I’m blogging again.

A lot has happened in the past year or so since I last posted. I won’t rehash a bunch of stuff so I will just start in again.

Happy New Year. Or I should say Happy Nauryz.

Three years ago, we were in Aktau, Kazakhstan, visiting with a child that would soon become our daughter. One of the wonderful things we did while we were there was to celebrate the Kazakh new year, Nauryz. There was a party at the orphanage with a recital by the older children (4 & 5 yr olds), food and dancing. The Bear (kushke bear for short) fell asleep on my shoulder that day. Later in the day, we went to the city celebration of Nauryz. There were bands playing music in the park, food and drink readily available. There were yurtas set up in the parks by different groups including the local university, and local businesses. We were invited in as honored guests and offered food and drink. We were given soup, sliced meats, cheese, crackers, flat bread, and other wonderful foods including camels milk - tastes like yogurt.

That day is probably the most symbolic event that happened, other then court and gotcha day, that exemplifies our new experience. A new year, a new family was born, a new baby was received into our family. That baby is now a preschooler. She is a wonderful spark of life with energy to give away. She is a dear child who has grown into a wonderful little girl.

This time of year, spring, is celebratory time for our family. The celebrations start with Kazakh new year, the first day of spring, then comes Gotcha day, and ends with Malika's birthday. Our family day is celebrated on the day we took official custody of Malika. We will eat some foods in that we identify with Kazakhstan, such as pilaf, (plov) and shish-ka-bob, sliced meats and cheeses and flat breads. I won't however imbibe in the Aktau cognac or vodka.