Day Three Bonding

Today we started doing our bonding for 3 hours instead of splitting it up into 2 sessions. We arrived at the orphanage at 10a.m. and were met by the orphanage director. She came special just to meet us because there are no children there right now. She told us Tanya's history and gave us the chance to ask questions. Galina came in the room first and was crying. Apparently, Tanya was picking on her. She came over and sat on my lap for hugs. I had made arrangements for Lacey to call so Galina got to talk to Lacey. This brought a smile to her face right away. Mark is learning more and more Russian. I think he might be learning more Russian than the girls are learning English. We asked permission to go for a walk and actually went to a magazine (store) and got some pastries, juice, chips and chocolate. We took a blanket and went and sat by the river. We gave the girls dry erase boards and started teaching them some basic English words. After about an hour they got bored with us and we went and walked down by the river. Mark tried to teach them how to skip rocks and also juggle with rocks. We then returned to the orphanage and Alma was there waiting for us. Galina started crying again and said she wants to go home and to see her boyfriend. Alma is concerned about Galina and thinks she's going to be rebellious. She asked me whether we think that she is going to agree to come with us. We are hoping and praying that she will. Alma said that she is filing papers today for us to adopt the girls. I am going to have a talk with Galina tomorrow to make sure that she understands what is happening and that she is agreeable.