We're almost there!

We are getting so close to the end. Today Joseph went and picked up the passports. We also have all of our paperwork translated. We will be preparing documents for the embassy, but that won’t take too long. We have also paid all of our money for our expenses here in Petro. YEAH!!! It feels good to have that taken care of.

The kids are doing better each day. When we first got Katya she was very quiet. We would sing songs with her that had actions. She would basically give us a blank stare. Now whenever she climbs on my lap she starts doing the actions for 5 little ducks. She has come a long way in her interactions.

Daniel understands me a little bit. We get by with pointing and hand gestures. I think that he actually understands a few commands, but not much. I have also learned a decent amount of Russian commands and sayings, but we mostly use Joseph as a translator. Things will pick up when Joseph goes back to work. It appears that Daniel has not been taught to keep mean words to himself. He says things not even realizing that they might hurt somebody’s feelings. We will have to work on that as we go along. Overall he is a very good boy. He minds very well and tries really hard to do what he is asked.

Yesterday we went downtown and did some souvenir shopping. We wanted to make sure that we got everything that we wanted since we won’t be back. At least for a long, long time. The weather continues to be beautiful. We are ready to shed our coats, but I didn’t bring our jackets. Poor Katya, all the babies are still in their full snowsuits. Katya’s is a combo coat-snowsuit so she has no choice but to wear it. I should have thought to bring a separate coat for her.

We are still enjoying our UNO games and Andy Griffith shows. We are so glad we have them. We can’t wait to share them with Brigham and Kyler; they’ll love them. As for Joseph and I we have been playing an on-going Skip-Bo game with points. Last night Joseph won. He’s says we are going to start a new game. Maybe I’ll win this time.