Katja

Alex's cousin from Russia came to visit us in October. It was alot of fun, we went to a Haunted House with his brother Kolya. She had never been to one before and enjoyed it. We took the kids bowling and shopping and to the park.


Taylie and Katja



She also helped us make Pelmeni. It is a delicious Russian food, kind of like Raviolli or dumplings. It is Alex's favorite but is a very time consuming process. She shared her mom's receipe which was great because it was exactly the way he remebered growing up. All of the one we found online were never quite the same.





Alex making Pelmeni on his mission.

We also took her to Park City to see the 2002 Olympic Museum and tour. She enjoyed it, the last time she was here we took her to Temple Square and a drive through the mountains. We try to find different things to do with her each time she come.

From back to front: Katja, Lydia, AJ, Austin

Katja

 It is so fun to have her in our home. It allows Alex to connect with his birth family and also a chance to use his Russian. It is funny because by the end of four days he could not tell if he was speaking English or Russian. He would inter mingle the words or just start speaking to me in Russian. I would look at him funny and he would become frusterated. She is a very nice person, we get along very well even though I speak very little Russian and she speaks very little English. She is always kind enough to bring us pictures of his sister and our niece and nephew and other family members who we have not had a chance to meet yet. She brings many wonderful gifts from them and we send many back with her. It is wonderful that he is still in contact with them and also wonderful that he has a very loving family here. We are so grateful to his parents for being willing to adopt him and Kolya and for introducing him to the church. It gave him so many opportunities that he would not have had. Not many almost 12 year olds are adopted and we are eternally grateful that they did. We  love you for it!

The Turner Family