So Blessed!

I want to thank each of you for your comments and emails. I wish we had more time and unlimited internet access so that we could reply to each of you. Each time we hear from you it makes us remember how many people are making it possible for us to be on this journey. There are so many things I want to tell you and yet I feel there is very little time. So I’ll make some random notes…

As I type this it is Tuesday night for us. Tomorrow is our last full day in Vlad. We will do several things in the city tomorrow as far as paperwork goes, and Blake will see the doctor one last time. Sandy True came up with a great idea. We are going to do a potluck tomorrow for dinner. Amy, her dad Randy, Walker her son; Fred and Heather the Canadians; Jennifer, her mom Vicky, and Victoria; Ryan, Sandy, and Bodi True; and the three of us will attend the big event. Who knows what we will conjure up! On Thursday we leave for Moscow. We are hoping to meet up with Greg and Shannon Martin and their two children on Friday to go to the zoo.

Today Justin had to go sign some papers and Blake and I hung out. We did a webcam call with Grandpa Critter, Grandma Cindy, and Ariel – the dog. Then we chatted with Brady, Madison and Nana. It was great for them to finally lay eyes on one another. Madison said “Menya Zavoot Madison. (My name is Madison) I love you!” Brady thought Blake was cute, and when he put on his Old Navy hat Brady thought he was cool. We can’t wait to get home!

Thank you to those that gave us a donation for the orphanage/baby home. We donated cute monster like beach balls, several crafts appropriate for their age, and as you see below Pampers. We had asked what we should donate and Irina told us they always need diapers. When we picked up Blake, we carried the diapers in and just left them in the visiting room. It seemed as though that was the end of it. Then the director came in with Irina and said (through Irina) that it was a miracle. They had just run out of bigger diapers that day. They needed them very badly. She was sincerely grateful. I tried to push out of my head what would have happened had we not brought the diapers with us.

It didn’t take long for us to find out that Blake loves cabinets. He got in the ones in the White Rabbit room, and then after his bath discovered that we had an empty cabinet in the room.

We really had a good evening. He enjoyed his bath after about a minute of getting used to the idea that it was ok to sit down in the water. Bedtime was ok but very insightful. He laid with Justin and I for awhile but was too distracted so we thought we would try the crib that was in the room. This was not the thing to do! He instantly cried in terror. Not a “Hey I don’t like this” kind of way but rather a body shaking horrified sort of way. We instantly took him out. He and I went to the other room so Justin could get some sleep. He little body was relaxed and he enjoyed the closeness, but he was too afraid to let his little eyes close. Finally, at about midnight, he was out.

As is evidence in this picture, going to bed over three hours past his normal bedtime didn’t phase him much!

We even had enough energy to walk down to the beach for a photo shoot!

Today was a special day because it was Victoria’s Gotcha Day (Jennifer’s daughter and Blake’s Bee group pal). They treated us to a special dessert celebration. It didn’t take long and Blake had shown Victoria how to get in the cabinets in the White Rabbit room. Of course the spectators laughed and made some comment about bringing cute chicks to the man cave!

And here we are tonight, attempting bedtime again. We have to thank Blaine for the John Deere pajamas. We are hoping not to be up until midnight. We are truly blessed with three amazing children. We are so excited to get home and begin our life together!