Two and 1/2 nights and 2 days to go ...

Last night in the room above me and Noah, there was a party ... and not just any party. There was loud music, live bongo drums, what sounded like horses stampeding above, drunken Kazakh men singing off key and as loud as they could to every song. One morning, I awoke at 5:00 a.m. to people having LOUD sex in the room next door. Sex not once, but twice ... believe me, I could tell. Derick got a phone call late one night and a woman said, "You don't know me, but would you like to have a good time with some women?" He said, "No thank you." When he told Shannon, she asked, "Why were you so polite?!" ............. Anyway, I just thought I'd share with you all a few typical nights in the Almaty hotel. Ha!

Joanie's good friend, Rebecca, flew into Almaty to help Joanie bring back her baby girl, Hayden. Rebecca has actually been a big help to all of us as she is constantly looking for ways to lend a hand. She is total sweetness and I do believe Noah has developed his first crush.

It snowed last night! We took the children out for a long walk. We went to a beautiful park. In the center of the park is a Russian Orthodox Church famous because it has no steel in the construction. It is all wood. It is absolutely breathtaking inside with murals painted on the ceiling and on every wall. You could feel God's presence there. Just outside the church, very old, poor, and freezing Kazakh women sat on the curb begging. It broke our hearts.

We stopped at Mama Mia's, an Italian Restaurant and had a late lunch. By the time we got back to the hotel, Noah was tired. I took a few photos of him that I am including. You can see how his little mood can change in a matter of 30 seconds! You must understand that his facial expressions are highly manipulative. Notice I figured out very quickly all he wanted was his bottle!!