April 18 Life is getting fun!

OK, so we have now introduced a 10 month old into our family in a foreign country in a 500 square foot hotel room that only supplies 4 towels a day and the trash can is the size of a milk carton. Oh, and a load of laundry cost $25 USD and we are on the third floor with no elevators. Needless to say, life is interesting. Ethan and I are literally out of breath all day long. We have gotten into a bit of a routine, wake up at 7, feed kids, drink coffee as fast as we can then put kids in snow suits and head downstairs. Caleb has decided that he cannot walk down the steps, rather he is going to swing from the railing or if we try to hold his hand he lifts both feet off the ground and swings from our hands. Once we get downstairs, the receptionist gives us a dirty look and we drop off the key and then we are out the door. We usually walk for about an hour and then come back to the hotel and eat "breakfast" in the hotel. Next we head to the gym for Caleb to play "basketball". Then we carry strollers and babies back up the steps and Caleb goes down for a nap. After nap time for Caleb (Julia sleeps on the walks) we watch a video (Curious George or Little Einstein as they are the only ones that play on our Region 2 DVD player) we bundle the kids back up in snowsuits and back out the door we go for another walk. This one usually involves stopping at the store for baby wash as somehow Caleb manages to sneak into the bathroom most days and dump the new bottle out in the bathtub. Then we head back inside and fix dinner and try to keep Caleb and Julia from destroying the hotel room. We eat dinner around our coffee table (we have no real table), typically Ethan cooks something in the electric tea kettle (mac and cheese with hot dogs, boiled chicken or ramen noodles) and then we do baths, rock babies and then kids are asleep by 8. We look at each other and just laugh after wards. It is so much fun, but trying to keep them entertained, fed, and bathed in a hotel room is an adventure. Today we were dealing a lot with Julia as she had a pretty high fever and an ear infection (we think), Caleb managed to sneak to the back of the hotel room, stand inside and get to the poopy diaper pail that we have sitting outside on the balcony (don't worry grandmothers, he did not go on the balcony by himself) and he proceeded to start throwing poopy wipes and diapers off the balcony. He has also managed to unroll all our toilet paper. We keep a pail in the bathroom full of soapy water and one of our precious towels to clean up whatever is spilt on the floor throughout the day because we know they will charge us if there is a stain on the floor. Oh, Ethan is doing our laundry now in the bathtub and we are on a plastic bag ration. And one of the funniest things is that Caleb now has developed an incredibly southern accent...His new saying is "I wanna go in dare" and "I wan dat". Our kind travel partners from Boston just kind of look at us when he says that. We think it is charming. Speaking of the family from Boston, they have a 2 year who Caleb loves to play with.I included pictures, also they brought along the grandparents to help watch their 2 year old, but Caleb has taken a liking to them as well, I included pictures of Caleb "swinging" with them.All in all we are having a blast! Family bonding at it's finest.

Celebrating Gotcha Day on April 13

"Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth… whom I created for my glory" Isaiah 43:6-7
It is with great joy that we announce that on April 13 we officially became the parents of our precious new daughter Julia Elizabeth Collier. We are grateful for all of the prayers that have been lifted up on our families' behalf over the course of the last 15 months during this adventurous journey. We could not have completed this adoption without the love and support of our family in Christ. We are grateful and feel blessed beyond imagination. We have no doubt that God handpicked this beautiful girl to be our daughter; He has given us the privilege and honor of raising her up as a child of God! What joy.

So Monday we had a court at 10 am. Unlike last time, we had no real "prep" for court. Our interpreter said we had done this before, so we would do fine. We waited in the holding room for a little while and then the judge called us in. She was a large woman in a burgundy robe. There she had Ethan stand and asked him a lot of questions such as "If you had a biological child, will you still love your adopted child?" and "Do you have a stable marriage" and "How does your extended family feel about this adoption". Then she had me stand and asked a lot of the same questions. Then the prosecutor who represented us gave her recommendation that we be allowed to adopt this child. The doctor stood and gave her health history and the social worker also gave her history. Then the judge sent us out of the court room and wait for about a half an hour, then we came back in and asked us if she could read the shortened version of the decision, and the answer was yes. We then gave her the gift, which Ethan handed to her and then he gave her a big ole kiss on the cheek. One funny thing that happened during court is that our lawyer was texting the entire time and the judge kept yawning and answering her phone. So, at that point I was not too concerned about the decision. After court the head doctor at the baby house invited us into her office to celebrate the adoption. We had champagne and chocolates. Then, she told us she was going to let us take Julia home. We were shocked. Our interpreter said she has never had this happen, all other cases, the family has to wait out the 15 day wait period that Kazakhstan law has in place after the court date until the decision is final. We are not sure why she allowed us to take Julia, but we were thrilled. We had to move into a suite and shuffle some things around to be ready for a baby. Julia is now doing great in our "new home". She loves to watch Caleb and slept the first night a full 12 hours. She only fusses when she is sleepy, other than that she is a happy, content baby. Granted, two babies in a hotel suite is a little tight, but we are making it work. Oh, and I have had a GI illness on Monday and Tuesday, so I was very thankful to wake up this morning and feel some better. I told Ethan last night that I hoped I was not going to die in Kazakhstan…a little drama from my side. Thankfully I am still alive.

I did get news today that my trip home which has been scheduled for May 9, might be delayed until May 16 due to some holidays that slow down the process of getting Julia's passport from Kazakhstan. This is hard for me to think that I still have 4 ½ weeks left in country, as I have already been here 5 weeks. So, I do ask for prayers that the passport will come quicker and I can depart for home as scheduled. But, we knew when we requested to stay the entire trip that this was a possibility, as far as the trip being extended. But, it is worth it to have Julia with us know, as opposed to leaving her for over a month.

P.S. Caleb is doing great being a big brother. He really has taken to Julia and is giving her lots of kisses and hugs. He is crawling again and has taken to a pink pacifier, but we think that will pass!

Easter Sunday

We awoke this Easter morning to about six inches of fresh white snow! What a contrast to the typical spring day that we so enjoy on Easter. But, this year is extra special, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior in Kazakhstan. Ethan and Caleb spent part of the early morning playing in the snow. I was trying to straighten the hotel room up (and enjoy some peace and quiet drinking my instant Nescafe) but every couple of minutes I would hear a faint "Mama", I would look out our "balcony" and there was Caleb playing in the snow yelling up for me, I guess he just wanted to make sure that we were all accounted for. We read Caleb the Easter Story (thanks Aunt Ginger) and gave him his Easter basket (thanks cousins Jack and Joe). He of course loved the basket, candy everywhere and tonight he has played with his basketball "eggs" in the tub for an hour and a half. Though we desperately miss our church and family and friends today, all in all it has been a sweet day.

Also, today was special because we took Caleb to the baby house to meet his little sister. Caleb is not allowed in the baby house itself, so we had to bring Julia outside to meet him. Julia was very interested in watching her big brother. She did not take her eyes off of him. Caleb wanted her to swing with him, and then was very concerned when her pacifier fell into the snow. Though the pictures don't really show it, he really took to her and was very kind to her. He fed her cheerios and gave her some kisses. It was a special day, and I am thrilled they are going to be close in age, only 16 months apart. Caleb is going to be a great big brother.

Last night Ethan and I went out to dinner with our translator and her Peace Core friends. We had a fun evening hearing their stories of life in Petro for the last year. I enjoyed what has now become my favorite food in Petro, liver hot pockets. Yes, they look like mini hot pockets that you can buy in the States, but they are filled with some kind of liver meat. I don't know if the liver is from a pig, cow, horse, or chicken…who knows but they are delicious. Oh, and you dip them in hot butter…mmmm! I guess that is all for today. We want to wish everyone blessings as they celebrate this amazing day!

Happy Easter from Kazakhstan

April 10...a little late

The petro airport
Caleb and his new taggies, a new blue and green one! He kept crawling in the suitcase and smelling the new diapers.

Caleb and his dada!

Sorry, this post is a little late. Our internet was down all day on Friday, but I did want to let everyone know that Ethan arrived as scheduled on Friday at 1:40pm. I saw the plane land and I started to shed a couple of tears. So glad to see him! Caleb was very excited and kept kissing him, it was sweet. Unfortunately, Ethan kept falling asleep yesterday afternoon because he only slept 3 hours in 36 hours and Caleb keeps shaking him saying “DADA!”We enjoyed dinner at the mall and being together. Ethan said it was like he never left. We are going to try the small hotel room, pray we can make this small space work for the three of us! We hung out in the bathroom last night as to not wake Caleb.

Ethan of course brought home all the goodies that people sent for us. THANK YOU! Everything was so well thought out and so sweet, the People magazines, toys for Caleb, Julia’s clothes, lotion, books, candles, cards, blankets, DVDs, taggies and of course the Easter basket for Caleb. Everyone was so thoughtful and we appreciate it more than you know. The beautiful thing was Ethan was 50 pounds over the weight limit flying from the States and 54 pounds over in the in country flight, and he was only charged $8! This should have been at least $100! The in country flight always charges 1.40 per pound over 44 pounds, and they never are gracious. Also, I was putting up Ethan’s clothes and I asked him what special detergent he used because it all smelled so good. He said “Purex…it just smells good because it was washed in clear water versus brown water”. I had forgotten what clean smelling clothes smell like. The little things I took for granted. Oh, the bad news is that Ethan bought a Sony DVD player in Frankfurt because mine broke yesterday, unfortunately, DVD players bought in Europe only play DVDs specified to region 2, therefore only one burnt DVD that we have plays. We have our computers, so we will be ok, but it would have been nice to know that DVD players from Europe do not play dvd’s from the States and vice versa. Who knew? Ok, maybe a lot of you, but not us.

We did not visit Julia Friday as Ethan came in during our scheduled visitation. I missed her today and look forward to seeing her tomorrow.

Paka!

April 9...Flight update

Infamous garbage truck that comes every morning
Julia and Lilly (our travel partners from Baltimore's daughter)


Well, for those of you who know, Ethan's flight was delayed over 6 hours leaving Atlanta. Therefore, up until about an hour ago, we did not know if he would get "stuck" in Frankfurt or not. Unfortunately, he did miss his connecting flight in Frankfurt, but they have re-routed him and he is to land in Astana tomorrow morning (Kaz time) and will have a 6 hour layover in Astana and then fly directly into Petro and be here by early afternoon. I am very thankful he will arrive as scheduled. I have to admit I was a little panicked when I got a text from him this morning that said "Wake up sleepy head" at 8 am. As, he was supposed to be over the Atlantic ocean at that time. Never a dull moment.
Julia was a little sleepy today, so she played pretty quietly. I was holding her in my lap and talking to her, and she fell asleep sitting staight up in my arms. We did spend some time with little Lilly, her parents were our card playing friends and are due to come back and pick her up later this month.
Caleb and I went back to the inflatable playground/pizza place today. Then, we came home and there was a near disaster. Our portable DVD player broke! This is not good, as unfortunately DVDs are a big source of entertainment in this hotel room in Siberia. Ethan is on it though, he is currently looking for a replacement DVD player in the Frankfurt airport. Oh, and Caleb learned a new phrase today that he has said ALL DAY, it goes something like this "What's that?". Any of you parents heard that before???

April 8 A little Cabin Fever

our little cabin


Well, I have to admit, the cold wet weather this week has been a bit challenging. So, we have started trying to take daily outings to pizza places. Yesterday we went to the "mall" and ate at a Turkish pizza restaurant and then played in the playground. Today, same story, cold weather, and Caleb looked at me at about 4pm, pointed out the window at the balcony and said "I'm gonna jump it mama". So, we called our translator and a taxi and out we went. Poor guy, he needed to get out! So, we went to another Turkish pizza place (the Turks have a monopoly on the restaurant business here b/c they run a large pasta factory in Petro). Anyway, there was a huge indoor inflatable playground there and we had a great time. I have to say those blow up playgrounds are a workout for both child and parent.
Ethan is leaving today and will arrive in Petro a mere 36 hours later. He has a suitcase filled with pink things for our little girl. Speaking of our little girl, she is all smiles these days. She saw me come yesterday and I thought she was going to jump out of her walker she was so excited. It brings me so much joy to see her so happy. She is busy, busy during our visits, but we have a little routine including snacks, songs, paddy cake, tickle time and then a nap. Only 19 more days until we get custody of her. I do apologize for having no pictures of her, I am always trying to get out the door as the sitter comes and I keep forgetting the camera.


Not up for taking a picture
A baby rat of some sort at the restaurant that is owned by the waitress, something tells me they would fail their restaurant report card in the States..
Pizza place was packed today

Yet another self portrait Caleb must have took while I was in the shower today