Lazy Day

Hi there! It's Lori. Not much new since yesterday, but here are a few thoughts.

Rachel, could you pass this on to Emma's class for her? :-) "Class, I miss you. I have a special brother named Cole. He speaks Russian, and he's two. If we want him to sit down, we say 'soondis.' And chew chew is 'joo-ey.' We tell him to chew because he takes a full hand of crackers and puts them all in his mouth. So that's why we say chew chew. But he's getting better at it. And we got a bottle water here that had bubbles in it like pop. It was really yucky! Very bad. We have a lady who helps us talk Russian and understand things, and we went on a train with her. She's gone today, and I miss her. She's really fun; we color at the orphanage, and she's really good at it. She's an artiste! :-) I miss Mrs. Christopher because I love her. Hi Mrs. Christopher!"

We've actually been in a couple of taxis that have nitrous kits. Carol, those are for going really fast, like for street racing. But the funny part is that because of the lack of space in Europe at all, everyone's cars are the size of like a Ford Escort or smaller--all compacts. So it always makes us chuckle when a Ford Focus pulls up and it had a big 'ol exhaust pipe--almost always a dead give away that inside, we'll see that special gauge for rpms or whatever that's connected with the nitrous kit, and if we have STUFF, then we're extra lucky--we get to SEE the nitrous kit in the trunk. Haha!

We slept in this morning, and I did some serious laundry. I kind of have to do it in shifts. Our landlord brought a cleaning lady yesterday, since we're staying here so long, so I took advantage of the clean "tub" (it's a shower stall with a basin big enought to plug and fill a little) and washed clothes last night and then again this morning before we got in it and dirtied it, but the limiting factor is the space to be able to hang them up in the shower stall and let them drip dry before we set them on the registers to finish drying. Once they're on the registers, they dry fast. So that's it for a while. We're going to turn them inside out before I wash them again! ;-)

Some of you have asked about food... A lot of it's the same. The produce doesn't offer nearly the selection that Kroger does, but it's certainly enough. Emma has finally discovered the joy of mashed potatoes, so that makes life easier. So a typical meal cooked "in" is ham, mashed potatoes and cooked carrots. Or spaghetti. And then if we eat out, we often go to McDonald's, but if we go someplace else, so far we've gone pretty much to "La Boulangerie," which is French for bakery, but it's just a nice, regular restaurant that's not too expensive. Trevor and I have Meatballs A la Kiev, which is chicken patties that are not breaded but frie in a thin layer of egg--very good--which some little mashed potato fry things that are kind of like the smiley fries, and cole slaw. Emma gets a cheese pizza. Otherwise, it's a double cheeseburger and fries or McNuggets.

I called Nataliya to see if she could call the orphanage and check on Cole, just to see how he's doing today. Since we don't get to see him, I have no way of knowing how he is, if he's any bettter yet, if he's worse, etc. And of course any mother wants to know those things. I'd rather we had him, but you know....

I finished reading a book by Don Miller, for all you "Jazzers" out there. This is the prequel to "Blue Like Jazz;" it's "Through Painted Desserts," and it's the road trip he takes with his friend Paul. I know he refers in "Blue Like Jazz" to Paul as "Paul the _____", but I can't remember what that ______ is. Do any of you Jazzers remember? Or could someone look it up? And also, is Paul married to Danielle? I think so, but they meet in this book. It's frustrating that I can't look these things up, since I ponder his musings on and off throughout the day!

Okay, could someone also look up for me metric equivalents for kids clothing if you have a chance? The only tag I saw on Cole said "92", but the metric chart I brought doesn't go that small. I'm still confident he's in a 2T or 3T, but of course I'd really rather know than guess; I'm sure you understand. :-) So if you have time on your hands or expertise in this area, give me a shout out!

Okay, all for now. Keep up the love and prayers--they really make a difference!!!! We love you all and can't wait to see you again.

Love,
Lori