Maps102_Day17

The weather is testing our patience by freezing all the slush into long sheets of ice along our path to the orphanage. Each step is a challenge, especially if there is any incline, as I take one step forward and then slide back a few steps wondering if I'll keep my balance. David is much more nimble and so sometimes I leave early and he catches up to me:) I feel so feeble as I walk with caution but today felt better when a cadre of Russian military walked briskly past and I saw at least one young soldier with his boots sliding out from under him quite unceremoniously.

At the orphanage we had another splendid afternoon! When we arrived the girls were entertaining themselves with some handiwork, including making a dress for one of their dolls, complete with designer embellishments worthy of the runway. After a bit we decided to change the subject, and David brought out his world map (with the countries in Russian). The girls have a good grasp of the 8-10 cities we have already marked (with some valentine stickers I brought for art projects, cut into tiny circles)on the map, and so they needed some additional challenges today. We started to teach them not only the cities, but also the concept of state, as in Cincinnati, Ohio, as well as U.S.A. It was so fun to see their amazement that they had learned six states so far but that there were 50 total!! And then to explain to them about the 50 stars on the U.S. flag, because there are 50 states. They seemed to love it. We don't have the language to explain the stripes yet...so that will have to wait:)

It was also so touching to see their excitement when we explained that in Chico, CA there were two grandmothers, one grandfather and an aunt and an uncle. We continued in this vein with city after city and their glee increased exponentially as the count of "family" continued to go up!! It seems that they feel they have won the jack-pot to have so much family that they can call their own.

Thanks again for all the loving comments and support. It is the highlight of our day to read them and we treasure them all!