Gerbil Life......

We have been trustworthy to date so today we were able to get out of our cage and go to the wheel to get some exercise. A trip to the local track for an hour or so run, (sherri walked) helped to get the day off right. I would not consider the town unsafe, but it is just not the kind of place for two people as foreign as we are to venture too far from the main drag. So we will walk the few blocks to the tracks and run lots of circles. And now we know what the gerbils feel like when they are in their cages all day but occasionally get the treat of running as fast as they can to make no progress.

Today was a very good day with Jacob. When we had first visited JC for a few weeks, he finally relaxed enough with us to stop crying as soon as we walked in the room and then to fall asleep on Sherri's shoulder. This was the moment we knew JC would accept us and we could make this work. Jacob must be an early adopter. He smiles brightly every time we walk in the room and today he fell asleep on Sherri's shoulder. He seems to have two emotions, happy and very happy. He enjoys it most when all get on the floor and crawl around together. Sherri brought her computer today so we could look at pictures and listen to kids music. He was glued to the monitor as we played the H-A-P-P-Y song, Mickey Mouse and others while looking at pictures of JC, Sparky, Abby and all the family.

After our morning visit, we went to the local museum with our facilitator and her daughter and she showed us some of the proud history of Kazakhstan and this region. It probably will not compete with the Smithsonian for any awards, but it had some very interesting displays that included a full size Yurt - a traditional home for the nomadic sheperds and farmers, an actual space capsule that appeared to have seen better days and some of the famous people from Arkalyk.

On the way home, we decided to get some water and beer for later. Our facilitator also bought a beer and decided we should have a happy afternoon. So we went to our flat and enjoyed some cookies and beer with Habiba and Rose and talked about Kazakhstan, the adoption process, and other small talk until it was time for our afternoon visit with Jacob.

It was a very pleasant afternoon so we asked if we could go outside for our visit and this was OK with the bosses. In the afternoon, there is outside play time for all the kids. There are two fenced in play yards, one for smaller kids up to about 2 and one for older kids up to about 4. The yards are filled with slightly smudged and oddly dressed but beautiful children. They meander about the slightly bent and multicolored play equipment and sandboxes - more dirt than sand, doing what kids do. Also in the yard of the baby home is a small area with various trees, bushes and flowers among the dandelions. We spent our hour looking at the white and yellow flowers on the trees, looking at the kids playing and mostly chewing on the little tikes phone that Aunt Susie gave JC. Don't tell JC that Jacob has already commandeered one of his toys. If he finds out, it will become his favorite I am sure. We kept him for about 20 minutes longer than we should and returned him to his caregivers who genuinely seem to love him very much.

Then it was back for dinner, noodles cooked in oil, a really big fat hot dog - Sherri's favorite and some cucumbers and tomatoes. Not quite Q'Doba but we have yet to feel hungry.

Tomorrow we will visit the new pool they have in town. Tomorrow is also the first day of summer vacation for all the kids in town so we might have a crowd.

All is well and keep those posts coming, thanks for following along and we love to hear from you all.

Tim and Sherri