Pictures - April 16th - Easter

The picture of the door is the backside of our flat, the entrance we have to go in to where we are staying...one of many locked steel doors. The second picture is John outside with Oscar the other day. We brought him a new coat from grandma back home and new boots we bought here. He walks like a mummy with the new boots...he is not use to them at all....it's kind of funny until he screeches, lays on the ground and doesn't want to walk. The picture of the building taken from the street with the car turning in front of us is the better looking side of our flat.

Happy Easter again to our families and friends and especially our girl Haley!

Happy Easter from the Western Part of the World

The last couple of days with M. Oscar have been good and other times difficult. He is very good and then there are his moments with temper tantrums, especially with food or bringing up going outside. Don't worry, he is always fine a couple of minutes later and stops crying in a heartbeat. We went outside with him again two days ago but not without a tantrum when we got him dressed and when we came back in. He wouldn't walk when we were outside so we just walked around the orphanage carrying him. He just looked around and was quiet.

We have to get him use to going outside more. He doesn't want to go out at all and has no interest in it either. We've only been outside two times. The inside visits are good for the most part.

We have now been here two weeks. We are missing home a lot today, probably because of the holiday which is not popular here at all. We don't want to think about time though because it will go by slower and we only have a week and a few days left. So we enjoy it while we can because we will probably never have this experience again. We went out to eat today and shopping. It was nice out.

Happy Easter from the other side of the earth!!

More Pictures...April 13th

Here is John and M. Oscar this morning. This afternoon he was difficult but nothing we haven't dealt with before.

We found out that the couple that we're sharing the visiting room with are from Cape Cod. They are nice. We also met another couple from Dublin, Ireland on another floor who are adopting a baby girl.

Yesterday, we met a couple from Delaware that I (Dotty) have emailed back and forth with Amy the mother many times. It was good to meet them in person after all our emails. They had surprised us outside the orphanage after our afternoon visit. They arrived yesterday and had just met their daughter for the first time.

Ministry of Education (MOE) - Court Date Discussed

Today a representative from the Ministry of Education talked to us and another couple about what to expect in court. We are hoping we can get a court date for the end of next week. If not, we will have to change our flights and go to court the following week. urgh...hope not...tomorrow is two weeks that we've been gone.

This picture is of the representative yesterday. She is nice and is comes to our visits too. The picture of M. Oscar with the orange shirt is from today. I have a ton of pictures of the area and orphanage etc. We wish we could upload them all to the site but it takes too long....

Update - Week 2

We had technical difficulties but we're up and running now...but can't download pictures for some reason...maybe tomorrow...

~ Monday ~

M. Oscar was very difficult. He was screeching, crying, throwing things and not wanting to be bothered during the afternoon visit. The worse visit so far.

It was a cold and cloudy with flurries on Monday. There were flowers in front of our apartment building entrance when we came back from the visit. I almost took them thinking someone dropped them. We found out later why the flowers were there and why the fire trucks were here....... not appropriate for this blog. Missing home, especially Haley and the dogs.

This week we started sharing our small visiting room with another American couple. They met their child for the first time in the visiting room when Oscar was being difficult Their child and visits have been as nice and easy as you hope for before you get here. We envy them sometimes but we know Oscar is special in his own way and he is one you don't forget.

We noticed Oscar is popular at the orphanage and all the caregivers, nurses and doctors are happy when they see him. If he knows and likes them, he gives them that big cute smile. You get a grunt and a dirty look if you don't know him and try to be nice. We realize his popularity more now that we walk through the halls more with him. People talk to him and try to talk to us and tell us that they took care of him etc. After being with him a little over a week now, we know what they had to go through and they know what we have to go through to get him to open up.

We also shared the visiting room with another woman who was adopting her baby nephew. The boy was taken away from her sister and she traveled here from Almaty to adopt him. She has to wait and go through the court process too.

~ Tuesday ~

Michael Oscar was a peach! He was happy, nice and lovable. The best visit so far...guess he got it out yesterday. We bought him brand new Legos and he loves them. It’s snowing again and cold.

On the home front, Dotty ran out of oatmeal and getting low on peanut butter….still afraid to eat the meat and most other things. John will eat anything but is getting sick of national geographic and old sports on TV. He was watching dodge ball and soccer. Not his types of sports. Thank god for the DVD player, the computer and all the books we brought. John said he now learned everything there is to know about kangaroos, fish, hyenas, and elephants. lol

~ Wednesday ~

Today Michael Oscar was good for the most part. We’ve been walking around in the halls more now and need to start going outside with him so he can get use to it but he’s not ready yet. We are half way through the trip now and we made our flight plans to go home starting on the 24th. Not looking forward to the long flight. We then come back in May to finish the process. I was suppose to come back in May alone but I don't think I can do it. We can’t wait to be home and be with Haley and the dogs. It's a little warmer here today but not much.

For some reason, I think the court date will be delayed and all hell is going to break loose with having to change the flights etc. Please pray that this doesn’t happen. We hope to go to court at the end of next week. I wish they would make an appointment now but they said they have to wait until 15 day bonding period before they make the the appointment. It will take about 4 or 5 days to get an appointment in court after the 15 days. That timeframe is cutting it very close to our flight home.

Pictures of the Area

The building in the picture is a mosque (Muslim church) that is near our apartment. It is one of the prettiest buildings in this area. The Muslim religion is common here. I don’t know what other religions there are in this region and will have to ask Donya.

The other picture was taken on the way back from the orphanage. It is part of the Altai Mountain range located near where we are. As you can see, it snowed here. It’s about 25 degrees here currently.

The last picture is of the Ust-Kamenogorsk fire trucks that were here at our "flat" today. I don’t know why they were here and I think everything is fine. We never hear or see any fire trucks, ambulances, police cars and airplanes like we do often at home.

Marat's Smile and Oscar When He Can't Have his Way

Marat was happy to take a picture smiling for us. We told him about the webpage and what was said about him and Donya. He took us all to a Turkish cafe today. He has a wealth of knowledge about this city.

This is Michael Oscar when he is told he can't have a cracker or when he can't have his own way. Don't worry, he can stop crying, smile and laugh again in record time.

Dad and Michael Oscar & a Hello to Haley!

We want to say hi to Haley Marie and tell her we love and miss her!! Michael Oscar stares at your picture when we tell him your his sister. Have lots of fun while you can! Love, Mom and Dad xoxoxo