6/16 - Summer Host Kids are Here

The Latvian kids for the summer hosting arrived on Tuesday and it was so neat to be on the other side as an observer this time. Most of the kids are from Christina's children's home so it was especially nice for her to see her friends. We loved watching the families as they met their kids for the first time. They were all so excited and a little nervous too. We remember that feeling. Now that Christina knows more English, she's able to tell us more about how she and Olegs felt when they met us for the first time. They were just as nervous as we were.

The other highlight of this week was going to dental appointments. Christina has a few cavities that will have to be filled and a tooth that has to be pulled. She was very nervous as they cleaned her teeth at the dentist. The hygenist was so sweet as she explained what she was doing at every step. On Thursday, we had an appointment with the oral surgeon who will be pulling the bad tooth. Thankfully, they can knock her out for that. On a side note...both the dentist and the oral surgeon brought up the dreaded word "braces." Christina says she refuses to get braces. We just told her right now we're getting her teeth fixed and we'll talk about braces later. We want her to have time to start school and make new friends before worrying about that.

Today was a fun group event at U.S. Play with the host kids and their families. It was nice that past host families like us were invited because it gave us time to catch up and visit. One thing I miss is getting together with the other families who hosted when we did. I have to say that U.S. Play showed us a great time and went above and beyond by allowing us all to bowl for free. Not only that, but they even furnished pizzas and drinks at no charge and allowed the kids to play games for free. Very nice!

As soon as we got to U.S. Play, Christina was off to hang out with her special friend, Agnese. She gets a little bit of attitude when she's around her Latvian friends but it wasn't too bad this time. Plus it helps that she knows that I'm not afraid to assert my parental authority and take her home the minute she acts up. Unfortunately, Robert had to work so he couldn't join us but we're looking forward to our family day tomorrow as we celebrate his first Father's Day. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we have a child.

6/11 - First Sleepover at Our House

Sorry I haven't updated in a little while. We're just continuing to enjoy our Christina. Things are almost going too well if that's possible. Christina is really working hard on her English lessons we're doing at home. She also finally sold enough bracelets to buy herself an Ipod nano. You should have seen her excitement when she opened the box that came in the mail. She was screaming at the top of her lungs and jumping up and down saying, "I can't believe. I can't believe!" The best part is that she earned the money herself and is seeing how hard work can pay off.

We had our first sleepover at our house. Christina's friend, Tena, came to spend the night this past weekend and went to the Braves game with us. We really had a great time except it was a million degrees outside (okay, maybe not a million but it sure felt like it). We decided to leave the game early and go for ice cream. That was a big hit! The girls were really well behaved so our first sleepover was a pleasant experience. They stayed up late, of course, and giggled and talked but finally went to sleep around 1 or so.

Tonight we're getting excited because the kids being hosted this summer will be arriving tomorrow for their 4-week stay. We're going to the airport to be part of the welcoming committee. I'm looking forward to being an observer this time and watching all of the host families as they meet their kids for the first time. It's hard to believe that this time last year, we hadn't even met Christina yet. We talked with her about what the new group of kids must be feeling. How strange it must be to come to America to stay with people you've never met before. Many of the children are from Christina's former children's home so she's excited. She has been getting homesick so I know it will do her good to see her Latvian friends.

We still can't help but miss Olegs. There was just no way we could host him this summer. We talked to him last week and found out that he's going to summer camp for the rest of the summer. Hopefully, he'll have fun there. We most likely won't be able to talk to him or write him until August. Each time we call now, we feel that he's growing more distant. All we can do is pray and wait to see how the court will rule in his case. It's possible that he may say he doesn't want to be adopted after all. Who knows? We've said it many times. We just want him to have a happy life, whether he's in Latvia or America. Of course, the selfish part of us wants him with us. We just have to remind ourselves that God has a plan for his life. I just wish He'd share that plan with us. In the meantime, we're just enjoying Christina so much.

5/31 - Adjusting to American Life

It's hard to believe that Christina has only been with us for 2 1/2 weeks. It just feels like she's always been with us. You may notice that I've gone back and added some pics to the blog. Now that she's officially ours, we are free to share pics with you now.

Christina is adjusting so well but, of course, has those moments where she's really homesick for Latvia. She's concerned that she'll lose her ability to speak Latvian and Russian, but at the same time wants to learn to speak English without an accent so no one will know she's from Latvia. At times she feels overwhelmed but we just tell her that we're here to help her every step of the way. She's been working really hard on her reading and studying of English words. I have no doubt that she'll do well in school. If only she could feel that confident about herself. We're working on that.


During these past couple of weeks, we've done a lot. We took a trip to Florida and spent some time with family at the beach. Christina already knew most of the family members so she felt right at home. Rob's mom surprised her with a "Welcome Christina" cake and a beautiful necklace with her initials on it. Christina thinks her new family is very cool!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we spent some time with friends. We are friends with another adoptive family who are in the process of adopting one of Christina's friends from her children's home. They also have a bio daughter Christina's age so we had fun hanging out with them on Saturday. Christina enjoyed jumping on their trampoline for hours and spending time at their neighborhood pool. On Monday, we went to see different friends who have the pool where Winston loves to swim. Christina thought it was funny how Winston would jump into the water, but that quickly got old when he accidentally scratched her on the back while trying to swim after her. Then he wouldn't let up and barked at her continuously to make her play fetch with him. She says he is "hyperactive" and "crazy."

We have also quickly found that we have a little entrepreneur in our midst. Christina said she really wants an Ipod so we told her that those are expensive and she would have to earn the money herself. I took her to Michaels Arts & Crafts and got her an inexpensive bead kit to see if she might like to make bracelets to sell. She made a few to show us and we were blown away. They are beautiful! Once she sold the first one, that was it. She made business cards and everything. Her title on her cards is "Business Woman". Too funny! She's selling the bracelets for $4 and the rings for $2. She's quickly learning that it feels good to work hard for something. Plus, she's learning about money and how to make change, etc. Thanks to all of you who have bought bracelets and rings. Christina is so excited that she almost has all the money she needs to buy her Ipod.

Other miscellaneous things we've done over the past two weeks include shopping for clothes/shoes, going for a physical at the doctor, etc. We found a doctor in our area who has a Russian nurse. At her doctor visit, Christina and the nurse just talked and talked in Russian. It was so good for her. Yesterday we got her officially signed up for school so that's another thing we can cross off the list.

We're spending lots of time with Christina now, but we're also wishing Olegs were here. We got to talk to him last week and he sounded happy to hear from us. The conversation was short because Christina's friends ran to the phone and wanted to talk to her. We're still waiting to hear when the court date will take place to see if he can be cleared for adoption. We just don't want him to think we've forgotten about him. We will wait for him as long as it takes. We only hope that he still wants to be with us. The Lord will have to work it all out.

5/17 - A Visit at Our New School

Today we got to visit the school Christina will be attending next year. The school was having their year end closing ceremony outside. The plan was for me to stay with Christina for the closing ceremony and then let her go to the classroom by herself to attend class with some students her age. On the way there, of course, Christina was adamant about not staying there by herself. According to her "rules", I was to stay with her the entire time. Well, sorry but no can do. It was hard but I had to tell her this is what we're doing and that mom's aren't supposed to go to the classroom with their kids. There were tears and at one point I actually was a little nervous she might try to run for an escape. Thank goodness that didn't happen.

On the way to the front door, she kept saying, "I don't like this school." I just had to remind her that she had no way of knowing that without even entering the front door yet!! Everyone was so nice and welcoming to us. At the closing ceremony outside on the field, we sat on our towel along with all of the other students, parents and teachers. Christina continued to say she didn't like it and made up her mind that all the kids were babies. LOL! We watched as the students gave awards to some of their favorite teachers and sang songs. The grand finale was the "cha cha" dance which was hilarious. It was so funny to see all of the other kids, parents and teachers stomping their feet and twirling around to the cha cha. Christina stood with her arms crossed as I did the moves, but finally joined in and showed that beautiful smile towards the end.

The principal arranged for 3 students Christina's age to show her around. Once the girls introduced themselves to her, she seemed to feel better about me leaving. We all told her that when she was ready to go, they would call me on my cell phone to come pick her up. I left and kept waiting and waiting for that phone to ring. It was about 3 hours later that they called for me to pick her up. When I came to pick her up she was in the school office with a soda in her hand. She was with one of her new friends and had a big smile on her face. When we walked out of the building, the first words out of her mouth this time were, "I like this school." WHEW! I wasn't sure what to expect. We were so relieved that she had a good experience.

She just talked and talked about her day. The kids at school had gotten their new yearbooks today and they all wanted Christina to sign theirs. She also said she met a boy from the Ukraine and a girl from Russia. She had been so scared that they would laugh at her, but quickly found out that instead they all wanted to be her friend. They asked her to say different words in Latvian and Russian. We had a good talk about how sometimes we're scared of things because we imagine bad things happening in our mind. If we go ahead and do the thing anyway, we usually find out that it isn't nearly as scary as we thought it would be.

We just told her that we were so proud of her because she did something she was scared to do and saw that it wasn't so scary after all. It took lots of courage for her to go to that new school where everyone speaks a different language. We're just hoping that she'll still feel good about school in August when school starts.

5/15 - Parenthood is Awesome!

I know we're in the honeymoon phase after being home just 3 days, but so far things are awesome. Christina is such a great kid and we're truly blessed that she is officially our daughter. I was so happy to celebrate my first Mother's Day on Sunday. We were exhausted after staying up till 2am the night before but made it to church in spite of that. Christina was happy to see many familiar faces at church, friends she made when she was here last summer and at Christmas. Our church friends also surprised us with a huge card signed by everyone to welcome Christina home.

As promised, below is a recap of our last few days. I'll go back to the day we left Riga and catch up from there. (Boy, you people don't play around. I've gotten a few emails politely but firmly requesting that I update the blog. LOL! :-)

5/9 - Today was the day we left Riga for Warsaw. Ilga L. came by in the morning on her work break to say goodbye. She gave us a beautiful ceramic bell as a memento of our time in Riga. We had a good visit with her, reminiscing about the events which led up to where we are now. It's sad to say goodbye but we all know we'll see each other again one day. The flat owners gave us a ride to the airport and we had a good flight, except for the fact that it was an hour late.

When we got to Warsaw, we felt so important to have a special driver awaiting us holding a placard with my name on it. Christina half joked that this man might be dangerous and take us off somewhere and steal our organs. It sounds funny, but many children really believe that taxi drivers and Americans especially are out to steal the children's organs and that's why they want to adopt them. I'm happy to say we made it to our hotel with our organs intact! LOL!

5/10 - Today was the day of our embassy appointment to obtain Christina's immigration visa. The embassy was just a short walk from our hotel (Sheraton Warsaw) so we got there early. There was a long line of people outside waiting to enter the building, but we were waived to the front of the line since we're U.S. citizens. Everyone we dealt with at the embassy was so nice and helpful. The first lady we dealt with had the checklist and asked for the various documents one by one so she could check them off the list. The feeling of relief was overwhelming as I watched her check off each item. WHEW!

After we submitted the documents, we waited for a few minutes before being called up to the counter to talk with a different agent. She was so nice and told us how she loved this part of the process because she got to meet so many happy families. She went over a few things with us and said Christina's visa would be approved and could be picked up after 3:00 that afternoon. There was another adoptive mom there who was adopting two boys from Poland. She had a facilitator with her to help her with the paperwork. It made me feel good to know we gathered our documents ourselves and actually did things correctly.

Christina and I walked around Warsaw after our morning meeting and looked for a place to eat. We finally found a sign for a place called Mommo Pizza and there was a Pepsi logo in their window. I just wasn't in the mood to be adventurous and look for Polish cuisine. I needed something familiar to eat! We each got a slice of pizza and a cold Pepsi. The people at the pizza place also spoke some English so that was nice.

After eating lunch, we walked around some more before heading back to the hotel. We found a small bakery where we were able to get some pastries. We stopped by the small grocery market on the way back and picked up some groceries. One of the things we thought we got was milk. The bottle had a cow on it but when we opened it later, it tasted and smelled rotten. I don't know if we got rotten milk or if it's some other Polish version of milk. Whatever! We both just wanted to go home at this point. If only they had a Publix here!!

We went back to the hotel and watched a movie before heading back to the embassy to pick up Christina's visa. I was constantly having to grab the remote because Christina's favorite channel was MTV. Luckily, there was a channel showing kids' movies so we were able to watch those instead. If she had her way, she'd watch music videos all day. I let her watch some of the few tamer videos but she knows the first time I see someone dancing in their underwear, the channel gets changed!

At 3:00 we began our walk back to the embassy and the place was pretty vacant. We walked right back to the back counter and got her visa packet. What an awesome feeling! The paperwork was done and we were free to go home!

5/11 - I had scheduled an extra day in Warsaw in case there were any problems with the visa process. The embassy computers have gone down before, so we wanted to have extra time just in case.

Today was a day to explore. We slept late and ate our pastries in the room for breakfast. Then we walked for awhile and made our way back to Mommo Pizza for lunch. It was the closest thing to home that we could get and it felt could to go back there. On the way there, we noticed a sign for the Narodowe Museum (a National Museum) so we decided to check that out after our pizza. It was a beautiful museum with huge paintings and sculptures from Polish artists, as well as other European artists. Christina really loves art so she actually appreciated the works we saw. I thought she would be bored. There were also some art students in various places in the museum painting pictures while we watched. Christina now wants to get some paints now and learn how to paint like they do.

We spent a good portion of the day at the museum and went back to the hotel afterwards. I worked on a puzzle while Christina watched a couple of kid's movies. We finished off the sandwiches and soup we got from the market and enjoyed some more of the pastries for dinner. We went to bed early because the next day we've got a big travel day ahead.

5/12 - We got to the Warsaw airport extra early because I just wanted to get checked in so we could relax. We were so early that the check-in counter wasn't even open yet. They opened soon after though and we got checked in with no glitches. Afterwards, we looked through a few of the shops and I got a couple of souvenirs.

We made our way to our gate and hung out there until it was time to board. Then out went the power and all the lights!!! Not sure if the power went out in just our area or the whole airport. The place went dark for a minute and then the generator lights came on. I was just thinking to myself...this is classic, here we are ready to board our plane to come home and the stinkin' power goes out! So it took awhile for the airline workers to get things sorted out. I was worried that they might say our flight was canceled or something, but instead it just made us late.

Overall, our flights were uneventful. They didn't have enough TV screens on our flight from Warsaw so we couldn't see the movies too well. Christina let me know that she didn't like our plane because it didn't have TV screens at every seat. Oh well. Too bad, so sad! People were up and down walking in front of the screen...very frustrating. We played lots of Uno to kill the time. I tried to sleep but my sweet daughter kept nudging me every few minutes to ask me if my ears were stopped up. It became a game to her. I had to keep telling her that "no, my ears are the same way they were a few minutes ago when you asked me the last time!" LOL!

We had to change planes and go through customs in Chicago. Christina got her visa stamped which means that she is now officially a US citizen. She gave me a big smile when I told her she was an American girl now. We finally got to the Atlanta airport and boy was that the best feeling ever! We were home! Our excitement was short lived, however. Our pilot made an announcement that we couldn't get to our gate because another plane was occupying it. There had been some bad weather in Atlanta, so some of the plane schedules were off. It was so frustrating to be home and not be able to get off the stupid plane!! It was ONE HOUR later that we finally got to our gate and were able to get off.

We walked around looking for Robert and he snuck up behind us with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for Christina. He wasn't sure what was going on because he had seen that our plane was supposed to be here but then the information for our flight was taken off the board. It was the most incredible feeling to have our new family together for the first time. Christina fell asleep in the car on the way home but woke right up when we got home. We stayed up late talking and unpacking, just basking in the moment of having our sweetheart home.

5/10 - Greetings from Warsaw!

I don't have much time to write the details of the past couple of days. I'm at the business center at our hotel (the Warsaw Sheraton) and their rates for computer access aren't the cheapest, so I have to make it quick. Just wanted to let everyone know that Christina and I had our immigration appointment at the American embassy this morning and all went well. We had all of the required documents and her immigration visa has been approved. We just got back from picking up the immigration packet from the embassy, so we're officially finished with all of the adoption paperwork. Now we have to kill time until we catch our plane out of here on Saturday.

We're both homesick and ready to get back home. We can't understand Polish and trying to figure out the currency conversion is a big pain. It's rainy today so we haven't done much exploring. We did manage to find a pizza place after wondering around looking for a cheap place to get a bite to eat for lunch. As you can imagine all of the places near the hotel are expensive. There is a grocery market across the street so we've picked up things from there to fix meals in our room. Not sure what we'll do tomorrow. If the weather is nice, we might do more exploring. It's frustrating that we can't read any of the signs so we could be right near some cool places and not know it. I'm just too tired to figure it out. All I want now is to get our girl home and see my husband.

This will probably be my last post until we get home. I'll post more details about the last part of our trip when we get back to the states. Right now, I'm just so happy that all went well with our immigration appointment. You never know what can happen when you're dealing with government bureaucracy. Thanks again for all of your prayers!

5/8 - Saying Goodbye to Olegs

Today was pretty rainy but later in the day the rain subsided. Christina and I went to the Maxima grocery store first thing because she didn't have any cereal and we also needed a couple of other things. On the way back we hit the french bakery and picked up some croissants. Christina loved them and said she hadn't eaten them before. She was happy to hear that we can get them all over in America.

After we ate our breakfast, we went on a walk to find a bookstore. Christina wanted to have something to read on the plane. We finally found a store that had some educational books and there was one that had children's stories like "Little Red Riding Hood" etc. in Latvian and English. We decided that would be a good choice because it would help her to learn English. Next we went on a search to find a Christian bookstore because Christina lost her Latvian bible that we had given her last summer. After walking and checking bookstore after bookstore (none of them had bibles), we had to break down and call our friend, Helen Vipass, to ask her where one was. It turns out there was one right near our flat but we had walked almost to the other side of town. Christina was happy to pick out the bible that she liked and she also picked out a bible story book and a small card. I wasn't sure what she wanted the card for but when she asked if we could get it I just said "yes." I thought maybe it was for one of her friends.

A short time after we got back to the flat, she came up to me and gave me the card. It had 3 red roses on the front and was blank inside, but she had written that the 3 roses represent her, me and Robert. She also wrote "I Love You" and said the we are a new family of three. Talk about melting my heart. Of course, it made me cry. I told her it was so meaningful because it came from her heart. I said I will keep it with me always and she lit up with that beautiful smile of hers. I think it's so good that I came by myself on this trip. By that I mean without a travel buddy. The perfect situation would be for Robert to be with us too. Christina and I are having some really good bonding time and we're able to really talk about things as they are happening.

When we got back to the flat, Daiga came by and brought the school documents. It was basically one or two pages which really amounted to almost nothing so I felt bad that we were all scurrying over town for this. Oh well. At least I have it now. She also brought a document that the director, Ilga G., needed me to sign when I was at the children's home but she also forgot to ask me about that.

Soon after Daiga arrived, the doorbell rang and it was a soaking wet Olegs with a huge grin on his face. It had started raining again. I'm glad I was at the flat because he arrived at 3:00 but was supposed to arrive at 5:00. He got there 2 hours early! Daiga visited for awhile and then had to go. The rest of the afternoon, the kids and I played Uno. Olegs also painted with his sun catcher art kit that I brought him while Christina read her new book out loud to all of us. It was just a great day for us to just be together.

When Ilga finished work, she and Janis came to pick us up and we went to dinner at a place called Pica. I had a spinach and cheese lasagna. It had a dill sauce on it which I had to scrape off, but otherwise it was delicious. I'm finally branching out a bit on this trip. I think I'm over Lido now. LOL! We had a great dinner and Ilga was able to help me talk to Olegs again just to make sure he understands that there will be children from his children's home coming to the U.S. for the summer hosting, but he won't be coming this time because other kids deserve to have a turn. Plus, we're waiting to see what the court will say about the possibility of us traveling for his adoption case. We expect it to take a few more months before any decision will be made by the courts but you never know.

After a great dinner together, we walked Olegs to his bus. I gave him a big hug and kiss and put him on that bus. It was so hard. The bus sat there for awhile before it left, so I kept clowning with him and walking back and forth in front of his window and waving. He kept trying to hide from me and smiled. Then the time came for the bus to drive away and my tears started flowing. I tried to keep my smile on my face but my huge red eyes gave me away. I think Olegs could tell and I hope it didn't make him sad. When we got back to the flat, Christina saw my eyes were read and said "Why you cry?" I said, "because I miss Olegs" and then it made her tear up too. She said, "You cry and it make me cry." Then we laughed that I looked like an alcoholic with my big red face and eyes. That isn't really funny but it was funny at the time and helped make me stop crying and start laughing. LOL!
As you can imagine, I am very homesick. I call Robert everyday but it isn't the same. I want to be home. At the same time, I'm sad about leaving Riga because I don't know when we'll return. This city has really grown on me and I hope we can come back every now and then for a visit. This place will always have a special place in our hearts.

Christina and I will be heading out the Warsaw tomorrow. I hope to have internet access there. If it doesn't cost an arm and a leg, I'll try to keep the blog updated. Please say a prayer that our meeting at the U.S. embassy goes well on Thursday.

Atta ("goodbye") for now!

5/7 - Goodbyes Are So Hard!

We started our day today in a frenzy because the girls' alarm didn't go off. Agnese was supposed to catch the 8:56 a.m. bus and her alarm didn't go off. I just happened to wake up at 8:30 and noticed that the girls were still sleeping. I dashed to the living room to wake them up and they jumped up and started getting dressed. I'm still amazed at how quickly they can get ready to go. Agnese was ready with a few minutes to spare even. Christina ran her to the bus and she made her bus to school just in the nick of time. WHEW! That was close!

Christina and I hung out at the flat most of the day. Daiga, our translator, came over around lunch time to bring all of our translated documents, many of which I'll need to give to the embassy in Warsaw. She had Christina's new passport, new birth certificate, translated copies of all court decisions, etc. It is so strange to see mine and Robert's names on this new birth certificate. I spent a good amount of time combing through each document to make sure we have everything we need. One thing I have to say is that our attorney, Agnese, and Daiga have taken care of everything for us. I don't expect any problems in Warsaw.

When Ilga finished work, she came and picked us up for the drive to Christina's children's home. They had already had a party for Christina last week, but today she had to pick up her things. I also needed to deliver gifts for the director and social worker and donations for the children. Thanks again to all of you who donated clothes, games, toothbrushes, etc. The director was extremely grateful for these items. When we got there, Ilga G., the director, was all smiles. She is such a nice lady. She gives the biggest bear hugs and when I went to hug her I felt like I was a rag doll almost being swept off my feet. She also gave me a couple of hard smacks on the back afterwards...the kind that knock your breath out. LOL!

Christina went to her room to pack her things and came back soon after with a trail of friends following her. We got many pictures of her and her friends. They even brought the children's home resident dog into the director's office so we could take pictures with the dog too. That also tells you the director is a nice woman. Any person who will allow a dog in their office is alright in my book. The children were all smiles during picture time. I've gotten to know a few of the children since they've seen me before and some visited the U.S. during the hosting time. They come up to me and give me hugs now. Ilga G. says they all want to come to America now. I've heard a couple of Christina's friends will be hosted this summer but it's a secret right now. The kids don't know it yet and Christina doesn't know. We'll probably tell Christina at the last minute too so it can be a big surprise. She'll be so excited when she finds out.

When it came time for final goodbyes, the mood changed. There was a trail of sad girls following Christina. I was the last out the door and had to stop when I saw Christina's best friend, Agnese, off by herself in the corner crying and crying. I just went up to her and hugged her tight for the longest time, brushed her hair out of her face and gave her a kiss on the forehead and told her all would be okay. She grabbed onto me and didn't want to let go so I started balling. I told her that we would not forget her and that we would write her letters. I didn't want to let her go, but finally had to because Ilga was ready. WHEW! We were all emotionally spent after that visit. I well up just thinking about it.

Christina was understandably upset on the ride back to the flat and of course, that made me cry again. Then I realized I forgot to ask the director for Christina's school documents. I was supposed to pick those up and pass them on to our translator later this evening so she could translate them for me. So poor Ilga had to turn the car around and go back in rush hour traffic. Yes, they have traffic jams here too and they are equally as frustrating when you're trying to get somewhere quickly. Ilga was so understanding and we were able to laugh about it. The frustrating part was that we made the trek all the way back to the children's home only to find that no one knew where the documents were so we couldn't get them anyway. I had to call Daiga and cancel our meeting. Daiga was also understanding and said she'd take care of it the next day. Oh well.

Our attorney, Agnese, came over tonight to deliver documents so it was good to see her one last time. We got to talk a little about Olegs' case. There is still no news there and we still don't know what he will ultimately want to do. He is receiving pressure from his Latvian family to stay in Latvia. However, the poor guy is living in a children's home. As we've said before, we'll be fine if he stays in Latvia if that's what is meant to be. We just want his Latvian family to take him out of the children's home and give him a home. It's not fair for him to have to grow up in a children's home when he has family. It's so hard to understand.

After Agnese left, it was just me and Christina. It hit me that she had all of her things in one suitcase...her whole life was basically in that suitcase. We fixed something to eat and later she wanted to show me her things in her suitcase. She showed me a couple of pictures from when she was little and I just lost it. I couldn't stop crying. I told her that I was crying because I missed out on so much of her life. I only wish I had known her then so I could have been taking care of her when she was little. I told her those pictures are precious and we have to save them forever. Then that made her cry so we just sat there and cried together. Then she showed me some mementos that her parents and other family members gave her to keep. She cried again as she told me about them. We talked about how it was good for us to cry. It was a good experience because I feel if we can let out all of this emotion we can move forward in our new life together. I told her that this is such a happy time for me and Robert because we're so happy to have a new daughter, but we realize that this is also a time of loss for her so it's normal if she's not happy right now.

We promised Christina that we won't share her personal information about her Latvian family and life in Latvia. That story is hers to tell if and when she chooses to. Even children at school don't need to know she's adopted if she doesn't want them to. I think in that way she feels good about being able to wipe the slate clean and start a new life.

5/6 - Tooling Around Riga!

Ilga and Janis picked us up this morning and we took a tram ride to church. The Jamison family met us there so we could all attend church together. I love their church but the service is a little long...3 hours. It was good for the kids to be able to go and Christina and her friend, Liza, enjoyed going to Sunday School. Olegs stayed with the adults and seemed to be really listening to the sermon so I hope he received the message.

After church, we took a tram to the Lido down the street from our flat and had a delicious lunch. I can't leave Latvia without eating at Lido at least once more. Olegs, Christina and Liza sat together while the adults sat at a table closeby. I ordered my old favorite of potato pancake with pork shish-ka-bobs and my all time favorite "herring in a coat". Ilga is supposed to have a cookbook for me which has recipes for many of these dishes. Hopefully, the recipes will be easy enough so I can make them taste the same. We'll see.

After lunch, we all (Ilga, Janis, Jamison family & Liza, and my kids) went to the honey store to do a little shopping. I got a few different varieties of honey. There are so many choices to choose from that I still get overwhelmed. The lady in the store was real nice and let me take her picture while she was pouring our honey into jars for us. Janis and Christina also got a kick out of trying on part of the beekeeper outfit that beekeepers wear over their heads. I got some good pictures of that too.

The Jamisons saw an advertisement that said Cirque de Soleil was going to be in town so they thought it might be neat to get tickets. We walked to a place at the central station to see if any tickets were available, but it turns out they were sold out. While we were there though, we looked in some other shops and I was able to do some candy shopping. Christina picked out some candies that she likes. She knows just about every variety of candy there is. Whenever she has any money in her pocket, she wants to go spend it on candy. I keep telling her that her teeth will fall out but she's not buying it. LOL!

After we went to the central station, the Jamisons headed back towards their flat and I went with Ilga and Janis back to the Reval hotel on the way back to my flat so we could take the elevator ride back to the top to see if I could get more pictures. Again, it was a beautiful day. I got a few pictures but there was a glare again so I couldn't get all of the angles I wanted.

After the elevator ride, the kids decided they wanted to go to the children's home for a few hours. Christina wanted to spend some time with her friends. It's really hitting her that she's leaving and may never see some of them again. Olegs has to stay the night at the children's home because he has school tomorrow. He'll be able to come back on Tuesday evening to spend one last evening with me before we have to say our goodbyes. I don't want to think about that now.

Well, Christina was supposed to be back at the flat at 8:30 p.m. but she showed up early. I was impressed when the doorbell rang at 8:10. I asked "who is it?" and got the reply "it's Christina and Agnese." It took me a minute to process what was happening. She had brought her friend with her to spend the night. This is "old Agnese," by the way. Apparently, they are best friends again. At first, I started to say "no" because I wasn't sure that the children's home was informed of this and the last thing I need is to get into trouble with the director. Christina assured me that they told their teacher and they it was okay. This is a very difficult time for Christina so I caved and said Agnese could spend the night with us. The thing is that each time you meet one of these kids, you find that they each take a part of your heart. It can be very emotional at times because they each have very troubling and sad stories. I don't know all of Agnese's story but I could see such a sadness in her eyes. There are so many children like this and it gets so hard. We're saving one child but there are so many more who need love. It's heavy stuff! I find myself wanting to adopt all of them.

We had a great night together. I had some paint by number sets so I gave Christina and Agnese one to work on while I sat with them and worked on my puzzle. They talked and giggled and it was so sweet to see them enjoy each other's company. At bedtime, Christina asked me to tell them a bedtime story and I made up an adventure to continue the story of the "doggies and kitties" from the night before. It was totally silly and dumb so I'll spare you the details. It made the girls laugh so that was what counted. They also talked me into scratching their backs while I told the story so that was kind of our bonding time together. We had our goodnight prayers and they each prayed for people they wanted to pray for. It was really sweet. It was about 11:00 by this time so I was pooped and went to bed. I heard them laying in bed laughing for awhile longer but I didn't have the heart to tell them to go to sleep. They needed this time together and I hope it helped them both to be able to have this special time...just the two of them.

Tomorrow we'll be saying goodbyes at the children's home. I expect lots of tears to be flowing.

5/5 - Fun With American Friends in Latvia

After having leftover pelmeni for breakfast (the kids had cereal :-)), we went to meet our friends, the Jamisons, and their soon-to-be daughter, Liza, at a local outdoor market. This market was pretty small, but had many varieties of food for sale. I ended up purchasing some lamb sausage which was delicious. We tried many other food samples but I couldn't tell you what they were. One thing I really liked was this juice with floating berries in it. It looked like cranberry juice but they said it was some different berry and it was sweeter.

The kids all decided that they wanted to see a movie so we went to check out the movie times. We parted ways for a little while so the Jamisons and Liza could go pick up Liza's brother at his children's home and come back. We all met back at the theater at the set time and got in line for the tickets. Trying to get our kids to make a decision on which movie to see was like pulling teeth. Christina was holding out for Mr. Bean while the rest of the group wanted to see Spiderman III. The decision was made for us when we found out that Spiderman was sold out. Christina was happy that she won and everyone had to see Mr. Bean.

The Jamison's and I went to a pizza place next door while the kids were at the movie, so we got to visit and compare our adoption stories. We have many of the same issues to face since our girls are the same age. We also walked around the nearby shopping mall and looked around. The prices here at the mall are outrageous. You'll find Nike shoes here for $99.99 LVL which is about $200 US dollars. This is a society of either "the haves" or the "have nots". There is no middle class here. Needless to say we didn't buy anything at the mall that day but it was fun to look around and compare styles and prices.

After the movie was over, we met up with the kids and parted ways with the Jamisons. Olegs, Christina and I went back to our flat so we could relax for awhile. Olegs helped me work on a puzzle while Christina took a nap. Later that evening, our friend, Helen Vipass came over for a visit. We gave her a couple of bags of the donated shoes we brought. Helen is the one who runs the Hope for Children day center. She was very appreciative, so thank you all once again for your donations!

Helen was also able to translate and help me talk with Olegs about his situation so I could make sure he understands what is going on. I had to let him know that we won't be hosting him this summer. It's such a hard decision, but Robert and I really need to focus on helping Christina adjust now. I told Olegs (through Helen) that we're waiting for the court to decide whether he will be free for adoption and we don't know when we will travel for his court date. I also reminded him that other children deserve a turn to come to the U.S. and he's been twice. He understands but you can see in his face that he is very torn. He says that his family here doesn't want him to go. We just want him to know that whatever he decides is okay. It's such a hard decision for someone so young to have to make. This decision he makes now will affect the rest of his life.

We visited with Helen for a little while and decided to go out for dinner since none of us had eaten yet. I told her that the only place we've eaten out has been Lido so I was eager to try someplace new. She thought long and hard and came up with a place called "I Caramba". It was a cute little place near the embassies and a local college. Luckily, it wasn't crowded on this Saturday night. It wasn't your typical Mexican food but was delicious. I got the chicken fajitas which were good. They didn't have as many toppings as we have in America but they had plenty of sour cream and the seasonings used on the meat were perfect. We all left there with "happy bellies."

After dinner, Helen took us on a drive to the port to see if any cruise ships were there. This night there weren't any but there were many smaller tourist cruise boats coming and going. We also saw the remnants of a beautiful sunset over the river. The weather here has been beautiful. I only brought sweaters and I could actually be wearing short sleeves at times. The days are much longer now too which is hard to get used to. The sun comes up around 6:00am and doesn't go down until about 9:30pm. It's nice to be able to stay out later and not worry about it getting dark.

The highlight of this evening was our ride in the elevator to the top of the Reval hotel. Helen took us there before she dropped us off at the flat. The view from the 26th floor is spectacular and you can see all of Riga from there. The elevator is surrounded by windows all the way up so you can see for miles as you slowly rise above the city. I tried to get some pictures but there was a glare on the windows and they didn't turn out. Oh well. It was a fun evening and good to spend some time with Helen.

The kids got their second wind later in the evening so we didn't get to bed until about midnight. I just hate to make them go to bed early since these are their last couple of days together. I'm trying not to think about the day we have to say goodbye. Before they went to bed, Christina asked me to tell them a bedtime story. I am the worst at coming up with stories but I managed to come up with a story about these doggies and kitties that could sing and dance. They formed a band and traveled the world together. They seemed to enjoy my rendition of doggies and kitties singing. They laughed hysterically! I told how the animals traveled the world and had a concert tour and everything since people were so amazed that doggies and kitties could sing. Things changed when the animals got so full of themselves because they made lots of money. People began to not like them anymore because they were too snobby, so they went back to being regular doggies and kitties. They still sang but only for fun and not to be famous. It was very silly, but it satisfied Olegs and Christina. They went right to sleep.

Another thing they love is having their backs scratched. That was something I always loved as a kid. They call it "back massage." They've gotten to where they'll just come stand with their backs in front of me so I'll give them a good back scratching. They both said no one ever scratched their backs before. That was sad to hear. One thing I must say is that it's a great way to get them to calm down if they get too hyper. One good back scratching does wonders. LOL!

It was a great day with good friends!

5/4 - It Was a Long Trip but I Finally Made It To Riga!

Just a quick post to let everyone know I made it safely. It was an exhausting trip with two layovers (in Chicago and Warsaw) but I'm here now so all is good. When I checked in at the Atlanta airport, I got the news that one of my bags was over the weight limit by 5 pounds. For a moment I panicked, trying to figure out what I should do. However, I think the nice lady at the counter saw the look of desperation on my face and took pity on me. Next thing I knew she gave me a wink and put the bag on the conveyor belt without charging me one extra dime! At that point, I let her know that the bag was full of donated items for a children's home in Latvia and that the Lord would surely bless her for her kindness. Whew! That was a close one!

The kids came to the flat a couple of hours after I got there so they helped me do some shopping at the grocery store. We got our favorite pelmini for dinner. Olegs wanted bread and cheese so he could make sandwiches. We're having a great time so far and everyone is happy at the moment. It's hard to tell how it will be when we say our goodbyes on Wednesday. I had a good talk with Olegs today and was able to explain that we're still waiting for the court to free him for adoption and that we won't forget him when we go back to America with Christina. I sure hope he understands.

I think Ilga and Janis will be coming to see us for a few minutes tonight. We'd better get going so we'll be there when they arrive. I'll try to post more later.

Atta (goodbye) for now!

5/3 - I'm Off to Latvia!

I'm flying out to Riga today to go pick up our girl. We still can't believe this day is finally here! I have two short layovers in Chicago and Warsaw before I'll get to Latvia but it shouldn't be too bad. Not much I can do about it at this point anyway.

Rob and I want to thank all of you for your donations of shoes, clothes, games, etc. We were overwhelmed by your generosity. I'm taking the maximum baggage items allowed and I've got those bags jam packed. Not one crevice is empty! Now we just need you to pray that all of the bags make it! :-)

I've checked and rechecked all our documents so I think we're good to go. I'll be arriving in Riga at 1:55 Latvian time. Olegs and Christina are supposed to take the bus to come meet me at the flat after I arrive. I can't wait! Plus, we have friends who are there for their first adoption visit, so I hope to hook up with them at some point. Will keep you posted.

I'll post again as soon as I can from Riga. As always, thanks for your many prayers as we continue this life changing adventure.

4/20 - New or Slightly Used Children's Clothes Wanted!

Things are kicking into high gear now that my trip is a little less than 2 weeks away. It's funny how that happens. I'm going through all my immigration documents to make sure they're in order and emailing back and forth with the U.S. Embassies in Riga and Warsaw to get various questions answered. I have to say that both embassies have been terrific at responding to our emails, many times responding within an hour and always within 24 hours! We found out that Christina was to have her immigration physical today, so hopefully all went well. The embassy doctor has to sign off that she's healthy and verify the immunizations she's had. We tried calling Christina at the children's home today but got somebody who didn't speak English. After a few awkward silences, they just said "no" and hung up. Only two more weeks of that and then we'll be able to talk to her whenever we want!! WOOHOO!

I'll be taking an extra bag with donated items for Christina's children's home. The children need all kinds of things...clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, toothbrushes, etc. If any of you have slightly used kid's clothes and shoes that your kids don't need anymore, I would love to take them off your hands and put them to good use. The sizes they need range from 8 year old sizes up through 17 year old sizes. If you have anything you'd like to donate, please let me know. Even one or two items will help. They can also use games that they can share (e.g., board games, Twister, Uno, etc.) We're so happy about adopting Christina but it tugs at our hearts to know that there are so many other children who may never be adopted. I believe there are about 50 children at this children's home. If only we could adopt them all. Hopefully, we can gather enough things to help brighten their day and let them know there are people out there who care about them. If you have items to donate, you can email me or post a comment here and I'll get back to you.

Let the countdown begin! One week and six days to go!! :-)

4/13 - Heading Back to Latvia on May 3rd!

It's official. I'll be leaving for Latvia on May 3rd and returning with Christina on May 12th (the day before Mother's Day). What an awesome Mother's Day it will be. I've already told Robert that he needs to teach Christina that children in America are supposed to treat their mothers like queens on that day and shower them with gifts. We'll probably let her slide this year, but only because it will be her FIRST full day in America as our child. LOL!

Only one parent has to travel for the second and third trips and in our case that 's me. I had a travel buddy who was gonna go with me on this trip, but she can't go now. So it'll just be me and Christina. I was a little nervous at first, mainly because I have to go through Warsaw for the immigration process. The more I think about it though, the more it may be better because it will give me and Christina some personal bonding time together. She'll probably be experiencing many different emotions and we'll have plenty of one on one time to talk about things.

It still hasn't sunk in that this is real. It'll sink in real fast when Christina is sitting beside me on the plane back to the U.S. We can't wait!!

4/12 - Latvian Girl on a Sugar High!!

Well, we called Christina today and she was in rare form...joking, making obnoxious noises into the phone, etc. She was definitely bouncing off the walls!! When she first got on the phone, she thought she'd be clever and trick us into thinking we were talking to her friend, Agnese. It was obvious to us that it was Christina but we played along. We asked "Agnese" where Christina was and she said, "Mmm, I do not know. She not here." That got old after awhile so we finally said "okay, we know it's you, Christina!" She just laughed and made more obnoxious noises. [Big sigh here]. We told her that we can tell she must have been eating candy. She was smacking away on something so that was the dead giveaway. She just giggled.

Next, the real Agnese got on the phone and said "hello" to us. She's such a sweetheart. We asked her a few questions and got the usual "yes, yes" answers. In other words she has no clue what we're saying. It was a very short conversation.

Then Christina got back on the phone so we asked her if she's happy I'll be coming to Latvia soon. She replied, "No....Yes....No....Yes.....I joke!" She finally admitted she was happy. Olegs was right there but again didn't want to talk on the phone. It's funny...he doesn't want to talk to us but he's right there to see what we're saying to Christina. We told Christina to tell him that we love him. Hopefully she said what we wanted her to say. She was in a silly mood so she could have said anything. Oh well. Can't worry about it.

4/10 - Today is Final Judgment Day!

Today we received confirmation that the judgment is officially final!! I think in adoption lingo this would be our "gotcha day." That means that the waiting period is over and the court has entered it's final judgment in our adoption case for Christina!! WOOHOO! Our attorney submitted the paperwork today to have Christina's new birth certificate issued. Her new birth certificate will have her new name and list Robert and me as her parents.

When reality hits, sometimes we have what we call "what have we done" moments. We have a daughter that lives in Latvia. One of these days we'll have to go get her and bring her home. What would happen if we changed our minds and just decided not to pick her up? LOL!! Not a chance!! Christina has felt like a part of this family from the very beginning. There's no turning back now. We can't wait to bring her home!

4/7 - Happy Birthday to Christina!

Today is Christina's 12th birthday so we were determined to talk to her today. After calling a couple of times this week around 8pm her time and missing her (each time we were told she was out shopping...whatever!), we switched tactics and decided to try calling first thing in the morning. We called late last night at 1am our time (8am her time) and FINALLY got her. They had to wake her up to come to the phone and she was pretty groggy but we got to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. She giggled and especially loved it when we got Winston to bark into the phone to give her his canine birthday greeting.

She didn't have too much to say...mainly kept telling us she was tired. Poor baby. At least she knows we didn't forget her birthday. It was important to us to make sure she knows we're thinking of her today. So we're hoping our girl is doing something fun to celebrate. It's hard to be so far away sometimes, but that will all change in just a few weeks!

4/4 - Counting Down the Days!

We've been told that the official "judgment day" for Christina's adoption case is April 10. I think that means that's the day the Latvian court will officially stamp the adoption decree as final and confirm that the waiting period is over. WOOHOO!! After that, our attorney needs a couple of weeks to prepare our paperwork for the American Embassies in Riga and Warsaw. The Riga Embassy must complete the preliminary "orphan investigation" and verify that Christina meets their requirements to be classified as an orphan. Then, they will forward their report electronically to the Warsaw Embassy. Christina will also have to undergo a physical exam by an Embassy-approved doctor in Riga. Our attorney is handling this for us and will have the medical report ready for me as part of the paperwork prep.

So, while we're waiting, I've been working on planning my travel to Riga and my travel with Christina the rest of the way to Warsaw and back home. Looks like I'll be traveling the first part of May to bring her home. Robert and I called Christina last week and finally got to talk to her. This was the first time we'd talked to her since I got back from Latvia. Each time we'd call, they'd tell us she and Olegs were "out" with their friends.

When we got her on the phone, we asked how school was going and she said she was out for nine days for Easter break. Since this was last Friday, it seemed a little early to me so I just said, "Easter?" She cracked us up when she replied, "Yes, you know....egg and rabbit?" We had to explain that "yes" we know what Easter is but that it seemed early. We then went on to tell her that I will be returning to Latvia at the beginning of May to pick her up. There was dead silence on the other end of the line. We asked her if she's happy and she quietly said "yes" but then in her whiny voice said that she'll miss all of her friends in Latvia. It's really starting to sink in for her that this is really happening. In a little over a month from now she'll be living with her new family in America. We just tried to reassure her that she will still be able to keep in touch with her friends through email and letters, maybe even the occassional phone call. Plus, she'll make new friends once she's here.

We called the children's home yesterday and were told that Christina was out shopping. This was about 8pm their time and our little girl was out on the town. How nice. She'd better get it out of her system now, because those days are coming to an end!! That's one big challenge we have to face. The children at the children's home are pretty much allowed to go wherever they want as long as they come back at a certain hour. They are given a lot of freedom and don't have many rules they have to follow. She's in for a big surprise when she gets here. Thankfully, since we hosted her twice, she knows that she won't be allowed to do many of the things she did in Latvia. She sort of knows what to expect.

We found out that Olegs got to go spend time with some of his relatives during this school break. We're always happy when they take interest in him and want to spend time with him. We just pray that when he's with them it's a good and loving environment for him. It' always hard to understand why he continues to live in a children's home if he has family around. We just have to leave it in the Lord's hands.

Please say a special prayer for Olegs. We found out that he's gotten into some trouble. I won't share the details here, but he really needs the guidance of a family to keep him on the right path. He's such a great kid with a loving heart. We want so much to provide him with a loving family. We're continuing to wait for the decision of the court to determine whether he can be cleared for adoption. We've been told that the claim has been submitted and the next step is for the court to assign a date for the hearing. If he does become free for adoption, it will still take many months before we can be assigned our first adoption court date for him. It's hard to even imagine traveling again right now. We'll have our hands full for awhile helping Christina get adjusted.

We're just continuing to take things one step at a time and trusting the Lord to guide our path.

3/23 - Have You Considered Hosting a Child this Summer?

If you would like to host a child this summer, now is the time to sign up. I believe the deadline is April 21st. If you would like more information, click here to email Jennifer Peters at Simple Obedience Ministries. She can provide you with the pictures and bios of the children. We have seen the pictures and can tell you firsthand that the kids are absolutely adorable. Also, you can host even if you're not pursuing adoption.

Please also feel free to email Robert and me by clicking here if you have questions about our hosting experience. We promise you this experience will change your life (in a good way).

3/23 - Happy Birthday to Olegs!

Today is Olegs' 12th birthday (fyi, Christina's is on April 7th) so we called the children's home to wish him a happy birthday. We had no idea whether he would take our call or not but we had to at least try. We called and got a really nice woman on the phone (a teacher, I think) who speaks a little English. At first, she said Olegs wasn't around but then she said "wait a minute" and she went to get him. Next thing we knew, he was on the phone. He answered, "Da?" and we immediately launched into our rendition of the happy birthday song. "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Olegs, Happy Birthday to you."

Well, halfway through the song a recording came on the line indicating that our call had been disconnected. Immediately, our minds started racing. Was it our singing? Did he just not want to talk to us? We had no way of knowing whether he hung up on us or if it was a glitch with the phone line. We immediately called back and got some child on the phone who just said "Olegs out." We tried to explain that we had just talked to him but got a generic response, "yes, yes." Clearly we were getting nowhere. Then the child hung up on us. We tried calling again later and got the same story, "Olegs out." Then the teacher who knows some English got on the phone again and she also said Olegs wasn't there. We tried to ask her what time we should call and she replied, "yes, it is nice day in Latvia." Clearly she didn't understand what we were saying.

To make a long story short. The only word we heard from Olegs was the "da" we got when he answered the phone. We tried asking for Christina too but she was out playing too. Granted it was about 8:45 p.m. Latvia time so no telling what they were doing outside. They'll be in for a big surprise when they come here to live because they'll be in their PJ's getting ready for bed by 8:45 in America.

Anyway, we're sorry that we didn't get to say more to Olegs but at least he knows we didn't forget his birthday. I'm happy that I was able to give him his presents and celebrate with birthday cake last week when I was in Latvia.

3/18 - WOW! Are We Really Parents?

The flights home were uneventful. I stayed overnight in London last night so I had a good night's sleep before heading the rest of the way. Thankfully, I can't remember even one embarrassing incident. I guess I made my quota on the way there. LOL!

It is such a relief to be home! It hasn't really hit me that I went to Latvia and back over the weekend. I felt like I was just a few hours away because I had my phone and was able to call Robert whenever I needed to.

The reality of things is gradually starting to sink in for Robert and me. It's still hard to believe we're officially Christina's parents now. After the twenty day (business days) waiting period is up, it will take a couple more weeks for our attorney to gather the necessary documents we'll need and have them translated for the immigration process. I expect to be going back to Latvia at the end of April to bring Christina back.

This next trip will be a little more challenging as we'll have to return through Warsaw so that Christina can have her immigration interview at the U.S. Embassy there. I'm up for the challenge and have recruited a friend to go with me for moral support. Hopefully, there will be no problems.

Will keep you posted.

3/17 - A Little More Fun Before Heading Home

This morning the kids and I had some time to ourselves before we were to meet up with Ilga and Janis again. They invited us to a children’s play/variety show at their church. Today the kids were hungry for their cake so we got to have our mini birthday celebration for both of them together. It was cute. Christina and I sang “Happy Birthday” to Olegs and then Olegs and I sang to Christina. They pretended to blow out candles and then ate some pieces of cake. I forget what the cake is called but Ilga says this is her son’s favorite cake. It reminded me of a nutty bar. It had wafer layers and peanut butter and chocolate in it. It was delicious but very rich. You know it’s rich when Christina says she doesn’t want anymore because it was too sweet for her. LOL!

After our cake breakfast, we had time to play Twister and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots before Ilga and Janis came to pick us up. Christina also enjoyed doing some painting while we hung out. The plan today was to go to the church play first and then Ilga and Janis would take me to the airport and the children back to the children’s home. The kids were happy about that because they had full backpacks and plastic bags with toys so they didn’t want to lug all of that on the bus.

Ilga and Janis picked us up in time to get to the church at 1:00. One of Christina’s friends named Elizabete (“Liza”) came and met us there so that was a treat to see her. Liza is a beautiful and sweet girl Christina’s age who was hosted at Christmas and is now being adopted by friends of ours. We are so happy that she will be another Latvian friend that Christina will have here at home. After the show was over, the kids had tickets that they could exchange for free gifts. The line for the gifts was a mile long so Ilga broke the news to them that they would have to take the bus/tram back to the children’s home since they’ll be staying awhile longer. We had to leave now if Ilga and Janis were going to get me to the airport on time. The kids weren’t too happy because that meant they would have to lug all their loot home on the bus. Oh well. At least that wasn’t my decision. That was Ilga’s call.

So at that point we said our goodbyes and I gave them hugs and kisses before leaving for the airport. I got a little nervous when we were leaving town because there was a big traffic jam. Ilga and Janis couldn’t figure out why the traffic was so backed up on a Saturday. It turns out there was some big exhibition of some sort that was causing the backup. Luckily, it didn’t last too long and we were on our way.

We got to the airport with a little time to spare so we decided to get a bite to eat. I might as well not say where because there’s only one place we’ve been eating when we eat out. Yes, Lido! They are everywhere, even in the airport!

3/16 (part 2) - Time for Fun With the Kids!

Olegs and Christina arrived at the flat at 2:00 (right on time). They both had full backpacks so that meant they were spending the night. YIPPEE! I greeted them both with big hugs and kisses and asked them how their day was at school. We visited for a few minutes before Christina asked what we would be doing. They always have to be doing something, you know. Sitting around visiting just isn’t cool. I decided not to bring up the court session unless they asked about it. It’s not an easy time for Olegs right now so I didn’t want to make him sad. This was our time to have fun. Christina did ask me about it later and I told her that Robert and I are officially her new parents. She just gave me a big smile and then we moved on to something else.

I went ahead and gave them their birthday presents so they’d have something to do while hanging out at the flat. Robert and I got them each an outfit and a fun item. We got Olegs “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” which is a game consisting of two plastic robots in a boxing ring. You make them punch each other and the one who makes the other robot’s head pop up is the winner. Anyway, it’s one of those classic games that never goes out of style. We got Christina some paint-by-number paintings to work on since she loves art. Olegs was happy that I brought his Twister game and some of his other toys. He was a little disappointed that I didn’t bring his remote control car so I promised him I’d bring that next time. I wasn’t sure if I should bring that since it eats up batteries. I guess maybe we can send him batteries every so often for it.

We tried meeting up with Ilga to go to the party she told us about earlier but we were unable to reach her. It was fine though. We still had plans to meet up with her and Janis for dinner. I needed to go to the Maxima grocery store to purchase some more minutes for my Latvian cell phone, so that gave us some time to do that since I needed the kids to help me. We tried calling Ilga again but couldn’t get her so we decided to go to Rimi, the nicer grocery store, and pick up some things for them to eat for an afternoon snack. Christina picked out a piece of baked chicken at the deli and Olegs decided he wanted a cheese sandwich so he got cheese and bread. Ilga had already helped me buy a birthday cake for them so that was going to be a surprise for later.

When Ilga got off work, she and Janis came to pick us up for our evening outing. They took us to a fun place called Go Planet Fun & Games where we got to see a 4D movie and wear the funny glasses. The kids were all excited to go to this place because they had never been but heard all about it from their friends who went. The movie was only 15 mins. long but it was an adventure. It was an animated futuristic underwater movie set in the year 2080 (or something like that). There were underwater spaceship things and mermaids, etc. At various points of the movie there would be earthquake scenes and our seats would shake, then there were creatures that would swim toward us and spit water on us, at which time water would shoot out from somewhere and hit us in the face. Then there was air that would blow on us and make us feel like we were part of the movie. Very fun!

After our movie, we walked around and looked at some of the other fun stuff like the go-carts, etc. I’m sure the kids wanted to drive them but they were expensive and I think they were too young to drive them anyway. We were getting hungry so the next stop was Big Lido. I know, I need to try food at some other restaurants but it’s just so good at Lido and there are so many choices. Big Lido is the one where they have the ice skating rink but we didn’t skate this time. We all ate ourselves sick and then went back to the flat. Nobody wanted cake so hopefully we can enjoy that tomorrow before I leave.

3/16 - It's a Done Deal!!

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!

3/13 - I'm Off to Latvia Tomorrow!

Believe it or not, I think I'm ready for this trip. We called the kids today and Christina told us that she's looking forward to my visit. She also made sure to tell me that Olegs wants me to bring some other toys of his in addition to his Twister game that he left here at Christmas. At least Christina knows that she'll be coming to America soon so she'll have her toys here.

Christina also informed us that she doesn't want to spend the night with me when I'm in Riga. She said that since she's already stayed there before, it's "not interesting" to her anymore. Forget the fact that her new mom is traveling across the world to see her!!!!! She said that she'd explain later and that she couldn't explain over the phone. I think it may have been boring for her at the flat last time since the TV stations were in French and there's only so much Uno we can play before going nuts. Robert and I decided that we won't push her on that. I'm sure we'll spend time together during the day and then she can go back to the children's home at night. We try to put ourselves in her shoes and think about what this process must be like for her. She has told us in the past that some of the other kids at the children's home have given her a hard time about being adopted. Then there are other friends that she hasn't even told yet because she's worried about what they'll say. It has to be so hard. She will be leaving everything she knows and starting over in an entirely new country. The next trip when I bring her home will be a difficult one for her.

So, I'm off to pack. Please say a prayer that all goes well on Friday and that I don't have a heart attack when the judge asks me questions in court. Actually, I think it will be okay. I don't even want to think about the possibility of having one of my nervous laughter attacks in court. That would not be cool! It will be fine...I hope. :-)

Stay tuned for the next post from Riga. I'll be staying near the internet cafe again, so I'm gonna try to keep the blog updated.

Atta ("goodbye"), for now!

3/6 - Next Week, We'll be Parents!

It hasn't really sunk in yet that I'll be traveling to Latvia NEXT week. All of this waiting and now time seems to be flying by! I'll miss having Robert with me on this trip but at least I'll only have to be gone a couple of days. Once the court rules next Friday (assuming it's in our favor), Christina will officially be our daughter. WOW! This is really happening! The last step will be to go back and get her once the 20-day waiting period is up.

This week we were surprised to get a letter from Christina and Olegs. Actually, Christina told us last week to be expecting it. This was the first letter we've ever received from them so we couldn't rip it open fast enough. Since Olegs still isn't speaking to us when we call, we're fairly certain that Christina wrote the letter and signed his name. The letter was short and sweet, but she wrote that she loved and missed us and said she enjoyed the time we spent in Florida at Christmas. This letter is one of those things we'll save and cherish forever.

When we talked to Christina yesterday she sounded great. Last week, she was still getting over the flu but this week she's much better. Again, Olegs was MIA but Christina told us that he did manage to ask her to ask me to bring his Twister game when I come to Latvia. Of course, Robert and I said he needs to ask us himself. Christina says he's not angry with us, just doesn't want to talk. Whatever! We can't get all emotional about it. We still love him and want him to be our son. All kids go through a funky period and this must be his. Plus, we know it's not easy for him to see Christina being adopted while he doesn't even know if he'll be cleared. We're just taking things as they come and trusting the Lord to work it all out. Lord knows we'll drive ourselves crazy if we allow ourselves to get back on that emotional roller coaster again. No thanks!

Now that we've been to Latvia and back, all of our conversations with Christina since have been great. We're really feeling a special bond developing with her now. Before, Robert and I felt like we'd have to start from scratch each time we talked to her. Now we just pick up where we left off and she's able to speak a lot more English. We have our family jokes that we laugh about, etc. We told her that it's important to do well in school or she'll wind up living in a box and have to eat grass and make french fries at McDonald's. LOL! No, we're not gonna let the girl live in a box! She knows we're kidding and she kids right back by telling us that she loves grass and she'll set her box up in the backyard. That's what's so great. I think now that we've been to Latvia, everything is becoming so real to her and she's learning to trust us and be herself.

One final note: Thanks for all of the prayers for my 98-year old grandmother, who was in the hospital with pneumonia and then in a rehab/nursing facility for a few weeks. She is now back home with us where she belongs and doing much better with the new caregivers that stay with her now. We call her our Energizer Bunny!

2/28 - Next Court Date is March 16th!

We heard from our attorney this morning that our next court date will be on March 16th! Seems like we just got home and now it's time to go back again. I'll be traveling alone on this trip...leaving on March 14th and returning on March 18th. I'm a little nervous but not too bad. We found a great deal on a flight that goes through London again so I'll be traveling the same route Robert and I traveled together last time, staying in the same hotel in London.

I'm a little nervous about this next court session because I've heard that this court is very stern and cold. I'm told the people in this court do not smile and they make you stand when you address them. I only pray that when I open my mouth to speak that something at least a tiny bit intelligent comes out. When I get nervous, all bets are off. No telling what's liable to come out...could be a squeak or could be jibberish! I'm sure all will be fine but I can't help but be a little nervous.

The awesome part of this trip is that after this court appearance, Christina will be our daughter. The last step in this process will be to go back once more and pick her up. The Latvian government imposes a mandatory 20-day waiting period after this court rules so once that's up, I'll go back to get her.

Sometimes it hits us and we have to just stop and ponder the magnitude of what we're doing. We are adopting an 11-year old (soon to be 12) from Latvia. WOW!! Looking back on all of this, we can't help but see God's hand in the entire process from beginning to end. Everything has just fallen into place and even though we had to wait longer that first expected, it's actually turned out to be better. Christina will have some time to have fun in the summer, learn English and get used to her new life in America before having to adjust to school. She'll be able to start school in the fall just like all the other kids.

We plan to call the kids tomorrow to give them the news of this latest court date. Christina probably already knows. She has a way of getting the news before we do!