We Are Family!!!!

Today (I had a problem with downloading our pictures, so now it was actually yesterday, Monday) we got our first normal visit with the girls without any complications. I was looking forward to today all weekend. I really hoped it went well and that we would feel validated in our decision to adopt these little girls. Not only did we feel validated, but we can’t imagine our lives without them! Today was WONDERFUL!!!!!

They came in very excited and gave us each a hug and kiss. Maria went over to Marsha and held her hand and I was worried once again that she would not bond with us. But I showed her the new backpack and Barbie doll we bought and she was very excited with it, even more so than the first one we gave her. Maybe because she didn’t realize the first one was actually hers to keep. Anyway, she opened it up and brushed its hair and put on its shoes. It was cute to watch. Nastya started roughhousing with the boys right away and ever once in awhile stopped and made comments like I haven’t opened mine, or mine is still in the box. I think she is our tomboy and Maria is our little princess.

We brought some molding clay that my friend Bev had bought for us. It was such a great idea! It really helped us interact together. We all made different things and it was a lot of fun. The girls really started opening up to us. Well Maria started opening up; Nastya was open from the beginning! We were really having a lot of fun together. We gave them some Bath & Body works lotion and spray and that was a big hit as well. We really enjoyed our time together and we really bonded. I told them that their Babuskas (grandmothers) wanted lots of pictures so we started taking pictures. They loved the camera and kept grabbing it and taking pictures of their own. It was fun for them to see the immediate result! The cute thing was they didn’t know how to aim and most pictures were diagonal or with our heads cut off, or of our feet, and so on and so on.

By the end, both the girls were hugging and kissing us and couldn’t stop being by us. Maria realized that Marsha did not come with us to America and asked how she was going to communicate with us. Marsha told her she would have to learn English and I would need to learn Russian. They kept jabbering to me in Russian as if I understood, and even though I didn’t, I was just excited that they were talking and looking at me! It was great! I know they have definitely accepted us as their parents and are excited to go to America. I wish we could take them right now. I know they do too. Maria asked a couple of times when she got to come with us and not stay in the orphanage anymore. That was a good sign to me as well. She wants to be with us.

This has been such a great experience! I know it started off horrible, but today was so wonderful. I guess that is why we endure such pain and misery at times, because without it we couldn’t have days like this! We have to know the bitter in order to taste the sweet!

Today we will be shopping for clothes and shoes for the girls. I found out that when we get them they only come with the clothes on their backs and they would prefer us to buy them those clothes, so the orphanage can keep all the clothes and shoes they can. So we are going to need everything! Socks, underwear, shoes, pants, shirts, and because it is cold this week, sweaters, the list goes on and on!

For those of you who know my family and are following our blog, you may want to check out my sister Tammy's comment about her car accident in the comments under "Thoughts on Petropavlovsk". We are so grateful that she is OK, but we are sorry about her truck!

Also, for those of you following our blog and are wondering where we get our strength and faith from, you can read my sister Kimberly's comments regarding our beliefs and church. It is also under comments at "Thoughts on Petropalovsk". I am so grateful for my membership in this church, it is my strength, you can also check out www.lds.org for more information.

And finally I end with my children. As I was trying to take the perfect picture one of them would make a silly face, finally I said, OK, take a silly picture. This one is their favorite. So here are my children!!!!!