Friends reunited

Madiyar and I made the trip to Pennsylvania without a hitch, no delays with flights or problems with the rental car except that it didn't go fast enough for a very excited 14 year old boy. We arrived at our destination just minutes before the school bus dropped Borya and his sibs off from school and the two boys were inseparable all weekend long. It was a great pleasure watching the boys have so much fun together. Sunday morning came too soon for the friends. Leaving was hard and Madiyar was very quiet on most of the drive back to the airport. No sulking or pouting, he was just sad and thoughtful. After a while, he started talking about the future. He asked me if he and Borya could go to college together and I told him I thought that was a great idea. (A year ago, this kid hated school and would have dropped out if he could have so any talk of college is tres exciting!) By the time we walked into our house, Madiyar was still talking about another visit with James but he was clearly happy to be home, giving and receiving hugs with the rest of the family. I think this visit was very good for him and he seems to have handled the stress well.

I had a great visit with the Giberson clan, too...Fred and Anne have 6 kids, 3 of them from Kazakhstan, so we have a lot in common. Anne and I became acquainted through cyberspace, first via our various Yahoo adoption groups and then when we were both in the process of adopting kids from Ridder. (Little did we know that the boy they were adopting was a friend of Madiyar's from the same group in the boarding school...it's a small world.) Borya (now called James) and his sister Yulia (Julie) arrived home in PA just 2 weeks before Aniyar and Madiyar arrived here in MA last year. Between email, phone, and our blogs, we've kept in touch pretty well. Madiyar loves to check out James' mom's blog to see photos of his friend and I enjoy Anne's great writing skills. I felt like I knew all the kids before I even met them due to her descriptions of their personalities and her daily life...Anne has a great sense of humor, always a plus for a mother of a large brood.



Bonnie, thanks for letting me sleep in your very cool Twilight room...my girls are sooo jealous! Julie, thanks for the tour of your whole house and for introducing me to all the animals, also for playing games with me. Natasha, thanks for letting me watch "Haunting Hour" with you...it was spooky but fun! Bo, I hope your injuries heal from the lava and fire pit under your kitchen table. Shane, thanks for being such a good sport and playing with Madiyar and James...Madiyar said he had a blast but his shoulder still hurts...hmmm...I'm not sure I want to know the details. James, thanks for your generosity and for being such a good friend to Madiyar. Fred, I don't care what you say...the chicken was great...what was the marinade? And Anne...there's nothing like free therapy, one Mom to another...thanks for sharing your home, your time, your family, and your very big heart with us!