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(He's so cheerful in the afternoons that even with this scarf on his head, he's laughing!!)

Okay. I slept about 11 hours and I'm ready to start again this morning. Mark thinks that my picture files are so huge that I'm clogging her computer so after this post I'll erase everything from her hard drive and hopefully that'll clean it up a bit.

Here are the two guys enjoying their afternoon visit. Laughs galore, of course!!

Mark is insisting on staying the entire time, and insists that he can make the trip home with Peter alone. I have my doubts, but when Mark sets his mind to something, I'm learning that he really can do stuff. What I may do is fly to wherever they are connecting through when they get to the States and meet them there so I can help fly home on the final leg of the journey. When I suggested it, Mark melted and said, "That'd be soooo great...!!!" So that's the plan as of right now. Because of that, I am trying to let the two of them spend the most amount of time together (with me content to take pictures) so that Gabriel can get used to his dad and feel the most comfortable with him. I'll take my turn when they get home. PLEASE pray that this is the right decision!!!! I am terrified of leaving Mark alone in a strange country with an 18 mo./5 year old to travel 1/2 way around the world!! He seems comfortable with the idea, and hopefully with our facilitator's help he can do it. (but, YIKES!) This would be financially very beneficial to us, with having to pay for one less plane ticket, I can stay at work until they get home, and we wouldn't have to hire anyone to stay with the kids and dogs at home while I went back. With the orphanage donation surprise, we are going to be cutting it pretty short.

I got to meet some other RR kids yesterday and the caregivers graciously let me take photos! I will post them in another thingie so as not to jeopordize this one!!!

Mom, good luck finding the boys' camp in the morning!!! Start early to give yourself "getting lost" time. They will be FULL of stories, so be ready!!!!! Thanks for all you're doing to help!! We love you!!

Before you read this, scroll down and read, "Day 2, Part 1).

Our afternoon visit also taught us some lessons:



Lesson #1: When visiting your child at an orphanage and have never seen that child eat (though were told he could eat anything) do not feed him a whole cookie, especially one from a Ukrainian market that disintegrates instantly upon entering the mouth, and especially when that child spits each bite of the cookie out in delight.

Lesson #2: Don't expect that a child automatically knows how to drink from a straw. The child will bite down on the straw, expecting something good, and when no reward is given, the juice box wielding the straw will be thrown into the dirt. Wet juice boxes in the dirt are messy.

Lesson #3: When taking the risk of feeding your new child for the first time outdoors with no people or trash cans around, BRING NAPKINS. Receipts wetted with carbonated water do not hold up well, especially on children who are laughing hysterically!

Whew! It's not easy using someone else's computer, especially when most of the tabs are in Russian! Good thing Mark is such a computer whiz, cause without him I couldn't have done any of this!

Okay! Here goes!! It takes like 10 min. to upload 5 pictures on this computer (seriously) and I'm soooooo tired that I only took the time to upload these 10, but these'll certainly get you started!!

We walked into the orphanage and it was so eery, after seeing so many pictures on Google Earth, the Life4Orphans (or is it Life2Orphans??) website, and other families' pictures; it was now OUR turn to be here!!! We met Anatole the director and as expected, he was very nice. I've only heard wonderful things about this man!!! We talked about our family, and the opportunities that the boys had (as disabled children) and the opportunities that Sergei would have as a part of our family and in the area that we lived. He was very attentive and glad to hear everything that we said. Unfortunately, I forgot the family photo album at the apartment so I have to show him tomorrow!! UGH!

Anyway, eventually, they brought little Sergei ("Seriozha") in. He was one scared, NERVOUS, little boy. He was actually physically shaking and making this grunting noise (almost like a growl). Here he is as his caregiver carries him in (check out her expression!):

Poor little thing was so overwhelmed at all of the people and all of the attention!!

Mark got to hold him first!!! (That's okay - I had the camera!!)

He was very nervous, as I said, and I was kind of surprised at how "closed in" he was. I was sad because he never smiled, and just seemed so... institutionalized. Mark and I both fell in love with him instantly however, but I was slightly disappointed, thinking that at age 5, he'd lost SO much time and how far he had to catch up to where he might have been. But he was precious, and that's all that counted. Catch up or no, we loved him and would be there for him for forever. No matter what.

This little picture is really sweet. Mark bought this little "Baby Mozart" toy for him. You push the big button and it lights up and plays classical music. He really was interested in it, but with all of the stuff going on, he was pretty overstimulated. Still, after awhile, he was standing on the ground and the toy was on the chair. Someone pushed the button, and he "discovered" it! He got his eyes WAY close to the flashing lights and just stared. And stared. It was adorable! I noticed at that time that he had pretty good attention span and could focus fairly well. (Considering.) This was a great toy that Mark bought.

Soon afterward, it was time for his lunch and nap and we had to go. We went out to eat with Masha, our facilitator, and had some weird food that was great! (And I hate "foreign" food, or anything "weird".) I had some sort of pork thing, and potatoes with "garlic", but it was mostly cheese. Anyway, we did some paperwork stuff, she dropped us off at our apt. and I posted a thingy on here and checked my friends' blogs to catch up. At 4, we went back to the orphanage.

This is who greeted us:

A completely different little boy!! I took him from the caregiver at his room and accidentally tickled his thigh. He let out squeals of laughter, surprising me to the point where I almost dropped him!! I tickled him again, and more squeals!! Who was this happy, friendly little boy?? Where was the NERVOUS, grunting, shaking little boy we saw at lunchtime??

We had a WONDERFUL visit!!! We walked all around outside, then got a stroller. We carried him, he walked, we sat and played with the music toy. LOTS of laughing and giggling and squealing and wiggling with joy!!

Here he is with his Papa, just enjoying the company and the nice weather. He and his Papa are quite tight already!!

For a little while, he got VERY wild and just was so hyper he didn't know what to do with himself!! He does this little "trembling" thing that I want to get checked out when we get home, and he stiffens up when he gets excited. Definitely not a "low toner"!! He may be tiny, but he's strong! (He's got an older brother back home in the States that's like that, too!) There were times when I wondered if he has very mild CP, with the way he tremors and stiffens. If he does, it won't be a problem. But he was a wild man for awhile, laughing and just having the time of his life, with people all to himself to love on him. :o)

This is just kind of a funny one. Mark was walking with him, holding him by the hands (he needs hand-held assist to walk), and he wanted to see the camera so he walked over to me so fast I didn't have time to get a picture - and I got this close up! LOL

Did I mention that he was a different kid on our second visit??

I have a series of this picture and the following one. He and Mark were cuddling together on the stoop and just really enjoying each other (Mark is SO IN LOVE). Mark was cuddling him and I got this darling picture. Sergei was calmed down by this time (he got rid of a lot of his energy!!) and enjoying some quiet time with Papa.

This is Mark's favorite shot. He and Serozha were just visiting together nicely when Mark started tweaking his nose. They ended up with this silly little game where they touched noses together and just held them there. Serozha loved this and kept doing it over and over (and even with me when I finally got a chance to put the camera down and hold him!!). It was so sweet and something that really meant a lot to Mark - they made a connection. :o)

So far, so good, everyone.

God bless her, my friend Christine sent another update on our little guy!! These updates are like water in the desert, and I am sooooo grateful to her!

Today as we walked into the orphanage grounds to visit Alexsey, I saw Simon with his group. As soon as I walked up to him and called out his name, he was responsive--- and immediately came over to me. He is a doll, and wanted to hold my hands and play a little game with me, I call "Ballam, ballam, booksie" This is where I say the words and then we tap our foreheads together lightly. He got the game right away and was moving his head toward mine at the appropriate time. When I moved over to play with one of the other boys, he followed me-- telling me he is craving attention and probably bored in his group of mostly invalids. He is pretty steady on his feet while holding onto the rail---- and his laugh is cheery sounding. However, his teeth look like they are in pretty bad shape--- poor little guy. I will continue to visit when ever I can--- I am positive that the interaction with and him and all the other boys is making a difference if only for the moment.

I've gotta get over there before I have a stroke from waiting...

I got the greatest e-mail this morning! My friend Christine Reed from Reece's Rainbow (where we found Simon) is adopting their son right now. (We were hoping to travel together, but...) She got to meet Simon and sent a "report" on him and new pictures!! This totally makes my day!! I've been feeling somewhat low lately, getting tired of waiting for travel dates, my favorite great-aunt passed away a couple of days ago, continued issues with this-and-that, etc. and I really, really needed a pick-me-up! This did it. Here is what she wrote: