The Day Before

Just to mix things up a bit, William and I hit the Internet Club first. Writing the post about Babushka was hard. All those emothions surfaced and I cried all over again...

After computer time, we returned to the apartment to eat leftovers for lunch, stopping to buy snacks for the kids at one of the many stands along the way. While we were busy with this, our coordinator was out buying food for the party at the orphanage to celebrate the official court decision. (Part of our fee pays for this party.) After court we will get to celebrate with the children.

Today at the orphanage was game day. We brought Yahtzee Jr. for Anna, and Connect 4 (travel size) for Misha. We played each game with Misha several times. He is competitive and enjoyed the games. Anna, however, was more interested in eating chips and drinking her Fanta Orange Soda. While Misha went to dance, Anna and I drew pictures on the lined paper I had in my backpack. She drew several flowers (I think) and I tried to draw a dog, flower, birthday cake and her purse & cell phone. Most of it was recognizable - if not quite ready for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Misha saw the birthday cake I drew and made sure to count the candles. He was pleased that there were 13! His birthday is in early November.

Being another nice day (if somewhat blustery - can't help thinking about Winnie the Pooh when I say that), we went outside for a bit. Anna has strong opinions about what she wants to do and thinks "Nyet(no)" is a game. I think this is true for 5 year olds in any country. Hmm... We'll have to work on that. Misha had William chasing the soccer ball all over the place. The one time I tried to kick the ball, I hit a car and set off the alarm! William just laughed and said he didn't know me. Misha suggested we move to a different spot on the orphanage grounds - so diplomatic of him.

My husband is now clean shaven - good-bye mustache, good-bye goatee! Why? To try and get a hug and kiss from Anna. Did it work? Nope. She still just laughs and runs out of reach. I told William he'll just need to grab her and smother her in kisses! XXXX :0)

We got our final approval for our court date from the SDA in Kiev. So, tomorrow is on for sure. Tonight we pack. Tomorrow is non-stop action with only about 1/2 hour to change from court clothes to travel clothes, grab our luggage, visit the children and head back to Kiev. Our coordinator reviewed the expectations for court again with us and went ove acceptable answers. She says not to worry. She guarantees that it will be a "Yes". I try not to, but...