Greetings from Riga, Latvia! I just came from the court session and it was quick and painless. They ruled in our favor so Robert and I are officially parents. WOOHOO!!
I was wondering which way this trip was gonna go from the very beginning. I had arranged to have a cab pick me up from work. The cab that first showed up turned out to be someone else's. The driver loaded up my bags and everything and then decided to confirm who I was..."Elayna?" Well, I had to tell him no I'm not Elayna so he unloaded my bags as the real Elayna appeared from around the corner to take over her cab.
Next, when I got to the airport, my shoe got stuck in the conveyor belt as I went through security. As you can imagine, the line started to back up and the security agent had to retrieve my shoe for me. I boarded the plane without incident so I thought I had turned a corner. Not so. Shortly after take off, I noticed something dripping on my arm. It turned out to be condensation from the air conditioning vent above my seat. I asked the flight attendant if I could switch seats but there was nowhere to go. It was a full flight. She brought me a wad of paper towels and told me that it should eventually stop. Thankfully it did, but it was about 30 mins. later.
After watching an inflight movie, I thought I might try to get some sleep but I wanted to take my Airborne first. Airborne is that powder that you dissolve in water and it helps prevent you from catching a cold or flu bug if you're going to be around lots of people. I had a bottled water that was half empty so I poured the Airborne in there and shook the bottle to mix it up. Well somehow my bottle became filled with pressure without my knowing it. I went to remove the lid from the bottle and it shot off like a champagne cork. It shot up and hit the ceiling and then came down and hit the lady in the seat behind me. A couple of flight attendants were right there with their cart serving drinks and food. I heard one ask the other, "What in the world was that?" For a moment I thought about keeping my mouth shut, but in this age of terrorism I knew I'd better confess. One of the attendants thought it was hilarious but the other was not amused. I profusely apologized to the poor woman behind me. She was pretty dazed as she had been sleeping and was awakened by the clunk on the head. Thank goodness the thing didn't poke her in the eye. As you can imagine, I was mortified. Talk about wanting to disappear.
So far, the rest of the trip has been going perfectly. Our friend, Ilga picked me up from the airport and took me to the flat before going back to work. I had to pick up the key from the watchman at the flat so Ilga helped me with that since the watchman doesn't understand English. Ilga and I went out to dinner after she got finished at work. Yes, we went to Lido but at least we went to a different Lido. LOL! There are so many dishes to choose from that you can try something different every time. I had some kind of breaded pork dish with cheese and tomatoes on top, along with a potato pancake and sauerkraut. It was delicious as usual! After that, we walked to the grocery store so I could pick up a couple of things. It was an early night. I was in bed by 8:00 so I could be rested for court.
Today's court session was a breeze. I met Daiga (our translator) early and we took a bus to the court building. We had time to go over some of Christina's documents while we waited for the others to arrive. Ilga G., the children's home director came soon after and greeted me with a warm smile and a hug. Ruta, the orphan court representative, was another familiar face as she was one of the inspectors who visited us when we were here on our last trip for the official bonding time.
The judge and prosecutor who were in attendance wore long black robes but other than that, it was even less formal than the previous court sessions we went to. I was so relieved because I expected to be grilled with tough questions. This judge asked me only a couple of questions. She asked how we met Christina so I told her about how we hosted her last summer and this past Christmas. Then she wanted to confirm that I was also representing Robert's interest in this case. Next she asked Ilga G. and Ruta questions. They had nothing but positive things to say. The prosecutor said she had no objections so that was that. The court was really backed up with cases so they didn't see the need to take additional time since everyone supported our adoption case. The judge, prosecutor and court reporter left the room and we waited for them to return. Soon after, the judge opened the door, poked her head out and told us she has ruled favorably and that we were free to go. That was it!! Robert and I are now officially parents!! This session was so quick that I didn't even have time to be nervous or even cry. I know your prayers had a lot to do with everything running so smoothly.
It's such a relief to be finished with the court session. Now I can focus on having fun for the rest of my time here. This afternoon both Olegs and Christina are coming over to spend the night. Christina had told Robert and me that she didn't want to stay overnight with me. I asked Ilga G. (their children's home director) about that and she said that Christina told her just the opposite. She told her that both she and Olegs are excited about spending the night. Who knows? I brought their birthday gifts with me since they both have birthdays in the next couple of weeks. They'll probably open their gifts when they first get here and then we'll meet up with Ilga L. She invited us to a party that they are having at the Salvation Army Day Center where she works. Then I think we're going to a movie and dinner with her and her husband, Janis, this evening.
It will really be good to see Olegs along with Christina. I wasn't sure if he'd want to see me since he hasn't been wanting to talk on the phone. It's hard to know what's going on with him sometimes. Hopefully, he really wants to see me and isn't just coming to pick up his Twister game. LOL!!
This will probably be my only post from Latvia before heading out tomorrow. I'll be spending the night in London on Saturday night before returning home on Sunday. It's really hard being here without Robert. I can't wait to get back home where I belong. The exciting thing is that next time I'll be coming to Latvia to pick up our new daughter. WOW! We officially have a daughter now. How awesome is that!
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