Day 20, Monday Apologies for not posting yesterday, Citymax must have been having issues...we were unable to do anything. Mondays are always the hardest. We seem to miss our wonderful life in Murrville, family and friends the most on Mondays. All three of us have a hard time getting up, school is hard in the mornings,  and we just have to put out extra effort to stay positive. Once we get through the day though, we are pretty good for the week. So thanks for the emails and postings, they really do help us to feel connected. Today at the boarding school, we started with our usual card games. Lily (Luba) surprised us by learning some numbers in English and used them several times. We suspect that she has learned more than she lets on. She doesn't like to make mistakes, so she keeps it to herself until she is sure that it is correct.  After the card games, the girls entertained themselves with coloring and drawing. Luda also brought a stuffed rabbit that we bought for Luba last week. She really loves the fuzzy little creature and it brings big smiles. Our coordinator was unable to find out the day for our pre-court appearance. She did find out the name of our judge and that she is one of the most strict. So say a prayer for us! Hopefully, since we are adopting an older child, perhaps we won't have too much trouble from this judge.

Day 21, Tuesday The sun rose to a clear sky this morning, reflecting very brightly off of the ice that surrounds our world. The temperature was colder today, but a lot of the snow has melted, even revealing grass in places. Although we have visited Kazakhstan twice, we have never seen grass...it was a bit of an odd sight. Our visit to the boarding school was similar to others, and we began with our customary card games. After everyone took a turn at shuffling and dealing, we moved to drawing and coloring again. The girls decided to abandon the coloring book and branch out to creating their own illustrations. They created sea creatures, snow scenes, and other manifestations of their imaginations. Lily (Luba) did follow her older sister's lead, copying some of the themes of Luda's drawings--but altering a bit. Although we were supposed to find out our court date, the judge had a busy day and was unable to look at our dossier and therefore was unable to give us a pre-court date. Fingers are crossed that tomorrow will reveal that mysterious information. We went to dinner tonight at the Russian Pub with Michael Lietke from Wisconsin & his son Andrew, adopted from Rudny. Drew is an adorable 26 month old who decided that he really liked Luda. He won us all over with is luminous brown eyes and charming smile. His father works for Harley Davidson in Milwaukee, WI and is a wonderful conversationalist. We had a great time at dinner and hope to visit again before they leave Kostanai.

Day 22, Wednesday After chewing our nails for three days, we found out today that our pre-court date is Wednesday, February 7 at 9:30 am, one week from today. Hopefully, court will be within one week of pre-court. We will have to go to Almaty for some additional paperwork and are uncertain at this if we will go in between court dates or after the second. We will keep you posted... Luda was invited to go ice skating today with our American friends, Robin, Corey and Hayden. First, they went to lunch in a renovated school bus that doubles as a grill. She reported that the hamburger was good, but the fries were great. Upon arriving at the ice arena, they found it to be closed because of hockey practice. So they improvised--Luda and Hayden proceeded to slide around the parking lot, which was apparently a sheet of ice.  She arrived back at the hotel room a little dirtier but happier for being able to get out of the room and have a little fun. Luba(Lily) met us at the boarding school with hugs and kisses to spare before she escorted us to one of the classrooms for our visit. We started with our card games. After we finished, the girls rooted through Luda's backpack and pulled out modeling clay, playdoh, coloring book and some more etch pads that were given to us by Robin & Corey. When their attention began to drift, Kevin pulled out the video camera and they began to watch video footage of Luda, just months after she arrived in America. Lily (Luba) was as delighted at this as Luda was embarassed. :)  It was indeed amazing to see how much Luda has grown, how her voice has gotten deeper and her speech more even. We watched her first Christmas, an "instructional" video on the basic ballet positions and a performance of one of Hillary Duff's hits. Since Luda spent part of the morning out and about, the day ended with school back at the hotel room. Luda REALLY misses her teachers and friends at Sam Houston...and thanks to Mrs. Weston and her class for the messages!

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