Major event of the day: Bonding Day 2, and a tour of the RBS and grounds with two enthusiastic and energetic kids
We both woke up early this morning and finally gave up trying to sleep around 5:30. We figured out how do get a dial-up connection from the apartment, so it was time to start answering as many e-mails as we could. It’s great having the connection to work with, but it’s slow. When we start posting pictures, we will be better off going over to Kaztelkom to do the uploads.
By 9am we were out the door for a morning walk and decided to see where Holy Trinity Church is. I had done some guessing in Google Earth and had guessed correctly. Just a 15 minute walk. On the way back we browsed the shops above the Iceberg store and picked up a few activity items for our metings with the children. It is much nicer today. Just partly cloudy and a bit warmer.
You know the feeling you get when you return home at the end of a long day and there is someone at the door to greet you? Today as we turned onto the drive leading up to the RBS gate, we could see both children there watching for our car. They jumped up and chased the car all the way into the courtyard. By the time we opened the doors they were there to greet us.
I am amazed at how much activity we packed into just two hours. As soon as we checked in, the children took us up to their family area where there are currently 12 girls and 10 boys. I think there are 8 family groups for the approximately 175 children at the RBS. We got to see there sleeping areas, kitchen, and living room areas. Everything was neat, clean and in good condition. There were also a few other children in the spaces who all wanted an opportunity to say “Hello” in English. It is obvious that the caretakers really do care a lot for these children and do everything they can to give them a good home.
From the rooms we headed outside to the garden/greenhouse area. The RBS staff grows all of the flowers from seed and many garden items as well. The head groundskeeper and a few students were in the midst of fall clean-up in preparation for winter. We had to stop and take a few more pictures of our new family in front of several trees and flowers. We have two new exuberant shutterbugs in the family. Thank goodness that we can view all the pictures on the computer. Otherwise I’d have to take a second job to keep the youngsters in film and we would have to convert the family room into a gallery for all the artwork.
Next stop: Playground. They were both very energetic and showed some very promising gymnastic tricks. Thankfully there are several playgrounds close to home where they will be able to climb and run. LG discovered dad is a great piggy-back-ride-giver. Thank goodness we have Bob to help wear them out! Otherwise we would be in trouble.
Today was also the day to review the whole legal process and what will be going on over the next couple weeks between bonding, court, and so on. Our translator also talked with the children about names for the legal documents and what their new family name is. We told them that Americans usually have a first and middle name and that they could help pick their names. We also insisted that their current names would be part of their new full name. Since they had been trough all of the pictures at least a dozen times now, they know all of the family names and we shared non-family names that we both liked. I don’t think it was more than five minutes from the time the topic came up until there were some choices made. Cathe and I didn’t have much say in the matter, other than LB can’t be Bob, because that’s our dog’s name. Masha was great in translating names as well as nicknames. They’re going to sleep on it and we’ll make our choices tomorrow.
Time to get this post on the wire and call it a day. A very good day.
P.S. I noticed a differnet Screen for Google today... According to Google, Oct 4th is the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch from the Baikonour Cosmodrome in central Kazakhstan
P.P.S Both LB and LG like peanutbutter crackers. We brought a box from Costco thinking it would last through our. We brought one package of each flavor and they were quickly consumed. A few funny faces at different tastes, but not one was left. We'll have to ration those!
P.P.P.S. Notes for yesterday's afternoon visit added below
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