Weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend (pictures to follow!). Other than having trouble sleeping, a little nausea and feeling a little jittery, Prednisone works wonders! I'm not 100% but hopefully on the mend. My lower arm and wrist are still swelling some in the evenings which makes me wonder if I'm having tendinitis on top of the possible hernia. Thank you for the thoughts and prayers!

I realized I must truly be a foodie. We ate at two AWESOME restaurants this weekend and I measured part of the weekend on how great the food was. :) I will review the restaurants in another post this week just in case you happen to be in Chicago or you happen to decide that they sound so good, you'll drive for food. :)

No really, it was fantastic to meet so many families that have had the same life-changing experience. As much as we try to explain it to people, we just can't. It is an experience that cannot be fully described but it was apparent that we had all left a piece of our hearts in Kazakhstan. For our part, we will never be the same. We are blessed beyond belief but we will never forget the many children left in the orphanages. And our love and passion for adoption was impacted exponentially!

The families travelled from all over the U.S. and even Canada! There were families that have been home for many years and some who have come home in the past six months, some have adopted one, some have adopted two at a time (like us!), some have adopted two times from Kaz, some have other adopted children from other countries or the U.S., some have biological children (or are expecting them), some stayed for a long time in Kazakhstan, and some for less time. ALL love their children and are blessed. ALL were impacted by their time in Kazakhstan. ALL had the cutest kids in the world. :)

Truly, the children were beautiful and happy and loved! Our boys enjoyed making new friends who share a common birth country. We know this will mean even more to them when they are older but we want to establish these relationships early!

We are blessed. We look forward to next year's Kazapalooza! More to come...