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).