Day 4 of our Adventure

So the problem with writing about your adventures 3 weeks after you get home is there is a lot that you forget to write and you aren't really sure when it happened. So I am going to start out Day 4 with just some other stuff that happened on our trip.

I think we were pretty hungry after Day 3 and just wanted to eat food we knew we would like (comfort food). So we had our facilitator take us to Papa John's Pizza to pick up some pizza to go. Our driver and our facilitator both ended up ordering pizza to take home also. I don't normally care for Papa John's Pizza but I think this was the best pizza I had ever tasted. We took it back to our hotel and were going to eat in our room except they were cleaning it and putting in new mattresses.

Now, funny story about the mattresses. The first night we were there Steve complained that they were lumpy and he could feel the springs. I am on an adoption FB group and several people have joked that they feel spied on while in country. One couple spoke of being very thirsty and wondering if the water in the mini bar was the free water they were allowed to drink. While having the conversation there was a knock at the door and there stood someone with the free water for them. So when we came up to our room with our pizza and saw them replaces the mattresses with new ones it was a little unnerving at first. Then we went to a lobby area to eat and noticed they were replacing all of the mattresses. Guess it was just time to get new mattresses.

The next day was our last visit with Natasha. We asked when we got there if there was anyway we could just spy on her for a few minutes to see how she interacts with her group and her caregivers. They said that would be fine. We were still trying to figure out if her behavior from the day before was her normal behavior or if it was just from all the excitement of being the center of attention by 5 adults when you don't normally get any attention.

So we stepped outside to have a peek. But the minute we walked outside we could hear her calling for us and running towards us. So much for spying on her. What a wonderful feeling though. She knew we were there for her. We were her people and she had claimed us. There were 4 adults that came out that door but I was the one she ran to and I was the one who's hand she took to go out on the playground. Talk about melting a momma's heart.

At first they tried to get her to go back with her group but she was having none of that. We had come two days in a row to play with her and that was what she was going to do. So her caregiver gave her a ball to take over with us and we went to a separate play area. She took her ball to a little basketball hoop. We had to laugh as she had a sunhat on but underneath was the HUGE blue bow.

Next she decided that she was going to try going on the slide. But she made it seem like she had never done so before so we had to help her up the stairs and she would not come down unless we were there to catch her at the bottom.

And having a dad to help you climb up the stairs was even better. She had us played well. All the time making us believe she had never climbed up those stairs before and acting like she couldn't do it unless we were there to help her.

She played with us for about 20 minutes and then decided she wanted to go back over and be with her group. But what was interesting is that she motioned to us what she was doing. Almost like asking permission. We nodded our heads and said Da (yes). So off she went. We still had not seen her with her group or caregivers so we wanted to just watch and observe for a few minutes. As soon as she was back her caregiver told her she had forgot the ball over by us. So here she came running back to to get it. We noticed that she does not bend her knees when she runs. But she did exactly like she was asked and went to play some group ball games. They did that for about 10 minutes and then the children were back to just playing again. That's when we noticed our little monkey went right up the stairs of the other slide and hung on the bar like she had been doing it her whole life. Apparently she only needs help with that activity if we are around :)

A few minutes later she "asked" her caregiver if she could come back over by us. (By asked I mean she motioned to us). The caregiver said yes and over she came. We took out the crackers again and asked her if she wanted some. At first she would take them and then go walk back to the group. She did this several times. We weren't sure if she was thinking about sharing but we think we finally figured out she was making sure it was okay to eat them. She started to get a little hyper again so we decided to put them away. We weren't sure if that would be the end of our "friendship" or not. But she decided to stay and hang out with us even though we wouldn't give her anymore crackers. 

Next she decided she wanted to color. She also liked pulling out all the stuff in the backpack and then putting it all back in the backpack. She probably played that game for about 20 minutes. She would examine everything as she took it out and then would carefully place everything back in. And she would "ask" for help with getting the crayons back in the box. 

I love the look that Natasha and Steve are giving each other in this picture.

After the rearranging game I tried sitting her on my lap to do the sticker book again. I wasn't sure how she would do but she seemed to love it. We would look at the different objects with her pointing to which one she wanted and "asking" me what it was. At one point I leaned over and kissed her cheek. She then turned and kissed mine and played with my hair until my earrings caught her attention and almost got ripped out.

She decided to hop down and look at more books. She chose a different one and then climbed back up on my lap and made herself very comfortable. Like I said before, she knew we were her people. There was a little boy in her group who's parents come every weekend to get him or to visit him. She knows that some children have people. She knows that some of them get extra love and attention.

For almost 7 years this little one has had no one to call her people. She haa been moved several times and has never had visitors. No one to hold her on their lap and do sticker books with. No one to ask her if she wants to color or play ball. But when given the chance she wants her own people. She wants to be loved and cared for and to feel special.

Oh how it broke my heart to leave her that day.

When are time was up the director asked her to hug us goodbye. She ran to Steve and gave him a big ole hug and then ran off. Then the director must have told her to come back and hug me. So she did and then she turned and kissed my cheek. The director made sure to tell me that she did not tell her to do that. That she learned from sitting on my lap. In just a few short hours of visiting that is what she learned. That we were her people.

As we left, her and another little girl waved and blew kisses. We did not spend much time with the other children as it was discouraged. It would have broken my heart because just the time we spent leaving with them tugging on us and asking us questions made me feel so sad that so many of them will never know what it is like to have their own people. Many of them will never have anyone come and visit them and take them away to live in families.

My husband knows me and he knows my heart. As we were leaving he leaned over and said "Remember, just one. We can't save them all".

And he is right. We can't bring them all home. But I can yell for them. I can help raise money for those who wish to travel on this adventure like us.

God has changed my heart and I will never again be the same when I hear the word "orphan".

Day 3 of our Adventure

Our third day in Russia was July 19th. Once again we had a hard time sleeping much past 3:30 a.m. We stayed in bed until 5:30 a.m. and then got up and got ready for our physicals. We had done a lot of prep work in the US in hopes of making the physicals easier in Russia. But our doctor's office messed up on Steve's blood working and forgot to have him tested for HIV. So Steve had to fast because he still had blood work that needed to be done.

We arrived at the clinic around 9:00 a.m. We first went in and meet the director of the clinic. She was such a pleasant lady and made us feel right at home. I was offered something to eat and Steve was whisked off to have blood taken. Within a few minutes he was back and able to join me in eating the little treats.

The director told us that we should feel right at home because the room we were in was designed after the way they build them in California. She then proceeded to tell us about the swimming pool they had too. We thought she was being serious. Come to find out she was joking because the roof is flat instead of slanted and when it rains it collects so much water up top they refer to it as the swimming pool.

Then a doctor come in and asked us questions about our health. She then apologized that she would need to ask us questions for another doctor too because that doctor would not be in until later in the afternoon. Then we got to walk around and meet a few other doctors one being the psychiatrist. Our facilitator told us that he usually asks embarrassing questions so to be prepared. He graded a little test we had taken in the director's office and then asked us 2 more questions. After that he told our facilitator he knew we were a good family and that he liked us and that was it. We were done. Our facilitator was shocked. She said "Wow, I guess he really liked you. He normally asks more questions." So I guess we got off easy.

Now it was time to drive the hour out to the orphanage. The director asked if we would like a tour. I did but I knew that it would cut into our visiting time so I was a little sad about that. But it was nice to see the orphanage and all the programs they have for the older children there. They are very big into the Special Olympics and even have an Olympic size indoor swimming pool.

After the tour was finished they brought Natasha to us. This time she was very excited to see us. She was wearing her big blue bow again with a pretty dress they had thrown over her play clothes. For some reason they had put us in an area that wasn't really even a room. It had a few coaches but was on a hard floor and right next to stairs and an elevator.

We brought out a small ball for Natasha to play with and it really wound her up. She was so excited and acting really hyper. She even hit her head on the corner of the wall while trying to get the ball and she just laughed about it. It broke my heart that she didn't cry and later I noticed she had a huge knot and bruise on her head from it. I am posting some pictures here that I don't feel I need to put a flower over her face because they are just side views and mostly just pictures of a big blue bow :)

We tried to calm her down by having her play with the iPad but that was not a good idea at all. She really didn't know what to do with it and at one point threw it at us. Not trying to be mean just trying to be funny.

She may look like she is being good with it here but a few minutes later she was pounding on the keyboard and slapping at the screen and trying to throw it on the floor. Just look at that mischievousness little smile.

So we decided to put it away and try crackers. It was fun to watch her sign crackers and more. For crackers she decided she needed to pull up her sleeves so she could find her elbow. That is why her arm is bent and her sleeve is up.

Here I am trying to clean her up after her cracker eating and she is letting me know that she needs her mouth wiped too. She thought the wipes were a great toy and at one point starting mopping the floor with them. So we had to hide those also.

I love this picture of Steve and I. I don't think we could have looked any happier.

Next we brought out the sticker book and that was a big hit. I taught her more sign language and she had a great time mimicking the sounds we would make.

Our visit was only about one hour and we were exhausted by the time it was finished. We determined that the next day we would try and visit her in her natural environment. We could see so much potential in her and loved how she would light up when we taught her something new. She has stolen our hearts and we can't wait until we get to go back and bring her home with us so she can learn so much more and reach her full potential.