On Saturday we waited and waited and waited some more for the repair guy to come and fix our fridge and the leaking pipe in the bathroom. We waited for the fridge guy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - he didn't come. The home owner said, this is the only fridge guy she knows. The pipe started leaking on Wednesday. Finaly, by 3 PM on Saturday everything was fixed and we went to the orphanage. Flower told me she didn't think we would come. We brought with us bags of "Silly Bandz" and Flower gave them to all the kids in the orphanage. We played ping-pong for some time, then we had some tea with a Ukrainian apple pie in the kitchen.

On Sunday we left for the orphanage about 10 AM. We took our video camera and told Flower to be a tour guide. Bob was taking movies. The caretakers let us take Flower with us for the whole day. About 10 minutes after we left we got a call from the orphanage: Flower's mother came to visit her. Coincidence? We've had all kinds of problems, but because of God we're still here progressing along. We give God all our praises, all our thanks, and all the credit for everything that has happened and everything that will happen. She was told that Flower left with friends. She got mad and went to the park near the orphanage to look for us. We were at the Farmer's Market that time. The rest of the day we spent in the house. When we told Flower about her mother she said she didn't want to see her mother, she didn't want go back and asked if she could stay with us one night. We HAD to take her back to the orphanage - we can't break the rules - she's nor ours yet.



Flower surprises us sometimes with her thinking and understanding of the world around her. She doesn't know hardly any table manners, but she understands the situation with her parents and doesn't paint it in pink colors like a lot of kids do. She likes to play with toys just like any child, but she told us that we are gettiing closer every day we spend together. In some ways she is very mature for her 10 yo. She doesn't live only in the moment, she askes about life in the USA and about Anastasia's experience. She is ready to start a new life. It is getting closer to the day when this girl will be an orphan no more.