Our last Flat Stanley picture in The Green room....boy, has he had an adventure!
Nick in his winter hat on a spring day at Mad Murphy's.
The restaurant....we sat in the on the patio just behihd the hanging sign.
Our first restaurant visit....outside and easy.
I guess this is my last blog for a bit unless I meet up with someone who can watch Nick while I type. Pat leaves in the morning to get a jump start on our lives back home. We aren't sure how he is getting to the airport yet but we have our family friends here that will call a taxi for us if needed. We hope to hear from our coordinator's helpers soon.
We visited the green bizarre today with Kirsten and Brad (the family that we spent easter with and who gave me the valuable contact solution at the beginning). We hate some native noodles from an ethnic group that is not Kazak or Russian.... I still can't pronounce it so I won't try to spell it either. The were good....what I was able to eat with the wild child.....again, why we haven't done the restaurant thing here.....he really has no concept of what to do in this situation....luckily, we have a few good restaurants in the states that have outdoor eating until he gets used to the environment. We picked up some really good raisins at the market and a fresh apple turnover. We probably should have gotten some more fruits but they are much pricier than the veggies..... We saw grapes that were almost $10.00 for a bunch.
It is very hot here....80 something and we were nearing naptime when we headed back to the apartment so of course a meltdown was eminent. He scratched and hit and got a good hold on Pat's hair and pulled the biggest chunk of hair out that I have ever seen short of Chemo patients. Of course, my first thought was malnutrition (although Nick has one heck of a grip) and then I was trying to figure out if it was Kwasiorkor or Marasmus.....one is protein malnutrition and the other is protein-calorie malnutrition....I think Pat probably has the latter but I still can't tell you after 15 years of being a dietitian which one is which. But, anyway, I was chuckling at myself because those words even popped in my head. I am sure any dietitian reading this is laughing too. Luckily, Nick fell asleep pretty quickly after we got him calmed down and I escaped to the net for the last time.
I am hoping to get to one more store before we leave here that has Kazak craft type stuff. I want a little kazak hat and vest for Nick and some Nesting dolls so hopefully I will find those in the next few days.
I want to thank everyone for reading our blog and keeping us going with your comments. Pat will keep everyone up-dated on the blog with regards to what is going on here and I hope to at least keep up the blog monthly for long distance friends and the adoption community at least for the first year so check up with us still and we will try to keep you informed of the continued kitzkaz(usa)venture.
Adoption is definitely an adventure any way you pursue it but I would still endorse it even after all of our struggles because when your child looks at you with a smile and a kiss and you know that he or she will now have a forever family, it makes it all worth it even in the bad times. God talks so much about taking care of the orphans in the bible and I do think it is a special pursuit that you feel God's pleasure more than anything I have ever done besides marry Pat. As miserable as I am right now, I know that God is going before us in every step and that He has ordained these steps for us to learn more of His Character and Love. This opportunity has once again showed us what an incredible support system we have. Our family has been incredible with the calls and emails and our friends have gone above and beyond to show us their support. (which is why we are struggling so much here) .....
We especially want to say with incredibly grateful hearts that we could not have done this without the great support from our employer and co-workers. Many of you took on extra stuff just so we could be here and we will never forget your efforts. 9 weeks and counting is an extraordinarily long time to be away and we thank God for the people we work with and for.
We also want to thank( does this sound like the Oscars, or what?) our house sitter Lauren (along with Carrie and Laurie) for keeping everything going on the homefront. I was assured countless times that our Dog and house were in tip top shape and this made us feel so relaxed and comfortable so that we didn't have to worry about that during our adventure.
Our adoption agency, Adoption Ark has been wonderful throughout the whole process and many of our delays and changes were just part of adoption in a foreign country. We always received encouraging emails and call from our coordinator and we thank them for guiding us thru the process .....even in the hard times.
We look forward to introducing Nick to all of you because we feel so blessed to have such great friends and family. God has purposed for him to come meet all of you and for that he is truly a lucky little one. When I see the picture of all the little combs and toothbrushes that I sent yesterday, I think of all the little ones that God still has a great purpose for in this life. Adoption is a great calling and I encourage everyone to consider it....all of those little combs belonged to a little head that God knows the number of hairs on and these little ones need parents........it is a hard journey but a rewarding one. We don't know what the future holds but as the song says, we know who holds the future in His hands. Thanks again for going on this journey with us and we will continue the journey with God leading us and our family and friends by our side.
We love you guys and can't wait to get home to you all. Much love from Pat, Karen, and Nick
3 comments:
Best of luck to you both as Pat travels home. I know if that was Paul and I, it would be extremely difficult to not be together, especially in a strange country with a toddler. This is a sign that the end is nearing.
Parenting is a wonderful feeling, giving you incredible rewards, but also making you feel like the most inept human. I know when the boys get sick, I imagine the worst possible scenarios. I tell myself that I am an intelligent human trained in the medical field, but it doesn't make a difference when it is your child. I always think the boys must have intracranial bleeds with all the falls/bangs they take, but they are tougher than you think! Nick will be fine and he will tell you what he needs. The main thing is love, and you have proven that is abundant.
Karen, with Pat gone you can borrow my mantra when Nick acts like the toddler he is. "God give me strength" has gotten me through many days with my boys. :) All our love and prayers!
Hi guys - just managed to catch up on your BLOG. I see such a difference in Nick - he looks like he is progressing so much. What a cutie 'reading' his book intently! It was nice to see Mad Murphy's in the shot, would agree with you about the burgers - I too am fussy. I quite liked the stirfry there, and our daughter also loved the pancakes! Hope you found Coffeedelia by now, if the weather is nice it would be perfect for you to sit outside on the chairs and have a coffee while Nick has one of their beautiful cookies!! Our apartment where we stayed for the full 9 weeks was just 10 minutes walk from Coffeedelia, we spent many the hours there.
Karen, I hope everything goes well for you when Pat goes. I remember the feeling of OMG what have I done the night my husband and daughter flew back to Canada and I stayed on on my own (it ended up being for 5 weeks because of adoption 'issues') I was lucky that I managed to meet other families there, I spent many the hours walking Almaty with Orin in the stroller!! The flight(s) back were long and hard but we did it (part of our problem was that Orin did not sleep too much) just keep thinking of it as a means to an end and soon you will be home with your precious little man!
Regards
The Keogh Clan
P.S. Being Irish ourselves we found every Irish haunt in Almaty! There is another pub called the Guinness pub which is up on Dostyk near the Hotel Kazakhstan, food there also fairly ok (though we found the staff spoke less English than in Mad Murphys)
Karen,
I just wanted you to know I have been hunting for that scripture you told me about a good word being good for your soul. I searched my concordance and didn't find anything. Well, God is sooo good because today being Sunday, the 15th, I read Proverbs 15 and lo and behold there was verse 23: A [wo]man finds joy in giving an apt reply-- and how good is a timely word! That must be it! I realize there is very little likely hood that you will read this but wanted to know that God will find ways to remind us of you while you are there. I think our prayers are even more important now that Pat is headed home and you and Nick are together in Almaty.
Bunco was fun on Friday night. We had a small group of eight or nine. Shannon, Kimberly and I were the shortly after Dannette and we are never on time, usually the late ones. Then Julie arrived, followed by Amy Ochs who got lost on the way there! She's so funny. Then Penny and Natalie rounded out the crew. Carrie made us two soups (in your honor I'm sure) the Santa Fe soup and Chicken & Wild Rice soup. We ended up talking the whole time and not playing since we would of only had two tables. It was good food and good conversation -- just what every mom needs on a Friday night after a long week!
You hang in there! We will talk to Pat soon and see if we can get him anything or help with the toddler proofing.
Love from Lexington, Kristina
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