Day 14. Saturday April 28th 2007. 17 days till court date

Oh My Gosh !!! So Natasha and I got up early this morning, ate breakfast, did our hair, got dressed, etc, etc... Left for the academic building "on time" for our 9:00am English class. We got there and nobody was there !! Just then our friend Laura came down the stairs & told us that because of the upcoming Holidays the class was canceled. Nobody knew it though until this morning. Apparently most have to work on this Saturday so they can take off for their Holiday. I said, "What's the point of having a Holiday if you have to make it up." Oh my word. Who does that? I was so looking forward to this English class, because it was a beginners class, taught by a Russian speaking person. I figured Natasha could learn some & I could find out how much she knows & doesn't know. Plus, maybe the teacher could direct me in the best way to teach her. So we came back to the apartment and Natasha and I did 45 minutes of "English." I brought along ABC flashcards. She did well. She doesn't know them all, but knows some. At first she wouldn't speak, but towards the end she would say the ABC's with me. We spelled out her name then we spelled body parts. I would point to them & say them & she would find the letters in the deck. We did eyes, nose, mouth, arm, finger, legs, & toes. She did very well. I have met a few more people around here that say they can help me teach her English. So we will see what happens & in the mean time Natasha and I will continue with our ABC's.

We went to our friends Dave & Laura's apartment for dinner this evening. They bring 2 or 3 kids over every Saturday night from a place called The Good Shepard. These are boys & girls who still have a parent or relative in their lives that visits them or sometimes the kids will go to the parent/relatives house for a day or 2. They are considered unavailable for adoption because the parent or relative still has the parental rights, but just either does not have the means to care for the child or doesn't want too. Kinda sad to see. Today they had 3 girls over. Dalyia - 6 years old & her sister Anya - 8 years old. Plus Vika - 12 years old. I made my famous raspberry crisp for desert & then all of us including the kids made and put together enchiladas. It took me 3 hours to make my raspberry crisp here because of all the appliances being old. Oven is different. It's either on or off. No temperature setting. Plus no utensils like we have at home. Just a bowl & a spoon. It usually takes me an hour at home from start to finish. Nothing over here goes fast. LOL. But, it was fun. Natasha kept coming into the kitchen & helping, then playing, then helping again, etc... It was cute.

Robert, Natasha, and I took a walk this afternoon. Then back to the apartment until 4:30 pm. Then all 8 of us went outside to play at the playground before starting dinner. We had a wonderful evening & the kids had fun helping with the meal. We made the tortillas from scratch, because you can't buy them here.They played some more & we left about 9:00 pm to go back to our apartment for the evening. Here are some pictures from our day.

Hey Dan. That would be great if the other trial would end early. I don't think I should hold my breath though. LOL.

Oh my Sammy. I missed your Showcase and your recital. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there. I'm so proud of you. I know you did good. Grandma & Lucia told me so. Love you sweetheart !!!

Mom, you can send me mail, but I'm be home before I would get it here. So basically, no you can't. What mail do you want to send ???

Pat & Carla. Poor little Porker/Parker. We will pray for him. I hope the tests go well & he will be fine. Poor little guy. Why are you moving & where are you moving too ?? Poor, poor kitty. You need to take him along.

Lucia. I don't know who you have been talking too, but I did not fail English. I didn't get an A, but I didn't fail either.

Well, goodnight everyone. Talk at you tomorrow.
God Bless,
Gail