9 Nov 2006, Update and Photos

Nov. 9th

Hello all- it’s Carrie. I am sitting here in the room in Taldy Korgan and I think I’ve had my fill of the third-world. Can I come home to the first world again now?

Today was busy as usual with two visits to see Miss Emily. She recognizes all three of us now and I think she likes the time of playing and crawling around. Of course she’s completely exhausted when our two hours of visiting are over… she’s pretty cranky and ready for her nap again by then. We ran a few errands afterwards- the grocery store for staples like juice, crackers, cheese and sausage and then to the optical shop to pick up some much needed contact solution. I haven’t worn my contacts until today because we surrendered my only bottle of solution at the checkpoint in Tucson when we left. Ugh. Finally- I can wear my contacts! It was perfect timing because I accidentally stepped on my lovely glasses this morning anyway… I couldn’t see them- go figure! Anyway, Taylor and Chris stayed home this afternoon so Taylor could get some good sleep and I went to the baby house with the translator. It was the first time Emily and I had time to ourselves without me chasing after or wondering “where is Taylor?” It was nice and relaxing in a way. I hate to admit that it’s a bit boring in the afternoon- afterall, what do seven-month old babies really do yet besides observe and put everything in their mouths? We were able to go outside in the courtyard and Emily likes to sit in the swing for a bit.

When we came home we all went to the outside market. It was awesome. Fresh vegetables- carrots, potatoes, cabbage, onions, beets, cucumbers, lettuce, spices, plus lots of nuts and dried fruits as well. It was great. Our neighbors and friends bought a hotplate and a pot so they could cook in their room. YEAH! We’re having dinner over there again tonite.

I’m totally missing the comforts of home right about now. I miss having daily, uninterrupted access to the internet- phone calls, etc. You just don’t realize how connected we’ve all become with modern technology until you are cut off from it. Ugh. I also miss our access to clean, hot water. Taylor loves bathtime at home but screams at the top of her lungs when I put her in the tub here. Which basically means she goes about two days (sometimes three) without a nice bath (just like Daddy). Babies & Daddies just smell better when they have baths. I am also looking forward to feeding Emily some good old American baby food. Here we get to feed her breakfast (well maybe it’s a snack at 10am) and lunch again at two. She gets some kind of rice cereal mashed up with some orange looking baby food in it- and lunch is mashed potatoes and meat. She’s a good eater. Oh yeah, we’ll have to take a picture for you but they stop giving babies the bottle at six months here. They switch them to tea cups with milk tea or apple tea. It’s hilarious to watch a 7-month old try and slurp tea out of a cup. Half of it goes down her bib and soaks through to her clothes. She’s always wearing a sweatshirt that is too big and then some little overalls with footies over it. They keep these kids warm even inside! It’s funny. She’ll be cute when she’s officially ours and we can dress her in properly fitting clothes. I’m thinking 6-9 months will fit her well.

Speaking of clothes, here’s a dumb mom mistake I made with Taylor. I brought mostly new warm-weather clothing for her. I didn’t make her try it on before we left. Most of the pants slide right off. One pair of overalls fit her well, and a couple pairs of stretchy pants. The rest need to be washed and dried on high heat so they stay up on her little tooshie! J

The hotel does our laundry for about 100 tenge per item. (about 70 cents). It’s good but not great. Her white shirt came back smelling sort of fresh but the stains were still on it… nothing a good bleach pen can’t fix when we’re home.

I’m dreaming of home… I’m dreaming of my bed with clean sheets andlots of bath and body products to make me smell good! (That’s all I want for Christmas this year- B&B products!) J I’m dreaming of washing all of our clothes in Tide and putting them in my dryer with dryer sheets! I’m dreaming of cooking in my kitchen a full meal with lots of green vegetables! Chris is dreaming of capitalism. Funny. We’re hanging in there and we’re so thankful for Alicia, her Mom Bev, and her Dad, Mel, and her little girl, Lexi, who Taylor loves to play with. They are truly a God-send for us here. We are so grateful they are with us! Alicia visited with an 8-month old boy named Abdul Karim (I’m not joking) and had to turn him down after bonding because he has severe developmental delays. He had an unusually small head for his age and it looks like it’s going to cause major problems as he grows older. So sad to watch Alicia go through all that. She’s basically been here as long as we have but has to start over with a new baby if one is available. They are discussing a baby that is in the same group of 10 with Emily and she was supposed to be adopted by a local back in April but the woman never showed-up to take the baby home. Hopefully the woman will still not be able to take the baby so Alicia can have her! Alicia is the best single-mom I’m ever met. So loving and patient- more than me! God has blessed her with a great child and I hope He blesses her with another child here.

Anywho… I’m totally typing this wishing I could just TALK to you all! We have cabin fever and we just want to come home with our Emily!

Pray for patience as we visit for another eight days. Pray the days would pass quickly and our hearts won’t break when we leave Emily while the paperwork goes through. We’re trying to keep our hearts and minds focused on Christ! This is truly an incredible experience!

Love to you all-

Carrie