What? No Turkey?

Nope. We were unable to locate a turkey, so we decided to get a whole chicken and some chicken pieces. Thanks to my friend Susan's amazing brine, the chicken was quite tasty! We also served: meatloaf (practically standard at our dinner table..), corn, green beans, mashed potatoes, dressing/stuffing, sweet pumpkin casserole, bread, cranberry sauce, and apple pie.
Because I think it's worthwhile information... the origin of the dressing/stuffing goes something like this:

Wednesday we shopped at RamStore. One purchase happened to be a tea Chris had enjoyed while in Turkey (the country). He was really excited for it because the tea is the actual dried leaves (packaged in a ziploc bag). It's about as natural as you can get. Well, so we get home and he steeped a pot of this tea and served some up for us. I was not a fan and told him that it tasted like chicken. He proceeded to tease me for my lack of enjoyment of this Turkish "delight" and finally said the name of the tea in English: sage tea. Jessie, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I'm pretty sure sage is a very common, if not prominent herb in poultry seasoning. I was very excited to realize this as I hadn't been able to figure out how we would manage to season the dressing (or the chicken for that matter). So, the sage worked wonderfully, but now Chris is feeling a little queasy about drinking chicken tea. ;)
Our party! Mike on the left, Chris, Aundrey, Stacia, Anya, Addie, me, Sam, and Asiyat.
After dinner we asked everyone to say what they were thankful for, and while the majority of the group mentioned family and friends (in meaningful, non-rote ways), I was really grateful for Asiyat's contribution. Asiyat works for the US State department and is the contact here for the Fulbright scholarship recipients. She mentioned that she was most thankful for the opportunity she has to work with the Fulbrighters, young adult Americans who come to her country not to teach about their own, but to learn about hers, and then return to America and teach other Americans about her country.

We often get a lot of questions about why we are here. We are here for Chris to do research, but the grant doesn't exist to enable research on his specific topic. The purpose of the Fulbright program is to promote mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the peoples of other countries. The Fulbright program provides the opportunity for participants to learn about other cultures and bring that knowledge and experience back to the States. [Bet'ch didn't know that this blog is actually helping to fulfill the purpose of the grant money... ;D]

In all seriousness, it was pretty amazing to realize how much the program means to her, a Kazakh who is aware of the program's purpose and sees its fruit. I have really enjoyed being here. I can honestly say that I love this country (with all its quirks) and I hope those we are acquainted with grow to love it too. Before I knew Chris, I was ignorant to the Central Asian area of the world, but have quickly become intrigued by these countries, these cultures and these peoples. I am so grateful to be a beneficiary of the grant and this experience.

Yummy in the Tummy

I bet you thought this was about Thanksgiving... But it's NoT!

When Chris' family was here I had my first taste of shashlyk. And I loved it. In essence, shashlyk is a meat kabob, but really, it is SoooOoo much more... Shashlyk is traditionally lamb, and there is a type that is ground meat formed and put on the kebab (lyulya kebab). My first try I had lamb lyulya kebab, and chicken and lamb shashlyk. All are served with onion.

Sometime after family left, Chris went to the bazaar and returned with shashlyk from one of the vendors. It was wonderful!!! (and very cheap!) Just a quick picture to tempt you with...

Since I "have to" try some of the things that are available here... we purchased this juice. The carton is designed as a hint of the contents. It's also in English at the bottom.
It wasn't anything too crazy or unusual in taste. It mostly just tasted like sugary water. Chris said that the authentic version tastes mostly like water.

Zoom Zoom Zoom

Daddy took Addie for a little "joy-ride" in our little laundry bin/basket. Although you will see her in two outfits, theses pictures and videos were taken the same day. Sometimes we go through outfits as often as we go through diapers...


Hiding beneath the bin...
Surprise!

She may not initially have a look of pleasure, but the peaceful, expressionless reaction you will see at the beginning is one we have become familiar with. Believe it or not, it means she likes it.

Here we go again...

Click and Clack

Sorry but this isn't about the automotive gurus.

As of Thursday Addie has a new trick: she likes to stop nursing and start sucking on her tongue and cheeks. Although it's a bit annoying (I'm a little against buffet-style feedings), we can't help but laugh at the faces she makes... not to mention all the noise!

If Three is Company...

Then what is eleven??

For starters, it's the number of mouths we fed one night a little more than a week ago. At the time there were nine (now there are twelve) missionaries here for paperwork regarding visas and immigration cards. We decided it would be fun to feed them. I know, what were we thinking...

What you see here is one meatloaf, eighteen stuffed (packed is more like it) peppers, mashed potatoes, boiled carrots, tomato & cucumber salad, and two of three purchased loaves of bread. With one sister and eight elders we wanted to make sure we had enough to feed our guests! We finished off with some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Dinner took a little while, so I literally stood outside our door with a plate full of hot cookies on napkins to distribute as the missionaries left. I think they were most excited about the fresh-baked cookies... none of them have had fresh, warm chocolate-chip cookies since leaving home (and they have all been serving for 6-12 months).

We didn't even have enough chairs to go around! Two of the missionaries sat on the arms of the sofa-chairs! And we had to borrow 3 sets of silverware from our neighbor!
The two Elders in the back dished out all of our plates. At the end of the meal they both managed to sneak to the kitchen and start doing the dishes too!

**FlashBack**

I never actually posted any details regarding Addie's birth. This isn't a flashback on that experience, but an aspect of it.

Most of our family and friends are/were aware of our desire to have a natural (ie. unmedicated) delivery. We planned to have my mom with us supporting us in that endeavor. After my grandfather asked my mom to come help during his recovery from surgery (with Addie's due date smack dab in the middle of the trip) we knew we needed some outside support in order to meet our goal.

I was familiar with the role of a doula. We had referred to my mom as our doula. Once we figured out that the baby may (and knowing Murphy's Law, probably would) come while my mom was out of town.... We outsourced.

Enter Mandy. This lovely lady moved into our ward maybe just two months before Addie was born. Talk about timing.

We were able to have the successful natural (yes, that's right no pain meds) birth we had hoped for and continue to attribute much of it to her assistance. While she obviously helped me, she did a great job of helping Chris have an active role in the experience.

For those of you that aren't aware of the role of a doula, Mandy has written a great post with some basics on doulas (spurred by a segment on The Today Show, which she also includes).

If any of you are now, or ever will be, interested in an amazingly good reference for expectant parents which explains a little bit about why anyone would want to go without pain medication (and the like), gives guidance to the father, and regardless of your choice on meds, gives one of the most up-to-date, basic, while amazingly thorough explanations of: what to expect-labor-birth-medical interventions-and more, you should check out The Birth Partner: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions by Penny Simkin. We purchased the 3rd Edition, and loved it.

Our First Snow

We had our first snow a week ago. There wasn't terribly much snow, but it acted like a blanket and made for a pretty sight on the evergreens. I forgot to put our camera in our bag before leaving for church, so I missed catching the snow on the trees--there is a courtyard near the church that was especially pretty. I did happen to snap some pictures of the ice on our clothes line.

A Long Reach

It's fun to look back and see the progression of Addie's reactions to various stimuli... This video is from a week ago (as of Sunday).

Superbaby

This child of ours LOVES to be in the air, above our heads... If its awkward, uncomfortable and strength-testing for us she loves it.

The End of the Visit

We were so glad to be able to visit with family! These are the last of our pictures from the trip...
For all the Dora fans out there!
Fun sisters!
Walking to the museum before Grandma and the girls head out...

Close-ups

One evening Chris and his parents went to meet with a mutual associate who is helping Chris with his research. As it was more of a business meeting, I stayed at home with Addie. I decided to let her roll around in her diaper (yes, it's cloth with plastic pants--probably like you wore as a baby...) and then got out the camera...

Taking it Easy

Aunt Clari with Addie... Look at how cute they are!
Grandpa & Dora with Chris & Addie. Dora was all ready for bed, but definitely awake! She often enjoyed holding her little niece.
Chris with his parents, sisters, and daughter...
Grandma & Grandpa with Addie
The whole group! I have to mention that I look a little funny in this picture... because I was caught teasing Dora...

A Visit From Family

Do you ever feel paralyzed by a seemingly insurmountable to-do list? I do. It may seem silly, but lately catching up on blogging has had me feeling a little overwhelmed! It seems there is so much to cover!

BUT... I will endeavor to do just that!

We recently said good-bye to Chris' dad, mom, and two younger sisters. Although we had a lot of fun visiting with them, we didn't do a very good job of documenting it... so, I will show what we have here and in another post (for another day).

Here we are waiting... I don't know that this is easy to see, but the floor is actually sloped (and at a VERY obvious angle).

Inside our transport...

Our transport! I'd never been in an aerial lift before but it was kind of fun.
A supporting tower... keeping us aerial (definitely a good thing)...
The view from our car:



You may not be able to see this very well, but that yard has sheep and chickens. That may not strike you as being amusing, but seeing as Almaty has a population of probably 1.5 million (it was at 1.2 in 2005) it easily compares in size to many of the top ten cities (population-wise) in the U.S. To get a little more specific, that means it best compares to: Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego & Dallas... and there are sheep and chickens in a backyard.
...And an outhouse.
Our destination! Kok-Tobe means "Green Hill" in Kazakh. We took the aerial lift to the hill so we could see the city.

Although it was still a nice view, it was unfortunately, a bit overcast and smoggy...
An apple fountain! Quite appropriate for the city named after an apple.
A map displaying some of the various amenities and features available on the hill. There is a small amusement park, zoo, various shops and restaurants, etc.
Dora loves rock & roll, which means she was pretty excited about getting a picture with The Beatles (bronze version of course).
Chris kept joking that I was getting a little to friendly...
These are replicas of the yurta. The Kazakh people are originally a nomadic people. A yurta is basically a tent, but it was shaped like you see here (circle with a dome top). The frame was made of wood with the covering being made of felt. Carpets were/are often hung on the inside to give greater insulation and warmth.
Some tile work on the yurta.

I thought these bird houses were sort of fun...
The sheep farthest from the camera was pretty shaggy looking... but it didn't want to pose...
I kept calling this a reindeer, but it is a Kazakh elk.
Some peacocks (they refused to spread their tail feathers for us...)
These birds were probably some of my favorites, they are different kinds of pheasants.

Not for sure, but we think this is a turkey. I loved it's coloring: black with white polka dots!
Check out the rooster!
Her hat is a little too big and often shifts to a position like this... surprisingly, she doesn't usually complain (at least... not much)
Mom & Dad at a special spot on Kok Tobe...
The rest of us...
Check out the ears on this little guy! The Kazakh version of a squirrel is called a byelka.
We have seen a number of trees like this throughout the city. This isn't the best example, but the tree branches have a tendency to wind around each other.
After our visit to Kok-Tobe we visited the various homes Chris' family living in during their years in Kazakhstan (sorry, no pictures...) and then I went to the Green Bazaar with Mom and Clari. It was a relatively short shopping trip followed by dinner with old friends, the Kabdigalive family. I was introduced to bishbarmak, a traditional Kazakh meal which translates to five fingers--because you eat it with your hands (we used forks). It is dish made with noodles (wide, flat, and homemade), potatoes, onion, and meat (traditionally horse, but ours was made with beef).