Picture Post

I'm sitting in my air conditioned bedroom, using the lap top, eating this fabulous Georgian pastry, which is like my cinnamon swirl bread, only not as sweet, and drinking this fabulous juice. Life is good! This is the cat that lives at my apartment. I only discovered it yesterday, and he has the most interesting meow I've ever heard. Perhaps he's speaking Georgian.

We went to Turtle Lake, which has no turtles, only frogs, today to get out of the city and kind of away from the heat. I've been drinking water almost every meal, only a little juice, but today, it was time for a fruit shake. Oh. My. Goodness! It was so good! I think it cost about $4, but it was worth every cent! And actually, our driver, Ecka (Zhura's wife), paid for it! I was so blessed.

Here is Ecka and Lika in our cabana at Turtle Lake.

Look at this beautiful artwork! The long one cost 350 Lari, or about $200. Oh, to have the space in my suitcase! See those little ones with just ink drawings?

This is the man who painted these pictures. He promised me he would paint the 2 smalls ones in 2 hours for me.

Here they are! I'm so excited to hang them on my wall at home!
Lunch at a machahala today so I could have this fabulous vegetable khachapuri. One of my favorites.

Lika is so kind to take me to all these authentic Georgian restaurants, and then to sit outside in the heat so we didn't have to breathe in smoke. She even paid for my lunch. What a keeper. I might get to go meet her grandmother and her family one of these days. The kitchen of the machahala- they use wood to heat their stoves. Remember that it's over 100* today.

This is one of the many memorials to Georgia's heroes. This one happens to be for those who died during the Russian invasion in '08. Their names are written in gold letters on the sides. They're building a new road, so there's a lot of construction around it. We all got the memo and were the ladies in black! Love these ladies! This was at Cafe ge, where they have penne pasta with a fabulous sauce. I held out for my vegetable khachapuri, which isn't really what it's called, but I call it that.Visiting Hannah was our first stop. She was much more gentle today. Irma has really worked the past 2 days to let us have time to ourselves. Of course, Lika is there to help me out. Hannah is learning to sign "Please" and to say it in English. It seems like she enjoys saying it and doing the motion- she gets a big grin on her face when she does. I try to praise her when she does it. Hannah and Costa are having fun playing with my measuring tape and row counter. We're playing with the phone I bought for her. Sadly, it was fought over and broken, but it remains a good toy.

One week later, and I'm wearing the same dress. If we go home on Monday, which I believe can happen, should I wear it again? Or should I go to the tried and truly worn 3 1/2 day outfit of the journey here? It's washed and dried to a cardboard finish, so it's good to go.

What a happy girl! Nika was also happy today in his little walker. I got some good video for you, Alysha!

I've been able to do quite a bit of knitting the past few days, and this is where I was at this morning before we left to see Hannah. the color is actually a dark slate blue, but the picture looks cool. This is how I dry my clothes. 1.5 hours was NOT enough to get things completely dry, but once they are, they have the nicest kind of cardboard feel to them!

This is how I cook my breakfast. I know, hot cereal in a sauna doesn't sound great. But I mash a banana and some of our wierd herbal stuff in it and it's actually very good.

This is the washer that repeatedly lied to me about how much time remained!

This is my Georgian hero, Giorgi, with the Haufler's sweet boy, Evan. He (Giorgi) figured out a way to bring the router into the bedroom so I can type in peace and cool air!

Please continue to pray for Evan, that the Dr's have wisdom, and that his parents experience God's peace as never before.

Mary- email your Georgian letter, and Lika said she'd help you out!

Tomorrow is a big day. I get to take Hannah to another agency so they can see her and fix the birth certificate. If all goes well, we'll be able to go to the Embassy on Friday for her visa, relax for a few days, then fly out on Monday. Please agree with us in prayer that favor rests on Giorgi and Bidzinia, that they are able to do more than they thought possible in a quicker time frame.

Hate to leave, but I should get ready for bed and continue my scholarly reading. "The Core" is a fabulous book any homeschooling family should read. I'm challenged in a good way to make this year even better than last, and to set my sights high for myself, even.