Almost ready to come home!!

All is well here in this beautiful country.  It has been snowing a lot since Sunday and we have enjoyed spending lots of quality time with our new little sweethearts!  We took them outside today to see the snow.  Of course, little Miss Avery couldn't wait to get her hands in it! 

 

The children are doing great and Caden has really started to eat and drink much better.  We marvel each day at how well they are doing.  Avery has started to seek out affection and she loves to be held and cuddled.  Caden is warming up more and more and seems to be trusting us more.  He is a very sweet, mellow little boy with an infectious laugh and a smile that melts your heart.  Avery is a spunky, fun loving little girl with big brown eyes and a sweet personality.  God has truly blessed us in this journey and we are overwhelmed with the joy that we feel in having these two precious children as part of our family.

 

 

There are 3 other families here with their new children.  It has been great spending time with them!  I love hearing their stories and seeing the special children that are now part of their families.  Though it breaks my heart to know that so many sweet little children are left to spend this holiday in an orphanage,  it is wonderful to know that these children have a family to be with on Christmas. 

 

 

Soon to be home!

 

 

Getting to know each other

We are having a blast getting to know each other.  There is a lot of down time right now so we are just hanging out playing, reading books, watching sesame street videos on YouTube (Avery loves it), and sharing lots of hugs and cuddle time.  It is amazing to watch these two precious children come out of their shell and start to develop trust in us.  Avery is a very playful little girl.  She has such a cute personality and she even plays a little rough at times!!  She will be able to hold her own in our house!   LOL  Caden is slowly warming up and there has been such a change in his personality and energy level.  He is walking around, exploring things that interest him, smiling ALOT, and we are so thankful to God to see this frail little boy starting to eat and DRINK.  That was a challenge on the first day.  We are experimenting with more things every day and so far he has not protested.  He even gets excited to see his sippy cup of milk! 

We have met a few other families from the U.S. here in the hotel.  It is so much fun to meet their adoptive children and to share our stories.  We rode the subway into the Center today to do a little sight seeing with our new friend Jamie who is here adopting two little girls.  It was extremely cold so we were not able to do a lot of exploring but we plan to try again another day.  There may be some snow heading this way tomorrow so we may be stuck at the hotel for a couple of days.  It is nice to have other families here to share the time with!

Yes, I know I am rambling again and you really want to see more pics, so check out these cute faces and be ready to smile! 

We are so thankful that God provided the funding for Big Brother Seth to come along on this trip.
He has loved being along for this special journey.

Caden loves his milk.....we are so thankful.

All bundled up for a cold ride in the city.  Avery loved her big adventure today!

 

Thought you might enjoy this video of Avery playing with her big brother.

 

Thank you all for your prayers and support!  We can't wait to be home to share our new joy with you all!!

 

We Are Here!!

I know, I know, there are probably many of you wondering if we were lost in Europe or something since I haven't posted.  Well, actually we were lost in Europe for a few hours!!   :)  Our flight was late getting to Rome so we missed our flight to Sofia.  Soooo, we had to be rerouted to Munich and then on to Sofia.  We arrived 9 hours later than our original arrival time.  Needless to say, we were quite exhausted!

Yesterday, we got up at 6 and left at 8 to drive to Avery's orphanage.  We picked her up and then because of snow here over the weekend, we had to take the long way to Caden's orphanage.  It was late when we arrived (after about 8 hours of driving) so we spent the night and picked up Caden this morning.  We headed back to Sofia straight to the passport office to have their pictures done for their passports.  It has been quite a whirlwind since we left Roanoke on Monday.

Caden and Avery are settling in.  We are spending time playing and sharing lots of hugs and kisses. 
Avery was a little out of sorts yesterday and refused to sleep.  We finally got her to sleep by about 10:30 last night.  Caden would not eat or drink all day.  We are already worried because of the extreme state of malnutrition he is in, but finally, at dinner, he ate some rice and a banana.  I gave him some milk a little while ago and he did drink a couple of ounces.  Yay!  I put them down at 8:15 so finally I can give you all an update!  Whew, I had almost forgotten how busy a baby can be.  Even though they are 5 and 3, they are very much like babies.  We are so thrilled and feel so blessed. 

Seth (my 13 year old) made the trip with us.  He has been great and is so excited about his new brother and sister.  We haven't taken as many pictures as I thought we would but we did do GOTCHA DAY videos.  I am including some of the pictures with this post....I know that is what you really want to see anyway!!   Sorry for all the rambling....enjoy the pics.

TRAVEL!!!!

Finally!!!  We got our travel dates!!  Our babies will be home for Christmas!!
Praise God!   We leave on December 3!  Can't wait to share our journey with you all.   Be sure to check here for pictures and trip updates!!

We are so blessed!  Thank you Jesus!!

It Won't Be Long Now!

  God has truly used this experience to teach me patience.  From day 1, it seemed that each leg of the journey took us longer than any one else.  There have been moments (especially lately) when the wait felt unbearable.  My heart has been so heavy.  The nights lying awake worrying and wondering....why us?  Why do we have to endure one delay after another?  Why is our process taking so much longer than others?  Each passing day is one more day my babies are in those orphanages.  I still can't believe that 7 months have passed since our first trip!  God reminds me every day that I need to lean on Him.  I need to keep my faith and trust in His timing.  I admit, I have struggled with this lately.  But, I am praying more and seeking God's peace..........

I do want you all to know that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Shelley emailed yesterday and said that she will have our travel dates soon.  I started packing 2 weeks ago!!  I have actually packed, and unpacked, and re-packed.  I know it sounds a little obsessive but I don't want to forget anything!!!  :)  I actually think that the process of packing the suitcases has been therapeutic for me!  It is a reminder that very soon, I can zip up those suitcases, drive them to the airport, and put them on an airplane heading across the ocean.  Hang on my sweet babies!  It won't be long now!