Stinky the Magician......

Well, if the surreal doesn't get any worse, here's today's trip into the twilight zone that Yalta has become. Lisa and I perform the daily ritual of seeing Natasha in the morning. Promptly at 10:30 we head upstairs to collect the pie-eyed psycho. Quick digression here...Lisa and I always talked about which kind of kid we thought we should look for at the orphanage (not that we actually had a choice). But we always joked that we should wind up with the most pie=eyed nut they had to offer. Note how I say joked about it. Well, the joke is on us. Natasha is a piece of work. She makes the most insane faces, gets pissed off when we don't understand what she is saying and makes no bones about it. Actually, we do know what she is saying but we play dumb until she gets so exasperated that she puts her face right in ours and chastises us in Russian. Most of the time I just nod my head and speak calmly to her like we both know what each other is saying. Surprisingly, she gets it. I'm learning more Russian phrases from her than she is learning English. We're getting her to connect the idea of please, thank you and you're welcome.

Back to today's visit....we show up and they have a magic show taking place. Little tots 2 and under on one side of the room and older kids on opposite side. Chuck Barris would have not only gonged this guy, he, the unknown comic and jamie farr would have beaten him into a pulp. He was performing "tricks" that no adult would want to see, nevermind 22 raging toddlers. The little guys were so bored they were actually pounding each other and throwing each other onto the floor...It was outrageous. Natasha saw us and was trying to bolt from her seat, the magician was performing card tricks and the steel rings thing, he went as far as to have one of the orphanage women pull an item from his magic bag that for all intents and purposes, was empty.
What does she pull out? rubber chicken...NO a rabbit...NO a dove....NO......she pulls out a dirty, dingy bra. This is what Presto the magician had in his magic bag. By the time he got to his juggling act, they told him to cut the show...the kids were raging. Except for the "hedgehog".

The hedgehog is one of the newest arrivals..been there only 2 1/2 weeks. He's not even 2 yet.
He arrived right before the big Christmas show and they dressed him as a hedgehog for the show...hence, he is now known as the hedgehog. I will be starting a cult trend when I get home with T-shirts that will read "Free the Hedgehog." Hedgehog was just chilling in his chair watching the mayhem.

Today was actually a big day...the next visit to Natasha's orphanage will be next week, when we take her out for good. Today was our last "visit". Hopefully by next Wednesday, barring any paperwork delays, we will take her with us for good. We're heading to Kerch tomorrow, Monday,
to see Vika, and by Tuesday afternoon she will be ours for good. It's going to be sad for the girls;they'll be leaving everything they have know for the past 2 years...friends, caretakers, familiar surroundings, and find a whole new life. For the better, yes, but still so strange for them.
The biggest day will be when Vika and Natasha are reunited as sisters. I'll be able to capture it on video with my camera...should make for quite a memory one day.

This will be the last post for a few days. No Internet access in Kerch. Besides, the next few days are "business" days. When this round of dust settles, we'll be back in Yalta to update. Hopefully by Wednesday afternoon or evening. Pray for us and this round of paperwork!!!

Talk to everyone soon!!!!

Go Giants...Go Jets.....poor Romo and Dallas. Scott Norwood gets a break now?