Our Special Outside Trip

We had our usual day to the orphange except that Nate was wide open. He now likes to watch Alayna and whatever she does he tries to do. The only problem is that he doesn't run very fast with his little spare tire. I have never seen him laugh so hard. Chandler and I will say "where is Alayna?" and she will be hiding behind a chair. Nate started saying Alayna, Alayna. We both just looked at each other with the look of what did he say? The other two families that came at the same time as us were able to bring their children back to their rooms to stay today. Annie has Lillie in the hotel with us and Gina and Bob have Hayden in the apartment with them. If we stayed the whole time we could do the same. This thing of work and paying bills is so over rated. Anyway on to the story of our outdoor adventure. We went for a walk to the market with Dee Dee and Garrett from SC. We have been there before with Annie but I think this place is a must see. Envision a flea market if you will but a little worse. As you walk in, there are ladies selling flowers which are beautiful. Once you pass that there are about 50-100 flys all around the fresh catch of the day but there isn't any water nearby. One tent has the fish in a closed meat case the other has them laying on a table in buckets. As you keep walking there is junk for sale everywhere. Pieces of everything all taken apart. For example there are cans with nuts, bolts, nails, and old sewing machines. The antique roadshow may have a field day. They also sell fresh fruits, vegtables, and clothing. As we left the gypsy women and their children came up to us looking for money. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at this little store and bought an ice cream. That was our excitment for today. Keep posting we look forward to all the comments in the AM every morning.

More Americans Sighted

Monday morning we did our usual routine and went to breakfast with Annie. Three more American families showed up. They were as nervous as we were on that 1st day. They are all very nice and think that we are so knowledgeable of everything here. Fooled another, we just fake it. HA! HA! We went to the grocery store again today. We were able to take our cart and shop alone (I guess we can do that being that we live on yogurt, bread, cheese, and a meat stick). We did our AM and PM visits to the orphanage and all went well. Lena and Tamara came in and we signed our documents for court and the kids passports; it felt like we were buying a house there were so many papers. Everyone at the orphanage has decided that Alayna is going to be daddy's girl and Nate my little man. It's okay because when she finds out he hates to shop she will be at my side. Chandler is hoping Nate becomes a race fan. We are going to take the other families to the outside market in between visits to pass the time today. We will post pictures tomorrow of that interesting place. For now I will keep you in suspense. We attempted a family photo today but the kids were not in the mood, we will keep trying. When we were all outside playing Alyana's group came out and played in the sand box. They are all sweet kids and call Chandler "papa". Nate was picking flowers or as we all call weeds (dandilion's) and having a ball. It is amazing how two little people can bring such joy to our lives and we have only spent 28 total hours with them. Take care everyone and see you soon.

To Live in Kazakhstan

Yesterday was the one day each week we visit the orphanage only in the morning. The children did well. Nate is doing better with his blocks and shapes. He is smiling and laughing more each day. Alayna is making good progress with the alphabet. Other than that there's not a lot to report from Sunday.
I thought I'd take up today's blog spot telling you a little about Karaganda, Kazakhstan and it's people. I was a little surprised to see how the people live. Not knowing what to expect, I thought the country would be a lot more run down being this area was under communist rule less than 20 years ago. Yesterday we went to the flea market with Annie to kill some time. Most of the items were used and old. These folks had items for sale we would have thrown out years ago. All of the vendors were very friendly and helpful. (At least we think so, they spoke Russian with a smile) Some of the buildings look run down and out of use. Some of them would be condemned in America. Others look nice and modern. The roads, those that are paved, have potholes everywhere. Mainly because these people don't have the equipment nor the resources to build roads like we're accustomed to in America. Due to the rough roads, drivers look like they're on an obstacle course driving from side to side trying to miss them. Also keep in mind the roads are NOT marked with lines, which makes the ride back and forth to the orphanage a little scary, missing oncoming cars by inches sometimes. We were asked not to wear our seatbelts because it's offensive. Some of the cars here are just like ours back home. They drive VW's, Toyota's, BMW's, Mercedes, and Mazdas. Other cars are brands found only in the East. I was able to spot one Chevy and three Ford's. Most of the people we've seen look much like Americans in the way they dress, behave, and go about their everyday business. The young people are educated and exited about their future. Being that coal mining is the primary source of income for these people, many are moving out of the area to seek better wages and an easier way of life. Overall the people are good and they all seem to be working hard for a better way of life.

One Week Behind Us

Today is Sunday morning for us and Saturday night for ya'll. Yesterday was our usual routine, going to the orphanage in the AM and in the afernoon. I think we have come to the conclusion about Nate, he does not do mornings very well. If we stopped walking around outside he would start to cry. His caregivers have spoiled him profusely. Alayna on the other had was jumping off the jungle gym into her fathers arms all morning. We have also showed her how to play hide and seek, except she is laughing to hard to hide and not be found. Our afternoon was fun with both. Nate is more enthusiastic at this time. As you can tell from our photos he will stop playing to eat. His only problem is that he will drink all of his milk at one time and have nothing to go with the rest. Alayna continues to be engrosed in her ABC's. We have one word of good news. Our court date is set for JUNE 12th. I know you all are saying, "Wow, that is Alyson's Birthday. What a great present". Well you are right. There are three more families coming in today to stay in our hotel. We will have more people to meet and socialize with. Right now we have breakfast with Annie from Raliegh who has adopted Lillie. Today we only get one visit in the morning from 10-12. We will have to find something to do for the rest of the day. Our hotel has a bowling alley, turkish spa room with pool, sauna, jacquzzi, and a work out center. I am trying to get used to hearing 300 tenge, which is really only $2.50. Hearing the hundred word scares you at times. We are also including a picture of the back side of the orphanage. Love to all.

What A Day We Had

We started off our day with our morning trip to the orphanage. Nathanial Francis Efland was in no mood. He was tearful and irritable. There is a virus going around in the orphanage and all of the kids have the lovely green snotty noses. Alayna Grace Efland was in music class and saw us. She looked like she had ants in her pants as she wanted to see us so bad. There isn't much to do there so we walked around outside for an hour and then spent the rest of the time in a quiet room with them reading and matching cards. We went back in the afternoon and Nate was doing better and Alayna, well, she is always ready to go. We worked with her a little on her ABC's and she can now do the letter A, B, and C. Nate was having his nutritious snack of an apple, cookie, and milk(which is so hot when he gets it). He will definately eat us out of house and home as he grows. We had to leave them early to go to the mall which was similar to an American mall but much smaller. There is a grocery store on the bottom level. We got a few things to keep on hand in our room including juice, bread, and Nutella. Oh and how can I forget Nate's size 4+ diapers. No more peeing on dora explorer panties and his mom. We then went to a kids toy store. We found a magnetic ABC board for Alayna in english and a plastic box type thing to put shapes in to for Nate. She has been very shy and not repeating anything yet except for the other day. Lena and Tamara say that when we get her home all she will hear is english and she will speak it then. We really just want to take them from that place today and bring them home, but these laws are nuts. Lena said that Tamara has our court date for us. Hooray! But we still have to wait the 15 day period so we would not be able to leave until after July 7th with the kids if we stayed. This is all so frustrating. As the days go by it is just another day closer to being home!! Many thanks for all the great posts and prayers. We couldn't do this without all of you and God by our side. We look forward to hearing from everyone every morning.

Another Day Down

Yesterday was an interesting day. We woke up, went to the Apollo for breakfast in the hotel and had our usual omlet as that is the only thing at this time they understand in english. A buffett table has meats, cheeses, and fruits to offer. Oh and I have to mention the crepes that are cold; which we tried until I said this smells like the porrage in the orphanage. After our moring visit we went shopping for clothes for the kids to travel to Almaty. That was very overwhelming for me. Lena, our interpreter, told the lady what we were looking for and all of a sudden clothes were coming at us from all angles. They each got two outfits and shoes. Alayna's shoes fit fine but Nate's shoes wouldn't even make it over his feet. I think his feet are a D width. Lena is going to exchange them for us. The afternoon visit went well. Annie gave us a book to read with Alayna and she was so engrossed in it. After Nate finished his carbohydrate lunch of a roll, apple and milk, he was ready to go. It is funny that Annie brought toys geared towards a 2yr old or older and we brought infant toys, although they do like the vibrating worms. (Thanks to Gramma & Grampa Charlotte.) Nate and Alayna were playing on this baby einstein piano and she was telling him in English (push this.) Yeah, the girl is learning. Nate has never laughed so hard as he did yesterday. This was our best day so far. As for us we got a tea pot to boil water for our Ramen noodles. That was our gourmet meal for the week. The kids had their passport photos done yesterday as well, which is another step towards bringing them home. HOORAY!!
We walked over to a park behind our hotel this afternoon for sanity sake. It seemed to be an old amusement park. There were slides and even an old tilt-a-whirl. It seemed as though they were trying to fix it up, that will be long process. Maybe they can fix the roads first. Makes you wonder why they line dry their clothes when all that is blowing on them is dust. What a different culture.

Extra Photos

These two Angels



The orphanage and Nate and his dad.

Another Day in Kaz

Thanks for all of the name ideas. We are still in debate but will take all of them into consideration except for my brothers. (There is no prize Jason.) We went to the orphanage Wednesday and had so much fun with them. Alayna had six ponytails in her head that morning and only two in the afternoon with a fashion statement that will take Charlotte by storm. She was wearing a pink dress and orange striped socks. Nathianel's outfit speaks for itself. We played outside on what they consider a play yard with no swings. The best part of our day was when we returned Nate back to his class room and he got upset. Hooray, a breaking point. He misses his parents. Our hotel room reminds us of a college dorm. We will send photos of it and the area around us. This city is up to speed in some respects with the internet. As far as the roads these guys drive where ever as to not hit a pothole. Some roads are just dirt and dust. We met a lady here named Annie from Raliegh. She adopted a baby girl. We helped name her Lillian (Lilly). This was also a day to remember for us. Nate was sitting with his mother and blessed me with urine all down his pants and mine. Diapers are to expense for the orphange so we will be buying them some. Thanks for all the great posts back.

Here are the Two new Efland's

Hi everyone. It took us a day to figure out our internet dial up connection. We arrived on Monday am at 9:45am in Karaganda and were swept off to the orphange. We both looked like homeless people with no shower or sleep for 3 days. We went to the hotel and put our bags down and not even enough time to brush our teeth were takin to the orphanage. Thank God for mint gum! We went into this room with another family and sat down and they brought in a bunch of children. Only one little boy was very playful. Now remember, this other family was looking as well. So we really felt weird talking to a child with others interested as well. None of the children were younger than a year. One of the girls was abused as a baby had marks on her face. So the first two hours we along with the other family were very upset and disappointed. None of our requests were granted. We went back to our hotel and showered and slept until 3:45, when we were able to return. We met up with our facilitator Tamara and Lena who we told of our concerns. They were in court that morning. She apoloigzed and told us that she has children picked out for us and doesn't know why they didn't show them to us. Bob and Gina saw their little boy and were excited. Then we were told that we could only have two children if they were siblings. We went and met up with a little girl who just turned 4 years. She was beautiful and shy at first then she was very playful. Her brother was brought in and he is 1year and 10 months he is cute and a lady killer. He is so shy. It took us until yesterday afternoon before we got him to laugh and play. This morning we went to his room and he came right to us. Tuesday we decided that these were Efland kids. We have until this weekend to come up with names for thier new birth certificates. Her name is Alyona and his is Vonya. Her name will be Alana so as not to confuse her. His name will be Noah or Nathaniel, but which one. We need a middle name for her. Look at their faces and help us out.

stuck in memphis

We took off from Charlotte NC and without any difficulty. We were on a plane that had seat cushions that were so flat I don't know how we would of used them as a flotation device. We left Memphis on time and even got to go back to Memphis. The pilot come on to say "attention passengers we have just had a failed engine and the people with the windowseats can possible see the jet fuel coming out now." You will see emergency vechiles on the runway as a precaution but, we don't feel that anything will happen. As you can see we ended up back in Memphis and now areat the Holiday Inn. We will not arrive to our final destination until Monday morning at 6am per Bolat who is going to meet us at the airport. We ended up getting a voucher for 100.00 and a food coupon, oh and we did score the sweet at the holiday inn. I hope they still plan on showing fun with Dick and Jane on the plane tomorrow. I think the best partof this story is that the flight was full with 252 passengers so we had to check our carry on which of course has a change of clothes and all of our toiletries. I know mom I sure hope our luggage shows up. Love to all when we post again hopefully we will be face to face with our children.

Our bags are finally packed

We have only 4 days left until we get to meet the children that God has chosen for us. This is all so surreal. We will be boarding our Jet plane tomorrow 5/19 and be in Karaganda, Kazakhstan on 5/21. To think that our children were born over 8,000 miles away, we will come face to face with the two new Efland Children on 5/22. We have packed everything that we could possibly fit in two suitcases. How, I guess you could say creatively! Paige and Morgan will be bonding with their grandfather who will be staying at our house. Thanks Dad!! Special thanks to both of our families for all the support during this journey, special thanks to Pam and Fran (Alyson's parents) for all of the help with packing and the sweet snacks for the many hours of flying. I don't know how I will make it without my daily conversations to my parents, I just may have to invest in an international phone card. We will post again once we arrive in Karaganda and figure out how to use the internet access. Love to you all.

It is finally here!!

It is May 8th and we have recieved our travel date. We are to be in Karaganda by May 21st. Many things to do and get organized for. There are to many emotions to explain right now. All I know is this is the best Mother's Day present. We will keep you all posted.