Andy and Juliana's Excellent Adventure

Posting from: MarKuel, Khabarovsk, Russia
Local time: 1:45 pm, Wednesday September 13, 2006
Weather: Perfect. Warm sun, cool breeze, no mosquitos.

We have had a wonderful marvelous day and I am thanking God for the cards idea as A&J have completely absorbed the relationship between rebellion and loss. There is a lovely theological lesson here for us all.

Several times today I have seen each child move towards an unacceptable impulse and then pull themselves off it. On the few times we have had to take a card they have not rioted and when only one child gets a privilege the deprived one expresses sorrow, but not anger. In fact, yesterday we made a big step when Andy brought his sad feelings to Mama (yes the same Mama who had taken away the privilege) and was able to sit and cry quietly and receive comfort on her lap.

We got up at 7:30 to find their beds beautifully made and themselves nicely dressed in the clothes I had set out for them. We had breakfast and then went to the Children’s Store (DetskyMat) to buy hats, as the wind is often cold now-a-days. (Anyone coming soon? Bring gloves and a hat for everyone). From there we went up to the Blue Church and the children got to ride the little motorized scooters. They were thrilled to bits.

Onward ho! We walked down to the river and threw rocks into the water and ran in the sand and rejoiced. After a small snack, Mama pulled out the bubbles and we chased bubbles and admired how pretty they were floating in the breeze. Then we hiked up the long long staircase counting the steps in sets of ten in English. Andy can get up to 7 now without help, and Juliana can get to 4. At the top of the hill we whipped out the bouncy balls from Papa’s pack and played with them and another little child whose Mama quickly figured out our situation and then directly and without ado stared at us for a full five minutes. When we finally took our leave she blessed us with a big smile. I’m sure she is trying to reconcile what she saw in our family with what she learns from the media about the horrible Americans who adopted in Russia and subsequently hurt or killed their children. Wherever we go, we are the counterexamples to the stereotype perpetuated by these tragic cases.

We’ve decided that lunch is the meal which they can eat to the end of their appetites. Today we had bread and cheese and cucumbers and apples and when that was gone, pelemini. I think Andy ate about 20. He is definitely gaining as his lowest rib is no longer visible. By the way, the chicken fettucini was postponed to last night as I was barely functioning by dinner on the day Jamie was sick. I thought I’d make something easy that the kids would be sure to like: fish sticks. They hated them. Just hated them. The fettucini was a big hit though. Tonight it is cabbage rolls again.

Jamie is feeling much better and I am so happy to have him back on the team.

Our biggest happy news of the day is that our beloved kitty Parsley, who had apparently gone on a walkabout, returned home and is canoodling with our excellent house and pet sitters N&N. Here she is with her dog, Laurel.

Oh! You wanted Andy and Juliana pics? Not pet pics? Well, if you insist.

Only three more nights here . . .