Life gets crazy with 4 kids

I've debated back and forth on if I should continue this blog. The adoption process is over, but life is still plowing on. Seven (wow really seven) months have passed since I last posted. Life is really busy, but great and Tori is doing FANTASTIC!! I can not tell you how impressed I am with this little girl. She has such a positive attitude and love each day God has blessed her with. She wakes each morning with a smile on her face and usually a question on her lips. Oh how I forgot how much preschoolers ask questions. "What's for breakfast?" "What are we going to do today?" "Is it my school day?" "Is Nana coming?" "Can I..." "Will you..."  It's probably the place that we but heads the most. She is full of life and ready to tackle the day bright and early. I am NOT a morning person. Ethan and her sometimes bicker like any 2 siblings do that are that close in age, but they have made great improvements and are bonding. The novelty has worn off some for the boys, but they still dote on her from time to time. They have both become busy busy teenagers.

Tori is now speaking 100% English now. Despite our attempts, she has lost almost all of her Lithuanian language, so she is relearning it with her brothers at Lithuania school on Saturdays. She attends preschool 3 times a week and absolutely loves it!! In school she works with a Special Ed teacher and a Speech teacher which are helping her build her vocabulary as well as learn proper sentence structure. She has come such a long way! She can't wait to go to school and be with her friends. I think that is the only thing she is missing from the orphanage, to have 12 to 13 kids around your age around you all the time to play with. For the first time about 2 weeks ago she brought up "her other home." Before this she has never mentioned or had questions about where she used to live. I'm actually really happy she did. I kept waiting for that shoe to drop. Her question was about being able to see her friends, not about going back there. I explained that they were far away and it would be hard to go see them, which made her a little sad, but then we talked about all the new friends she has made and then it didn't seem to matter to her anymore. I met a family through my blog that adopted from the same orphanage and we were able to get both girls on facetime to chat. Unfortunately Tori was mostly English by then, and the other girl hadn't learned that much yet. Hopefully we will be able to do that again soon.

In August, we celebrated her 5th birthday. She loved all the attention even though she had to share it with her older brother who's birthday is just 2 days after hers. My mother made her a beautiful doll cake that looked like the Disney princess from the movie Brave. This has been a tradition in my family that you get a doll cake on your 5th birthday. I'm so happy we were able to continue it with my daughter too!! This fall brought on football and cross country. Tori just loved to watch and cheer on her brothers. My sister tried to teach Tori some cheers which was so cute. She also loved Halloween. Once she understood that people were handing out candy she just kept saying "Candy, my candy?!?"

We had family pictures taken the beginning of October. We went to a park and had lots of candid type pictures taken, so to her it was just her family playing at the park. The pictures turned out great. As we were leaving she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I so happy." Just melted my heart. She has adapted so well to our family that I think anyone who did not know us and watched us in the mall or at the park would never know she was recently adopted and hasn't been  apart of our family for her whole entire life. We are so thankful that God laid it on our hearts to open our home to a daughter. We love having her as part of our family!!

The weeks are flying!!

It's crazy to think how different our life was just 2 months ago. The time dragged by and it felt like we were never going to get our little girl. Now the days fly by and I forget what day it is or how long we have been home.

I will say it again (and probably every post), God has truly blessed us. Viktorija is a wonderful little girl, who loves life and her family very much. She is first at the door to greet whoever is coming home with a big hug. She has to find everyone in the house to hug them goodnight (which is also a trick to stay up later, but it's so cute, who cares).

She has been to the pediatrician, who says everything looks great. No major concerns that need immediate attention. He ordered some labs which brought on some interesting interactions. She had to have a blood draw and I had no way to explain to her what was going to happen. Well we arrived at the lab and an older disabled woman was at the counter with her caregiver and screaming, which terrified Viktorija. She kept covering her ears and asking to leave. When it was our turn to check in, she didn't want to go anywhere near that counter thinking that what ever made that woman scream, she wanted no part of it. I kept telling her everything was ok, knowing that it was only going to get worse. Well the order was incomplete and they were unable to complete the appointment. We had to leave and come back the next day. Oi! It was horrible. I had to hold her as tight as I could while she screamed. I don't think there was a person in the place that didn't hear her. Poor thing! Now every time we go anywhere she points to her arm, her way of asking "am I going to get poked again?" I just wish I could explain to her what happened and why.

Viktorija's understanding of English is growing. I can give her commands in English and she can understand and complete what I've asked, but she isn't speaking a whole lot of English. She will repeat some words if you ask, but she is have difficulty getting her mouth to make the sounds, so she doesn't like to. She was evaluated by our school district for a special preschool for kids with physical and speech delays. I'm praying she is excepted for the fall. I think it will help her so much!

She continues to explore and test her boundaries. She can really dig in her heels. From 6-8 at night has become pretty challenging. She just seems to want to rebel. I've been trying some different things to make night time a little more enjoyable for everyone. It's just so hard to tell if it's boredom, rebellion, tiredness or just part of the adjustment of coming from an orphanage to a family. I know she's testing me because she makes sure I see whatever it is she's doing cause she knows it's going to upset me. I've introduced even more of a routine and it seems to help but it's only been a couple of days so we'll see.

Her favorites continue to be music, dolls and playing outside. I just wish it would warm up outside. Neither one of us is enjoying this cold weather. Makes me even more bummed that I missed all that 80 degree weather we had while we were in Europe.  Her new favorite is doing my hair. I think she's going to make me bald. LOL! I wish it was more brushing my hair and less trying to put it in pony tails or jamming barrettes in my head, but it's all worth it when she says "grazus mama" (pretty mama) and hugs me.

Riding a bike, thank you Aunt Melanie and Uncle Russ.

Enjoying Easter morning! Candy before breakfast!

Easter dress before she got ketchup on it.

She loves her music!!

The little devil on my shoulder has whispered to me more than once "will you really love the child like your own?" I can no longer hear him. I'm pretty sure Viktorija knocked him off with one of her many hugs I get each day. I have no doubt that God has planned this little girl to be my daughter from the beginning. She is mine and always will be. Adoption is such an incredible experience. There's really no way to explain it. She was conceived in our hearts and grew there until we were able to bring her home to our family. God's amazing plan!

Happy Easter!!

Wow! I said something to my husband about being home for 3 days and he needed to remind me that it has already been 5. Time is flying! My kids have been off this week for Spring Break and my husband only went into work on Thursday, so it's pretty much felt like a continuation of our time in Lithuania. One big happy family, hanging out together.

Our time at home has been a little bumpy, but progressing well. Viktorija is getting used to the surroundings and the dog. She's got a love/hate thing going on with him. One minute she's sitting on the dog telling him how much she loves him, to the next minute screaming because he's crossing the room towards her. He's being so tolerant of her. He's such a great dog!


Ok...truth time. I started the above 2 paragraphs on Monday. It's now Wednesday and I'm trying to finish a blog update. Oi! Do you know the movie Monster's Inc? The part where they bring Boo back to their apartment and the sweet little thing runs around exploring and knocking over the TV, spilling over books and goes goes goes until she passes out? Well this is pretty much my life right now. Everything is new to her and she's not afraid to explore. She loves to be outside, but it's been so cold and windy she hasn't wanted to go out. So I've had to get creative in finding different things for us to safely explore. It's been a lot of fun, but exhausting as well.

We didn't end up attending church for Easter, which I missed a lot.  I sprained my knee playing outside with the kids and B is still fighting a terrible chest cold and ear infection. Also, I was too afraid of overwhelming Viktorija. The kids got up in the morning and looked for their Easter baskets. Viktorija thought this was really cool. A basket full of toys and treats some of which she was allowed to eat even before breakfast. You could just see the amazement in her eyes. She kept looking at me waiting for me to disapprove as she would pick up a jelly bean and when I would say "yes" she would pop it in her mouth fast before I could change my mind. I dressed her up in the Easter dress I got for our Easter dinner which had ketchup on it within 5 minutes. Thank goodness I took pictures first!! LOL!

Viktorija is extremely bright. She has picked up several English words already and uses them mixed in with her Lithuanian. Her favorite toys are her dolls and Leapfrog ABC magnets that sings the alphabet song and the sound the letters make. It's easy to tell when she overwhelmed or tired because she gets naughty. She does things trying to get me upset. I've learned that that's the time to scoop her up and find a quiet place to sit or to nap. She has been looking for a lot of extra comforting lately. Last night was a rough one. She didn't want to go to bed. She went from crying to playing to trying to be naughty. I think it was her effort to keep me in the room for as long as she could.  Today she doesn't want to let me out of her eyesight. I can only imagine what thoughts are going through her head. I just try to redirect her bad behavior, keep her busy, and tell her I love her as much as I can.

From time to time I think, " I can't believe we made it!" The adoption was such a long journey. The pain of it all is beginning to fade, especially when she flashes me one of those adorable smiles. I'm enjoying getting to know her. She has so much personality and determination. Over all the whole family is doing really well. It's not always easy...it's not the movie Annie. But the sun does come out....(groan, I know). The lack of sleep, my injury and B's sickness has added an extra level of difficulty, but we're making it work. We've had a couple of friends bring us dinner which has been a huge help. We are very grateful to everyone who has helped us in anyway through this process and continues to support us. God has blessed us with us a beautiful daughter and wonderful friends and family. He has been our strength through this all. Praise God and we thank Him for the many many blessings He has given us.

We are home!

Sorry everyone for the delay in the post. It was a very exhausting day of travel...over 24 hours of it. The kids were great and did it with very little complaint. The orphanage was worried about Viktorija being afraid of air travel, but the only complaint from her was having to wear her seat belt when we landed. The 10 hour flight from Poland was especially difficult. The food was awful, thank goodness I packed some crackers in my bag. I wanted to have a little temper tantrum so I'm shocked there was little noise from the kids. After traveling across the globe with 4 kids, I feel I can do anything now. LOL!

Once we arrived in Chicago, we had to go through the process of getting Viktorija's stamp of approval that makes her an official US citizen, more waiting and sitting. Once we had that, we got our rental van and stopped for something to eat. Viktorija passed on the food, but was more then happy to eat the ice cream I offered her. I was shocked to see all the lilac bushes in full bloom along the highway. Made me feel like I was gone longer then 3 weeks. Lilacs in April...crazy! The van came with a DVD player so we got HOP at Target and hit the road. Viktorija was asleep shortly after the opening credits. I think the boys made it through most of the movie before falling asleep. B and I tried to keep a conversation going so we could stay awake. Longest day ever!

Once we got home, the boys dragged themselves in and crawled into bed. Viktorija awoke some and was pretty disoriented. Poor thing! I showed her around a bit but then tried to get her in her PJ's. She started to cry. Then she realized that the doll that was in the picture we sent her of her room wasn't on the bed. She started asking for it and luckily that was one of the words I had learned so I knew what she was looking for. I pulled the doll out of the closet and she curled up and went to sleep. My sweet baby girl.

She woke up crying Wednesday morning, but quickly settled once she saw me. It was 6:30 in the morning. Oi! We had some breakfast and explored the house. She is not a fan on the dog. In our family picture, just his head was in it, so I think she thought he was much smaller. But just like the water park, she is trying to over come her fear. It's exhausting though, she wants to see the dog and calls the dog over then decides no still scary and get's upset. This goes on all day. Right now her favorite is to watch the dog from the office through the french doors. She can see, but is protected. The dog has been great. Just sits there and looks at me like, "what did I do?" LOL!

She was very excited to see clothes hanging in her closet. She especially liked the dress with a matching one for her doll. We of course had to try on a few things before we settled on something. It was a beautiful day, so we went outside for a walk. The boys were excited to have a little freedom away from us and see there friends. I think they were outside most of the day. At dinner I noticed their cheeks were all red. I figured it was from running, but by the end of dinner I noticed their necks were red too...they were sun burned! Never did it occur to me to but sun screen on them. Yesterday I was bundling them up because there was snow on the ground. And it is Michigan in early April, just wasn't expecting to have to worry about that yet.

She keeps me very busy. I really can't leave her unsupervised for very long. She's just so curious and if I'm not watching, she will try anything...like a roll of toilet paper down the toilet or a sink full of soap while she washes her hands. She doesn't sit still long and likes to change activities frequently.

Night time rolled around and we got everyone ready for bed. I laid down with Viktorija and we were both out. It was a very full long day for both of us. Unfortunately our clocks are still pretty messed up so we were up and down through out the night. Overall I think she is adjusting pretty well. I'm very proud of her. She's very brave and has a great attitude towards new things.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers and support while we were away. Every comment was greatly appreciated. I will still post here and there, but life is going to be pretty busy. She keeps me on my toes. Plus it going to be a lot of the same day after day while we get used to each other. We are so excited to have her home and just love her to pieces.

Last day in Lithuania

Today was our last day in Lithuania. And it's time too. We are all out of laundry soap, dish soap, shampoo, and coffee. I think it's a sign. LOL! While we are all excited to be going home, we couldn't help to be a little sad at leaving. Amazing things happened here and it holds so many memories old and new for Broderick.

Today turned out to be more active then we originally planned. We woke up to lots of snow on the ground and still coming down. Happy April!!  I started packing and cleaning. We then decided to go have lunch in our favorite Lithuanian restaurant one last time. Yum!! After that we trekked to a bigger store then we had near our apartment. We wanted to find a CD for Viktorija of some popular kid songs. Kinda like the Lithuanian Nick Jr. And we found it! She loves listening to it!

On the way back from the store, B stopped into a key store. In Vilnius, there is a bridge to a "suburb" called Uzupis. It has become a tradition for Lithuanians when they marry to put a padlock on the bridge and then throw the keys in the river below. It's to symbolize that they will be together forever. I loved the idea and thought it was very romantic. Well, he got us a lock and asked if they knew where we could get it engraved. The nice man walked us down to a jeweler who had an engraver and he engraved it for us on the spot. So we walked down to the bridge, put our lock on, and threw our keys in the river.

Forever and ever!!

 An early 15 year anniversary celebration.

Thanks to Pam Turke for the awesome shirt! 

She wears it with pride and spunk. She loves being the little sister!!

So now the kids are in bed. Everything is packed and we will be up at 3am to catch our flight, which is only 8pm in the states. I hope we can adjust to the time difference quickly. I'm a little nervous about over sleeping, but B has set two alarms. We have loved our time here in Lithuania and hope to return sometime in the future, but we are all ready to be home. Viktorija is excited to see her house, meet the rest of her family, and sleep in her very own bed. We love you all and will see you soon!

Water fun!

Today we took the kids to Vichy Water Park, Europe's largest water park. I had bought Viktorija a cute little ruffled bathing suit and it looked so cute on her. I don't know for sure, but I think it was her first experience with "swimming." At first she was very scared and clung for dear life, which didn't hurt my feelings any. So we floated around the lazy river to start.  After watching her brothers run and play in the water, she didn't want to be out done or left out. True to her spirit, she attempted to be more independent and not let what scared her hold her back. She kept trying to be brave and walk out into deeper waters. She kept B and I on our toes!! The girl continues to show me just how much determination and spunk she has. She has fear and caution, but she doesn't let it hold her back.

B and I took turns watching the younger two and riding the slides with the older two. Harry wanted to take me on a ride (or death trap, as I like to call it) that took you down 3 stories for you to hit a wall that you climbed up and then somewhat free fell to the pool below. The things I do for my kids!! I think my screams could be heard by all.  I wish I had pictures to share, but with all the water and having FOUR kids to chase, pictures just wasn't an option. Viktorija and I did get our picture taken by a roaming photographer which I made B buy so we had something to for Viktorija's first water park adventure.

It was a great time and we all enjoyed ourselves. It will probably be one of the kid's favorite memories. B and I were so tired this morning and wasn't really feeling like going, but we are glad we went. It could have been a pretty boring Sunday cooped up in the apartment. Just one more day before we travel. We are very excited to be heading back home. I will continue to post once we are home to let people know how we are doing. It's going to be an adjustment and we don't want to overwhelm Viktorija with too many visitors, so I think this will be the best way. We love you all and thank you for your love and support. Prayers for an easy day of traveling would be greatly appreciated!!

Trakai and more Vilnius

Yesterday we had an awesome day! The weather held out so we were able to travel to Trakai. It's a cute little town a bus ride away. It's a place B has wanted to see but has never been able to go to in his 3 previous trips. The town has lots of water. B found a little fixer upper on the water for our summer home....hahaha. The castle in Trakai was really cool. Lots to see. We all loved it!

Today we did our last shopping in Vilnius. The boys picked out trinkets from the street venders and B got me an awesome pair of wool socks. We also found some stories on cd that B's friend recommended. I wanted Viktorija to have some of the songs and stories she was used to hearing to have back in the states. We also found the "Gates of Dawn" that we couldn't find in previous ventures out. Tonight B is going to take the boys out. They are doing the Earth hour celebration right outside our apartment. If you haven't heard about it, look it up on YouTube. Looks pretty cool! Viktorija is so tired today and will have to miss it. So her and I will stay back so she can get to bed.

We are starting to collect things that have scattered about the apartment to get ready to pack. Just 2 more days. We all can't wait to be back in the states. I'm attaching some pictures of a few of our adventures.

The view of Vilnius from the 3 crosses.

Papa Bear and his cubs.

Trakai castle

Devin and her spent about 30 minutes building a LEGO car together. Devin was great teaching her how to put the pieces together. She loved it! 

Things I have learned about Viktorija

Not much is happening. We got Viktorija's passport and went to the US Embassy today and got her Visa approved, just have to wait for the paperwork to be finished (always paperwork). They hope we can pick it up tomorrow so everything will be ready for us to travel home early next week. If I had my way and it wasn't so expensive, we would change our tickets and come home this weekend. I'm done and want to be home.

Yesterday was beautiful. The only really nice day we've had in Vilnius so we took advantage of it and saw a lot of the city. Many of the cathedrals and the 3 crosses. A very beautiful place that over looks the city but quite a climb. The kids never complained about any of the walking...amazes me. They complain they are tired after 20 minutes in Meijer. LOL! Not much is happening. We are just spending time as a family and trying to get use to each other while waiting for everything to process through the system. So tonight I thought I would share a little more about what we have learned about Viktorija.

So far, I have learned she loves to sing!! She sings while she is walking, thinking or working on something, to put herself to sleep at night...always. It's such a sweet voice. I hope she doesn't stop once we are home. She always asks for the "musica" channel on the television. More cheezey Lithuanian singers, but she loves it. When we walk, she loves to chase the leaves blowing on the ground and stomp on them. When she gets upset with something that you are doing, she puts her hands on her hips and wags her finger at you and says something in Lithuanian. We found out from a friend of Broderick's that she is saying "stop that right now." And if she is really upset, she will take her shoe off and and threaten to hit you with it. She looks like a little old lady. Which makes us laugh and then she starts to laugh too. She loves to be a girlie girl. I painted her fingernails and she couldn't stop looking at them. But then she likes to get in and wrestle with the boys. My kinda girl!!  She loves to help. She likes to feel responsible for things. She went from being one of the oldest to the youngest. In the orphanage her and another boy were the oldest and would help out with the smaller children. So she is thrilled when I give her a task, like set the table. Can't wait to show her how to vacuum when we get home. Just kidding....sort of.  If she is bored, she will look for trouble to get into to get attention, so I will be very busy at home. She loves to sit and have tea with me in the afternoon, so I see many a tea party when we get back.  She's extremely smart and picks up on things very quickly. She is loving her new found freedoms. She likes to challenge me, but always follows my requests (after a bit). She's very independent. She likes to do things for herself. I have to remind myself that she's 4 and not a little baby. She looks like an angel when she sleeps, of course most children do, but she's my angel. She can pack away a lot of food when she wants to. And of course the first thing I learned about her, she has a very large sweet tooth.

We are having an amazing time her in Lithuania, but I think we are all ready to go home. The weather was awful today, so we didn't go out into the city. The apartment seems to be shrinking around us! Just a few more days and we will be packing up and heading home. Love to you all!

Passports

The day started to early for my liking today. I spent the entire night up with Viktorija. She was whimpering and twitching her legs. I had no idea what was wrong. I covered her legs and uncovered them. I rocked her. I sang. I don't know if she was scared or not feeling well from her shots yesterday. I felt so bad that she couldn't tell me what was wrong. She woke up in ok spirits but didn't eat much for breakfast. She's so funny. Some meals she can out eat the boys, other meals she barely has a bite.

She has become more comfortable so she doesn't carry around all of her stuff where ever she goes. She loves to explore and try out all her new freedoms. The bathroom and light switches has been her favorite so far. Her hands have become chapped because she washes them about 50 times a day. And the lights, on off on off. Today she found the television power button. Drove the boys crazy! The funniest thing was that she kept trying to get it to do things by touching the screen like the iPad we showed her earlier.

We are one step closer to coming home! And I am ready! We took Viktorija to get her picture taken and apply for her passport. Now I don't know if this is special circumstances but it's 24 hour turn around. Why can't it be this way in the states? Anyway, I got to see Viktorija's new birth certificate that the law office picked up for us on Monday. We are now listed as her parents, which I find a little weird. You would think it would be a separate document not a new birth certificate.

Afterwards we had lunch at a burger joint we promised the kids. Viktorija drank her juice box but wouldn't touch her meal...again. Then we went to Gedimino's tower. Walked all the way to the top of the hill and about to go up the tower for Viktorija to say I have to use the bathroom...ugh. So Viktorija and I walked down while the boys climbed the tower. Now Lithuania knows nothing about public restrooms. It's very common to see that if you aren't buying you aren't using their toilet and I forgot to get some money from B. we looked and found nothing. I could tell from the dance it was getting serious. So I asked a security gaurd where I could find a bathroom (in Lithuanian I might add) and pointed to Viktorija. He kindly let us use the workers portapotty. Thank God!

We met back up with the boys and headed back to the apartment to hang for the rest of the day. Devin is definitely her favorite. So we've been trying to keep him busy here and there so the rest of us can have some one on one time with her. Lol! She loves to help so I try to ask her to help with setting the table and such. Also got her to read a book with me. B took her to the store and bought ice cream bars for the family. She loved handing those out to everyone! It's been so fun to watch her experience things. She never walks looking straight ahead. She's tugged along, usually by Devin, while she looks every which way taking it all in. She's an amazing little girl and we all feel so blessed that God has granted us to be her family!

We are right on track to get everything done in time to come home on time. So thankful for that! We are all looking forward to being home has a family. Hugs and kisses!

Settled in Vilnius

We are back in Vilnius. Viktorija had a doctor's appointment with an embassy doctor this afternoon. It went very well. Everything looks great (for the limited stuff they actually look at and check). She had to get two vaccinations for which she was very brave.

After the appointment we got checked into our last apartment in Lithuania. B is taking to calling us gypsies. It feels that way too! The apartment is nice, but very small. It's right in the middle of Old Town so there is lots to see. There's a "park" near by that Viktorija loved...she has no fear.

Tomorrow we have an appointment at the embassy then we are going to climb the ginormous hill to the 3 crosses and Gedimino Tower. Harry's excited because we found a burger joint not far from our apartment that we are going to have for lunch. Not much to really report. Just trying to make more connections with Viktorija. She is doing so well. She loves Devin and gives little attention to anyone else when she has Devin's attention. Tonight we got her to sit with B and I and do some number puzzles. She's very smart. She has been throwing in a few English phrases she has already picked up like, "I don't know," "right here," and at bedtime she said "I love you" to me. Melt my heart.

Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy! Love to you all!

 Viktorija's very first outfit...Punky Brewster style. She loved it!!

 I made her a hat while we were in Brizai.

The kids with our friend Ramondus' children.

A lifetime ago

It's seems like a lifetime since I've been able to post on here. So much has changed, the apartment, the city, the number of people in my family. It has been an amazing couple of days. I will start with Friday.

Friday, the plans seemed to change by the minute. We woke up and packed up most of the apartment. Our plans were to visit Viktorija in the morning. Let her have launch and a nap at the orphanage and we would visit the Hill of Crosses and then we would come back and have our party and say good bye. While visiting in the morning, they said, no it would be good if we do the party before lunch. So B ran back and got our gifts for the children and the care takers. While he did that, Viktorija was being difficult with her caretakers and did not want to come near us. I could tell she was nervous, but I wasn't too worried. I expected her to have a hard time. In fact, in my head I pictured her crying all the way out the door. Anyway, she wanted to go out with the rest of her friends and I said that would be great. We had so much fun outside. It was a nicer day and they got out some sad little toys for the children to ride on. Oh how I will I could get them a bunch of new tricycles, but the children didn't seem to mind. Harry pushed Viktorija back and forth, back and forth on a tracker looking thing. She loved it! While the children were playing the directress, Viktorija's caretaker and their interpreter her having a big discussion. Then they approached me. The caretaker was so worried that I was upset about Viktorija's behavior. That I was worried about how she would behave with me. Almost like she was worried that I would change my mind. They promised me that once away from here, she would understand that I am her mother and that she would act differently. It was so sweet. This is the caretaker that I wanted to take home with us. I hugged her and told her not to worry. I was not scared. They wanted to make sure that I was ok. They care so much about their children and the families that come.

After playing outside, we went in and passed out candy and gifts to the children. And then we had Viktorija give gifts to her caretakers and the directress. Then they had her sing a song. The sweetest little voice. Thankfully I had my camera near by and I think I was able to record it. I haven't had a chance to check it yet. The children had lunch and I changed Viktorija into her new clothes. She was so excited! She hugged and kissed everyone and we marched out the door. We loaded into the rental van, waived goodbye to the directress and drove away. No tears. No screaming. All smiles. It was the most incredible feeling. B and I just kept looking at each other smiling.

From there, we went on our first family outing to the Hill of Crosses. It was a beautiful sight to see. Broderick found the cross he made with our name on it. He had placed it in 2005 on his first mission trip. It's amazing to me that he can find it. We circled and prayed, thanking God for this amazing place, this amazing trip, and the amazing gift of Viktorija to our family. It is a moment I will never forget.

From there we drove the 2.5 hours to Brizai. We are staying in the church that Broderick helped to build on his past 3 mission trips. The upper floor has an apartment. We picked up some food and had our first family meal. Viktorija had a hard time staying in her seat, but then so does Ethan. Viktorija never fussed or acted worried. She adores her brothers and takes turns deciding which will be her favorite for the moment. The kids played and we settled into our apartment. I was worried that the trouble would start at bedtime, but again...nothing. Her and Ethan giggled some, but after awhile they were both sound asleep.

Saturday, we did some sight seeing and window shopping in Brizai. We had to get Viktorija's pictures taken at the photoshop for her Visa. We expected her to get upset, but no. She was shy and quiet, but obedient and we got the pictures taken with little trouble. B had to really use his Lithuanian because the man spoke no English. He did amazing. Again, Viktorija had no trouble going in and out of shops and being around strangers while with us. We were prepared for her to be scared and to cut it short, but didn't have to. After lunch, we decided that it would be a good idea if Viktorija had a nap. So much had happened to the child and she was starting to cough and we don't want her to get sick. Now we have the tears. "Ne norro lova" (no want bed) over and over until she fell asleep. I wonder if she fought naptime at the orphanage.

Ahhh! I was so embarrassed!!  I didn't find out that they had stopped the service until afterwards, thank goodness. They all thought it was funny. After church we had tea and cakes with the congregation were everyone tested out their English on us. And asked Broderick lots of questions. One of his friends asked if she could write me so I could practice my Lithuanian and she could practice her English. So I now have a Lithuanian penpal. LOL!  Devin took Viktorija upstairs to play. It was a little too much for her. He's such a great kid!

For lunch we went out with the pastor Ramondus and his family. We had an incredible time and his children and ours got along so well. It was great. I am picking up so much Lithuanian. Ramondus calls it baby Lithuanian. LOL! But I'm communicating pretty well with Viktorija. So that's all I care about. :-)

Dinner was another meal with a dear old friend of B's. She's an incredible cook!! The children were nervous, but they were asking for 2nd and 3rds. Viktorija has quite the appetite. She can really keep up with those boys!

Now we are back at the apartment and getting ready for bed. We have to be up early tomorrow and head back to Vilnius. I wish so much that we could stay here longer. Brizai is filled with some wonderful people! Ramondus was kind enough to lend us his aircard, so that we could update facebook and my blog. Friday seems like such  a lifetime ago, it's hard to put it all in one post. Our apartment in Vilnius will have internet, so we will be able to keep people posted better. Tomorrow I will put up more pictures. Thank you everyone for all the prayers and comments. They have helped. We are doing great and are one BIG happy family. Viktorija is adjusting much better then we even hoped for. I've had some emails questioning their comments. When you leave a comment, I have to approve it before it goes on the blog. I haven't taken time to figure out how to change that, but I am getting them, so thank you! Love to you from Lithuania.

It's a girl!!

Thank you everyone for all your prayers! The judge has granted us Viktorija AND has waived the appeal period. She will be in our permanent care starting after lunch tomorrow!!

Court went very well. We all met up in the hallway. When the directress from the orphanage showed up and told us that Viktorija told her to tell us "I love you." In English!! So sweet. Then we moved in to something like a confrence room, but fancier. When the judge arrived, B and I were very shocked because he looked nothing close to eighty so I think our lawyer was mistaken on his age. Anyway, he was very stoic an to the point. We choked through our speeches. The directress said some wonderful things about us to the judge. He had a few questions, nothing big. He asked me 'who's idea was it to adopt first' and 'have you ever been to Lithuania before.' When everyone was done speaking he asked to be given 40 minutes to give his decision. Then he came back with the great news! I cried..of course. It even looked like the directress cried. B hugged her. I think it was more then she was expecting.

When we went back to the lawyers office, we were told what wonderful boys we have and asked how we get them to behave so well! Praise God! They made me very proud. They were very excited to hear the news. Afterwards we went out to eat and jumped in our rental car and headed back to Siauliai. Now we are back in our apartment for the last night. We are franticly trying to clean it and get packed.

Tomorrow we will visit Viktorija in the morning, but she will stay through lunch and have her nap. While she naps we are going to visit the Hill of Crosses. Then we will head back to the orpahange and have a little going away party. And then it's off to Brizai for the weekend. I'm not sure I will have internet access there but I will be back in Vilnius in our new apartment that we will have for the remainder of the time we are here and will be able to post again on Monday.

Love to you all! We so appreciate all the encouragement.

Now what you have all been waiting for....pictures!!!

Back to Vilnius

This morning we got up at the crack of dawn to pack up, walk to the train station and catch the train to Vilnius. It was a very comfortable ride. The seats are much bigger then on an airplane and the trip was only 2.5 hours. We arrived in Vilnius and surprised the boys with an early lunch at....McDonalds! Not any better here then at home, but the boys were happy. The cashier could name everything in English, but everything else he said was in Lithuanian. Oh and when we went back to ask for ketchup for the fries, we had to pay for it. LOL! While eating we met a wonderful women and her daughter Viktorija (funny huh). She noticed us speaking English and made a comment on how funny it is to have to pay for ketchup. She spent the last 13 years in Chicago, but moved back to Lithuania about a year ago. I wondered why, but couldn't bring it up in conversation. She asked why we were here and we told her about our adoption. She seemed very excited about that. Her daughter was a little chatter box. She was excited to talk with the boys and practice her English. Since moving to Lithuania she has been forgetting some of it. It was so nice to talk with them. It made me realize that I really missed seeing our Viktorija this morning.

The law office picked us up at McDonald's and carted us off to their office. The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. Our Attorney met with us and went over how the proceedings were going to go. It's a closed court, so even the boys won't be allowed in the room. They offered to let the boys hang out in their office and play their games while we are at court. (Man, I pray they don't break anything while we are gone. LOL!) It sounds like everything will only take about 45 minutes to an hour. The only thing I'm nervous about is that we have to give speeches. If you know me, you know I hate microphones, so I'm praying they don't have one to make me extra nervous. The attorney says to just speak from the heart. Everyone has read what we have submitted, but they just need to hear it from us. Luckily B is taking one for the team and is going first. So I can then stand up and say I agree with my husband and then add just a couple of extra comments. I love my man! They say our judge is very nice and EIGHTY. Why oh why do they work until they are eighty?? They say he is also one to get right to the point and is 99% sure that he won't make us wait long for his decision. So much so that they have made her doctor's appointment for Monday. I sure hope they are right. But with all the posts from my prayer warriors, God will be pressing heavy on his heart to do so. Thank you so much my friends!!

Tonight we are staying at the same hotel we stayed at when we first arrived here last Friday (which seems like a lifetime ago now). Last night I couldn't sleep, so I stayed up watching TV and knitting. I watched this incredibly cheesey show of singers performing. Lithuanians love their cheese. I was describing the show to B on the train and was laughing so hard I could hardly tell him what I saw. Some cheesey guy with long hair and a shark skin looking suit...well I can't really explain what he was doing. Ask me when I get home and I'll show you, but air guitar was involved. Anyway when we got to the hotel this afternoon, they had rolled out a red carpet and had candles lit and a guy was playing a piano in the corner. The staff seemed very excited. We had no idea what was going on...until I turned around. It was the Cheese guy from the the show!!!  I couldn't believe it! It was all I could do not to bust out laughing. I'm going to make B ask at the desk tomorrow what his name is so I can find a youtube video or something. Apparently he's pretty popular. LOL!

Tonight we walked a little of Old Town Vilnius. A very cool city with lots of history. Saw a really cool old church, some statues, visited a couple of the street vendors. It wasn't too cold, but misting and raining again! They say that the weather is suppose to improve this weekend. I hope so! Then we found a restaurant very similar to one I love back home Tres Amigos, but this one was called Tres Mexicanos. So we didn't eat very Lithuanian today. :-)

Well that's all I have for today. Tomorrow's court and then we rent a car and head back to Siauliai. Hopefully we will then pick Viktorija up on Friday and see The Hill of Crosses and on to Brizai for the weekend. Love to you all. Thank you so much for all the encouraging comments here and on facebook and all the prayers!

Good News!

We've had some great breakthroughs today! The weather is lousy but everything else is going great. The directress came to see us while we are visiting and said she if very happy with the way things are going. She is going to suggest to the judge that he waive the waiting period and that we be able to take custody as soon as possible. Her fear is if we have to wait, that all the trust and progress we have made with Viktorija will be lost. So we have the orphanage pulling for us as well. Yea!! She also asked Viktorija if she wanted someone else to have us as their mom and dad, she said "ne, mano" no, mine. :-)

Also today, Broderick and I took Viktorija out of the orphanage for a walk. We tried to buy her something at the stand, but "ne noriu" or "I no want" another word I've had to learn quickly. Then we tried to stop at a restaurant to buy her a treat but "ne noriu." She held on to our hands and B and I sang as many nursery rhymes as we could remember. She was very good, but very nervous about being away from the orphanage with us. It was also very cold and windy, so she was more than ready to head back after a short time.

Yesterday I noticed this sad little box of paint chipped barrettes and stretched out hairbands that they were using for the girls. So when I saw a big package of them for only $3 (9 litas) I picked it up for the orphanage. I gave it to one of the caretakers before I left and gestured that it was for all the girls. You would have thought I gave her a box of gold. She hugged and kissed me and went running to the other caretakers to show them what I had brought. When we showed up after nap, I think Viktorija had about 5 of them down her little pony tail.

Our second visit started out with "ne" and hiding. But we got her to play with the boys as they stacked blocks and she knocked them over. We also did a few puzzles. The girl loves puzzles. I was a little sad knowing that this was going to be our last visit for a couple of days. Broderick and I prepared a letter which, Venta, the boys' Lithuanian teacher translated for us. We took Viktorija aside away from everything and B read her the letter. In it we explained that we had to leave and would not see her for 2 days. We told her we were going to ask if she could come and live with us in our home. B gave her the stuffed dog we bought to remember us and a new outfit for her to wear when we returned. She was very excited to get them both! She hugged each of us and seemed to understand. We then showed one of the caretakers the letter and asked her to ask Viktorija if she understood and to help her understand while we were away. We left shortly after that and at the door she gave me a kiss on the lips. She did it on her own. Usually the caretakers have asked her to kiss us goodbye and sometimes she would, but it was always on the cheek. This was just her showing her trust to me.

We will miss her the next couple of days. We won't miss the 2 hours of walking in the cold though. The boys are excited because we are taking the train into Vilnius..another first. This has just been an amazing trip for our family. Tomorrow we meet with the lawyer and go over how court will go. Then Thursday is the big day. Prayers for Viktorija and prayers that the judge would give his decision quickly and that the waiting period be waived would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the encouragement. I'm off to bed early, it's a big day tomorrow.

2 days of updates

Sorry for no post yesterday! We were all exhausted. Yesterday went went well. We got up early to visit Viktorija before church. She still keeps her distance some, but is starting to talk and interact with us earlier in the visit. She can talk up a storm. Thank goodness B and the boys know as much as they do. I told B is not allowed to go to work. LOL! He had a long conversation with her about sitting at the table and finishing her snack. She has been showing defiance which B sees as a good thing because it shows she is comfortable with us and is testing her boundaries. Her favorite word is "ne" no and "mano" mine. Our morning visit was a short one so we could go to church, which we couldn't find. In our haste to get out the door, B forgot his map and he couldn't find the road that the church was on. He was pretty bummed when we got home and found out we were only 1 block away.

Our second visit, Viktorija decided to show us a tantrum....fun! It wasn't a big one, but she can scream. We told her a firm no and put the boys in another room because they couldn't stop laughing. She stopped immediately. I think it made a big impression when we took the boys out of the room. She changed her attitude and we had a great visit. I think it was a breakthrough. I think she needed to know that we had boundaries and we weren't going to get scared off.  We spend most of our visits coloring and playing with stickers. Yesterday, I brought watercolor sheets that she let me paint with her. Usually she wants to do everything independently. She is a very creative little girl.

Today it got colder. Our morning visit was much better then yesterday. She seems to be warming up to us. I just wish so much she would allow me to scoop her up and hug her. It kills me that she's not ready for that yet. She has this really annoying rocking horse that makes tons of noise when you press it's ear and she loves it. It makes it hard to interact with her, so B asked her to quiet the horse and she listened and got off the horse and came to play with us. We both looked at each other shocked but very happy. She still tests us, but seems happy when we don't accept bad behavior. B also had a conversation with the directress of the orphanage and their social worker. He was told that they spoke with Viktorija and asked her what she thought of her new family. She told them all kinds of stories of the things we do together. That she thinks her brothers are funny. She likes that her dad has a beard and she is very excited to have us as her family. They say that we are doing a great job at connecting with her. They explained that her "mine, mine" attitude comes from more than being a kid, but she has never had anything that was just hers until now. So she has become very territorial of those things. Imagine being 1 of 13 kids under the age of 5 and having to share everything.

After our first visit of the day we decided to stay on "the mall" that we talk down and eat in a restaurant and do a little shopping. The kids of course wanted to buy everything. B bought Viktorija a stuffed dog that looks a bit like our Rascal. Both of us are worried about leaving her for the couple of days we have to be gone for court. We don't want to lose any of the progress we have been working so hard on. B ordered a little of everything and we ate a smorgishborg. I have found that I really like Lithuanian food. I can do with out the sauerkraut, but the rest is yummy! After that we found a yarn shop and I found a couple of skeins that I really liked. Have no idea what I will make but it will be cool. :-)  Then we went to a book store and found some great books for Viktorija and the boys. And then to the boys favorite shop...candy. We found some cool, fun, candy to bring back to the apartment and try.

Our second visit the temperature dropped and we walked in snow and hail! Now that's love! It was also the best visit yet. She has a caregiver that was there tonight that we absolutely adore! She is so encouraging of Viktorija to interact with us and gets her to engage right away. I asked B if we could afford her to come live with us for a few months. LOL! I have learned several words so that I can talk to her more and that has helped a ton! We played puzzles, had a snack, and once again more coloring. Tonight she was very willing to share her crayons...progress. She also noticed my nose piercing tonight and said it was beautiful. When we left, she blew me kisses at the door. Melted my heart and kept me warm all the way home.

I just have to tell you what a wonderful orphanage she is staying in. I continue to be impressed. I know it's no family, but the caregivers really care for the children. Everything is very clean and VERY organized. I guess you would have to be with 13 kids. When we show up in the afternoon they are getting up from their nap. Viktorijaolds waiting at a doorway while one of them is allowed to leave and none of them follow. Amazing! I also understand why they have been keeping Viktorija's hair short. Can you imagine brushing and fixing the hair of 7 girls 2 or 3 times a day? We have been shown pictures of "plays" the children have put on dressed up like birds or flowers. We have seen different artwork that she has done and secretly hope they will let us take home. I appreciate what they have done for my daughter so much, but am ready to take it from here.

Also, we have become quite accustomed to the European lifestyle. After we leave the orphanage at 6 we walk to the market and pick up a couple of things for dinner or food for the next day. By the time we get home, we prepare dinner together in the kitchen and eat it's almost 7 - 7:30. We are all so tired from all the walking and the emotions that we all crash soon after dinner. We have also worked in Lithuanian words into our everyday talking. We are learning so much so quickly...well at least I am. We are all saying please and thank you and common household items in Lithuanian. Today I asked Ethan if I could try a piece of his candy and he said "only if you ask me in Lithuanian."  Hahaha. I used to walk the streets a little nervous, but we've walked the same stretch so many times that I know that it's safe. It's amazing how many people walk, but yet it's so quiet. Almost surreal. I wonder if it will be very different in Vilnius which is a bigger city. Well that's all I have for tonight. I'm too tired to edit, so I apologize for any typos...LOL! I'll check it tomorrow. Viso Gero! (Goodbye)

Things are going great!

Things are going so great! We had 2 visits with Viktorija today. The first one in the morning, she started out shy again. Although she did bring her hat and scarf to Broderick to have him help her put them on, which was huge to us. She then decided that he tied the scarf wrong and brought it to her caretaker for her to do it right. LOL! We took her outside to play where we all got pretty muddy. :-)  They boys had fun with her on the play equipment, especially the see-saw. The girl is just like me, she loves to laugh.

The second visit was after nap and she much quicker to connect. We showed up before she awoke, so we got to see her sleeping in her bed. So cute! They awoke her and we heard her ask, "Mama, Dada?" Awesome words to hear. I know in her heart she is excited, but still is over coming her fear when around us. We played in doors with markers and stickers again. We are all picking up the Lithuanian language rapidly now. We all want so much to communicate with her. We have no interpreter so we are using a lot of broken sentences with her and her care takers. Everyone has been so wonderful and patient.

The boys can get her to laughing so quickly. She is having a lot of fun teasing with them. We had to learn the word for share. She is a little spitfire!! She has a lot of personality and is very independent. We did a lot of joking and laughing today. Ethan seemed to get just a little jealous near the end of the visit, wanting lots of hugs from Broderick and I. I expected some of this and he really has been doing great. Prayers for him would be appreciated. This is a lot for a 6 year old to process. When we went to leave she again grabbed her brother's hands and walked them to the door to say goodbye.

We have been enjoying our time here in Lithuania. We do a lot of walking! It's about a 25-30 minute walk one way to the orphanage. We have all enjoyed the different architecture and statues through out the city. The boys, especially Devin, have been taking lots of pictures. Tonight we had a sausage type dumpling with a spaghetti sauce that tasted more like ketchup for dinner. B has been playing music and lighting candles for every meal, just like it was done when he was here for his mission trips. He is REALLY loving being back here in Lithuania. Tonight the boys are in bed and we are watching a little Lithuanian TV and making up what they are talking about, lots of fun! Tomorrow we are going to a local methodist church where a friend of his is preaching.

Well that's all I have for today. I hear it has been incredibly warm in Michigan...so sorry we are missing that! It is cold, but not freezing here. I hope the warm weather sticks around for us to enjoy when we get back! Love from Lithuania!
Carolyn

What an amazing day!

We got into Vilnius very late, but made it to our hotel room and crashed! Even Ethan was saying "I think it's time to sleep." We all got a great night's sleep and jumped into van to head to Siauliai where Viktorija lives. We met with the directress of the orphanage first and was able to hear a little about Viktorija and ask some questions. Viktorija was so anxious to meet us they brought her to the meeting. She instantly became very shy and froze. The directress encouraged her to talk to us and took her around to shake all of our hands. Then I brought out the candy and she lit up. She loves candy!! We moved then to her dormitory and play room where they showed us some pictures of her. She was an adorable baby. She was beginning to warm up to us by now. The boys blew bubbles and we ate more candy. :-) I gave the bag for her to share with the other children and she went around and passed it out to all the kiddies sitting on potty chairs. Quite the sight to see. She then proceded to eat as many of the candies as she could before someone could get the bag back from her. The girl has a major sweet tooth. She showed us the box we sent her with all of her treasures inside. She went through the photo albulm we sent and pointed to all the pictures saying, "mama, dada, brother, grandma, grandpa, aunt, uncle," but all in Lithuanian of course. So she knows all of her families faces.

They then gave us a room for just us to play in. We brought out some stickers and markers and all colored together. Broderick and the boys are comunicating quite well with her. Makes me a little jealous that I could learn/remember more. Broderick says we are going to work on some phrases so I can talk to her more. She calls us Mama and Dada which just melts my heart. The boys were fantastic with her. Ethan started to repeat a word that she was saying about a stuffed animal she was holding, "mano" back and forth they would say, "mano, mano" only to find out they were saying "mine, mine" to each other. LOL!! They are going to get along great! By the time we left she was willing to give me a timid little hug goodbye, but then took the hands of Ethan and Harry and walked them to the door. It was a wonderful first visit.

After our visit, we were taken to our apartment, which is very nice and on the 5th floor. We are going to get our exercise, between the 5th floor and walking to the orphanage twice a day. We then made a trip to the "grocery store." Very interesting trying to purchase food when you don't know what it says. The boys found some frozen pizza which we ate tonight and B picked out some of his favorite Lithuanian dishes.  Milk and yogurt come in bags and we got what we thought was cheese puffs but turned out to be something sweet. All in all I think we did pretty good. The boys have all crashed for the night and we are not far behind them. It has been a very long couple of days. Thanks to everyone for their prayers that got us here safely. B feels we shouldn't post pictures until after court, so I'm so sorry your gonna have to wait until Friday to see some. But you can take my word for it, she's beautiful with a sweet little voice, a big smile, and an infectious laugh. Love to all of you from Siauliai, Lithuania!

We have made it to Poland!

Wow! What a long flight. The boys did incredible. They were so excited to ride on their first airplane. All of us even got some sleep. I am so proud of them. We have a 8 hour layover here in Poland before we head to Vilnius Lithuania. Then we crash at a hotel and will head to Viktorija's orphanage tomorrow. I will admit I got a little teary eyed before take off. I can't believe the time is finally here. And it was so many firsts for our family as well. A big day for the Norkus family.

For now we are relaxing in the airport, eating ice cream, playing games, and people watching. Thanks for all the prayers. They were a huge help and very much felt. My back is even doing a little better. We love you and will have much more to post after we see Viktorija and get settled in our apartment. Love from Europe! The Norkuses

Today is the day!

Today is the day that we finally leave. I can't believe that it's finally here! As you can see by my ticker its been almost 3 years since we started this journey. And what a crazy, bumpy ride it as been, but it's all been worth it. We are all packed...it's interesting trying to pack for 6 people to go to Europe for 3 weeks. The kids are excited to be going on their first plane ride. I don't think they were very happy about having to go to school today, but it will help pass the time and allow me to check, double check, and triple check to see that we've packed everything we need. We will be flying all day tomorrow, but Friday is the day that we visit Viktorija at the orphanage. I can't imagine what she must be feeling. I hope she is more excited then scared. I just want to hug her!
That's all I have for today. My next post is sure to be full of information! Thank you everyone for following along. Please feel free to post. We would love to hear from you! We appreciate everyone's prayers and support. God bless!

When we are home

I have been so busy getting ready to go. What to pack? Where to stay? How will we ever find a vehicle in Lithuania big enough to fit us all? Praying that the judge lets us do this in one trip and bring Viktorija home. I haven't given a ton of thought to when we are home. I mean I have some. I've read the books. Talked about that it's going to be tough. She will be scared and grieving. But I don't think I REALLY thought about it. Today a friend sent me a link to another blog about adoption (thank you Amy) and it really got me thinking. So I wanted to share some of it here to maybe help others to understand what we may be going through and why we are doing what we are doing once we get back. We only have 7 more sleeps before we go. I'm so excited! and can't wait to meet my daughter!

The blog is Give 1 Save 1 and the guest blogger is Jen Hatmaker.

Here are some tips that helped pull us through the mire. These things matter:

Stay home. I mean it. Stay the heck home. Cancel your calendars. Pull out of everything you’re involved in. Temporarily quit your small group and your Bible study and your volunteer position at church on Wednesdays and your gym classes. Katy, bar the door. Circle the wagons with your little family and hunker down. Do not take your newbie to Target. Do not drag them to public places. Do not spend two hours in the car running errands with them. Keep the moving parts to an absolute minimum.

Keep visitors at bay for awhile. Your child doesn’t know you yet. A lot of revolving faces simply reinforces the notion that people come and go, and he is alone. Yes, these people love you and love your child. They are thrilled he is home and care so deeply. You know that. He doesn’t. Tons of smiling, oversized, touchy strangers constantly in and out make for a nervous, insecure child. Our friends left dinner on our porch and texted us. Our parents chomped at the bit waiting, while we worked our way through the early storm of transition. God bless them.

To that end, prepare your family and friends in advance for this very important attachment plan: No one touches, kisses, holds, or meets the needs of your new one except you and your spouse. No one. Tell them in advance and explain why. Your child needs to learn right away that you are his mother and father. YOU ARE. You will meet his needs. You will hold him when he cries. He belongs to you, and you are forever. He is coming from a multiple-caregiver situation, so if twenty strangers hold and kiss and feed him and rock him in his new environment, nothing has changed at all. He will struggle to attach to you because you are not his sole caregiver. This principle is not permanent, but it is so necessary at first. Tell your family and friends to give him a “high five” and that’s about the end of it for a bit.

Know this: Those first few weeks and months will more than likely be difficult. They might be downright disastrous. You will struggle through feelings and emotions you didn’t know you were capable of. You will cry. They will cry. They may absolutely spaz out actually. You will wonder if your life is ruined or if happiness will ever return to your home. Beloved, IT WILL. It so will. They are grieving and processing and transitioning. It’s just hard – on them, on you, on the bio kids if you have them. There is no magic formula that will skirt your family around this chaos.

But you will emerge.

Your child will learn to trust you. God will begin to mend the broken pieces. He can do this. He is big enough to put a heart back together. You will discover love bubbling up in the cracks, transforming you from this clunky, awkward, uncertain group of people to a family. You’ll watch as her real self emerges, peeking out from behind the fear and loss. You may even realize that like an idiot, you though she was shy, and she is actually a firecracker (Jen raises hand). Your son will start to sing again, and he may become the adorable soccer star you’ve always dreamed of (Jen raises hand).

Yo-yo!

A yo-yo is the best way to describe my feelings over the past few weeks. A week ago I found out that some of the paperwork had been lost and others we were told to do incorrectly. It was a very hard day last week Wednesday. I cried most of the day. I just felt like we had lost so much time. I wouldn't even let my mother buy an Easter dress because I was convinced that we would not be home in time to use it and I didn't want to look at it in the closet. This past Wednesday was my birthday, and while I didn't blow out any candles, it was my wish that we would hear some news soon even though we were told it would be probably 2 weeks before we heard anything.

Well today we got the news!! We are leaving in 3 weeks! In three weeks we will be able to meet our little girl! I just can't believe it is finally here! It looks like we will need that Easter dress after all. They sent us new pictures of her too. She's just so beautiful and full of smiles. I can't wait until I'm over there and will be able to post some for you all to see. It's so wonderful to see her surrounded by toys and art projects on the wall. They even sent me a picture of her dressed up for Mardi Gras. So they like to celebrate and have fun with their kids. It's comforting to know, but I can't wait to be the one to do those art projects, games, and dress up with her! I hope I can sleep between now and March 14!!

I think I spoke too soon!

We've seem to hit a stand still. 3 weeks and still no update on when our court date will be. For the second, third, or fourth time (I've lost count), I think I have gotten all the paperwork that they will need done today. I will be dropping it off tomorrow.

On a brighter note, we had an adoption shower thrown for us this past weekend. It was so great (and humbling) to have everyone come out in support of our adoption. Our friend, Megan, did such a great job putting it together! And I LOVED all the pink, purple and girly colors! It was fun to open the gifts and see all the clothes I'll be able to dress her up in, the items to make her room more homey, the toys that I will get to play with with her soon and the financial blessings that people poured out for Tori. We took a huge leap of faith when God prompted us to adopt and we have been so grateful for the people God has placed in our lives to help us bring Tori home. We will be forever in awe of God's awesome ability to make things happen. We are so thankful that he has blessed others who have, in turn, blessed us!

Ever closer...

WOW! Things seem to be moving so quickly now. Paperwork is moving much quicker then anyone anticipated. We've heard back from the USCIS with our approval, 3 1/2 weeks not 8 - 12. Our contact Elona in Lithuania is working at lightening speed. Where was all this rush back in October?? All well, we're moving now!! It looks like we will here our court date by next week and then it's booking flights and hotels. While I want to be there quickly, I hope they give some time to plan and organize our trip. I have to speak with the kids' school and hopefully get some of their work to take with us. I'm working hard to get ahead at work. I worry about leaving my little muchkins at church, but I work with a great team and I know they will take good care of them. I just have never left for this long before. I love my job!! We aren't a 100% sure where we are staying and flights can be so expensive if you book less then 2 weeks. Either way, we'll make it work. I'm just so excited that it's almost here!!!

It's a New Year!

Broderick and I had a rough start to the year. We had to cancel our annual New Year's Party and drive out to New York for his grandmother's funeral. While we missed ringing in the New Year with our friends, it was great to see all of his family again. It has been years since I have seen them all. Grandma Norkus was 94 when she died and she has been looking forward to going home and seeing her husband, Grandpa Norkus, again. So while we all miss her, we know she's dancing in heaven and is very happy.

We are moving ever closer to our court date in Lithuania. More paperwork has been requested and while this duplicate paperwork drives me absolutely crazy, I know it must be done and I won't care about it after I have Tori in my arms.  I've started to make phone calls to inquire about where would be the best place for her to start school and preparing the boys for the long trip.  It's exciting when I think past the paperwork and think about our life with Tori in it!

I often get asked "How's the adoption going?" and some are hesitant to ask because they worry I've been asked too much or it will make me sad that I don't have anything new to report, but it's just not the case. It helps me to realize just how many people are pulling and praying for us. How many people care about the adoption journey we are going through. We are just so blessed to have the love and support of so many people. So NEVER worry about asking! I've also been asked "What can I specifically pray for for you?" And I think my biggest prayer is that the Lithuanian judge waives the 40 day waiting period. Lithuania has a 40 day waiting period after your court appearance for International adoptions in which we would have to leave Viktorija at the orphanage (heart breaking!) and come home. And then return after the 40 days (expensive) and finish the adoption process and then bring her home. I just don't like to think about this possibility, but it could happen. We are putting together letters from doctors and professionals to help us convince the judge that it is in Viktorija's best interest to come home sooner rather then later. So if you are reading this, please say a prayer for us that the judge waive this waiting period and we can complete the adoption in one trip. We thank you so much!!