You Just Never Know......

   

....what you're gonna' get at the orphanage each day!  Today we showed up to see Ruslan, and they were eating snack.  So we sat down to wait, and some time later Ruslan came out to get dressed.  He had just gotten his clothing out of his locker when the orphanage caregiver opened the door and called him back in to the room.  I could tell by her look and voice that she wasn't happy!  I looked at our driver and said, "Uh-oh!"  He told us that Ruslan didn't eat his snack! Apparently he was so excited to see us that he didn't touch his snack.  He must have wolfed it down because he was back out in no time flat!

He was VERY excited to finish the decals on his firetruck today.  It came out awesome, and we brought him a little fire helicopter to go with it. 

Test flight for the fire helicopter!

Opening the chocolate egg!

Bill also picked out some little egg shaped thing in the grocery store yesterday.  It is called a Kinder egg, and it is similar to ones that used to be available in the US, but when you open this one it has two sides.  One side has chocolate that you eat with this little plastic spoon that comes with it, and the other side has a little mini toy.  Ruslan was so excited to try it, and it was a hit!  We'll definitely be bringing a few home for theboys to keep in the treat cabinet!     

Some lady hiked herself over the orphanage fence again today to cut through to wherever she needed to get.  The first time this happend, Ruslan was smiling a knowing smile when he observed my, "What in the world?" reaction to seeing someone climbing IN to the orphanage!! He held up one finger as if to say, "Wait a minute Mama, watch this!"  I guess it cracked him up a little too that this woman would climb the fence and come in to the orphanage.  Once she landed with a thud, he was giggling!

I am rarely surprised anymore by what I see at the orphanage.  At this point I think we both pretty much have an "anything goes" kind of attituded.  But we were certainly surprised today when we saw a little girl eating a tree.  Yes, that's right.  EATING A TREE.  I don't mean eating berries off a tree.  Or even peeling the bark and eating it, which would be odd enough.  I mean she was reaching up and pulling a branch down to where she could reach it, and she was eating it.  Chewing leaves and branch, whatever she could get.  And, while the tree eating is happening, a little boy pulls down his pants and urinates right out in the open in the play area.  We saw the tree-eating girl a little later, and it definitely seemed like there were some other developmental issues going on with her, so I felt like that helped explain a little bit.  I am wondering if maybe this orphanage is a temporary stop for her on the way to somewhere that can provide the more intense care and supervision it seems she requires.  I did notice an orphanage worker occasionally run after her, or try to redirect her. But it didn't seem like enough.  Praying she gets some support.

Vitalik has been stopping by our table every day to play with the buttons on Bill's watch.  He is just the cutest little blond boy, and he delights in pressing those buttons! (Apparently, he has figured out how to set an alarm on there that Bill didn't even know he had!) 

Then, some neighbors of the orphanage had a fire going in their yard, and when Ruslan saw that he was bound and determined to get a photo! When he asked me if he could take a picture, I mistakenly thought he meant from where we were, so I handed him the camera.  Well, he took off running for the fence around the orphanage so he could get a better shot!  But the barking of a very loud and very mean sounding dog stopped him mid stride.  And then he paused there for a moment, seemingly to evaluate the risk the dog might pose, the strength of the fence barrier between them, and if it was worth the gamble.  Well, for the love of the art, Ruslan proceeded anyway trying to get a good shot of that fire!  He actually climbed up on the fence to try and get a really good shot! (This kid has a future in the paparazzi!)  I wasn't sure the caregiver would like him climbing up there, so I called to him to get down.  He came running back with the camera, all smiles.  The shot wasn't too clear as the fire was a bit far away and had died down some, so he asked me if I could drive by it on my way out to get a better shot.  I told him we wouldn't be going that way because it wasn't the way the driver takes us, and he looked kind of bummed, but he was happy with the picture he did get! 

It was really cute because at one point I was trying to get a photo of the fire for him, and I kept  snapping   and snapping but it seemed the flames kept shifting every time I took a photo, so I never got a good shot of it.  Finally one came out pretty good, and I said "Oh...." and I was about to add....."I got one!"....but before I could get those words in he started singing ......"Happy Day, Happy  Day....when you washed my sins away!"  Apparently my "Oh" had prompted a tune in his heart! (Since that song starts out "Oh, Happy Day!")  He learned that song last summer when he was with us, and he only remembers two lines, but he sings them from his heart, with enthusiasm and a little bit of groovin' going on too!  He then proceeded to sing that song repeatedly throughout our visit! It was really cute! (I can't seem to get the video to upload here, but I will try to put it on my Facebook.)  It really was a "Happy Day!"  (You can see that in these photos! Ruslan requested the one of the two of us together, and then he took the one of Bill and I.  Love these borders he adds!)