Because we care...

So for the last few days it has been cold and snowing ... We for the most part are just trying to ignore the fact.. We put on a couple blankets and pretend we are warm... I looked across at Emma last night as she was sitting writing, and she was shivering... we then got a call inviting us over for hot chocolate at Lynn and Ruby's apartment... When we got there we found that they had just given in and bought a space heater... it was so nice ... within about 5 minutes, Aiperi had fallen asleep in front of it... Well Mr cheep just gave in and went to the Bazaar and bout one for Emma..

It was $12.50.. Now my dear Emma will not need to where mits when she sits here at night...

We have made our schedule for the next week... tomorrow we will be visiting 2 orphanages... one to see about our young friend Izat and make sure that he gets looked after right, and the other to set up a teaching schedule for Emma to teach English there... one of the children that will be in her class is my young friend that I visit every time I am here... We want him to be ready for when he joins his forever family... The timing worked out well... this orphanage has a new director now that I had not met, and she just called Sergey to say that she had a young girl that needed to go to a dentist and could we help... so this is a perfect start to this relationship as we will be able to meet that need.

At the other orphanage, we are continuing to find very serious problems with the kids teeth... way more then we had anticipated... We have discused with Sergey and Anya, and have decided that we will use some of the sponsorship money that we had earmarked for new clothes and make sure we get ahead of the situation... we will then get some help, and go to the orphanage and help them to go through the clothes that they do have and try to mend some of the clothes, and bring shoes to the shoe maker at the invalid home to get them repaired...We really would like to do both, but right now we have a somewhat serious health issue that needs to be addressed.... We are also going to look closely to see what may be missing from the diets of these kids that they are so bad...

For the first round, we are having all the kids checked, just the teeth that are hurting fixed in the first wave, then a list of what each child needs to have and the associated price... we will then take the last and a hand full of the kids to another dentist to have them checked to compare the results... just in case there is some funny business , but from what we have seen ourselves, I think it is all on the up and up... but it is best to be safe...

I must say that I am a little disappointed.. I am the guy that comes and gets the kids to do fun things... I want that when they look back over the years they will remember all the great times we had together... this year, I am afraid that all they will remember is root canals !... well maybe in time they will understand that it is because we care....