Days Seven and Eight

So not an significant and the stuff that is, isn't all that interesting.

We continue to evolve as a family. Nauris and Jaenelle are often a matched pair. They continue to tease each other. They also learn and play together. They have been working with the Erector set (or the German version thereof)

Dite plays with everybody. Chess with Jack (he beats her, I don't think she knows all the rules) Checkers with him too, (she wins that, she knows those rules)
Aleks and Jack play together often, though sometimes Jack gets frustrated with his impetuous younger brother.

They are learning that sometimes, mom and dad need some quiet, and playing quietly makes mom and dad happy. Of course we take them outside (its just above freezing everyday and that's not going to change much, it might make 40 one day soon, then back down to 35 or so) and we have gotten used to the cold.

We went to the Latvian War museum yesterday. Latvia has a "hard" history, as Bruno calls it. 700 years of German/Prussian domination. Independence after WWI but only for 20 years. Occupations by the Soviets, then Germans then Soviets again during WWII. 50 years of Soviet occupation and an attempt to exterminate the population and language by moving Russians in and Latvians out.  As Bruno put it "We waited for you" (meaning the Americans and the West) "We waited for fifty years" he said to us this morning. That's sad. We really did sell Eastern and Central Europe out to the Soviets after WWII. In hindsight, a war with them after defeating Germany would have been preferable. Then again, we didn't know the cold war would evolve.

I am glad Latvia is free and they have such a strong connection to the West. May they be free forever. They don't know it but after learning more of their history, now I have a keen interest in learning it. For my own benefit and that of my children. I asked Nauris if he knew Latvian history, he indicated only a little and Dite said she didn't know any. Looks like we will learn together.

Rough night last night. Wendy went shopping and I was charged with putting the kids to bed. I caught static at 8 when the bedtime routine starts. I actually had to yell at them. Even Jaenelle didn't respond the way she should have and of course, everybody else took their queues from the eldest. It wasn't bad, but I had to explain to the kids their father was angry because they wouldn't go to bed when told. Nauris and Jack were no trouble the rest got a good chewing on. Hur hur hur.

Aleks is turning out to be a bit of a handful. He continues to resist any English except as an annoyance. He will occasionally shout "Good Morning!" He is about 80% toilet trained. He uses the bathroom but doesn't wipe himself, we have to do it and he only washes his hands when told to do so. He knows he should. The other kids have caught him only running one finger under the water and calling it good. We are working on that and he is startingo remember on his own, or at least try to fulfill those expectations.

Dite has taken to Wendy and I more, especially me. She tries to play with me alot. It may  be her way to try and get ahold of our electronics. She loves the Ipad and my phone. She and Aleks tried to use them so often without permission, we changed our passwords on the devices so they couldn't just hop on.  Dite does seem more confident with us and willing to give and receive affection. Actually, they all do.

The meeting with the Orphan court went well. We printed pictures of the new house and they seemed to approve. They were impressed with the size of the house and the yard. (success!) We went to the ministry and applied for the children's new passports. We didn't really need to be there. The orphan court chair acts as their legal guardian right now. They didn't need us for anything.

Next is a doctor's visit on the 18th to get their medical records and ensure they have all the appropriate paperwork for the travel visas. The orphan court still has their vaccination passports, Bruno was concerned we don't have them, but he said he would get them. We need to get photos of the kids for the vaccination passports and the actual visas.

Bruno gave us the translated decree for the termination of their birth mother's parentals rights. It doesn't detail what happened to them. Just that their mother is in prison until 2020 and that she has now made the statement that she thinks they will be better off with a new family. She tried for a while to see and inquire about the kids, but was told her youngest doesn't know who she is, and her older two refuse to see her. Dite reacts with fear at the prospect of speaking to or seeing her mother, Nauris is uninterested but the documents point out that he will stand in front of his sister to protect her if the topic is brought up. We know their mother is in prison for what she did to Dite, so that explains everything we need to know. Speaks volumes of our eldest boy too. That's OK, he doesn't have to protect her anymore, that's our job now. That's enough on that subject, it makes me all growly and stabby.

On the 22nd we will become their legal guardians. Then an appointment with the embassy on the 24th. Due to the Easter holiday (which is a big deal here, not so much for the church but it coincides with a significant pagan holiday too) we won't get the visas until the 29th. Probably head home the 30th or 31st.

Oh one interesting thing. We walked around more of this pedestrial mall area in old town and found this really neat area with art sellers. Found a man that was selling beautiful jewelry and other items with amber, which is the national stone of Latvia. Apparently, the stuff literally washes up on the sea shore and river banks. Most of Latvia was all coastline once upon a time and the soil is rather sandy. We got to see that when we walked by some workers digging a big hole in one of the streets. Anyway, we will look to get all the girls something there. It was very reasonable (20 or 30E tops for most things) and it was all handmade by the man we spoke to (well him or his father) It was beautiful. I am not typically a fan of yellow or brown, but this stuff really 'was nice. Wish he had something more appropriate for us fellas. Perhaps we will find something.

We've done a fair bit of walking in Riga. The architecture is very interesting. Lots of buildings that are a few hundred years old. Some are brightly painted. The French Embassy is an almost robin's egg blue. Ochre and pinkish are common as well.

Apparently Riga is a largest Baltic city. It's central position in Latvia and between the two other Baltic states (Estonia to the North, Lithuania to the South) makes it something of a hub. Lots of interesting places to eat and many influences. Japanese, Turkish and American burger joints are common. We came accross a Cuban bar and an Uzbek cafe as well. Unsurprisingly, fish is popular. When a good 1/2 of your country or more is an hour or less from the sea, that makes sense. We will look to try some of  the local cuisine. Unknowingly, we made a local dish. Pork roast with sauerkraut. Apparently, kraut is popular and families often have their own receipes. A number different kinds are available in the central market. We had brussel sprouts and stewed homemade apple sauce that Wendy made. Finished with little chocolate cakes I picked up from a pastry shop. (sort of like a Ho-ho, but with richer, better cake and no frosting, covered in shredded coconut. These we .45E each! Dessert for a family of seven for 3.05E? I'll take that any day of the week and twice on days ending in Y. (in English of course, no days end in Y in Latvia, they don't use the letter Y at all. Wendy's name is often Wendi, our last name they  do just use it as it is understood that it's a name. Funny, since Briant is the original French spelling of our family name)

I could write pages on the quality  and cost of the food we find here. I bought 1 kilo of onions yesterday for .80 E, basically a dollar. 1 kilo is 2.25 lbs. Onions for fifty cents a pound? Broccoli for 1.50E a kilo? Carrots for .80? Mandarin oranges for .80E (50 cents a pound!) It's heaven for people who cook. The blog we read that said food was expensive was nuts. Pre-prepared food is fairly expensive, anything that takes any processing too. So milk, juice, cereal etc. Raw ingredients are ridiculously inexpensive. We may have to shop every two days, but we feel like we are stealing. I bought some meat I thought was beef. It's not. I read an article that said that 90% of beef in Latvia was smuggled into the country because of the tight restrictions on sourcing and labeling. I think this stuff may be venison. It's not pork. The seller described it as young (something I didn't understand) I thought perhaps it was veal or lamb. The translations I've looked up don't match though. So, mystery red meat steaks for dinner.  (this was expensive at 5.00E a kilo, as though $2.75 a pound is expensive) What we wouldn't give for Latvian central market back home in Des Moines.

That's enough for now. Feel free to ask questions, here or on Facebook. We would be happy to answer.

TTFN!