Day 23 – Passport Pictures

This is the post for Monday, January 10, 2011

Today started as a typical day for Andrei, and we had our "usual" visit.

These are pictures of Ayna, the psychologist, and Andre before we left on our little adventure. She is amazing with the kids! She has worked with Andrei since he was 7 months old and was told that he had no hope of talking, moving, or any mental ability. I am so glad that she saw the spark in his eye, and it is thanks to her hard work and his determination to succeed that he has made such incredible progress. She has a son with CP who has the same name and was instantly connected to Andrei.  Ayna has been Andrei’s parental figure for a long time, and it will be hard for both of them to be apart when we leave. We are forever grateful to her for seeing the hope and determination in Andrei and giving him a chance to succeed in life.  Thank you God for placing Ayna in Andrei's life!

Besides our usual visit, today we went on our first outing with Andrei to get his passport pictures. Little did Andrei know when we arrived that he would get out of the orphanage for a short hour.

These are picture of his shocked face. I think Randell’s face looks a little freaked out also. : )

He did a great job at the passport photo place, and we were done quickly. On our way back we gave him a sucker. He had never had one before and was not sure what to do with it at first. We had to show him what to do.

I can’t wait to see the world through his eyes for the first time!

Side Notes: 
Our internet here at Kherson has not been the best.  I hope to catch up on my Day 24 post when we arrive in Kiev.  On Day 24 we went to Andrei's birth place and had some passport issues that God resolved. 

Today, Day 25, we will go get the passport, take Andrei's goverment money out of the bank and donate it to the orphanage, pick-up Andrei, and get on the train for Kiev.

Tomorrow, Day 26, we will have our embassy appointment. I will try to catch up on my blogging then. : )


Madison, we LOVE you! We can’t wait to see you!