Day 1

And now...back to regularly scheduled programming! This is the email I had sent out at the end of Leanna's first full day with us...

June 26, 2010

And I promise not to send updates every day!

We started off the day with pancakes, eggs and bacon, all of which Leanna ate. Then Leanna tried on all the clothes that I’ve been collecting over the past few months. After that us girls set off to go shopping for the necessities. I’m so glad that’s over with. I didn’t struggle with the language barrier so much as the shrugging of the shoulders. She wouldn’t tell me what she liked and didn’t like. That made it a little difficult and frustrating. Oh well. It’s done and I’m thankful!

We came home and had lunch and then the girls played the WII for a little bit while Jon and the boys played a Star Wars game. Then it was dinner time. Her spunk hasn’t quite caught up with her yet but it could be a combination of the jet-lag and her cold. Maybe she’ll return to herself at the New Horizons welcome party tomorrow afternoon. We’ll see.

After dinner we all sat on the couch with the laptop and online translator. She said that 9 children from her orphanage came to America. 4 to Atlanta and 5 to Washington D.C. Jon told her we ordered an English program to help her learn a little quicker. And he kept trying to use Russian words with her. She asked him why he was learning Russian and he said, ‘why not?’ She asked again and he looked at me and said, ‘should we just tell her?’ And so it began. He used the translator to tell Leanna that we want her to come live with us and be part of our family. He asked her if she would like that. She smiled and nodded. I got the feeling she was excited but trying not to show it. Or maybe she didn’t know how to show it. She still doesn’t know us very well. She just kept looking at Jacob and smiling real big. Her demeanor changed a bit after that and she seemed to relax a little more. She came and sat by me and rested her head on my shoulder. Then she took the laptop and started typing on the translator. She asked me why I have not been on Kontakte (the Russian Facebook). I told her I check on her every day but she was away at camp for a long time. She typed something like ‘you did not contact me.’ I asked when. She typed ’24.’ She said I had not contacted her in 24 days and wanted to know why. It was all I could do to hold back the tears. It was killing me not being able to be in touch with her while she was at camp. But I had no idea she was keeping track of when and how often I write to her. I really hadn’t been counting days. She was. If only she knew that she is a constant thought on my mind…

After that, we hit her with the Evans Household rules, which we should’ve done before we mentioned that we want her to come be a part of our family. J Her demeanor changed again after that and she seemed…sad…or something. I think part of it was that we told her that in the New Horizons rules she’s not allowed to be on Kontakte while she’s here. I’m sure that will be hard for her. All her friends are on there. I’m thinking now that we may go ahead and let her get on once or twice a week…I mean, how would we feel if we were in a strange country, away from our home, family and friends? We would want to be in touch somehow! And it’s not really a rule…more of a piece of advice.

Anyway, when she said good-night to us, she seemed very sad. I asked her if she was okay and she nodded. But her eyes looked a little teary. I hope she’s not crying herself to sleep. Please say a prayer of comfort for her. And pray for healing of her cold. I can hear her in there coughing away…

Thank you, friends.

Amy