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!