Thank you to those of you who e-mailed or commented and gave me advice about whether to stay or go home during the 10 day waiting period. It was very helpful and I truly appreciate your thoughts. I've decided to stay here until the waiting period is over so that I can spend more time with our son. We will then go to Odessa for a few days to get his passport and then Kiev for a few more days for his medical exam and visa. Hopefully, I'll be home during the first week of March. I can't wait! Paul is going to fly home on Sat., Feb. 19 and boy, am I going to miss him!
Today was a lot of fun. First we went to the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) Church in town. They were celebrating their 15th anniversary so they had lots of cake and desserts afterwards. The missionary nurse who lives in town, Adeline, was there, as well as, the missionaries from Odessa that we'd met last weekend. We all, as well as, the pastor and his wife went to lunch to Adeline's and had a great time. We then went straight to visit with our little guy. It was pretty cold, but we decided to play soccer outside anyway. We had a great time and he laughed for much of it. He's getting pretty good at kicking the ball! When we got back to our hotel, our electricity was out so we went to the local Wal-Mart type store for dinner. They sell everything you can imagine and have a cafeteria too. It's so popular, at times it's hard to find a seat. A rogue taxi driver tried to take us back to our hotel, but I realized we were in the wrong taxi and yelled "nyet, nyet" and jumped out of the taxi before we left the parking lot. We then got in our usual taxi and made it back to the hotel. Well, this week we will be back to visiting the orphanage one time in the morning and one time in the afternoon. We pray that our times with our son will be special. I just read the entry for today at
http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/. I don't know this woman, but I love reading her blog. You may want to check it out.
Today was a lot of fun. First we went to the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) Church in town. They were celebrating their 15th anniversary so they had lots of cake and desserts afterwards. The missionary nurse who lives in town, Adeline, was there, as well as, the missionaries from Odessa that we'd met last weekend. We all, as well as, the pastor and his wife went to lunch to Adeline's and had a great time. We then went straight to visit with our little guy. It was pretty cold, but we decided to play soccer outside anyway. We had a great time and he laughed for much of it. He's getting pretty good at kicking the ball! When we got back to our hotel, our electricity was out so we went to the local Wal-Mart type store for dinner. They sell everything you can imagine and have a cafeteria too. It's so popular, at times it's hard to find a seat. A rogue taxi driver tried to take us back to our hotel, but I realized we were in the wrong taxi and yelled "nyet, nyet" and jumped out of the taxi before we left the parking lot. We then got in our usual taxi and made it back to the hotel. Well, this week we will be back to visiting the orphanage one time in the morning and one time in the afternoon. We pray that our times with our son will be special. I just read the entry for today at http://www.nogreaterjoymom.com/. I don't know this woman, but I love reading her blog. You may want to check it out.
So glad you are at peace with your decision to stay. I'm sure you will not regret it. Enjoy every moment with your little guy!
ReplyDeleteAdeline is one of the names we're considering for our new addition!
ReplyDeleteGreat choice!
ReplyDelete-Heidi
Wow! I was just out of internet range for a few days and came home to reading the last few postings! I'm SO excited for you! And of course can't wait to see this little guy--he sounds so sweet --I will email you in a little bit!
ReplyDeleteLots of love--praying for ongoing peace and special time over there....it must be hard to be away so long--praying too for Jimmy, Nicole and Scott back home---they must be DYING to see him!
xoxo
I am trying to think of what I would have done differently during my ten days with Ali and there are a few things. I would play games that require a lot of eye contact between the two of us. Tracing each others' noses, eyebrows, faces, etc. Row, row, row your boat while facing each other. While it was neat that she enjoyed the pens and paper and other little gadets we brought, if I could go back, I would simply interact through game and play more.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would do everything I could to sit down with a groupa and learn about your little guy now before you go home. What are his habits, what does he like, what is his schedule, what foods, who are his friends, what caretakers has he most bonded with and what do they look like, do they know anything about his parents and what they were like, what scares him, where does he sleep, has he been around men, or only women, do they brush his hair, how independent has he had to be, etc, etc, etc.
We feel like detectives at home right now as we try to piece together Ali's past figuring out unique aspects of her personality. I really wish I would have had a two hour conversation with her primary caregiver- paying an interpreter if I had to pay for one- to learn more about her.
Ali has a complex history that she remembers well and I wish I knew more about it to help her through life.
Very happy for your family. God bless.
We were blessed to meet Adeline while we were there too! The church was not ready yet, and they were still meeting at the clinic, so I so much enjoyed seeing the pic you posted!
ReplyDelete