Brian & Tami arrived in Mariupol today.

Today was another good day in Mariupol, beautiful sunny and about 70 degrees. We had to leave the apartment today from 9am-2pm because Ludmilla has a cleaning lady who comes each Friday. We woke up late so after showering and rushing to get ready we had not time for coffee before she arrived. We walked to the little coffee shop down the street, and had just sat down to order when in walks Brian & Tami. They had just arrived in Mariupol and Nadiya sent them with the driver to get coffee because the regional director was in a meeting when they arrived, so she would just wait and call when they were ready for them. So this was a great surprise for us, we really enjoyed being able to talk and spend time with friends. After the coffee, Nadiya called and said it was going to be longer so we walked a bit further to a restaurant to get some breakfast, the coffee shop has no food. After this Nadiya and the driver came to take Brian and Tami to the orphanage to meet with Ludmilla and to see Nastiya. Matt & I decided to walk to the orphanage, this was a bad choice, or should I say my shoes were a bad choice. I had not worn these here yet, but they are fine and comfortable back home. The walk to the orphanage is all at a downward slant, so I was always slipping forward in the shoes, and half way there I developed a blister and had to stop and put band aids on it. Matt was not too happy with me at this point, and wants to go shoe shopping for more practical shoes! When we arrived at the orphanage, I heard our girls(Anya & Lyena) on the landing of the stairs. So I went on up to say hello, they were hanging up a poster they made for "Teacher day" and Anya asked if we could go and buy flowers for all their teachers. We said of course, and she did this "happy dance". Turns out we were having a party and Nadiya was informed that we would pay for this party. So she went to get cakes, coffee & juice while we went to get the flowers and stop by the apartment for more practical shoes. By this time the cleaning lady is almost done so we wait for a while longer so we can get the key before heading back to the orphanage. When we arrive back at the orphanage Brain & Tami are saying goodbye to Nastiya for they need to go do more paperwork and check into their apartment. And good news Nadiya has gotten permission for them to take Nastiya from the orphanage tomorrow and come with us to Extreme Park, we are so excited because they normally would not let a child so young leave the grounds. Before they leave we ask Nadiya about this party, and when it will happen, and she says now I guess. We are now upset, the party we are paying for and we are not invited? This did not last long, Anya asked us if we wanted to go up with her group, and we are excited because normally they like us to visit outside, and never upstairs. So we go up to the sitting area and visit with Lyena and Genya for a while. Genya shows us her photo album, turns out she went to Utah in August on a hosting program, and seems this family will be coming to adopt her sometime in the upcoming year. Matt is so excited to know this, as he has really fallen for this one. She is a great girl. We also talk more to Lyena, and turns out she went to Indiana in August and stayed with Masha's family Christine and Mark Niles, they adopted the friend Masha two summers ago. Lyena is not sure if they want to come for her, and wants me to ask Ludmilla about this. She wants to come to Colorado with Anya but also to Indiana with Masha. She does understand her documents are not ready until November of next year. We also learned some more about her little sister, not everything because all these conversations took place with no interpreter and with the help of little English by Anya, Genya & Lyena and even less Russian by Matt & I and translation dictionaries and hand signals. We saw a picture of the sister who is named Vika and is 6 years old, she is only half sisiter same mother different father and she now lives with the grandfather. She is sick we are told but still don't know how sick. It seems to me the grandfather can only afford to take care of one of the girls so he choose the one you was ill and needed him most. We are told she left two years ago, and she has not seen her or the grandfather since, this is why Ukraine would most likely agree to separate them by adoption of only one of them. Lyena told us she loves Vika, and got tears in her eyes as she talked of her, so not sure separating them further is best? She also told us of her Love for Jesus, and showed us her framed photo of Jesus. She talked a lot about her Grandmother and the church she goes to and Jesus. As we are sitting here talking one of the other girls brings us a plate full of the cake, and this is our invite to "the party" Yes! We are invited into the girls room and sit at Lyena and Genya's desk/table. We are given the coffee, black, luckily I have sugar and creamer packets in my bag, not enough to make it good, but better than nothing. And this is the party. The children are doing homework at this point and smiling and looking at us. Then I remember I have the balloon animal kit in my bag, I figure party needs balloons. Homework is done, and one by one they all end up at the table with us pumping up balloons, trying to blow up balloons, popping balloons, fighting for the pumps to the balloons and all kinds of chaos has broken out. This whole time Nastiya(Matthews) is very close by my side trying to communicate with me about Mama Joyce, she shows me the Teddy Bear we had Anya give to her and cards from Dan & Joyce, and gives me three bracelets to give to Joyce, and she asks me to have them write. We were told yesterday by Valentin and Nadiya not to get involved with the whole mess and that nothing had changed with Nastiya and that her mother was trying to do this right and get her back with her. I am not sure what to think, it feels like to me Nastiya has no idea why the Matthews have not come for her and she obviously wants to be with them, please everyone keep this situation in your prayers! So at one point Natasha the Vice Director walks in and has had enough of "the Party" and does not want anymore balloons popping! She asks Anya to kindly take her mama & Papa outside! At this point Nastiya(Matthews) is so funny she is motioning to me like crazy, and very worried that I need to leave, if only I could understand what this director had said, but from the look on Nastiya's face it was not good, Anya just shrugs and tells me" it's OK" she always says it is OK! So we go outside for a while, and wait for Ludmilla to get out of her meeting, she is the last one Anya needs to give her flowers too before we can leave. 10 minutes later Anya, Lyena & I are outside Ludmilla's office(Matt was listening he stayed outside) waiting to give her these flowers, and in the office across the hall is Nastiya (Fields) with her grandparents, they are signing the papers allowing the Fields to adopt her. Nastiya loves her Grandma you can tell this by watching her. Finally Ludmilla comes out and we give her these flowers, Anya makes a long speech first, then Ludmilla makes a long speech, then hugs for Anya and then hugs for Lyena, and more speeches by Ludmilla and more photos, and finally the "Spa-see-ba"(Thank you) to me and we can go now. Matt, Anya & I walk back to the apartment and hang out for short while, Anya and Matt load her photos on the computer and play around with Google Earth, she likes that we can zoom in on our house. They follow the flight path we will take on the way home and this kind of thing, it is good fun for them. Then we are hungry and call Brian & Tami we all meet up for pizza, Nadiya joins us a little bit into the meal as she has been working on the documents for the Fields. Dinner was a good time, Anya ate everything in site. This is the most we have seen her eat ever, then discover maybe today she skipped lunch! We had originally told her that we would come at 10:00, then when the Fields showed up this changed, and we ended up having this late breakfast with them. Every time we picked up we had taken her to eat, when she was not all the hungry because she ate at the orphanage, so she must have decided to not eat and then we did not show up and leave with her until long after lunch, poor thing! Anyway she made up for it at the pizza place, she ate four different salads/vegetable dishes, pizza, Borsch, bread, & lasagna. Then she was a happy girl! That is all for today, more tomorrow. I added more pictures. Love to you all, Aimee