The Trip- Day Five

Saturday
     It is Saturday in Almaty. We actually had rain today. It  was overcast yesterday and today, but it has finally rained. The temperatures are still mild- I think today we are in the 50's. Our apartment and the babyhouse are soooo hot. I know I must keep saying that, but you just don't know. The inside temperatures must be up in the 80's at both places.
     Three more days until we go to court. I am so looking forward to that day. The folks from the other adoption agency (I think I told you all that we met two other families) came to pick up their children today. I got all teary-eyed when they came in to say good-bye with their children. I can't wait until I can bring Grace home with me.
      She has put her head on my shoulder for just a second and she touches my face with her hand. She smiles when she sees me now and lets me hold her for kisses for just a second before she is ready to get down.
     Megol is the assistant to the director at the babyhouse. She is the one who brings the children to us each day and then takes them back. She clearly loves the babies and they all smile at her when she talks to them. She plays with them individually and has been very nice to us. It makes us all feel better to know that she does care about these kids.
      We have had lunch at the same German restaurant for the past four days and we think that is where we will continue to eat. We have a couple of reasons for that. First, the babyhouse is in an industrial part of the city and there are few restaurants. The second reason is that they have menus in English. The food is good and the waiters all think we are from London. The first day they asked in Russian, "......London....." We were all so confused by the Russian that only Michaela caught that he must have been asking if we were from London. We had all nodded yes and it's a really good thing because I think that they become very impatient with us because we don't speak Russian. 
     We are going to the babyhouse tomorrow. There had been some questions about whether we could visit then or not. We are glad although we are getting tired of this routine. I think Aunt Mary was the only one who was disappointed that we could go. The Miller's and Schemmer's have started calling her Aunt Mary too. It is so funny; she's become everyone's Aunt Mary.
     Today Rich Miller brought his computer with a DVD player on it. They had a DVD called Baby Mozart. It is Mozart music with visuals on the screen. The children really liked it. Of course Grace was the first one to lose interest and was ready to go play, but she did watch it for about 15 mintues.
    I read Green Eggs and Ham to all three kids today. It started out with me reading to the girls, but soon Adam joined us. Grace did not like that I was paying attention to Adam and Zhanna, but all three listened until the end of the book.