Days One and Two

Sorry about not updating. This time change has really messed me up. Lastnight I felt like a walking zombie when we went to find some Pepsi. Then last night I fell asleep at the computer.

Day one was a rush rush day. When we finally got to the hotel after that really long 27 hours or so of travel, we came to the hotel. It is nice, but different. The surroundings are pretty. The fountains are beautiful. It is just different then we are used to. We both got showers and crashed. We set the alarm for about a half hour before we were supposed to meet our facilitator and guess what??? We didn't wake up. So, we were a few minutes late. Not the impression we wanted to make on the first day. We hopped in the car and jetted off to our DOE appt. Set in front of us was a really beautiful woman with an arsenal of questions. She made me sweat...like rolling down my back sweat. I just wish I could pack all of what I need up from home to show them what it is like at home to raise a child with Down syndrome, but we can't. So please pray for words of wisdom to come out of this mouth now and in the future. After that we went to some place other then Phoebe's orphanage and talked with the social worker. She showed me pics of Phoebe as a baby. She has always been cute. Then we went to her orphanage, met with the head doctor and she gave me Phoebe's history. Then we went to the meeting room and they brought her in. At first she was kind of shy, but quickly warmed up to us. She laughs and giggles a lot. She loves hugs and she loves to rub her Daddy's beard. She loved the play doh and of course tried to eat it. Phoebe knows what she wants and will make a growling noise if she doesn't get it. All to soon the visit was over and we had to tell her goodbye. On the way back to the hotel our facilitator said we looked sad. I told her because we didn't want to leave her. Seriously, can we just take her home NOW??

We went to the bank and changed some money to this countries currency. We at a place called NEW YORK. It was good. Matthew had this huge hamburger. It was called a Fat Yorker. After that we walked around the square in front of the hotel. We came back to our room and we went to bed. More like died.


DAY TWO

We woke up WAY before our time to get up. We showered and skyped with our kiddos. We ate breakfast. It was good. I can't not like a country that likes chocolate with all meals it seems. It is good stuff! They eat things way different then we do and they eat a lot of meat and cheese. Not a problem for me...maybe for my butt though. We made sure we were ready and were waiting before our facilitator got there. CANNOT BE LATE AGAIN! We went to the orphanage and they brought Phoebe out. She was so happy to see us! She smiled and giggled. She let us tickle her. She even smacked me once. We had to tell her no. Do we have to do that already? hmmph.This little girl laughed so much today. She played with her play doh. She loves to walk holding onto our hands. She pretty much does what she wants because well, she can because we don't mind. This is her party afterall. They thanked us several times for loving her and for us wanting to adopt her. They said they could tell she liked us. MY HEART IS MELTING!


After the visit was over (come on why do we have to leave???) We went back to the hotel and was supposed to eat, but we just didn't feel like it. Then after posting Phoebe's pics we left for our trip to Isabella's orphanage. Let me tell you...what a LONG drive on some really BUMPY roads. Phoebe lives in the city and Isabella lives in the country side. Two vastly different areas. We met with the assistant head of the orphanage and she showed us pics of Isabella and gave us her history. We went into a very HOT room and were able to visit. She is not quite sure about men, but by the end she let her Daddy hold her and rub her hair. She doesn't like to have her feet touched at all, but loves to have her legs rubbed. She smiles so big when she is coming for me. I was able to feed her. They gave me a cup of milk, but she smacked it away. This girl eats like a champ. They said she doesn't like milk much, but loves juices. Bella played some, but was more content in just laying in our arms and letting us stroke her hair. They assured us she likes to play and interact, but frankly cuddling with her and letting her feel the touch of our hands was just fine. Bella is the polar opposite of Phoebe. Phoebe is outgoing and Bella is more reserved. The thing is though, I can see the spunky girl inside of her. She just needs time and a family. I cannot say it enough though, it is very obvious they love these girls. I cannot wait until the day they can come home. Please pray that the court will see how much we love them, and that having four kids with Down syndrome is a blessing and one adventure we will gladly undertake. We left and traveled that same bumpy road. We went to eat and I had Borscht...it was yummy. We walked around and found some Pepsi. It tastes like Coke..hmmph. We crashed again. We got up way to early again today. Time to get a shower and skype with the kids (we miss you Gabby, Dylan, Jon, Anthony and Ethan!) Then breakfast and off to see our girls!!!!!!!