Uncle Erin, and cousin Delia for letting us "store" our car at your house vs. paying a small fortune for parking at the Newark Airport!

A Bit of Good News :)

2006-03-25T14:12:00.000-05:00

My passport finally arrived today and the spelling of my full name is correct on my visa, yippee! We also received our airline tickets. Still waiting on our laptop and news about our little guy, but at least we'll be able to make the trip!!

What Next???

2006-03-25T07:56:00.000-05:00

Hello,

It has been a hell of a week. I've felt like a bit of a crappy parent to Ian this week. He's been such a trooper while I've had to do research on the internet, be on the phone with either the adoption agency, the bank, the airlines, a/0 the NY consulate. G-d, I love that boy!!!

Where to begin.... Well, we are still waiting on an updated medical report on our little man as he was to go to a private clinic on Friday, but didn't, surprise surprise.. and will do so on Monday, or so they say. I told our coordinator that we would need to know our little man's status prior to departure on Friday. We just can't bond with a child only to have them tell us he will be unable to leave the country. Tim and I can understand the reasons why, but to Ian and the other little guy, we feel to put the boys together and for them to have fun and laugh and play only to find out they can't do so on a forever basis would be simply unbearable and cruel. We also need to know prior to leaving because we must start our bonding process on the first Monday as Tim only has one month of leave from work with no exceptions!!

We are still due to receive our laptop and airline tickets on Monday. We went and got our "cash" from the bank, only to find about a 1/4 of the bills in unacceptable condition. Now I'll have to either go back to the same bank and hope they can exchange the bills for newer versions or visit other banks and have them look at me like I'm with the mob as I try to explain to them why I need my older bills exchanged for clean, crisp, newer bills to bring to Kazakhstan for an adoption and hopefully they'll exchange some of them. But the most frustrating and annoying part of our saga is my passport. Like I stated in a previous post, Ian and Tim's visa's were perfect, and mine, well, my name was incorrect. So, I called the NY Consulate on Thursday and they stated they already received my passport and once again had attached the new visa to it and my passport was already sent out in the Express overnight mail package that I included when sending my passport back to them a second time. So, did I get my package on Friday... NO, does the tracking # work in the USPS.com...NO am I a bit overwhelmed.... HELL YES!!! All this craziness is almost comical at this point. I figure it's got to get better from here because it certainly can't get much worse!!!

The Good News and the Bad News....

2006-03-21T19:17:00.000-05:00

Wow, we had some wonderful news this past Sunday. We received a new photo of our soon to be second son, we hope. We had not seen a updated photo of him since June 05. This is a really big deal for us as we received some other photos on Xmas Eve and in January, but of a different child. Now, we know that Kaz does not "hold" children, and we were ok with that fact because of all the wonderful things we have read/heard about the Nezabudka orphanage in Karaganda. Our main concern was if "our" boy was not to be ours, then by all means we hoped he would have gone to a good forever home. For me, I just needed closure. It was hard knowing that our son could be out there but for one reason or another his picture was misplaced. I'm ok with him going to a family that would love him as much as we do. We also knew we would not come home empty handed that there were plenty of boys in the 3-4yr age at Nezabudka. So, at first glance I was so elated to finally see "him" once again. Then I felt great sadness for the boy who's photo we received, actually many photos. He is adorable, but a bit older than we feel would make a good match with our current family. How awful that this boy had to have new photos of him and now he thinks a forever family is coming and in reality more than likely he will not get adopted for as we all know the older children get the less likely they'll be adopted, especially boys. I just sat down and wept for him.

More good news, we now are officially going to Kaz on the 31st of March from Newark-Frankfurt-Almaty. Well, that is if our visas come today. Hurray, they came, and now the bad news and only gets worse, they are incorrect. Acutally only mine. I was destraut, I called the NY Consulate and while they were understanding and told me to simply overnight it again and they'll do it same day and overnight it back to me. It really urked me that we now need to pay an additional $28.80 to do a task twice and in the back of our mind stress about the visa's arriving promptly.

The worst news of the day is that our son has been diagnosed with an illness that although treatable still scares us a bit and makes us feel helpless because as parents we feel we should be able to protect him and provide for him.. I cant even begin to explain the sick feeling I have in my stomach and heart at this moment. We also don't know if he's receiving anti-biotics at this time, if he'll be allowed entrance into the US. They say "yes, it won't be a problem." YEAH, sorry, I'd like something in writing please... Needless to say we have some very serious issues at hand. Please think good thoughts for us in this trying time.

Oh, to top it off. The AF is moving us to Colorado Springs this summer. That's wonderful, it will be a great place to raise the boys, but they want us there by June 30th. Ok, we'll be out of the country til 1stMay. We then have about 3 wks til I would return for a week or so. Let's just say worst case scenario, I don't arrive home til the first week-end in June. According to INS we need to bring our new son home to the address on our UCSIS paperwork. So if our house were to sell, we can't legal move out of it til the 2nd week of June. Which could turn away potential buyers or we could literally be home a few nights and then need to pack-up and hit the road. That's a lot for a stable secure family to handle let alone a newly comprised family who's jet-lagged and doesn't speak english, coming to a totally new environment and lifestyle. AAAH..

I figure it's so crazy, it has to all work out!! Keep your fingers crossed. It's been such a yucky day, I just had to post a photo of the one who can always brighten my day!!!

Nell :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2006-03-17T18:51:00.000-05:00

Erin Go Bragh!!! Yes, in the spirit of St. Patty's Day, I've decided to post a few fun photos of the family trip to Ireland in Oct. of 2004. We had a wonderful time and Ian had a fabulous time and met a great friend at a wonderful B & B we stayed at in Doolin, Ireland, about 5 miles away from the Cliffs of Moher. The Sweeney family is the 3rd generation working the family farm that jutts out into the Ocean. It's breathtaking. Also the cows come by the kitchen window just to say "Top of the Mornin' to you!!! The Sweeney's have 3 boys, and the youngest, Niall, and Ian were great pals and fellow farm and tractor lovers. Ian told him about "John Deere" and Niall stated that he and his daddy preferred New Holland!! We didn't go back in 05' thinking we'd be in Kaz at that time, but hopefully in 06' or early 07' we'll be back visiting the Emerald Isle. With a name like Ian McCaffery, our wee lad fits in perfectly. Of course for number #2, I like, Declan, Rowan, Liam, Flynn, Owen, but then I also love, Eli, Ephraim, Levi, Dominic and Collier, and my son, well, he likes Sam. I think from Green Eggs and Ham, Sam I am... so who knows...

My hubby is due home in a few hours and poor Ian had a ton of shots today and have some blood drawn so he is wiped out!! Better safe than sorry, but to a 4 yr old a ton of shots in one day as a "safety measure to prevent becoming really sick while visiting with his new brother is still a ton to ask of a little man. Still, he was so brave and sweet, those when his deep baby blue eyes start to crystallize prior to crying I nearly melt each and everytime. I'm hoping we'll finalize our tickets tonight and I plan on being 85% packed as well. I seem to go back and forth between being extremely excited and extremely frightened but hopeful that we will all bond well as a family. I know we're doing the right thing, it's just hard not knowing how our new little man feels about the big changes in his life. I'm also a bit worried about having to leave him to come back for a bit. Mostly I'm afraid of the other children being unkind to him because he is being adopted and they are not. Children can be amazingly kind to one another and but also quite hurtful to eachother too!! Ok, off to do some chores.... with a cocktail or two...

Running on Empty..

2006-03-16T23:39:00.000-05:00

For the last few days I've been running on empty, well, on about 4hrs of quality sleep and starbucks, (i'm so pleased they made a larger glass bottle version of the frapp, perfect timing for me!) Which would be dealable if I was A. younger, B. did not have a wonderful 4 yr old be that is quite locquacious, simply a gem and someone with whom I love spending the majority of my day vs. doing the things that need to get done for this trip and C. my husband has been in Iraq/Kuwait for about a week and needs to get home as both his son and his wife miss him immensely, and come on now, we've got a ton of work to do prior to leaving.

Actually, in a way I'm a head of the game, I'm pretty well packed and prepacked for my son and myself, as well as having lists of things to purchase, things we have but have yet to put into our luggage, and then which of those items goes in which type of suitcase be it checked or carry-on. Made the doggie reservations at doggie day care, talked with the neighbor about picking up the mail and mowing the grass. She has two grandchildren from Kaz and loves to mow on her John Deere rider mower.. Made a list about turning down the heat, turning off the washing and dryer, the computer, etc...Ok, so I'm a bit neurotic these days. Cut me some slack :)

We've sent off for our visas and we should have our flights booked in the next day or two, still, it's still a bit crazy. We need to buy a laptop, figure out how to find a bank that will give us a ton of crisp unwrinkled 100 bills, as we bank with USAA in TX and we live in DE. Still, in the end, the 3 of us are ready for a great adventure!! Although I must admit, even though I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel world wide, the thought of arriving near midnight in the former USSR waiting for our driver who more than likely won't speak any English after about 1.5 days of flying with a 4 yr old makes me a bit leary, but that same 4 yr old hopes we get to take city buses as well as trains on this whirl-wind adventure of ours... So, in the end I simply need to chill out and roll with it...Ok, back to studying RUSKI... night-night.. Oh, I'm adding a few photos of Master Ian and his hillarious faces when he's either frustrated or simply indirectly telling me, "Mama, enough photos already..."

Our current family

2006-03-13T22:42:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd start off by giving you a brief introduction to our current family. We are a wonderful family of 3 humans and one canine. My husband, Tim, and I married in September of 98', and our greatest joy to date arrived on New Year's Day 2002. It's hard to believe there was life prior to Ian Hunter McCaffery. Last but not least, is Hanski-Panski McCaffery, our 11 yr old rottweiler, a.k.a. known as "Baby Dog." That's what our son called her when he began talking and it's stuck. She is a big baby with a terrible bark/growl and a heart of gold. I have the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom to Ian. We live in Dover, DE. amongst the country farms of the Amish, it's a beautiful and wonderful place to raise and rear a family. My husband, Tim, is a pilot for the Air Force and luckily for us he's not gone for too long or too many times a year these days, which is a bonus compared to earlier in his career. I'll add some photos to our first post.