We arrived at the orphanage about 10:00 am. Our little angel was waiting for us and had a big smile on her face when we walked in. She also had her coat and hat with her, she was hoping to go to the amusement park again. When Julia told her we were going to stay at the orphanage and play, she seemed to be fine with it. We came armed with two bags of goodies to play with.
First, we had bubbles but we could not blow any bubbles - she was a bit disappointed and quickly said in Russian, "I don't like bubbles!". A word of advice, do not leave bubbles in the car in below freezing weather, we think that was the problem.
Next, we took her a Play-Doh kit with 20 different colors of Play-Doh and various cookie cutter-type tools. Don and I practiced our colors in Russian that morning before we went, so that was helpful.
We spent close to an hour working with the Play-Doh. She seemed to enjoy it. I highly recommend this for any adoptive families. It provided us time to interact with her and work on things together. Julia took alot of photos of us interacting with her so we have them to show the judge when we go to court to finalize the adoption.
When she was tired of the Play-Doh, we encouraged her to help clean up. It was very interesting, she put everything back into the box almost exactly as it was.
Next, we had her trace her hand, my hand, and Don's hand. She giggled the whole time. Then she drew us a
picture of clouds, the sun, a yucca tree (a fir tree or Christmas tree),
and a palm tree. When we asked her why she drew a palm tree she said she saw it in the photo of "...our house" in the album we gave her. We took this as a good indication she was getting accustomed to the idea of coming home with us. Once she was finished drawing, we took measurements so we could buy her clothes for the trip home. She was so funny when I was measuring her. First, she didn't understand but once she realized what we were doing she decided to help. When I was measuring her arm length, I told Don the number and he wrote it down. After that, once I held the tape together, she called out the numbers to Don. It was so cute - Don and I were smiling the whole time.Then she decided she needed to show us how she can dance. What a ham! She danced, did cartwheels, and gymnastic moves. We were very impressed and she was really showing off. Later, the director of the orphanage told us she is very active and outgoing. The orphanage has plays and activities, she is always involved, and often has a solo part.
Soon it was time to end our visit. Sadly, Don and I prepared ourselves to leave. We told our angel that we wanted to be her Mama and Papa and that we would like her to be part of our family. Julia translated for us and asked her if she would like this. She shook her head "yes". My heart jumped and tears filled my eyes. When I looked at Don, he had tears in his eyes also. It was a moment we will remember forever.
As we were preparing to leave, we told her we had one more gift for her. Then we pulled out the bear. Her face lit up! We told her we had a message for her and squeezed the paw. She smiled really big and asked to take a picture of the bear. So we held the bear for her and she took a picture with the digital camera. Then she put her arms out for the bear, we handed it to her, she hugged it, and then squeezed the paw to listen to our message again. It was touching.
As she was leaving, we asked her for hugs, reluctantly, she gave us both a hug and left the room with all her gifts in hand. We just hated to leave her. Tears are filling my eyes as I type this now.
I am not sure how to describe the feelings Don and I shared on our flight home. It is like we have this sense of desperation. We just left our child half way around the world and we have to get back to get her as soon as we can. Yet, we are limited right now by the finances needed to complete the adoption process to bring her home.
It is by the grace of God we were able to get this far in the adoption process. We have to believe that God will show us the way to complete our adoption and that He will provide.
O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
Thanks for following our journey,
Elizabeth
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