Days 16-17 – The One Where I Get My Court Date

Clapping

Mosque

Inside Mosque

Monday, November 19, 2007

Well, today was the last official day of the bonding period and Olga submitted my petition to the court. Evidently, Pasha had to drive to Ust (the capital of the Eastern Kaz region and about a 3 hour drive one way) to drop off my documents as well as some other documents for Olga. I’ll tell you one thing, Pasha is much, much more than a driver. He works so hard and can fix anything.

Today, we went to a small book store. The bookseller was a very nice and enthusiastic Russian lady. She was so helpful pointing out all of the books that were in English. I bought about 4 children’s books that had all 3 languages (English, Russian, and Kazakh). I thought it would be nice for BabyKaz to have his native language in print. The bookseller made a point to thank all of us for taking care of their country’s children. She seemed genuinely grateful and it was very touching. Although, I thought it was a little ironic since I feel like I’m the one who is grateful.

One new skill BabyKaz has begun using the last couple of days is clapping his hands. His hands don’t always meet but he is getting better and better at it. He is also so happy to look out the window. I think he likes the outdoors. I don’t think he has been outside much, if at all, since being transported from the hospital a week after he was born. He’ll get to be outside a lot in the SC sunshine!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

I received very good news this afternoon. Olga came in during our afternoon visit to let me know my court date. It is Friday, November 23, at 9:00 am. It was very exciting and everyone was very happy for me. This evening, Pasha even dropped off a crib and walker. How’s that for faith?

BabyKaz seemed the most animated I have seen yet today. He was very happy and vocal. He clapped his hands so much and was grasping these stacking cups I brought from home. By the way, all of the babies love these cups. It so amazing; something so simple. It started snowing again this afternoon; huge, beautiful flakes. I was glad to see the snow because there is so much mud when there is no snow on the ground. BabyKaz and I watched the snow fall from the window and he just laughed. It was wonderful to watch.

After lunch today, we visited the inside of a mosque. It was around 100 years old and it was very beautiful. There was a lovely Kazakh man who took the time to talk with us about the Muslim religion. The main point he seemed to really want to get across was how they feel about us adopting their children. Many people in Kazakhstan do not approve of Americans coming to their country and taking their children away. I guess they would rather see them grow up in orphanages. However, this man said he felt it was a very good thing that we were doing. Essentially he said, that we were all children of God and their children were also our children. It doesn’t matter where they grow up as long as they are loved and nurtured. He also stressed that all people, no matter their religion or where they live, should be loving and kind to each other. He was a very open man with very kind eyes and I was very touched by his words. It was an experience I will never forget. I am not a political person and I don’t want to get into a debate about the war in which we are currently involved. However, I will say that I wish more Americans could have the experience we had today and hear this Muslim speak. It really made me realize the difference between these beliefs and the extreme beliefs of terrorists. Unfortunately, I believe too many Americans don’t know the difference between the two. Now, I am a Christian and I admit to knowing very little about the Muslim religion. I do know that we don’t believe all of the same things. However, what we do have in common is that we both care about people in general and believe we should be honest and loving to everyone.