Appointment success and touring

Our day started at about 11:30 last night when we woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. (We are still working on getting our days and nights figured out.) We skyped with the kids at 3:30 am and I finally fell asleep while Jeromy stayed up to read.

I have to say this Skype thing is pretty cool. It is so good to stay connected with the kiddos and blow them kisses and make funny faces with them.

 

As we headed off to our appointment Jeromy was calm as a cucumber and I was well more like a jumping jelly bean. Just a little nervous. :) We rode in with a wonderful couple also adopting here and had a chance to share a few stories. (Hi guys ;) The appointment was quite humorous since the files got switched. Our facilitator is a lively guy and kept us laughing the whole time. We were in and out in a very short amount of time and just had to sign one form agreeing that we wanted to meet "Our Girl". They did require that we recieve a letter from the US Embassy due to the fact that she is already 16, but we found out later that the facilitator that did all of our paperwork already had a letter. God is so good to have everything worked out before we even know there is a need.

 

Top picture: building across from our appointment, sorry I forgot what it is called.

Bottom picture: taken in the hall immediately after our appointment.

We enjoyed the mini tour through the city on the way to and from the appointment, but honestly I do not remember a thing Eugen said due to the fact that I was pre-occupied with my nerves. :)

After arriving "home" we crashed for a couple of hours and awoke feeling fresh and ready to hit the town.

We are so blessed to have a great contact here. Bogdan runs a wonderful ministry to make orphans smile and he was the one that brought "Our girl" to the states last year on a hosting program. He is a huge part of the reason we are here right now.

Bogdan invited us to join him at his orphanage for dinner.

He sent a student to escort us. ur trip included a 10 minute walk, then a 10 minute metro ride as far underground I think it is possible to go. The 2 sets of excalators were probably equal to about 20 at a mall. Then a bus ride. It felt like quite and adventure and was really a great way to get a true big city cultural experience.

Bogdan gave us a full tour of the most amazing orphanage I have ever seen. They are doing an amazing job helping the kids to feel at home and in a comfortable "home" environment. We ate dinner with about 10 kids and one worker. The kids seemed to love having us there and got a big kick out of us re-naming our dog Saboka (which means dog in Russian). The worker was so excited to communicate with us and ask questions. He spoke no English so Bogdan translated everything. I think it was great practice for us. We learned a few new words and some cultural do's and don'ts.

After dinner thankfully we were escourted home by the student, RRRR Chom, (how do you spell a rolling R?) and Bogdan. We took a detour to the downtown underground shopping area and got dessert.

I feel like we are young and newly married. So much here reminds us of our days in Alaska. Staying in an apartment, aka flat, walking to the grocery store etc. It has been a great day and we got to finish it off with another visit with the kids and mom via Skype.

Previet Kaly, Ayla, Gavin and Eli! We love you and so glad you are having fun.