With the kids back in school, we haven't been able to spend as much time with them as we would like. They get back to the orphanage at 6 pm. The younger kids stay at school to work on homework and such. It's a neat idea. They never come home with homework. Remember, Elena and Yuri go to the public school in Ivankiv.
There are two other families adopting from the same orphanage in Ivankiv. Imagaine the chaos of us all trying to spend time with our kids while trying to keep their attention and focus primarily on them with all the other kids in the orphanage wanting to get in the action as well while all being in one small room. Whew! It's hectic for sure. Usually the kids, all of them, run from one group of parents to the next looking for toys, games, candy (that's usually us) or stickers. Thursday night, one family brought Shreck 2 for the kids to watch.
At least it kept their attention. We decided today to go to the orphanage early to try for some one-on-one. We got there at 10:30 to find the kids were at school. Yikes! Luckily, Yulia pulled some strings and was able to get the director of the orphanage to call the kids out of school at 11 instead of waiting until 12 (more like 12:30 or 1 by the time they walk home). We spent the better part of 2 full hours together! It was so much fun. The weather was great. In the upper 50's. The kids finally were able to play outside in the sun for a while.
We then went inside to watercolor. They spent another hour painting. Look at them work...
This is Yuri's end result (with the help of a friend)
Elena is a little more "creative". You can't tell from this picture, but she decided to color the whole page in neon orange. At least she used color and imagination.
Until Tuesday...
5 comments:
So glad you were able to spend some extra time with the kids today. We'll keep you lifted up in prayers today. If you're interested in finding a church to attend while you're there, I have (somewhere) the contact information for an American church we attended a few Sundays. It sure was nice to worship in English and spend some time with other Americans every week! :) Let me know.
Hang in there, guys! I'm so glad you found your two precious children and we're really excited for you! Praying your court day comes fast!
Natasha
I love these pics! So glad you get to be with them and learn more about them. Still praying your preliminary and final court hearing are close together, or one in the same! God Bless!
AWE!!!! They are all so precious and it is so hard to not want them all. Enjoy your time as it goes by quickly and is really a short period of time compared to your future with your wonderful son and daughter. It seemed like the longest seven weeks of our life in Ukraine and now it is so very much a part of the past;-). You two are doing a great job there in a tough situation!!! Many blessings....Trish
I know how hard the wait can be, but at least you are able to visit with Yuri and Elena each day. I know it is hard not getting to spend much time with them and having to spend most of it with other children, but these are memories that you will be able to share with them as they get older and they start to forget. You'll know about their days and how they were spent. You will know their friends and be able to talk about them. We never got these experiences in Russia. We were never allowed to play with the other kids or visit with them. Ours was always one on one time alone in a social worker's office. So, this may not be ideal, but it does give you such a better understanding of their lives in Ukraine. We have no idea what our daughter's days were like. I know you long for time alone, but I promise that you will have this time soon and you'll be glad that you were able to share so many experiences together in Ukraine. Plus, you get to be the fun, cool, American parents that all the children waiting wish to have!!
Thinking of you and praying for your court hearing!
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