Back in Yalta again

Again, sorry for the delay in posting. We just can not seem to get any access or time to post on the internet while we are Kerch.

We spent a few days with Vica- she is just the sweetest little girl. Even though she is almost 7 she just wants to sit on my lap and be cuddled like a baby. Natasha is the same way, but at 3, that's more expected. I am not complaining one bit. We've all got A LOT of making up for lost time and I've got more than enough love and snuggling for my babies to go around!

I'd just like to clarify something here in the blog because there seems to be some confusion about which girl is who.

Victoria Daria is our 6 year old. For those of you who got the pictures, she's the one who looks EXACTLY like Matt with dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes. She is very bright and compassionate. Whenever we are visiting her, the other kids find lots of "excuses" to get into the room where we are. There is one little girl there who she is very good friends with and she made a point of calling her over to share the chips I brought her. She also wanted her little friend to sit with us and was very happy when we took a picture of both of them together. Vica doesn't want me getting "too" close to the other kids, but she seems aware of the fact that these other kids have less than she does and wants to share the wealth. Needless to say, I'm one very proud Mama. She is also very gentle and affectionate with the orphanage's pet dog. He's sixteen years old and sooooooooooo slow- my heart breaks for him. She's always petting him gently and speaking to him in a loving, soothing tone. What a shock she's in for when she meets Queen Sophia !!!!!

Natalia (Natasha) Anastacia is our blonde haired, blued eyed 3 year old cutie pie. SHE is a piece of work and will be the certain death of me. VERY opinionated and likes to wag her finger at you while going NO NO NO!!!! She doesn't do that to me, but my Dad and Matt get more than the fair share of scolding from her. It's cute, for now...... Her orphanage also has a very old dog that lives there, so she's at least used to being around animals. I'm sure her take on Sophia will be quite amusing when we get home! She absolutely LOVES to color and draw, play with Play-dough and blow bubbles- typical 3 year old fun stuff.

While we've been killing time, I've had fun shopping for the girls in the open market. Still need to get them a few more things, but have done pretty well. The prices here are great and well, shopping soothes me (wink, wink)

I've got absolutely no idea how to post pictures here, so if you'd like me to send you one of the girls, e-mail me privately and I'll send them out.

We're doing alright, just homesick. You know things are boring when you get excited to catch the BBC news on TV every day. I know exactly what time it's on every day. For real mental stimulation there are always the 10 year old re-runs of America's Funniest Home Videos- please...... I almost cried tears of joy when I realized today that I had packed two more books than I originally thought I had. What I wouldn't do for a People magazine- even one without George Clooney on the cover :)

So, you're probably wondering when we're coming home- good question! Unfortunately everything is shutting down for the Chrismas holidays here next week which is when our mandatory 10 day waiting period is over. So, we lose the entire week just killing time. Our translator has gone back to Kyiv until Jan 8th. From there, we will go to Kerch to do the new birth certificate and spring Vica from the orphanage. Then we will hit the road and if we get there with enough time, start the passport process in Simferopol. The next day we will get Natasha and both girls will be reunited for the first time in almost two years. I can't even begin to explain the emotions I'm feeling about that. We'll be sure to get it on video. When we last visited Vica she asked about her sister in Yalta- I think she wanted to make sure we were taking her home too. It will take a couple of days to get the passports, then we head back to Kyiv for the girls medical exams and to get their visas to travel home. We've already made good use of the down time by re-booking our flights (NOT an easy thing to do here) and getting tickets for the girls, so at least that's off our minds.

New Year's Eve is a huge celebration here in Yalta. We'll all be going out to a really nice restaurant for dinner. We are just blocks from the Black Sea and the waterfront area is really beautiful- full of nice shops and places to eat, a complete departure from Kerch. Then Dad will be heading back to the US on Jan 2nd. Hopefully on Jan 3rd he'll be mailing us a care package from home!! Mom will stay here to give us a hand with the girls, and that's about everything.

PLEASE keep the comments and e-mails coming, they are our life line here!

Please e-mail me at lisasicilian@yahoo.com if you want me to send you a picture of the girls.

Love,
Lisa