Saturday May 26th

Tuesday was our pinnacle day this week. We had our court date, and technically speaking the kids are ours, pending a 10 day waiting period we are in now to see if anyone will contest/appeal it. Not likely to happen. We sent Nataliya (our facilitator) home to Kiev during the 10 day wait, for some R&R. She was grateful. We’ve basically got the lay of the land now, and can get by without her.

Wednesday, we ended up staying at the orphanage, to watch Olya help entertain some kids for their birthday party. The orphanage does a quarterly birthday party, and includes only the kids who had birthdays from the previous 3 months. Olya was one of the singers for the entertainment. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures or video, because she had forgotten to tell us the night before. All of the birthday kids got a plate with a piece of fruit, two chocolate covered cookies, a meringue tart, a candy bar and a box of juice. A handful of designated older kids (like Olya), put on a show, and organized a few games for the audience. After the food and show, each child got to come up and pick a door prize from items that were donated to the orphanage. 90% of the items were a small stuffed animal of some sort. Amidst all the fun, Janet said to me, “Remember…none of these kids have parents here to help celebrate their birthday.” That put a knot in my throat, and I couldn’t help but to feel so much compassion for all the kids. We wished we could take the ALL home.

Thursday was uneventful. I found a vendor who has American DVD movies that are translated into Russian. So, I bought a handful for the kids to watch in the hotel room. They were thrilled. They liked hanging out in the room, eating snacks and just watching movies. I tried to pick movies that Janet and I have already seen, and already knew the plot, so that we could kind of follow along, too.

Yesterday was our 16th wedding anniversary. We took the kids down to the boardwalk and found a man who does hand sketched portraits. So, we had Olya and Sveta sit for portraits, and scheduled to do Layna and Janet tomorrow. This guy was very quirky. He was adamant that not see his work until it was completed. We sat on a bench out in front of him so he could keep an eye on us. If any of us wanted to get up and walk around, he would quickly cover up his work, so we could not see it! Sheesh! But, as you can see, he did some good work. After that, we dropped the kids off, and Janet and I went out to eat and ate some unbelievably decadent cake.
The last few days, Layna has really been trying to connect with us. She is really tender hearted, and is very attentive and aware of others. Sveta is all over the place, as she is perplexed with all of the options that are now presenting her, now that she gets to go to America. She’s gone everywhere from just staying at home for awhile and getting settled, to joining the NASA space program and possible becoming an astronaut! Just kidding, but you get the idea. Olya has been a little down lately. She has a ‘crush’ at school, and between leaving him and the orphanage, the weight of what is happening is starting to show on her. It is difficult to see her this way. But, we understand, as this is a big change for all of us. Praying that God will keep his hand on us, and see us through this transition in flying colors.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend everybody and…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!!!! (May 24th)