My friend Lena is in Ukraine visiting her family.  I called her yesterday to see how she was doing.  She is so happy to be spending time with her family.  When I was talking to her, she answered me saying "da."  It was really sweet, I guess it's hard to switch back and forth in languages.  She had minor surgery while she was there because medical care is much cheaper in Ukraine.  Lena works as a nanny in the U.S. so she pays for all of her medical care.  She told me that the doctors in Ukraine are excellent and that the cost is so much less than the cost of care in the U.S. Lena told me about a beautiful and smart 13 year old orphan that her family knows about. The girl has no relatives and really wants to be adopted.  I wish I knew of a family looking for an older girl. Sometimes people ask about available orphans on adoption boards so I will have to keep this girl in mind.
       Olia is home sick today.  She was really dizzy when she got up.  There is a virus going around that makes people dizzy.  My niece had it last week and a few of my students have had it.  It hasn't affected Olia's appetite.  Dan usually stays home with Olia when she is sick, but he is on a start up so he couldn't stay home.  It's kind of nice to be home in the middle of the week.
   Olia's nail tips are still on!  This may just be the thing to break her of her nail biting habit!  Dan thinks the nail tips are a good thing if it keeps her from biting her nails.  Nail biting is just a habit so maybe this will break the habit!
   Olia started telling me about some of her family life in Ukraine.  She told me that sometimes she and her bio mom didn't have food for a few days.  She said that her bio mom spent all of their money on alcohol and they would be hungry.  She said that a friend of her grandmother's brought food to them when they were really hungry.  I just wonder how alcoholics who have no money survive and are able to purchase alcohol. I guess where there is a will, there is a way.