Catching Up...

Hello Family & Friends,

Sorry for the lack of posts for the past couple days. I was sick for two days, now Tom is recovering. Yesterday was completely skipped as we spent half of it sleeping and the other half settling into our new apartment.

That’s another reason for the lack of posting. Due to budget cuts (sound like the govt? :'), we had to move from our previous apartment.  Our new apartment is nice, it even has a clothes washer! Booyah! (For those of you asking, no, our 1^st apt did not have a washer. All the clothes were washed by hand in the sink or tub.)

However, it does not have internet. Ya win some, ya lose some. So we have to go somewhere that has open WIFI in order to blog, check emails, skype, etc. Oh, and our laptop is having an issue with WIFI places. It doesn’t seem to want to connect. So, we’ll get on when we can and let ya’ll know how things are going.

We did not see the kids yesterday as we were both lying in bed sick. So when Tolly got back to the orphanage, we were not there to greet him. Imagine his surprise when we showed up this morning. ;) Tom beelined for Alina while I got to look for Tolly. When he saw me, he started laughing and went under the play structure. He wouldn’t come out for a couple minutes even with coaxing from a fellow child (laughing the whole time.) I finally got to him and led him away to “our” area. That would be an old oversize picnic table where we start our visits with Alina. All the other kids who have Mama’s & Papa’s there for them congregate there too. He seemed to be enthralled with the fact that he was at the picnic table. Woah! After Tom read Psalm 32, the chasing began. He laughed and went running from one thing to another. He had the same laugh that he did when we 1^st saw him in the hospital. That “this can’t be real” laugh. He still didn’t realize after 2 hrs that it was real. Alina was so calm, Tolly was so not. This is gonna be fun. The way we see it, this is still Tolly’s official “freedom week”. The first week where he gets to run around the orphanage grounds to do all the stuff he hasn’t been able to do. He did not like going back to his groupa tonite. Soon buddy, soon. 

Alina took it all in stride. She swung, walked and even rode on the ride-on the truck. She can steer and even picked up the ride-on toy to move it up a stair to another sidewalk. What a smart girl!

There is another American family here now for their son. He’s a cute little guy from Alina’s group. How wonderful it is to be able to see another child claimed regardless of need. Speaking of claim, our friends, Ray & Alex get to take their twins out of the orphanage next week! Yay!

Ok, now that I’ve got you thinking that way, please remember that our court date is the 4^th of July. That is this Monday!! Please take a minute before you barbeque to lift us up in prayer for a positive resolution. We’re also going to ask the judge to please waive the 10 day waiting period after the court approves us. We’ve been told that that just doesn’t happen in this region, but we’re going to ask anyway. Tom and I are SO READY to be with our kids and go home. And if God has taught us anything on this trip, it is that He has everything in His hands! Sounds like the song, I know, but it’s true! So we’re gonna ask for it.

Speaking of God, we love the way He sends little reminders of Himself at just the right time. We call those “God moments”.  I neglected to post about one in particular, so here it goes.  Picture this:

We were running across a street to catch our 2^nd bus on the way to the orphanage. I’m ahead of Tom (only caused he stopped J) running towards the bus, which stopped for us because the driver saw us running. Then I hear Tom calling to me “Come back, they’ve offered us a ride!” Whoa what? I turn around to see a black station wagon stopped in the street and Tom holding the back door open. I see the woman in the car and still don’t recognize the faces. So what does one do in that situation? Well, I climbed in the car (ONLY CAUSE DAD WAS RIGHT THERE KIDS!) As Tom gets in, he tells me that this is one of the local couples that visit one of the children at the orphanage. So it felt really good that this couple recognized us on the street and interrupted their schedule to offer us a ride.

Then after we get in and start driving, what do they put on the radio? Praise and Worship music IN ENGLISH!  Oh my, I can’t even tell you which ones right now, but it was SO nice to hear them and worship God right there. And when the songs were done, the woman turns around to us and says “Alleluia”. She doesn’t speak any English, but she knew what those songs were saying. That was what we needed at the right time. So thank you Lord for knowing what we need and when.

We could use another one right now. Anytime You’re ready. 

A Few Cutie Pies for the Road...