Escape from the "Turtle Room"

We need to begin today's post by wishing a Happy Birthday to a very special young lady who is 14 today, our oldest daughter.

Back at the orphanage, it was a big day. We were released from the turtle room described in a previous post, and allowed to visit with Jenny for close to two hours in what appeared to be a nurse's office, a lovely, clean room with a desk, two beds and plenty of room for a little girl to wander around.

With this extra space and time we were able to see a lot more of Jenny and her abilities. For example - Crawling:

Standing by herself and walking:

Playing with her toys:

She has the cutest giggle and laugh which we captured in some video - here it is!

Giggling Girl from Tom Lococo on Vimeo.

And then there was this priceless mother and daughter moment.

Lest you be mislead by our pictures of the major cities we have passed through, wanted to share some shots of the small town around Jenny's orphanage, and the way people live in the country.

Here is the local "grocery store".

And what we believe is the school.

In amongst the small brick and corrugated steel homes is the contrast of new commuter homes that are being built.

Back in the city, here is what the front of our apartment building looks like.

Today was the first significant snowfall we have seen, although it is switching back and forth to freezing rain, so not much sticking yet.

That is all for today.  See you all tomorrow.