Scott, please

Well we heard from our wonderful facilitator this morning that Artur signed his paperwork this morning stating that he did indeed want to join our family.  So that gave me and Scott a smile knowing he hadn't changed his mind!  We woke up with one mission.... to find a basketball.  We looked at the 2 malls, one of which was HUGE but sold only clothes and underwear, no basketballs.  We found out that the market would be the place to look but it is closed on Mondays.  So our facilitator took us by her house in the taxi so we could borrow hers. (She has 2 little kids the same age as Taylor and Molly.) We signed some more paperwork at a notary office, and realize how much we don't know about what is to come on the legal side of this process.  We are relying on our facilitators so much and they are very trustworthy.

We arrived at the orphanage (here, it is actually called an Internot, meaning a place that gives children boarding and school), and this time Artur was waiting for us with his group of friends ready to play basketball.  He first greeted Taylor with his hands rubbing Taylor's shoulders, and then the rest of us, and we headed quickly to the courts.  I was pleased to see them passing to each other, helping each other, and not pushing or making sloppy unfair fouls.  The taller boys didn't pick on the shorter ones.  They all connected.  it's amazing that sports can cross cultural boundaries, and it was a joy to watch these young men smiling and playing ball.  Artur would say, "swish Scott," meaning shoot it.  He told Taylor to come see me while they played, which you know Taylor didn't really like.  But it was a teachable moment for Taylor to wait and let these big boys really play for a while, since they don't get to do this.  They were having so much fun.  Then of course Taylor got to shoot it a few times, and the other boys would pick him up above their heads to help him get closer to the goal.  I will post pictures of this scene and some of the cute other kids we met.

Molly, once again was so content just watching and being there.  She looked at all the dogs lying around, some of which would come up and smell her animal crackers with wagging tails.  She has a very independent, self-entertaining side to her which is a blessing.  She was off to the side playing in some leaves, and I ran towards her to bring her back closer to us.  And with that she thought it was a game and started her cute toddler run in the opposite direction, letting out a belly laugh.  And immediately, it brought me to tears seeing so many kids in this place who haven't had parents to chase and play ball with them. Her laugh like that almost felt out of place.

We have noticed this past week that Ukrainians are pretty quiet. You can almost hear a pin drop in some places. We are constantly hushing Taylor and Molly, and Taylor asks why? and he's thinking what am I doing now that is different than how I've always done it?  Banging my car on the table at a restaurant, or screaming in laughter in the park, or Molly's loud cry. Artur has already told Molly to be quiet, and another Ukrainian girl (7 years old) whom we met today told Taylor he was too loud.. that he might scare Molly!  haha.  We are trying to be more quiet and unnoticed, but so far we are not blending very well!

So as we left, Artur said to us, "You come yesterday.  yesterday."
This was not a question but a statement and a plea.
Scott said,  "You mean tomorrow?"
"Yes, tomorrow. Scott, please."
"Yes, (smile), we'll be here."