Friday morning we took Inna to Donated Dental. We were one of the first there which was really good because when she was finished, the waiting room was packed full and Inna didn't want to go out through the crowd. She had never been to the dentist before. She was a trooper. Even Dr. Larsen commented on how amazing their trust is to come in, be worked on and not have any idea what is going on. She has 7 cavities and he only filled 4 - all on the left side. He said that not any of them would have caused her discomfort or pain. Dr. Larsen also stated that if a child, here in America, had not visited the dentist until her age, they would have many, many problems and lost teeth. We were impressed by how good her teeth are, then.
She wasn't necessarily impressed by our grocery store trip afterward. (I suppose we should blame it on the dentist visit...?) When we got home from the store and without lunch, she asked if she could sleep. We had to wake her up after 2 1/2 hours to get ready to go to the SAC Halloween Party. That was the trick and we ended up being an hour late. It is always such a fun event for the kids, but we think Inna was embarassed to be in costume when most of her friends didn't dress up. The food was terrific and the kids seemed to really enjoy playing together. They have so much to do: trampolines, basketball court, soccer, jungle gym and a fire pit. The weather was mild until the sun went down and then it got rather chilly. We were surprised that Inna wanted to go to bed early, around 8:45, even after having a nap.
We went to Temple Square this morning for a Russian tour for Inna. One of the Sister Missionaries was from the same area in Ukraine as Inna is from. The other Sister Missionary was from Germany. Inna can speak and understand German. We were happy that both Sisters could talk with her. It was a very uplifting and inspiring tour and we ended with "The Testaments" movie. They turn the lights on way too soon after it's over. There isn't enough time to dry the eyes and mop the face!
We were blessed to have the rain hold off while we were at Temple Square, but, the heavens finally opened up later this afternoon. It made Trick or Treating complicated. We weren't sure Inna even wanted to go as we were getting mixed signals. My Dad's birthday is October 31 (we will celebrate with dinner Sunday after church). But, this year we were going to go visit after Trick or Treating for the traditional cider and donuts. Since it was raining and we had had only 2 people come to our door at that point, we decided to head off to my parent's house early. During the ride over, Jessica painstakingly tried to communicate with the Russian/English dictionary and as it turns out, Inna DID want to "go door to door for candy". However, every time the doorbell rang at my parent's house, Inna, acted more and more like "Umm...I'm not liking this". She would shake her head slowly back and forth with wide eyes. We cut our visit kind of short (very, very sorry Mom and Dad) so we could be home by 8:15 for some candy-getting. When we got home and took out her costume, she said, "No, No, No, No" several times and sat on the couch. We tried to get her to answer our door to give out candy instead and it took 3 different doorbell rings for her to even come within 4 feet of the screen door. Must be really freaky when you don't understand. I'm sorry, Inna.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
It was exciting to wake up to snow, yesterday! However, the planned Ranch activity needed to be changed to Saturday because of the weather. The group planned to go bowling in North Salt Lake at 12:30, but we had a commitment early afternoon (because we thought we would be home from the Ranch by then), so we weren't able to attend. Around 4:00, we went to the Living Aquarium. Upon entering, and then through most of the Utah displays, Inna had a look of "oh my gosh! This is the lamest place ever!" But, rounding the corner to the jellyfish brought more life to her and she really seemed to the like the sea horses. She wanted to rush through the whole place really fast. I think she would have been happy to have viewed everything (sort of) and been out of there in 15 minutes! When we came to the Stingrays that you can touch, she refused quite loudly in Russian, probably saying "No way! You think I'm crazy?" She didn't even care much for the amazing fun, fun penguins! So, we decided to take a different approach and ignore her. (I'm guessing many of you must think that is horrible, but let me explain...) We went back to some of the first displays and decided to "linger longer" at each of them. Oohing and Aahing and pointing things out. Even taking pictures (which some didn't turn out because the glass is spotty). Anyway, Inna really began to enjoy the displays and believe it or not, we watched the penguins for almost 20 minutes! She is a kindred spirit when it came to the creepy crawlers and ucky frogs - she shivered and groaned! My sentiments exactly!
We did some shopping, too. Hopefully, she will enjoy the "Princess and the Frog" decorations we got for her upcoming birthday... (she watched that movie Tuesday afternoon and is just as captivated by it as she was "Beauty and the Beast"! We seem to have another Disney Princess lover!)
We did some shopping, too. Hopefully, she will enjoy the "Princess and the Frog" decorations we got for her upcoming birthday... (she watched that movie Tuesday afternoon and is just as captivated by it as she was "Beauty and the Beast"! We seem to have another Disney Princess lover!)
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
For the last couple of days, I have been fighting a sore throat, ear aches and a bad headache. Needless to say, I have stayed a bit distant and tried to preserve my voice. I hope Inna hasn't felt I didn't care because that is not true! It's tricky to explain things to her, though. Today, however, I woke up feeling so much better.
We taught Preschool this morning. I truly wish Inna could tell me what she is thinking! The children all said, "Hi, Inna" at the same time and she blushed a sweet dark pink color. She held back at first, but it didn't take too long for her to be involved and very helpful. She ended up being just as excited as the children were! She was very intent on the story we read today, "The Kiss that Missed" (darling story of a King that is always in a rush and blew a kiss to his prince son at bedtime only to have it miss. Then the most brave knight has to go find and bring back the missed kiss for the prince. In the end, the king promises to do better at not always being in a rush). I couldn't help wondering how many stories were read to her while she was growing up... She was the hero during our game. Thank you, Inna!
My daughter, Jessica, made plans after preschool with Inna to walk to the lake with the dogs, come back for lunch and then hit the mall for the afternoon! She is the most awesome young lady to help these children that come and stay in our home to be comfortable and happy. Thank you, Jessi!
I wish we could post pictures, but we were asked not to for the safety of the children. We have some really cute ones, too. She is like my daughters - beautiful inside and outside!
We taught Preschool this morning. I truly wish Inna could tell me what she is thinking! The children all said, "Hi, Inna" at the same time and she blushed a sweet dark pink color. She held back at first, but it didn't take too long for her to be involved and very helpful. She ended up being just as excited as the children were! She was very intent on the story we read today, "The Kiss that Missed" (darling story of a King that is always in a rush and blew a kiss to his prince son at bedtime only to have it miss. Then the most brave knight has to go find and bring back the missed kiss for the prince. In the end, the king promises to do better at not always being in a rush). I couldn't help wondering how many stories were read to her while she was growing up... She was the hero during our game. Thank you, Inna!
My daughter, Jessica, made plans after preschool with Inna to walk to the lake with the dogs, come back for lunch and then hit the mall for the afternoon! She is the most awesome young lady to help these children that come and stay in our home to be comfortable and happy. Thank you, Jessi!
I wish we could post pictures, but we were asked not to for the safety of the children. We have some really cute ones, too. She is like my daughters - beautiful inside and outside!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Last night about 10:17 we got a call from a friend all excited that she saw us on the news. What?! We wanted to avoid the media, but, in the end, all our planning and strategy went down the drain. The link is being put in for our posterity, so no need to feel obligated to view it...
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12942257
Today was a good day. We all slept in, had a big brunch, enjoyed the rain and went to church. The afternoon was pretty lazy. Inna built a whole puzzle of Disney Princesses. After dinner, we went to the Save A Child meeting. This year all of the children seem to be so great. They were quiet and polite during meeting. What a good, good group of kids! During the ice cream part, we had Lucy, a translator, help us find out a bit about Inna. One of the things was that her favorite color is red and that the car rides don't make her sick (thank goodness!).
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12942257
Today was a good day. We all slept in, had a big brunch, enjoyed the rain and went to church. The afternoon was pretty lazy. Inna built a whole puzzle of Disney Princesses. After dinner, we went to the Save A Child meeting. This year all of the children seem to be so great. They were quiet and polite during meeting. What a good, good group of kids! During the ice cream part, we had Lucy, a translator, help us find out a bit about Inna. One of the things was that her favorite color is red and that the car rides don't make her sick (thank goodness!).
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Second post for today...Well, whether Inna likes to swim or not, she appeared to love the swimming activity. She was "encouraged" to go down the slide and after the first time down, that's all she did for the two hours. When the activity was over at 3:00 we were to meet at the playground/pavilion for shared snacks but it was starting to rain and since we had a time crunch with library and Roadshows still to do, we made the hard decision to zip home.
She had more of an appetite for dinner (thank goodness!). The Roadshows were, well, Roadshows - what more can I say? Wait, I can say this, it's nice to know that after all these years the caliber of Roadshows hasn't changed a bit! (Hee-Hee!) There were some that were boring and hard to understand even for us - poor, poor Inna! My family thinks she has more patience than Job!
We've decided to have our midnight snack, now, at 9:30 pm mainly because none of us think we'll be coherent enough later...
She had more of an appetite for dinner (thank goodness!). The Roadshows were, well, Roadshows - what more can I say? Wait, I can say this, it's nice to know that after all these years the caliber of Roadshows hasn't changed a bit! (Hee-Hee!) There were some that were boring and hard to understand even for us - poor, poor Inna! My family thinks she has more patience than Job!
We've decided to have our midnight snack, now, at 9:30 pm mainly because none of us think we'll be coherent enough later...
"They're he-e-re"! The children came last night. The Green and Blue groups were to have their children come about 10:30 pm and the Red and Yellow groups were to have their children come about 11:00 pm. Well, Red and Yellow came in about 20 minutes early while the Green and Blue were delayed almost an hour. They finally were assembled and came down the escalator with Red group first (that's us!), then Yellow group, followed by Green group, and last but not least, Blue group. How exciting it is and the air is just thick with energy! It has been mentioned before that the children in Ukraine are beautiful children. I think in the past I have been concentrating so hard on "our" child coming in, and also mixed with barrels of nerves, that I haven't taken the chance to look at them all. Last night, I was priviledged to stand back and watch more closely and it is so true, these children are beautiful! They are brave and strong, too - I don't think I would have their level of courage to do what they are doing.
Inna is no exception when it comes to beauty. She has striking eyes and a smile that touches your soul. She has long (almost to her waist) light brown hair that was braided from the face backwards in several rows ending down about the back of the head, and she is a bit taller than I expected. She was nervous, of course, but was very polite and relieved when we talked with a translator. It impressed me that with a tornado of feelings probably cascading through her, she displayed maturity and grace. Some of the tidbits of information we gleened through the translator were: she is tired, she has no food allergies, likes to eat pretty much anything - doesn't have a favorite or most hated food, she doesn't like to swim but kind of likes to play around in the water, she doesn't have a swimming suit, and she wasn't hungry at the time. She also commented to Carlin (one or our group leaders) while coming down the escalator that there were alot of people. She said "Wow" or something like that, several times standing by us. I hope she remembers that they were there in support and love for her and all the other children. She seemed near tears sad and lost stating that she came with friends but they were going to different places. Through the translator we said that she will see her friends often at the activities and that seemed to calm her a bit. When asked what she liked to do the most, she said drawing/painting/art. Hear that Dad? Do you think she would be your rival in winning First Place and Honorable mention ribbons at the Fairs every year like you?
My Mom and Dad came to the airport again this year. We love them and deeply appreciate their support even though it's late and crazyish. Thank you Mom and Dad!
We got home from the airport after midnight and Inna was still not hungry...all she wanted to do was shower and go to bed (way fine by me!!) She knew what shower gel was and giggled out loud with excitement when we gave her her own bottle along with her own bottle of shampoo and a soft body scrubby. Hopefully, she figured things out ok as the water went on and off and on and off many, many times over 45 minutes time. She heartily laughed when we gave the T-shirt type nightshirt with Mickey Mouse on it. She knew who he was. See, she will fit right in!
It is now 10:00 am and Paul and I are the only ones up (did you notice that I didn't say awake!) There has been a steady rain for about half an hour, now. The group is meeting about 1:00 pm to go swimming at the Murray Recreation Center and shortly after we're through there, Kenton needs to be to the Stake House for Roadshow performances tonight!
Inna is no exception when it comes to beauty. She has striking eyes and a smile that touches your soul. She has long (almost to her waist) light brown hair that was braided from the face backwards in several rows ending down about the back of the head, and she is a bit taller than I expected. She was nervous, of course, but was very polite and relieved when we talked with a translator. It impressed me that with a tornado of feelings probably cascading through her, she displayed maturity and grace. Some of the tidbits of information we gleened through the translator were: she is tired, she has no food allergies, likes to eat pretty much anything - doesn't have a favorite or most hated food, she doesn't like to swim but kind of likes to play around in the water, she doesn't have a swimming suit, and she wasn't hungry at the time. She also commented to Carlin (one or our group leaders) while coming down the escalator that there were alot of people. She said "Wow" or something like that, several times standing by us. I hope she remembers that they were there in support and love for her and all the other children. She seemed near tears sad and lost stating that she came with friends but they were going to different places. Through the translator we said that she will see her friends often at the activities and that seemed to calm her a bit. When asked what she liked to do the most, she said drawing/painting/art. Hear that Dad? Do you think she would be your rival in winning First Place and Honorable mention ribbons at the Fairs every year like you?
My Mom and Dad came to the airport again this year. We love them and deeply appreciate their support even though it's late and crazyish. Thank you Mom and Dad!
We got home from the airport after midnight and Inna was still not hungry...all she wanted to do was shower and go to bed (way fine by me!!) She knew what shower gel was and giggled out loud with excitement when we gave her her own bottle along with her own bottle of shampoo and a soft body scrubby. Hopefully, she figured things out ok as the water went on and off and on and off many, many times over 45 minutes time. She heartily laughed when we gave the T-shirt type nightshirt with Mickey Mouse on it. She knew who he was. See, she will fit right in!
It is now 10:00 am and Paul and I are the only ones up (did you notice that I didn't say awake!) There has been a steady rain for about half an hour, now. The group is meeting about 1:00 pm to go swimming at the Murray Recreation Center and shortly after we're through there, Kenton needs to be to the Stake House for Roadshow performances tonight!
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