2/18/2009 WEDNESDAY

This morning we visited E. & D. and were again shown to the "quiet" room. Just as we got comfortable, and E. & D. were actually playing quietly (using my huge quilted coat as a sleeping bag), the Social Worker came in and asked us if we could take the children outside for a walk - instead of playing inside. Soooooooooo, the children were taken upstairs and dressed in their
warm tights, coats, hats, boots, etc. ... afterall, it was -5 Degrees (Celsius, I think) anyway, COLD. After our visit, Sasha drove us to a "sports" store and we purchased some soccer balls as parting gifts for Y.'s class. Although Y. is not a huge soccer guy, he said his class would enjoy playing with the new soccer balls and that was his request. Sasha drove us home and I warmed up the delicious potato/cheese/onion casserole that Tanya had prepared for us before she left for work in the morning. We are searching for appropriate parting "Thank You" gifts for the orphanage Directors, Social Workers, Teachers and Care-givers so this afternoon we shopped
around downtown. Since we were a little late coming home and Tanya had met us at a store to
try to help us find the items we were looking for, she only had time to whip up a delicious
chicken soup for dinner. Yum Yum. Everything we have to eat here at Sasha & Tanya's house is
wonderful. It's a great experience to be able to live with a "Host Family". Although our Russian is still pitiful, we do practice here at home quite often, and the cooking lessons are priceless!
Our Court date is tomorrow in Ynakieve (the city closest to Y's orphanage). Our attorney in
Kiev called to say that we have final approval from the SDA, so we are well on our way to completing the next step of the 10-day waiting period, then getting Birth Certificates, then going to Donetsk for Passports and then on to Kiev for medical exams and then the Embassy for Visas and then arranging flights home! Still many, many more days, but we are making steady progress:)