Chillin' Kaz Style!

On Court Day Eve we found ourselves with time on our hands and a need to relax. While we have had an amazing and unforgettable trip, "relaxing" is not a term I would use to describe it! Hahaha!

So today, while I laid low with a stomach ailment, the boys all did a little school work and then had some fun!

Near our apartment and throughout the city, there are ice slides that are built, created out of ice blocks and built up fairly high. We have 2 of them less than a block from our apartment, just a building or two over from the Cathedral. Today was warm enough at about 28 ABOVE 0 F (I know, our jaws were on the ground at that as well!) that Dominick thought it was perfect ice sliding weather, so he bundled up the boys and took them over to try it out.

Here is the ice slide, as you can see it is a popular place for kids to hang out! The cardboard strewn about is for makeshift sleds which are quickly abandoned in favor of sliding down the old fashioned way...on your bottom!

Joshie waiting his turn...

Here's Joshie trying it out. This is the kind of free entertainment the LaJoy's LOVE!! Better than TV any day of the week!!

Check out the little one on the sled back behind Kenny on the left. We see kids (and bags of groceries) being hauled all over the city via this sort of transportation. The little ones are so cute all bundled up so tightly they can hardly move!

Matthew and a Kazakh Kutie Pie sliding together!

Kenny thinking to himself "Hmmm...I see possible friends there!"

Ever the Ambassador, Kenny had all these boys as new friends by the time they left today! Dominick said one of them spoke very good English and was translating for the other kids. Dominick took out the boys' passports to show them that they were indeed Kazakh and Kyrgyz even though the spoke only English!

I can't tell you how nice it is for us to see our sons enjoying being in an environment where they look like every other kid walking down the street. In Montrose, they are never going to really just blend in the crowd. Here it is Mommy and Daddy who don't blend in! The ladies at Dominick's Store are used to seeing them now and are helping Dominick often when he shops, grinning at me, and when I bought some cookies the other day from a pretty Kazakh woman and was due 3 tenge change back, I indicated she should just keep the change. She insisted I take it, then pantomimed the three boys showing tall, medium and small heights then pointed at the 3 tenge, telling me to give it to the boys.

After sledding the boys had some quiet time before going to visit the girls. I stayed at the apartment hoping not to pass on whatever it is that I have so we can all be in good shape for court tomorrow. The boys can't go to court with us and we are so thankful for the Oborn's who have volunteered to watch them even though Jocelyne has been feeling quite ill for the past couple of days herself.

This was the beginning of the artwork, it then morphed into a submarine with a scope, army men and airplanes to be added later!

Matthew was in one picture I took and I was going to show it until we realized he was laying around in his Kazakhstan underwear waiting for his pants to dry after sliding! He has brought $120 of the money he saved the past year working at the restaurant and cleaning the office and has requested we get 3 more pair of underwear plus 3 more in the next size up! He loves those things and I hope when we go to Almaty we can find a jacket or shirt or something with Kazakhstan emblazoned across it for him. He truly loves his birth country!

Kenny curled up writing, warming up after sliding.

I told Dominick I just had to show this. He NEVER EVER reads novels, preferring reading only for a purpose. Well, I told him he needed to read a couple of pages of "The Nanny Diaries" which I read when we first got here, and he was hooked! I have heard him laughing out loud at times and saying "The sad thing is, this sort of thing really goes on in some families!".

So tomorrow we go to court. Tomorrow, with any luck, it becomes official and we become a family of 7. Wow. A lot of responsibility there, a lot ahead of us, much to think about. We hope court goes smoothly, but even Kenny said this evening over dinner "I am scared mom about court, everything has always gone wrong, what if something goes wrong tomorrow?". I think I sort of have the same feelings and will not feel "safe" until we make it through to the decision tomorrow. We'd appreciate your prayers if you happen to be awake in the middle of the night. If we get a favorable ruling tomorrow, you will hear us all the way back home!!

Good night to all...