It's been a BUSY Summer!

It has been several months since our last posting, so, I thought I should give a bit of an update.

Mike and Viktorija have taken 2 trips to Latvia since our original trip in Feb 2011. In May, the trip to Latvia was for a court appearance to make her officially our daughter. The trip in July was for immigration/VISA purposes. She came home from that trip (the final trip in this adoption process) as an official US citizen!! She was so excited to show off her new birth certificate and her new passport! There was such "relief" in her eyes after that final trip. I still have to remind her occasionally that she is our daughter now, and nobody can take her away from us. She will get giddy at the sound of this. To watch her smile, laugh, and give us big hugs is overwhelming at times. To think of where she was a year ago and where she is now, is such a miracle.

As if the above information weren't enough to fill up the Summer months, she also made plenty of other new memories. She experienced the beach for hte first time in her life. We enjoyed a week at Hilton Head Island, SC. The excitement was contagious! She will never forget her first beach trip for several reasons: the beauty and fun of the ocean waves, her toes in the sand, she held a live starfish, found 17 live sand dollars, and got stung by a stingray!! What a week it was!

Viktorija had the opportunity to volunteer at a daycare one day a week. She LOVED that! She couldn't get enough of the babies! Now she is signed up for the Red Cross babysitting course and hopes to begin her babysitting career ASAP.

She was also invited by my friend, Carrie, who is a veterinarian, to come and spend the day with her at the vet to observe surgeries. Since Viktorija thinks she wants to be a vet someday, she was thrilled at the chance to see things up close and personal! She loved it!

We also went to Carowinds several times with friends and family, enjoyed Wet and Wild water park with some special friends, spent some time at the mountain cabin and went to Tweetsie Railroad, she got her ears pierced (which she has been wanting), got glasses (she couldn't see before!), and got braces!! I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but you get the idea. We were VERY BUSY!!!

She started school on Mon (8/22) and seems to be off to a good start. We are blessed to have her at Lake Norman Christian School. She has amazing teachers and they are under the direction of a godly Christian principal. Her class is small and this seems to suit Viktorija just fine. I've been praying that God would put good Christian friends in her life and it seems that there are some good girls in her class. Now that we are getting in to a new kind of groove for the school year, maybe life will settle down a bit (HA! HA!).

There are many people who haven't met Viktorija yet, and others whom we haven't seen in awhile. So, we are going to have a "Welcome to America" / meet and greet on Sept 22 (Thurs) from 6-8:00 pm at Matt's Chicago Dog in Cornelius, NC. This was the place she had her first dog. She likes this place alot and the owner has graciously offered to let us have our meet and greet at their fun restaurant. We hope to see as many of you as possible that night. I want Viktorija to meet the people that have prayed for her and been so giving and gracious. We appreciate each of you so much.

Thank you for taking this journey with us!

Many blessings and much love,

Julie

A second birthday!

We have all been doing well. Viktorija is adjusting well to school and has a couple of friends now. She feels very comfortable with all of our family. She has spent the night a friend's slumber party, she has spent the night with her cousin, and with her grandparents, and my sister, all on different occasions. She really seems to enjoy her interaction with the family. I'm truly thankful for her desire to bond with everyone.

Since we had a meeting with all teachers, and the head of the school, she has had much less homework and has been in a MUCH better mood lately! She is very diligent with her studies and is making good grades. What more could we as for right now?!

She seems to be enjoying her Spring break. She has had time with many of our family members while Mike and I are working, we've played many games ("CLUE" is now her favorite), and enjoyed the perfect weather we've been having. This has been a much needed break for her.

The biggest news, though, is that she accepted Christ as ner personal savior on 4/17!! We were playing a game of "Sorry", when she stopped and told me that she was ready to ask Jesus to come into her heart. Needless to say, I was crying tears of joy. Mike and I made certain she understood what she was doing and then she prayed her prayer. We are so thankful for God's grace, and the ultimate price He paid on Calvary so that we could have eternal life with Him one day.

The past weeks have not been without some challenges and struggle, but we are thankful for each and every day with our new daughter. She has so much promise and "HOPE" for her life. What an honor to be a part of it!!

Mike and Viktorija will be taking a trip to Latvia for the second court date next month. They'll be gone from May 17-21. Thankfully it is not a long trip. Viktorija is excited about the possibility of seeing her foster sisters and foster brother, but also a bit apprehensive about returning to the place she was so anxious to leave. Please pray for their safe travels. I will be staying home to continue working, and taking care of our pups. Since only one parent is required to make the trip, we have decided it best, financially, that I stay home and "hold down the fort". There will be one final trip to follow. So, by mid-Summer we hope that all of the traveling is behind us. We are anxious to continue our journey as a family. Who knows what God has in store for us next?!?!

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Much love,

Mike, Julie, and Viktorija Hope Vanhoy

Home sweet home

We've been home for 3 weeks now and we are adjusting to our new lives as a family. Viktorija just finished her second week of school. She seems to be enjoying her teachers and her classes. It appears the girls in her class have been welcoming. I'm so thankful!! What a difficult position--to be in a new country, with a new family, at a new school, and still learning the English language! I don't think I could do it. Viktorija is handling all these changes better than I would have expected. We are getting into a groove of sorts...Mike drops her off at school, I pick her up from school. She goes to the gym with me 2 times a week, we then come home and get busy with homework, dinner, showers, etc. You know...the usual stuff families do:-) This is probably a bigger adjustment for Mike and I since we have had our comfortable routines for our 19 yrs of marriage. I go to bed so tired every night. And, I feel sleep deprived everyday. But, is it all worth it? YES! Although we are adjusting, in some strange way it also seems "easy". She was meant to be here with us. For the past few nights, Viktorija has been sleeping pretty well. Prior to that, she has had nightmares and sleepless nights. She tells us little about her dreams. But, the things she has shared have been related to her past. We are in the process of getting her an appt with a Christian psychologist in our area. We've been hearing good things about this psychologist. I try to let Viktorija know that with God "all things are made new". This is her "new" life. In time, she will learn that we will never leave her, we will always love her, and that she will ALWAYS have the love of Jesus Christ. He has orchestrated this entire journey of us becoming a family. On a different note, Viktorija has been enjoying her new bedroom, her toys, games, and pink bike:-) Thank you to all of our family and friends for the beautiful gifts given at our adoption shower in Nov. I've been telling Viktorija about each person that gave her the gift as she brings out new things to play with, or to wear. She is also in disbelief of the gorgeous weather we've been having! She likes to lay in the hammock with her barbie dolls. She enjoyed last Sat when Mike cooked hamburgers on the grill and we could actually eat outside! You could tell she didn't want the moment to end. She said, "Can we just sit here and speak to each other longer?" Those precious moments.... We've been scheduling all kinds of appts for her...doctor, dentist, orthodontist, optometrist, and psychologist. We've spread these appts out over several months, so as not to overwhelm her. She had her Dr. appt yesterday and she liked her Dr. very much. She is a tough little cookie--they updated her immunizations, did a TB test, and took several viles of blood for various tests. She sat through it all like a trooper (better than I would have done at her age!). Please continue to keep us all in your prayers as we move forward. Mike and Viktorija will have to take another trip to Latvia for the formal court hearing in about 2 months. This trip will last approx 4 days. Then Mike and Viktorija will take their final trip to Latvia approx 2 months after that for the immigration details to be ironed out. That will be the 3rd, and final, trip. We are hoping by the end of the Summer we will be finished with this portion of our journey. Mike has, once again, been feverishly working on paperwork that needs to be completed for this portion of our adoption. Last night we had a visit from the social worker so she could speak with Viktorija about her transition. The social worker will than write up a report that will be sent to Latvia for review by the courts. So, even though Viktorija is with us at home, there are still many things that have to take place to make this official. With Mike's VERY busy work schedule, and me juggling work, homelife, and Viktorija's needs, we are certainly relying on God for strength and endurance!

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To God be all the glory!

Week one at home!

Overall, it has been a good week of adjustment. We are still a bit jet lagged,but slowly finding our "groove" again. Mike returned to a hectic work schedule on Monday, and I returned to work on Wed. Viktorija had her placement testing on Monday. She was so nervous, not to mention, tired. Once the test was over she said, "I don't think I did good". We tried to encourage her and help her enjoy her time before starting school officially. Mike's parents were true lifesavers, keeping Viktorija on Wed and Thurs as Mike and I both worked. She had a blast with her grandparents and their dog. She saw her cousins on Thurs evening at Claire's birthday party. And, today (Friday), she shaddowed at Lake Norman Christian School, where she will be attending. We met with the head of school and the principle today to go over her test results. They placed her in 6th grade, as she was in Latvia. This was exciting for me, since I was praying she wouldn't have to be held back too much. They saw much potential in her scores. The staff at the school is so supportive of Viktorija and her transistion. They all made her, and us, feel welcome. She seemed to enjoy her day at school and meeting some new friends. I am so thankful!!! I've seen her shut down with her peers in the past. So, this was an encouraging moment for me to see:-) Viktorija will start school officially on Monday!

As we make the necessary adjustments to our schedules, and life, it is encouraging that she is fitting in so well. I have gone to the gym 4 x's/week for years now. I was wondering how I was going to fit that into our new lifestyle. I took Viktorija with me to the gym on Monday and she loved it! She asked if she could go everytime. I was excited to teach her some things about working out and a healthy lifestyle. It's never too early to start that:-)

She has also been a tremendous help to me at home. On my cleaning day, I gave her some projects to do, and she did an amazing job! She is eager to help, and eager to learn. God knew what He was doing when he brought us together as a family!! There are always teaching moments, and things to work on. Overall, we can't complain about how our first week together has been.

Our friends and family, and people who have helped along the way, have been great! One of the staff from our bank called me at work to see how our trip had gone and to check on Viktorija. He had never even met her! Mike took her by the bank today to meet the wonderful people who were so invaluable to us during our preparation. I think she is begining to see how many people have been praying for her and really excited about her arrival in our family.

There are so many special people in our area who have gone through this process of adoption that they have started a support group in the Lake Norman area. We know most of the families and are excited to meet more. Tomorrow evening we will be going to a "party" with this group. It will be a wonderful chance to share experiences, and for Viktorija to meet some new friends.

Until next week.....much love!

Home sweet home!

We are FINALLY home in Huntersville, NC!!!! After an exhausting, and less then fair trip home, we are back in AMERICA!!! We left Riga, Latvia on Wed at 3:45 pm (their time). This was exactly 1 hour late from the time we were scheduled for take off. Mike and I knew this wasn't going to be good, since we only had 1 hour between planes when we arrrived in Frankfurt. And, Frankfurt is a mess of an airport! Huge and VERY confusing! However, we kept being told that we would probably be ok to make it to our next flight. I had my doubts...I was a nervous wreck. All I wanted was to get home to OUR house, in OUR beds, OUR showers, etc! I'd had enough of being away from home. Not to mention, Viktorija was overcome with excitement to get home that day too. When we arrived in Frankfort at 4:55pm (and our next flight was scheduled for departure at 5:00pm), I asked the first attendant I saw what to do. He told us to run to gate A-22 (I'll never forget that number). So, we did just that...RAN all the way through one of the MOST confusing airports I've ever seen!! Little Viktorija kept up like a trooper as we ran what must have been almost a mile. We got to the gate to find that they had closed the gate and we had missed our flight. This was a concern I had from the begining when the travel agent booked these flights for us. I was so upset, wanting to cry. Sweet Viktorija held it together, while I was losing it. I told the attendant that we would take ANY other flight that would get us back to the USA that night. Well, there were no flights that night. Lufthansa rebooked another flight for us for Thurs. Meanwhile, they sent us to a hotel for the night. The hotel looked like it might be ok. But, as we were walking down the halls to find our room, the doors on the rooms went from nice-looking wooden doors, to metal doors. I'll bet you can guess where we were, huh?!? A horrible, small, filthy, room! The toilet was disgusting, the beds we so uncomfortable (even Viktorija couldn't sleep), the food was bad, and the list goes on. So, to sum it up...our Wed was spent in airports ALL day (we got to our nasty hotel room at 8:15 pm), and we only had taken a 1-1/2 flight. I'll admit that I could have done a better job of maintaining my composure. Oh, and let me not fail to mention that there had been a shooting at the Frankfurt airport around the time we landed. 2 American military were killed and 2 other seriously injured. We never found out for certain if it was a terrorist attack, like they initially thought. We didn't have email access in our hotel room either.



The next day was much better though. We got on our USAirways DIRECT flight home from Frankfurt that morning, and arrived in Clt at 4:00pm (3/3). The flight was good. When we went through customs at Clt airport, they didn't want to let Viktorija through. They continued to question why she was here on a temporary VISA. Our attorney assured us we had all the necessary documents for travel, but apparently not enough to make the US customs agent happy. After many questions, he finally let us through. Oh, the stress of it all! I really thought Mike was going to have a panic attack.



We were put at ease when we met Mike's parents at the baggage claim area. Their smiles and hugs immediately made us all feel more relaxed. They even had sweet tea and BBQ sandwiches waiting for us in the car:-) Oh, happy day! We arrived home around 4:45pm to a wonderful welcome home. My mom and sister had decorated our house with streamers, balloons, banners, flowers, candy, and gifts for Viktorija. She was in awe (as were Mike and I). Of course, we hugged our pups first, and then went upstairs to show Viktorija her new room. She was open-mouthed and wide-eyed at the sight of her new bedroom..her very own space. She also had several gifts to open from generous friends who stopped by to leave welcome home gifts (or mailed them). She kept saying she feels like this is all a dream. She is so excited and grateful (as are we) for EVERYTHING that our friends have done for our family!



Now we can move forward on this journey of being a family. We are so blessed! On our way to the airport, leaving Riga. Viktorija grabbed my face and said, "Thank you for loving me", and then gave me a kiss. I almost lost it. It's the way I feel when I think of Christ's love for us. He loves us unconditionally. Even with all my faults and imperfections, He will always be faithful in His love for us. Just as Mike and I have committed to love Viktorija, unconditionally. Viktorija is full of so much hope and anticipation for what is yet to come in her life. Yesterday, again, she told me she wants to be a vet. I doubt she could have ever even attempted that dream if she were to have stayed in Latvia in her past situation. Whatever God has in store for Viktorija, I grateful that we will be a part of it.



Please continue your prayers for our family. Viktorija will have testing on Monday and hopefully start school within the week. Of course, she's nervous about a new situation, but I feel confident that she will do just fine:-) Many thanks and much love to all of you who have followed along on our journey. Our blogs may not be daily, but, we will continue to keep our faithful friends and family updated through this blog. Much love to all!

New HOPE!

We all awoke this morning with a renewed sense of hope and promise! Today is our last day (of our first trip) in Latvia! Viktorija claims, "Tomorrow is my lucky day!". She is beyond excited! I think we all feel the same.

Another good breakfast and then school....again. She chose to do English before Math. She says she now likes Math better than English. That could be the teacher's fault ;-) Mike is a wonderful teacher. I'm just doing my best. Viktorija worked very hard with me today. I think she was trying to make up for yesterday's session. She is slowly improving on her sentence usage and structure. I really am proud of her. She has learned so much in such a short time. I have confidence that she will eventually do quite well in an American school setting. She is so shy with other people. We've been trying to have her order her own meals when we go out to eat, ask questions of others when needed (instead of mom and dad doing the talking for her), etc. She doesn't like doing it, but that's the only way to get more comfortable with it. Overall, I give her an A for all her effort:-)

On our way to pick up Viktorija's VISA today, we took another "walking tour" of a different part of Riga. The temps were up today...a whopping 28 degrees!! Believe it, or not, it really did make a big difference in our tolerance to being outside. The city was bustling with people. It was nice to see. It's amazing what I saw some of the women wearing...short skirts, tights, and high heels, and a lightweight jacket. I guess, to them, this is warm weather. Meanwhile, Viktorija and I were bundled up. We saw some pretty sights. And, I even saw a McDonalds!!! I guess they must have those everywhere. I was not tempted to eat there, however. We stuck with the small cafe we have come to enjoy. And, I even found another small, quaint coffee shop nearby our hotel. Oh, yummy! I have now had my caffene fix for a few days.

When we arrived at the US Embassy, I was elected to stand outside with the camera while Mike and Viktorija went in to take care of business. They wouldn't have let us take a camera in, so I just people-watched outside the gates. When they came back out, they both told me they couldn't get the VISA. Knowing Mike as I do, I thought it was a joke, and didn't pay it much attention. Soon I realized they were telling me the truth:-( There was a problem on the American side of things and she couldn't get her VISA yet. UGH!! Of course, Viktorija was asking, "will I be able to go to America?" I was secretly a bit nervous, as our attorney happened to be at the Embassy with another adopting family and she stated that this rarely ever happens. She assured us all would be fine. We returned to the hotel and waited. Since the embassy closes at 5:00 (and it was 3:30) at this time, we just had to leave it in God's hands. At 5:00 on the dot, we received the call from our attorney that she had Viktorija's VISA and passport in her hand. Praise the Lord for that! Viktorija was so happy when our attorney brought it to our hotel that she hugged Daina (attorney) and thanked her for helping her be able to go home to America. She was so excited, she asked Mike to take a picture of her holding her "pass" to return home with her parents.

As we are winding down this evening, on our last night in Latvia, I am so thankful to God for our journey. We have learned a lot about faith and each other through all of this. I also feel so very blessed and thankful for my family and friends and I'm thankful to be an AMERICAN! To have the privileges we do is something I don't take for granted. I told Mike I now understand why some people returning to the USA kiss the ground:-) I feel like I could do the same. We are excited to continue this journey at home with our new daughter....Viktorija Hope Vanhoy! As we adjust to our new lives and all of the ups and downs that will come with it, I ask that you continue to pray for our family, and for Viktorija's salvation. We thank you all again for your love and support. We will see you very soon:-) I'll post a blog to let you all know that we arrrived home safely.

With much love and gratitude,

Julie, Mike, and Viktorija

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meltdown

Viktorija was the first one out of bed this morning (at 7:00). She was in a good mood, and reminded me that we only have one more full day here before going "home". It's nice that she already considers America home. We went to breakfast in the hotel, as usual. And, again, watched this little tiny girl eat what 2, or 3, of me would eat.

She was anxious to start her English lesson. We started with writing sentences including pronouns. Well, what started out as a good lesson turned out to be a meltdown, on her part. I still don't quite. know what happened. I think she couldn't come up with a sentence immediately and she got frustrated. I tried to start her over, she became very quiet, and stared off into space. I didn't know if she was listening to me, or not. She finally wrote her sentence and was showing an "attitude" that was not appropriate. I have learned from past experiences like this with her, that she won't talk about it at that moment. So, I told her we needed to take a break, and she needed to have some quiet time. I left the room and when I came back she was asleep. So, you see, it's been a lot of change at one time. I understand the fact that this court system feels it necessary to have this length of "bonding time" in their country. But, honestly, we NEED to return home to start living a normal life in our normal environment. The situation we are in (living out of suitcase in a hotel, no car, no friends, no church, etc...) is not real. It will only eventually drive a person crazy!! After Viktorija woke up, she did her homework without incident.

We went to the US Embassy today for Viktorija's VISA interview. All went well. We will pick up her VISA tomorrow.

Today at lunch, Viktorija started asking Mike and I questions like: "Dad, What do you love about mom?", "Mom, what do you love about dad?", "How did dad ask you to marry him?", etc. She is just trying to learn more about us, Meanwhile, my dear husband, who does not find it easy to express himself, started feeling like he was in a therapy session:-) I found it to be quite entertaining watching him squirm a bit;-)

Ok, today, I'm officially spent! I truly have been praying for strength to get through one more day. I know it sounds dramatic, but I'm completely drained. I can tell Mike is also feeling it. Praise the Lord we are so close now to getting on a plane for home.

T-3

After watching Viktoija consume a HUGE breakfast, we mozied back to our room to start on school work. Seriously, pound for pound, Viktorija can put away the food:-) Even Mike had a stomach ache watching her! She ate a plate of vegetables (she loves those), bacon, fruit (banana, 3 kiwi), cereal, juice, and a small danish!! You wouldn't think she'D be hungry for lunch, but, yep, she ate spaghetti for lunch too.



She was pretty proud of the fact that she got a 100% on all her Math homework today! English is improving. But, working on proper sentences is a bit slower...that's due to the language barrier, of course. She has not once complained that we haven't taken a break from school work since we're been with her.



We chose to watch "The Nativity Story" DVD today. This is a movie about the birth of Jesus. We always talk about what we watch, or read, together in order to make sure she has a good understanding of what the subject matter is. She does pretty well comprehending, considering that laguage differences. Great movie for anyone interested.


We are scraping the bottom of the barrell for entertainment these days. So, we played several rounds of charades. This is a game Viktorija had never played before. Initially she was shy about acting out her word. But, after a couple turns, she started to come out of her shell. Quite animated, actually:-)

I'm currently listening to her read to Mike from her children's Bible. She doing a fantastic job! And, the fact that she is actually comprehending the information is even better:-)

We enjoyed our skype conversations with our friends, Tim and Carla Carroll, and Kirk and Beth Bleavins. The weather sounds amazing at home! In the 70's?!?! WOW!! We broke 25 degrees today;-) Hope some of that sunshine hangs around for us.

Tomorrow we will take Viktorija to the US embassy for her VISA interview, and physical. This is the last hurdle we've been waiting for. We will then pick up her VISA from the embassy on Tues! Please pray for a smooth and seemless flight home on Wednesday. I'll bet I've heard Viktorija say it about a dozen times today how excited she is to get home and see Cosmo and Rosie (our pups)! Secretly I hope that our pups don't give us the attitude after leaving them for 2-1/2 weeks:-) They've been under the magnificent care of my mom. Also, our neighbors, John and Betsy, have helped by taking the pups out when my mom's been at work. This was extremely important to us to know that our "babies" would be well taken care of while we were out of the country. We are so thankful!!!!

Until tomorrow..... Love to all

checkin' out the city

I think we all felt pretty well rested when we awoke this morning. There are perks to this hotel that our past "home" didn't have, and vise versa. The first noticable perk is that we have room darkening curtains that we can close at night. Our last apt had an issue where we couldn't even close the curtains at night. Therefore, light was always pouring in from the outside. Last night was wonderful to sleep without distraction! It was the first time I had stayed in bed until 8:00 since we've been here! The breakfast in our new hotel is also better than our last. Very tastey and clean. The last place had mediocre food and it never had enough utensils on the foodbar to accomodate their food selection. Now, normally I wouldn't even eat at a place like that for fear of germs, etc. But, we've had to lower our standards a bit in order to function. It's been a good lesson for us. Thankfully, we have remained healthy thus far.

The temps were supposedly in the 20's today. However, for some reason it feels colder in Riga than it did in Daugavpils! We went our to do our own walking tour of the area we are staying in. It was soooooo cold, that our lips were frozen, making it difficult to even speak to each other. Mike enjoyed capturing some of the beauty of the architecture of Riga. The building really are beautiful.....very old. I haven't seen anything like it in the US.

After walking for about an hour, we finally settled on a small, quaint cafe for a late lunch. It is called "Double Coffee". Given the name, I thought I would make another attempt at some coffee. I had decided the coffee here is much too strong and dark for my liking. But, the concoction I chose today was AWESOME!!!! I'm sure it was not the most healthy, but I sure did enjoy it:-) Funny, after a few minutes of drinking it, I was almost dizzy from the caffene! It's been too long;-) The food there was also good. And, they had healthy choice!!!! Praise be!! Finally a meal I don't have to feel guilty about! HA, HA!

We returned to the hotel, Mike introduced Viktorija to photo editing. She really enjoyed this. It kept them busy for a couple of hours too. Anything to keep her busy and engaged. For dinner, we went to the local market for sandwich fixin's. I'm already thinking about what my first home cooked meal is going to be when we return home:-)

Tonight another DVD and bed. Are you all getting tired of reading these blogs yet? It kind of feels like "groundhog day" everyday now. We have appreciated the kind emails and notes everyone has sent our way. To get a message, or email, is an exciting event these days.

Sending our love your way.

By the way, Mike said if you click on any picture, and then click again, it will expand the picture even further to show more detail.

"moving day!"

Viktorija woke with excitement this morning! She was anxious about our court session, and excited about our move to Riga for the next 5 days. We were able to check out of our apt later than the usual check-out time (thank the Lord!), so we didn't have to hang out in the lobby for 3-1/2 hrs! This was a blessing.

A few months ago I sent Viktorija a card with a token that says "FAMILY" on it. She showed it to me today, and said she carries it with her everyday. I was surprised she still had it, quite frankly. It's just a small "penny-sized" token that would be easily lost. But, she calls it her lucky charm. Too sweet!

Our attorney arrived around 3:15 to pick us up for court. She was also bringing with her, our friends from NC who had just been to court to meet their new daughter, and have their first court session. We were thrilled to see Kirk, Beth, and Vanda!! Vanda was shy. But, that's to be expected. She hadn't seen them in over 6 mos, since they hosted her last Summer. I'll give Vanda a day, and Kirk will have her coming out of her shell once again! :-) This is a precious family, and we are so thrilled for them to be together once again!

Court went smoothly, as was expected. Viktorija signed the necessary documents stating that she wants to return home with us, and that she wants to take our last name. I wish we would have taken our camera in to court so we could document this special moment. We didn't know it would be allowed. Note to Kirk and Beth...take your camera;-) The court director and the other ladies involved were just thrilled that we are now going to be a family. They said it was so hard to believe what a perfect match it is. I say, there are no mistakes in God's plan!

We then headed out for our 3-1/2 ride back to Riga. We arrived around 7:30 to our new hotel. Oh, how glad we were to be out of the car! The roads are terrible, and people drive crazy! Mike even got a bit car sick. When we were checking in, the nice lady at the counter told us that we were being upgraded to a 2-room suite! What another blessing!! This is much better for a 5-night stay! God is good!

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But, I'm sure it will be another new experience:-) For now...we are pooped and going to bed! Love to all....

packin' up

Everyday when we go to breakfast, there is a young lady (approx. 22 yrs old) working. She never smiles, or looks happy. Viktorija gave her some candy today and told her we are leaving tomorrow and that we apprciate all she has done for us while we were here. That brought a smile to the girl's face for the first time we've seen. The young lady came by our table later and brought us a few pieces of her candy to share. When the housekeeper came in to clean our room today, Viktorija gave her a gift also. The lady was shocked. We just want people to know that we apprciate what they are doing. They may not speak our language, but they might remember the family that was in this apt as people that care about them.



Today we started sorting through our things, repacking for our move to Riga tomorrow. Viktorija is so excited. She has only been to her capital city one time, she says. We will look at our stay there as another adventure as we all learn about the city. We will not have an apt in that hotel. We will be sharing a room. This actually makes Viktorija happy since she likes the thought of all of us sleeping in the same room.



When we wake up tomorow we will have our last breakfast at the hotel and check out by 12:00. We will then be waiting for our attorney to pick us up for court in the afternoon. We will probably be waiting most of the day, since our court time is scheduled for 3:30pm. After court, our attorney will drive us he 3-1/2 hours back to Riga. Long day, but a day closer to returning home:-)



We are running out of creative ideas to keep us from going absolutely nuts. Currently, Mike and Viktorija are playing hide and seek with a penny. We're scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh?? :-) I think we've done pretty well indoors for 11 days with Viktorija. When Mike and Viktorija return this Summer for the 2nd trip, they will have much more to do. The weather should be beautiful then, and they can get a better appreciation for the quintness of the town.

We had the chance to meet Viktoirja's psychologist this evening. Vitkorija gave her the letter she had written for her "7-yr mom". Her psychologist is a very nice lady who is fluent in English and Latvian. She talked with us for about 15 minutes about how Viktorija is "ready for this big change with her new family". I could tell the psychologist and Viktorija are very fond of each other. Seeing the psychologist was Maria's idea prior to Viktorija's visit with us last Summer. What a great idea! This has been very helpful for her to deal with some issues and move forward. I'm grateful!

We are also thrilled that our friends, the Bleavins, arrived safely in Latvia today to begin their adopton process. This family has become so special to us. We met them through the hosting program last Summer and have remained in close contact as we both proceeded with adopting our host children. What a wonderful journey to share with friends:-) It's been awesome to see how God has worked in both of our families through this process.

Goodnight for now....

A sad "good-bye"

After an early bedtime last night, Viktorija woke up with a tummy ache around 11:00pm. Thank goodness for the Pepto Bismal tablets I brought! That seemed to be all she needed...thankfully! I think she ate something that didn't agree with her. She seemed to sleep well after that, but she was up early this morning. She's acting and eating fine.

We had just finished with school work when we received a phone call from Maria (foster mom). She asked us to come down to the lobby. She had pictures that Viktorija's foster brother, Dima, had drawn for each of us. He is quite the artist, I'll say. It was so thougthful. And, for Maria to drive the 30 minutes to deliver them to us, was proof that she wanted to see us one more time. She still wasn't feeling great, but she stayed and talked with us for about 20 minutes. With Viktorija translating, she told us that she knows God meant for the 3 of us to be a family. She said she didn't realize how much she would love Mike and I, and that she considers us family. She wants us to keep in touch, and would love to entertain Mike and Viktorija on their next trip to Latvia. There were tears shed and many long hugs between all of us. I told her that we love her and that we feel so blessed and thankful that she took care of Viktorija for us. Maria told Viktorija she will miss her, but she is so happy that she now has a real family that loves her. I have been amazed at how much I care for this special lady and her famliy. This experience in itself has made this a trip to remember.

We ventured out for our final bowling outing as a family today. Viktorija had a great game. I can see her gain confidence as she learns new things. I feel so happy for her when she accomplishes a goal. I can see the glow on her face immediately:-)

Today we started to focus on manners (ie: yes maam, yes sir, etc). I was a bit worried she would clam up on me. She tends to take correction as an insult. She handled our session well. The people here don't even look you in the eye, and they don't watch where they're going. So, if you're not careful, you can get run over. I'm trying to teach Viktorija what it is to be polite and respectful of everyone's feelings. This shouldn't be hard since she really is a sweet girl.

She has now learned two Bible verses:-) She's also pretty proud of that! Learning new words and then memorizing a verse is quite a feat. I've learned a few Latvian words and feel pretty good about that. But, what she has learned since last Summer amazes me.

She read the a letter to me today that she has written for her the foster mom she was with prior to Maria (for 7 yrs). This has been something she has been working with the psychologist on. Her 7-yr mom, as I will refer to her, wants Viktorija back and doesn't want her to be adopted by an American family. The courts took Viktorija away from her for a reason. They don't want Viktorija to have contact with her. Although, they did give her permission to write a letter to her, to be delivered by the psychologist AFTER Vikorija has left Latvia. The letter Viktorija wrote was kind and to the point. She thanked her 7-yr mom for taking care of her, but she wants her to understand that she is happy now that she has a family that loves her and can take care of her. Viktorija said that maybe someday when she is much older they will see each other again if she ever returns to Latvia to visit. Viktorija has worked through many things with the psychologist, and for that I'm very grateful. It seems the court here tries to do what is truly best for the children. I have really liked the judge and the social workers very much. I'm thankful for a better outcome than I ever expected. Tomorrow we will meet the psychologist to deliver the letter. Another hurdle complete....

6 more nights in Latvia.....Praise the Lord!!

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7069576c6d673d,first?rd=5266419#i0

our 2nd visit from the social worker

Today was our 2nd visit from the court appt social worker...and judge. I wasn't expecting the judge to come, but she is very nice. The judge doesn't speak English, but the Social worker speaks a small amount of English. They looked at Viktorija's school work, asked her what she is doing, where she is eating (in apt, or out), and "do you still want to live with this family?" Viktorija was pretty shy, but answered all the questions well. She told them about how she made spaghetti last night, how we do school work everyday, and that, "Yes", she does want to live with this family forever. Of course, I didn't expect anything less, but there is that sense of relief that we have now gotten beyond that stage of this process. Praise the Lord! Now....court on Friday to get the final o.k. to bring her back to America with us on this trip.



When Viktorija woke up this morning she told me she had a dream that she was back at Maria's house. She was told that she had to stay in Latvia. She said she was crying in her dream. When she woke up she said she was very relieved that it was just a dream. This child has lived many dreams and nightmares in her short life. I think she is begining to realize that this dream is a good one and that is her new reality:-)

Our planned bowling outing with Maria, Aldis, and the children was canceled. Maria is sick, and the youngest girl (6 yrs old) is in the hospital. I don't know what is wrong with her at this time. But, we plan to keep in touch with them over the next few days to check on them. We had a family bowling outing instead. It was fun to watch Viktorija get so excited about playing something new to her. I have found out I pretty much STINK at the game. But, it
is fun nonetheless. It got us out of the apartment anyway. We then had dinner at one of the places we have come to enjoy (they serve American food). We could tell at dinner, when Viktorija suddenly got quiet and disconnected, that it was certainly going to be an early-to-bed- night. All of this excitement is catching up with our girl too;-)

No DVD tonight....maybe a game of UNO, a Bible reading, and sleep. Once she's asleep, I can begin another one of the books I've downloaded:-) For all you readers out there, I highly recommend the NOOK Color! I might have said that before....

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7069536d47673d?rd=8005192#i0

school work and cinema

I think the time difference is starting to take affect. We haven't recovered from the 7 hour time difference yet, and have been going on pure adrenaline since we've been here. So, this morning Mike and Viktorija slept until 9:45 (which his late for us). After a bite to eat in our apt, we started in on school time. Viktorija is doing better with her writing and spelling. But, she was getting pretty frustrated with the memorization of the basic alphabet. She gets the letters out of order, or may forget a couple of letters at times and the english pronunciation. I could sense that she was getting upset. She wants to please us. After we ended our session, she went into the other room by herself and studied. She didn't want to continue with Math until she had mastered what we were studying in English/spelling. I also gave her a Bible verse in order to work on her memorization. John 3:16. I asked her to memorize one line per day, to make it easier on her. After her alone time, she came back and recited 2 lines: John 3:16-For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son....
I'm really proud of how hard she is trying.

We ventured out to the cinema about a block away. They actually have a couple of movies in English, with Latvian subtitles. Viktorija said it was the first time she had been to the cinema in Latvia (we went to a movie in America last Summer). We had the theater to ourselves. Viktorija remindes me of my sister in terms of needing popcorn with every movie we watch (at home, or theater). She could be full from a prior meal, and somehow finds the room for popcorn:-) We enjoyed our outing. The temps were a bit above zero today, so it felt good to us.

Tonight for dinner Viktorija wanted to cook for us. She wanted spaghetti. We went to the store and I told her to pick out the items she needed for dinner. She picked up 4 packages of ramen noodles. I was a bit baffled, but she assured me that's what she needed. So, she fixed the noodles, without the seasoning, drained the water, and sure enough, we had "spaghetti". she poured sauce over the top of the noodles and we were set. It was actually pretty good:-) I didn't realize all the things you could do with ramen noodles!! It's a good, inexpensive meal. Hmmm.....maybe we'll be trying some of that when we get home too:-)

After dinner we retired to the living area for family game night. She said, "I like playing games with my family!". There was a moment when she and Mike were playing Hide and seek. Something made us start laughing, and once we started we couldn't stop. Tears were flowing down my face, and Viktorija was rolling (literally) laughing. Boy, that is good for the soul! She is pure joy.

Today she started her countdown to America. She is looking forward to seeing our pups and seeing her room. We are just looking forward to being togther as a family. It's so funny the things I think about that I want her to experience. I don't want to waste another minute with her!

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7065596d6d673d,first?rd=69249#i0

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7065596d6d6b3d,first?rd=383734#i0

SNAP!

A great Sunday becuase we got to Skype with our Sunday school class! Thank you, Tim Carroll!! It was great to "see" everyone and share a few of our experiences. We are so grateful for everyone's love, support, and prayers! We appreciated Shad Kayser saying a prayer with us and the class at the end of our Skype session. We had "church" as a family today. We watched a video about the creation of the world and Adam and Eve (thanks, mom!!). This video was made with children in mind. Viktorija liked it. After the video, we were able to talk about disobedience and consequences...just like Adma and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We also have kept up with our nightly Bible readings with Viktorija. Wow! Her English and reading skolls have improved so much since the Summer when we started that! I'm proud of her:-)

Mike and Viktorija have been playing a game called "Snap!". Oh, it is funny to watch them get so competetive with one another! Viktorija really comes out of her shell during this game:-) As I have stated before, not much to do outside becaue of the cold. Games are a life saver! I'm so thankful I thought to pack about 5 different card games.

We have been doing school work, even on the weekend. Viktorija is doing so well with her Algebra! I'm so thankful for Mike;-) Her writing and spelling is coming along. I think she will do just fine once she gets settled into her new school. Her placement testing will be done on 3/7. Please keep her in your prayers.

I was so happy to be able to Skype with my mom and brother today!! It still amazes me that we can be halfway across the world and can see each other as if we were only next door! Amazing technology!! We were able to see our pups, Cosmo and Rosie. For this Viktorija was so excited! During our writing "class" today, she wrote a story about a girl who found a puppy. Everything is about a puppy!! I just keep telling myself..."Be strong, Julie. Be strong!" Mike will be too easy to convince to get a puppy. I would just like to wait awhile and get adjusted to all the new changes.

Well, it's time for "Air Bud" on video. See what I mean....it's movie about a dog!! Persistent;-)

Love and hugs....

Enjoy the links...

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7065546d574d3d,first?rd=2532470#i0

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7065546e47453d,first?rd=7648432#i0

bowling and a visit

Today was the first day we have started to feel a bit antsy. Mike finished the book he was reading. I think it will be challenging to find another book written in English while here in Latvia;-) Viktorija is getting more excited about going HOME. And, I am one of those people who is always ready to return home after a week anywhere. I love being at home!

We were thankful when Maria called Viktorija to see if we wanted to meet for some bowling this afternoon. We were able to meet 2 (out of 4) of her foster sisters and her foster brother. All the children were sweet and well-behaved. The girls were excited to see each other. If anyone feels led to adopt a sibling group, there are 3 girls available, from ages 6-12. We've now met all but 1 of the girls. Sweet, lovely girls. Their mother died and their father doesn't want them. They have been living with Maria for aprox 2 years now. Please pray that a good family will find these precious girls and offer them a forever home.

We all enjoyed our outing together. So, we planned another bowling outing with the children for Tues after they get our of school. Maria is very gracious. She offered to pick us up one day to take us back to their home (in another town) for another visit. We will have to see how things go. I'm not so sure Viktorija has any desire to return to the foster home, even if it's just a visit. We certainly will not push the issue. We are open to whatever she wants to do and feels comfortable with. I could tell Viktorija was proud to have her parents with her today and to meet her "sisters"/friends. I wondered what the 12 yr old was thinking. This young girl is Viktorija's best friend, as well as her foster sister. They obviously developed quite a bond in her short time with this foster family. I could see her watching Viktorija and I together. I really tried to make Maggija feel special. She doesn't speak much English. but, again, those hugs and smiles go a long way. I wish I could bring all of the girls back with me and find them loving families!!

Viktorija has been great with our "down-time". She reads, does crafts, plays games, etc. We usually watch one movie every evening as a family. We haven't watched any t.v. Besides the fact that most channels are in Latvian or Russian, there is not a single thing on. This is probably best, as it forces us to get creative with our time, and really bond with Viktorija. When she was with us in the Summer, I don't think we watched any t.v. together. We have fun just learning about each other and spending together. We play lots of card games. Mike and Viktorija are still competetive with each other. It's fun to watch their bond grow.

I know God has brought us on this journey for so many reasons. The first being to give a precious young girl a family. I also feel like He brought us here to be a witness for Him. I don't see how we can do much with the language barrier. But, I realize that God can use us in many ways if we allow Him to. He is in control of this entire situation. I pray that others will be able to see God's love through us.

Couple links to more videos...

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d70615a6c32673d,first?rd=6666953#i0

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7061576e576b3d,first?rd=6363332#i0

court visit

Last night it was a challenge getting to sleep for all of us. Our room in on the 7th floor. The restaurant/lounge in on the 10th floor. They were having a big party with a DJ and very loud music. We could have had our own dance party in our room if we would have had the energy.


I had taken my shower before Mike and Viktorija awoke. After my shower I lathered myself in what I thought was lotion. We had purchased it yesterday with Viktorija (she also thought it was lotion). I thought it was thick going on, but that didn't stop me. Our skin is so dry. When Vikorija came out of the bathroom later she informed us that is was shower cream. I got back in the shower to rinse off, and sure enough...it turned into suds. It's tough when you can't read/understand another language. It gives me greater appreciation for Viktorija learning English:-)


We had a visit with 2 ladies from the court this morning. Very nice ladies. It was pretty painless, really. They came to our room and asked Viktorija what she has been doing with us for the past several days. They asked us if we had any questions. That was pretty much it. I think they can tell we've already bonded, and there are no issues that need worked through at this time. However, they are still required by the courts to make a 2nd visit on Tues of next week. Viktorija presented each of them with a gift, which I think they were surprised and happy about.


The day we checked into our hotel with Viktorija, she told us that she had 8 cards for us, We would get one each day until there were no more left. They have all been very sweet...."Thank you for everything", "I love my family", a picture of the 3 of us and our dogs, and today it was, "I want a puppy....PLEASE!". We just laughed. She is persisent, if nothing else:-)


I decided to take Viktorija to get a new pair of pants/jeans. She has 2 pair, and with our laundry situation, I thought one more pair would certainly be appropriate. This was an interesting trip to the "mall". It is very much like an indoor flea market. Because she is so tiny, there were not many choices. But, we did find 1 pair that she was really excited about. Truth be told, they're still a little big. But, the man gave her a belt as a "gift" and she said she was fine with that. The styles here are much different also. And, sizing would be a challenge for most Americans. Their clothes are so tiny! Jeans are extra skinny, tops are very clingy, and there is a lot of "bling", shall we say. I miss White House/Black Market and Ann Taylor Loft:-) I think I'm too conservative to live here;-)


Tonight Mike gave us both a lesson in Chess. It has been years since my grandpa taught me to play. Needless to say, I'm a bit rusty! Vitkorija is picking it up pretty well. The NOOK Mike gave me for Christmas is coming in so handy here! I'm enjoying the books I downloaded prior to coming here. I also downloaded the Bible. It's pretty great to have all my books on one small piece of technology!


I hope you enjoy the links below. Mike is in full form:-)


More later..... HUGS to all



http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7061576e6d553d?rd=8412557#i0

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7061576e6d453d?rd=1139624#i0

getting out

Today was "laundry day". That was fun! Caroline Ingalls has nothing on me! :-) It's funny...as a child I used to fantasize about living like "Little House on the Prairie". I find myself saying this all the time now..." We are so spoiled!!".

We needed to get photos of Viktorija today for her temporary visa. So, after Math with Mike, we ventured out into the cold, cold day. Poor little Viktorija's hands and face are chapped from the cold wind. She says she stays like that all Winter long. Needless to say, we are lathering the lotion on.

We then found a place called Hessburger to have lunch. I guess it would be most like a Burger King in the US. Mike and Vikotrija were happy with this. Tonight will be dinner in the room. We went to the grocery store for some chicken. The grocery store here is such a busy place!! I feel like we're in a train station each time we go! We wonder why people aren't working, or children are not in school during the day. If all of these people are without a job, it's a LOT!! I notice that people don't buy many grocery items either. When I shop at home, I shop for 2 weeks at a time. I feel I save money this way. But, I guess since most people are walking or riding the train, they really can't buy too much at a time. It's interesting to take all of this in.

I know most people have seen the movie, "A Christmas Carol". My brilliant husband decided to do an "experiment". Will the tounge really stick to a metal light pole when its cold outside?!? Let me just tell you, he figured it out in about a half of a second!! There are no words for my thoughts on this. :-)

Viktorija was able to get on her Latvian "facebook" today. She was so thrilled that Mike offered to put pictures up on her page. She didn't have any photos posted, and was thrilled that now she had a family to show her friends. This made her giggle with excitement.

Something else that was pretty special for Mike was when Viktorija showed us a necklace she had purchased with some birthday money she received. It is a necklace that says, "Daddy's Girl" on it. This really shows how excited she is to have a father figure in her life. I'm so happy for her!

I find myself smiling as I listen to Viktorija taking a bath. She has been only allowed one shower per week. Now that she can take a bath, or shower, anytime it is funtime for her. She chooses to take a bath with "lots of bubbles":-) I guess we'll never really understand. I try to put myself in her place and I just can't phathom her prior life.

Tomorrow...our first visit with the social/court worker.

Click the link below to see a short video. Our love to all....

http://personalspace.sony.net/email/file/6d7061546d32453d,first?rd=8608678#i0

Today was pretty uneventful, and we liked it. Got up around 8:00 and then went for our breakfast at the hotel since it's include with our room (that's a blessing!). We then came back to our room for some study time. Math with Mike is going better. Viktorija said, "I think it won't be so bad now". I think she meant that Mike is a good teacher and she is getting a better understanding of algebra. Heaven knows she's better off with Mike teaching the Math than me!!

She spent some time playing computer games and then we had lunch in the room. PB& J...you can't beat it! Then it was time for some English and spelling, with me. Nouns, verbs, and prepositions were the course for today. She caught on well. Her little struggle is with spelling. The Latvian alphabet looks much like ours, but sounds totally different. So, learning the letters and sounds in English is a lot of repetition. She's doing well.

To relax, Mike and I read while Viktorija played her games. I also had this great idea that I would bring some theraband along on the trip so I could get some exercise (there's no gym around). Well, today was the first day I used it. It's not quite like going to a gym and feeling exhilarated. But, Mike and I tried:-)

The clothes and coat we sent home with Viktorija in the Summer didn't return with her. She said she doesn't know what happened to her new coat. But, we were told that everything kind of becomes shared property. So, I know we will have some fun shopping for some new clothes that are just hers.

When we were at court on Monday, Mike took Viktorija out of the room so that I could ask more in depth questions about her background. Viktorija had told us that she was dropped off at an orphanage when she was 5, by her alcoholic mother. What I was told was that, yes, her mother is indeed an alcoholic, but that Vktorija was found in an abandoned house when she was 6 yrs old, by herself. She weighed only 13 kilograms (approx 30 lbs) at the age of 6! She was literally starving. She was found and taken to a crisis center. From there she was sent to one foster home for 7 yrs. This foster family apparently did not do a very good job, so she was removed and placed less than a year ago with the latest family. Her first foster mom continues to try to contact Viktorija, as she doesn't want Viktorija to be adopted. The courts do not want her to have any contact with this woman, which Viktorija is aware of and in agreement with. However, since we've been here, there have been 6 attempted calls from this lady. I can't imagine what must go through Viktorija's mind. She has thankfully been seeing a psychologist about all of these changes. She tells us she is very happy with the way things are going now.

She's a tough little lady. I admire her strength and her will. I can learn a lot from my daughter. It is with great love and respect for her that I continue on this journey of motherhood.

That's all for today. More memories tomorrow.... Love to all!