A package arrived from Armenia this week. Inside were several special gifts including Armenian fruit leather. There is nothing more delicious (in my admittedly biased opinion) than homemade–IN ARMENIA–fruit leather. The fruit leather from Gyumri, where my daughter was born, has a certain something that makes it so good, you want to wrap yourself up […]
Gyumri
Autumn in Armenia
Four of my six trips to Armenia have taken place in the fall, so when the weather begins to change and the air becomes crisp, leaves turn color, and the smell of rain is in the air, my mind wanders to Autumn in Armenia. Alongside roads, farmers set out fruit to sell. Ripe grapes hang […]
Leaving one home to join another
Out the turquoise doors we passed, our daughter leaving one home to join another. Walk through these doors in the other direction and you enter Baby Bird’s first world, a children’s home, where she lived for the first year of her life, surrounded by the voices of nannies and other children just like her, children […]
Seeing our daughter again after five long months
I’ve never given birth, but I can imagine how desperately you long to meet your child after nine long months of pregnancy. However, while a pregnant mother-to-be has been with her child from the moment she was created, adoptive parents begin their relationship with their child many months later, even if they have the good […]
Three years ago: Gyumri, Armenia
Three years ago on March 16, we flew from London to Yerevan, Armenia. We arrived at midnight. Snow was falling. The roads were icy and hazardous. I should also mention our driver, who did not speak any English, was a former professional wrestler. One glance at him told us all we needed to know. He […]
Mushurba – The golden cup of Gyumri
When I saw this photo of a giant mushurba statue in Gyumri, I was dismayed. Despite all the photos I took to remember the city, how did I miss this? I felt a better when I read it hadn’t been installed until 2013. We visited in 2011 and 2012. Arman Musikyan, Wikimedia. A mushurba is […]
Photos from Gyumri
Photos from Gyumri, Armenia show her old world beauty. Not beautiful in the way one might describe Paris or Prague, but with her breathtaking metal downspouts, luminous tuff buildings, and plentiful sculptures, Gyumri has a beauty all her own. Even with the destruction wrought by the earthquake that devastated the region in 1988, fragments tell […]
A girl from Gyumri
Three years ago we met a tiny girl from Gyumri… The girl The girl and her Dada The girl and her Mama The three of us …and a kitten Take the road less traveled, Beth
With love, to Gyumri
You can’t love a city if you have no memories buried there. ~Marina Tavares Dias Take the road less traveled, Beth
Two years ago in Armenia
Two years ago in Armenia…we awoke in Yerevan and made ourselves a cup of Armenian coffee. Okay, we made several cups. Next we had breakfast: Matsun (yogurt). I heart Matsun. Omelets (nice work Big Papa!)…and more Armenian coffee. of course. Then we walked down the stairs of our apartment and waited for our taxi and […]