Today is the fifth day of the ten day wait for the court decree. Technically, we are halfway through the wait already; however, it is not that simple. You wait ten days then get the court decree on the eleventh day. If the tenth day is on a Sunday, as it is for us, then you have to wait until Tuesday to get the court decree. So, this makes our wait twelve days actually.
Emily has been counting the days until she leaves the orphanage for good. She expects to leave on Sunday. Victor suggested that I leave her there for a few extra days while we travel to get her birth certificate. She was born in a different region than the one her orphanage is located in. I explained to Emily that she will be there for a few extra days while I complete this task. She wasn’t very happy about this but handled it well. She counted the days on the calendar again and pointed to the day she thought she was leaving. I tried to explain it to her but there wasn’t anyone available at the time to translate. I will talk to Victor again about this and decide what to do and he will translate it to Emily.
I am glad I stayed for the ten day waiting period for several reasons. First, Emily has missed her mom very much since she returned home. Laura had to return home for several reasons even though she would have rather stayed. Emily understands why her mom left but she still misses her. Having me here has helped her cope with missing her mom. Second, the other two families who adopted on the same day as us stayed for the ten day wait. I didn’t want Emily to see the other two children having visits with their families during the ten day wait while no one came to see her.
Today, Emily had another gift for me when she entered the room. It was book of drawing paper. On the pages inside she attached pictures. A few of the pictures included her friends Rada and Masha. The rest of the pictures were of Emily, Laura, and I. Emily drew pictures on the pages around the photos. She also wrote “I Love You” on each of the pages. I will treasure this gift forever.
Emily was excited to show off the English skills she learned while playing the apps on my iPod. She spent a lot of time working on the alphabet apps. She also learned some new words in English. It is encouraging to see her enthusiasm to learn English. Emily is always talking and telling jokes. We are eagerly anticipating when she is able to do this in English.
Much of our time today was spent trying to connect to the internet with the wireless modem. Emily wanted to text online with her mom. She wanted to text her sisters too but she knew they were in school. The signal wasn’t very good at the orphanage today so I wasn’t able to connect with the text for free website. Emily was very disappointed. She wanted me to keep trying so I did several more times but was unsuccessful.
When the time to leave arrived, Emily helped me gather my things and walked me out to the van. As we said goodbye, Emily made a kissing gesture to indicate to me that she wanted a kiss. I kissed her and told her, “I love you.” Emily replied, “I love you.” We hugged several more times then I got in the van and we drove off.
Emily showing off her skills as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle
Emily and Rada
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