Pure Joy!

07/27/2007 10:20 pm
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? SHE’S BEAUTIFUL!
We met Norah this morning, she is 5 months old her birthday is February 18, 2007, what a mighty little thing, strong, alert, rolling all over the place, grasping tight, she has a smile that will melt your heart. We can’t wait for you all to meet her.

We have been traveling since July 23rd, leaving Philadelphia at 5:40 pm, we arrived roughly 7 hours later in Frankfurt, Germany for a sleepless 5 hour lay over, and then, it was off to Almaty, Kazakhstan. We arrived in Almaty sometime around midnight, and felt like we were on another planet. We made our way around this foreign city, attempting to navigate menus in Russian and slept in tiny twin beds that came about 6 inches of the floor. Jet lag was definitely kicking in as we left on a small scooter plane for another 5 hour trip to Kostania, Kazakhstan (destination Norah). We arrived after 10:00 pm and were delighted to find it was still day light!!! Kostanai is a beautiful, small city with the population of about 210,000; weather is enjoyable, warm & breezy. The people are extremely diverse and absolutely gorgeous. We have never seen so many high heeled women, high fashion is the norm. Our interpreter, guide and coordinator, Olesya Dunayeva is a stunning blond haired, blue eyed Russian.

Unfortunately, we have been unable to call home, our calling card is not working and our cell phones are not functioning. There is a lovely couple right across the hall of our AWESOME hotel. Amy & Galen are from Mechanicsburg, PA and are adopting two toddlers. They have been a God send-their Russian is quite good and they have been kind enough to take us under their wing. Thank God they will be here another month. Please know that we are safe and will journal on our BLOG as often as possible. Hopefully, we’ll figure out how to call very soon. We miss you all!