Day 9 of the 10 day wait...

One more day left without Vera!!! I can't believe how close it is now. You will have to excuse my appearance above. I just couldn't find the energy to put on my makeup today! But, the picture of Vera was too cute not to put on the blog.

Ryan had a horrible night of sleep. He woke up around 2 AM and was never able to go back to sleep! It seems to be every other night for him, so hopefully he will get a good night of sleep tonight. He is going to take some Tylenol PM since we don't have to get up for anything tomorrow. Kiara and I got about 8 hours of sleep, but for some reason I am really worn out today. I am tired and my body aches, especially my thighs and feet. I was in pretty decent shape when we got here from doing so much step aerobics the last few months, so I am surprised I feel it in my thighs. So, needless to say, it hasn't been one of our best days here since we are both very tired and worn out.

Today we made our last trek to the orphanage. The trip to the orphanage was great because there are so fewer people out on a Sunday morning. It also seemed to be the coldest it has been, so I am glad we are done doing so much walking. I am just very grateful that it never rained on any of the days we went to the orphanage. I can't imagine making that journey soaking wet! I guess the Lord knows how much I can handle because I don't think I could have handled that!

We got to the orphanage nice and early today since they came and got her so early yesterday. So, they brought her down to us at about 12:15 PM. She had the orange outfit on again and she had 4 layers of clothes on today! I can't wait to dress her in her new clothes, the girl won't know what to do with only 1 or 2 layers on. She cried just the tiniest bit when they handed her over. We gave her a sippy cup with water in it today. She wan't too sure what to do at first, but she got the hang of it. I think it surprised her when she got some water out of it. She really didn't want anyone to help her with it, so I think we have a stubborn one on our hands.

Kiara wanted me to put this picture on the blog that she took. It is her animal friends that she plays with when we are in the orange room at the orphanage.

After awhile, it was kind of hard to keep her happy. I think she wanted to be down and crawl, but she would pick stuff off of the dirty rug and try to put it in her mouth. She would have been fine crawling on the wood like floor, but I didn't want to get in "trouble" again for having her on that floor. I think she was getting tired and I think we are all just bored with that room and have run out of things to do in there. So, I guess that gave me a good taste of what it could be like starting Tuesday!

They came to get her 5 minutes earlier than they did yesterday, so I was glad we had gotten there early. She was sooooo happy to see her caretaker! I think she was done with us for the day, and to be honest, I was glad it was time for her to go back to her room. There is only so much you can do to keep a 1 year old happy in a small room. We aren't going to the orphanage tomorrow so that we can rest up before Tuesday when we go to get her. So, that last visit will make it a little easier not seeing her tomorrow. It will be so much better when we have more options to keep her happy!

Before they brought Vera down, one lady was trying to talk to us. We think she was asking when are we taking Vera home. At first, I thought she was asking if it was cold out today because she would cross her arms in front of her like she was cold. But, I think she was asking when we were taking her out of the orphanage.

We stopped at My My(pronounced Moo Moo) to eat on our way home. It is kind of like a Russian cafeteria, where you take your tray and point at what you want. Kiara had been looking forward to going here. She had seen the cow that they have out front and seen other chidren with balloons from there. We were a little worried if she would be able to find something she liked to eat since it is all Russian food. But, it turned out pretty well. She got a BBQ chicken kabob and ate some of the potatoes Ryan and I had gotten. I also found an English menu, so that is nice to have. I wish I had found that on the first trip.

So, Ryan turned in for the night at about 6:30 PM, hopefully he will sleep through the night. Kiara and I are trying to be quiet, so hopefully we won't wake him up. I am hoping we all sleep until noon tomorrow.

My mom's side of the family is getting together for Christmas this afternoon. We are sad that we aren't there. I am sure everyone will have a great time. Merry Christmas!