April 27

April 27
So, we are still here! The last three days have been about the same as the first 46 days. We have really enjoyed the company of a couple from Baltimore who are here adopting a sibling group. They have been joining us in the evening for cards and board games. Julia continues to do better every day. She is evolving into a happy and content baby. We figured out she was not getting enough sleep, so now that we have fixed that problem, she is much less fussy. She continues to eat more that Caleb, Ethan and I combined  Caleb is doing fine, though since his hair cut, he will look at Ethan and me occasionally and point to his hair and say “It’s broke, fix it”. The high light of his day today was he found a stick and we let him play in the mud for 30 minutes. This weekend was really cold and wet, but today has been beautiful and a little warmer.
I would say the hardest part of the last couple of weeks is continuing to deal with a culture that does not like Americans. Almost everything we do in public is a battle. For instance, Saturday we were at the market and Ethan pointed to a cookie he wanted behind a glass case and held up one finger to the lady behind the counter. She looked at him and put a sign up, that we suppose said “closed” in Russian and turned away. Those kinds of occurrences happen all the time. It becomes so frustrating that all we want to do is stay inside but that is not possible with a two year old that is for sure. In addition, as most of you know, the culture is very concerned about kids staying warm, and even though our children are very well dressed for cold weather, women on the street will walk up to us and adjust Caleb or Julia’s jacket or point to them and yell stuff in Russian at us. Meanwhile our kids are literally sweating because we have so many clothes on them. So, honestly dealing with the culture is becoming more trying. I don’t know if is because we are tired, or if we are venturing out more. So, though I will miss Ethan and Caleb desperately when they leave on Thursday, I will be so glad for Caleb to be at home where he can run freely and wear short sleeves!
We still have not confirmed my departure date with Julia, we are hoping to know something by the end of the week. Please, continue to pray that we will be able to leave earlier than May 16, even if it is just a couple of days.