We have had a super week with Leanna and are so thankful! She is much more comfortable now…her cold is gone and her antibiotics seem to be healing up her rash. She has also come out of her quiet shell and is talking A LOT now. Praise God! I had a nice long talk with Katie yesterday and she gave me some great ideas about how to get Leanna talking a little more. We tried one of her ideas at dinner last night and WOW, that did the trick! Today we only used the translator a few times…Leanna understands a lot of what we say and she’s working more on talking with us. We went to the dollar theater tonight and she talked much of the way there. Jon had told her earlier in the week that he ordered an English program for her so she could learn faster. It finally came today…she’s been waiting and asking for it. We went shopping on Wednesday for her new bedding and a watch and this shopping experience went MUCH better than the first. She wasn’t afraid to tell me what she liked and didn’t like. She picked out a really cute bedding set and then we headed to the watch department. She wanted to try them on so we took a few up to the counter so the lady could take the watches out of the boxes for us. The clerk kept asking Leanna questions that I would have to rephrase and use motions. We finally found the right watch and when I went to pay for it the lady asked me if Leanna was hearing impaired. I said, “No, she’s Russian!” J
I do have some fun news to share. Leanna asked me today if she could get on Kontakte to put some pictures on from this week. I sat with her and she showed me pictures of her teachers and her friends, many who live here now and many who are here for the summer. She uploaded some of my pictures and then…I wasn’t quite sure what she was doing at first, but it didn’t take me long to figure it out. When I saw the word ‘matr’ and then she put my name I knew what she had done. Leanna listed me as her mother on Kontakte. So now on my page she is listed as my daughter. LOVE!!! On our way to the theater tonight Leanna was telling Jon about her day and then she nudged me and said something like, “you tell Jon what I did on Kontakte…you…my mother.” He already knew but I told him again so that she knew he knew. Then she leaned up from her seat and rested her head on my shoulder. She is very affectionate and likes to hold my hand when we go on walks or walk through the store or sit on the couch and watch TV. Even in the car. I LOVE THAT!!
She had also put a little picture on my Kontakte page and wrote I love you. She pointed to the I love you to make sure I saw it. Jon and I haven’t told her we love her yet but are DYING to! I guess we’re kind of waiting for that perfect moment. It’s a bit of a big deal. Please pray that God will provide that moment SOON and that we’ll know it when it comes. Jon and I have both been emotional this week…in a good way. Our hearts overflow with love for her and neither of us can imagine sending her back on August 1. After just a week she is truly part of the family and there will be a huge void when she is gone. Today she asked to see pictures of our extended family and was excited to learn that we all have cousins. Apparently Leanna has a cousin that lives in Germany but she’s never met her.
Anyway, another interesting tidbit that some of you will appreciate. When Leanna was here last winter she made it known to Katie and me that ‘homeschool is bad.’ She wasn’t afraid to share her opinion on that and it was a very strong one. Well tonight on our way home from the movie she said, “I want school.” She said she missed school and wanted it. She didn’t mention missing her friends…just school. She asked me if I like teaching to which I said yes. Jon asked her if she would like me to teach her and she nodded and said, “okay.” If I had not had my seatbelt on I think I would’ve fallen out of the van. Okay?! She said, “okay”?! Unbelievable! We’re not sure if she meant teach her for the summer (like I’m prepared for that!) or teach her English or homeschool…but who cares?! She said it was okay that I teach her. That is amazing, people!!
Oh, Leanna also showed Jon and I a video of the camp she was at before her travel here. It gave me the creeps and made Jon very uncomfortable. We had been told that camp was only 3 weeks long but Leanna said it’s ALL SUMMER…June, July and August. Praise the Lord that she is here with us and SAFE! Jon said all he could think when we watched the video was, ‘where are the adults?’ I counted 2 adults and they were with the younger kids. I hope she will not go back to camp for the rest of August when she returns, but who knows?
We’re looking forward to having Jon’s parents in this weekend and my mom will arrive on Tuesday to spend 5 days with us. Please pray that Leanna receives them well and that relationships will begin to build between them. I know the grandparents cannot wait to meet their new granddaughter. I’m not really sure what to expect from Leanna but I am glad that she’s mostly back to the Leanna we remember.
Okay, it’s late and now I’m rambling. J
Love,
Amy
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