Journey To AJ

Life is wonderful!!!

Hi everyone.  AJ is asleep for the night and Mark is on a conference call so I figured this was a perfect time to post on the blog.  We are really feeling things beginning to settle back into place and it feels great!!!  Mark is beyond busy at work, which is a good thing, and I , well, am busy at work too!  I now understand so many things about why some mothers do some of the things they do.  Like cut their hair short after having a baby that has a fierce grip (no i'm not cutting mine, yet!).  Or feeling like their covered all over (and I mean from head to toe) with spit and food and formula and God only knows what else.  Why a mandatory shower once a day has turned into a mandatory shower twice a day.  The list goes on and on.  However, what a wonderful list it is!!! 

I am loving motherhood and all it requires.  I could not have asked for a sweeter little boy.  I just adore every inch of him!  We have several crosses hanging above Alexander's crib.  One says, "For this child I have prayed".  And boy did we ever.  God is great and His indescribable love for us continues to take my breath away. 

A post from AJ

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Back into the swing of things

Things are beginning to feel somewhat normal again.  We are all rested, unpacked and back into our daily routines.  Of course, with an addition!!!  We never could have possibly imagined how much love we have for AJ.  It is indescribable. He is doing great.  His hair is growing like crazy.  I swear everyday I can tell it's grown.  Must be all the good food he continues to gobble down everyday.  We have lots of new pictures that I am sorting through and hope to post asap. 

Yesterday AJ had his first Dr.'s appt. and will have his post adoption appt. Friday.  The nurses and his Dr. couldn't believe how active he is.  As usual he was all over the place.  He is so inquisitive about EVERYTHING!!!  He has to check everything out to see if it is "chew worthy".  It's amazing how fast he catches on to sounds, facial expressions, movements, etc.  He makes us crack up laughing several times a day.  He is a true piece of work!!!

Right now he is napping and then he will be ready for his snack.  Food again.  Check later for pic.'s. Hopefully by then I will have my act together and get them posted.

Home Sweet Home!!!

Hello Everyone!!!  We finally made it home around 6pm Tuesday night.  I can't explain how wonderful it felt and continues to feel to be back on U.S. soil. The flights and layovers home were exhausting for us all.  We thought we were never going to get here.  It just took FOREVER.  Over 24 hours!!!  Not as long as getting to Kyrgyzstan but way more exhausting after our trip.

AJ is adjusting great.  He slept 12 hours last night which was a wonderful blessing.  Mark and I were able to catch up on some much needed sleep.  He is eating well and loves his bedroom.  He also seems to be relieved that his wipes are warmed.  Its always the little things in life.

Not only did the God give us the sweet blessing and gift of Alexander on this trip but He also used the trip to teach Mark and I many lessons.  We both had a huge reality check on just what is important while we are here on earth and the things that need to be dropped off.  We thought we had a pretty good grasp on this stuff before but He showed us we had a long way to go. 

We look forward to sharing stories and experiences from our incredible journey.  We will also continue to post new pictures.  Hopefully this afternoon.  We love you and can't wait to see each and every one one of you.

Beautiful Kazakhstan

Hello Everyone!!!!!  Only 2 1/2 more day until we are on a plane headed for home.  We are counting down the days.

We are really enjoying Almaty!  As you will see by the new pic.'s we posted it is absolutely georgous here. The mountains are incredible and that is pretty much what we see when we look out our window.  We went to the top of some of them yesterday and it was awesome.  Unlike anything Mark and I have ever seen.

This afternoon we may go check out a couple of old cathedrals.  Although we are not sure yet because our bodies are so fatigued.  Out of whack!  We never truly recoved from the jet lag and we are just not getting the kind of nutrition to our bodies that we need.  Thank the Lord that AJ is such a great little guy.  It gives us the energy to keep on keeping on.  Like I said earlier...only a couple of more days.

Thanks for all the comments posted and support.  We love reading them and it makes us feel like we're not that far from home.  Sending lots of love!!!

Getting back on track

Well it's around 9:30am on Friday here in Almaty and AJ just went down for his morning nap.  Mark and I are going to rest before we take a tour with Kim, Tim and Matthew to the mountains.  We will post new pictures after the adventure.  The transition between Bishkek and Almaty was exhausting considering we were traveling at night and didn't get to our hotel until around 1am.  However after a great dinner here at the Hyatt last night and all three of us getting a good nights rest we are beginning to feel better. 

We are counting the days until we get to come home.  We can't wait to bring AJ to his permanant home and get him into a routine and schedule.  We also miss the dogs and look forward to introducing them to our little boy. 

We can't say enough about AJ's disposition.  He is just the sweetest little boy.  He love to play and laugh and hear himself talk.  He loves attention and loves to eat porridge and any type of fruit baby food.  He does not cry or fuss all that much.  If he does it's because he needs something.  We are enjoying Almaty and will blog soon after our trip today.  We miss you.

This little guy is A TROOPER.

Hey everyone. We had a wonderful last day in Bishkek. We left the city and took an interesting drive to the base of the mountains with our new friends Tim and Kim Lehr and their new son Mathew. What can I say but that God was totally in the driver seat when he just happened to have another couple start along the adoption path last November when we started ours. Their adoption of their awesome son Mathew was final about the same day and of the many orphanages in Bishkek and the world for that matter, little AJ and Mathew found themselves as roommates in the same orphanage. What a blessing they have been to share this awesome journey with--All the major highs, unknowns and some of the challenges of the trip have been worth spending with them. We have bonded with them in a big way and know that we and are new sons will be special friends forever from the sharing of this time. We have even talked about bringing the boys back here when they are much older. Anyway, the Kyrgyzstan mountains are known as the Swiss Alps of Central Asia. We ate an early dinner along a beautiful river that rushed through the valley. Wild horses and cows were grazing along the grassy shore while some local nomads were fishing for their dinner near their yurt (sort of a round Teepe). This was a very tranquil place that reminded me of how people have been living for thousands of years( No mortgage or bills and what a view). AJ seemed to really enjoy his time with us here. This was a great close of our Bishkek visit. Then we left for our 4 hour trip to Almaty Kazakhstan. An interesting passage through the border-We got through without much trouble and not having to through cash at the officers. AJ had a couple of bottom blow outs along the way, apple juice with water is not working with him. Other than this AJ was a major trooper.  Almaty Kazakhstan is much different than Bishkek. While still central Asia and similar customs, the city is a major typical metro city. Big money exhists here because of big oil. We are staying at the Hyatt. It's nice to feel a bit of America here. It is a very nice hotel and Steph and I are looking forward to finally eating something after about 4 days of not eating much. The only problem in this city is that a cheeseburger costs 2600 Tenge which is about 24 dollars. USA Black Angus steak is 7000 Tenge or about 68 Dollars. A coke is about 12, a fruit plate is about 20 dollars. Those of you who know me, the 24 and the 68 dollars are coming out of the wallet. This man needs some meat. Anyway, AJ had his medical today and all is well.  He weighs 17 lbs, about what my third belly role costs. I will get back to you later.

Love Mark

Sweet little boy!!!

Well, it's 8am on Tuesday here in Bishkek and I just put AJ down for his morning nap.  The amount of love Mark and I have for this little guy is unexplainable.  He is such a good baby.  He giggles, smiles, ga-ga's and loves to wave to us.  Right when we got him we started waving to him and he immediately started waving back and he gets the biggest kick out of it.

He has white blonde hair with ocean blue eyes and the biggest smile.  We are enjoying him tremendously and he seems to be enjoying us as well.  It's amazing but we already seem to have him on a schedule.  He likes his naps and slept through the night last night.  He has taken to Mark and I like we have always been around.  Everyone was right when they said the love of a child is a special indescrible gift from God.  We have so many emotions we are experiencing right now however, on of the greatest is we feel God's grace, faithfulness and blessings.  His plans are always perfect.  If only we could always be still and wait for His ever perfect guidance and timing!!! 

As for Mark and I we are starting to feel somewhat normal again.  The jet lag couple with lack of food and the unrelenting heat certainly took it's toll.  It is extremely hot here.  Let me say that again, IT IS VERY HOT HERE.  Nothing like I have experienced before.  There is air in our room but as for the stores, etc. it is natural air.  So we get hot, dusty and sticky just like you see in the movies showing the Middle East. 

Please continue to pray for us.  For safety, health and a smooth transition as we leave here next week and fly home.  We love you all and will continue to blog.  Fortunately, the wonderful couple we are traveling with brought their laptop because our power cord died. So we hope to find a new one in town today.  We leave tomorrow evening for Almaty.  We will be posting many more pictures of us and AJ in the next couple of days for keep checking back.  God bless you all!!!!  We miss you.    

THE PACKAGE HAS LANDED AND "BOY" HE'S CUTE

Friends

Sorry to be just updating, but we're just getting over the jet lag not to mention some computer issues. We were able to borrow a computer today and hope to have ours operational tomorrow.

Now to the most important news. We arrived safely after a 33 hour trip. No problems along the journey but we definitely have seen some interesting people, events, and culture . Lets just say this part of the world (Central Asia) is a major melting pot. We have it SOOO good in America.

We will get into more detail about our journey and most importantly the awesome events of meeting our son AJ. The meeting was an indescribable event. I can only try to explain it through some pictures. Seeing Stephanie for the first time with our son was one of the best days of my life--- up there with our vows.

I am not at liberty to share some of the pictures we have of the orphanage and AJ's caregivers. Let me just say there were a lot of tears from them as they were saying goodbye to him. I'm sure that some of their tears were tears of joy knowing one of their little ones was getting an opportunity to go to such a wonderful place like the good old USA with parents that will be devoted to him.

Anyway, check out the pictures and see the progress. He is a very happy little guy. God has shown up in awesome ways the last couple of days. He has made our path straight--We will share more later.

We love you

Mark

On your marks, get set........

We are pretty much on our way out the door!!!  Praise Jesus this day has finally come!!!  Today we give all glory to God for His ever faithful love, grace and mercy!!!!!

Mark and I slept well last night and we are grateful for that.  We enjoyed coffee together this morning and had fun gathering old photos to take with us.  We feel great, an answered prayer, and are auctually looking forward to the flights.  Mark is so funny that we usually end up making a scene when we fly because we are cutting-up (southern term) most of the way.  Gotta pass the time somehow, right?

Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers.  We love you all and can't wait to post our next blog. For at that time we will have our son in our arms.