Day 4 - The one you've all been waiting for!

I know you're all dying for pictures - and there will be plenty of pictures in this post! :)

This post is actually going to start with last night.  After I posted last night, we assembled gift bags to take to the orphanage directors and other important people.  I was still pretty tired, so this took way longer than it should have, but we got it all figured out.  Don't mind my pajamas. :) 

We slept well last night, but were up about 5:00 a.m. this morning.  I guess our bodies had finally gotten enough sleep! :)  Here's a glimpse of the sunrise this morning:

Then we made some breakfast.  We brought some stuff from home, like instant oatmeal, and our landlady provided some pears and cheese - so that was breakfast. :)  We also brought some good coffee from home, filters and the little one cup brewer that we use camping - so we had our first cups of coffee since leaving Oregon on Friday!!  Ahhh heaven!!

We were picked up by Marina & Alex (our driver) at 9:40 a.m. and we went to the Ministry of Education to meet with the official, and gain permission to visit the girls.  We were there about 20 minutes, and she asked us a few questions, read to us from the girls' files and wished us the best of luck.  This is a picture of the outside of the building.  If you go up those stairs, and turn into that open door on the left, that is where the ministry is. 

From there we went to meet with the lawyer at Emily's baby house.  She read to us some specifics from Emily's file - and asked us a few questions, then granted us her permission to visit Emily this week.  This baby house is very large, and has multiple locations/branches throughout the city.  Emily is in a different location.  We will visit her in the morning. 

Then we had a lunch break - I took some pictures around the outside of our apartment, but I'll save those for another post.  But we did brave the Russian market, to pick up some groceries for the week. We'll probably have to go back for more in a couple of days - but we got some staples. :)

 Oh yeah....it's pouring down rain today!  Which is good for this region, because they have been having wildfires - but kind of a bummer for us!!! 

 At 2:00 we were picked up to go visit Abigail at her orphanage/institution.  We had NO idea what to expect, and our driver and coordinator have never been to this particular orphanage.  It was about a 30 minute drive to get there, in crazy Russian traffic the entire way. :) 

When we walked through the gates, we were met by a woman who wanted to see our passports.  We saw these gardens/playground as we walked in. 

She gave us the ok to go inside, and we were met at the door by an orphanage worker, and then just inside the door by the orphanage social worker.  She took us upstairs to the office, where we met with the orphanage psychologist and doctor.  We about her medical history, and that she is a healthy little girl, full of energy.  While we were talking with the orphanage doctor, the psychologist went and got her, and brought her in to meet us.  I wasn't expecting that, so I didn't get a picture. But in walked this tiny little girl, all dressed up, and the first words out of my mouth were "Oh my goodness, she's SO beautiful" as tears filled my eyes.  The psychologist brought her over to shake our hands - and then took her to another room, we finished up in the office and then went to the visiting room - which looks somewhat like a therapy room.  It was encouraging to me that Abigail seems to know what the toys/tools are in the room.  The facility seems nice, we weren't able to see anything but the entry way, office and the room we visited in - but the staff are SO nice, and you can tell how much they love the children.  At one point the orphanage director came in the room, and Abigail's face lit up and she waved at her and then ran over and gave her a huge hug. 

She was shy with us at first, and would look to the psychologist for permission before reaching out to us, or handing us anything, but once I brought out a couple of toys, the ice was broken and she started warming up to us.  It was an amazing visit, she's a beautiful spunky little girl.  She didn't slow down for a second!!  She's SO smart, and very coordinated.  We were playing catch/roll the ball and her aim and coordination were excellent. She has an excellent pincher grip on a crayon, and figured out how to use my camera in about 2 minutes!  She's tiny - about 30 lbs and maybe 3 ft tall - but full of life. 

I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves now - and will only make comments if I need to explain something in the picture. :)