What a Great Day!

Karina's bed
Hours of fun!

Karina when she first came to the orphanage

Isn't she a doll!

We had a wonderful visit at the orphanage today. When we arrived, all the children were in the music room singing songs. It was so cute to hear how excited they were. We waited in Karina's room while they finished their lesson. While we were waiting, we noticed some pictures on the wall. Lo and behold, their were nearly a dozen pictures of Karina when she first arrived at the orphanage. We were feverishly snaping pictures of pictures, when in walked our cutie, all dressed up in an adorable outfit and a big giant bow on her head. Since there were no children in her room, she was able to show us where she sleeps, the dolls she likes, and even the little yurt that they play Kazakh dolls with.

Midway through our playtime, we had the chance to sit down with the director and ask him some questions. We were absolutely amazed how open and honest he was and how he blessed us with so much information about Karina's history. He may never know how important today was for Karina.

Karina has gotten really good at saying her brothers names. It is so cute to hear her say their names in her little Russian accent. She is such a good natured little girl. She is very attentive and a good listener. It is funny to see the things that interest her. We bought her some coloring books with colored pencils. She spent at twenty minutes sharpening pencils. Both Mike and I tried to sharpen the pencils, and failed miserably. She picked up the tiny little sharpener and ever so carefully began sharpening the pencils. She was sharpening every pencil and gave me the eye when I tried to sneak two out of the unsharpened pile! She also spent at least ten minutes with a wet wipe cleaning the table and chairs. But, her absolute favorite toy of all is a balloon. Who knew we could get off so cheap. A pencil sharpener, wet wipe and a balloon!

Yesterday and today we visited the Russian and Kazakh souvenier shops. The Russian store was full of items made out of the local birch trees. All the local artists bring their paintings there to be sold. Some of them were breathtaking. If only we had all the money in the world. We did splurge a little and bought Karina a traditional Kazakh dress. It is so beautiful, I couldn't resist.

It was a bit warmer today, because a snow storm is on the way. It was -13 degrees, but with the windchill more like -25 degrees. We have only ventured out a couple of blocks from the hotel, as my face felt like it was freezing off. We might get the courage in the next day or two to head out a little farther. To Californians, it seems like an artic expedition. Should we take the dog sled team, or at least a taxi.

We have encountered some interesting food. Today, we ate at the food court in the mall. Mike had Russian dumplings and I had a type of potato au gratin with chicken. It was very tasty. We are getting more courageous at every meal. Can't wait to see what we will eat tomorrow!