Oh What A Night!

Slava slept through the night with much tossing and turning. I did not sleep through the night because everytime he moved I made sure I had a firm grip on him. He was wide awake at 6am and so were we! Missy made us kasha (oatmeal) for breakfast which was very good. Big Slava & Irina picked us up at 9:30am to go to the American Embassy while Missy & Jordan remained at the apartment for a much needed rest. It felt good to jump the line at the Embassy since we are Americans and had an appt we went right in. We were in and out in 15 minutes with no problem. We just have to go back tomorrow with our medical conclusion and we can pick up Slava's visa. After this trip to the embassy we took Slava to the American Medical Center (we appeared to be the only Americans there). He had a routine check-up since the orphanage took care of all the blood tests for us. They handed us a sealed envelope with the medical conclusion in it which we must give to the embassy. We were back in the apartment by 1pm. After lunch we tried to put Slava down for a nap (in the car he said he wanted one)! Again it took 2 hours and much restraining and he still did not sleep. He laid still for awhile, but never surrendered to sleep. I opted to accept this as enough and let him get up. Jordan suggested he take a "ko-pot-ee" bath because he smelled like the orphanage. Missy asked Slava if he'd take a bath and he gladly said "da" yes. Presently both boys are playing in the tub under Missy's watchful eye. I wasn't so sure we'd need Missy since we're only adopting one child, but Wayne really felt she'd be helpful. Not that I didn't want her to come, I just thought we'd do fine. But she is worth her weight in gold and has earned her traveling expenses and then some! She communicates well with him and can tell us what he is saying most of the time. And I confess, it takes all 3 of us adults to keep up with this 5 year old!

When he's up he's a very busy boy. He can get out of hand, so we've been using time-outs. I'm not thinking spanking will be a good option with him because when we're trying to get him to sleep he hits himself. This is why we've had to restrain him. I know that often orphanages will give children something to help them sleep for naps during the day and at night. I don't know if that was the case with Slava, but I'm wondering if he's used to having something to help him sleep since he cannot seem to settle down on his own. Like I said when he's up, even though he's busy, he is cute and funny. It's just trying to get him to sleep. I have a little something up my sleeve for tonight. We all really need a good nights sleep since we will be leaving the apartment at 2am on Thursday morning (7pm Wed your time) to head to the airport. We are so thankful to finally be coming home, but we are not looking forward to traveling with this child.

So please continue to pray for us. We really need God's wisdom and grace in dealing with Slava. When he's awake he's very much like Jordan was, full of energy and into everything. But Jordan was 3 and Slava is 5. Jordan didn't present as aggressive. We never had to restrain him to get him to sleep. But it's only the 2nd day. And we are praying for him and asking God to help us. Please continue to pray for him and us too. And pray for our flight home too. We thank you all and love you all very much. Slava is out of the tub and on the loose, so I must go!