More pictures

Surveying the scene
Helping Daddy build the vegetable garden fence--although bunny rabbits are cute, we like to eat the green beans, too!

Loving on Mosby--Maggie had her turn!

Aidan kisses for Mama!

Getting used to Daddy on the ride to the hotel from the orphanage

On the Leesburg Court House steps

You can pay 20 rubles on Arbat to use the Portapotty! That only about .75 or .80 cents US! : )

Aidan and some of the other kids hanging out in front of Red Square.

This is not actually the center of Russia, but from this spot, all things are measured. It is directly in front of the entrance to Red Square.

Time sure flies, these days! We get up, eat breakfast, play or run errands for a couple of hours, have lunch, take a nap, play for a couple of hours, eat dinner, take a bath and then it's bedtime! Another day done. . .I have to make a list of things to do just to get my usual chores done! I won't even discuss the things I thought I would have time to do. . .

We have confirmed Aidan's baptism and it is scheduled for May 18th at the 10:30 service at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Sterling. I'm hoping to finish printing the announcements and invitation to an Open House following today and get them in the mail. I guess our morning errand today will be to the Post Office for stamps! Next week I will take him to St. Matthew's for a visit so he can meet Fr. Rob. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to meet on baptism day for the first time!

Aidan continues to amaze us with how well he is doing adjusting to life with us. He continues to be afraid of loud noises: lawn mowers of all kinds, weed whackers, garage door opener, vacuum, dish washer, and even a low flying airplane (we have a small airport here in Leesburg). I know he will be okay with time, but for now we just tell him a loud noise is about to happen, hold him while it does and then tell him it's okay.

Aidan loves animals of all kinds. So, I think we'll take him to the Horse and Pony show at Upperville in early June. The day we like to go is the final jumping show and it's a great time for a nice picnic. We'll be able to take him around and show him all of the horses and ponys before the show starts and then get a good spot to watch the jumping and have our picnic. That should be a lot of fun!

Today we will be back out in the yard cleaning up the gardens. Aidan helped me clean up the ones around the patio yesterday. I'm hoping to get the front garden and the herb garden done today. Maybe tomorrow we can work on the Iris and butterfly gardens. . .Then, all we will have is the side garden that faces the street. Last night, he helped Pat build the fence around the vegetable garden and next week I'll get him to help me with planting annuals in some of the gardens and pots for the patio and deck. I know he'll love it because he loves anything having to do with outside! Last night, during bath time, we had to pay special attention to his fingernails, which were black with dirt! What a boy he is!

Aidan's love of music continues. So far, he doesn't seem to not like any type of music. Of course, Pat has pushed Country and I have pushed Classical, but his particular favorite is U2. Everytime I have on the Alternative Station on Sirius and they play U2, he stops, listens and then starts bouncing to the beat. It's so cute! And, I think he likes REM, too! What a good kid!

Thoughts about Russia:

I can't help remembering how, when we were in Krasnoyarsk (was that only 2 1/2 weeks ago???), I felt like I was living in a Kurt Vonnegut story. It was that strange.

Although Moscow was nice (you can do it in probably two days--including Gorky Park!) I don't think I'm going to get to see Prague, Budapest, or even Istanbul. I think Pat is over Eastern Europe!

My theory on the loud speakers in Kras: They did not look new, so I imagine they may have originally been used to dessiminate information to the population--propoganda, perhaps??? They are used now to play music constantly, which after a while really wears you down because there is always noise happening, but can you imagine the mind control that could happen with the use of the loud speakers??? Whoa! Back in a Kurt Vonnegut story. . .

More later.

Blessings,

Stacy