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