Yes, it has been a few days! We would have written sooner, but our eyes have been glued to the TV. Can’t wait to see what happens to Hot Rod next! Ryan may have sold some license plates, but the nerve of this democrat is unbelievable! I saw the news headlines on the BBC and called the church before part of you in
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On to better things… Life in the
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MONDAY, Dec 8th
Today marks the one week anniversary of our meeting the boy. What a week! We started the morning by going to “the boat” for our blog posting and breakfast. The boat is actually a pirate themed restaurant. Its exterior look is built over the basement stairs which lead down to the restaurant. Here is a photo of the place. 
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After breakfast & internet, a taxi arrived to drive us to the orphanage. Today was a great day of play & laughter. But we also had to set a few boundaries concerning a certain sippy cup that the boy decided to launch across the floor a couple of times. But he quickly caught on that if he wanted it back, he couldn’t throw it. He pouted a little, then quickly got over it… that’s Barb’s boy!
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Today we introduced a new toy... Bubbles! We had bought two bottles at the market the other day. Man did he love them! He couldn’t follow the bubbles fast enough- then he figured out that he could pop them. He has great vision. As soon as he had popped the bubbles in front of him, one would catch his eye on his side, and he would quickly react towards those… then spin back around to see where else they were falling! He has a sharp mind. We got some great photos today!
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Earlier in the day while it was raining, we walked outside with the boy and stood under the porch for some fresh air. Rain was dripping off the roof. I held his hand under the falling drops and he looked very surprised. But he definitely liked it and wanted to keep splashing and catching the drips. As soon as we had gone outdoors, he saw the water puddles and started pointing and saying something-he definitely knows water.
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His interaction continues to improve daily. Throwing the balls to us, coming to us, and recognizing who MAMA & PAPA are, get more consistent each day. When 2:45 came, we hadn’t had enough. So I asked the nurse about the evening visiting hours, and she confirmed 5PM. So I asked her to return him to us then. So we waited in the play area. Veta, our friendly nurse, came along and Ostap told her we were staying for evening visit. She was concerned that Barb & I would not have an evening meal. We told her we would eat with the boy, but she informed us that there were no extra portions. Instead she offered us the option to stay longer and feed Perfect his supper. We of course jumped at the offer. About 6 pm his energy level slowed and his running ended. Shortly thereafter about 6:30 pm his tray arrived. Dinner tonight consisted of 1¼ cups white rice in warm milk, about 8 oz. of warm chocolate milk, ½ a slice of white bread, ½ a slice of dark bread, and a bib. He loved the bread, we fed him some rice (but he wasn’t big on it), and he drank most of the milk. I was certain this had to be his bedtime snack of warm comfort food, but Veta later confirmed that this was dinner.
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By 7:05pm he had had enough, he rubbed his eyes and our playtime slowed. We rocked and held him some more, but he is still not comfortable falling asleep in our arms and will always fight it. At 7:45pm (the time Veta arranged) the nurse reappeared. We knew it was bedtime for him and he knew it too. After kisses and reassurance we would see him tomorrow, we handed him back to the nurse who had waited patiently.
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As bad as the meals are we are always pleased with his care. He is clean and redressed every time we see him. He goes to any nurse and never seems scared of them. It is great to see the care he has gotten. God has certainly provided for this boy.
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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9TH
Hard to believe we flew out of
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Ostap took us to the orphanage at 1 pm and by 1:15pm the boy was downstairs. We had another great afternoon of play. A beach ball was the new toy of the day. He ate half an orange, but wasn’t as thrilled as he is with bananas. We are past the “run and chase” stage. Now he seems content to play with us, read books, and eat. At 2:45pm he went upstairs with the nurse.
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We visited with Ostap and Veta. Our court date is confirmed for 3pm on Thursday, Dec. 11th. At this hearing, the Inspector will be present to represent this region, the orphanage Director will be there, as will the orphanage secretary-Veta. All will present paperwork that has been filed in the capital of
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The other news of the day was the USB Internet modem arrived and is working great! This allows us 24 hour access to the internet anywhere we have our laptop. However, the bad news came, when Galya attempted to plug in Barb’s hair dryer to the only power convertor we had left. I had banned Barb from using it after we saw 2 other convertors “pop”. Right on schedule, this one blew too. So now we have no power source for computer, camera, and camcorder - all the modern appliances we brought with us. Hopefully we can find a fuse for this convertor on Wednesday.
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Liz Adams called tonight and she will be staying with us Wednesday as her husband is traveling to
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10TH
By 10 am Ostap arrived with Liz and we visited in the morning. At 11:30 am I walked to the store to purchase more phone minutes then on to the grocery store to get water and bananas. A taxi came at 12:30 am to pick up Barb & me.
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We got the boy about 1:10pm and he was in a perfect mood again today. The beach ball was still a hit, as were the books. Barb has been counting 1,2,3,4,5 as she turned the pages-today he can repeat “1” as he turns the pages. Our biggest thrill was probably in conjunction with the digital camera. I have been using it for several days. Today he came over and wanted to use it as well. I started reviewing the photos on the LCD screen for him to see. As I did, he spotted the big stuffed dog and started pointing at the screen and calling out “woof-woof”. Shortly after that, I scrolled across a photo of Barb. He looked and pointed at the screen then looked to his right 5 ft. away at Barb, then back at the screen-then pointed to the screen and announced “mama”. I then took a photo of myself and put it into the mix. When that photo would appear, he would point at it, look up at me and say “papa”. So then I kept cycling the pictures to ingrain it in his mind. . . and of course I liked hearing it too.
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Usual juice and banana were a hit, as were the cookies. The nurse came at the usual time of 2:45 pm to take him back upstairs. Ostap came to pick us up and his wife had located fuses for our convertor while shopping! So now we are back to the electronic age, with everything charged in the apartment, and internet 24/7.
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About 5 pm Galya arrived then Liz, Galya, Barb & I went next door to “the boat” for dinner. By 6:45 pm the taxi had left with Galya and Liz. Liz’s husband Brian will be returning on a late flight from
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It’s 9:15 pm on this side of the globe, hope you are having a great afternoon. God has blessed us with another great day. We pray that yours is as much fun.
Darrin, Barb & Perfect
