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Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Boxing Day

Well...Alexandra appears to be a tough little girl. She actually hit the floor a few times today and she simply gets up and continues on her way. We may have acutally left her with a bit of a shiner this evening. As I put her up on the window ledge for her nightly look outside, she turned into the metal handle and it caught her just below the eye. She did not even flinch although I felt like crying. My first experience with parental neglect. While I am glad she is resilient and doesn't seem to mind a few bangs and bruises, every time she is mildly in jeopardy I feel responsible. I'll have to be more careful tomorrow.
This morning we were having a wonderful time playing and laughing with Alexandra when one of the ladies came in and took her away for her Christmas concert practice. Despite speaking in Russian, the lady made it extremely clear that we were not to come and watch. Apparently, it was too disruptive when a few of us couples were there earlier this week. The concert is scheduled for Thursday morning at 10:00 am, the same time that we and the American couple have our court appearances. I am suspicious that the scheduling conflict was intentional.
After our morning visit, Candace and I went for lunch with the couple from Minnesota. We ended up hanging out for the afternoon and we hosted them in our spacious 70 square foot hotel room. It was nice to get to know them a bit more and learn about the story that led them to the Ukraine. They are really nice people and we have been very fortunate to befriend them. It was great to have an actual activity during the afternoon rather than reading and napping. It certainly made the day more enjoyable and made it pass quickly. We have already made a commitment for an arranged marriage in 20 years between her and their oldest boy, Anthony. Alexandra is now kissing him on command...the adults all enjoy when she does this but little Anthony doesn't seem too thrilled about it.
During the evening visit, both couples gave our kids electronic, noise-making toys. The most popular one for both kids were their new cellular telephones that made a bunch of neat sounds. Alexandra enjoyed hers for about 20 minutes until she broke the back of the casing. It is interesting, both Alexandra and Anthony have become notorious for damaging toys. I am quite certain that the other parents leave things in their bags until these two are out of sight. If she breaks anything when we visit with friends and neighbours back home, we promise to fix or replace any damaged items. It will be essentially the same arrangement that I have for when Candace spills things.

3 comments:

camille said...

Merry Christmas Candace, Stephen and Alex! I just really miss you and I can't wait until you arrive home. This morning we were eating breakfast at Anthony's parents and I couldn't help but tear up as I told your story. Alice was also in tears and both her and Tony wish you congratulations and well wishes. Although I want you home sooner, I am glad that you will be able to experience the Christmas there on the 7th as I'm sure you will see some interesting customs and traditions. Take care and know that you are in our hearts today and everyday.
Love Camille and Anthony

Anonymous said...

Hello folks..just letting you know that there are more people than you have probably guessed, following your wonderful adventure with Alexandra..and looking forward to meeting this marvelous girl that has captured ALL our attention,,out here in "bug tussle" manitoba.
-Don and Marian C.

Rob, trish, Michael & Christian said...

Hi Guys,

Sounds like you had an enjoyable day with Alexandra and the couple from the U.S.

The days are getting closer for you to return to Canada.

Take care.

P.S. - Day 1 - Junior's

Germany - 2 / U.S.A. - 1
Belarus 4 / Finland - 3
Canada - 2 / Sweden - 0
Russia - 3 / Czech - 2