Wednesday

The top photo is my fashion plate Madina attempting to take her first steps. She is a trooper, happy despite an axillary temp of 39 degrees celcius, which translates to approx 102 degrees. The doctor saw her, and said it was a combination of being in a "draft" and many new people in the orphanage. She will be "fine". The second photo is Madina trying on the unofficial escort suit of Children at Heart--at least two of the girls have come home in it! Thank you Vika and Chloe! Madina will not be home until May, but it is important to keep the babies warm!! Madina is actually pretty immobile in the suit too!!

Today we bought some rolls filled with sauerkraut for dinner from a street vendor. Mom was actually able to ask for Kapuska (cabbage in Ukrainian), much like my grandmother used to make. We have had some unwelcome surprises with stuffed bread in the past, so sauerkraut was very safe! What a welcome change from pasta and Kazak style ramen noodles! The hotel includes breakfast every morning, so we have cheese omelets and yogurt, and Zhanna eats "hot dogs (!?!)" and cheese blintzes with a kiwi. The rest of the meals are gourmet renditions of pasta and anything that can be cooked in a hot pot! The hotel has a restaurant, but it does not open until 7pm, much too late to order and eat with Zhanna. We all need our beauty sleep!

I am going to sign off now, this was my third attempt to post this entry and it has taken me 1 1/2 hours to do--will try for more tomorrow. Can't tell you how frustrating dial up internet can be when you keep getting disconnected!! Hope all is well!