A day I will never forget

Where should I start!! I guess I will just give you the boring blow by blow events of the day. First the big question Did I sleep? Yes and no! I slept for most of the night then was up a little bit then slept again.

Oh that is not the big question?? Okay fine I will give you the dirt the good stuff, the reason why I am here. Did I meet Little Banana??? Yes!!!! After the 3.5 hour drive to the orphanage we pulled up to a building that was made of concrete. I believe that the building was 2 stories with a basement. I will insert pictures when I get a chance of the orphanage. For pictures of Little Banana will have to wait a couple of months.

I walked into the building and was directed to the upstairs room. The room is a big open room with colorful flooring a bunch of little tiny chairs lined up along the wall. There were also a couple plants, a potted tree and a piano. Anna the coordinator can play the piano very well. I was directed to use the bathroom and as you all know when I am directed to do something I do it. Okay I really did have to go anyway. When I came out of the bathroom I got my first glimpse of Little Banana. The director of the orphanage is a MD and she was holding her.

We all walked up 2 flights of stairs back to the large open room. They put Little Banana on the floor to stand. Rather then standing she ran to me and grabbed my legs. I picked her up without a tear in her eyes. She looked me square in the eye and never took her eyes off of me for a couple of minutes. I sat in a chair with her on my lap at first then I stood her in front of me. The instant I put her down she climbed back into my arms and buried her head into my chest.

There may be a number of you reading this blog who may not understand that this is a very positive sign. She kept coming to me and seeking me out. This means that she is looking to attach to someone and she preferred me today. This may not always be the way especially if there are a number of months between trip 1 and trip 2.

After a couple of minutes she started to smile some. Her hair is cut very short about 1.5 inches long at the longest point. She walks well and has very good balance. I did not see any signs of rocking or banging her head which can be common in children who live in an orphanage. I stood her on my legs at one point and she started to jump some just like any other child.

I way over brought toys and snacks. She played with the cups that Auntie AM bought and carried them around. She liked the Mr.Potato head. I pulled out the pink book that I have with her pictures in it. She was very interested in looking at the pictures. I am not sure if she realized it was herself or not.

I got the chance to see her being fed and where she plays. In this orphanage not many people get to see all of these areas I have been told. I am very grateful that I was able to see and take some pictures.

I then got the chance to speak to the doctor about her medical condition and the social worker about why she is in the orphanage. There are many details that I will only be sharing with Gerard. I ask that at this time you all please repect our decision to not tell others about her past. I feel that this is something best kept to ourselves until she is ready to tell you herself. We will not keep her history from her but there are certain details that we will wait to tell her until she is old enough to understand.

Because the orphanage is such a distance from where I am staying and the road is very difficult to travel I will not be seeing Little Banana again. Of course this makes me very sad but please understand that I was prepared for this and I fully understand. Please do not be upset for me because if I am able to adopt Little Banana I will be able to spend as much time as possible with her.

Tomorrow I will go to the Ministry of Education to sign the paperwork to start the formal adoption process. I will post more about what that process is in another post in a day or so. I will leave for Moscow tomorrow night by plane.

Just so you all know when I left the orphanage the snow started to fall.