So much to learn...

Our times with our daughter at the orphanage get better every day. She is definitely a two year old and shows sure signs of the dreaded “terrible twos” every now and then. Guess these are the same no matter the language or culture. :) Imagine inheriting a two year old that has not been disciplined by parents, who doesn’t understand a word you are saying and at the same time you are trying to get her to trust you, bond with you and obey. It seems an impossible task! But we are learning more about each other every day and hoping for the best.

We are without a doubt in un-chartered territory and in definite need of prayer and counseling if anyone out there has any advice on parenting a strong-willed toddler who doesn’t speak the same language. (Note: David and Kelli…when’s that book come out? We need you here desperately!) The flip side of her acting out aggressively (hitting, throwing, biting, etc.) is that she can be sweet and give tender kisses. ;) It's good to know there is a sweet heart in there somewhere when she is in the midst of one of her disobedient fits. We are learning a lot!!

We have become friends with some of the other families adopting from the orphanage. There are couples here from Italy, Israel, Spain, and France. We met another couple today from Williamsburg, VA—Rob and Laura Passanita-- (they are adopting 3 boys, ages 3, 5, 7. The 3 year old is at our orphanage). Laura is a James Madison graduate. Such a small world!

This morning, we awoke to Sergei cooking ravioli for us from scratch! I forgot the Russian name for them, but they looked like peroggies or dumplings. After our morning visit at the orphanage, Sergei and Tasha took us to a park where there was a beach! J We played in the water…along with 3 horses bathing there-- and spent a few hours in the sun. We got lunch from the McDonalds drive through (they call it the McDrive here…maybe it’s called that in America too…I don’t eat at McD’s, so this was new to me). They have a great Greek salad at the one here, so I am happy to eat there anytime we are in a rush! We went back to the orphanage for our afternoon visit. It was the first time that she didn’t cry when we went to get her from her group. At the end of our 2 hours with her, we were able to spend some time with her within her play group. She was comfortable with us being there while she played with (near) the other children…their play activity is simply holding broken dolls, trucks, small pull toys with strings attached to them and walking around a 15x15 cement play area while the caretaker keeps them corralled like a flock of sheep. She would come over to us for hugs or to show us her toys, etc. This is a humongous improvement over the last few times we’ve joined this group time.

Sergei made us dinner (spaghetti and Greek salad—red peppers, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and olive oil-- my favorite dish in Ukraine! This is a picture of the lunch he prepared for us yesterday…complete with a centerpiece of daisies!)…I know we are completely spoiled with how well he takes care of us…and then he took us to an outdoor amphitheater where they reenacted some Ukrainian history, complete with horses, colorful costumes, etc. It was a great show until a swarm of mosquitoes attacked us and Laura and I had to find shelter from the hatch! (Tait, that one was for you…)

Sergei is presenting our petition to the courts tomorrow to try to get our court date. Once we are given our court date, there is a 10-day mandatory waiting period. We HAVE to know her name by the court date, so we’ll definitely have something finalized by then! Although we’re told we can change it up until the court hearing. Then we will travel back to Kiev to the US embassy for a passport for her. We’ll keep you posted on the progress. It always sounds easier than it works out to be…but we are hopeful things will go smoothly with the Inspector and all will stay on track. The Passanita’s have already been here 3 weeks and have yet to get a court date. We are hoping that this is mostly due to the fact that they are adopting 3 children from 3 different orphanages, and not due to the court proceedings in Zaporizia. We’ll keep you posted.

Blessings, - love, Hunter and Lauri