Day One

We began our 10 day waiting period today. It was a great but exhausting. We tackled all four children today! Whew! Our facilitator left for Kiev today since we will not be doing anything but visiting the kids for the next 10 days. Jerry and I are back into our walking routine like we had when we were in Kiev. It is approximately a 30 minute walk from our apartment to the orphanage. We visit twice per day, which means we are walking for a total of 2 hours per day with juice, snacks, and toys in tow!

This morning we had a great time. Everyone was very CALM, which was a pleasant surprise. The oldest children, who understand what is going on, reminded me that they only have 9 days left. They are very excited and are making airplane sounds! The DVD player came in handy today as we watched a small part of the movie Cars. #2 loved it! We also had some music going. One minute everyone was calm and the next minute, we were all doing the twist! After that came Jungle Boogie! It was one of those moments! It was so much fun!Everyone went back to their group, and as Papa took #2 back, they slipped and fell. #2 bumped his head and has a big knot! Jerry feels terrible. #2 did not cry but it obviously hurt. We let the doctor look at it and he is ok. It is just a goose egg.

This afternoon was a milestone. We took all four outside to play at the same time. They all did very well and had a great time! The are very competitive for our attention. #1 really helped with #3 and #4. When #4 came to play this afternoon, she walked in wearing bright pink lipstick and green eyeshadow! I told you she was spoiled! Her caretakers had obviously been playing make-up with her! She wanted to show me and put some more lipstick on with her black crayon. All I need is a baby who likes the gothic dress!! She also used leggos to pretend like she was putting make-up on me!

We made it through day one-5 hours of playing with four children and 2 hours of walking back and forth. The more we can be with all four of them at the same time, the more manageable it gets! They all really love being together and it is obvious that it is important to them. The are very sweet to each other. If one cries, the other three run to help. Today was the first time that they let me handle a crying sibling. I picked up #3 (who was crying), and looked at the other three and told them that everything was OK. They smiled and walked away. I guess they think that I can handle it now. Before, they would have wormed their way in to make things better.

Thank you again for all of the posts! You will never know how much all of the encouragement helps. We are SOOO ready to get the chidlren home and get into OUR rountine. Any of you that know me understand that patience is not a virtue that I was blessed with. It is certainly a virtue that has been acquired through this experience. God just never stops teaching you to grow!!

Love from Ukraine,
Amanda