Day 14!

Hello everyone. I took a break from posting over the weekend…simply because there isn’t much to write about. Our routine has become quite monotonous and we are feeling the strain of idleness. It’s not that it is all bad, it’s just not home. We are counting down the days but they seem to stretch on forever. We have been here for 2 weeks and in some ways it feels much longer. We are looking forward to court on Friday when Emma will officially become our daughter. But that is just paperwork, we already feel like she is our daughter. After court, we will wait for the mandatory 10 days and then we will receive the court decree. We can then obtain her passport….BUT…there has been a change in the passport system here and we may have to wait an additional 10 days (after our 10 day wait) to obtain her passport. Sooo we continue to wait.

Chris and I have spent a lot of time talking about how blessed we are and how well Emma fits into our family. I can’t imagine a more perfect fit. Lucas still loves her and he can’t wait to take her home. We never expected to find a child so like Lucas. Their gentleness and heart shines through both of them equally and they seem to be a perfect match. Yesterday, while in our little playground, they found some sticks and were swinging them at the low hanging branches of the trees (this is what we have been reduced to …having our kids play with sticks…haha), and Lucas’s stick broke. He soon was off looking for another so he could continue with this exciting game. While he was looking for another stick, Emma watched him for a few minutes. She then took her stick, and after a few attempts broke her stick in half and gave him one. She didn’t know we were watching her so this was a true example of her sweet nature. Another example was today. During our snack time, Lucas and Emma each got one cookie and one pretzel like cracker. Emma ate her pretzel first, saving the tasty butter cookie (absolutely fabulous by the way…I wish we could get them at home) for last. After a few bites into her cookie, one of the small dogs that roam the orphanage came over to us. This dog is very docile and so very cute. Well, little miss Emma decided that the little dog needed her cookie more than she did. Not only were we surprised, because she loves to eat anything we bring, but we were proud of her caring enough for another creature, even a dog, to give the last of her food. She is quite an awesome little girl.

Food is becoming quite a tricky business for us. We are having some difficulty finding a variety of food to eat and we are eating many of the same things, which as you can imagine is getting old. At the supermarket the other day, Lucas saw ‘hotdogs” in the meat section. He begged for us to buy them and we relented. Today, he asked for them at lunch. I took them out of the package to boil them up and they actually were a liverwursty sort of mystery meat that was quite gross looking. Well, Lucas with his iron stomach insisted he would like it. After boiling them I put them on the plate, cut them into pieces…and then promptly went running to the bathroom….dry heaves! It was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever smelled and it took me several minutes to recover. Lucas of course tries it and says “It’s good mommy…wanna try it?” I suppressed the urge to say “I’d rather eat dog poop”. So, Chris and I enjoyed a delicious lunch consisting of bread and butter, and an apple…yummy! We actually were able to find my beloved perogies in the grocery store and we feasted on them last night. I was all smiles during dinner. So…with every negative…there is a positive.

Well, that’s all for today. I’ll keep trying to think of things to write. It’s a beautiful day today so we will probably go for a walk.

Love to you all,
L,C,L &E