MA-sha Mama

Today we had another nice day. The children were once again being dressed to go outside when I arrived. I helped one sweet little boy put his scarf on, and then Maria and I were on our way. She is becoming a little protective of her Mama. When the other children come over she pushes them away and makes her little sound “aaaa” at them. I am helping her to understand not to push and to be gentle. Today all I heard over and over outside was the nya nya’s saying “Masha Mama, Ni, Masha Mama, Masha Mama,” which simply means Masha’s mama, no, Masha’s mama (and the stress is on the MA in Masha). As the children see me they call me mama, and some run up to me, as I have described before. But the nya nya’s keep telling them no, it’s Masha’s mama.

Tomorrow Marina is picking me up at 9:00AM (2AM EST). We will pick up the court papers, then the birth certificate, and then go to the orphanage to get Maria. I have an outfit picked out for her all ready to go, plus her new coat, mittens and hat. I have learned here a lot about undergarments, and I have a new appreciation for them. The Ukrainians love undergarments. I have a pair of tights I am bringing also just in case they say she is not dressed warm enough. They dress the children in many layers here. I will say the tights are awesome, so much so that I have bought 3 pairs for Donatella. You can see from the picture below how nicely they are made to fit the body, especially the hips and waist. I estimate to be at the orphanage around 10AM. It will be at this time that I present the gifts I have bought the nya nya’s, and read the letter to them from my family. Please keep me and Maria in your prayers.





Just something funny to note: I keep meaning to journal this… when we were at the SDA waiting outside to be called in, it was cold out - we all had winter coats. The kids were very active and Donatella asked if she could take her coat off because she was getting warm, and I said sure. The sun was coming out and it was warming up, and at home our kids are out in the winter barefoot on the sidewalk, and they don’t get sick, praise God! Any way, about 10 minutes later we were called in to the SDA. After the appt was over, we went outside and met the Sensibas who were waiting to go in next. I wanted to talk with Amy, however Serge said that the ladies inside are upset that Donatella does not have a coat on. I thought he was kidding - but he was serious and said we had to leave because everyone is getting upset. He later told us that what the ladies actually said was, “Who is this little girl that is outside naked?! Why isn’t she dressed?! Where is her coat?!” I had no idea how much that upset them. But then when we met Maria and we see how many layers she has on each day for just being inside, I understand and respect it. We all, however, did have a chuckle over it when Serge told us. That is why I am bringing an extra pair of tights tomorrow for Maria.