Tuesday we spent doing some more paperwork and running around! That evening went walking with Yulia and took some pictures! She's so photogenic and beautiful!! Along with that beauty comes a respect for us! She's quite the silly girl, fitting in very much with our family, yet she has those moments of very being very serious!!
Wednesday was pretty much a lazy day around the house, filled with mostly media! I know, don't fuss at me, lol!! We had been running so much, it was kind of nice to have a chill out day! At home we don't stay busy and entertained all the time, so we thought this would be a good thing! Only difference is, at home we will have more things to do, other than tv or computer time! We realized that we do have a typical teenager, yet at other times she is so childlike!! I love it, and we are learning to cope with all different moods, lol! I'm not sure if cope is the right word, but we are slowly figuring it out!
I'm having to learn how to parent this sweet and smart teenager! I'm used to taking care of younger children, and I know how to meet their needs, this is like a whole different world for me!! Thank goodness for God's grace and mercy to grow us during this season! I've had my moments of "what are we doing", b/c I don't know what to do. But those moments are very quickly erased by her sweet presence! And of course, we wouldn't be where we are without Natasha to help us!!
Jarrod and Yulia have been bonding so well! They have so much in common, and it's sweet to see the daddy/daughter relationship grow! This was kind of hard at first to see, b/c I wasn't sure how I needed to fit in and bond! But God heard my prayers, and He began to grow Yulia's heart and mine together! She needs a mama and daddy, and I think we are slowly, very slowly becoming that to her. The trust and love each day grows. It's hard to explain exactly how this is happening, but I know it's God!! Right now in her heart we are Jarrod and Amy, and we know that God will keep working on her heart to become mom and dad! We refer to ourselves as Mama Amy and Papa Jarrod, and aren't pushing it. She is a very smart and independent girl, and we don't want to force anything on her! In time, God's perfect timing, we will be her parents to her!!
We are having so much fun with her right now, even doing the fun childlike things with her, like blowing bubbles in drinks (sssshhh, please don't tell my little children, lol), tickling each other, hiding to scare one another, etc, etc, etc! We are developing that friendship with her, which is good! I pray that as we grow in the friendship, that God will slowly start to grow that authority figure in both us and her! Now don't get me wrong, she respects us fully! We do want to be her friend, but more importantly we want to be her parents. The ones she can trust to come to with anything, without worrying about being judged or rejected. In fact, during evening devotionals the other night, we told her this! We tell her over and over that we love her!! We want to affirm her, and her to realize her worth and beauty to God, and to us!!
On Thursday, we made a quick visit to the orphanage, so she could give a couple of gifts to her supervisors, and send a gift to the camp to her friend! When we arrived, we were able to see sweet Zhenya, who is still looking for his forever family! It breaks my heart to think of any children not in a family. When you know them and have spent time with them, it makes it even harder. We were able to play some thumb war with him, and look at pics for a little bit, before heading back out!
When we got back to the city, we decided to go watch a movie, Ice Age 4 in 3D! It was rather amusing to be sitting there, understanding nothing that was being said on the screen, it was all in Ukrainian!! It was fun, and I enjoyed watching our sweet girl laugh and enjoy herself! There were times in the movie that we just knew what was happening, so we really enjoyed ourselves!! We went out to dinner after that, then back to the apartment for the evening! It was a very nice day!!
After going through the fortress, we headed down to the river! We've been warned about the river, how it can make you glow, lol! But our girl wanted to swim! When we got to the water, Yulia and Natasha were in first! Jarrod slowly just putting his feet in! After Yulia told me she saw a snake a few yards away, I decided I would just take pics, no swimming for me! After some sweet persuasion that I couldn't refuse, I got in!! We had fun splashing and playing, and growing even more close!! After playing for a bit, we got out to try to dry off some, no extra clothes for Jarrod or I, arg!! While watching the water, we kept seeing snakes, very very close to where we were swimming. Oh my, it was so cool to watch them swim in the water, pulling their heads up above the water, yet at the same time it was unbelievable about how close we actually were to them. I don't think I'll be swimming in the river again!
We came back to the apartment, played cards, had dinner, watched a cheerleader movie, lol! It has been a wonderful few days! Lots of little moments that have just confirmed over and over again that God is moving and doing some great things! Our evening devotionals have been sweet, and I pray that God is speaking to her heart during them!
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