Anyone have a measuring tape?!?!

February 1- Sunday
Wow! Is it February already??
I woke up to the kids calling at 6:00 am. It was really nice to talk to Caleb and Miriam. Jonas had fallen asleep. It was good to hear their voices. We really miss them!!
We all took baths and ate granola and yogurt. Then we hurried to see the girls. We played with Duplos mostly. We were only there for an hour so we could catch the bus and make it to church. It was very nice to be in church again. We both bore our testimony and one of the elders translated for us. The lesson in Sunday school was on personal revelation. It was good to be reminded of how much we have been led and guided on this whole adoption journey!! We need to be more aware of that and thankful! Don’t know what RS lesson was on as I had no translator, but it was good to be there and feel the spirit, sing the songs (in another language ) and take the sacrament. They asked Keith to help pass. I guess they have to tap the Priesthood whenever they get a chance. I was very impressed with Elder Thatcher, the branch president. Last week he said maybe one or two sentences in Ukrainian, everything else the missionary translated for him. This week he did about half in Ukrainian (some of it he had written down). I know what it is like learning a language and it isn’t easy, especially getting up in front of people like that.
After church they had a “break the fast” lunch. We thought it would be impolite if we didn’t stay after practically everyone in the ward invited us to. Sister Thatcher made spaghetti, garlic bread, a salad, and a green salad (complete with real ranch dressing that Sister Thatcher brought from America). It was all very delicious!! But we enjoyed the company more. We didn’t want to leave. It is amazing how you crave association with members when you don’t have it. The Thatchers have 10 children, all boys (it is Sister Thatcher’s fault—according to Elder Thatcher -- she said “we both know differently, don’t we.”) They were only in the MTC for a week.
Oh, there is a member, I think her name is Ann, who was told about us, who apparently has been wanting to meet with us and practice her English. She offered to take us to the market to buy clothes. That was very nice of her, and we accepted. Problem is, she is very timid on her English. But I guess just knowing the market will be a big help. Hopefully we can figure it all out.
We finally left at 4:00, feeling guilty for going to the girls late, but very physically, spiritually and socially fed. After running home quickly to get the computer, we were greeted very warmly at the orphanage. Each of the girls made it a point of giving each of us a hug.
There was a new (to us, at least) caregiver. She was very nice and Elijah even shook her hand. He will usually smile at people but you have to be “in” to get a touch from him.
The older 3 girls took turns nicely on the computer. They even let some other kids take a turn. I put duplos together with A2 and A1 (when she wasn’t playing the computer). Keith also got to play a memory game (from Unicef, incidentally) with whatever girls weren’t playing computer. R got all dressed up to go to school, again. I think the girls have learned at one point or another that they need to demand attention, usually by being mean or bugging one of the other girls. So each time we go we try to be aware that each girl gets some one on one time with at least one of us. It has helped a great deal. We also try to not let them be grabby. For instance, when we were getting ready to leave and picking up blocks, Elijah had the last one and was being a little slow putting it away. K forcefully grabbed it away from him and put it in the bag. I took it and gave it back to him. She gave me a little smile and patted Elijah on the head. We are getting somewhere, maybe?!?! That is going to take a lot of work!
Oh, I peeked at R’s shoes and A1’s shoes to see if I could figure out the sizes. R’s said 26 and A1’s said 33. This is going to be harder than I figured. But how in the world is that going to help us buy clothes if the sizes aren’t the same here?!?! If you can’t tell this figuring out sizes and how we can buy clothes takes up a big part of our time and discussion lately.