At long last...

After a long and emotionally exhausting week, we are now the proud parents of Taiya and Jacob. Today Taiya essentially skipped into the court room, all smiles, and happily (although cautiously) said yes to being adopted. Today was an emotional climax for both Dave and I, after sitting on pins and needles all week, we were finally able to exhale a sigh of relief. 

            I must apologize for not updating the blog this week; however I could not find it in my heart to write. I generally have no issues with coming up with anything to say, however after last Friday I have been at a total loss for words. Dave, Viktor, and I decided to tackle this week with a vengeance, and spent a lot of dedicated time with just our kids, something that we probably should have done from the beginning, at least with one half of our duo. We tried to reassure them in every way that we knew how. I downloaded pictures of friends and their children, and other adopted children and their parents (and for those of you whose pictures I used I really thank you), I downloaded pictures of the beach, Busch Gardens, Water Country, family, and everything that I could think of, to try and show Taiya that we were not trying to steal her away from everything that she has known only to put her in a place of isolation with no friends and no family. We did the best that we could do to try and convince her, that although this would be scary, it would not be something that she would ever regret doing. Viktor spoke to their teachers and they were able to help us encourage Taiya that this was the right decision, and in the end she made the decision for her and her brother. The court didn’t force it upon her.

            Although I am absolutely dreading being here the extra week, in the long run it may be for the best. It proves to her that we love her and stood by her unconditionally and that we did not leave her…even if she made a decision that we didn’t agree with. Hopefully a few years from now we will be able to look back and laugh…but right now only tears roll down my face because I have to wait 2 more weeks before I can go home. It wouldn’t be so bad, except the last 6 days I will be completely by myself…no Dave, no Fran, and no Viktor. Luckily I have befriended Inna who works here at the church and the guy that runs the movie store on the corner knows that when I come in I need movies that are in English, I also have 3 and half more books to finish. However, the apartment is entirely too quiet so I am not sure whether or not I will be able to get them finished before I get back, but at least I have read 5 of the 11 books that I brought, and I am half way through Dr. Seuss’ biography (which by the way is absolutely fantastic if anyone is looking for a book to read).

            I would be lying if I said that today was not an emotional high and low. Today we got what we have been working toward for the last year…the kids, but I also said goodbye to Dave. Which is really rather funny, because most days I am willing to happily shoo his butt out of the door, but the last month together has been really great and I really hated to say goodbye to him today, that and I was jealous that he gets to sleep in his own bed on Saturday night. But he left promising to have the house in order when I got home (Alisha please make sure that he cleans the bathrooms like he promised), but it still didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

            I have focused a lot of attention on Taiya and Dave and I, but least I forget Jacob. He has been a real trooper through all of this, his loyalty and trust have never faded and he has been looking forward to coming home since day one. Every “aeroplane” that he sees (be it in the sky or in a book), he points to all of us and says “aeroplane to America”. Poor kid I think that he is more excited than I am about going home. He is going to have such a blast and I can’t wait to see him grow. He finds life adventurous and funny and when he laughs everyone laughs with him…you can’t help it, his laugh is contagious and I can’t wait for my mom to hear him laugh, she will get so tickled.

            We took him and Taiya bowling for the first time this week, and Jacob jumped in with both feet and threw is bowling ball down the lane with abandon, but that is how Jacob tackles everything…with trust that everything will be alright. Taiya on the other hand sat back and watched to see how the game was played, she wanted to see if it was going to be fun, and she wanted see if she could do it. Once she discovered that we were all making fools of our self she jumped up and started playing too, realizing that it was fun and that she could have fun doing it. But this is how she approaches everything…with caution. For the record though I would like to state that I did beat Dave in bowling, this is only the second time in nearly 13 years that I have ever beat him at anything. The first time was at darts some 11 years ago.

            On a lighter side, after we bid Dave and Viktor farewell this afternoon, Fran and I took a ride out to Mel’s house with Don and Inna. Mel’s house is one of the group homes that Heart for Orphans has set up, and it was an amazing experience. They have 21 teenagers living there, 14 boys, 7 girls, and 2 house parents, and they are completely self contained, from chickens and roosters to pigs and vegetables. I was very impressed with how the house was run, the boys were welcoming and enthusiastic, they fixed us tea and sat down at the kitchen table with us and were eager to talk with us. All of the kids are in some sort of trade school and were learning life skills that would make them a productive member of society. It was really cool to see how these group homes have positively affected these kids.   

            Tomorrow Don is taking Fran, Inna, and I out to the peninsula for the afternoon. Fran and I are both looking forward to a day away from the monotony that we have settled into. In the morning I will be traveling to the orphanage for a couple of hours and Fran will be taking the newest addition to their family, Rita, downtown for a little shopping.

            Finally, I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and the prayers, they are greatly appreciated and much needed. Now just pray for our safe return and a wonderful beginning to the holiday season.

            Until next time…