One more step accomplished!

This morning Mark left early on a mission...to locate jam! OY! We have looked at 4 grocery stores for it. He went pretty far to yet another grocery store and found it! He made Ukranian pancakes (thin!) for all of us for breakfast! With JAM! The girls ate it up! I have to admit they were pretty tasty!

After that we hung out until it was time for our appointment with the Asst Chief of SDA. I was a bit nervous but Zhenia assured me all will be well. All three couples were taken upstairs and then, one by one, with the children we were taken in. The Asst Chief was a very smiling nice man. The inspector was there as well. They asked what we do for a living, how many children do we have, where we live and what is the school system like there. Mark answered first then I. Then he asked Anya how she knows us, did she like us and did she like our home. She said she met me in October when I came to visit, then we hosted them at Christmas and yes she loves our home and definitely wants to go. Then on to Tanya, he asked her if she is in agreement. All she could do is look at him then back at Tanya with a big smile on her face. Then Zhenia asked are you supporting what your sister wants to do and she said yes! Then she said she just wants to make sure she can come back to Ukraine when she wants. The Asst Chief was satisfied with that and that was it. Over and done in a matter of 5 minutes. Whew!
Next we signed the offical documents for court. You know it's kind crazy...we are signing all these documents without having a clue what they say. Just trusting...

Once we all were done, we made plans to hang out with the Boycott family but the girls wanted to go home at watch some scary movies dubbed in Russian. Zhenia brought a ton of Russian movies for all the families to share. That was awesome! Tanya seemed happy and excited! She then said a friend aka teacher??? was coming over and wanted to know if she could invite HIM up to the flat. We said yes! (We have had more company!) In walks this sweet boy named Alexi. Very sweet. Tanya was so excited and was kind of showing off! It was pretty cute. I asked Dara if this 'teacher' was really a boyfriend and she said no just a really good friend. She wanted us to show him pictures from home on the computer and for Mark to talk with him. They talked a bit and then we sat in the living room and they talked and she hit and he tickled. Alexi said that Tanya is a good girl but tough! He said that when she walks up to the boys they all say ,"oh no here comes Tanya!" He spoke very good english and seemed to be more like a big brother to her. He really cares about her.

After he left, things went into a downward spiral! Anya asked if they could go back to the camp tomorrow morning. I said no and you would have thought the world had come to an end. I just can't bear the thought of them being there anymore than they have to. The threats of running away, calling Zhenia and telling him they do not want to be adopted...etc... It was pretty tough but I kept remembering to stay calm and have a calm voice. After a deep discussion of how threats are hurtful and they will not get anything accomplished, Mark and I took a break and stayed in our room for about 15 minutes talking. We ordered pizza to be delivered because it was pouring down rain. After we ate and they finished watching a TV program, we had a family discussion. It was so good! Anya says when she gets upset she acts that way because she doesn't no what else to say! She apologized. We explained to her that we worry about them there because of some of the counselors and they do not get enough food there. I told her when we disagree it's best to discuss things. The answer may still be no but it's always best to talk about it. We came to a compromise, they can go on the days they plan with us in advance so we can make arrangements since we are doing things with other families. There input was we all go to the store and buy them food for the day so I won't worry about them eating! Pretty cool stuff huh! All during the discussion Tanya is taking it all in. Dara said that Tanya told Anya maybe they should go just for the day and not spend the night! WOW!!!! The both of them were very happy. Anya said she was happy that we worked it out. We all then got our shoes on and walked to the store in the rain at 9:30pm. It was a fun silly giggly walk to get food for them tomorrow!!! We ran into their Art teacher which I had met in October. He asked that we make sure Tanya keeps up with learning art because she is very gifted. He said Anya is also gifted but a bit lazy. Once home, I made them sandwiches, enough for 4 or 5 kids, cookies, soda and Mark gave them money for the train. It's so hard for me to comprehend just letting them go....but this is the life they are used to. I am praying for wisdom and knowledge.