Just A Little Update

It has been a little busy since we got home. Sorry about not updating, but I have been trying to think about what to say. This has been a long hard road. We fought the fight many times with loss, hardship and criticism from many avenues. Without the support of my friends, certain family members and my Reece's Rainbow Family...I don't think we would have ever made it. It definitely is a God thing. He gets a great deal of credit for this from me. I also feel like it was a lot easier...no that's not a good word for this...it was not as hard as I thought it was going to be.

Court was scary. I mean really scary. Trying to prove how much you love two children to people who don't know you is hard. I wasn't sure what the outcome was going to be, but after seeing people from the DOE and the orphanages having tears in their eyes, I left that court room with a different feeling. It was God...my guardian angels...somebody was there to guide me. You can choose to believe that or not, it doesn't really matter if you believe me. I am just telling you how it felt. This region was strict. You had to follow the guidelines, but they were fair. Our Marina's are amazing. They know what they are doing and they prepare you like you should be prepared. Our agency HAPS and Kathy were amazing. The support and guidance was fantastic. I call Kathy my Mom.


Another thing that I was prepared for was the people of their country not supporting me or liking us...well it really isn't like that. I mean, we did encounter people who weren't very nice, but I get that here too. The culture is different, yes. The people act different, yes. The food is different, yes. Really though, I feel kind of guilty. It was hard being away from my family for almost four weeks (I hated being away from them,) but it was necessary to bring our girls home. I feel guilty because it wasn't as bad or as hard as some regions have had it. The team there, like I said was wonderful. Our drivers were kind. The staff at the Peking Hotel was wonderful to us and the girls. Our land lord Irina, was fantastic. When Matthew was gone, she took me to the theater and to the ski slopes for exercise. Included in the apartment was two trips to the grocery (she takes you for free and you pay for the groceries.) I drove in the car with her and her husband to the theater. He is a well known surgeon is their country. To me, that was privilege. We also met a wonderful woman by the name of Melody and her husband Paul. They have the cutest children. They prayed with us and invited me over for dinner. She even helped me get new hats for the girls when the orphanage director got upset with us because she said the hats were not warm enough. We had them over the night before we left and ordered pizza. Then I met Catherine and Karen, who took me to church while I was there. It was very helpful. On the last day in their country we took them to Hard Rock Cafe. I had only ate out really twice since being there, so we wanted to take the girls somewhere to celebrate. It was really fun for all of us. The girls loved the waitresses. They talked to them in their native language. Phoebe tried Macaroni and Cheese for the first time and Bella played with HER balloon.

Transition with the girls has been a little on the harder side. Now, I will say for the ones who will jump on that statement and have a field day...it's not what you think. It has been hard to see Phoebe cry in her sleep. It is hard when they get upset and cry. Bella is so tiny and she cannot chew and she has to eat pureed foods at 3. They both grind their teeth. Phoebe is showing a lot of institutional behaviors. You have to understand that they are in a whole different time zone and a whole different routine. It is getting better. It is going to be a long road, but one we have been prepared to handle. We are not new to these type of issues. It can be done. It will be done. We will do what we need to do to help them. We have only been home two days. Our family is already falling in love with them.

I will try to keep you updated between work and getting the kids settled in. My oldest daughter is preparing for college. So, between getting all the kids to their appointments and our oldest ready for college, we will be pretty busy. We just want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts. Without you, this never would have happened. We love you all for that!!

God Bless,
Lisa