Quality time together!!

Today, I walked to the café with the WiFi before going to the orphanage. Ray and Cari were already there when I arrived. I sat at the table with them and let them use my computer to put pictures on their blog. I tried to put Emily’s video on my facebook page but the internet connection was too slow.

Ray and Cari told me about some books they bought that teach English to Russian speakers. After leaving the café, Ray took me to the store they bought these books from and I also purchased these books. Two of the books teach English words, phrases, and short sentences to Russian speakers phonetically while the other book teaches the English Alphabet to Russian speakers. After buying the books, I hung out with Ray and Cari in their hotel room until the taxi showed up to take us to the orphanage.

Emily gave me a big hug when I arrived at the orphanage. She asked me to go for a walk with her again. I really enjoyed taking a walk with her yesterday so I was thrilled she wanted to do it again. During our walks, we talk about many things. One thing she talked about today was the length of her hair. She was comparing it to the length of her mom’s and sister’s hair. I asked Emily if she wanted long hair and she replied, “Yes” with a big smile on her face.

While we were walking, we stopped at a few stores. At the first store, I bought Emily and I an ice cream sandwich. I also bought Emily a small pizza that she said she would share with her friends later. At another store, Emily bought a bottle of fingernail polish and sunflower seeds.

After taking a few pictures, we returned to the orphanage for the rest of our visit.  I showed Emily the books I bought for her.  She was very excited about these books and immediately opened them and started reading them.  In less than one minute, Emily was saying new words in English.  Then, she started saying phrases and short sentences in English.  Words can't describe how excited I was to witness my daughter as she learned new words in English.

Everyday, Emily tells me she misses and loves her mom and sisters. When the time to leave arrived, Emily helped me gather my things and walked me out to the taxi. We hugged and kissed. Then we said, “I love you” to each other.

Emily is one day closer to leaving the orphanage and coming home to a large family that loves her dearly.