Welcome Danielle!
The Newest Addition to Our Family
The Trip to Kaz
A huge sigh of relief was breathed as we boarded the 747 on February 14th, that would take us to Frankfurt, then on to Moscow, then on to Almaty, and finally to Kyzl-orda, Kazakhstan. With a time difference of almost 12 hours and a day in Almaty to rest, we finally arrived in Kyzl-orda on Saturday afternoon. Our driver took us right to the orphanage! Oh, we could hardly wait! On the 30-minute drive, we saw camels, and miles and miles of flat land with little grass or trees. Occasionally we would see a group of houses that were small and in great need of repair. The town was very poor and run down by American standards. In the midst of it all, however, was a ray of sunshine. Danielle's orphanage was surrounded by a little picket fence, painted in different colors. A cartoon scene was painted on the front gates. Although the paint on both the fence and gate was chipping and badly faded, this was the first brightly colored thing we’d seen since arriving to town, and it was very welcoming. Inside the orphanage, we found brightly colored rooms, and the caretakers were bustling to and fro. It was warm and very clean. It was truly an oasis.
We were immediately ushered into the director’s office. It’s hard to describe the excitement and nervousness felt as we waited. We were greeted warmly by the director, and then we were told by her, with the concern of a mother, that the babies had been sick and had lost a bit of weight. She told us that our baby may not look like the picture they’d sent us the month before. She urged us not to worry, but to be prepared for this. We held our breath, then Karen burst into tears when they brought our very healthy looking little girl in and placed her in our arms. After crying for a few minutes and holding her between us, we looked up to see the director looking concerned. Through our interpreter, she asked if we liked our baby. Oh, the tears poured again as we expressed how very much we liked her! They understood, then, that our tears were of pure joy. We giggle now at the concern they had about her loss of weight. She looked like a little sausage in her many layers of clothing. Tom nicknamed her “melonball”. She was just perfect!
Karen in the orphanage doorway in Kyzyl-Orda
Our little "melon ball."