Snuggle Day

Andrew did not seem to feel as well today as he has the first few days. He definitely had a bad tummy (as evident by the smells and diaper). He wanted to snuggle today. He let Mark and I each hold him and rock him while he sucked his thumb. He likes to be held close as he is rocked. It was nice to see that side of him but we hate that he did not feel well.

After our visit, we went to the Ramstore (a mall) and ate lunch. We also shopped for shoes for Andrew. His are way too small and we can’t even get them to stay on because they don’t fit around the back of his foot. During our first visit, we were asked to bring clothes and diapers but not shoes. The caregivers change him into his “visiting clothes” and a Pamper before we get there each day. The rest of the time, he wears the baby house clothes and some type of sumo wrestling cloth diaper deal. It appears to be 2 baby blankets. One goes under him while the other goes around him. We will put his new shoes on him tomorrow and see if that makes walking any easier for him.

We had made plans with our translator to meet at the Ramstore and to go from there, to church. The church was on the other side of town which we had not seen. We had some apprehensions about traveling outside our newly found comfort zone but decided we needed to go. It was amazing. The sermon was in Russian but there was a translator there for English. They sang many of the praise songs we hear each Sunday in own church, just in Russian. It was such an encouraging service.

We are starting to feel a bit homesick. We definitely miss our family, friends, a comfortable bed, consistent hot water, and a few other things. Lainey also has her moments too. We have asked a lot of her. I’m not sure spending 24/7 with mom and dad has been easy for her. I know she would love to hop on her bike at home and just ride to her heart’s content. Instead, we play Uno.

We look forward to finding out this week how things are progressing with the court system. Our translator told us that she has translated several documents already for court and I guess for the Embassy as well since they are being translated into English.